BIP Calls Still Lead, But the Bull Run Has Cooled Slightly

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners arrives at its Q2 earnings print on July 31 with options markets still tilted decisively toward the upside, even as the stock gave back a fraction of its recent gains in the final session before the report.

The call-side bias remains the defining feature of the pre-earnings setup. The put/call ratio edged up to 0.28 on July 30 — still nearly two standard deviations below its 20-day average of 0.37 — keeping BIP among the most call-heavy setups in the market. That reading has drifted slightly higher from the 0.28–0.30 range of the past two sessions, a modest softening from the extreme bullishness documented earlier in the week, but the directional lean is unchanged. The stock itself pulled back 0.5% on July 30 to close at $42.39, trimming what had been a 16% one-month gain — a run that carried the stock well past the $40.88 level noted in the prior preview.

Short interest has ticked higher in recent days after a sharp collapse earlier in the month. From a low around 678,000 shares shorted in mid-July, estimated short interest climbed roughly 53% over the past week to approximately 1.04 million shares — though at just 0.23% of the free float, this remains a negligible level. The borrow market confirms the absence of any genuine short-side conviction: availability is essentially uncapped, and borrowing costs have fallen to 0.38% annually, down sharply from above 1% in early July. The uptick in shorts looks more like routine positioning noise than a structural challenge to the bullish thesis.

Analysts who cover BIP have been incrementally constructive in recent months. Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $46 in May while maintaining Overweight, and CIBC nudged its target to $45 around the same time. RBC Capital raised its target to $41 earlier in the year. The consensus remains clearly positive, with targets clustering in the $41–$46 range — broadly consistent with where the stock now trades. Bulls point to BIP's diversified global asset base spanning transport, utilities, midstream, and data infrastructure, with management having raised full-year guidance after the most recent quarter. The dividend score ranks in the 93rd percentile, reinforcing the yield appeal that draws income-oriented capital. Bears, such as they are, would note that the valuation has expanded meaningfully into the run: the P/E has risen roughly 7.6 points over the past month to 37.3x, and EV/EBITDA sits near 23.4x — multiples that leave limited room for execution disappointment.

The Q2 print will test whether BIP's operational momentum — particularly in its data infrastructure and toll road segments — is strong enough to justify a valuation that has re-rated materially higher even as European infrastructure peers pulled back sharply on the week.