Analysts Lift Targets as Kinetik Rallies Through Earnings

Short interest has shifted in the opposite direction from the previous note. Where bears were quietly retreating into the August 6 print, they've since nudged back in. SI has climbed 4.2% over the past week to 8.83% of free float, now at 5.65 million shares — the highest level since late July's brief spike toward 6 million. That drift higher is worth watching, but the borrow market tells a very different story about conviction. Availability has expanded dramatically to 1,355% — more than thirteen shares available for every one currently lent — the loosest conditions seen this year by a wide margin. Cost to borrow ticked up 4.5% on the week to 0.54%, still firmly in the low-cost zone and well below any level that would suggest meaningful squeeze risk. The short score of 52, down from around 55 two weeks ago, is consistent with a position that is growing in size but not in urgency. Options reinforce the benign read: the put/call ratio of 0.148 is essentially glued to its 20-day mean of 0.149, showing no demand for downside protection. Overall, positioning looks like cautious re-engagement rather than aggressive conviction — bears are adding, but on cheap terms and without options backing.

The institutional picture has one angle worth flagging. I Squared Capital Advisors reported a fresh stake of 1.66 million shares as of August 7. That adds a new infrastructure-focused institutional owner to the register. Running the other direction, ISQ Global Fund II — a separate infrastructure vehicle and existing main shareholder — sold roughly 262,000 shares across several tranches in early August, collecting approximately $13.3 million net over the 90-day window. The pattern suggests a rotation within the infrastructure investor base rather than a clean exit: one ISQ-affiliated entity trimming while another infrastructure manager builds. Blackstone remains the anchor at 14.8% of shares, unchanged since March. BlackRock added 1.59 million shares through July, the largest active institutional build in the top-ten over the period.

The earnings history adds a data point: the August 6 print generated a 1.7% next-day gain, and the most recent prior release produced a move of 3.1%. Both were positive, suggesting the fee-based model has been delivering cleaner-than-feared results. The next event is not until November 11, which gives the stock a long runway before the next catalyst test.

With the borrow market loose, the Street raising targets, and SI rebuilding at modest conviction, the key variable to track is whether the short position continues to drift higher over the coming weeks — and whether it eventually forces any response from the growing institutional ownership base.