Why this matters: lululemon athletica spent last week in a holding pattern after bears banked gains on the September 3 earnings crash. That equilibrium has now broken. Short interest jumped 18.5% in a single day on September 8, pushing back to 11.4% of float — exactly where it stood at the pre-earnings peak. This is not residual positioning. Bears are actively re-entering.
Yesterday's note described a structural short that had stalled after covering. That stall is over.
Short interest stands at 11.39% of float as of September 8. That is up from 10.7% just one day earlier, and matches the late-August peak that preceded the 17% earnings drop. In one month, the short position has grown 31.5%.
The ORTEX short score reflects the shift. It sat at 50.9 on September 2, drifted sideways through the week, then jumped to 59.5 on September 8 — the highest reading in the visible history. That's a notable acceleration.
The re-entry follows a second wave of analyst reductions. BMO Capital initiated coverage today with an Underperform rating and a $70 price target. That sits 32% below the current price of $103.19.
The post-earnings cuts earlier this week were sweeping. Ten firms lowered their targets on September 4 alone. BNP Paribas slashed from $88 to $44. Piper Sandler went from $110 to $80. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Barclays all reduced targets to the $83–$95 range. The consensus mean now sits at $106.87 — barely above spot, with a cluster of targets well below it.
The cost to borrow has doubled in a week. It now stands at 0.51%, up 105% from last Tuesday's level.
More telling is the pace of availability compression. One week ago, availability sat at 655% — roughly 6.5 shares available for every one already borrowed, a loose lending market. As of September 8, it has dropped to 297%. That is still adequate supply, but the direction is sharp and fast. If short interest continues to grow at the current rate, availability will tighten further.
Dennis J. Wilson filed a Schedule 13D/A on September 3, disclosing an 8.6% stake — up from 8.4% in his previous filing. As a 13D filer, Wilson is classified as an activist holder. His position represents a structural counterweight to the growing short book. As with all 13D/G disclosures, his stake is as last reported and subject to change without further filing unless he crosses the 5% threshold again.
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