Short interest in USAR jumped to 25.4% of free float as of September 10 — up 13.2% in a single week — while the stock shed another 9.3% over the same period.
The data now shows a meaningful escalation since the previous note on September 2, when short interest sat near 22% of float. Bears have added shares at an accelerating pace even as the stock slides.
The lending market has been unusually choppy. Availability swung between extremes repeatedly over the past two weeks. On September 4, 7, and 9, availability dropped to near 2% — effectively every share in the lending pool already lent out. As of September 10, availability has loosened to 15.99%, though that still sits in very tight territory by any normal measure.
The 52-week minimum availability was 0.14%. The stock's borrow rank sits at the 5th percentile across the universe — meaning nearly every other stock has more freely available borrow supply.
Cost to borrow, by contrast, remains low at 0.73% annualised. That disconnect — tight availability alongside cheap borrow — reflects structural positioning rather than a panic squeeze. Shorts appear entrenched, not desperate.
The short build puts bears in direct conflict with eight buy-rated analysts. The consensus mean target is $35.56. The stock closed September 10 at $16.04 — implying more than 100% upside on the Street's numbers.
That gap has widened as the stock fell. Jefferies initiated on September 2 with a Buy and a $21 target. Even that relatively cautious number is now 31% above the current price. Needham and Roth Capital both cut targets in late July — from $39 to $33 and $40 to $30 respectively — but both maintained Buy ratings.
The ORTEX short score stands at 68.2, near its recent high, and has ticked up every session since September 1. The analyst recommendation factor score ranks at the 95th percentile — one of the most bullishly rated stocks in the database. Those two readings are pulling in opposite directions.
BlackRock and State Street both added shares in August — 1.47 million and 1.46 million respectively, per last-reported data. T. Rowe Price added 6.2 million shares as of June 30. Those are meaningful additions for a stock of this size.
On the activist side, Gutnick Mordechai Zev holds a Schedule 13D stake of approximately 6.8% as last disclosed. Michael Blitzer's 13D position declined from 7.1% to 5.8% in the most recent amendment filed September 2025. Both stakes are as-of last disclosure and could have changed since.
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Open USAR on ORTEX →ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
