ADI Options Market Hits 52-Week Bullish Extreme

Options traders have rarely been this bullish on ADI. The put-call ratio hit 0.51 on September 11 — the lowest in 52 weeks — with a z-score of -1.92 against the 20-day mean of 0.72. That's a decisive break from a range that held above 0.67 as recently as September 8.

The shift is stark. Through most of August, ADI's PCR sat between 0.83 and 0.98, reflecting cautious positioning ahead of earnings. The stock posted a muted -1.7% move on August 19 results. Since then, call buyers have taken over — the PCR has collapsed in a straight line over the past four sessions.

Analysts Piled In Post-Earnings

The options move didn't happen in isolation. After August 19 results, Wall Street analysts clustered on the buy side. Bernstein's Stacy Rasgon upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform, raising his target from $430 to $465. JP Morgan's Harlan Sur raised to $500 from $450 (Overweight). Morgan Stanley went to $458 from $428. Seaport Global upgraded to Buy. Baird's Tristan Gerra made the most aggressive move — lifting his target to $675 from $450, an Outperform reiteration.

The consensus sits at Buy. The mean price target is $471. ADI closed at $378.78 on September 11, implying roughly 24% upside to the consensus.

Short Sellers Adjusting, Not Retreating

Short interest climbed 12% week-over-week to 1.8% of free float — a notable one-week move, but still 18% below the August peak. That peak, around 10.8 million shares short in early August, has been steadily unwound as the stock rallied +4.6% over the past week.

The borrow market remains extremely loose. Availability sits at roughly 9,999% — there are more than 483 million shares available to lend against fewer than 9 million currently shorted. Cost to borrow rose 69% week-over-week to 0.53%, but in absolute terms that remains a very low rate. The CTB spike reflects small position adjustments, not a tightening lending market.

The ORTEX short score sits at 30.4 — low, and stable. It has moved fewer than one point over the past two weeks.

Institutional and Insider Context

BlackRock added 3.7 million shares as of August 31, lifting its stake to 9.67% of shares. Van Eck added 1.67 million shares over the same period. FMR added 1.1 million shares.

Insider activity runs the other way. Director Ray Stata sold approximately $515,000 of stock across September 8–9 under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan. Those are scheduled, programmatic sales — not discretionary signals.

Data Summary

• PCR: 0.51 (52-week low); 20-day mean 0.72; z-score -1.92
• SI % of free float: 1.80%, up 12% week-over-week, down 18% from August peak
• Cost to borrow: 0.53%, up 69% week-over-week; borrow availability remains extremely loose
• Analyst consensus: Buy; mean price target $471 (c.24% above last close of $378.78)
• Notable analyst action: Baird raised target to $675; Bernstein upgraded; JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley both raised targets
• BlackRock: added 3.75 million shares (as of Aug 31)
• Next earnings: November 25, 2026