The lending storm that gripped FPX for two weeks has broken sharply. Borrowed shares fell 36% in a single day on September 24. Availability jumped to 451% — its loosest reading since early September. Yet options traders haven't flinched. The put/call ratio remains pinned at its 52-week low.
Two previous reports tracked a rapid tightening: availability collapsed from above 2,000% in mid-August to a low of 210% by September 18. The borrow market looked stressed.
Then it snapped back.
On September 24, short shares fell from ~25,300 to ~16,100 — a 36% single-day drop. Availability rose from 268% to 451% in 24 hours. Cost to borrow, which peaked at 3.55% on September 22, has retreated to 1.67%.
The ORTEX short score confirms the shift. It stood at 46.7 across the September 17–22 period. It dropped to 39.7 on September 24 — a meaningful reset, though still above pre-stress levels from August.
The September 23 report noted a 63-to-1 call-to-put ratio at a 52-week PCR low of 0.0159. That reading has not budged.
The PCR sat at 0.0159 again on September 24 and September 25. The 20-day mean is 0.196. The z-score stands at -1.73. Before September 21, the PCR had held near 0.25 for weeks. Options traders shifted decisively — and have not shifted back.
The ETF closed at $179.58 on September 25, down slightly from the $182.77 close on September 22 when the PCR first broke to its current level.
The contrast is the story here. The lending market has moved from stress to relative calm in days. Short sellers reduced positions sharply. Availability is back in comfortable territory.
Options traders are ignoring it. Call dominance at the 52-week extreme is holding firm regardless of the borrow unwind. The 20-day PCR average of 0.196 shows how far current positioning sits from what had been the norm.
Whether the borrow spike was a hedging episode that has now been unwound — or the first leg of something larger that options traders are positioning around — is the question worth watching.
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
Open FPX 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.
