Options traders turn bullish on IRM as shorts pile in

Why this matters: Iron Mountain is sending mixed signals. Short sellers added positions at the fastest pace in months last week. At the same time, options traders are the most bullish they've been in three months. The borrow market remains wide open, so the short build faces no friction — but it is running against a tide of analyst confidence and call-side options demand.

Shorts build, but the borrow pool is vast

Short interest jumped 18.7% in a single day on Sept. 24, reaching 8.01 million shares. That puts SI at 2.71% of free float — a low absolute level, but the fastest weekly rise in recent months at +21.7%.

Cost to borrow sits at just 0.37%. Availability stands at 7,636% of short interest. There are roughly 233 million shares available to lend against 8 million already borrowed. Shorts face no supply constraint whatsoever. The build reflects a bearish view, not a squeeze in the lending market.

The stock has fallen 7.9% over the past month, closing at $111.38 on Sept. 25.

Options market disagrees with the bears

The put-call ratio dropped to 1.53 on Sept. 25. That is the lowest reading in three months. The 20-day mean PCR sits at 1.92. The z-score of –2.96 places the current reading nearly three standard deviations below recent norms. The 52-week PCR range is 0.60–2.42.

Calls have surged relative to puts. Options traders are positioned for a rebound, directly contradicting the short sellers who added last week.

Analysts hold firm above $130

Rothschild & Co initiated coverage on Sept. 21 with a Buy and a $132 target. That came days after Barclays raised its target to $144 while maintaining Overweight. Truist Securities raised its target to $155 on Aug. 27. The consensus is Buy, with a mean price target of $144.91 — roughly 30% above the current price.

The analyst recommendation divergence factor scores at the 100th percentile. No sell ratings are visible in the consensus.

All recent insider sales were executed under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. CEO William Meaney sold shares on Sept. 1 under a scheduled plan — not a discretionary signal.

Data summary

• SI % of Free Float: 2.71% (Sept. 24), up 18.7% in one day, up 21.7% in one week
• Shares short: 8.01 million
• Availability: 7,636% of short interest — 233M shares available to borrow
• Cost to borrow: 0.37%
• Put-call ratio: 1.53 (PCR z-score: –2.96; 3-month low)
• Analyst consensus: Buy | Mean target $144.91 | 7 buys
• Recent initiations/raises: Rothschild (Buy, $132), Barclays (Overweight, $144), Truist (Buy, $155)
• Next earnings: Nov. 5, 2026