Edited by Peter Hillerberg1 min readStories are generated from ORTEX data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. How we publish
Options traders are positioning defensively into one of the busiest earnings weeks of the year. Banks, healthcare and retail names are all seeing elevated activity ahead of results from JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and UnitedHealth Group.
UNH sits at just 1.8% short interest as a percentage of free float. Options bears appear scarce there for now. That could change fast. The health insurer reports this week and carries analyst upside of 26.7%.
The clearest bearish signal sits in Chewy, which ORTEX data flagged in a "bears doubling down" note overnight. Short interest stands at a striking 87.3% of free float. Days to cover is 3.1. The stock is down 43% year-to-date. Availability remains high at 473%, meaning shorts are not yet squeezed on borrow.
Medtronic also drew fresh bearish attention. Short interest is 10.1% of free float. Cost to borrow is modest at 0.65%, suggesting the position is cheap to hold.
On the other side of the ledger, General Motors reports on 20 October. German new car registrations data, a dataset ORTEX measures as a revenue leading indicator with a 15-day lead, is running 133% above the same quarter last year for three consecutive months. That is an unusually strong reading ahead of the print.
The MSCI November ranking cut-off lands on 19 October. Moderna sits 75% above the MSCI North America entry line, with an 81% probability of re-addition. That would force $3.3 billion of tracker buying on 30 November.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
