Bears Retreat From Tech as Earnings Season Sharpens the Short Side

Short sellers had a mixed week ending October 24. Broad covering activity hit mega-cap names, with AAPL short interest falling 32% in five days. Elsewhere, borrow costs spiked on several small-caps and earnings-linked names, signalling fresh pressure building in pockets of the market.

Top Movers

RCBC saw the sharpest build of the week. Short interest surged 43.6% in seven days to 256,175 shares. Borrow costs eased at the same time, falling 19.5% to 2.1%. Covering is not the story here.

DUKU moved fast. Short interest jumped 42% in a single day to 81,113 shares, up 40% over the week. Cost to borrow climbed to 5.27%.

FPX reversed a three-month decline in short interest. Positions climbed 39% over the week to 0.10% of free float. Availability remains ample at 367%, so borrow is not the constraint.

NWCL drew more attention from bears. Short interest rose 21% to 936,613 shares. Cost to borrow jumped to 26.4%, the highest level in a month. That combination points to a tightening borrow market.

AAPL saw a significant unwind. Short interest dropped 32% in five days to 554,149 shares, back near September levels. Cost to borrow eased to 5.92%.

ETRA also saw aggressive covering. Short interest fell 30% to 465,316 shares from 667,966 on October 14. Cost to borrow collapsed from 26% in late September to 7.8%, with availability surging to extreme levels.

XNTK hit its lowest short interest since early October. Positions fell 62.5% in one week to 0.20% of free float.

Sector Themes

The dataset covers a single broad sector classification this week, with 704 pulses across a wide mix of names. Clear sector clustering is harder to isolate, but the earnings calendar drove much of the activity.

Financials saw repeated convergence signals. BOKF, SMBK, HIFS, CNOB, WaFd, HBCP, BHB and ZION all generated signals tied to earnings, with borrow costs and options positioning moving in tandem. ZION's earnings beat flipped options sentiment sharply bullish. WaFd triggered two separate convergence alerts, with short building and extreme hedging demand appearing in the same week.

Energy names also clustered. EOG, HAL, KMI and PCG all generated post-earnings signals. PCG saw cost to borrow triple on earnings day as call buyers dominated the options market. KMI drew multiple analyst target upgrades after a Q3 beat.

Convergence Watch

Earnings season dominated convergence signals this week. Several names saw shorts, options, and analyst actions align simultaneously.

OPKO Health generated two separate convergence alerts. Shorts built at the fastest pace in a year, with the position reinforced the following day as bears held into earnings week.

VRNS produced four convergence signals across the week. Six analysts cut the stock in one day ahead of earnings, yet short sellers kept retreating. Options tilted bullish. By week's end, peers were reported as more crowded.

CMG hit a 52-week extreme in options positioning one week before earnings. TD Cowen cut the stock to Hold. Put-call ratios were at a one-year high.

AMGN saw options turn bullish while borrow costs tripled.

MSCI stood out on the short side. Short positions doubled in a month. Cost to borrow tripled in a single week.

TSLA generated an alert on earnings eve, with retail activity spiking alongside call skew and a borrow cost spike. BNP Paribas flipped to positive on the stock after a Q3 beat.

RGC remained in the convergence list for a second week. Cost to borrow held above 300% as short positions rebuilt.

AAL bears stayed committed after earnings. FedEx bears were building ahead of Tuesday's scheduled print, with retail attention also rising into the release.

Centrus Energy saw shorts pile in as the borrow pool dried up. TEVA moved in the opposite direction, with shorts unwinding as retail attention spiked.