Perrigo shorts grind higher with earnings due Thursday

Short sellers have continued adding to an already heavy position in PRGO, with short interest climbing nearly 1% over the past week to reach 17.8% of the free float, the latest reading in a steady build that has added roughly 9% to the short position over the past month.

The position has grown methodically. At the start of October, around 22.5 million shares were short. That figure has crept to 24.5 million, adding approximately 2 million shares across five weeks without any sharp daily move in either direction. The FINRA fortnightly settlement figure, with a mid-October reference date, puts short shares at 24.2 million, consistent with the daily estimate series. Days to cover, based on that official figure, run at just over nine, meaning it would take shorts more than a fortnight of normal trading volume to exit. The ORTEX short score of 73.3 ranks the stock in the 8th percentile for short positioning across the market, confirming the bearish overhang is both large and persistent.

The borrow market, however, tells a more relaxed story than the headline short interest implies. Availability runs at 189%, meaning nearly twice as many shares remain available to lend as are currently borrowed. That is well inside the comfortable range and close to its own 52-week best reading of 237%. The cost to borrow has edged up 18% over the week to 0.63%, but in absolute terms that remains a low rate. Shorts can build or exit without meaningful friction. Options positioning leans defensively: the put/call ratio of 1.12 is above its 20-day average of 0.89, though the z-score of 0.84 is not extreme. The PCR hit its 52-week high of 1.14 during late October, and has held near that level for two weeks, a steady lean toward downside protection rather than a sudden spike.

The timing matters because earnings are scheduled for Thursday, November 6. The last quarterly print, in August, produced a 16% one-day gain and a further 18% over the following week, one of the more violent post-results moves in the stock's recent history. That reaction came after a prolonged period of share-price weakness, and the stock has gained around 10% over the past month, closing at $15.70. Analysts are split but cautiously constructive. Canaccord Genuity raised its target to $19 from $17 on October 30, maintaining its Buy rating. The consensus target runs at $17, modest upside from current levels. JP Morgan, which downgraded the stock to Neutral in November 2025 and later trimmed its target to $18 in December 2025, has not moved since. Valuation looks undemanding: the stock trades at 6.8 times earnings and 0.74 times book, with an EV/EBITDA of 7.4, all of which have drifted slightly lower over the past week.

On the institutional side, BlackRock added substantially to its position, filing a 13G/A in late July showing a stake of 15.2% of shares, up from 11.6%. State Street and Neuberger Berman also hold above 5%. T. Rowe Price, which previously held 6.3% of shares, filed a 13G/A in September disclosing a position of just 0.1%, a near-complete exit. All 13D/G disclosures are event-driven around the 5% threshold, and positions may have changed since filing. The stock fell 2% over the past week, against a median gain of roughly 0.7% for its closest correlated peers including PBH, which rose 4.5% over the same period.

With the quarterly report now hours away, the data to watch is whether the short position begins to move on Thursday's close, and whether the borrow cost, which has been rising quietly for a week, accelerates in either direction after the result.