Hut 8 Bears Dig In, Options Confirm the Turn

Short interest in HUT reached 18.7% of the free float on November 12, up 12.6% over the past week. That weekly move sits roughly 2.0 standard deviations above HUT's typical weekly change, and the position is now at its highest level in at least a year.

Three Signals, Same Direction

Short interest, options positioning, and analyst target prices are all pointing the same way since the Q3 earnings print on November 4.

The options market registered a put/call ratio of 0.47 on November 12, against a 20-day mean of 0.40. That 2.0 standard-deviation reading marks a sharp shift from two weeks ago, when the PCR sat at 0.35 and was running 1.5 standard deviations below the same mean. Options traders have swung from leaning long to building downside protection in a matter of days.

Analysts have been equally direct. Eight separate firms cut price targets in the nine days following earnings. Morgan Stanley lowered its target from $275 to $184 on November 9 while keeping an Overweight rating. Jefferies moved from $90 to $81 on November 10, still at Buy. The mean target now stands at $128, against a closing price of $61.98 on November 12. The gap is wide, but the direction of analyst revisions is unambiguous: every firm that published a note since the print took their target lower. No upgrades.

The bear case is grounded in the Q3 numbers. Revenue of $71.1M fell 15% year-on-year and missed expectations. Revenue per bitcoin mined dropped to roughly $71,087 from $114,121 a year earlier. Net income looked strong at $189.5M, but that figure included $413.8M of mostly unrealized digital asset gains.

Availability Is Not the Story

The lending market has not tightened to match the growing short position. Availability stands at 517.6%, up sharply from 365% a week ago. For every share already borrowed short, more than five remain available to borrow. Cost to borrow is 0.55%, up 7.8% over the week but low in absolute terms. There is no mechanical friction on the short side.

Where HUT Stands Against Peers

The stock gained 34.9% over the past week. That outpaces the median of its closest peers: CIFR added 28.8%, WULF 29.4%, MARA 22.6% and RIOT 20.8%. HUT's one-week gain is the strongest in the group, yet shorts have continued to add rather than cover into the rally.

Retail attention is elevated too. Wikipedia views and ORTEX page traffic put the attention z-score at 2.5 as of mid-October, well above the company's own 90-day history. That kind of retail engagement alongside a rising short position has historically made for a volatile mix in crypto-linked names.

What to Watch

The ORTEX short score sits at 56.8, slightly below its recent high of 59.4 from November 5. The next scheduled earnings date is February 25, 2027. Between now and then, the level to track is whether short interest pushes through 20% of the free float. It is at 20.2 million shares now. A further leg higher would put it in territory that changes the character of the trade.

---

Data summary

• SI % of free float: 18.7%, 12-month high, +12.6% over one week
• Week-on-week SI change: approximately 2.0 standard deviations above typical
• Put/call ratio: 0.47, +2.0 standard deviations above 20-day mean
• Availability: 517.6% (loosened from 365% one week ago)
• Cost to borrow: 0.55%
• Analyst targets cut post-earnings: 8 firms, no upgrades
• Mean analyst price target: $128.04 vs. close of $61.98
• Next earnings: February 25, 2027