Short interest in PUK has jumped 20% over the past month while options traders pile into bearish positions ahead of Tuesday's earnings. Utilisation hit 97% on April 23, nearing the 52-week high, while cost to borrow remains elevated at 7.8%.
Short interest stands at 1.70 million shares as of April 23, up 20% over the past month and 3.1% in the last day. The surge follows a volatile March that saw utilisation max out at 100% for extended periods. Cost to borrow currently sits at 7.8%, down 6.9% over the past week from recent peaks above 10% but still up 13% month-over-month. Utilisation has pulled back slightly from March's sustained 100% levels to 97.32%, but shares remain scarce. Days to cover from the latest official FINRA report was 1.39 as of April 15.
The put-call ratio spiked to 0.92 on April 24, well above the 20-day mean of 0.36. The z-score of 2.56 signals unusually heavy put activity compared to recent patterns. While the ratio remains well below the 52-week high of 6.23, the current level marks a sharp shift from the sub-0.25 readings that prevailed through most of March and early April. The move suggests hedging or outright bearish positioning ahead of the print.
Analyst coverage data is stale (last updated January 2021). The most recent price target on record is $43.93, implying meaningful upside from the current $30.72 price. Historical changes include Goldman Sachs initiating coverage with a Buy rating in February 2022 and HSBC upgrading to Buy in March 2021. No fresh firm-level moves are available to assess current Wall Street positioning.
The stock trades at a P/E of 16.3 and price-to-book of 3.35 as of late July 2023. The P/B ratio has held steady with minimal 30-day change. Factor scores show strength in dividend quality (84th percentile) and short-term technical measures (short score rank 92nd percentile, DTC rank 93rd percentile). EPS momentum sits in the 35th–57th percentile range over 30 and 90 days, signalling muted earnings estimate revisions into the print.
Insider data is stale; the last trade was a small director purchase in October 2020. BlackRock holds 8.5% of shares and added 34.6 million shares as of April 1, the largest recent position change among top holders. Vanguard, Norges Bank, and Dodge & Cox also maintain sizable stakes with minimal recent movement.
Prudential last reported on March 18, 2026. Prior earnings dates were clustered in mid-to-late March. The stock is up 6.4% over the past month and rose 1.2% on April 24, suggesting some pre-earnings optimism despite elevated bearish positioning.
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