Bloom Energy Shorts Retreat Ahead of Tuesday Print

Short sellers have pulled back sharply in the past week while analysts rush to raise targets. The stock has surged 58% in the past month, hitting a 52-week high PCR as options traders load up on puts.

Short interest positioning

Short interest stands at 23.7 million shares as of April 23, representing 10.0% of the free float. Shorts have covered aggressively over the past week, with positions down 7.0%. Days to cover sits at 2.16, indicating a relatively quick exit path. Cost to borrow remains low at 0.46%, up 10% over the past week. Utilisation has collapsed to just 2.73%, down from a 52-week high of 64.6%, signaling ample borrow availability and minimal squeeze risk heading into the print.

Options market

The put/call ratio spiked to 1.05 on April 24, marking a new 52-week high. That's a z-score of 2.79 above the 20-day mean of 0.90, indicating unusually heavy put buying. The options market appears positioned for volatility or downside protection after the recent rally, with traders buying puts at the highest rate in a year.

Analyst activity

Recent analyst changes arrived without consensus data, but the average price target sits at $165.96. In the past two weeks, six firms raised targets sharply. Baird's Ben Kallo lifted his target to $242 from $172 on April 22, maintaining Outperform. UBS raised to $251 from $170 the day before, keeping a Buy rating. JP Morgan increased its target to $231 from $166 on April 14. Jefferies upgraded to Hold from Underperform and nearly doubled its target to $187 from $97. Benzinga's bull case notes the company's backlog surged 65% year-over-year to $20 billion, with Q3 revenues beating consensus by 21%. The bear case warns of hydrogen commercialisation risks, potential customer losses, and supply chain constraints that could derail growth targets.

Valuation & factor positioning

The stock trades at a PE of 123.7, up 37.7 over the past 30 days as the stock ran ahead of earnings. Price-to-book sits at 47.7, up 16.5 in the same period. EV/EBITDA stands at 98.1. Factor scores show strength: the stock ranks in the 86th percentile on EPS momentum (30-day), 97th percentile on 90-day EPS momentum, and 98th percentile on analyst recommendation differential, reflecting the recent upgrade wave.

Insider & institutional context

Insiders sold $78.6 million net over the past 90 days, with Chief Legal Officer Shawn Soderberg selling $16.5 million across multiple transactions in March and April. COO Satish Chitoori sold $4.1 million on April 14. Columbia Management leads institutional holders with 10.2% of shares. BlackRock and Vanguard added 3.5 million and 2.9 million shares respectively in Q1 2026.

Historical context

The company last reported on February 5, 2026. Prior prints occurred in February and October 2025.

Active signals

No active ORTEX Alpha signals.