KDP rallied 10.1% this week to $29.22 ahead of Thursday's earnings. Analysts raised targets post‑call. Short interest climbed 20% over the month to 4.37% of float. Options flow turned bullish with PCR at a three‑standard‑deviation low.
KDP closed at $29.22 on April 24, up 2.4% on the day. The stock gained 10.1% over the past week and 11.5% over the month. The rally follows a strong earnings print on April 23 and a wave of analyst upgrades.
Short interest stands at 59.4 million shares, or 4.37% of free float, as of April 23. Shares short rose 20.1% over the past month. The climb accelerated after April 9, when SI jumped from 47.3 million to 56.2 million in one day. SI is now at a 30‑day high — the last comparable level was early March. Days to cover sits at 6.0, reflecting the recent increase.
Cost to borrow is 0.43%, down 6.7% over the week. CTB peaked at 0.56% on April 9, when SI spiked. It has since drifted lower as borrowing demand normalized.
Utilisation hit 8.41% on April 23, a 52‑week high. It climbed from 6.39% on March 30. The prior peak was 8.30% on April 17. Utilisation has been rising steadily since mid‑March, when it sat below 5.5%.
The put/call ratio dropped to 0.45 on April 24, a z‑score of –3.02 relative to the 20‑day mean of 0.64. This is an extreme bullish signal — the PCR is well below the 52‑week low of 0.21. The 20‑day standard deviation is 0.06, meaning the current reading sits three deviations below normal. Options traders are positioning for upside.
The average price target is $33.25, implying 13.8% upside from current levels. UBS analyst Peter Grom raised his target to $34 from $32 on April 24, maintaining a Buy rating. JP Morgan's Andrea Teixeira lifted her Overweight target to $33 from $32 the same day. Evercore ISI's Robert Ottenstein raised to $30 from $28 while keeping an In‑Line rating.
BNP Paribas upgraded KDP to Neutral from Underperform on April 22, assigning a $28 target. Kevin Grundy flipped his stance as the stock approached levels he viewed as fair value.
Earlier in April, several firms cut targets. JP Morgan trimmed to $32 from $36 on April 16. Citigroup lowered to $32 from $37 on April 15. Barclays moved to $28 from $32 on April 14. Wells Fargo dropped to $37 from $40 on April 8. UBS reduced to $32 from $36 on April 7. The cuts followed a softer outlook commentary, but this week's earnings beat reversed sentiment.
Benzinga's bull case highlights 2.1% US coffee retail sales growth in Q4 2025 and 3.1% ready‑to‑drink beverage growth. The bear case cites 5.2x pro‑forma leverage at end‑2026, a 25% drop in brewer shipments in Q3 2025, and downward EPS revisions.
The P/E ratio is 12.10, up 0.86 points over the past month. It rose 0.82 points this week. The EV/EBITDA multiple stands at 8.81, up 0.42 points over 30 days and 0.55 points over the week. The P/B ratio is 1.27, up 0.06 over the month.
KDP ranks in the 98th percentile for dividend score. It sits in the 79th percentile for 90‑day EPS momentum and the 65th percentile for 12‑month forward EPS growth. Earnings yield is in the 35th percentile. The stock ranks in the 26th percentile for ORTEX short score and the 11th percentile for days to cover.
FMR LLC added 14.6 million shares in Q1 2026, bringing its stake to 98.0 million shares (7.2% of shares out). T. Rowe Price added 28.8 million shares to reach 38.0 million (2.8%). Strategic Advisers added 17.5 million shares in Q4 2025, lifting its position to 37.5 million (2.8%). Harris Associates raised its stake by 23.7 million shares to 86.3 million (6.3%) as of year‑end 2025.
BlackRock added 10.7 million shares in Q1 to hold 119.6 million (8.8%). Vanguard added 8.6 million to 161.0 million (11.8%). Wellington added 15.4 million shares as of February 28 to 57.0 million (4.2%).
Morgan Stanley trimmed its position by 0.6 million shares in Q4 2025 to 18.2 million (1.3%).
Insiders sold $1.1 million net over 90 days, representing 38,629 shares. COO Timothy Cofer sold 12,187 shares at $28.05 on March 5 for $342,000. HR Director Mary Beth DeNooyer sold 3,404 shares at $28.05 for $95,000. Chief Legal Officer Anthony Shoemaker and Chief Level Officer Roger Johnson each sold 2,659 shares at $28.05 for $75,000.
Executive Chairman Bob Gamgort received a 14,077‑share award on March 5. Johnson and Shoemaker each received 6,757‑share awards. The sales appear to be routine tax‑related transactions alongside equity grants.
KDP reports earnings on April 30 at 4:30 PM ET. The market will focus on coffee and brewer shipment trends, leverage trajectory, and 2026 guidance.
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
Open KDP on ORTEX →ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
