Spire Global faces significant unwinding pressure. Short interest fell 13% over the past week to 13.0% of float while the stock dropped 15.5%. Cost to borrow swung wildly but remains elevated at 9.6% after a 296% monthly surge. Analysts maintain upside targets, with three recent upgrades pushing mean PT to $17.
SPIR closed at $16.51 on April 24, down 5.9% on the day. The weekly decline of 15.5% erased most of a strong monthly gain of 28.8%. Shares reached as high as $19.54 during the week before reversing sharply. The stock has given back a significant portion of its recent rally, trading near the middle of its recent range.
Short interest dropped to 4.27 million shares, or 13.0% of free float, on April 23. That represents a one-week decline of 13.1%, the fastest unwinding since early March. Shorts covered roughly 451,000 shares over five trading sessions. FINRA's mid-April settlement data showed official short interest at 6.17 million shares with days to cover of 1.66.
Cost to borrow hit 9.6% on April 23, up 296% over the past month. The metric rose from a sub-2% range in late March to a peak above 10% on April 15 before retreating to 6.6% on April 22. Wednesday's reading of 9.6% marked a fresh 30-day high. The volatility reflects intense borrowing pressure during the stock's rally followed by partial normalization.
Utilisation slid to 59.3% from a recent peak of 82.7% on April 13. The current level sits well below the 52-week high of 85.4% reached earlier this year. Utilisation climbed steadily from 57% in late March to above 80% in mid-April before falling sharply as shares came available. The metric remains elevated compared to the sub-60% range that prevailed through most of March.
Put-call ratio registered 0.405 on April 24, near the 52-week low of 0.374. The 20-day mean stands at 0.562 with a standard deviation of 0.185. Current PCR sits 0.85 standard deviations below the mean, indicating moderately elevated call buying. The metric has fallen steadily from above 1.0 in mid-March, when puts outnumbered calls, to the current call-heavy posture. The 52-week high of 1.23 was reached during a period of higher bearish sentiment.
Mean price target stands at $17.00, implying 3% upside from current levels. Canaccord Genuity's Austin Moeller raised his target to $22 from $14 on April 10, maintaining a Buy rating. The firm previously lifted its PT to $14 from $10.50 on March 20, also reaffirming Buy.
Stifel's Erik Rasmussen increased his target to $16 from $14 on March 19, maintaining Buy. HC Wainwright's Scott Buck holds a $19 target after raising it from $14 in January. Alliance Global Partners downgraded to Neutral with a $9 target in December, the most bearish voice in coverage.
Recent analyst activity tilts constructive. Three of the last four revisions were target increases paired with Buy reiterations. The upgrades followed improved operational momentum.
The company trades at a negative P/E of -16.5, reflecting continued losses. Price-to-book stands at 4.0 as of year-end 2024. EV/EBITDA is -26.1, also negative. The P/E ratio improved 4.3 points over the past 30 days as the stock rallied. Earnings yield widened from -0.081 to -0.061 on a 30-day basis, driven by the price move.
SPIR scores in the 88th percentile for EPS surprise, indicating recent beats relative to analyst expectations. Short score ranks in the 4th percentile, confirming the stock sits among the most heavily shorted names. Sector score is 71st percentile. Analyst recommendation differential ranks 48th percentile. Dividend score sits at the 28th percentile despite no dividend history.
CEO Theresa Condor holds 287,207 shares (0.75% of the company) after increasing her stake by 76,299 shares in the most recent report. Founder and Executive Chairman Peter Platzer owns 1.96 million shares (5.1%), up 15,206 shares.
Vanguard added 111,742 shares to reach 1.46 million shares (3.8%) as of March 31. BlackRock increased its position by 31,089 shares to 1.66 million shares (4.3%). Lane Generational added 214,532 shares to 745,217 shares (1.9%) as of year-end. Raymond James boosted its stake by 169,975 shares to 353,592 shares (0.92%). AWM Investment Company increased by 85,492 shares to 418,287 shares (1.09%).
Insiders sold a net 141,035 shares worth $1.26 million over the past 90 days. CEO Condor sold 1,200 shares at $18.31 on April 20 for $21,972. Platzer sold 1,800 shares the same day at the same price for $32,958.
Earlier in April, Condor sold 1,201 shares at $12.86 for $15,445 on March 20. Platzer sold 1,801 shares at $12.86 the same day for $23,161. The largest transactions occurred in February, when Condor sold 41,712 shares at $8.53 for $355,803 and Platzer sold 58,428 shares at $8.53 for $498,391. COO sold 19,134 shares at $8.53 for $163,213, and Chief Level Officer Johann Gabriel Oehme sold 12,757 shares at $8.53 for $108,817.
SPIR reports next earnings on May 27. The ORTEX short score sits at 70.5 on April 23, down from 74.4 on April 15. The score has declined in lockstep with the drop in short interest, reflecting easing short-side pressure as the stock pulls back from recent highs.
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