SES AI sees coordinated C-suite selling through April while short interest hovers near 4% of float. Cost to borrow more than doubled in a month. Analysts cut target, citing weak commodity demand.
SES closed at $1.16 on April 24, down 4.9% on the day. The stock fell 4.1% over the past week but remains up 10.5% over the trailing month. Shares trade near the low end of their recent range as the company approaches its May 6 earnings event.
Short interest sits at 13.83 million shares, or 4.31% of float, as of April 23. The position ticked down 1.3% in the latest session but rose 2.3% over the past week. From a month-ago baseline, shorts have trimmed 2.9% of their exposure. The figure peaked at 14.56 million shares on March 23.
Cost to borrow stood at 0.68% on April 23, up 7.3% week-over-week. The more striking move: CTB surged 141% over the past 30 days. The fee reached 0.76% on April 22, the highest level in the trailing month. Borrow was as low as 0.28% on March 25.
Utilisation reached 39.65% on April 23, well below its 52-week high of 99.12%. The metric jumped from 27.92% on April 15 to 42.84% by April 17, then eased. Last year's peak suggests shares can become scarce when short demand spikes.
The put/call ratio hit 0.17 on April 24, elevated versus the 20-day mean of 0.13. The z-score of 1.44 signals a modest lean toward put buying relative to recent patterns. PCR ranged from 0.11 to 0.19 over the past month, with a 52-week high of 0.48 and a low of 0.06. Current sentiment tilts defensive but remains within normal bounds.
The mean price target stands at $2.65, though the snapshot carries a staleness warning at 50 days old. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Derek Soderberg raised his target to $4.00 from $2.00 in November 2025 while maintaining an Overweight rating. Wolfe Research assigned an Underperform rating at a $1.00 target in September 2024. Deutsche Bank reinstated coverage in September 2024 with a Hold and $1.50 target.
The bear case highlights downward EBITDA and free cash flow guidance, compressed energy infrastructure margins, and a 12% revenue drop in specialty chemicals tied to weaker drilling activity. The bull case points to pipeline volume growth, a 37% EBITDA margin, and upcoming project commissions. Benzinga attributed these views to the analyst community on April 17.
Price-to-earnings sat at –12.49 as of October 2025 data, improving 1.63 points over the trailing week and 4.55 points worse over 30 days. Price-to-book reached 1.71, down 0.24 over the past week and up 0.58 over the month. EV/EBITDA came in at –5.79, reflecting negative EBITDA.
The stock ranks in the 94th percentile for EPS surprise and the 70th percentile for sector score. Short score rank sits at the 14th percentile, while utilisation ranks 17th and days-to-cover 31st. Analyst recommendation differential landed at the 49th percentile. Dividend score registers in the 24th percentile.
Founder and CEO Qichao Hu holds 41.69 million shares (11.37% of the company), up 714,827 shares as of March 27. Vertex One Asset Management controls 29.36 million shares (8.01%) with no recent change. Tianqi Lithium trimmed its stake by 5.6 million shares to 22.14 million (6.04%) as of December 31.
Invesco Capital Management added 5.79 million shares to reach 6.81 million (1.86%). Two Sigma Investments grew its position by 3.35 million to 5.24 million shares (1.43%). UBS Asset Management increased holdings by 3.09 million shares to 3.42 million (0.93%). Temasek Holdings cut 9.52 million shares, leaving 3.16 million (0.86%).
BlackRock added 975,569 shares to 5.48 million (1.49%) as of March 31. State Street lifted its stake by 1.73 million shares to 2.89 million (0.79%) in the same quarter.
Executives sold a net $2.60 million worth of stock over 90 days through April 14, totaling 1.68 million shares. Founder and CEO Qichao Hu sold 133,303 shares at $1.10 on April 14 for $146,633 and another 310,446 shares at $0.99 on March 27 for $306,503. CFO Jing Nealis sold 36,145 shares at $1.10 on April 14 ($39,760) and 163,968 shares at $0.99 on March 27 ($161,886).
Chief Scientific Officer Hong Gan disposed of 32,138 shares at $1.10 on April 14 ($35,352) and 74,682 shares at $0.99 on March 27 ($73,734). Chief Legal Officer Kyle Pilkington sold 25,185 shares at $1.10 on April 14 ($27,704) and 60,452 shares at $0.99 on March 27 ($59,684). CTO Kang Xu sold 39,593 shares at $0.99 on March 27 ($39,090). Pilkington also sold 25,000 shares at $1.20 on March 9 for $30,000.
SES AI reports earnings on May 6 at 8:00 PM UTC. The company held its most recent earnings event on April 24. Prior announcements occurred on April 23 and March 4. The print will offer updated guidance and commentary on project timelines, a key theme in the bullish analyst narrative.
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