FDX: Three ORTEX Signals Fire Simultaneously

Why this matters — Three distinct ORTEX data streams — short interest, cost to borrow, and options sentiment — have aligned on FDX within days of each other. Short interest spiked sharply after weeks of retreat, borrow costs jumped, and put/call activity hit a multi-week extreme, creating an unusually mixed signal picture on the logistics giant.

Converging Signals

Short interest surge. After a sustained decline from a December 2025 peak of ~4.15 million shares, FDX short interest reversed sharply on April 24. Shares short jumped 29.2% in a single session to 3.16 million — a 24% gain on the week. SI as a percentage of float climbed to 1.34%. The one-month change remains negative at -3.4%, but the single-day move is the most aggressive re-entry by short sellers in months.

Cost to borrow rising. CTB hit 0.39% on April 24 — up 59% over the prior week. That's a notable acceleration from the 0.24% low seen April 17. Absolute levels remain low, but the rate of change signals tightening borrow conditions as new short demand builds. Utilisation sits at just 0.1%, well below the 52-week high of 2.7%.

Options sentiment shifting. The put/call ratio stands at 1.28 as of April 24, sitting 1.77 standard deviations below its 20-day mean of 1.44. That's the most bullish options reading in several weeks. The PCR had been trending lower from a high of 1.61 over the past year. Bears in the options market have pulled back even as short sellers re-entered the stock.