Why this matters — Three distinct ORTEX data streams — short interest, cost to borrow, and options sentiment — have simultaneously shifted on IHRT within a narrow window. The alignment follows a 35% single-day price spike, making the convergence especially notable.
Short Interest — SI % FF fell 13.6% in a single day to 3.21% of free float on April 24. Over the past month, short interest has dropped 36.1%. The move coincides directly with the 35% stock surge. Short sellers covered positions rapidly as the stock rebounded from depressed levels.
Cost to Borrow — CTB jumped 92% week-on-week as of April 17, rising from 0.40% to 0.56% by April 24. The week-on-week change stands at +41%. This suggests it became meaningfully more expensive to maintain or initiate short positions as the stock moved.
Options Sentiment — The put-call ratio dropped to 1.25, down 39% from its 20-day average of 2.07. The PCR Z-score hit -1.79, marking the lowest options reading in recent weeks. Call activity surged relative to puts. Over the prior 30 days, the PCR had consistently held above 2.20 — the shift is sharp and clear.
CEO Robert Pittman bought shares twice in March — 16,349 shares on March 9 and 32,468 shares on March 5 — at prices of $2.97 and $3.25 respectively. Those purchases came when the stock traded well below the current $5.42 level. The current price has already exceeded Goldman Sachs' January downgrade target of $3.50. Guggenheim maintains a Buy rating with a $4.50 target — the stock now trades above that level. The mean analyst price target across coverage stands at $3.13. Earnings are scheduled for May 11.
Earlier short interest history shows SI had been running above 6.3 million shares in late March before declining steadily into April. The April 24 single-day cover was the sharpest drop in the 30-day window tracked by ORTEX, suggesting the price surge triggered an acute short-covering event.
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Open IHRT 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.
