Options traders just flashed the most bearish signal on record for RBOT. Yet short sellers are heading for the exits. The divergence on Vicarious Surgical makes this one worth watching ahead of a May 11 earnings call.
The put-call ratio hit 0.0454 — 4.4 standard deviations above its 20-day mean of 0.0134. That is the highest bearish options signal in the stock's recent history. The 52-week PCR high is 0.1974, so absolute levels remain low. But the relative move is striking. Someone bought puts, and they bought a lot of them relative to normal activity.
This matters because options positioning often front-runs a directional view. With earnings due on May 11, the put activity could reflect hedging ahead of what has historically been a volatile event. The last four earnings moves: +13%, +71%, +1%, and –24% over one day. The five-day moves are even wilder — including a +233% surge in March and a –39% collapse in November.
Short interest fell 26.9% in the past week to just 0.92% of free float — the lowest since March. At under 1% of float, short positioning is minimal. This is not a crowded short. The rapid exit suggests those who were short either covered into the recent weakness or lost conviction.
The stock itself is down 16.9% over the past week and 22.5% over the past month. The price is now $0.55.
The cost to borrow jumped 52% in one week to 2.57%. That is an unusual combination: fewer shares short, but a higher price to borrow them. The lending market has loosened considerably — availability is ample. The 52-week utilization peak was 84.84%; it now sits at 14.72%, meaning the borrow pool has plenty of room.
The CTB spike with declining SI could reflect repositioning by a small number of active borrowers, or lenders repricing a volatile name ahead of its catalyst.
Several institutional holders cut positions in recent filings. Innovation Endeavors sold 237,966 shares. Adam Sachs, the Founder and President, trimmed 373,200 shares as recently as February. Barry Greene reduced by 129,493 shares. Armistice Capital, by contrast, initiated a position of 605,443 shares — the single largest new entry among top holders.
The ORTEX short score has dropped from 40.0 on April 24 to 34.4 today, moving in the same direction as short interest — lower.
The May 11 earnings event is the clearest near-term catalyst. Given the stock's history of large single-day moves and the current spike in options put activity, the options market appears to be pricing in downside risk ahead of that date.
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
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