Bristow Group reports first-quarter results today against a backdrop defined less by short positioning than by a cluster of insider selling that ran through March — and a stock that has rallied roughly 7.5% since those sales cleared.
The insider activity is the clearest signal heading into today's print. CEO Christopher Bradshaw sold just over $3.3 million worth of shares across two tranches in early and late March, with CFO Jennifer Whalen adding a further $687,000 in sales on the same March 10 date. COO Alan Corbett and division COO Stuart Stavley also sold on the same day. The coordinated nature of the March 10 cluster — five executives selling simultaneously at around $46.71 — stands out, even allowing for routine vesting-related disposals. Net insider activity over the past 90 days amounts to approximately $8.4 million in net sales across roughly 182,000 shares. The stock has since climbed to $48.90, meaning those sales were executed below the current price.
The short interest and options picture is notably calm by contrast. Short interest runs at just 2.4% of the free float — a modest level that has actually eased roughly 1.3% over the past month after a brief spike around April 13–17. Borrow availability remains very loose, with a cost to borrow of just 0.42% annually and availability well above any threshold that would suggest squeeze pressure. Options positioning is broadly neutral: the put/call ratio is 0.51, barely half a standard deviation above its 20-day average of 0.48, and well within the year's range of 0.20 to 0.90. Neither the lending market nor the options market is pricing in meaningful directional conviction ahead of the release.
Analyst sentiment has been constructive in recent months. Evercore ISI lifted its target to $56 following the February print, and Raymond James initiated with Outperform at $60 in mid-February — both actions taken after the prior quarterly results. The consensus mean target of around $60.70 implies roughly 24% upside to the current price, though the most recent changes date from late February and the consensus has not been updated since early March. Valuation looks undemanding on the available multiples: the stock trades at roughly 8.6x trailing earnings and 6.4x EV/EBITDA, with the EV/EBITDA multiple having compressed modestly over the past 30 days. Peers SLB, BKR, and NOV were broadly flat to slightly down on the week, leaving Bristow's modest 0.4% weekly decline roughly in line with the oilfield services group.
Today's print will test whether Bristow's operational execution — and any commentary on contract pipeline and offshore aviation demand — can justify the 7–8% re-rating since management chose to reduce its own exposure at $46.
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