AIPI Options Shift as ETF Settles Into Calmer Waters

Options positioning on AIPI has turned notably more defensive this week — a sharp pivot from the near-total call dominance that defined April.

The clearest signal is in the put/call ratio. It jumped to 0.44 on Tuesday, more than double its 20-day average of 0.22, putting it roughly 2.5 standard deviations above the recent mean. That is the most elevated defensive options reading for this ETF since volatility peaked in early April. The shift is abrupt. For most of the past month, the PCR sat between 0.14 and 0.24 — investors were almost exclusively positioned for upside. The move to 0.44 over two sessions suggests at least some holders are now buying protection at the $36 level.

The broader lending market tells a quieter story. Short interest on AIPI remains trivial — just 0.31% of the float — though it did jump about 17% week-on-week in share terms. That is more noise than signal given the absolute level. Borrow availability is extremely loose, with the lending pool far from stressed. Cost to borrow is a modest 1.57% annualised, down roughly 24% on the week, and well below the peaks above 2.1% seen in mid-April. The 52-week availability high of 74% (measured by utilization hitting that peak last March) has long since passed; current utilization is under 2%, confirming there is no squeeze pressure in the lending market at all.

The ETF's score profile reflects the same calm. ORTEX's short score has eased to 26.1 from a peak of 36.7 on April 22, falling steadily as the volatility event of mid-to-late April unwound. The combined score of 26.3 sits in low-conviction territory — neither a high-conviction short nor a high-conviction squeeze candidate. The short score spike around April 22–23, when shares borrowed briefly surged past 50,000 and utilization touched 24%, has now fully reversed. Shorts have covered. The ETF has reclaimed those losses.

The income angle is the real story for holders of this fund. AIPI has paid roughly $1.02–$1.05 per share in monthly cash dividends across each of the last three distribution dates — February, March and April — against a price of $36.19. That implies an annualised distribution running close to 35%, financed through the AI equity premium-income strategy. The ETF is up 1.6% on the week and nearly 5.8% over the past month, meaning total-return holders have been rewarded on both the distribution and the NAV fronts recently.

What to watch: the options shift toward more balanced positioning — after months of almost pure call flow — is the most notable development this week. Whether that reflects profit-taking on accumulated call positions, hedging against the next distribution event, or a broader reset in AI-sector sentiment is the question worth tracking into next week.