DJT heads into the final stretch of the week having shed nearly 5% over five sessions to close at $8.93 — but the more interesting tension is not in the price, it's in the structural divergence between a short base that has grown sharply over the past month and options sentiment that has swung decidedly bullish.
Short sellers have been rebuilding positions in size. Short interest now accounts for just over 9% of the free float — up from around 6.1% in late April, a jump that represents roughly a 45% increase in the short base over a two-week window. That move is the standout story. The prior level around 6–6.5% had been relatively stable through most of April; the snap higher to 9%+ is a meaningful step-change, not gradual drift. The official FINRA fortnightly figure (settlement date April 15) confirmed 14.5 million shares short, broadly consistent with the ORTEX daily estimate of 14.6 million. Days to cover runs near 4.7, which means shorts face a meaningful unwind if a catalyst forces the issue.
The lending market is tight but not extreme. Availability — shares still available to borrow relative to shares already borrowed — has fluctuated between roughly 44% and 72% across the past month. The tightest reading in the window was 44% in early May and again in mid-April, indicating roughly one share available for every two already lent out. Cost to borrow, however, tells a far less dramatic story: at 0.75% annualised, it is near the low end of its 30-day range (which peaked above 1.2% at the start of April) and trivially inexpensive by any standard. That combination — tight availability, low cost — suggests the short book is well-established and stable rather than under active squeeze pressure.
Options positioning is the clearest counterweight. The put/call ratio has dropped to 0.78, more than one standard deviation below its 20-day average of 0.87. That is the most call-tilted the options market has been relative to recent norms, sitting close to the 52-week low of 0.61 and well removed from the 1.33–1.43 range that prevailed in late March and early April. Participants are buying calls, not puts. The swing is notable given that short interest has simultaneously risen: bears are adding to structural short positions while options traders are leaning into upside. These two signals are pointing in opposite directions, and that tension is worth tracking.
Insider activity is now several weeks stale but still worth flagging for context. In early March, the CEO, CFO, CTO, and general counsel all sold shares on the same day — collectively offloading around $790,000 worth at prices just under $11. A comparable coordinated sell from the same four executives occurred in November 2025 at prices around $12. In both cases the trades were small as a percentage of the company, and both clusters followed rule-based plans. Still, the pattern of repeated same-day executive sales across multiple insiders is unusual and aligns with the price erosion seen since. Donald Trump remains the dominant holder at 41.5% of shares. Among institutional owners, State Street and Charles Schwab have added materially in recent months, while UBS trimmed its position.
Peers are sending mixed signals. RUM — the closest correlated peer — surged 11.4% on the day and 13.4% on the week, a sharp move that DJT conspicuously did not follow. RDDT fell nearly 5% on the day and over 6% for the week. With next earnings confirmed for July 31, the gap between rising short interest, cheap borrow, and bullish options skew makes the weeks ahead a study in which camp is reading the setup correctly.
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