Artisan Partners Asset Management enters its Q1 2026 results today having just watched a meaningful chunk of short pressure evaporate — a notable reversal that reshapes the risk-reward framing heading into the release.
Short sellers pulled back sharply. Short Interest as a % of Free Float dropped from roughly 8.5% in mid-April to 6.7% now — a fall of more than 20% over the past week. The ORTEX short score retreated in tandem, sliding from around 59.7 at its recent peak to 53.7, reflecting the easing of bearish conviction. Borrow costs remain negligible at 0.40% and have fallen around 15% over the past week, suggesting no fresh squeeze pressure in the lending market. Availability is ample, with utilisation comfortably below its 52-week high of 18.55%.
Options positioning is slightly elevated but hardly alarming. The put/call ratio ticked up to 0.844 on Tuesday, a touch above its 20-day average of 0.82 — roughly 0.7 standard deviations above the mean and well below the 52-week high of 0.87 recorded in early April. That modest defensive skew implies investors have taken out some insurance, but the positioning picture is far from crowded on either side.
The analyst debate reflects genuine disagreement about the trajectory of flows. Goldman Sachs maintained its Sell rating in early April and cut its target to $34, while Evercore ISI held its In-Line rating but also trimmed to $37 — both citing pressure on AUM and fee revenue against a backdrop of net outflows. The bear case is tangible: Q4 net outflows of $1.86 billion, driven by separate account redemptions, raised questions about whether the flow drag is structural or cyclical. Bulls counter with the company's push into credit-oriented and alternative-like strategies, which carry better fee dynamics, plus a forward dividend yield running close to 10% — a factor score ranking in the 93rd percentile for dividend quality. The mean analyst target of $39 sits modestly above the current $37.83 price, suggesting the Street sees limited but positive return potential.
The print arrives with peers broadly finding firmer ground. LAZ added 4.2% on Tuesday and TROW gained 2.3%, while APAM slipped 0.8% — a mild underperformance on a day when asset managers were broadly bid. The earnings release is ultimately a test of whether Q1 flows showed any improvement from Q4's outflow shock, and whether the company's pivot toward alternative strategies is translating into real AUM diversification at a margin profile that justifies a near-10x earnings multiple.
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
Open APAM 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.
