APYX shares surged 31.5% last week after a post-earnings move of over 25%. Now three distinct signals are converging — and the cost of borrowing the stock tells the most interesting story.
Apyx Medical reported on May 7. The stock jumped 25.7% in a single session. That kind of move reshuffles the deck for short sellers. Those who were short ahead of the print faced an ugly week.
The aftermath shows up directly in the borrow market.
Cost to borrow APYX stood at roughly 0.50% for most of April. By May 13 it had reached 4.10%. That is a 278% rise week-on-week and a 726% rise over the past month.
The spike peaked at 5.07% on May 12 — the highest level in the data window. It has since eased slightly, but remains far above the pre-earnings baseline.
Availability remains ample. The borrow market is not tight in absolute terms — plenty of shares exist to lend. The jump in cost reflects elevated demand rather than a structural shortage. Short sellers who stayed in are paying significantly more to hold their positions.
The put/call ratio hit 0.42 on May 13. That is more than double the 20-day mean of 0.17. The PCR z-score sits at 1.50 — elevated but not extreme.
The trend is the notable part. Through most of April the PCR stayed below 0.07. It crossed 0.41 on May 6 and has barely moved since. Calls are dominating options activity. That shift coincides precisely with the earnings catalyst.
Three analysts cover APYX, all with Buy ratings. The consensus price target is $6.50. With the stock at $3.84, that implies 69% upside to the average target.
Craig-Hallum raised its target to $6.00 in March. BTIG upgraded to Buy the same day. Both cited Renuvion technology adoption and an expanding international footprint as the core thesis.
The bull case rests on revenue scale from Renuvion and a GLP-1 drug market tailwind. The bear case flags execution risk and competitive pricing pressure.
SI sits at just 0.55% of free float. That is too small to drive a squeeze narrative on its own. Worth noting: it rose 12% in the past week and 35% over the past month. Short interest has been quietly building into and through the earnings event.
The ORTEX short score stands at 30.3, up from 27.6 a week ago. It ranks in the 74th percentile on a sector-adjusted basis.
The next event is scheduled for today, May 14. Another catalyst this close after the May 7 earnings move makes the elevated borrow cost and options skew worth monitoring.
Data summary
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