Consolidated Edison heads into its May 18 earnings release with short interest climbing sharply — a notable shift for a utility that rarely draws aggressive bearish positioning.
The standout this week is the pace of short-building. Short interest jumped 25% over the past five trading days to 3.1% of the free float, and has risen 66% over the past month — a meaningful acceleration by any measure. The move pushed the ORTEX short score to 39, a fresh high for the recent period, after spending most of April in the mid-35s. Despite that rise in borrowed shares, the borrow market itself remains relaxed: the cost to borrow has eased to 0.35% APR, down roughly 19% on the week, and availability is wide, suggesting new shorts are entering with little friction.
Options positioning offers no particular alarm signal heading into the print. The put/call ratio is running at 0.60 — marginally above its 20-day average of 0.58, but well within one standard deviation and far below the 52-week high of 1.01. That leaves short interest as the dominant signal in the setup, rather than options hedging. The stock itself has given back 4.3% over the past month, trading near $107, though it clawed back 0.7% on the week. Peers including WEC, , and all closed lower on the week, suggesting sector-wide softness rather than ED-specific weakness.
The analyst community has been broadly cautious on the stock for some time. Barclays trimmed its target to $107 just days ago, citing an Underweight view that now sits squarely at the current price. Morgan Stanley also lowered its target in late April, to $105. The mean target across the Street is $111, implying modest upside from current levels — but with the two most recently active bellwether firms both cutting, the near-term directional signal from the desk is negative. Bulls point to Q1 earnings that beat expectations, the regulated nature of the business, and a pending three-year rate plan that could provide multi-year earnings visibility. Bears centre their concern on regulatory risk — the rate plan could disappoint — along with rising interest rate sensitivity and capital expenditure uncertainty. One data point in the bulls' favour: ED ranks in the 79th percentile on EPS surprise history, meaning it has a strong track record of beating the consensus number.
The May 18 print will test whether the recently accelerating short interest reflects genuine fundamental concern about the rate plan outcome, or simply a tactical hedge into a catalyst event in a sector that has been under pressure.
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