Three converging signals on AZ (A2Z Cust2Mate Solutions Corp.) are pulling in different directions. Short interest sits at 10.1% of free float. The borrow market is simultaneously tightening and loosening. Options traders are leaning bearish. The stock is down 25.9% over the past month.
The most striking data point is a sharp contradiction in the lending market. Availability has swung violently in recent weeks — hitting as low as 13.4% earlier in the 52-week period before bouncing to 34.4% as of May 15. At 34.4%, availability remains tight. Roughly one share is available for every three already borrowed.
Yet cost to borrow collapsed 51% in a single week to just 1.07% — a multi-month low. That move is counterintuitive. Tight availability normally supports elevated borrow costs. The sharp CTB drop suggests a sudden influx of new lendable supply, even as overall availability remains constrained. Short sellers are paying dramatically less to maintain positions than they were seven days ago.
The ORTEX short score stands at 78.2, placing AZ in the top percentile for short-side pressure. The stock's short score rank is 1st — the highest tier in the ORTEX universe.
Options positioning corroborates the bearish lean. The put/call ratio reached 0.90 on May 15, nearly two standard deviations above its 20-day mean of 0.76. That's a meaningful shift. The 52-week PCR range runs from 0.17 to 1.07 — the current reading sits in the upper third of that band.
The timing aligns with the stock's price action. AZ fell 12.5% on May 15 alone. It dropped 17.6% over the prior week. The options market appears to have anticipated or reacted to the move in near-lockstep.
Not everyone is bearish. Several institutional holders added materially in Q1 2026. Luxor Capital Group initiated a 2,880,400-share position — a full new stake. Diametric Capital and Nishkama Capital also opened new positions in the quarter. Weybosset Research added 643,469 shares. That institutional buying stands in contrast to the elevated short positioning and recent price weakness.
One notable offset: Clal Financial Management trimmed 421,442 shares in the same period.
An earnings event occurred on May 14–15, with a recorded one-day move of -9.1%. That appears to have been a catalyst for the recent selloff and likely accelerated both the PCR spike and the borrow market volatility.
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
Open AZ 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.
