Options traders are flashing their most bearish signal in a year on KKR. The put/call ratio jumped to 2.05 on May 18 — the highest in 52 weeks. The 20-day average sits at 1.36. That gap produces a z-score of 4.0, a statistically extreme reading.
The timing matters. KKR reports earnings on May 21.
Three distinct data streams are moving in the same direction simultaneously.
Short interest rose 16.5% in one week to 1.65% of float — the sharpest weekly climb since April. Over 30 days, it's up 37.7%. The absolute level remains modest, but the rate of change is accelerating.
Cost to borrow jumped 67% week-on-week to 0.39%. That's still historically cheap. The borrow market remains loose — availability sits at 5,643%, meaning there are roughly 56 shares available for every one already borrowed. Short sellers face almost no friction adding positions here.
Then the PCR spike on Monday dwarfed everything. In a single session it leapt from 1.45 to 2.05. Puts now outnumber calls two-to-one.
KKR is down 7.4% over the past month and trades at $95.97. The consensus price target is $125.69 — implying 31% upside from here.
Analysts are pulling in opposite directions. TD Cowen trimmed its target to $104 on May 18, the same day the put/call ratio spiked. UBS raised its target to $126 just two weeks prior. Morgan Stanley cut from $177 to $153 back in April.
The P/E multiple has compressed by nearly 6% over 30 days. The stock now trades at 14.7x earnings.
The most contrarian data point in the snapshot is the insider buying cluster from February and early March. Both Co-CEOs — Scott Nuttall and Joseph Bae — bought shares repeatedly at prices between $88 and $103. Combined 90-day insider net buying totals roughly $51 million across all insiders.
KKR currently trades at $95.97. The Co-CEOs bought at prices below the current level in late February. Director Timothy Barakett added $4.7 million worth at $94.47 as recently as March 4.
Data summary
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
Open KKR 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.
