VNET Group heads into its May 26 earnings report with short sellers back on the offensive — reversing a covering trend that dominated most of April and early May.
The short positioning shift is the clearest story in the data. After declining from roughly 37 million shares in mid-April to a trough near 33 million by mid-May, shorts have rebuilt sharply over the past week. SI % of free float now stands at 13.5%, up nearly 10% on the week and ranking in the 5th percentile of the universe — more heavily shorted than 95% of comparable stocks. The ORTEX short score has climbed to 72.1, its highest point in recent weeks. Availability has tightened meaningfully, dropping from around 180% in mid-May to 79% — the borrow pool is noticeably less deep than it was even days ago, though it remains outside genuinely squeeze territory. Cost to borrow, at 0.85% APR, has edged up 18% on the week but remains low in absolute terms, meaning financing pressure alone is not forcing shorts out.
Options positioning cuts sharply against the bearish short-interest signal. The put/call ratio has fallen to 0.32, below its 20-day average of 0.39 and close to the call-heavy extreme of recent weeks. That makes the options market notably more bullish than the lending data implies — a divergence that has persisted since the PJ Millennium strategic investment announcement earlier in May. Call positioning has dominated since that catalyst, and despite the stock's 5.5% pullback this week to $9.54, options traders have not pivoted toward downside protection in any meaningful way.
The bull-bear debate maps neatly onto this split. Bulls point to the strongest EPS surprise ranking in the universe — 100th percentile — and robust earnings momentum, with 30- and 90-day EPS revision scores above 80. The PJ Millennium deal adds institutional endorsement at a premium. The March print was ugly, with the stock falling 11% on the day and nearly 15% over five days, and some short rebuilding since then may reflect scepticism that the company can repeat or improve on that baseline. Bears also have the valuation to point at: the PE ratio runs near 72x, EV/EBITDA at 10.5x for a business with thin returns on capital — ROCE near zero and ROA barely above 1%. The most recent analyst data worth citing is B of A Securities maintaining Buy with a $12.60 target as of August 2025; older targets from other firms range widely and are too dated to quote with confidence against a $9.54 stock price.
The May 26 print is therefore a test of whether the EPS momentum story — the thing that has driven the stock's longer-term relative strength — can survive scrutiny of the underlying margin and return profile that bears have been rebuilding positions around.
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