JKS heads into the first week of June with short sellers having largely completed their retreat — but options traders are still reaching for protection, and the cost to borrow is quietly creeping higher.
The short-covering story that defined the previous note has essentially run its course. Short interest is now 3.1% of the free float, barely changed from last week's 3.0% reading after a brief tick higher on Tuesday. That's still around 25% below where it was a month ago, when roughly 2.1 million shares were out short. The covering is done; what happens next is a question of whether fresh shorts re-enter. For now, there's no sign of it — borrow availability is a comfortable 463%, meaning there are more than four shares available to lend for every one already borrowed, and the lending market remains wide open.
Cost to borrow tells a slightly different story, though. It has climbed 74% over the past week to 0.63% — still low in absolute terms, but the pace of the move is worth noting. The rate had drifted as low as 0.36% in late May before the recent leg higher. On its own, 0.63% is not a borrow squeeze; in context of the short covering and the uptick in puts, it suggests some incremental demand for shorts that didn't exist two weeks ago.
Options positioning has continued its steady drift toward caution. The put/call ratio is 0.90, running above its 20-day average of 0.82 — a move about one standard deviation above the norm. That's not extreme: the 52-week high on PCR is 1.72, and the current reading sits well below it. But the direction has been consistent since early May, when the PCR was closer to 0.69. Put demand has risen gradually and persistently, without any single day of spike. That pattern tends to reflect hedging rather than outright bearish conviction.
The Street is positioned cautiously, and recent analyst activity reflects the same ambivalence. UBS raised its target on JKS to $24 last week — a modest lift from $23, and still well below the current price of $22.72 — while keeping a Neutral rating. Goldman Sachs has maintained a Sell with a $20 target since late 2025. Daiwa upgraded to Buy back in March with a $28.50 target, the most constructive voice in the room. The mean target across coverage sits at $31, but that figure is skewed by older estimates and should be treated with caution given the wide spread of views. At current valuations, EV/EBITDA is running at 8.3x and the price-to-book is just 0.36 — deeply discounted relative to most comparables, which remains the core bull case. The bear case is the same as it has been for months: negative earnings per share, a sector drowning in oversupply, and a stock that has already lost 6% over the past month.
On the insider side, the data from May 13 still stands: founder Li Xianhua sold 1.28 million shares — worth roughly $8.2 million — into the strength following April earnings. That sale pre-dates the more recent short covering and cost-to-borrow move, but it remains the most significant insider signal in the recent record. The pattern of awards to the CEO, CFO, and directors on May 1 alongside that sale reads as routine equity compensation, not a directional signal.
Peer moves on the day were sharp. CSIQ jumped 12.4% and ENPH gained 13.5% on Tuesday, both outpacing JKS's 4.0% single-day gain. On the week, JKS is down 1.6% while CSIQ and ENPH are each up around 8%. The next confirmed earnings event for JKS is August 14 — until then, the key question is whether the borrow cost drift and options caution solidify into something more directional, or fade as the short-covering dust settles.
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