Uber Technologies enters June with the options market doing something it hasn't done in weeks: stepping back from the panic.
The most striking shift from last week's note is the reversal in options sentiment. The put/call ratio has dropped to 0.957, now running about one standard deviation below its 20-day average of 1.004. That is a sharp about-face from the 52-week high of 1.243 flagged just days ago. Traders who were loading up on downside protection have eased off materially. The PCR is now close to the bottom half of its yearly range — the 52-week low is 0.599 — suggesting the defensive posture that dominated the prior two weeks has largely unwound. Whether that reflects genuine renewed confidence or simply expired hedges rolling off is the key question heading into August's earnings date.
Short interest reinforces the less-stressed picture. SI has edged down to 2.74% of the free float, trimming about 2.4% on the week after a brief rise through late May pushed it as high as 2.93%. The borrow market gives no reason for concern: cost to borrow is just 0.33% annualised, near its lowest reading of the past month, and availability is exceptionally loose at 3,646% — meaning shares to borrow outnumber shares currently borrowed by more than 36 to one. The short score has drifted lower all week, closing at 34.8 on June 2 versus 36.1 a week earlier. Overall, positioning looks notably less charged than it did seven days ago.
The Street remains firmly constructive, and the data broadly supports that view. After a wave of target upgrades immediately following the May 6 earnings beat — JPMorgan's Doug Anmuth lifted his target to $110 from $105, TD Cowen pushed to $118, and Truist and Piper Sandler both raised theirs — the most recent action from BTIG and DA Davidson in the past week was simply to hold existing Buy ratings and targets steady. The consensus target of around $104 implies roughly 45% upside to Tuesday's close of $71.62, a gap that reflects genuine Street enthusiasm rather than complacency. The EV/EBITDA multiple has drifted down to roughly 12x over the past month, softening slightly from elevated levels, though the P/E remains near 19x. Factor scores point to the same divergence that has defined the stock all year: EPS momentum is strong (70th percentile on 30-day, 73rd on 90-day), but valuation remains the persistent weak spot, with the EV/EBIT score deep in the 22nd percentile.
The institutional picture adds useful colour. Capital Research added over 10 million shares in the most recent filing period, a meaningful build for one of the top holders at roughly 6.7% of shares. BlackRock also added about 2 million shares. Pershing Square, Bill Ackman's firm holding around 1.5% of the company, trimmed a modest 249,000 shares — a small reduction rather than an exit. Insider activity in mid-May was routine: the CLO and CMO each received RSU awards and sold small tranches to cover taxes, all carrying the lowest significance score. No material signal there.
The next catalyst is the Q2 earnings print on August 4. After May's results delivered a 5.2% one-day gain, the setup heading into that release — and how options positioning evolves between now and then — is the metric most worth tracking in the weeks ahead.
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