Honeywell International has put short sellers through a volatile week in the lending market — costs to borrow spiked to 0.48%, then collapsed 78% to 0.08% in a single session. The moves are noise against an essentially unconstrained borrow pool. The real story is Monday's earnings event.
Cost to borrow hit 0.48% on June 1 — up more than 200% from the prior week. By June 4 it had fallen to 0.08%, an 78% drop in one day.
The whipsaw looks dramatic. In context, it isn't. Availability sits at 8,319% of current short interest — meaning roughly 83 shares remain available to borrow for every one already lent out. That is an effectively unlimited lending pool. Borrow-cost moves at these availability levels are transient, not structural.
Short interest ticked up 11.7% over the past week to 1.84% of the free float. That is still a low absolute level. The lending market carries no meaningful signal of bearish conviction.
The put/call ratio stood at 0.42 on June 4 — 1.6 standard deviations above its 20-day average of 0.39. That is a step down from the 2.6 standard-deviation spike flagged ahead of the June 3 print, but options traders are not fully relaxed.
The week's 6.5% price drop to $217.64 provides context. HON gave back roughly $18 from its post-Goldman-upgrade high. The PCR move is mild hedging, not panic. The 1-month gain of 3.8% remains intact.
Analysts have not followed the stock lower. Goldman Sachs raised its target to $276 on June 3, implying 27% upside from Thursday's close. RBC Capital reiterated Outperform at $268. Barclays holds Overweight at $251. The consensus price target of $248 sits 14% above the current price — a gap that widened as the stock pulled back. Wellington Management added 3.8 million shares in its most recent filing, the largest build among major holders.
Monday's June 8 print is the next hard catalyst. The prior two earnings moves were +3.5% (May 22) and -3.1% (April 23).
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