Short sellers doubled down on TOYO last week. Estimated short interest jumped 95% in seven days, rising to 2.7% of free float. Cost to borrow climbed 51% in the same window, reaching 14.8% APR.
The borrow market has moved sharply in a short time. Availability stood above 500% in late April. It has since compressed to 187% — still in the "normal" range, but the direction is clear. In late May, availability briefly touched the 52-week low of 11.26%, a point at which borrowing becomes extremely constrained. It has since rebounded, but the trend bears watching.
Cost to borrow broke above 12% on June 1 and has held above that level since. Before late May, CTB had been range-bound between 9% and 12% for over a month. The recent move above that band coincides directly with the surge in short positions.
The ORTEX short score for TOYO has climbed from 61.7 on May 28 to 72.6 as of June 4. That is a meaningful move in under two weeks. The score ranks in the 2nd percentile for short score among its peers — meaning bears are more heavily positioned here than in nearly all comparable names.
Days-to-cover sits at 3.01, based on the most recent FINRA fortnightly report. That figure implies bears would need three trading days of average volume to fully unwind.
Options positioning tells a different story from the lending market. The put/call ratio sits at 0.31, near its 52-week low of zero. Earlier in May, the PCR was below 0.01 for several consecutive sessions. That level of call dominance suggests options traders have been positioned bullishly — a counterpoint to the growing short interest.
TOYO's stock rose 41% over the past month. It fell 7.2% on June 5. The stock's last earnings event, in May, produced a 9.1% one-day gain and a 20.8% five-day move.
Availability at 187% is still well above the 11.26% trough seen weeks ago. If short interest continues rising at the current pace and availability compresses again toward that level, borrow costs could accelerate further. The next earnings event is scheduled for August 20.
Data summary
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