The week in one paragraph — 955 signals fired across equities, ETFs, and macro themes between June 1 and June 8. Short sellers rebuilt positions across semis, aerospace, and financials, even as earnings beats triggered sharp covering elsewhere. Options markets turned unusually active on the bearish side for Japanese financials and selected European names. The loudest theme: stocks where analysts were lifting targets while shorts were adding — a divergence that defined the week's tension.
PLS spiked 78% in a single session, with 77.6 million shares added on June 4. SI hit 11.73% of float. Availability remains high at 241%, suggesting the move reflects fresh positioning rather than a squeeze.
XAR SI climbed 61.5% in one week to 1.66% of float. Cost to borrow rose 19% to 2.45% APR. Two defence ETFs — XAR and PPA — both saw aggressive short builds. PPA's SI surged 146% in a week to 0.44% of float. Its borrow cost nearly doubled to 1.45%. Short sellers are clearly positioning against the aerospace and defence theme despite its political tailwinds.
EWC SI jumped 32% in one week to 5.15% of float. Borrow cost sits at 0.95%. Canada-linked positioning is building. That aligns with broader macro concerns around trade policy and commodity exposure.
PLAB SI rose 32% in one week to 6.51% of float. The stock dropped sharply after an earnings miss, sparking a $1.1B market cap selloff. Short sellers added into the drop, while options data showed an extreme put/call surge — a rare double signal.
PSNY SI hit 9.77% of float with a 31% weekly increase in shares short. Borrow costs are steep at 31.88% APR. Availability is critically low at 15.5%. Bears are heavily committed, with both options and short positioning confirming the bearish stance.
The week generated a high volume of target price revisions but relatively few outright rating changes.
Goldman Sachs raised its target on HOOD, contributing to a convergence alert as call skew hit an annual extreme. The upgrade came as shorts quietly rebuilt — a split signal worth watching.
Morgan Stanley downgraded CMZ and cut targets on multiple names including Chipotle, Allegion, and Leidos. Jefferies stepped off the bull bus on BKSY after a 120% rally, while simultaneously downgrading SARO on a CEO change.
On the constructive side: analysts chased MRVL and COHR aggressively post-earnings. PANW received a round of target raises after a Q4 beat. Oracle analysts reset ahead of a June 8 print. Agilent got upgraded across the Street post-earnings.
JP Morgan initiated a Buy on LATAM Airlines and lifted its Copa target. RBC initiated KRP at Outperform — but options traders pushed back immediately, a clear convergence signal.
This was a heavily active week in options, with repeated 4+ standard deviation moves across multiple sessions.
CMS put/call ratio hit 0.2657, the highest in a year and nearly 5 standard deviations above its 20-day mean of 0.058. The trigger: a CFO departure and a rate-hike filing. Three separate days this week showed the same extreme reading — unusual persistence for a utility name.
Japanese financial ADRs dominated bearish put flows. SMFG's put/call ratio hit a 52-week high across multiple consecutive sessions. MUFG's PCR spiked to 2.43, 4.1 standard deviations above its mean. TAK's PCR also hit 52-week highs. All three showed repeated elevated signals across at least three trading sessions.
BBVA PCR reached 1.39, the highest in 52 weeks. It appeared in the alert list on three separate days. Spanish banking bears are not letting go.
GME PCR spiked to 0.5752, highest in over a year. Bears loaded puts even after a record earnings beat. SI sits at 13% of float. Short sellers are holding conviction despite the beat.
FDX PCR collapsed to 0.0 on June 1 — a -4.34 standard deviation move — as the stock dropped 17.8% in one session. Extreme call buying on a collapsing stock is a classic contrarian signal. Worth monitoring.
FLNC flipped bullish with PCR hitting 0.45, four standard deviations above mean, as the stock rallied 129% in a month. LUNR options showed extreme hedging at the same time — PCR hit a 52-week high at 0.73, 4.2 standard deviations above its 20-day mean, with SI at 24.5% of float and availability critically low at 23%.
VOO PCR plummeted to 0.66, a 4.2 standard deviation move below its 20-day mean of 1.87 — the most bullish extreme in a year for the S&P 500 ETF. Broad market hedging is unwinding.
Aerospace & Defence ETFs under pressure. Both XAR and PPA saw SI surge more than 60% and 146% respectively in one week. Cost to borrow climbed on both. Bears are fading the defence theme even as political narratives remain supportive.
Semiconductors: a two-sided market. SOXX SI sits at 13.9% of float with borrow costs at 3.01% APR. Availability is tight at 15.8%. The convergence note from the week flagged: "SOXX Bears Keep Building Despite 32% Monthly Rally." AMD shorts quietly built even as analysts kept raising targets. Teradyne shorts added into a 6% single-day pop. The bear case is not going away despite the sector's recovery.
Japanese financials attracted coordinated put buying. SMFG, MUFG, and TAK all triggered 52-week high PCR alerts on the same days. Short interest in SMFG rose 35% month-over-month. These are not isolated moves — they reflect a consistent institutional hedging theme in Japanese bank exposure.
Canada and EM ETFs building short positions. EWC SI jumped 32% in a week. EWU shorts surged fourfold as UK macro concerns mounted. EWW borrow market tightened as shorts dug in on Mexico. Country ETF short positioning is rising across the board outside the US.
Defensive equity rotation unwinding. XLP shorts retreated as the defensive bid faded. XLI borrow pressure eased. XLE shorts began to cover. The message from sector ETFs: macro fear is receding, and defensives are being de-risked.
Several tickers fired three or more pulse types simultaneously this week.
LUNR — SI at 24.5% of float, PCR at 52-week highs, borrow availability critically low at 23%, analyst targets being raised, and a founder selling into the bounce. Every signal is flashing. The stock gave back its post-earnings gains by week end.
BMY — Short sellers accelerated into the July earnings window. The convergence alert noted a sharp SI build alongside deteriorating options sentiment. BMY dropped 6% on the week.
PSNY — Put/call ratio hit a record high. SI jumped 31% in one week. Borrow costs at 31.9% APR. Availability just 15.5%. All four pulse types fired: short interest, cost to borrow, utilization, and options. The convergence headline: "PSNY Put-Call Ratio Explodes as Bears Pile On From Every Angle."
HON — Borrow costs whipsawed ahead of a Monday earnings print. Goldman lifted its target. But the convergence alert flagged competing signals. Honeywell heads into results with SI at 1.97% of float and mixed sentiment.
HOOD — Goldman raised the target. Call skew hit an annual extreme. But shorts rebuilt simultaneously. A three-way signal: analyst upgrade, bullish options, rising short interest.
GME — Record earnings beat on June 4. PCR hit 52-week highs. SI still 13% of float with availability tightening at 67.5%. Shorts are not covering despite the print.
CMS — CFO departure, rate-hike filing, put/call ratio at 5 standard deviations above mean — for three consecutive days. SI at 4.71% of float. The convergence headline: "CMS CFO Exit Shocks Options Market as Shorts Quietly Retreat."
MP — CEO sold into the rally. Borrow market hit maximum tightness. Availability collapsed to 0.33%. PCR spiked to a 52-week high. Four signals, all bearish.
LUNR — Founder selling, extreme short interest, tight borrow, and the highest put/call ratio in a year. All signals converged. Watch for further deterioration.
GME — Earnings beat landed. Shorts held firm. June 9 is the next catalyst. The standoff between record fundamentals and elevated SI at 13% of float has to resolve.
CMS — Three days of extreme put buying following a CFO exit. Short interest at 4.71%. Watch the next rate filing for escalation.
MP — SI at 18% of float. Availability near zero at 0.33%. CEO selling. This borrow market is maxed out. Any catalyst could accelerate moves in either direction.
SOXX — Bears kept building through a 32% monthly rally. SI at 13.9%, availability just 15.8%, borrow at 3% APR. If semis pull back, this positioning is well-placed. If the rally continues, a squeeze is possible.
PSNY — The most comprehensively bearish setup of the week. Borrow at 31.9%, availability at 15.5%, SI at 9.77%, PCR at record highs. Watch for forced covering if shares remain scarce.
HON — Earnings due. Borrow whipsawed ahead of the print. Goldman's target lift adds an analyst angle. The result will set the tone for industrial sentiment into July.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
