When this was written — On 31 August 2026. The figures are as at that date or earlier and have not been updated since.
Cochlear's 43.5% three-month rally has run straight into a wall of short interest, now sitting at 9.19%. While momentum-chasing buyers pushed the medical device maker's share price to $136.82, short sellers are betting that structural margin compression will soon halt the ascent.
The tension peaked on 18 August 2026 when Cochlear reported its FY26 results R1. While earnings landed at the top of revised guidance, sparking an initial 7% share price spike 2, the underlying figures revealed a 22% drop in statutory profit 3 and severe margin erosion from one-off losses 4. This followed a weak half-year result where statutory net profit fell 21% to $161.5 million R5. In response, seven company directors, including CEO Diggory Howitt, launched a coordinated on-market buying spree between 25 and 27 August to signal confidence 678.
Short interest has climbed to 9.19%, well above the peer sector average of 7.45%. This represents a 1.99 percentage point increase over the 90-day average of 7.19%, with the short position peaking at 10.00% recently. The 30-day price-to-short correlation sits at -0.154, indicating that short sellers are quietly adding to their positions even as the share price rises. ASIC's T+4 reporting delay means this short data reflects positions from last week, capturing the immediate aftermath of the director buying wave.
With margins cracking and shorts accumulating, the board's insider buying is a high-conviction bet against the market's growing skepticism.