CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Posted by George Bondi on Aug 19th, 2026

CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE:CXW – Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,574,436 shares, an increase of 65.8% from the July 15th total of 2,155,884 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 952,908 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

CoreCivic Stock Performance

Shares of CoreCivic stock opened at $32.35 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.60. CoreCivic has a 1-year low of $15.73 and a 1-year high of $34.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88 and a beta of 0.58.

CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. CoreCivic had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 5.15%.The company had revenue of $684.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $618.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 27.3% compared to the same quarter last year. CoreCivic has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.610-2.700 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that CoreCivic will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

CoreCivic declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, August 10th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 15.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting CoreCivic

Here are the key news stories impacting CoreCivic this week:

Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage points to new contracts for CoreCivic, which could improve facility utilization, revenue visibility and long-term cash flow. What Do New Contracts Mean for CoreCivic?
Positive Sentiment: The board recently authorized a $500 million stock-repurchase program, allowing CoreCivic to buy back as much as 15.7% of its outstanding shares. Buybacks can support earnings per share and signal management believes the stock is undervalued.
Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive: CoreCivic has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $37, while Benchmark recently raised its target to $45.
Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $0.38 versus a $0.34 consensus estimate and revenue of $684.9 million versus expectations of $618.6 million. Revenue increased 27.3% year over year, and fiscal 2026 EPS guidance remains $2.61–$2.70.
Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high at approximately 85%, with several investment firms increasing their positions during the first quarter. This indicates continued institutional interest but does not eliminate near-term volatility.
Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders sold shares on August 17: CFO David Garfinkle sold 50,000 shares for approximately $1.69 million, Director John R. Prann Jr. sold 40,000 shares for about $1.34 million, and EVP Anthony Grande sold 29,199 shares for roughly $981,000. The transactions materially reduced their individual holdings and may be interpreted as a near-term confidence signal, particularly with CXW trading near its 52-week high. SEC insider transaction filing

Insider Activity at CoreCivic

In related news, Director Harley G. Lappin sold 22,032 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.02, for a total value of $727,496.64. Following the sale, the director owned 53,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,760,890.56. The trade was a 29.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Prann, Jr. sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $1,341,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,019,481.84. The trade was a 56.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 313,891 shares of company stock valued at $10,465,255 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CoreCivic

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in CoreCivic by 533.9% in the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CoreCivic during the second quarter valued at about $52,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CoreCivic by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in shares of CoreCivic during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of CoreCivic by 320.7% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,340 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CXW. Northland Securities set a $40.00 price objective on CoreCivic in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Noble Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CoreCivic in a report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on shares of CoreCivic in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of CoreCivic from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CoreCivic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

Read Our Latest Analysis on CoreCivic

About CoreCivic

(Get Free Report)

CoreCivic, Inc (NYSE: CXW) is a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership, management and operation of private correctional and detention facilities in the United States. The company enters into contracts with federal, state and local government agencies to house inmates and detainees in facilities that it owns or operates on a concession basis. In addition to traditional prison operations, CoreCivic provides specialized services such as community-based reentry programs, electronic monitoring and rehabilitation initiatives aimed at reducing recidivism.

CoreCivic’s portfolio encompasses a mix of adult correctional facilities, immigration detention centers, residential reentry centers and other community-based programs.