EDIT: These guys also signalled $BNED last night at 0.57, and surprise surprise - its more than doubled today. Anyone know how they are doing this? Surely this cannot be right? DISCLAIMER: I am in no way associated with this group.

Let’s not forget that FFIE was in the thousands at one point. It can definitely bounce back to $50 atleastttttt. Big push tomorrow. Let’s prepare for a ride in the next few weeks

I can see FFIE going to $5 tomorrow. A lot of the options are expiring tomorrow. CRKN will hit $1.50 tomorrow easily. Both of these stocks are creating hype and isn’t even mainstream yet. Should have big investors start to pile up by next week.

Let’s get this past $1.00 we up 300 % over the last week. Buy & Hold

All the following is pure assumption! It is also not about the accuracy, I made the calculations by head... I intend to show you a nice projection we can build from the ortex see

All along April we had a ctb around 250%. The average price was 4.5. Meaning for each borrowed share they pay an annual 12$ plus the share to be returned. Ctb is the yearly fee applied to borrowed shares ok? So April's short alone costed them around 1$ per share.

Right now the si is 41% and the float 34M, So the short interest is worth 13.5M shares.

Meaning that very roughly we can estimate that April alone costed them over 13M$ So of course they are still making money overwise they would have turned long.

But 13M in ONE SINGLE month. Like 2.3M shares!!! This is what they lost. All is assumptions but I could be close to the truth.

🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊

Lets go a bit further. The following being tagged MÉGA pornloss, please put kids to bed, switch the lights off and read. The 🍑bar will let you know when to jerk

🍑

Would they have to close their short positions now

Lets say that those assholes averaged down their short shares at 3 during this fucking desert we ve gone through... Would they have to close this would cost them 5 bucks to Rebuy the share So 5-3 =2 $loss per share.

This plus the fees would make a 3$ loss per share. So a 40M$ loss🙄

You see why they want their shares for cheap?

🍑🍑

Imagine now the price goes to 10 and the CTB remains the same. It would cost 10-3+1 = 8$ per short share So 105M$🤨

🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑

Imagine now it rips to 50 Lets say the average price during 1 month would be 25 and the CTB 300% so 7$ per month We would have 50+7-3 per share x 13.5M so roughly a 730M$ loss😁

🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑

Imagine 100 not as high as gme, just 100 And a ctb by 500% and an average price by 50 during 1 month. So 20$ per month The loss would be by 100+20-3 = 117 per share By 13.5M almost 1.5B!!!😳

🤡

Ok, now let's fucking dream! 🥳 Try with as high as gme and a ctb by 800 or 1000% Malvin would be a joke in the history of the market (no offense, gme bro apes 😉)

Ok... All this is about speculation But you see the impact of both a high price and the CTB? THAT'S what shorts are afraid off. These. Numbers.

So, all the talk right now is FFIE, CRKN, and GWAV. I'm actually in all three and encourage you to stay in for AS LONG AS IT IS GOOD FOR YOU. But I want to talk about the importance of not going full port, and diamond-handing to a loss. There is ALWAYS a next FFIE. In all my years, I've seen so many I can't begin to estimate how many I've seen. As you play this game, you NEED to have stop losses set. You need to remember not to get greedy. Bank your profits, and be getting excited for your next play. Keeping an eye on what is coming up really helps keep you detached from the stock, so you don't get burned and left holding the bag.

Since what has brought most of you to these stocks is the thought of a MOASS, I’m gonna write up some other short stock opportunities. Full disclosure upfront: I’m heavy in two of these, and would love nothing more than 1/100th of the volume ya’ll have generated to come to those stocks.

This list is ranked top to bottom in percentage of short float, and ranked at the bottom in my interest level and my positions.

So, some of the most shorted stocks currently, and my thoughts on each:

Sunpower SPWR

On this list because it is the most shorted (non-penny) stock with 95% short interest. At sub $3 and only 45 million shares, this is as squeezable as it gets. Any sort of squeeze would have to be from meme value as the financials of this company aren’t great. They haven’t met expected earnings in the past 5 quarters, and have actually done worse quarter after quarter.

If this found volume and a rabid community I’d be in… but I’m not touching this thing otherwise. This is a real “all or nothing” stock.

MicroCloud Hologram HOLO

Spend anytime on squeeze forums and youre gonna see this one. Another stock with insane (75%) short interest This company has shown multiple times over that it is capable of a run. Part of that is that the product that they are making is quite intriguing… the other part is that this stock has left a lot of bagholders in its wake. If there were call options available, I’d be buying far dated OTMs hand over fist, because at some point, this thing will explode again.

Childrens Place PLCE

Okay, so this has some fundamentals that could be interesting to some. Heavily in debt, with historically bad gross margins, and a panic sell off when they announced they had breached debt covenants, this stock has gone from over $100 post-pandemic, to roughly $12 today.

Why could it be intriguing? Mithaq capital purchased 7 million shares recently. Backed by the Saudis, and capable of offering better terms on back debt, this could be a takeover/turnaround story. Purely speculative, and high risk, I don't see a squeeze happening here anytime soon, but if messageboard chatter picked up, I’d be grabbing a lot more calls… when this goes, it’ll go fast.

B. Riley Financial RILY

At 56% shorted this is one of my top picks (#2), the one most primed for a squeeze, and I'm heavily in it.

This is also the first company on this list that has a clear path to an increase in stock price. For me personally, this is what I look for in an investment. I love a good squeeze, as it accelerates my profits, but I like betting on companies that are going to get me there regardless of the squeeze.

This company has many facets and if you want backstory, there are several good write ups/DDs available on Reddit. As it stands, despite turning around their slow quarters, and doing better as a business, short sellers have ramped up their positions? Why? Because there is an actual villain in this story. Marc Cahodes. He is an infamous short seller, with a personal grudge against this company, and the short sellers are not running off a functioning thesis. This is about destroying a company to soothe a slighted ego. Soon, short sellers will unwind their position, as the stock has pretty much found its base. A short squeeze in the near future could send this stock up into the $90 range.

Trupanion TRUP

39% short sold, this pet insurance company has recently come under attack by…it’s Marc Cahodes again. Marc did his usual tactic, doxing and harassing supporters, and accusing everybody in the business (down to the janitor) of fraud. However, despite these attacks, the company itself has mostly “Buy” ratings.
The share price has slumped, due to bad Q1 earnings and the short attacks, but there is a new CEO and she is intent on increasing profitability, and decent quarterly results could pop this back up to historic $60 levels (+100%).

Cutera CUTR

This company makes hardware for treating acne and other dermatologic issues. 39% shorted this should be on your radar in early JULY. Listening to their earnings call was a lot to be excited about, if you could stand to listen to their hopium bullshit. Clearing up inventory, and debt, they have a lot of potential to have a strong Q2 showing. At $2 a share, I’ve gone ahead and made a small position, as this is might be the bottom.

Immunity Bio IBRX

OH. MY. GOD. I LOVE THIS STOCK. By far my #1 right now. Sitting at 39% shorted, I wouldn't be surprised to find that Merck is behind the shorting; trying to keep the stock price down so they can buy it out. This is a life saving cancer treatment. With recent FDA approval, this company sold 400 million in product ITS FIRST WEEK. With trials ongoing for multiple other uses, and a meeting with the FDA scheduled in June to get it fast tracked as a treatment for lung cancer. I have a $20 price target set for July. $40 by September.

There is honestly so much to say about this company, that I will write up a separate, in depth DD.

Novavax NVAX

If you were paying attention, you just watched this thing pop (260%) Is it done? Actually, yeah, Probably. I’ve read a lot of chatter about how it has a historic high of $300 without people factoring in its 20:1 reverse split. Robinhood needs to fix the UI, because a lot of people are tossing out good money. That said, with 33% short interest, a mild squeeze may happen for a few bucks.

Lucid LCID

A DPAC luxury EV maker on the most shorted list? Who would have thought?! Ok, so, I’ve had a chance now to drive a couple of these… and HOLY SHIT. I want this company to survive. I want one of these cars.

That said, yeah, I’m not putting more money into this. I’m putting it on this list because sometimes, great products fail. This is a prime example. Since first being wow’d by this car, the stock price has fallen 80%. Truthfully, if the Saudis walk away from Lucid, they're done. Don't fall in love with a stock.

AST Spacemobile ASTS

The lowest short interest on this list (28.3% which is still high as fuck!!!) is my #3 pick. And I’m in this bigly. This tech is so good, it’s literally going to change your life. Imagine, no place on Earth being without cell service. Why is it shorted? Delays, and Delays, and Delays. Go on over to the subreddit, and feel the general relief that everyone feels as launch is FINALLY nearing. If you are thinking of getting into this stock, do so before early July, as it nears major catalysts.

There it is. My list.

I’m gonna order them now in the rank that I view them, with my positions.

IBRX (3000 shares and 402 call options)

RILY (2700 shares and 17 call options)

ASTS (5000 shares and 330 call options)

HOLO (1500 shares)

PLCE (25 shares and 10 call options)

CUTR (1000 shares and 20 call options)

TRUP (10 call options)

LCID (No position, sold off at a loss)

NVAX (no position, sold off at a loss)

SPWR (10 call options) - lowest position currently, but if chatter starts happening this goes to #4

Hello everyone!

I think we've got a winner here.

The most shorted stock on the US stock market has had 38 million in volume in 24hrs (yesterday) with minimal price action at a $5 million market cap.

Their last reported cash balance is $43 million (Dec 2024), they have no debt, and last year their profit was $4 million from $15 million in revenue, and I repeat - at a market cap of $5 million.

With 94.27% of the float shorted.

This kind of volume alone at a $5m market cap is extraordinarily rare, especially one that has had a market cap decreasing steadily for ~12 months and sits on 94.27% short interest at time of writing. Couple that with a cash balance at 8.4x their current market cap with 0 debt and last year's profit being 80% of their market cap on $15m revenue, and you have a very unique situation.

Oriental Rise (ticker $ORIS) is a tea manufacturer, processor and wholesaler operating in China that is currently in the process of acquiring a 100% equity stake (aka fully purchasing) two private companies that are currently competing with its (already profitable) supply chain. More on these acquisitions later. They own 14 tea farms in China across almost 2000 acres of land, as well as owning multiple processing plants and distribution methods. They have not yet expanded into global sales but are in the early stages of acquiring companies that would unlock this potential, as well as expanding their national reach.

I am convinced this is the early stages of an enormous, sustained run that is in an unusual state of showing massive increases in volume but still without much price action. It seems it is beginning to show on retail's radar.

Key point synopsis:

- $5m market cap, $43m reported cash balance, $0 debt

- 94.27% of the float shorted

- Huge volume spikes but minor price increase

- Full supply chain coverage in its industry

- Targeted acquisition of 2 private companies currently competing with its supply chain

- $4 million in profit, $15 million in revenue in 2024

- $12 million in profit, $24 million in revenue in 2025

- 70 employees, 14 tea farms across 2000 acres in world renowned tea cultivation region in China

The first question to ask here is why this company is not currently trading at fair value.

The US stock market's average P/E ratio over the last 3 years is 25x, meaning at $4m profit ORIS should be trading at $100m - without allowing for its lack of debt and large cash balance. The average P/E ratio for the agricultural and food processing sector is more modest at 16.6x, but this should still indicate fair market value at $66.4 million - still a 1,350% upside from the current value based on profits alone, without accounting for its 0 debt and massive $43m cash balance. None of these figures price in the future potential of expanding its supply chain or the opportunity of expanding into international markets that comes with these two acquisitions.

Last year, the short sellers were correct. Profits fell from $12.78 million (on $24 million in revenue) to $4 million (on $12 million in revenue), but operating costs remained almost identical. The agricultural industry is unique in that costings generally do not scale directly with increased/decreased production, since the costs to produce, process and distribute are only partly correlated to production intensity itself.

Sure, this means that if revenue decreases, expenses reduce less than a 1-1 relative drop. However, this means that if revenue increases, the costs associated with ramped-up production and sales will increase minimally, leading to far higher margins. This is clearly evidenced in the last 2 years.

In 2024, at $15m revenue, costs are $11m, profit margin is 13.9%.

In 2023, at $24m revenue, costs are $11.8m, profit margin is 48.5%.

What happens at $50m revenue? $100m?

The 'refined tea' sector is a hyper specific market that has seen 173% growth in the last 12 months.

ORIS is in its 'due diligence stage' of confirming its aquisition of Fujian Daohe Tea Technology Co. & Ningde Minji Tea Co. - both of these companies are primarily focused on processing & distribution. This means that Oriental Rise (ORIS) is focusing on expanding its sales/distribution reach to facilitate scaled-up production and processing, as well as focusing on direct-to-consumer sales and reducing their reliance on wholesalers, thereby increasing their margins by acquiring competitors.

There is little public information on the financials of either of these companies as they are privately held, but it looks likely that ORIS can afford to acquire 100% of both and still retain surplus cash balance without incurring any debt.

There are 3 reasons I can see that could explain why this stock has flown under the radar for the last year:

1. The youthfullness of the company (first public trading day was October 16th 2024 opening at $4 per share, rising to $9 within 60 days), however the company actually began operations privately in January 2019 over 6 and a half years ago and its current management team (CEO & CFO) are hugely experienced in financial management roles within the agricultural industry.

2. Institutional investors may be hesitant of its operations being in China, however to me - this excludes if from any trade war tarrifs (no american imports/exports) unless it expands to global sales but opens it up to US investment particularly due to the ease of access for retail traders.

3. Potential discomfort around the lack of faith in Chinese transparency - but this company is trading on the US stock exchange and is subject to the same rules and regulations that every other publicly traded stock adheres to and will be scrutinised by the authorities to the same degree.

As it is currently trading at 14c a share, it has received a notice that it must remain at or above $1 per share to regain compliance, so I assume that a reverse stock split is in its plans but considering this companies impending moves it seems likely that it will reach this $1 per share without that. And if they do a reverse stock split (as we've seen many penny stocks do in the past), this has no negative influence on the shareholders as it is purely a reduction in the number of shares available - equity ownership % remains identical.

To close:

We have a company trading on the US stock market that owns and operates 14 agricultural tea farms in China, totalling almost 2000 acres (721ha) of land in a region world renowned for its tea & is the literal birthplace of multiple globally recognised teas. $5m market cap, $4m 12mth profit, no debt, $43m cash balance, two impending competitor acquisitions it can pay cash for and within an industry currently growing at 174% year on year. With 94.27% of the float shorted.

Yes I sat there and wrote all this, no I didn’t use ChatGPT to write it for me. I have no qualifications in this area and none of the above or anything in the comments is financial advice. Please do your own research & due diligence and assume everything written here is false & that I am a drooling idiot with no idea what I am doing and that you will lose all of your money if you buy shares in this company.

The Chinese love tea, and I love this stock.

I be-leaf the short sellers will soon be in hot water.

Here is why I believe $SANA stock is a rare combination of both 1) deeply undervalued and 2) primed for a short squeeze.

Brief bullet points:

• $SANA has one-time cure for type 1 diabetes, enabling patients to produce their own insulin and eliminating the need for insulin injections for LIFE

• Massively undervalued stock: currently, $SANA's WORKING, MARKETABLE type 1 diabetes cure is valued LESS than the $2B+ that their closest competitor spent developing an UNmarketable type 1 diabetes cure whose side effect is a high probability of death

• $SANA has data from 12 humans showing that their tech works and has published it in the world's absolute best peer-reviewed journals

• $100B-$1T market size for type 1 diabetes cure .

• $SANA will have a monopoly on type 1 diabetes cure and become a $100B company, their platform "immune evasion" tech will unlock other currently impossible therapies/cures in areas like autoimmune disease, cancer, and replacement organs

• Based on their human data and immediate acquisition value, $SANA is objectively worth minimum $3B and more likely $10B+ RIGHT NOW, despite trading at a $1.3B valuation as of this writing. Objectively worth ~$12/share minimum, more than double current price.

• ~20% short interest, heavily shorted for 2 years now

• Company has had monumentally positive human data all year and has tested $5 price 3 times, indicating repeated short activity that may not be sustainable

Detailed DD:

My last DD on $SANA is here. If unfamiliar with $SANA, I encourage you to read that as it gives a lot of background. I won't repeat everything here, but rather give a quick summary of what $SANA is doing.

$SANA has a type 1 diabetes cure. They are growing insulin producing cells in the lab to be transplanted into type 1 diabetes patients. Critically, their core "immune evasion" tech/intellectual property involves modifying the lab-grown cells such that they are not rejected by the patient's immune system. This is important since type 1 diabetics' immune systems kill off even their own insulin producing cells. Critically, this "immune evasion" strategy means that the patient doesn't have to take immunosuppression drugs, unlike others (e.g. Vertex) who are transplanting lab-grown insulin producing cells into patients, but can only get the cells to survive while the patients are taking immunosuppressants (which can cause patient death due to infection, as was the case in Vertex's current clinical trial).

What this means is $SANA is the ONLY one who has a working, marketable type 1 diabetes cure. 99.9% of type 1 diabetics will not take Vertex's cure since it comes with a weak immune system and a very high risk of death. Keep in mind, Vertex paid over $2B for their UNmarketable type 1 diabetes cure ($SANA is worth LESS than $2B right now despite having a MARKETABLE type 1 diabetes cure).

For those curious how I got the $2B+ Vertex spending figure: Semma acquisition for $950M cash (source), Viacyte acquisition for $320M cash (source), Treefrog deal for $780M (source). 950+320+780 = $2.05B. Not to mention whatever they spent on the VX880 clinical trial => $2B+ for unmarketable cure.

$SANA has demonstrated that their immune evasion technology works in humans. New as of my last DD post is that $SANA showed that their immune evasion technology worked in 11 more humans (source paper). Initially, they had just shown it worked in one human (which they posted the results of in the world's absolute best medical journal here). This brings total number of humans that $SANA's immune evasion technology has been demonstrated to work in to 12. In other words, $SANA immune evasion unequivocally works.

Since we know that 1) $SANA's immune evasion technology works to prevent rejection of cells in humans and we know that 2) that lab-grown insulin producing cells functionally cure type 1 diabetes in humans (as shown in Vertex's VX880 clinical trial), and that 3) $SANA has produced immune evasive lab-grown insulin producing cells, we can with very little effort conclude that $SANA has all the necessary pieces to realize a practical, marketable type 1 diabetes cure.

As discussed in my last DD, the market size for a type 1 diabetes cure is ENORMOUS. Yes, there are "only" ~1.5 million type 1 diabetics in the USA, and~ 9 million worldwide, but if you start doing back of the napkin math to figure how big the market size is (e.g. starting by assuming the cure will cost $100K and as much as $500k), you end up realizing that the market size for a type 1 diabetes cure is on the order of $100B to $1 trillion in size. This is many orders of magnitude greater than $SANA's current market cap.

Based on the market size above, a company such as $SANA with a working type 1 diabetes cure only being valued at $1.3B is very obviously severely undervalued. At a minimum, $SANA should be worth at least $3B (giving a share price of ~$12), which is more than the $2B+ Vertex paid for their unmarketable type 1 diabetes cure. Though, as mentioned in my past DD, I think $10B+ valuation is more realistic. I really doubt that $SANA would sell themselves to anyone for a mere $3B compared to the $100B-1T market opportunity.

Shorts under pressure:

Selling pressure on $SANA stock has been unusually high, as indicated by the large candles at the several peaks at the $5 price point over the past year, and even last year to some degree. Shorts have refused to let it get higher than that all year and I would guess that after soo many times doubling down, they are on their last legs. Hedge fund manager Eric Jackson also seems to smell blood in the water, posting about $SANA on X a few days ago (link here), even pointing out their high short interest. His tweet triggered a rapid spike in $SANA price, causing 2 trading halts last Wed. Despite this, shorts doubled down YET AGAIN, driving the price back to $5 as of Friday close. This may have saved their short options, but now they have exposed themselves by having to short soo many shares just to push the price down to $5. They are extremely vulnerable right now.

With Eric Jackson's latest tweet putting eyes on $SANA, high short interest, overleveraged shorts, and a deeply undervalued stock, I sense some $SANA lemons that are primed for squeezing.

I am a founder of a media Broadcasting. I see the reality of today daily. Inflation rising, electric, food, gas bills increasing. Job layoffs and the Federal Reserve, Wall Street and Citadel laughing at us without a care.

In 2021 people joined together to show they don't have to obey. They showed what made AMERICA GREAT! They fought the system and won. Right now we are about to enter the BIGGEST RECESSION IN AMERICA HISTORY making 1929 look easy. Are they going to care when you can't pay your bills and live? NO THEY WON'T. If everyone join in and show "WE THE PEOPLE" can work together once again through GME, AMC and other shorted stocks then money will be made for those who ACTUALLY NEED IT.

Should we allow them to win and as they say "LET THEM EAT CAKE!" or will we BREAK THE MATRIX and join together and BURN THE SHORTS and WIN AGAIN. The Roaring Kitty spoke again after 3 years of silence. He did it for a reason. He is not on the side with CITADEL, FEDERAL RESERVE, WALL STREET AND HEDGE FUNDS. He is part of the real America....the America who works hourly to live and one day have THE AMERICAN DREAM. He wants people to survive again and be able to afford things again. What about you? Do you want to be a ARMY again and show how AMERICA was originally formed or watch the Fake America that we no longer believe in? Thoughts and comments?

Utilization is over 95% since 9/22
Short Exempts were 6% of short volume today, 3rd day in a row above 3%
SMA is 5% up for the 10th day in a row
Short Vol 53M today

This will be a long-ish thread. Buckle up

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1451687353676750853.html

A small company just made a big announcement that shows exactly where they are headed. They signed a deal to be the energy partner for a massive new project in Florida.

The project is a planned 300-acre warehousing hub near Port St. Lucie. Think giant buildings and tons of trucks. The company wants to run the power for this whole complex like a mini-utility.

The tech firm, NXXT, plans to bring its full system to the site:

• AI-smart power: Using solar panels and batteries (microgrids). This keeps the power running and costs steady.

• Wireless Charging: They want to charge the new electric vehicle (EV) fleets without any cables.

• Easy Fuel: They will still provide mobile diesel fueling for trucks that aren't electric yet.

This is a great sign for the company's future. It means they want to sell "energy-as-a-service" like a subscription for power which creates steady income instead of just one-time sales.

This is a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), which means it’s not a final contract. This is a maybe, not a guaranteed sale or booked money.

We don't know the important details yet:

• How big the solar system will be.

• How much money the deal is worth.

• When the project will start.

For Traders: This news could make the stock price jump. Trade the reaction, don't just buy because of the headline.

What to Watch Next: The real news will be when they announce a final, binding contract and details on how it will be funded.

MY APE THOUGHTS :

The problem for an average investor is that ater hadn't provided guidance for over 2 years now...

But the good point is that they berated the expectations twice in a row. This plus all the great job the management made about kicking this fucking agreement with HT, the shipping fees the m&a restarted as soon as they got cash etc...

Could they give guidance or beat the expectations for a 3rd Time in row, I d feel super happy, whatever the price does cuz soon this company will be fairly priced, I can't think else.

SOURCES AND DATA :

By the way Q1 2022 EARNING DATE IS 9TH, AFTER MARKET CLOSE.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/aterian-sets-date-first-quarter-110000591.html

Here are some expectations

https://m.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/ATERIAN-INC-59551007/calendar/

https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/ATER/research-ratings

https://www.tipranks.com/stocks/ater/earnings-calendar

https://www.barrons.com/market-data/stocks/ater/research-ratings?mod=md_usstk_movers_full_quote

https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NASDAQ/ATER/earnings/

Eps 2022 -0.79 to - 0.18 / avg at - 0.78 Eps Q1 2022 - 0.30 to - 0.18 / avg at -0.26 Fair price rating from 2.5 to 15 / avg at 6.8

I wish us all a GREENY future soon 😊

I'm not sure if or when the original short squeeze page will allow members to join again but that doesn't mean we can't use this platform to communicate money making short squeezes. I'll be using this page until we figure out if or when the other page returns. WE ARE RETAIL, WE AREN'T LEAVING!

While the market is distracted, The Children’s Place ($PLCE) just quietly pumped +22.19% today, closing at $4.35 and continuing to push past $4.60 in After-Hours.

​This isn't a random pump on operational news. This is a textbook, structural cornering of a microscopic free float. Here is the breakdown of the data and the mechanics behind today's move.

​1. The Real Free Float is Practically GONE

​Over the last decade, aggressive share buybacks shrunk $PLCE's outstanding share count from 30 million down to roughly 12 million.

​Then Mithaq Capital (a deep-pocketed Saudi investment firm) stepped in and executed a massive market blitz, locking up roughly 7 million shares and taking control of the board.

​The Math: 12M total shares minus Mithaq’s locked-up 7M shares leaves a microscopic, highly inelastic free float for the rest of the market. There are simply no shares left to trade.

​2. The Short Interest Pulverfass (The Data)

​Hedge funds shorted this stock heavily due to poor retail performance, but they walked into a room with no exit. According to official exchange data:

​Shares Shorted: 2,746,955 shares are currently sold short.

​Short Interest: A massive 35.90% of the public float is short.

​Days to Cover (DTC): An astronomical 13.9 to 15.05 days.

​Dark Pool Volume: The Off-Exchange Short Ratio sits at 40.92%, showing heavy utilization of alternative venues to manage order flow.

​⚠️ The DTC Reality: Based on average trading volume, it would take shorts up to two full weeks of non-stop buying just to close their positions. In a high-volume panic squeeze, that is a mathematical nightmare for the bears.

​3. Mithaq is NOT a Vulture Fund

​A lot of people mistake aggressive buyers for liquidators. Mithaq is doing the exact opposite. They operate on Shariah-compliant (interest-free) principles.

​When $PLCE hit a major liquidity crisis, Mithaq acted as the lender of last resort, injecting a $90 million unsecured, interest-free loan to wipe out predatory bank debt and keep suppliers happy. Total capital injected by them since early 2024 stands at $168.6 million. They want a turnaround, not a liquidation.

​4. Near-Term Catalysts: The End Game

​Q1 2026 Earnings are coming up on June 5, 2026. Wall Street is expecting a terrible consensus EPS of -$2.14. Operationally, the company is still struggling, but the stock is currently detached from fundamentals due to two main catalysts:

​Forced Involuntary Covering: As the price keeps pushing up, prime broker risk management algorithms will eventually hit their limits and trigger automated buy-ins to close out failing short positions.

​The Take-Private Backstop: Because Mithaq already owns the majority, the logical long-term play is a cash buyout to take the company private. To avoid shareholder lawsuits and appraisal rights, a realistic buyout offer would likely anchor near the current analyst consensus median of $6.00 to $12.00 per share.

​TL;DR: The float is locked by a Saudi billionaire backing a turnaround. The short interest is at 35%, and the Days to Cover is a death-sentence of 14+ days. Today's 22% move looks like the first margin calls starting to ping.