ASST Borrow Pool Hits 52-Week Tightest as CTB Jumps 74%

ASST has now climbed 43% in a week and 90% over the past month. The borrow market has not loosened to match — it has done the opposite.

Availability has dropped to 6%. That means roughly one share remains available for every sixteen already out on loan. Two weeks ago it was 24%. A month ago it was effectively zero for weeks on end. The pool is compressing back toward that floor — faster than the previous two notes suggested it would.

Cost to Borrow Breaks Higher

The cost to borrow has now moved decisively. It stood at 2.65% on August 27, up 74% on the week and 86% over the past month. That is still not at levels that would force covering on carry costs alone — but it is the sharpest weekly move in the 30-day window, and the direction is unambiguous.

What has changed since the August 26 note: the CTB jump is now reinforcing the availability signal. When both move together — pool shrinking, borrow cost rising — the remaining short holders face a different calculus than when only one was moving.

Shorts Covering, But the Pool Isn't Breathing

Short interest has fallen to 3.09% of free float, down 11.8% over the week. That is consistent with what the previous three notes described: an orderly covering trend. Shorts are leaving. But the borrow pool is tightening faster than they are exiting.

The ORTEX short score sits at 72.3. That is down from 74.8 two weeks ago — a meaningful improvement from the short seller's perspective — but still elevated. The factor rank for borrow availability places ASST in the 2nd percentile across the market. Only a handful of stocks have a tighter lending market right now.

Institutional Holders Hold Steady

FMR added 2.74 million shares as of June 30. BlackRock added 1.64 million as of July 31. Jane Street built a position of 2.85 million shares. None of the top holders show recent exits. That matters for the borrow picture: shares held by passive or long-term institutional holders are less likely to be made available for lending. Concentrated, sticky ownership tends to keep the borrow pool tight structurally — not just mechanically.

Analysts remain constructive. HC Wainwright lowered its target to $36 on August 11 but held its Buy rating. TD Cowen sits at $28. The consensus mean is $26.60, above the current price of $23.12.

What to Watch

Availability at 6% is approaching the structural zero it held for most of July and early August. If it reaches zero again while cost to borrow continues its current trajectory, the dynamic facing remaining short holders will be meaningfully different from today's.

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• Availability: 6.0% (down 75% week-on-week; 52-week low: 0%)
• Cost to borrow: 2.65%, up 74% on the week
• SI % of float: 3.09%, down 11.8% on the week
• ORTEX short score: 72.3 (down from 74.8 two weeks ago)
• Stock: +43% past week, +90% past month
• Availability rank: 2nd percentile across market