SemiLEDs Surges 18% Amid Rising Borrow Costs

SemiLEDs Corporation shares jumped 18% Friday to close at $1.63, extending a month-long rally that has seen the micro-cap semiconductor maker gain 28%. The move coincided with cost to borrow spiking to 11.3%, up 654% week-over-week.

Price action & positioning

LEDS closed at $1.63 on April 24, up 18.1% on the day. The stock gained 14.8% for the week and sits 28.3% above its level a month ago. The rally reflects sustained buying pressure in a thinly traded name.

Short interest & lending

Short interest stands at 7,715 shares as of April 23, down 7.3% from a week earlier. Official FINRA data showed 8,070 shares short as of the April 15 settlement date. Days to cover sits at 1.0.

Cost to borrow exploded to 11.31% on April 22, the most recent reading. That marks a 654% surge from the prior week's 4.49% and a 240% jump from the 3.43% seen a month ago. The CTB history shows steady mid-single-digit rates through early March before the recent spike. The April 22 reading is the highest in the dataset, eclipsing the March 13 peak of 2.94%.

Utilisation dropped to 0.0% on April 23, down from 0.08% the day prior. Utilisation briefly touched 2.02% on March 25, then fell back below 1% by mid-April. The 52-week high sits at 50.55%.

The divergence between collapsing utilisation and surging CTB suggests constrained supply among lenders despite minimal actual on-loan shares.

Valuation & factor positioning

Enterprise value stands at $15.7 million as of year-end 2026. No P/E, P/B, or sales multiples are available.

The stock ranks in the 94th percentile on ORTEX's short score, indicating elevated short-interest characteristics relative to the broader market. Sector positioning scores at the 84th percentile. Days to cover ranks at the 99th percentile, reflecting the thinness of trading volume. Utilisation ranks at the 88th percentile despite the recent drop to zero. Dividend score sits at the 20th percentile.

Institutional positioning

J.R. Simplot Company holds 3.17 million shares, 38.4% of the company, unchanged in its most recent filing. Trung Tri Doan holds 1.52 million shares, 18.4%, also flat. Renaissance Technologies added 1,287 shares in Q4 2025, bringing its stake to 58,700 shares.

Susquehanna International Group initiated a 19,436-share position in Q4. XTX Markets added 3,848 shares to lift its stake to 14,195. UBS Asset Management initiated an 858-share position. Chris Chang Yu filed a 5,000-share buy.

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors trimmed 99 shares to 10,277. FMR LLC trimmed 1 share to 9,479.

Insider activity

The most recent insider transaction dates to February 2021, when a CFO sold 11,500 shares at $5.00 for $57,500. That remains the 90-day net. Prior trades cluster in 2013–2015, with executives buying in 2014 and a former executive selling in early 2013.

What to watch

SemiLEDs next reports earnings on July 7, 2026 at 1:30 PM UTC. The prior earnings event occurred April 14. No analyst coverage is currently active — the most recent rating actions date to 2012, when Sterne Agee, Caris, Canaccord, and Jefferies all lowered targets and ratings.

The CTB spike and the stock's resilience despite falling short interest warrant close monitoring. Thin float and institutional concentration amplify volatility.