SMX has collapsed 76% over the past month to $2.08, with short sellers maintaining an 89% stake of the float despite wild swings in both borrow costs and utilization. The stock's options market signals extreme call-buying as earnings approach next week.
SMX closed at $2.08 on April 24, down 41% on the day. The stock has lost 58% in the past week and 76% over the trailing month. The electronic equipment maker's shares have been in freefall with no visible support level.
Short interest stood at 111,697 shares as of April 23, representing 88.9% of the free float. The position surged 19% overnight after a brief dip earlier in the week. On April 21, shares short had fallen to 73,545 before rebounding. The week-over-week change shows a 35% decline, reflecting choppy positioning.
Cost to borrow sits at 304% APR. That's down from a peak of 591% on March 17 but still extreme by any measure. The borrow rate has fallen 35% over the past month as lenders gradually eased terms. On April 8 the rate briefly spiked to 464% before settling back.
Utilization registered 34.6% on April 23, well below the 52-week high of 100%. The metric has whipsawed between 18% and 86% over the past month. On April 10 utilization hit 86%, then collapsed to 18% on April 17. The current reading sits near the lower end of the recent range.
Official FINRA data from the April 15 settlement showed 345,345 shares short with days to cover at 1.0. The exchange-reported figure runs higher than ORTEX's real-time estimate, suggesting some shorts may have covered since mid-month.
The put/call ratio closed at 0.1015 on April 24, indicating heavy call demand. The 20-day mean PCR stands at 0.117 with a standard deviation of 0.009. The current reading sits 1.78 standard deviations below the mean, marking an extreme call-buying episode.
PCR has collapsed from 1.11 on March 13 to current levels. The 52-week range spans 0.00 to 2.91. Options traders appear to be positioning for upside despite the stock's catastrophic decline.
Enterprise value registers $17.3 million. No traditional multiples are available. The dividend score ranks in the 22nd percentile.
SMX's short score ranks in the 6th percentile at 59.7. Sector score sits at the 81st percentile. Days to cover ranks in the 70th percentile while utilization lands in the 28th percentile. The short score has oscillated between 51.8 and 73.2 over the past two weeks, peaking at 73.2 on April 10.
Abri Advisors Ltd. added 6,299 shares to reach 6,400 as of October 30, representing 0.21% of shares outstanding. Hudson River Trading LLC initiated a 3,804-share position (0.13%) as of December 31. Engineers Gate Manager LP also opened a 2,848-share stake (0.09%) in the same period.
Geode Capital Management established a 1,223-share position (0.04%) by year-end. FMR LLC added 339 shares through February 27, bringing its total to 1,162 shares (0.04%). Named individuals Haggai Alon, Ophir Sternberg, and Amir Bader hold 4,559, 3,619, and 1,678 shares respectively with no recent changes.
The company last reported earnings on March 20 at 9:21 PM ET. Prior prints occurred December 5, September 5, and August 29 of last year. No price-reaction data is available for these events. The next earnings call is scheduled for May 1 at 8:00 PM ET.
Earnings on May 1 will be the immediate catalyst. The extreme options skew toward calls suggests retail speculation on a recovery. Short positioning remains near peak levels relative to the float despite the stock's destruction. Whether longs or shorts capitulate first will determine the next leg.
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