MNDR has become one of the most aggressively shorted small-cap names on Nasdaq this week, as a headline-driven price spike drew a massive wave of new short positions in under a fortnight.
The catalyst arrived on May 4. Mobile-health Network Solutions announced a memorandum of understanding with Hector Capital for a $119 million investment to acquire BIMA and MM Helix, aiming to expand AI-powered healthcare across Asia and Africa. The stock responded sharply — up nearly 37% on the week to $1.08, though it gave back 10% on May 5 alone. The announcement drew both momentum buyers and, almost immediately, an aggressive counter-bet from short sellers.
The short-selling response has been extreme by any measure. Short interest sat at just 0.09% of the free float as recently as April 24. By May 5, it had reached 47.4% of the free float — a build from roughly 3,800 shares short to over 2 million in ten trading days. The speed of that accumulation has few parallels among Nasdaq-listed names. The ORTEX short score reflects the intensity: it climbed from 47.9 on April 27 to 81.7 by May 5, ranking in the top percentile for short pressure across the universe. Days-to-cover rank sits at the 70th percentile, and the utilization rank is in the 2nd percentile — meaning almost the entire available lending pool has been drawn down.
The borrow market tells a story of mounting stress. Cost to borrow has more than tripled over the past month to 191% APR, after briefly touching 203% on April 30. That level makes sustained short positioning expensive: holding a borrow at 191% costs roughly 0.5% per day. Availability has tightened dramatically alongside the SI build — from comfortably loose territory in mid-April to a point where most of the pool is now deployed. The ORTEX availability rank lands in the 2nd percentile, consistent with a market where new short sellers face real friction sourcing stock to borrow.
The ownership picture offers limited comfort to either side. The top institutional holders are a small group of named individuals — Tung Yeng Siaw and Pui Pui Teoh together account for roughly 13.4% of shares — alongside market-makers Hudson River Trading and Jane Street, whose positions reflect routine liquidity activity rather than directional conviction. No major active manager has disclosed a meaningful stake. With a holder count of just nine reported, the free float is thin, which amplifies both the price moves and the short-squeeze arithmetic when positions build this quickly.
The company's earnings history adds another layer of context. The last three results releases all produced negative first-day reactions — down 3.9%, 2.4%, and 9.9% respectively. The next print is scheduled for June 10. That gives short sellers roughly five weeks to either profit from a reversal or face continued borrow costs against a stock that has already more than doubled off its recent lows.
What to watch: whether the MOU with Hector Capital converts into a binding agreement and whether the share count — and therefore the float — changes materially through any related financing, which would directly affect short interest as a percentage of the free float.
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