The week of May 4 saw a wave of short covering across small-cap names, with several stocks shedding 30–50% of their short interest in days. But covering didn't mean calm — borrow costs surged sharply on multiple names even as shares short fell. Counter-trend short builds on SMTK, SSM, and CISO stood out against the broader covering tide.
SMTK — SmartKem, Inc. Short interest exploded 368% in one week to 9.5% of FF. Utilization hit 82%. The stock rallied 70% in the same period — short sellers are leaning against the move hard.
SSM — Sono Group N.V. SI surged 3,150% over the week to 3.1% of FF. Shares short then fell 21% in a single day on May 7 to 44,084. Utilization climbed to 71%, its highest since early May.
CISO — CISO Global Short interest surged 253% in one week to 0.78% of FF. A 65% single-day jump on May 7 drove most of the move. Borrow availability sits at 264% of SI — shorts can still get in.
POM — Pomdoctor Short interest fell 50.6% in one week to 0.33% of FF. The stock surged 39.8%. Cost to borrow retreated 19% but remains elevated at 59%.
EDSA — Edesa Biotech SI plummeted 52% in a week to 2.4% of FF following an earnings report on May 8. Cost to borrow still stands at 233% annually.
SELX — Semilux International Short interest fell 31% to 0.28% of FF. Despite the covering, borrow costs surged to 322% annually — a sharp divergence between position sizing and borrow demand.
GV — Visionary Holdings SI dropped 30.6% in a single day to 101,000 shares. Cost to borrow jumped to 216% annually, up 179% over the past month.
Semiconductors under the short microscope. Two semiconductor-linked names drew convergence alerts this week. SOXX — the iShares Semiconductor ETF — saw lending availability collapse even as shorts built positions. SI sits at 12.6% of FF. WOLF (Wolfspeed) is a standout extreme: 59.7% of FF short, with zero availability remaining. The stock doubled recently. Shorts are trapped.
Utilities bears tighten grip. XLU triggered a convergence alert as the borrow market neared capacity. SI is 5.0% of FF with availability at just 57.6% of SI. Bears are building on the sector ETF even as the borrow market tightens.
Borrow market seizures — micro-cap edition. Several micro-cap names saw borrow costs spike to extreme levels. ONEG cost to borrow hit 346%, now at 582% as of May 8. MNDR sits at 152% of FF short with a CTB of 172%. JAGX has 38.4% of FF short with zero availability and a CTB of 119%.
Several tickers triggered multi-signal convergence alerts this week.
WOLF remains the most extreme — 62% of float short, stock has doubled, and zero shares available to borrow. All signals point to a classic short squeeze setup.
GME short interest spiked 25% in a single day as lending tightened. SI now stands at 15.0% of FF. The borrow market is tightening, though availability is still 53% of SI.
AMC hit the convergence list as short interest reached 17.75% of FF. Current SI sits at 10.9% of FF with availability at 310% — shorts still have room to add.
SOXX shorts are being squeezed as lending availability collapsed. SI at 12.6% of FF on a $33.8B ETF is a meaningful macro signal on semiconductor sentiment.
XLU bears are tightening their grip. Availability at just 57.6% of SI with borrow nearing capacity — a setup worth watching if utilities face macro headwinds.
ONEG borrow melted down. CTB hit 346% in the alert and has since climbed to 582%. With SI at 5.6% of FF and availability at 46%, the borrow market is under severe stress.
JAGX short score hit 85. CTB stands at 119%. Zero availability. All borrow signals are at or near maximum pressure.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
