Phio Pharmaceuticals has seen a dramatic shift in its lending market over the past two weeks. Cost to borrow has collapsed from a peak near 223% in early April to 40.7% as of May 11 — a 67% weekly drop. Short interest has also fallen sharply, down 23.9% in a week to 3.28% of free float.
The story here is the speed of the reversal. For most of April, PHIO's borrow cost held above 100% — touching 222% on April 2. That kind of premium signals a very tight lending pool with few shares available relative to demand.
The unwind has been swift. Availability, which reflects how many shares remain borrowable relative to those already lent out, has loosened materially as short positions closed. Fewer borrowed shares means more room in the lending pool. The CTB drop from 121% on May 8 to 40.7% on May 11 — a single-week move — underscores just how quickly the short-side pressure has eased.
Short interest itself has fallen nearly 40% over the past month, from roughly 582,000 shares in early April to 353,000 today.
Despite the unwind, the ORTEX short score sits at 64.6 — down from a recent high of 66.9 on April 28, but still elevated. The days-to-cover rank stands at the 76th percentile. That suggests the borrowing market remains tighter than average, even as the worst of the squeeze dissipates.
Timing matters here. PHIO has an earnings event scheduled for today, May 12. The previous print on May 7 saw the stock fall 7% on the day. The one before that, in late March, produced an 8% gain.
HC Wainwright & Co. maintains a Buy rating with a $14 target — a large implied upside from the current $1.08 close. The stock is down 10.7% over the past month.
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