The lending market for KDK has effectively frozen. Cost to borrow exploded to 160.8% APR — up 557% in a single week — and availability has collapsed to zero.
Every share in the lending pool is currently lent out. There is nothing left to borrow.
The CTB move is stark. On May 1, borrowing KDK cost around 25% APR — already elevated for a small-cap name. By May 8 it had jumped to 53.7%. By May 11 it touched 175.6%. It closed May 12 at 160.8%.
That is a sixfold increase in nine trading days.
Shares short rose 19.4% over the same week to approximately 5.72 million shares, or 3.16% of free float. The demand for borrows accelerated sharply — while supply ran dry.
The ORTEX short score now sits at 83.7, up from 78.9 just four days ago. That five-point jump in less than a week reflects the combined pressure of rising short interest and a seized-up lending market.
Timing matters here. has an earnings event scheduled for today — May 13 — after market close. The stock fell 18% following its last print on May 7. The previous event in March produced a modest 3.6% gain.
Short sellers piled in this week. The lending market tightened to its absolute limit. Now the earnings report arrives.
Analysts remain constructive on paper. Citigroup's Michael Ward lowered his target this morning from $13.50 to $11.00 but kept a Buy rating. Chardan Capital cut from $22 to $15 last week, also maintaining Buy. The mean price target stands at $12.90 — 63% above the current $7.93 close.
That gap between analyst targets and current price tells its own story. So does the fact that a 10% owner stepped in on May 8, buying 769,230 shares at $6.50 for roughly $5 million.
AAC II Holdings II LP added that $5 million position just as the CTB was beginning its vertical move. At $6.50 per share, that is below the current price. The position represents about 0.1% of the company.
The options market is not signaling alarm. The put/call ratio sits at 0.13 — near the low end of its 52-week range of 0.057–0.326. Call-side positioning dominates.
Data summary — KDK, as of May 12, 2026
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
Open KDK on ORTEX →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.
