RPGL's defining story this week is the violent disconnect between a stock in freefall and a borrow market that has turned ferociously expensive — with short sellers doubling down even as the stock loses three-quarters of its value.
The scale of the short interest build is extraordinary. Estimated short interest has risen more than 100 times since mid-April, when fewer than 4,000 shares were on loan. By May 12, that figure had climbed to roughly 728,000 shares, pushing SI as a percentage of free float from near-zero to 1.7%. The pace of the move tells the real story: short interest doubled in a single week, rising 103% to 4.2% of float at its peak before easing back slightly. This is not a gradual accumulation — it is an aggressive, concentrated build that has coincided almost exactly with the stock's collapse from above $1.70 to $0.45.
The borrow market reflects that demand acutely. Cost to borrow has held in an extreme range for weeks, running near 249% annualised — one of the most punishing borrow costs on Nasdaq for any stock at this market cap. Availability, currently around 108% of short interest, sits in the tight zone, meaning roughly one share is available for every share already borrowed. That marks a significant easing from the peak of the past month: availability was far tighter in late April when short interest briefly spiked above 4% of float and borrowing costs touched 318%. The current reading suggests the lending pool has not yet been exhausted, but there is limited headroom. The ORTEX short score of 60.4 reflects that combination — elevated but not at extreme territory, having pulled back from a peak of 62.3 last week.
A major shareholder has been selling steadily through this decline. Cetera Wealth Services, listed as a main shareholder, sold shares on at least eight consecutive trading days through mid-to-late March, offloading roughly 766,000 shares at prices ranging from $1.11 down to $0.55. The total net shares sold over the 90-day reported period runs to nearly 2.6 million, representing a significant unwinding of the position. Those sales occurred at levels considerably above the current $0.45 close. There is no offsetting buying on record, and the only institutional holders on file are three parties with small declared positions — with one having cut their stake by over one million shares as of December.
The single piece of corporate news that appears to have triggered the April volatility was Republic Power's acquisition of a 10% stake in NVC Partners on April 27, alongside a technology agreement with NVTH for rights to a digital asset platform. The stock spiked violently in the days around that announcement before reversing. The December 2025 earnings release offers the only price-reaction data on record: the stock fell 18% the day of the print and was down more than 40% five days later. The next scheduled earnings event is December 2026.
With the stock now trading at $0.45 on a market cap of roughly $19 million, a 74% one-week loss in the bank, and borrow costs that remain near 250%, the key question over the coming sessions is whether the short interest build stabilises or continues — and whether availability tightens further as the float shrinks against an ongoing bear raid.
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Open RPGL 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.
