BTOC enters Thursday's Q3 earnings call in an unusual position: shorts have been running for the exits even as the stock climbs, and the borrow market has loosened dramatically from its April highs.
Short sellers have covered aggressively over the past month. Short interest as a percentage of free float has fallen from a peak near 0.87% in early April to just 0.50% now — the lowest reading since April — with the weekly decline running at nearly 27%. That is a substantial directional shift in a short base that was already modest by most measures. The covering has coincided with a 15% stock price gain over the week and nearly 12% over the past month, suggesting some of the exit was involuntary.
The lending market tells the same story. Availability has risen dramatically — with 1,185% of short interest available to borrow, there is roughly 12 shares left in the lending pool for every one currently shorted. That is extremely loose, well above normal conditions, and a sharp reversal from April when utilization briefly reached 41% of the lending pool. Cost to borrow has also eased, dropping about 7% on the week to around 11%, compared to a brief spike above 43% on April 13 that quickly unwound. The borrow market no longer reflects any meaningful stress.
Earnings land tomorrow, May 15, and last night's after-hours session brought a disappointing preview: Q3 EPS came in at -$0.11 against a $0.04 consensus estimate, while sales of $41.7M fell well short of the $61.4M consensus. That is a double miss on both the top and bottom line, and it comes at a delicate moment given the stock's recent run-up. Prior earnings reactions have been inconsistent. The November 2025 release produced a 14% one-day gain and a 28% five-day gain. The February 2026 release swung the other way — down 7% on the day and nearly 21% over five days. The most recent event in mid-February was also a loss. There is no clear directional pattern.
Ownership concentration is notable. Founder and chairman Aidy Chou controls 59% of shares outstanding, with a second insider holding another 8%. That leaves a very thin free float, which amplifies price moves in either direction but limits the relevance of conventional short interest metrics. The company's market cap of roughly $15 million reinforces how small and thinly traded this name remains. Citadel Advisors opened a new position in Q4 2025, though at just 0.5% of shares, the position size is negligible in dollar terms.
The ORTEX short score of 35.8 has been declining steadily — it stood at 41.7 on April 30 and has fallen every session since. A lower short score means positioning is becoming less bearish by the ORTEX composite measure, consistent with the covering trend in short interest data. Factor scores are neutral, with a sector percentile rank of 50.
The combination of a double earnings miss posted after-hours and a stock that has already rallied 15% into the event sets up a tense session for Thursday's formal earnings call. Watch whether the covering trend in short interest continues or reverses in response to the Q3 results.
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