Every share of PSTV (Plus Therapeutics) available to borrow has been lent out. The lending pool is now completely exhausted — availability has dropped to 0%. Cost to borrow stands at 180% annualised, more than double its level a week ago.
The cost to borrow hit a recent peak of 242% on May 12. It has since eased slightly to 180%. That easing matters less than the context: a week ago, CTB sat at 71.6%. It has risen 151% in seven days.
Availability hit zero on May 12 and has stayed there for three consecutive sessions. Before that, the lending pool was merely tight — availability had been running between 5% and 15% for most of April. The shift to complete exhaustion is abrupt.
The ORTEX short score sits at 85.7 out of 100. It has climbed from 81.3 on May 7 to its current level in under two weeks. That puts PSTV in the 1st percentile of utilisation rank globally — essentially the tightest borrow market in the universe ORTEX tracks.
Short interest itself is modest. Shares short stand at roughly 1.17 million, equal to 0.85% of free float. That is not a large short position by any measure.
But context matters here. Short interest surged 15.3% in the week to May 8, then trimmed 2.2% on May 14. The shares outstanding are small enough that even a modest increase in borrow demand drains the pool rapidly.
In early April, short interest was vastly higher — around 8.5 million shares. The collapse from that level accounts for the 86% one-month decline in SI. The current 1.17 million shorts represent the residual position that remains after that unwind.
Those remaining shorts now face 180% annualised carrying costs. With zero shares left to borrow, no new short positions can be established at any price.
The key variable is whether new borrow supply enters the market. Until it does, the lending squeeze persists regardless of short interest direction. The next earnings event appears to have passed — PSTV reported on May 14. Any post-earnings repositioning will run directly into the exhausted borrow pool.
Data summary
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Open PSTV 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.
