BRAI has had a remarkable week — the stock is up 78% to $12.49, nearly tripling its price from a month ago, while the lending market remains one of the most expensive in the market.
The price action is the story. BRAI gained 74% in a single session on May 26, extending a month-long rally of 58% and leaving the stock at its highest level of the three-month chart range. The move follows a reported surge in hash rate growth from the Bitcoin mining operation, with the company pointing to improving operational efficiency even as electricity costs remain elevated. That narrative has clearly resonated — the stock traded well above prior resistance and drew fresh investor interest at a time when stable crypto prices are giving miners a more constructive backdrop.
The lending market tells a vivid supporting story. Cost to borrow has been running near 857% annualised — an extraordinarily expensive level, down slightly from above 1,000% in mid-May but still among the highest in the market. That reflects persistent demand to borrow shares even as the price has rocketed higher. Availability has eased a little, now at 120%, meaning lenders currently hold roughly 1.2 shares available for every share already borrowed — a modest loosening from the tightest stretch of the past year, when availability dropped to just 15%. The borrow market is not in a full squeeze right now, but the cost signals that finding shares to short remains punishing.
Short interest itself is a small part of the picture. At only 0.13% of the free float — roughly 63,000 shares — the absolute short position is negligible relative to the stock's outstanding shares. That total has risen about 175% over the past month, but starting from such a low base the absolute number remains tiny. Short covering is not what drove this week's move. The extreme borrow cost reflects a structural thinness in the lendable pool rather than a meaningful short base pressing against a squeeze.
Ownership is notably concentrated. Natraj Balasubramanian, reported as holding 59.5% of shares, added approximately 112.7 million shares in the most recently filed data from March 2026. A second named holder, Chetan Saligrama, holds a further 14.2%. Together those two positions account for nearly three-quarters of the company. That concentration means the genuine free float is very thin relative to total shares outstanding, which helps explain why borrow costs remain extreme even when availability appears adequate in percentage terms — the absolute share count available to lend is small.
The ORTEX short score has drifted slightly lower this week, from around 59 at the start of the period to 57.4 on May 26 — a modest easing but still in a range that reflects meaningful short-side interest relative to peers. The stock carries no upcoming earnings date in the data, no analyst coverage on record, and minimal institutional ownership beyond the founding shareholders. The next thing to watch is whether the hash rate and efficiency narrative from May can be sustained into June operating data — that is the only fundamental anchor the market currently has.
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