Jay Arr, thanks for expounding. I'll take your points 1 by 1.
"It is just not done on a stock with such little volume and so closely held."
Little volume now, and for some time. But there were times of high volumes, and a lot of that stock could've been sold short. And closely held is actually a plus for a short in a small stock -- the short could reasonably expect that institutional buying would never appear to disrupt their operation.
"...the position wouldn't be held short forever."
A large short can't be covered if volume doesn't materialize. The short expects long positions to puke up their stock and go away. That hasn't happened.
"Nobody stays short forever."
Yes, they do when they can't buy cover shares (see above), or if they feel quite certain that the company they shorted is properly zombified. Then it lingers for eternity on the pinks, the short never worries about covering, and since it's a perpetual open position, they never pay taxes on their gains.
And Sammy, thanks for the assist.
