Conspiracy time!
Given:
1. 10M shares sold short, which held steady through the last reporting period.
2. $50M shelf available for use at any moment.
3. Financing remains a question mark to us commoners.
4. A deteriorating price.
Tinfoil assumptions:
1. Our short captors are, or are in bed with, our largest institutional holders
2. Advaxis itself is, possibly begrudgingly, in cahoots with the aforementioned given a) the company's tumultuous past and prior financing needs/agreements, and b) anecdotal evidence of said relationships/agreements existing via DOC having "broken promises", etc.
What are the odds that our friends/short captors are trying to force the price down to roughly $5.00 under some agreement to issue a full 10M shares for $50M?
Reasons:
1. This gives the company cash it needs.
2. This gives the shorts a chance to completely cover, and entirely at profit since all shorting has occurred above $5.
3. This explains the relentless price drops that don't ever seem to fall far below $6, going back years.
4. This explains why DOC got canned/left if he was indeed "breaking promises", e.g. not playing the game as demanded.
5. It looks above board on the surface -- the company says it can't control the price, the shorts are just doing business, and the world keeps spinning as far as the oblivious outside world is concerned.
6. Continued radio silence from the company provides no reassurance to investors, causing the price to continue to bleed towards $5 with minimal incremental effort by the shorts (as they can't continue extending their short position far beyond 10M with this strategy).