1. It does not matter to me who likes or dislikes me on this board.
Well aware of that and feel likewise.
2. The board asked for a plausible explanation of the short interest and pointed to me as one of the potential contributors, so I responded with what I believed to be a reasonable and rational explanation. Notice in my original post that I did ask for opinions? I admit that the timing of purchases is not compatible with my original premise. That does not mean that it is completely wrong.
You asked for opinions and I gave you mine. I did not find the foundation of your explanation pausable and it appears you now agree. I did not say you were completey wrong, but there were major holes.
3. It may not have been Woodford who shorted the 2.3 million shares, but I think that it would be foolish for Woodford to NOT short shares as he buys, because that gives him the ability to stop a drastic decline in share price given any negative event without increasing his holding, gives him another angle to make money, and provides a small amount of "insurance" just in case something very negative does come out of NWBO (which I do not think is the case)...it is a big-boys hedge. I do not think Woodford or his analysts are foolish. I also do not think that Woodford is interested in owning a majority share of NWBO, which could happen if he only used the tool of buying on the open market to keep the share price from going below $5.
Woodford has the resources to support the share price without shorting the stock. As another poster mentioned, I'm not sure the charter even allows it.
4. No matter who shorted those shares, they do have to be bought back...as long as NWBO does not go completely bust. I do not think NWBO is going to completely implode based only on the latest events and given that Woodford continues to invest. Hence the short interest will serve to "prop up" the stock price as those shares are covered no matter who shorted them.
We've had nearly 10m short for a long time. Hasn't really supporteded the stock price. Why would 12+ provide support. If positive news, yes, the shorts will accelerate an upward move.
5. I really don't care whether or not anyone believes this rationale or not. I was simply sharing my take/opinion on the subject at the request of the board.
Likewise, I was only sharing my opinion. It is impossible for any of us to know for sure who is moving the pieces here.
This will be my last post on this subject.
