First Republic Bank (FRCB)

[ForReal]

It works like this. Those that are short have to cover their short positions. That means they have to buy shares to do so. So, those currently holding shares will be able to sell those shares, to the amount that shorters are short. Last count, that was 56 million shares are short.
Many of those that sold short, did so from $133 to about $50. If a short position is covered at say $10, the difference is the profit of the short position.
Now, there are some heavy institutional traders currently holding short positions. Thusly, if the halt is discontinued, there will be buying in the market, to cover short positions. If a majority current shareholders hold, it will create what is known as a squeeze. Short positions must be covered within a distinct number of trading days, which puts pressure on those holding short to cover or lose out on the money they are holding from their short sales.
I'm not saying it will happen, but there may be shareholders that may recoup all or a portion of the money they paid to buy First Republic. It will be interesting to see what happens here.
Just a possible situation I am proposing and I could be wrong. But, as was stated in an earlier post, it is likely that institutional investors will be given a chance to cover their short positions.