NorthWest Biotherapeutics Inc (NWBO)

[GoodGuyBill]

Regarding you comment,

I am clueless that these shorts won't let the SP run to short it at a higher price with more upside. Would you not rather short NWBO at $0.40/share? The upside is 2x from shorting it here.

You may be misinterpreting the shorts’ objective here. Their goal is not to make money at $0.20 vs. $0.40. Their goal is not to find the “best entry” for a new short or to maximize upside on fresh positions. Their goal is much simpler and far more urgent: They are trying not to lose their ass on an over-leveraged, aging, underwater short position. Nothing else explains the behavior you’re seeing, IMHO.

If you’re a clean, unleveraged trader looking for a fresh short, of course, you’d prefer to short at $0.40. Twice the downside, half the risk. But that logic only applies to someone who is: NOT already trapped, NOT already massively short, NOT already paying borrow fees, NOT already exposed to margin calls, and NOT already fighting a multi-year position about to explode in their damn faces.

The shorts in NWBO are NOT “opportunistic.” They are defensive. They cannot “wait for $0.40” because they cannot allow the stock to reach $0.40. When a short is over-leveraged, the #1 rule is: DO NOT LET THE PPS RISE! Every uptick increases margin requirements, collateral demands, risk of forced liquidation, broker scrutiny, FINRA maintenance thresholds, and the probability of a squeeze. So, they are forced to short at irrationally low prices, attack every rally, suppress volume, capping every breakout. They are not trying to make money. They are trying to avoid a catastrophe! This would explain why they add 1.5m shares every 2 weeks (assuming that's true) to keep this music going. If it stops, they die! Your AMC/Hempton example actually supports this viewpoint. Hempton likely has little or no exposure. Shorts what higher prices ONLY when they have little/no exposure. Shorts with large exposure want lower prices at all costs.

The behavior you’re seeing-- relentless suppression, shorting at irrational levels, capping every rally, adding millions of shares to maintain the lid-- is not the behavior of confident shorts. It is the behavior of trapped shorts. And trapped shorts don’t care about “optimal entry.” They care about not getting margin-called into oblivion.

That's my personal take.... what do I know?