is it possible that the shorts were trying to cover before the 10k thats due ?
No, because there are no shorts in this stock. Not a single share short, according to FINRA.
Instead, it was almost certainly another conversion and dump by the toxic death spiral convertible holders. If COWI doesn't file the 10-K in the next 1 1/2 hours, they will be delinquent, which will restrict the ability of the toxic debt holders to convert and dump shares. So they likely did a huge conversion and sale to get it in under the wire and run away with as much money as they can.