Diverging Short Bets
Short Interest Trends Diverged Dramatically for Several Small-Cap Stocks Last Month
Anonymous
Key Points
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TPZ’s short interest fell to 4,760 shares as of May 29 (from 24,411 on May 14), and the short-interest ratio was about 0.5 “days” based on average volume of 9,076 shares; the report also noted JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings by 233.8% in the second quarter (adding 5,463 shares) and Walleye Capital LLC initiated a new position valued at about $213,000.
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For CREG, the company’s latest quarterly results cited in the article showed EPS of -$0.03 on revenue of about $0.11 million, alongside a negative return on equity of -1.95% and a negative net margin of -732%.
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PENMF’s short interest rose to 6,996 shares by May 29 (from 281 on May 14), with a days-to-cover ratio of 0.2 days and “0.0%” of shares sold short at the time of the filing snapshot; the article also detailed that the firm’s Lance Projects in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin operate under a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission license and use in-situ recovery via circulating oxygenated water through sandstone aquifers to dissolve and recover uranium as U3O8.
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SEII’s reported short interest jumped from 100 shares to 309,800 shares by May 29, but the article emphasized the stock’s extreme illiquidity/quoting issues—showing a 52-week low of $0.00 and a 52-week high of $0.00—and cited a days-to-cover ratio of 0.0 days based on average daily volume of about 9,336,686 shares.
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SUGP’s article reported that 16.3% of shares were sold short and the company was also under renewed bearish analyst coverage: Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on April 21, and the article said MarketBeat data showed a consensus rating of “Sell.”
Short interest in Cleantech Solutions International (SEII) exploded by 309,700% in May, jumping from just 100 shares to 309,800 shares by May 29, according to MarketBeat. The surge stands out even among a group of volatile micro-cap stocks that saw wild swings in bearish positioning last month.
The move came as SEII — now operating as Sharing Economy International, focused on power bank rentals — fired its auditor just one day before the snapshot date. The outgoing firm had flagged "substantial doubt" about the company's ability to survive, according to SEC filings.
Auditor Dismissal Signals Deep Trouble at SEII
On May 28, SEII's board dismissed its auditor, LAO Professionals, and replaced it with Privatco CPA Limited, according to SEC filings. The timing raised immediate red flags. LAO had issued a formal "going concern" warning — accounting language meaning the company may not be able to keep operating. Dismissing an auditor after such a warning is a classic sign of internal conflict over financial transparency.
SEII's stock price tells its own story. The company's 52-week high and low are both listed at $0.00, reflecting extreme illiquidity and broken quoting, per MarketBeat. Despite that, average daily volume runs at about 9.3 million shares. The days-to-cover ratio is 0.0, meaning shorts could exit almost instantly. The 309,800-share position is a speculative bet on total collapse — not a slow bleed.
SUGP Bears Up 445% While Company Raises Survival Cash
SU Group Holdings (SUGP) saw short interest climb 445.1%, from 41,205 shares on May 14 to 224,604 shares by May 29, according to Ticker Report. As of the snapshot, 16.3% of SUGP's shares were sold short. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "Sell (D)" rating on the stock on April 21, and MarketBeat data showed a consensus rating of "Sell."
Just weeks before the short interest surge, SUGP closed a $6 million public offering of 3 million units on May 12–13, facilitated by WallachBeth Capital. Analysts view the raise as a survival move, not a growth play. Some retail traders on penny stock forums see the rising short interest as a potential short-squeeze setup, though fundamentals point the other way.
Smart Powerr's Short Interest Collapses Before Reverse Split
Smart Powerr (CREG) took the opposite path. Its short interest fell 92.7%, from 4.98 million shares on May 15 to 361,348 shares by May 29. That drop came despite catastrophic financials: the company reported earnings per share of -$0.03 on just $0.11 million in revenue, a net margin of -732%, and a negative return on equity of -1.95%, per Watchlist News.
CREG announced a 1-for-10 reverse stock split on June 8 to stay above Nasdaq's $1.00 minimum bid requirement, with post-split trading set to begin June 16. Reverse splits in micro-caps often signal ongoing distress rather than recovery. Shorts may have covered early to avoid volatility around the split date.
Uranium Miner PENMF Draws New Bears, While TPZ Sees Institutional Buying
Peninsula Energy (PENMF), an Australian uranium developer running Wyoming's Lance Projects, saw short interest jump from just 281 shares on May 14 to 6,996 shares by May 29 — a rise of roughly 2,389%. The absolute numbers are tiny, but the direction suggests growing skepticism about the company's in-situ recovery method, which dissolves uranium from sandstone aquifers using oxygenated water. The project operates under a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission license.
Meanwhile, Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund (TPZ) moved in the opposite direction. Short interest dropped 80.5%, from 24,411 shares to 4,760 shares, per Watchlist News. Institutional money followed. JPMorgan Chase increased its TPZ stake by 233.8%, adding 5,463 shares in Q2 2026. Walleye Capital LLC initiated a new position worth about $213,000. The short-interest ratio fell to just 0.5 days based on average volume of 9,076 shares.
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