Short interest as of Aug (latest available figure) was 33% of float. Possibly even higher now, although I suspect many took advantage of the drop on Sep 1 to cover (thus the large bounce off the day's low).
I'd suspect the shorts (me included, by the way) will provide some downward cushioning, covering whenever bad news comes out. Yes, IF unexpectedly good news were to come out, I'd want to be long, too, to ride the wave up. I don't expect that to happen, though.
I believe the lawsuits will cost the company a lot of money, even if they have attorneys on retainer, or insurance. Frankly, I'm torn when it comes to these shareholder lawsuits. On the one hand, if a company clearly misleads the public, then the public should be allowed to sue for some sort of compensation. But, OTOH, often it seems that at the first sign of trouble, you've got 10 law firms filing class actions. Makes me a bit uneasy, as if we've allowed such things to get out of hand. Difficult to draw a line, however.
Ken |
