: Helbiz short-selling analyst says cumulative cost basis for shorts is nearly 600% above current levels

Shares of Helbiz Inc. HLBZ gained 0.6% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the e-scooters and e-bicycles provider, which said last month it was going after alleged illegal short sellers, said it retained Buyins.net to provide short-sale statistics and market integrity surveillance. The company said based on Buyins.net data through Feb. 13, the total number of shares shorted (bearish bets) since August 2021 was about 2.37 billion shares. Buyins.net said on average, about 49% of daily trading was short selling. The cumulative cost basis for all Helbiz shares shorted during that period was $1.14, meaning the short sellers are making money when the stock is below that price and losing money when it is above it. The stock closed Tuesday at 16.69 cents, which implies it would have to rocket more than 583% for short sellers to start losing money, overall. The stock has tumbled 60.8% from the Jan. 23 closing high of 42.60 cents. The last time the stock closed above $1.14 was Aug. 15, 2022. The stock has plummeted 94.8% over the past 12 months while the S&P 500 SPX has lost 7.5%.

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