Weekly Wrap Up: Sunday 11/2/2025
METC, DASH, RR Updates + Argentina Votes: Easy to Fear, Hard to Short
This Week in Activist Short Selling
This week saw five new activist short reports with dramatically varied market reactions, underscoring the unpredictable nature of short campaigns in the current bull market. While initial intraday reactions ranged from modest declines to dramatic plunges exceeding 28%, end-of-week results told a different story.
- Ducommun Inc. (DCO) faced forensic accounting allegations from Glass House Research, initially recovering to close flat but ending the week down 1.42% as investors digested the detailed accounting concerns.
- F5, Inc. (FFIV) sustained the week's worst damage from Deep Specter Research's cybersecurity breach exposé, finishing down 12.86% as serious investor concerns mounted about long-term reputational damage.
- Anavex Life Sciences (AVXL) saw muted response to BMF Reports' clinical trial criticism, closing the week down just 1.60% as biotech investors await the imminent EMA decision.
- Eos Energy Enterprises (EOSE) defied Fuzzy Panda Research's fraud allegations, remarkably recovering from an 8.49% intraday drop to finish the week up 11.55%, demonstrating strong buying support despite serious safety concerns.
- Datavault AI (DVLT) plummeted 28.57% intraday following Wolfpack Research's damning exposé of the stock promotion, closing the week down 19.44% as the market repriced the company amid allegations of a CEO with SEC sanctions and a non-functional platform.
New Activist Reports
Ducommun Inc. DCO
NYSE | Glass House Research
October 28, 2025DCO initially dropped 5.23% intraday following the Glass House Research report but mounted an impressive same-day recovery, closing essentially flat at $93.08. However, as investors had more time to analyze the detailed forensic accounting allegations, the stock declined gradually through the week, ultimately finishing down 1.42% at $91.75. This delayed negative reaction suggests the market is taking the accounting red flags seriously despite the initial resilience.
About Ducommun Inc.:Ducommun Incorporated is a NYSE-listed aerospace and defense supplier based in Carson, California, providing structural and electronic components for both military and commercial applications. With approximately $795 million in revenue for 2024 and led by CEO Stephen Oswald since 2017, the company has positioned itself as a growth story in the aerospace sector with a "Vision 2027" target of $1.3-1.5 billion in revenue.
Key Points from the Report:- Glass House alleges DCO is a "forensic accounting red flag disguised as an aerospace growth story" with revenue expansion driven by aggressive revenue recognition rather than genuine demand
- Report claims ballooning working capital and steady acquisition stream designed to mask weak organic performance
- Former insiders cited saying management doubled down on production despite project delays and shipment push-outs from Boeing, RTX, and Airbus
- Research firm warns a "big bath" period is highly likely as years of aggressive pull-forwards collide with reality
- Price target of $25-35 per share represents 40-60% downside from current levels
F5, Inc. FFIV
NASDAQ | Deep Specter Research
October 28, 2025FFIV experienced the most significant and sustained damage of any report this week. The stock plummeted nearly 10% intraday to $261.50 before recovering slightly to close down 7.86% at $267.58. Unlike other targets that recovered, F5 continued declining through the week, ultimately finishing down 12.86% at $253.05. This persistent selling pressure reflects serious investor concerns about the long-term implications of the alleged nation-state breach and potential damage to F5's reputation as a trusted cybersecurity provider.
About F5, Inc.:F5, Inc. is a NASDAQ-listed cybersecurity and application delivery company, best known for its BIG-IP product line that helps secure and manage network traffic for enterprises worldwide. As a critical infrastructure provider serving government agencies, financial institutions, and major corporations, F5's products are deployed on over 600,000 devices globally, making any security compromise potentially catastrophic.
Key Points from the Report:- Deep Specter alleges F5 is "a compromised cybersecurity company misleading the market" about a nation-state breach affecting 600,000+ devices globally
- Report claims attackers had 12+ months of unrestricted access to steal source code, vulnerabilities, and customer configurations
- CISA emergency directive warns of "potentially catastrophic compromise" requiring immediate federal action
- Research firm accuses F5 of prioritizing optics over substance, using inadequate consulting firms instead of deep forensic investigation
- Report concludes the breach enables attackers to decrypt significant portions of global Internet traffic and is far from contained
Anavex Life Sciences Corp. AVXL
NASDAQ | BMF Reports
October 29, 2025AVXL showed the most muted reaction of the week, declining just 2.72% intraday before stabilizing to close down under 1% at $8.02. The stock remained relatively flat through week's end, finishing down only 1.60% at $7.97. This minimal impact likely reflects a biotech investor base that's accustomed to volatility and short seller reports, combined with market participants focusing on the upcoming EMA decision in November-December as the true catalyst that will validate or refute BMF's thesis about failed trial endpoints.
About Anavex Life Sciences:Anavex Life Sciences Corporation is a NASDAQ-listed clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for Alzheimer's disease and Rett syndrome. Operating from a virtual mailbox and having spent over a decade in development, the company has been pursuing regulatory approval in Europe for its lead drug candidate, with an EMA decision expected in late 2025.
Key Points from the Report:- BMF Reports alleges AVXL is a "promotion-and-dilution machine disguised as biotech innovation" that has manipulated trial endpoints and conducted statistical gymnastics
- Report claims failed functional endpoints with ADCS-ADL showing p=0.36 (not statistically significant)
- Research firm points to "statistically implausible" Rett syndrome data with Cohen's d ≈ 1.9 and court-established scienter regarding endpoint deception
- BMF expects imminent EMA rejection in November-December 2025 as key catalyst
- Price target of $0.60-$0.85 per share represents 60-80% downside, valuing company at approximately $50-70M in net cash
Eos Energy Enterprises Inc. EOSE
NASDAQ | Fuzzy Panda Research
October 30, 2025In a remarkable display of market resilience, EOSE defied Fuzzy Panda's serious fraud allegations to deliver the week's most surprising performance. After initially plunging 8.49% to $13.15, the stock recovered to close the report day down just 0.35% at $14.32. Rather than succumbing to the damning allegations of deadly gas leaks and falsified financials, EOSE surged through the week to finish up 11.55% at $16.03. This dramatic reversal suggests either strong conviction buying from investors skeptical of the allegations, potential short covering, or market participants betting on government support given the DOE's $303M loan commitment.
About Eos Energy Enterprises:Eos Energy Enterprises Inc. is a NASDAQ-listed battery storage company developing zinc-based energy storage systems as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries. The company has received significant government support including a $303 million Department of Energy loan program and has positioned itself as a key player in the renewable energy storage market. Based in the United States, EOSE has been working to commercialize its battery technology for large-scale energy storage applications.
Key Points from the Report:- Fuzzy Panda alleges EOSE is "a fraudulent battery company" hiding deadly gas leaks and presenting false financials to government creditors
- Report claims batteries leak potentially deadly hydrogen bromide gas exceeding OSHA safety limits by 10x, with former safety executive warning: "You're literally riding the razor's edge on whether or not you'll kill somebody"
- Research firm alleges three different sets of financial models presented to mislead DOE, Cerberus, and investors, with catastrophic unit economics (material costs of $284/kWh exceed selling prices of $250/kWh)
- Report claims approximately 80% of backlog consists of defunct or fictitious projects, with major customers abandoning the product
- Fuzzy Panda estimates 88% downside from comparable valuations, warning of DOE loan default risk with $90.9M debt potentially becoming immediately due
Datavault AI DVLT
NASDAQ | Wolfpack Research
October 31, 2025DVLT suffered the most dramatic intraday collapse of the week, plummeting 28.57% to $1.80 following Wolfpack Research's devastating exposé of what they called a "total joke" stock promotion. The stock recovered somewhat to close at $2.03 (down 19.44%) and held that level through week's end. This 19% sustained loss represents a significant repricing as the market absorbed Wolfpack's allegations about the SEC-sanctioned CEO, the company operating from a beauty salon, a non-functional blockchain platform with virtually no trading activity, and questionable partnerships with cash-strapped penny stock companies.
About Datavault AI:Datavault AI is a NASDAQ-listed company that claims to operate a "blockchain-powered AI platform" for data monetization and NFT trading. Led by CEO Nathaniel Bradley and operating from a 2,800 square foot office (not the claimed 22,000 sq ft), the company has announced various partnerships and initiatives including quantum computing centers and AI defense contracts. The company's leadership operates from locations including a beauty salon in Matawan, New Jersey, and New York City co-working spaces.
Key Points from the Report:- Wolfpack alleges DVLT is a stock promotion led by CEO Nathaniel Bradley, who was fined $40,000 by the SEC in 2021 for falsely claiming his previous company had COVID-19 tests and PPE "available" when the company was actually insolvent
- Report claims the "Data Vault" platform is a wasteland with meaningless NFTs like "Bentley Pup" and "Parmesan Cheese," finding only ONE transaction in over 100+ NFTs reviewed - a 1 penny trade from May 2023
- Research reveals the "22,000 square foot quantum computing center" is actually a 2,800 sq ft office where only one employee was observed working
- Report exposes partnerships with questionable companies: Burke Products (a small Ohio business selling nuts and bolts, not AI defense tech) and Nature's Miracle Holdings (which has only $9,511 in cash despite promising a $2M license fee)
- Wolfpack concludes Bradley operates the ~$700M market cap company from a beauty salon in New Jersey and that DVLT is designed to enrich insiders at retail investors' expense
Activ8 Newswire
How Short Sellers Are Surviving a Crazy Bull MarketInstitutional Investor | October 28, 2025Despite a challenging environment with the S&P 500 hitting new highs, activist short sellers like Carson Block of Muddy Waters are thriving by using risk management strategies such as covering positions quickly after publishing reports, hedging with long positions, and trading around their shorts to navigate the extended bull market.
Read Article →Britain's FCA Eases Short Selling Rules for Hedge FundsReuters | October 28, 2025The UK's Financial Conduct Authority confirmed it will stop publishing the identities of short sellers and instead only disclose anonymised aggregate net short positions, aligning Britain more closely with U.S. disclosure practices in an effort to cut red tape and make the country's markets more competitive for hedge funds.
Read Article →Short Seller Andrew Left Says Hedge Fund Lied to SEC About PaymentBloomberg | October 31, 2025Citron Research founder Andrew Left is suing Anson Advisors and its leaders, alleging they falsely told the Securities and Exchange Commission that he orchestrated a scheme to funnel short-selling proceeds through a third party in an effort to deflect blame and protect themselves in the federal government's fraud case against him.
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