Sivers Semiconductors at a Crossroads: Short Sellers Face Margin Squeeze as Earnings and Nasdaq Ambition Collide

Nordea Bank raises margin on bear certificates to 51.5% as short interest in Sivers Semiconductors jumps to 17% amid valuation gap and restated losses.

Liquidity in Sivers Semiconductors' stock has tightened to the point where Nordea Bank is forced to jack up costs for bearish bets. Starting 28 May 2026, the margin on Bear-Zertifikate with a -1 factor will jump to 51.5 per cent, with higher-leveraged products facing even steeper requirements — 102.5 per cent for -2 and 153.5 per cent for -3. Mini Future Shorts now carry a 50 per cent basis rate. The move, driven by elevated borrowing costs and thin supply in the securities lending market, throws a fresh obstacle in front of hedge funds already piling into the stock.

Short interest in the Swedish chipmaker has exploded from just 1.6 per cent of free float in early March to 17 per cent by late May, making it one of the most-shorted names on the Stockholm exchange. Prominent funds such as Voleon Capital (0.53 per cent of shares short) and Walleye Capital (0.5 per cent) have disclosed positions, while Anson Advisors, Anson Funds and Qube Research have pared their holdings below the 0.5 per cent reporting threshold. The disconnect is stark: the stock closed at SEK 70.20 on 28 May, a 4.36 per cent drop on the day, yet the consensus analyst target sits at SEK 6.55 and a discounted cash-flow model values it at just SEK 1.73.

Behind the valuation gap lies a company with deep operational losses. In fiscal 2025, Sivers reported revenue of roughly SEK 307 million against a net loss of SEK 223 million. The picture worsened after a restatement: net losses were revised up to SEK 222.6 million from an earlier SEK 186.5 million, while revenue edged higher to SEK 306.6 million. The restatements were part of a broader effort to align the 2024 and 2025 accounts with PCAOB standards — a prerequisite for the potential secondary listing on the Nasdaq in New York that Sivers is now exploring.

Despite the red ink, the stock has surged this year, fuelled in part by forced buying from index-trackers. Sivers enters the OMX Stockholm Benchmark Index and the MSCI Small Cap Index on 1 June, obliging ETFs and institutional investors to accumulate shares. The market capitalisation has ballooned to around SEK 23.5 billion.

Operationally, the company still has a high-profile lifeline: the EW STAR programme, funded by the Pentagon. On 19 May, Sivers announced a one-year extension, securing $6.6 million from the Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub. Partners BAE Systems, MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Columbia University continue to work on broadband antenna arrays for simultaneous transmission and reception, a technology destined for aerospace and defence applications.

All eyes now turn to the Q1 2026 report, originally due on 20 May but postponed to today, 29 May, because of the ongoing audit work. Investors will be watching for signs that the collaboration with Jabil on 1.6T optical transceivers is translating into revenue — or whether the drag from restated losses and a strained lending market keeps the short sellers in control. The annual general meeting follows on 15 June. For Sivers, the next few weeks could decide whether the 1,700% rally has legs or whether the bears are finally about to get their day.