Sivers Semiconductors Dives 9.75% as Oversubscribed Placement Stirs Lock-Up Confusion

Swedish chipmaker Sivers Semiconductors' shares fell nearly 10% after a heavily oversubscribed $71.8M placement, with lock-up concerns and weak Q1 revenue weighing; backlog surged 77% to $799M.

A targeted share placement that drew more-than-ample institutional demand has done little to soothe Sivers Semiconductors’ stock, with the Swedish photonics and radio-chip maker extending its slide by nearly a tenth on Thursday. The shares closed at €4.82, deepening a two-day rout that began with a double-digit drop a day earlier. The sell-off has erased roughly 53% from the June 3 peak of €10.23.

The 700 million Swedish kronor (about $71.8 million) capital increase closed Tuesday night via an accelerated bookbuild led by Pareto Securities. Some 12.28 million new ordinary shares were issued at 57 kronor apiece — a roughly 9.7% discount to the prior session’s close on the Nasdaq Stockholm. The offering was multiple times oversubscribed, drawing both existing and new Swedish and international institutional holders. Yet the stock kept falling, losing 17.77% in seven trading days and 38.46% over the past month.

Behind the market’s skittishness lies a dispute over lock-up commitments. Swedish business daily Dagens Industri flagged what it called “warning signals” around the deal, alleging a possible deviation from previous lock-up pledges. Sivers itself had disclosed that Pareto Securities granted an exception from a 180-day lock-up tied to an April 2026 placement, allowing the new raise to proceed. For the current offering, the company has agreed to a fresh 120-calendar-day lock-up. Management and board members remain bound by earlier restrictions until July 16, 2026, under the April deal’s terms — though that period is now less than two weeks away.

The proceeds are earmarked for expanding production capacity for indium phosphide lasers and optical amplifiers, components essential for co-packaged optics, silicon photonics, AI data centers, and automotive LiDAR systems. Additional funds will go toward customer support and research. The capital need is underscored by weak near-term numbers: first-quarter 2026 net revenue came in at just 61.9 million kronor, a year-on-year decline of 22%, which management blamed on delayed U.S. defense allocations after the end-2025 government shutdown and unfavorable currency effects.

But the pipeline tells a different story. Order backlog swelled 77% in the first five months of 2026, reaching nearly $799 million by end-May. The chasm between current revenue and future potential has helped some analysts stay bullish. The independent analyst known as Serenity — who goes by the moniker "the white-haired stock god" in industry circles — calls Sivers a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" in indium phosphide lasers for CPO and silicon photonics, noting the placement was oversubscribed. Key catalysts cited include the planned U.S. Nasdaq dual listing, expected in coming quarters, and an upcoming qualification at WIN Semiconductors.

Chart watchers see a deeply wounded stock. The current €4.82 level sits 12% below the 50-day moving average of €6.12 (close to the €6.08 figure from earlier this week). The 14-day relative strength index of 39.5 (versus 36.8 in the other report) hovers near oversold territory. Annualized 30-day volatility tops 220%, reflecting the wild swings. On a longer view, the shares have rallied more than 20-fold from a 52-week low of €0.27 in March, tempering some of the pessimism.

The next quarterly report, due in August, will test whether the fresh liquidity can convert that $799 million pipeline into real revenue growth — or whether repeated dilutive deals and discount pricing will keep eroding investor trust.