This is not the only reason for not being able shorting stock like XPE.
Firstly any shorting that has been reported may be inaccurate. If you don't know why then I'm not explaining it again.
The main reason why though is the potential losses you may make from speculative stocks and why brokers don't offer them, or aren't allowed to (this is important). You could have shorted xpe and, sure, made a butt-load of cash but what if the intel ann did come out mid short? As losses are technically unlimited with shorting stock the risk is simply too great, come out of a halt on the right announcement and you could be owing your broker 10x what you could ever loose by going long, which has an absolute maximum. Short woolworths, or BHP and their potential for a sudden, huge gain on the back of a halt is far less likely, and you'll far more likely have an opportunity to be "called" by your broker minimising your losses.
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