I will be very happy to be corrected on any of this, but this is...

I will be very happy to be corrected on any of this, but this is what I see.

I think Bank of America ("BoA") are playing a very dangerous game.

Whilst BoA have been buying and selling on market, they have also been borrowing and returning borrowed shares.

My understanding of one theory of why someone would would borrow shares, is because they then sell those borrowed shares on market, forcing the price down and then buying the shares back on market at a lower price. They can then return the shares that were borrowed in the first place and keep the difference between what they sold the shares at and what they bought them back at.

BoA borrowed 35.7 million shares from Regal on 12 May 2023, bought a few shares on market perhaps keeping the price around 4.5 cents and then borrowed another 6.6 million shares from Regal on 23 May 2023.

There were then 10 M shares sold on ASX on 25 May (plus Cboe/Chi-x) and a further 15 million on ASX on 26 May (plus Cboe).

If that selling was BoA, then they have achieved the first step of selling and forcing the price lower. I presume we will need to wait until mid next week for an updated substantial shareholder notice to confirm as I assume that they will now need to disclose any transactions.

The reason why I think BoA are playing a very dangerous game, is because I feel that there are plenty of retail traders out there closely watching HIO thinking it is oversold and waiting to see what the bottom is. I suspect that there are also plenty of believers in HIO who sold down or out but watching closely to see when they might get back in plus long terms looking to top up at bargain prices or get a lower average cost per share. Some have probably already started at these very tempting prices.

Once BoA stop selling those shares (assuming it is them selling), the bottom will be in and there will then be a rush for BoA to buy back all the shares it sold before all of the traders and HIO believers come back in as FOMO will kick in quickly.

When you look at the sell depth, it is very very thin. BoA have borrowed approx 42 million shares and potentially sold a chunk of those at between 3.5 and 4.5 cents per share. It could be very hard to buy back that many shares below 4.5 cents when traders and believers also start buying - and I will not at all be sorry if BoA get their fingers burnt in the process.

I can't say when the bottom will be hit, but when it does I can't help but think it will be a quick scramble for BoA to get buy back their borrowed shares, a great buying opportunity for believers and an opportunity for traders to make a quick buck from BoA.

I am open to any other thoughts and theories as to why BoA have recently borrowed 42 million from Regal.