I suspect they are ‘engaging management’ as an active...

I suspect they are ‘engaging management’ as an active shareholder to improve the focus & presentation of this undervalued group.

You seem to suppose the existence of a long and short position owned by the same asset manager (if indeed it’s the case) means the asset manager has no long term interest in the stock. I think you’ll find anyone with a large position in a small relatively illiquid stock like this is still faced with a significant challenge to exit, no matter the price.

What I see in RSG is a focused production and exploration company (2 countries) with a gradually strengthening balance sheet. Either it raises new equity at a highly dilutive price (assume this is what short interest holders are betting on) or it avoids this fate and (eventually) the shares will rebound. A dividend is out of the question but that’s less important than deleveraging.