ASP Isotopes Inc (NASDAQ:ASPI) shares are trading lower on Tuesday. The stock initially moved higher after the company announced it completed construction and started commissioning its Silicon-28 enrichment facility, but reversed course after a short seller issued a bearish report on the stock. Here’s what you need to know.
What Happened: Short Seller Fuzzy Panda Research issued a bearish report on ASP Isotopes on Tuesday claiming the company is using “old, disregarded laser enrichment technology to masquerade as a new, cutting-edge Uranium enrichment company.”
Fuzzy Panda claimed that it uncovered multiple stock promoters who were paid to promote ASP Isotopes. The short seller also claimed that family members of Barry Honig and John Stetson, who are currently banned from penny stocks trading, have stakes in ASP Isotopes.
A spokesperson for ASP Isotopes told Benzinga the Fuzzy Panda report includes inaccurate claims.
“We are aware of the report by a known activist short seller who stands to realize gains by a company's shares declining in value,” the ASP Isotopes spokesperson said.
“The report includes inaccurate claims and innuendo in an attempt to mislead investors. As a public company traded on Nasdaq, we direct investors to our public filings made with the SEC.”
Fuzzy Panda noted in the report that Cameco looked at ASP Isotope’s technology but decided to pass on investing. The short seller also noted that the company’s recent memorandum of understanding with Bill Gates-backed TerraPower is non-binding and did not cost TerraPower anything to enter into.
ASP Isotopes shares raced higher at the end of October after the company signed a deal with TerraPower related to the construction of a uranium enrichment facility capable of producing High Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU). ASP Isotopes said last week that it has received interest from potential customers who collectively require over $37 billion of HALEU between now and 2037.
The short seller went on to cast doubt on the company’s ability to obtain licenses and called the company’s cost estimate forecasts “delusional.”
“Management has issued false promises and promised milestones since the beginning,” the short seller said.
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What Else: ASP Isotopes shares actually started the day higher after the company announced that construction of its Silicon-28 enrichment facility in South Africa was completed. The company began the commissioning phase on Tuesday and is targeting supplying commercial quantities of Silicon-28 during the first half of 2025.
Silicon-28 is an isotope that is believed to enable quantum computing and is also likely to improve the performance of next-gen AI chips. Highly enriched Silicon-28 is expected to be required by manufacturers of next-gen semiconductors, the company said.
“To create faster, smaller next-generation semiconductors, the world is likely going to require materials that are currently not available in commercial quantities,” said Paul Mann, chairman and CEO of ASP Isotopes.
“ASP Isotopes is currently working on many isotopically pure elements that we believe will help semiconductor companies create the chips that the world will require in the future to enable technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence.”
ASP Isotopes said it already signed two supply agreements with U.S.-based customers for highly enriched Silicon-28. One of the customers is a semiconductor company and the other is an industrial gas company. ASP noted that it’s currently in discussions with multiple other potential customers and expects to sign more agreements within the next six months.
ASPI Price Action: ASP Isotopes shares were down 23.3% at $5.86 at the time of publication Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro.
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