The Short Sellers Digest: IperionX, NuScale Power, Papa John's

Mark Jolley

October 7, 2025

Last updated: November 17, 2025 — includes this week’s Short Sellers Digest data.

First published: October 7, 2024

This weekly article curates notable short-seller reports and executive resignations, enriched with Transparently.ai's proprietary Risk Ratings to help investors quickly assess the accounting quality and potential red flags in public companies.

The ratings are a proprietary measure of accounting manipulation risk, assigned as a letter grade from A+ (representing high-quality accounts) to F (indicating extreme risk). A lower letter grade (e.g., D, E, F) suggests a greater likelihood of aggressive accounting practices or potential financial misrepresentation and warrants closer investigation.

Please see the appendix below for further explanation.

Note: Our model is not designed to provide ratings for financial institutions due to their unique accounting and regulatory frameworks. This article should not be construed as investment advice.

We will be updating this article regularly, which over time will develop into a living archive of market controversies and risk signals that investors and asset managers can use to spot patterns, track red flags, and inform smarter stock picking.

Nov. 17, 2025

Weekly digest of short reports and noteworthy C-suite movements, including company tickers, allegations, risk scores, and research sources.
Company	Ticker	Allegation / Event	Risk Score	Research House
SHORT REPORTS
IperionX	IPX	Questioned company's expansion plans when sales are so low	D	Spruce Point Capital
New Horizon Aircraft	HOVR	Massive shareholder dilution. One listed facility appears to a residential house	F	Pelican Way Research
NuScale Power	SMR	Update claiming, "none of the 15 MOUs signed since 2019 have come to fruition”	F	Iceberg Research
Sable Offshore	SOC	Company faces a liquidity crisis and desperately needs to raise cash	E	Hunterbrook Media
Papa John's	PZZA	Manipulators are spreading false reports of a share acquisition offer	C+	Hunterbrook Media
NOTEWORTHY C-SUITE MOVEMENTS
Calavo Growers	CVGW	CEO retires after 3 years: 5 CEOs and 8 CFOs in ten years	D
Malibu Boats	MBUU	CFO enters transition agreement with immediate effect after two years	D
PagSeguro Digital	PAGS	CEO resigns after four years. Viceroy previously published on the stock	E
Sprinklr	CXM	Chief Revenue Officer departs after just two months	C-
Terra Innovatum Global	NKLR	Board member resigns after just 4 weeks	Insufficient Data
XCF Global	SAFX	CEO "terminated without cause" after two years, also exits the board	E
DraftKings	DKNG	President for North America enters into a "transition agreement" after six years	E

Nov. 10, 2025

Weekly digest of short reports and notable C-suite movements. Each row lists company tickers, allegations, risk scores, and research sources.
Company	Ticker	Allegation / Event	Risk Score	Research House
SHORT REPORTS
HelloFresh	HFG	“... in steep decline, obscured by shifting metrics...” Co-founder selling calls	E	Grizzly Research
AAON	AAON	Data center revenue "overstated by ~30-40%”. CEO sold shares before leaving	B	Jehoshaphat Research
NOTEWORTHY C-SUITE MOVEMENTS
Dentsply Sirona	XRAY	CFO departs after 5 months. Previous CEO terminated in 2022 after internal review	E
K Wave Media	KWM	CFO departs with immediate effect after one and a half years.	F
Foghorn Therapeutics	FHTX	CFO departs with immediate effect after one and a half years.	E
Primo Brands	PRMB	CFO resigns and also quits the board	D
Slide Insurance Holdings	SLDE	CEO criticized by Manatee Treseach in Sep	NA (Financial)
Eagle Bancorp	EGBN	CFO replacement after almost 8 years	NA (Financial)
Tucows	TCX	CEO enters "mutual separation agreement" after 26 years with $2.5 million payout	F
NewMarket Corp	NEU	President becomes CEO after 9 months. Three CFOs in 5 years	A
SES AI Corp	SES	CFO resigns; the 4th in 13 months	E
DraftKings	DKNG	President departs via "mutual separation agreement" after six years	E

Nov. 5, 2025

Weekly digest of short reports and notable C-suite movements, including company tickers, allegations, risk scores, and research sources.
Company	Ticker	Allegation / Event	Risk Score	Research House
SHORT REPORTS
Anavex Life Sciences	AVXL	Rigged clinical trials, looming EMA rejection & suspect compensation deals	F	BMF Reports
Datavault AI	DVLT	"...misleading press releases and empty claims" with CEO previously fined by SEC	F	Wolfpack Research
Drax Group	DRX	Predicts “management will have to go” amid ongoing FCA investigation	B-	ShadowFall Research
Ducommun	DCO	Overstated growth prospects, “aggressive accounting” and balance sheet risk	C	Glasshouse Research
Eos Energy Enterprises	EOSE	Capital raises and customer churn; backlog quality questioned	F	Fuzzy Panda Research
NOTEWORTHY C-SUITE MOVEMENTS
Algoma Steel Group	ASTL	CEO resigns; interim leadership appointed while search begins	C
Chegg	CHGG	CEO transitions out; strategic pivot underway	D
Credit Acceptance Corp	CACC	General Counsel departs; ongoing leadership turnover cited	C
GXO Logistics	GXO	Chief Revenue Officer resigns, follows departure of the CFO in August	C
Medallion Financial	MFIN	91 year-old CEO and founder announces retirement, hands reigns to son	NA (Financial)
United Parks & Resorts	PRKS	CFO resigns after a year, 5 CFOs and 6 CEOs in ten years.	C

Oct. 28, 2025

Weekly digest of short reports and notable C-suite movements, including company tickers, allegations, risk scores, and research sources.
Company	Ticker	Allegation / Event	Risk Score	Research House
SHORT REPORTS
DoorDash	DASH	The drivers of this food delivery company are not properly vetted	C-	Culper Research
Ramaco Resources	METC	The company's Brook Mine is too low grade to be economically viable	C+	Wolfpack Research
RXO Inc.	RXO	The company reports "some operating expenses ... as investments"	C-	DF Research
NOTEWORTHY C-SUITE MOVEMENTS
Eagle Bancorp	EGBN	Chief Credit Officer announces resignation after slightly more than a year	NA (financial)
Gogo	GOGO	COO departs after just ten months	D
Helport AI Limited	HPAI	Interim CFO resigns after 6 months. This follows the termination of the CFO in March	C
Rezolve AI	RZLV	CFO transitions to Group Finance Director. Fuzzy Panda targeted RZLV in September	F
Science Applications Int.	SAIC	CEO departs after two years. This makes 4 CEOs and 4 CFOs in ten years	B-

Oct. 20, 2025

Weekly digest of short reports and notable C-suite movements, including company tickers, allegations, risk scores, and research sources.
Company	Ticker	Allegation / Event	Risk Score	Research House
SHORT REPORTS
CCC S.A.	CCC	“fabricating growth by 'selling' ... unwanted inventory to a ... captive franchisee"	C-	NINGI Research
Grindr	GRND	The Chairman, a buyout bidder, is margin called on his pledged GRND shares.	C-	NINGI Research
Premium Catering Hlds	PC	SEC calls temporary trading halt due to "potential engagement in manipulative trading or other misconduct".	E	SEC
NOTEWORTHY C-SUITE MOVEMENTS
Capital Bancorp	CBNK	2nd CFO resigns in as many years	NA (financial)
HF Foods Group	HFFG	CFO departs, the eighth in ten years	F
Murphy USA	MUSA	CFO departs in less that two years	A-
Schlumberger	SLB	Board member departs after just 2 days	B
Semler Scientific	SMLR	CFO resigns after two and a bit years	D

Oct. 13, 2025

A weekly digest of short-seller reports and noteworthy C-suite movements, compiled by Transparently.ai.
Company	Ticker	Allegation / Event	Risk Score	Research House
SHORT REPORTS
Bitmine Immersion Tech	BMNR	Trading at an unsustainable 40% premium to the value of its cryptocurrency holdings	F	Kerrisdale Capital
Datasection	3905	Providing access to NVIDIA B200 GPUs to sanctioned Chinese entities via a shell arrangement, contravening US export controls	E	Wolfpack Research
Red Cat Holdings	RCAT	Misled investors about the value and certainty of an army contract for drones	F	Fuzzy Panda Research
Rigetti Computing	RGCI	Clarified its math on overvalued backlog; critics argue the company has no commercial revenue	F	Citron Research
NOTEWORTHY C-SUITE MOVEMENTS
Korro Bio	KRRO	CFO resigns after just seven months	F
Lanvin Group Holdings	LANV	CFO resigns. This follows the departure of the former CEO who quit the board in June	F
Legacy Housing	LEGH	The CFO and CEO both resigned in the space of a week	B
Freshpet	FRPT	CFO resigns after 3 years to pursue an opportunity outside the company	C

‍‍

Oct. 6, 2025

Weekly digest of short reports and notable C-suite movements, including company tickers, allegations, risk scores, and research sources.
Company	Ticker	Allegation / Event	Risk Rating	Research House
SHORT REPORTS
DraftKings	DKNG	Risk to market share posed by unregulated prediction markets such as Kalshi.	E	Spruce Point
Rezolve AI	RZLV	Overstated proprietary tech. No AI revenue. Related party transactions.	F	Fuzzy Panda Research
Rezolve AI	RZLV	Lack of genuine business. Growth driven by acquisitions. Poor Glassdoor reviews.	F	Grizzly Research
Richtech Robotics	RR	Called RR "a China hustle riddled with fraud". Walmart collaboration overstated.	F	Capybara Research
Slide Insurance Holdings	SLDE	Underwriting outperformance inflated by claim delays and denials.	NA (financial)	Manatee Research
NOTEWORTHY C-SUITE MOVEMENTS
Ads-Tec Energy	ADSE	CFO resigns after a year.	E
Beauty Health Co	SKIN	CEO resigns and departs board.	E
Dentsply Sirona	XRAY	General Counsel resigns; seven CEOs and nine CFOs in the last ten years.	E
Matador Resources	MTDR	CFO resigns after 3 months; five CFOs in 5 years.	B
Stellantis	STLA	CFO resigns after a year; four CFOs in 3 years.	B-

Appendix: Transparently.ai methodology and Risk Rating interpretation

Transparently.ai utilizes an advanced, AI-driven forensic-accounting model to assess the accounting manipulation risk of publicly-listed companies worldwide. This proprietary model is trained on extensive historical fraud and failure data, enabling it to identify patterns and indicators of potential financial misrepresentation within a company's financial statements. The assessment is based on a comprehensive analysis of numerous financial and non-financial factors, grouped into various clusters, which collectively contribute to an overall risk score.

Our risk ratings are presented as letter grades, ranging from A+ to F, providing a clear and concise indication of a company's accounting quality:

A+ to B-: These ratings generally signify good to acceptable accounting quality, with lower levels of identified accounting manipulation risk.

C+ to C-: Companies in this range exhibit a moderate level of accounting manipulation risk, suggesting that some aspects of their financial reporting might warrant closer examination.

D to F: These ratings indicate significant to extreme accounting manipulation risk. Companies with these grades are flagged for a higher likelihood of aggressive accounting practices or potential financial misrepresentation and should be investigated thoroughly.

Mark Jolley

Mark has been an investment strategist for almost 40 years and has advised some of the world’s biggest investment funds, public companies and notable investors. In the mid-1990s, as a global investment strategist with Deutsche Bank, Mark produced a daily note read by more than 16,000 investment professionals including voting members of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. In the 2000s, Mark worked as Deutsche Bank’s Asian strategist and then as strategist for China Construction Bank. He is now an independent analyst.