It's even better.
**Position:**
x217 $2C expires 9/18/2026
**The deal:**
GoPro is being acquired. Shareholders get $1.14/share in cash (adjustable slightly based on net working capital at closing) plus they keep roughly 10% ownership of the combined company — which now includes Starman's optical-transceiver business (AI data centers, defense, aerospace). Deal's expected to close by year-end 2026.
**Why the stock trades above $1.14:**
The market isn't just pricing the cash piece — it's pricing what that retained 10% stake in the combined company could be worth. That's the actual reason $1.14 isn't a hard ceiling: it's not a guarantee, it's a valuation question. If the market thinks the Starman business is worth a lot, the stock reflects that. If sentiment cools, it could just as easily drift back toward the cash floor.
**The volume:**
\~500M shares traded 9/1, roughly 17-18x GPRO's normal average (\~28M/day). That's a real outlier for this stock — driven by the merger news, a viral "largest shareholder" story, and speculative/momentum trading. For context, it's the 3rd highest trading day, a historic one market-wide — and I think could be even larger in the coming days. The 2 larger stock trading days:
• FingerMotion (FNGR) — over 1.24 billion shares in a single day in 2026.
• Vodafone's 2000 record sits at \~2.1B in a single day.
**Short interest:**
Last official FINRA reporting (settled 7/31, published 8/11) showed \~23.9M shares short, \~17.4% of float, \~3.9 days to cover. That data is now stale given this week's volume — actual current short interest could be very different and LIKELY higher because Wallstreet shorts want you to know $1.14 ceiling is guaranteed.. It IS NOT. Borrow fees have historically run under 1% for GPRO but can spike fast in a squeeze scenario (worth checking live via your broker's short-locate tool).
**Why shorting isn't a free lunch right now:**
low float + high short interest + huge speculative volume is the exact setup that can force short covering fast if the price keeps climbing — borrow gets expensive or scarce, forcing buy-ins. That's a real risk for shorts. It's not a guarantee the squeeze happens, but it's not "easy money" either.
Bottom line: This is a merger-arb + speculative-momentum stock with real volatility in both directions. Do your own research on position sizing — this isn't investment advice.
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**EDIT (9/2):** GPRO volume 235M +37.4% !!! Great day, and we're just getting started. Does anyone else thinking it's a coincidence during the initial pump to $1.64 +70%, a merger gets announced 10 minutes before market open? pure manipulation and stating the $1.14 to keep the price from rising.. We're not dumb. Retail is stepping up and buying.