Could it be that the stock was overvalued based on basic fundamentals, a major deterioration in utilization and day rates by as much as 70% due to a slowdown in drilling activity and increasing competition and a multitude of holes in their story that has created uncertainty about the future of the company with regards to profitability and sustainability about the dividend? Enough conspiracy theories....come back to reality. The shorters didn't create the collapse in SP. They obviously believed that PSN was overvalued and bided their time for the inevitable release of weak financials. This was not difficult to predict. They might increase to $7 stock in the short term and will likely be a $4 stock in the next 6-9 months. That is all they are worth.