Sirius XM Radio is having an interesting year. The satellite radio operator’s share price is down 88% in the last 12 months, but up 204% in 2009. Why the volatile ebb and flow?

Part of the reason is the company’s high profile on Wall Street – it’s arguably the most popular penny stock out there. And why shouldn’t it be? After all, the company is the exclusive provider of satellite radio and in-car TV broadcasts for almost 20 million paying subscribers in the United States and Canada.

But to assume that all the interest in Sirius XM (NASDAQ:  SIRI) is because of the company’s great growth prospects would be dead wrong. Scores of investors want to see this company crash and burn.

As of last month, almost 5% of shares available to the public were short Sirius XM, and while that might not sound like a lot of shares, it’s 25%

...

Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) recently hit 8 Cents a share, today its at 15 Cents a share.  Yes that would be one dime and one nickel in value.  How did this happen, can it go lower?  One thing is for sure, Howard must be loving those stock options. What the hell, 15 Cents? Now I don't have a position in SIRI but at 15 Cents, I'm thinking about it, why not, if it busts, it was only a few bucks lost. Andrew Snyder has wrote the only article worth reading on Sirius lately, it was on Thanksgiving, here's what he said: Sirius XM (NYSE:SIRI): Is this a buying opportunity? The subscriber growth figures tell the whole story. In 2006, Sirius saw its subscriber base grow by 82%. In 2007, that figures was 38%. This year, it will be lucky ...

For some investors and traders, extreme market volatility is a great way to make huge short-term profits. Andrew Snyder says Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) is in dire straits and faces a real threat of bankruptcy. But most of this negativity has been priced into the stock. And an emergency shareholder meeting could provide a short-term jolt for those willing to take on the risk.

This from Today’s Financial News:

For satellite radio investors, these are the times that everybody knew was coming. Financial pundits have been writing about the industry’s certain doom for years. We all knew the notion of satellite radio was based around a shaky-at-best business model.

Not only did the industry’s originators have to shoot multi-million dollar satellites into the sky, they also had to convince millions of Americans to pay for something they were already getting for free.

XM and Sirius were vicious competitors at first, but quickly realized

...