Cineworld, Hammerson and Boohoo: The top 10 most shorted UK stocks and fund managers with the most positions

Cineworld Group, the world’s second-largest cinema chain, is currently the most shorted UK listed company, according to new research shared exclusively with City A.M. this morning.

 Some 8.8 per cent of its stock was held short by six investment firms, with New Holland Capital the largest short position with 2.42 per cent of the company’s shares.

The next most shorted UK listed companies were Petropavlovsk, Hammerson, AO World and Majestic Wine PLC where the respective short positions were 6.1 per cent, 6 per cent, 5.7 per cent and 4.6 per cent, respectively, according to the analysis from ETP provider GraniteShares.

The table shows the largest ten short positions in companies that are listed and trading on the London Stock Exchange.

Among the stocks tracked by GraniteShares ETPs, Vodafone Group is the 23rd most shorted stock, with three fund managers holding short positions representing 2 per cent of the outstanding stock. 

Most active City fund managers

In terms of which fund managers had the most short positions on UK listed companies, the analysis reveals GLG Partners had the highest number with 25.  

This was followed by Marshall Wace, BlackRock Investment Management , JP Morgan Asset Management UK and Ennismore Fund Management with 24, 19, 13 and 11 short positions respectively.

“Year ahead forecasts are focusing on strong growth across major markets with some analysts predicting the FTSE-100 will break the 8,000 points barrier. Despite the more optimistic tone, ongoing concerns about Brexit and COVID are a cause for caution,” commented Will Rhind, Founder and CEO of GraniteShares, this morning.

He told City A.M.: “There remain potential opportunities for sophisticated investors seeking to take advantage of price declines on specific stocks and increasingly they are looking to do so through shorting.”