Hedge funds are ramping up their negative positions against Hargreaves Lansdown, with the UK retail-focused investment and advisory firm now the most shorted stock among FTSE 100 names, new market data from Ortex Analytics shows.
Hedge funds are ramping up their negative positions against Hargreaves Lansdown, with the UK retail-focused investment and advisory firm now the most shorted stock among FTSE 100 names, new market data from Ortex Analytics shows.
Some 7.24 per cent of Hargreaves Lansdown’s free float shares are on loan, up from 6.52 per cent last month, with the firm also the most shorted FTSE 100 name in terms of days to cover, London-based equity research and short interest data provider Ortex has found.
Marshall Wace, the high-profile long/short equity giant set up by Sir Paul Marshall and Ian Wace in 1997, as well as Hound Partners and the Pelham Long/Short Master Fund, have all increased their bearish bets against Hargreaves Lansdown in recent weeks, according to regulatory disclosures made to the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
AQR Capital is also positioned short against the firm, whose share price has been volatile for much of 2021, taking a sharp slide earlier this month. A recent trading update in October showed Hargreaves Lansdown’s revenues dipped 1 per cent from GBP143.7 million last year to GBP142.2 million, as falling transaction volumes on its investment platform put a squeeze on commissions.
Other UK blue chip companies subject to negative wagers among hedge funds include Ocado Group, BT, Sainsbury’s and Schroders.
Some 5.35 per cent of Ocado’s stock, and more than 4 per cent of both BT and Sainsbury’s shares, are on loan, Ortex’s data shows.
