SEI Novus, a global portfolio intelligence platform company, has released its monthly pan-European short position data for February, revealing the most significant market trends and moves.
SEI Novus, a global portfolio intelligence platform company, has released its monthly pan-European short position data for February, revealing the most significant market trends and moves.
The data is calculated as a proportion of the Novus Short Portfolio, aggregating European short position data from all ESMA-regulated countries and the UK to give a detailed overview of short activity by industry, fund, geography and short position performance. The aggregated data set covers over EUR 30bn in short positions from more than 150 managers. Key data points for February include (all figures accurate as of 28th February 2022):
Europe’s most shorted stocks: The top 5 most shorted European stocks by size, as a proportion of all registered European short positions were:
Vodafone 3.1 per cent
Adidas, 1.7 per cent
Just Eat 1.6 per cent
Kingfisher 1.5 per cent
Mowi ASA 1.4 per cent
Most short managers: Marshall Wace LLP had the greatest short exposure, accounting for 15.69 per cent of registered short positions in the Novus Short Portfolio, followed by BlackRock Institutional Trust Company accounting for 9.74 per cent and AKO Capital LLP accounting for 7.23 per cent.
Overall position count: The number of short positions remained steady ending the month with 435 positions registered, up slightly from 433 on 1 February.
Most significant new positions: The largest short position as a proportion of the Novus Short Portfolio registered in the last week of February was by DE Shaw in ArcelorMittal S.A (multinational steel manufacturer), accounting for 0.78 per cent of total aggregated European short positions by size, followed by Marshall Wace’s position in Kingfisher (British retail group), accounting for 0.46 per cent, and BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A’s position in Bunzl Plc (British distribution company), accounting for 0.43 per cent.
Greatest sector exposure: For the second month in a row, industrial stocks were the most shorted in February, ending the month accounting for 21.90 per cent of total short activity in Europe, followed by consumer discretionary stocks accounting for 20.02 per cent of registered European short positions.
Greatest short exposure by geography: The top three countries with the greatest short exposures were the UK with 28.78 per cent of the Novus short universe, followed by Germany with 16.64 per cent and France with 12.63 per cent.
Most crowded short positions: Home 24 SE (German online retailer) held the greatest concentration of managers holding short positions in the firm with 9, followed by Morphosys AG (German biopharmaceutical) with 7 and NEL ASA (Norwegian hydrogen firm) with 6.
