Jim Chanos refuses to confirm whether he has held a short position in Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) so we have to be content with what he is shorting in the U.K.
Jim Chanos has one of the largest single bets in U.K. where he is shorting 4.97 percent of Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO). Kynikos Associates, Chanos’ investment firm, also holds a 2.03 percent short bet in ASOS plc (LON:ASC) and a 0.92 percent position in African Minerals Limited (LON:AMI). Point Lobos Capital, LLC initiated a short position Feb. 8 while previous shortsellers of Ocado Group PLC (LON:OCDO) are John Griffin’s Blue Ridge Capital, Steve Cohen’s S.A.C Capital Advisors and a bunch of others.
For full coverage on what hedge funds are shorting in U.K., visit our page of Hedge Fund Short Positions.
WH Smith Plc (LON:SMWH) is another favorite among shortsellers with 13.36 percent of the outstanding shares held in short bets. There has been little or no activity in this hedge fund short holdings in the past couple of weeks. Lone Pine Capital, Luxor Capital, Eminence Capital, Lansdowne Partners hold a negative position in WH Smith Plc (LON:SMWH).
The Weir Group PLC (LON:WEIR) is held as a short by ten hedge funds. The largest single bets have been placed by Lansdowne Partners, Blue Ridge Capital and Steadfast Capital. ZBI Equities jumped on with a 1.02 percent position in The Weir Group PLC (LON:WEIR), disclosed Feb 6.
Home Retail Group Plc (LON:HOME) is held as a short position by Tiger cubs like Lone Pine Capital, Maverick Capital and Marble Arch Investments. The net short interest in Home Retail Group Plc (LON:HOME) amounts to 13.7 percent of HOME’s outstanding shares.
Pared Shorts
Short interest in Sportingbet PLC (LON:SBT) was reduced all over by hedge funds. BTG Pactual Europe and Basso Holdings covered their entire shorts in Sportingbet PLC (LON:SBT) Feb 13, while BNP Paribas has now covered it to 0.1 percent. In January, GLG Partners also rolled back their 1.5 percent position in Sportingbet PLC (LON:SBT) to only 0.19 percent. Only Polygon Global now holds a 0.47 percent short bet in the gaming stock.
Henderson Alternative reduced a bet in Fiberweb Plc (LON:FWEB) to merely o.o5 percent of the outstanding shares. Odey Asset Management has been reducing short exposure in Trinity Mirror plc (LON:TNI) and Capita PLC. (LON:CPI)
Increased Bets
Shorts in Michael Page International plc (LON:MPI) were increased by Lansdowne Partners which is now shorting 3.12 percent of shares. Lansdowne also increased its unique short position in Ophir Energy Plc (LON:OPHR) to 1.8 percent. Tremblant Capital increased short exposure in Cupid PLC (LON:CUP), the firm is now shorting 3.14 percent of Cupid’s shares.
Keep visiting for more updates on short positions data from hedge funds.
