These are London’s ten most-hated shares, judged by the percentage of stock being shorted.
Short sellers aim to profit from falling stock prices, so it can be useful to see what they are betting against. The list is also a good indicator of stocks with the potential to bounce strongly on unexpected good news – “short squeezes” occur when short sellers are forced out of their positions, which can send share prices surging.
The supermarkets remain unpopular, while investors appear to consider Admiral fully valued. The other new entrant is Drax, representative of wider bearishness on electricity utilities as wholesale electricity prices fall and renewables subsidies are cut.
| Company | What it does | % of stock being shorted | % on 26 June |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carillion | Construction/outsourcing | 17.71% | 15.34% |
| Wm Morrison | Supermarkets | 12.65% | 11.92% |
| J Sainsbury | Supermarkets | 11.03% | 10.74% |
| Ashmore Group | Emerging-markets fund mgr | 8.99% | 7.85% |
| Tungsten Corp. | Invoicing services | 8.85% | 6.57% |
| Hansteen Holdings | Real-estate investment trust | 8.62% | 7.94% |
| Admiral Group | Motor insurance | 8.48% | New entry |
| Drax Group | Power generation | 7.69% | New entry |
| WH Smith | Retail | 7.70% | 8.66% |
| Electrocomponents | Electronics distribution | 7.48% | 6.77% |