Yesterday we updated our shorts database with a hot new position from Odey Asset Management in Kazakhmys plc (LON:KAZ) (HKG:0847). Now another European hedge fund, Marshall Wace is betting against the same copper miner.
Marshall Wace revealed a short position of 0.5 percent in Kazakhmys plc (LON:KAZ) (HKG:0847)’s outstanding shares. For full list of short positions from the U.K., visit our page for Hedge Fund Short Positions In Europe.
As mentioned yesterday, copper is a strained industry facing pressures from declining demand from China. Last month copper was trading down 5 percent. Kazakhmys plc (LON:KAZ) (HKG:0847) is down almost 40 percent YTD. Marshall Wace is up across all of its major strategies, the flagship MW Eureka has returned 7 percent YTD.
In the U.S., large speculators have maintained a bearish view on the sector for a while now. Hedge funds are positioned in the short zone since late February of this year.
Jim Chanos has a short position of 2 percent in ASOS plc (LON:ASC) since January of this year, taking a leaf out of famed shortseller’s book, D.E Shaw disclosed a 0.5 percent short in ASOS plc (LON:ASC) yesterday. ASOS plc (LON:ASC) is an online fashion retailer and this is one difficult short bet to crack. ASOS plc (LON:ASC) is up more than 22 percent YTD, additionally it has achieved 50 percent increase in online retail in the U.S. and 37 percent overall in the last quarter. The company is expanding globally and has added substantially to its customer base in the last three months.
We also noted that hedge funds are reducing their shorts in Marks and Spencer Group Plc (LON:MKS); BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) has now covered it to 0.36 percent from 0.5 percent. Soroban Capital and AKO Capital have also covered a portion of their short bets.
Negative bets in APR Energy PLC (PINK:APRYY) (LON:APR) were also pared by several hedge funds. Cazenove Capital covered most of its position, and is now short only 0.26 percent. TT International also reduced its short position to below 0.5 percent. JPMorgan Asset Management also dialed it back to 0.2 percent from 0.7 percent. Standing bets, larger than 0.5 percent of APR Energy PLC (PINK:APRYY) (LON:APR), are held by Odey Asset Management, Lansdowne Partners and Ennismore Fund Management.
Stay tuned for updates on more short positions from UK and other European countries.
