ATOS IS THE MOST SHORTED FRENCH STOCK

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Atos is currently the most shorted French listed company with 15.13% of the stock in the information technology service and consulting company held short by nine investment firms, according to our analysis. Millennium Capital Partners LLP holds the largest short position with 3.69% of the company’s shares., the data shows.

The second most shorted company was manufacturer Vallourec with 7.43% of its stock held short by five fund managers. This was followed by Valeo and Air France-KLM with 6.70% and 5.69% of their equity held short by six investment firms each.

Atos remains France’s most shorted stock, signalling that investors expect further price declines. But other major firms are in the top 10 most shorted, with some of the largest hedge funds and asset managers poised to profit from their falling share prices.

Shorting has long been a powerful tool in the arsenal of institutional investors, but we have seen a rise in French retail traders using short ETPs like ours to navigate bearish markets. While some retreat to the sidelines, sophisticated investors see opportunity to increase their exposure and potential returns through leverage, and hedge against long positions.”

The table shows the 10 biggest short positions in companies that are listed and trading on Euronext Paris.

Company 

Percentage of stock held short Number of funds shorting the stock
Petrofac LTD 9.93% 6
Ocado Group PLC 6.86% 6

Diversified Energy Company

PLC 

6.57% 7
ASOS PLC 5.71% 7
Kingfisher PLC 5.49% 5
Abrdn PLC 5.10% 5

Alphawave IP Group PLC

4.29% 5
Boohoo Group 4.32% 4

Burberry Group PLC

3.83% 3
Barratt Developments PLC 3.67% 5

Source: GraniteShares analysis of WhaleWisdom, updated on July 1, 2024

The analysis reveals Marshall Wace LLP held the highest number of short positions on French listed companies of any investment firm, with 17 active shorts. This was followed by Qube Research & Technologies with 15 active short positions.

The table shows the eight fund managers with the highest number of short positions on companies that are listed and trading on Euronext Paris.

Fund Manager

Number of short positions

GLG Partners LP

42

Marshall Wace LLP

31

Qube Research & Technologies Limited

18
JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd 14
BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited 13
ActusRayPartners Limited 10
Citadel Advisors LLC 9
Arrowstreet Capital, Limited Partnership 8

AQR Capital Management, LLC

6
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board 6

Source: GraniteShares analysis of WhaleWisdom, updated on July 1, 2024

GraniteShares achieved a world first when it launched 20 ETPs offering long (+3x) and short (-3x) daily leveraged exposures on 10 of the largest French stocks in 2021. This was followed by the listing of a range of ETPs on the Paris Exchange, which offer investors access in Euros to long and short daily leveraged exposures on the largest individual US stocks, composite indices of US technology stocks and equities focusing on the future of electric vehicles.

We offer a range of exchange traded products (ETPs) listed on national exchanges in the UK, France, Italy, and Germany. They consist of a suite of index ETPs tracking FAANG stocks and a suite of Short and Leveraged Single Stock Daily ETPs tracking some of the most popular companies in UK, US and European markets.

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