The ten most-hated shares in the FTSE
These are London’s ten most-hated shares, judged by the percentage of stock being shorted.
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.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
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% |
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
Andrew is the editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He grew up in Vienna and studied at the University of St Andrews, where he gained a first-class MA in geography & international relations.
After graduating he began to contribute to the foreign page of The Week and soon afterwards joined MoneyWeek at its inception in October 2000. He helped Merryn Somerset Webb establish it as Britain’s best-selling financial magazine, contributing to every section of the publication and specialising in macroeconomics and stockmarkets, before going part-time.
His freelance projects have included a 2009 relaunch of The Pharma Letter, where he covered corporate news and political developments in the German pharmaceuticals market for two years, and a multiyear stint as deputy editor of the Barclays account at Redwood, a marketing agency.
Andrew has been editing MoneyWeek since 2018, and continues to specialise in investment and news in German-speaking countries owing to his fluent command of the language.
-
GSK share price surges after $2.2bn Zantac drug settlement
GSK has settled lawsuits in the US that alleged the drugmaker’s now-discontinued heartburn drug Zantac triggered cancer
By Chris Newlands Published
-
Will the Autumn Budget impact investment markets?
Keir Starmer has warned the Autumn Budget will be “painful”. Will it impact investment markets and should you tweak your portfolio before 30 October?
By Katie Williams Published
-
How to profit from rising food prices: which stocks should you invest in?
Tips Food prices are rising – we look at the stocks to avoid and the one to invest in this sector.
By Bruce Packard Published
-
Morrisons takeover bid: supermarket is an attractive target for private-equity buyers
News A private-equity group has made an offer for Morrisons, Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket. Other bids are likely to emerge. Matthew Partridge reports.
By Dr Matthew Partridge Last updated
-
Morrisons is just the start – get ready for a private equity feeding frenzy
Analysis The bid to buy the Morrisons supermarket chain is the latest example of UK listed companies being snapped up by private equity groups. It won’t be the last, says John Stepek – we could well see a feeding frenzy before this is all over.
By John Stepek Published
-
Sainsbury’s bags Asda in £7.3bn deal
Features A merged Sainsbury's and Asda would pose a powerful joint challenge to Tesco. But the deal raises serious competition concerns. Alex Rankine reports.
By Alex Rankine Published
-
What the merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda means for you
Features Sainsbury’s and Asda have decided to merge. John Stepek looks what it means for the troubled UK supermarket sector and asks: is it a good deal?
By John Stepek Published
-
Morrisons back from the brink
Features The supermarket chain has made a strong recovery from a near-death experience. How did CEO David Potts do it? Alice Gråhns reports.
By Alice Gråhns Published
-
Britain’s convenience store battle
Features Sainsbury’s has bid £130m to buy Nisa, the mutually owned consortium of more than 1,300 independent retailers, which operates 3,000 small shops.
By Ben Judge Published
-
If you'd invested in: Electrocomponents and International Personal Finance
Features Electrical equipment distributor Electrocomponents has seen it share price rise by 93% in the last year.
By Ben Judge Published