Summary:
Week ending March 5, 2020
Having fallen -7.5% the week before, last week the ASX200 fell another -4% after a couple attempts at finding a bottom failed. This week it’s been net downhill again.
Another week, another sharp drop due to the virus, with the February earnings results season now but a distant memory. It is not clear whether the shorters are simply shell-shocked, but for the first time in quite a while there were no short position changes of one percentage point or more last week. Maybe they’re just waiting to see how far this goes.
We can note a little bit of profit-taking in long-time short favourite JB Hi-Fi ((JBH)), along with more recent 10%-plus club dwellers Costa Group ((CGC)) and Webjet ((WEB)). The latter has as of time of writing fallen -54% from its February high.
Also notable is a steady move up in short positions of investment managers. Perpetual ((PPT)) leads the charge, having crept up during the virus sell-off and as at last week 9.5% shorted. Further down the table, IOOF Holdings ((IFL)) is steady at 5.7% shorted while AMP ((AMP)) and Challenger ((CGF)) have reappeared at 5.5% and 5.2% respectively.
We also note that having popped back in the week before, Nine Entertainment ((NEC)) has popped back out again. While the stock has not escaped the sell-off, the thinking is media companies will benefit from the virus as everyone desperately follows the news, and stays at home.
As to whether this will translate into greater ad revenues is a questionable, although I do note travel agents, cruise lines and the Trivagos of this world continue spend.
Good money after bad, I would have thought.
No Movers &Shakers this week.
Weekly short positions as a percentage of market cap:
10%+
GXY 20.1
SYR 17.9
ORE 13.9
SDA 13.2
ING 13.2
MTS 12.6
NEA 11.1
GWA 10.6
NCZ 10.3
In: NCZ Out: CGC, JBH, WEB
9.0-9.9
BEN, JBH, PPT, CGC, WEB, CTD, PLS, BGA
In: JBH, CGC, WEB, PPT, PLS Out: NCZ, SUL
8.0-8.9%
NXT, SUL, BOQ, CUV, BKL
In: SUL, BOQ Out: PPT, PLS
7.0-7.9%
MYR, HVN, IVC, DMP
Out: BOQ, KGN
6.0-6.9%
BIN, A2M, SGM, NUF, KGN, MYX, RSG, HUB
In: KGN, MYX, RSG
5.0-5.9%
SEK, RWC, IFL, CLH, AMP, COE, BUB, FLT, CLQ, CGF, AWC, DCN, GEM
In: AMP, CGF , GEM Out: RSG, NEC, MND, CSR
Movers & Shakers
See above.
ASX20 Short Positions (%)
| CODE | LAST WEEK | WEEK BEFORE | CODE | LAST WEEK | WEEK BEFORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMC | 0.7 | 0.6 | NCM | 0.9 | 0.8 |
| ANZ | 0.6 | 0.6 | RIO | 4.7 | 3.9 |
| BHP | 3.8 | 3.5 | SCG | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| BXB | 0.2 | 0.2 | SUN | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| CBA | 0.6 | 0.7 | TCL | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| CSL | 0.1 | 0.1 | TLS | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| GMG | 0.2 | 0.1 | WBC | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| IAG | 0.8 | 0.6 | WES | 0.4 | 0.6 |
| MQG | 0.4 | 0.3 | WOW | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| NAB | 0.6 | 0.6 | WPL | 1.2 | 1.0 |
To see the full Short Report, please go to this link.
