Mothercare joins shorted UK retailers September 1, 2011 INVESTORS stayed sceptical on the UK’s mid-market retailers in August, new figures from Data Explorers show. Mothercare and Ocado both joined the list of the most shorted stocks on the FTSE All-Share as hedge funds bet their shares would fall. Publishing group Yell, Argos owner Home Retail and Dixons were among the most shorted for [...]
Best to keep hold of those hard hats August 11, 2011 Hang on to those hard hats for a little bit longer. To the relief of all concerned in the financial markets, yesterday saw stocks rally in most parts of the world. But these are anything but safe times. In Europe rumours of some form of ban on short-selling, confirmed late last night, lifted stocks. Such [...]
Ocado hit by boss share sale February 21, 2011 OCADO shares took a tumble yesterday after chief executive Tim Steiner sold £5m worth of Ocado stock. Steiner’s move – plus the announcement that Waitrose was planning to revamp its own online delivery service – saw the stock close down 7.75 per cent at 239p. Waitrose, which has a ten-year contract with Ocado to supply the [...]
Hedgie makes big Ocado loss February 20, 2011 ONLINE grocer Ocado’s recent growth has stung a US hedge fund, which has reportedly lost up to £40m by shorting Ocado stock after the firm’s rocky flotation in July. Elinor Carter Brooks from New York-based Blue Ridge Capital is thought to have bet against the shares when they had already dropped to near all-time lows [...]
Ocado moves towards profit January 30, 2011 Grocery delivery service Ocado is expected to report a significant reduction in its losses when it reports its first annual results as a listed company tomorrow. Annual pre-tax losses at the online retailer are predicted to be around £11.6m in the year to November 2010 – less than half of the £25.5m reported a year [...]
Glasenberg adds to stake in Glencore September 19, 2011 GLENCORE boss Ivan Glasenberg has made another show of confidence in the commodity trader, buying almost £13.5m of shares to add to his holding as part of a plan to use his dividend income to buy more shares. Glasenberg, who announced last week he had bought £10m of shares and would buy more, bought another [...]
Pressure piled back on banks amid Eurozone gloom September 19, 2011 World markets slumped today as the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis appeared to be deepening as German Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a regional election defeat which undermined her power. With the world looking to Germany to help steer the Eurozone out of stormy economic waters the confidence of investors was sapped. Meanwhile a series of meetings [...]
Ocado losses narrow after shaky float February 1, 2011 ONLINE grocery delivery company Ocado yesterday said its losses had narrowed in 2010 – after it weathered the storm following a controversial stock market float. The internet retailer halved its pre-tax loss to £12.2m. Meanwhile it made pre-tax profit of £300,000 for the final quarter – the first profit it has recorded. Ocado chief executive [...]
Ocado posts first pre-tax profit February 1, 2011 Online grocer Ocado made its first pre-tax profit in its fourth quarter, ahead of expectations, and said it was continuing to see strong sales growth at the start of its new financial year. Ocado, whose shares have bounced back from a dismal first few months of trading, said on Tuesday it made a pre-tax loss [...]
Traders still shorting Ocado stock as online grocer hits near-record high February 22, 2011 ONLINE grocer Ocado’s shares are still being shorted aggressively despite enjoying record highs this month, according to figures seen by City A.M. The firm, which floated at 180p in July, closed at 224p yesterday after spiking at 290p on 10 February. But figures from Data Explorer, which monitors stock loan and short selling activity, show [...]