- Analysis by Ortex shows that only 12.5% of short positions have been closed in the past week, leaving 16.8m (15% of total freefloat) shorted
- The equity analytics platform estimated that open short positions were worth at least €1.6bn at the start of the crisis; hedge funds now stand to gain significantly more
- A number of hedge funds have maintained or increased their short positions in the past week, including Slate Path Capital, Samlyn Capital, Coatue Management, Maverick Capital, Coltrane Asset Management
Peter Hillerberg, co-founder of Ortex, comments: “In a week when the share price dropped by over 90% and the CEO was arrested, it would have been easy for hedge funds to take a profit and run. However, our data shows that the vast majority of short sellers have been holding their positions, and in some cases increasing them, in anticipation of a further reduction in the share price. It looks like their patience will pay off.”