Short Monitor – Cineworld and Sainsbury’s highly shorted in Covid’s August

Top Movers August

Top Total UK Shorts

We have looked at shorting activity in the UK market throughout August in the latest update of our short monitor, which includes a new chart showing the top 20 UK companies that have had the greatest m-o-m increases in the amount of ISC on borrow. Sainsbury’s ​saw the greatest m-o-m increase in the UK Top Total UK Shorts chart, up 2.06% in August. ITV ​was the only UK company which had a greater m-o-m increase at 2.89%, bringing the total short percentage in ITV to 3.68%.

Looking at the UK Top Total UK Shorts chart, Hammerson is the most shorted stock in the UK for the third month in a row. However, the amount of its ISC on borrow fell by 0.4% since end-July. Cineworld is now the second most shorted stock in the UK, up from fifth at end-July, with shorts increasing by 0.5% to 9.09%. Capita ​is the only new addition to the UK Top Total UK Shorts chart (18th), with its total short position increasing by 0.6% to 4.44%.