Coin cashing pays off for shorters 15 October 2013London Reporter: Georgina Lavers
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An American company with a network of movie and game rental kiosks, as well as coin cashing machines, has shot to the top of SunGard’s top 10 stocks from a securities lending perspective.
Outerwall, formally known as Coinstar, saw strong share moves last week on trailing news from the previous Friday that Jane Partners has taken a 13.5 percent stake in the company, with a view to strategic changes and potential sale, said SunGard Astec Analytics.
Investors took the news well, with the share price climbing 10 percent on the day, and an additional 12 percent last week. Despite this rapid rise, data from SunGard’s Astec Analytics shows borrowing has seen only a relatively muted increase—up 7 percent in the same period—suggesting short sellers are at least cautious about betting against the share moves.
Second on the list was Opko Health, which lost almost 5 percent in its debut trading on the Tel Aviv exchange. News also emerged that the company had made an undisclosed investment in Zebra Biologics, a biotech company run by Dr. Richard Lerner of the Scripps Research Institute.
“Meanwhile, its main listing managed to push slightly higher in the week, although borrowing of OKP also increased, up 15 percent, hinting that short sellers may be somewhat skeptical of recent share moves,” said SunGard.
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