FIS hot stocks: 11 Jan
22 January 2016 London
Image: Shutterstock
Tesla Motors, Siemens and Japan Hotel REIT Investment all took top spots in the FIS Astec Analytics hot stocks list for the week starting 11 January.
For Europe, the Middle East and Africa, it was Siemens that stole the show as the upcoming dividend payment (26 January) allowed savvy beneficial owners to take advantage of taxation arbitrage opportunity to reduce their withholding tax costs.
Astec noted that the last dividend caused borrowing to hit almost 100 million shares.
However, this year has been thrown into disarray as the German tax authorities indicated tax changes affecting any entity not holding the relevant security for 45 days either side of the dividend date.
Borrowing fell from the normal level of around 10 million shares down to just over two million over the last week, yet utilisation has doubled, suggesting that the supply is getting squeezed off for fear of breaching tax rules.
In second place was Swedish technology firm Fingerprint AB, which has been riding the wave of popular smartphone advancements that allows alternative fingerprint recognition security to traditional pin-based options.
Astec noted that its share price recording a near 1,200 percent rise in the past year (compared to its benchmark OMX30 performance of -11 percent), it is now worth just under $45.54 per share compared to $3.5 a year ago.
By soaring so high it has caught the attention of short sellers, with borrowing volume increasing steadily since September.
Fingerprint AB seemed to have reached its zenith in December when stock price hit $78.82, before sharply falling back down to $45.19 at the time of writing (22 January).
Borrowing volume doubled in the same period, meaning that over 95 percent of available shares are out on loan as bearish sellers predict the Nordic firm still has further to fall.
In the Americas, Tesla Motors came in first place after a prolonged period of rising shorting interest over the past 12 months. Astec didn’t offer a specific driver behind the pessimistic market view but utilisation now stands at over 90 percent and the cost to borrow has doubled.
In second place was newcomer SunEdison, global renewable energy provider, which saw a promising H1 2015 turn dark in H2 with share price gains of 67 percent turning into net loses of 85 percent by the end of the year.
The dramatic change of fortunes represented a fall from over $32 to less than $2.75 in a little over six months.
Borrow volumes, which stood at over 50 million shares until November 2015, doubled in December before levelling off.
Short sellers in Asia Pacific were focused on Japan REIT Investment, which, according to Astec, was the most searched for security in Asia.
Borrow volumes in its stock have risen 60 percent since 5 January as the momentum behind a falling share price built up.
The real estate investment trust fell from $14,256 in December to $12,903, with short sellers banking delayed but noteworthy profits.
For Europe, the Middle East and Africa, it was Siemens that stole the show as the upcoming dividend payment (26 January) allowed savvy beneficial owners to take advantage of taxation arbitrage opportunity to reduce their withholding tax costs.
Astec noted that the last dividend caused borrowing to hit almost 100 million shares.
However, this year has been thrown into disarray as the German tax authorities indicated tax changes affecting any entity not holding the relevant security for 45 days either side of the dividend date.
Borrowing fell from the normal level of around 10 million shares down to just over two million over the last week, yet utilisation has doubled, suggesting that the supply is getting squeezed off for fear of breaching tax rules.
In second place was Swedish technology firm Fingerprint AB, which has been riding the wave of popular smartphone advancements that allows alternative fingerprint recognition security to traditional pin-based options.
Astec noted that its share price recording a near 1,200 percent rise in the past year (compared to its benchmark OMX30 performance of -11 percent), it is now worth just under $45.54 per share compared to $3.5 a year ago.
By soaring so high it has caught the attention of short sellers, with borrowing volume increasing steadily since September.
Fingerprint AB seemed to have reached its zenith in December when stock price hit $78.82, before sharply falling back down to $45.19 at the time of writing (22 January).
Borrowing volume doubled in the same period, meaning that over 95 percent of available shares are out on loan as bearish sellers predict the Nordic firm still has further to fall.
In the Americas, Tesla Motors came in first place after a prolonged period of rising shorting interest over the past 12 months. Astec didn’t offer a specific driver behind the pessimistic market view but utilisation now stands at over 90 percent and the cost to borrow has doubled.
In second place was newcomer SunEdison, global renewable energy provider, which saw a promising H1 2015 turn dark in H2 with share price gains of 67 percent turning into net loses of 85 percent by the end of the year.
The dramatic change of fortunes represented a fall from over $32 to less than $2.75 in a little over six months.
Borrow volumes, which stood at over 50 million shares until November 2015, doubled in December before levelling off.
Short sellers in Asia Pacific were focused on Japan REIT Investment, which, according to Astec, was the most searched for security in Asia.
Borrow volumes in its stock have risen 60 percent since 5 January as the momentum behind a falling share price built up.
The real estate investment trust fell from $14,256 in December to $12,903, with short sellers banking delayed but noteworthy profits.
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