Hedge funds pocket $1.7 bln as Wirecard goes bust
Coatue Management and nine other hedge funds likely earned more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) this week on bets against Wirecard after the German payments firm collapsed on Thursday.
Wirecard shares crashed to 2.5 euros on Thursday from 104.5 euros a week ago, before the company revealed a $2.1 billion hole in its accounts. That has landed Coatue Management, the hedge fund with the largest short position, a 271 million euro profit on paper, according to Reuters calculations.
Shorting a stock involves borrowing it from an institutional investor, such as a pension fund, selling it, and then buying it back to return to the investor when the shares have fallen, pocketing the profit. Together, the 10 hedge funds have made hundreds of millions between the company announcing its mammoth accounting hole on June 18 and Thursday, when it applied for insolvency. The shares have crashed 97% in the last week.
London-based TCI has made a profit of 173.6 million euros, while Marshall Wace and Greenvale have made 146.5 million and 110.1 million, respectively, according to Reuters calculations. Coatue did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Greenvale declined to comment.
The ten hedge funds each had a short positions greater than 0.5% of shares in issue, triggering public disclosure requirements, but far more short sellers are likely to have bets against Wirecard. Over 82% of company shares available to loan were being shorted on Thursday, showed data compiled by FIS’ Astec Analytics.
Data firm Ortex found that only 12.5% of short positions had been closed in the past week, leaving 16.8 million - or 15% of all shares - shorted. “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,” Peter Hillerberg, co-founder of Ortex, said in a release.
“It looks like their patience will pay off.”
https://www.reuters.com/article/wirecard-accounts-hedgefunds/hedge-funds-pocket-1-7-bln-as-wirecard-goes-bust-idUSL8N2E237L
from May 29
German regulator examines stock trades by Wirecard CEO
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-wirecard-stocks-idUSKBN23523C
from June 24
Wirecard Says Former CEO Cut Stake to 4.94% From 8.04%
https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2020-06-24/wirecard-says-former-ceo-cut-stake-to-494-from-804
JBA Departures
SAM966 USAF C-40B (State Dept AC) west
PAT007 US Army C-560 sw
VM374 USMC C-560 se and a holding pattern just se of Pax River
VM767 USMC C-560 ne
PAT679A USAF C-560 departed Ft. Worth NASJRB ne
30016 US Army C-560 from Dobbins ARB, GA departing Chatanooga, TN Metro Airport after some low altitude passes to the west and at the airport prior to touchdown-it is continuing the surv. at Metro
98-0001 USAF C-32A nw from JBA-this is the primary AC used for AF2
Brennan's "swearing" in as C_A director was even worse
98-0001 USAF C-32A on final for Youngstown, OH-Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport
https://twitter.com/mike_pence
started by Nolan Bushnell of Atari fame
good morning
CHAOS43 and 00000000 USAF B-52 Stratofortress up from Barksdale AFB, LA
>>9742325 Five Star Trust
notable
know about this from past-good info on the harvesting of the money.
The backstory on Ferrara is pretty interdasting too.
that is just too fuckin' hot especially with the humidity.
got a spare room bro…anytime
kek
>good smoker
of course I do.
an old modified bath-tub style webber bbq.
you and thistle can trade off-they can come in the winter, you in summer
of course!
just call it on your bun or dough.
I'll get my stuff (exercise) done soon and available.
perfect. will be ready