Hedge funds bet $1.14bn against Flutter ahead of TSG merger
London-listed operator is second most shorted UK stock as 13 leading hedge funds back share price to fall
FanDuel parent-company Flutter Entertainment is the second most shorted stock in the UK after prominent hedge funds backed the operator’s share price to fall further with combined bets of $1.14bn.
The London-listed operator is FTSE’s second most shorted stock by percentage, with 13.3% of its share base on loan to short-sellers.
The figure has risen sharply from the 5% reported in October 2019, when bets against the firm totalled just $358.8m in cc.
Flutter is subject to more individually disclosed shorts than any other UK firm after 13 hedge funds made disclosed bets against the operator. Bets must be worth more than 0.5% to be disclosed to UK financial watchdog, the FCA.
Vodafone is the only stock more bet-against in dollar terms, with bets currently totalling $1.34bn of its market cap, while Premier Oil is the most bet-against company in percentage terms (19.7%).
Asset management firm UBS O’Connor LLC has taken the most significant position against Flutter after shorting 1.6% of stock worth a total of $137.2m.
Westchester Capital Management, Alpine Associates Management, BlackRock Advisors and AQR Capital Management complete the top five having all taken short positions of more than 1.2%.
Flutter Entertainment last week reported a 20% online revenue rise for Q1 ahead of its £10bn merger with Toronto-listed The Stars Group.