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Aston Martin: Short sellers bet against FTSE 250 marque as shares struggle

By:

Transport Reporter

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Aston Martin had expected car production to rev up in the second half of 2024.
Aston Martin had expected car production to rev up in the second half of 2024.

Short sellers are circling Aston Martin after the iconic marque issued a profit warning last month and said it would produce around 1,000 less cars this year.

Marshall Wace, the hedge fund founded by GB News baron Paul Marshall, took out a net short position of 0.83 per cent of the company’s shares the day the warning was issued, while investment manager Qube Research and Technologies took out a short position of 0.9 per cent this morning, according to new data published by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The data also shows a 0.52 per cent short position from Helikon Investments, which was taken on 2 May.

This means the net short position on Aston Martin’s stock is at least 2.25 per cent in total, however the FCA data only captures shorts above 0.5 per cent of a company’s shares, meaning other smaller short positions could exist.

Shares in the carmaker have endured a bumpy ride since it first went public in October 2018. The stock is down over 95 per cent in the last five years and has fallen 50 per cent in the last 12 months.

There were signs last year that the FTSE 250 firm had finally made it out of the slow lane, with its shares topping London’s mid-cap index by September 2023.

Renewed investment from two key stakeholders, the Chinese carmaker Geely and its billionaire chair Lawrence Stroll, and a £182m deal with US-start up Lucid to produce high-power electric cars, had got investors excited.

However, production issues during the hotly anticipated roll-out of its new DB12 model sent shares spiralling at the end of 2023.

The group’s justification for this year’s performance had rested on a significant ramp-up in production later in the year.

But a profit warning last month poured cold water on the plans, with supply chain disruption and a slowdown in the Chinese economy dragging on deliveries. Both wholesale production volumes and adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) are now expected to fall below market expectations this year.

Aston Martin has been approached for comment.

Marshall Wace declined to comment. Helikon Investments and Qube Research and Technologies have been approached for comment.