A trio of stocks held in Lindsell Train’s portfolios are among the most-shorted in Europe, including Hargreaves Lansdown, according to data compiled by Société Générale.
Juventus had the second-largest increase in borrow utilisation over the last week climbing 12.1 percentage points to 35.3%. Société Générale attributed this to Covid-19 and a rights issue. In March 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 sell-off, the Italian football club was among a list of stocks that were banned from short selling by the Financial Conduct Authority following a request from the Italian and Spanish authorities.
In the past year, the club’s share price has fallen over 56%.
Juventus is controlled by the Agnellis, the billionaire family that founded Fiat, but Lindsell Train is the second largest shareholder with a 9.5% stake.
Hargreaves Lansdown, another stock favoured by Lindsell Train, was listed by Société Générale as the most-shorted stock in financial services. The stock is down over 16% over the last year.
Finally, in the food, beverage and tobacco sector, Remy Cointreau was the most shorted stock. Early in the pandemic, Train said he expected Remy Cointreau to benefit from a “burst of hedonism” when the coronavirus comes to an end.
In comparison to Juventus and Hargreaves Lansdown, Remy Cointreau has performed strongly in the last year, rising 33.5%.
See also: Nick Train football stocks yo-yo as European Super League faces severe backlash
