(BFM Stock Exchange)-News Bulletin 247 A, once again, asked S&P Global Market Intelligence to classify the most “shorted” values ​​on the second most important clue in the Parisian place, that is to say the SBF 120. In fine, it appears above all that the open sellers calmed their ardor on the Parisian market.

It is a technique reserved for the most informed investors: the uncovered sale. As a reminder, this technique amounts to betting not on the rise but on the fall of an action. It consists in borrowing (with an agreed rent) said action to an investor who holds it and selling it on the spot, tabling on a drop in the course which will allow it to buy it cheaper when returning it to its owner. The seller discovered thus pockets the difference.

This is called “Shorter” an action. We had explained in a previous article why the uncovered sale is a strategy to ban absolutely for individuals.

As we have already done on several occasions, we have wondered what actions are the most “shorted” on the Paris Stock Exchange. The most reliable data in this field is compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, the reference player.

At the request of News Bulletin 247, the data specialist belonging to S&P once again established a classification on the SBF 120, the second largest index in the Paris Stock Exchange. To build this ranking, S&P Global Market Intelligence is based on the percentage of capital in circulation of a company which is loaned. Note that this data, displayed by the infographic below, was arrested on June 16.

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Much more than the hierarchy strictly speaking, a global observation comes out. In the two previous rankings that we published, in June 2024 and July 2023, it was necessary to display rates of 7.72% and 5.47% respectively to enter the “Top 10” of the best -selling values ​​uncovered. On this edition, the figure falls to… .1.5%. Which shows that the “shorts” have damn their ardor.

This desertion of the open sellers reflects a fundamental trend of which we have spoken on multiple times: the outperformance of European markets compared to the American indices. Over the 2025, the Stoxx Europe 600 takes 5.2% when the S&P 500 earned only 1.7%.

Due to the uncertainties caused by Donald Trump’s procrastination on customs duties as well as on his budgetary bill, investors have turned away from American assets, such as actions. These same market operators have reallocated their funds to titles from other geographic areas, including Europe.

“Beyond France, the ‘short-sellers’ were able to simply abandon Europe because it is a position on which they were ‘squeezé’, that is to say that they have increasingly recorded losses, due to the feedback feeds to the old continent. There was a renewed market for Europe, especially France, which was pasting a risk premium, And Italy “, develops Vincent Juvyns, director of investment strategy at ING Belgium. “It is no longer a good tone to ‘Shorter’ Europe, and France A Fortiori ‘”, concludes the market strategist.

Reversal of investors for Europe

Bank of America, in his latest survey carried out with fund managers, notes that the difference between managers who overlooked the actions of the euro zone in their portfolios and those who under-ponde amounts to approximately +35%. It is the “best” figure, in front of all the major geographic areas. For the United States, the figure is nearly -40%, that is to say that managers have the vast majority of a negative view of the actions of the country of Uncle Sam.

Another more sectoral dimension can play. Since the beginning of the year, one of the major sectors that have suffered and that could arouse the appetite of the sellers uncovered, remains luxury. LVMH has lost 29.2% since January 1 and Kering gave way 24.9%. Hermès limits the breakage (-2.4%).

However, these groups have a weak “floating”, that is to say that the share of freely in circulation actions is very low. To give an idea, this floating amounts to less than 50% in LVMH and less than 33% for Hermès. This also reduces the number of titles that can be loaned to the market. By the simple law of supply and demand, so it costs much more to “shift” these actions with a weak floating. Especially since these groups “buy their own actions”, explains Vincent Juvyns.

Worldline in mind

To return to the classification of the most “shorted” actions, Worldline occupies first place with a loan rate of 9.7%. The payments specialist somewhat has the profile of societies likely to attract outdated sellers. The company has chained heavy warnings on results since 2023.

The payments specialist holds the slightly enviable record of the strongest fall on a session of a group of CAC 40 (-59.24% on October 25, 2023) following one of these many “Warnings profit” (there will be another in July 2024 and yet another in September of the same year). And the latest annual results have also been disappointing. Deutsche Bank, however, wants to believe that the arrival of the new managing director, Pierre-Antoine Vacheron, marks “a new era” for the company. Contacted, Worldline recalled that he did not comment on his stock market.

Edenred, second, with 6.3%, fell into disenchantment with a market which nevertheless brought it to the clouds, to the point that the company joined the CAC 40 in 2023. The title fell by more than 45% over three years. “The company is abused by shorts while growth is there is that valuation is aberrant,” regrets an analyst. Contacted, the company estimated that its place in the ranking could be explained by the high liquidity of its title (more than 95% of its capital is floating) and by indicial management logics.

The specialist in payment solutions in the world of work also indicated his action was penalized “by discussions ongoing on potential regulatory developments in which Edenred is part but whose outcome and timing were not yet known.”

The company has actually suffered on the stock market from fears about potential negative measures, such as a hypothetical cap of restaurant securities commissions in France, or a very unfavorable development of regulations in Brazil. Currently, these measures are subject to speculation not confirmed by the local authorities. On the other hand, in Italy, the executive has effectively set up a cap of the restaurant titles commissions, which will be effective this year.

The other members of the “Top Five” evolve at ineffective levels. The Luxembourg Satellite operator SA (5.3%) is third, followed by the industrial laundry company Elis (5.2%) and the Airport ADP Group (3.9%). Elis explained hedge funds carried out arbitrations on an obligation convertible into new or existing action (Oceane) by buying this title of hybrid debt while selling the existing action concomitantly. SES and ADP had not responded to a comment request on the date of writing this article.