Playtime's over for Mattel 12 October 2015London Reporter: Mark Dugdale
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Toymaker Mattel has increasingly attracted the attention of short sellers in the US since the end of 2014, according to Markit.
Short sellers have abandoned rival Hasbro and increased their interest in Mattel as investors have done the opposite.
Short interest in Mattel declined towards the end of 2014 as short sellers took profits and covered, but shares outstanding on loan have subsequently soared in 2015, rising almost five fold to 19.8 percent.
Mattel stock has fallen by 28 percent so far this year, while Hasbro shares have climbed 34 percent.
In Europe, Nordic Semiconductors has 8.6 percent of its shares outstanding on loan. Shares in the chipmaker have fallen by a third in the last 12 months despite strong sales and profit growth expected for the full 2015 financial year.
Elsewhere in Europe, short sellers are targeting French food and clothing retailer Rallye, which has seen a five-fold rise in short interest in the last three months with shares outstanding on loan standing at 7.9 percent.
Tokyo-based U-Shin, a manufacturer of products for the automotive and industrial sectors, is the most shorted in the Asia Pacific, according to Markit, with shares outstanding on loan tracking the share price higher.
They have increased to 9.8 percent as shares have increased by a fifth in the last 12 months. The share price increase has in turn tracked a rise in sales and earnings at the company.
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