Volkswagen è attualmente la società a maggior capitalizzazione borsistica al mondo. Il caso Volkswagen mostra i rischi dello short, che può portare a grossi guadagni teorici che possono però volatilizzarsi e portare a perdite colossali nel momento in cui lo short seller cerca di realizzare.
Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) --
Volkswagen AG became the world's biggest company by market value after Porsche SE announced plans to raise its stake in the German carmaker to 75 percent, triggering demand from short-sellers.
Volkswagen
rose as much as 485.01 euros, or 93 percent, to 1,005.01 euros and was up 55 percent as of 11:10 a.m. in Frankfurt trading. Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen has risen more than fivefold this year and at its intraday peak was valued at 296 billion euros ($370 billion), more than
Exxon Mobil Corp.'s $343 billion market value at yesterday's closing price in New York, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Porsche, the maker of the 911 sports car, has accumulated Volkswagen shares since 2005 in an effort to protect ties to its largest supplier. Porsche said Oct. 26 that it aims to increase its holding from 42.6 percent. That prompted some short-sellers to buy from a shrinking pool of stock to end their bets. BaFin, Germany's financial-market regulator, said today that it's monitoring trading in Volkswagen shares following the gains.
``One of the biggest risks with the herd mentality approach to shorting is that a lot of money can be made on the outset,'' said Ed Oliver, a senior business consultant at Spitalfields Advisors, a London-based firm specializing in securities lending. ``But you can end up losing the whole of it when you try to close the position. There's no limit.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahQ8kYJVCpWQ&refer=home
