Chatter suggests some hedge funds may have seen this plunge coming and got short last week. So what are they doing now?
Before we get to that, we first wanted to make sure there was substance behind the chatter.
And analysis from LocateStock.com seems to confirm that there is, in fact, a great deal of substance.
LocateStock.com is a company that finds stocks in the marketplace that hedge funds and high frequency traders are looking to short.
And CEO John Tabacco tells us last Thursday the number of requests to locate stocks to short jumped 50% above the normal 60-day average; with top requests listed below:
Most Requested Stocks To Short Last Week
Ambac
Citigroup
Bank of America
MBIA
Frontier Financial
Source: John Tabacco, Locatestock
So what's the smart money doing now?
With the market turning negative for the year on Friday, you'd think the smart money would be covering. But they're not.
”Now, they’re doubling down and shorting more,” says Tabacco, “with financials the most shorted again.”
You read that right. Despite the sharp declines this week the smart money is getting shorter.
”Our analytics suggests there’s a big event out there and there could be more downside,” says Tabacco.
What's the bottom line?
Next week could be a rough one. Better be on your toes !
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Trader disclosure: On May 7, 2010, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders; Seymour Owns (AAPL), (BAC), (MTL); Terranova Owns Gold; Terranova Owns (XCO), (AGU), (SWN), (PFE); Terranova Owns Crude Oil; Terranova Is Short (CMA); Karabell Owns (AAPL), (C), (GS), (CME); Karabell Owns (ATHR); Adami Owns (AGU), (C), (GS), (INTC), (MSFT), (NUE), (BTU); jarian Owns (C) Calls; Najarian Owns (CLF) Call Spreads; Najarian Owns (FRX) Calls; Najarian Owns (MS); Najarian Owns (MTL) Preferred; Kelly Owns (FXE) Puts; Kelly Owns (FXB) Puts; Grasso Owns (NDAQ), (DYN), (LPX), (ASTM), (ABK), (BAC), (BGP), (C), (CVGI), (JPM), (NEM), (PRST), (PFE), (BA), (T), (CSCO), (X)
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Terranova Works For (VRTS)
Terranova Is Chief Market Strategist Of Virtus Investment Partners, Ltd.
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Stuart Frankel And Its Partners Own (CUBA)
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Stuart Frankel And Its Partners Own (GERN)
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Stuart Frankel And Its Partners Own (MERC)
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Stuart Frankel And Its Partners Own (PALM)
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Kanundrum Capital Is Short Franc
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Kanundrum Capital Is Short (DE)
Kanundrum Capital Is Short (NUE)
Kanundrum Capital Is Short (XOM)
Kanundrum Capital Is Short (HES)
For Rich Repetto
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