Traders still shorting Ocado stock as online grocer hits near-record high February 22, 2011 ONLINE grocer Ocado’s shares are still being shorted aggressively despite enjoying record highs this month, according to figures seen by City A.M. The firm, which floated at 180p in July, closed at 224p yesterday after spiking at 290p on 10 February. But figures from Data Explorer, which monitors stock loan and short selling activity, show [...]
Late rally fails to push FTSE up to 6,000 February 22, 2011 The FTSE rallied valiantly this afternoon on the back of strong US consumer confidence data, after incurring a morning of losses from concern over the ongoing Libya crisis. Banks and commodities suffered from concerns that crude oil prices would spike and knock the global recovery, and the FTSE 100 closed down 0.3 per cent at [...]
Ocado hit by boss share sale February 21, 2011 OCADO shares took a tumble yesterday after chief executive Tim Steiner sold £5m worth of Ocado stock. Steiner’s move – plus the announcement that Waitrose was planning to revamp its own online delivery service – saw the stock close down 7.75 per cent at 239p. Waitrose, which has a ten-year contract with Ocado to supply the [...]
Hedgie makes big Ocado loss February 20, 2011 ONLINE grocer Ocado’s recent growth has stung a US hedge fund, which has reportedly lost up to £40m by shorting Ocado stock after the firm’s rocky flotation in July. Elinor Carter Brooks from New York-based Blue Ridge Capital is thought to have bet against the shares when they had already dropped to near all-time lows [...]
IT bull that shorts Ocado February 20, 2011 BLUE Ridge Capital, the hedge fund thought to have lost £40m after betting against Ocado, is no stranger to internet-based businesses: its two biggest long positions in the US are online giants Amazon and Apple, according to an SEC filing last week. The fund was set up by former Tiger Management president John Griffin in [...]
Morrisons in £70m deal to join web war February 15, 2011 WM MORRISON yesterday announced that it had finally taken the plunge into online retail, splashing out £70m on baby goods firm Kiddicare. The supermarket giant has so far resisted the move to the web while rivals like Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda see online sales as vital to their financial health. But the purchase of Kiddicare [...]
Ocado shares fall after John Lewis pension fund sells out February 11, 2011 Retailer John Lewis’s pension trust has sold its stake of about 10 per cent in online grocer Ocado – sending its shares down 17 per cent. Ocado, whose shares have climbed sharply in recent weeks, said the sale would not affect its commercial relations with upmarket grocer Waitrose, a John Lewis unit. Ocado mainly sells [...]
Ocado losses narrow after shaky float February 1, 2011 ONLINE grocery delivery company Ocado yesterday said its losses had narrowed in 2010 – after it weathered the storm following a controversial stock market float. The internet retailer halved its pre-tax loss to £12.2m. Meanwhile it made pre-tax profit of £300,000 for the final quarter – the first profit it has recorded. Ocado chief executive [...]
Ocado posts first pre-tax profit February 1, 2011 Online grocer Ocado made its first pre-tax profit in its fourth quarter, ahead of expectations, and said it was continuing to see strong sales growth at the start of its new financial year. Ocado, whose shares have bounced back from a dismal first few months of trading, said on Tuesday it made a pre-tax loss [...]
Ocado moves towards profit January 30, 2011 Grocery delivery service Ocado is expected to report a significant reduction in its losses when it reports its first annual results as a listed company tomorrow. Annual pre-tax losses at the online retailer are predicted to be around £11.6m in the year to November 2010 – less than half of the £25.5m reported a year [...]