Scottish multinational energy services giant, Wood Group (WG.) , has 10.79% of its shares held short by hedge funds, according to FCA disclosures.
As many as 12 different hedge funds are betting on the stock to fall, making it the most popular short for money managers at present.
AQR Capital Management, the world’s fourth largest hedge fund, with $185 billion of assets under management, has the largest short position of 2.09%.
But the overwhelming number of short positions seems to be at odds with brokers Morgan Stanley, who recently reaffirmed its overweight rating, and Goldman Sachs, who recently upgraded Wood Group from sell to neutral.
Some of the other short holders include BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, Marshall Wace and Lone Pine Capital.
The FTSE250 listed firm employs over 60,000 people and posted over $11 billion in revenues last year, the bulk of which came from its Asset Solutions business.
It delivers project management, engineering, consulting and technical services to energy clients that include Exxon and Aramco.
In August, Wood Group announced it is to sell its nuclear business to NYSE listed Jacobs for £250 million in an effort to reduce its debt levels, and announced in November it is launching Technical Consulting Solutions to enter the lucrative business of consulting.
However this has yet to entice investors into paying more for the stock, as shares have continued to fall, declining over 30% year to date.
It held a presentation outlining its strategic goals to investors at a Capital Markets Day on 7 November, but coincidently on that same day, Millennium International Management added 0.13% to its short, bringing it to 0.95%.
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