Metro Bank, Royal Mail and Cineworld are among the UK’s most shorted stocks, new analysis has revealed, as financial uncertainty amid the coronavirus crisis continues to weigh on industry heavy-weights.
How does short selling work?
Short sellers place bets on stocks that they expect to fall in price. Investors pay a fee to borrow shares in a company and then sell them with the aim of buying them back and then returning them to the lender.
Short sellers are betting that the stock they sell will drop in price, meaning they can quickly rebuy them and return them to the lender and pocket the profit.