Haleon PLC (LSE:HLN, NYSE:HLN), the FTSE 100 healthcare company, has seen £150 million of its shares shorted by hedge fund Marshall Wace.
It's the first time a Haleon short-seller has made its position known since the company was spun out by pharma giant GSK two years ago.
Marshall Wace, which is co-founded and chaired by GB News investor Paul Marshall, said it has developed a net short position of around 0.52% of the healthcare group’s £30 billion market value.
Shares in Haleon are trading at around 329p on Monday, near level compared to the 330p price it was quoted when it first listed on the LSE back in July 2022.
The London-based hedge fund, which has a history of shorting companies and has over US$65 billion of assets under management, expects the share price to tumble even further.
Other net short positions by Marshall Wace include 1.1% of gambling firm 888 Holdings, 2.03% of Burberry and 1.23% of Renault, according to data provider WhaleWisdom.
Earlier this month, Haleon reported lower first-quarter revenues, having experienced negative impacts of 4.6% from currency swings and 0.6% from the sale of Lamisil.
For the full year organic revenue growth of 4-6% is still expected.