Bearish Bets on BYD Surge to 22-Month High Before EU Probe
- The EV maker is the second-most-shorted stock on HSCEI gauge
- BYD’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell as much as 3.8% Thursday
A BYD Seal electric sedan during the Munich Motor Show on Sept. 6.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
BYD Co. may face further selling pressure as traders ramped up bearish bets against the electric vehicle maker even before the European Union launched an investigation into Chinese subsidies for clean cars.
Short interest in the Chinese EV manufacturer surged to a level last seen in November 2021, with bearish positions against the firm accounting for about 4.4% of outstanding shares as of Tuesday, according to IHS Markit Ltd. data. That makes it the second-most-shorted stock on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, after XPeng Inc.’s 5.2%.