Travel and Leisure

January is a crucial month for the Travel and Tourism sector, with up to 15% of summer holidays predicted to be booked this month. But the sector has been rocked again by Thomas Cook, which has hit another stumbling block with the lack of confidence in Carnival Cruises since the recent disaster in Italy. We drill further into the sector to highlight others subject to high or rising short interest.

It is not unusual for tour operators to run low on cash during the slower winter months, but the recent announcement by Thomas Cook about deteriorating trading and its plans to expand borrowings has shocked the markets. We use securities lending flow to highlight increasing levels of short interest in the main names, but note this negative sentiment is not shared by institutional investors who lend, who have, in the main, increased their holdings over the past month.

Last week’s profits warning by Thomas Cook Group Plc (LON:TCG) has put pressure on travel stocks as the news reverberated through the sector ahead of second quarter earnings updates. We use securities lending flow data to assess investor sentiment in the global travel sector.

Thomas Cook