The market has turned on Treasury Wine again as short sellers swarm
Six years after it was sensationally targeted by a US hedge fund, the company behind Penfolds and Wolf Blass is once again facing the wrath of short sellers.
Six years after it was sensationally targeted by a US hedge fund at one of the world's most closely watched investment conferences, ASX- listed Treasury Wine Estates is once again in the crosshairs of short sellers with a shock leadership change and weak sales for its key brands among the market's biggest concerns.
Short sellers now control more than 70 million shares in, or 8.7% of the $6.5 billion company's outstanding shares, according to ASIC data reviewed by Capital Brief. This makes the high-profile owner of brands like Penfold, Yellowglen, 19 Crimes and Wolf Blass the 16th most shorted stock on the local exchange.
On Tuesday, Treasury's share price briefly fell below $8 for the first time since January 2016 after it cut earnings guidance on the back of weak sales in a tough US market, blaming "economic uncertainty and weaker consumer demand" for wine.
In the same statement, Treasury also revealed its US distributor was exiting California without providing clarity on how that might affect sales in the 2026 financial year.
