Retail investors' darling stock NanoRepro lures short sellers after 4,000% gain

NanoRepro AG

09/03/2021 15:20

By Danilo Masoni
    March 9 (Reuters) - Fertility testing company turned COVID-19 specialist NanoRepro
 NN6G.DE , which has been a recent darling of German retail investors, has seen a sudden
emergence in short selling activity after a dramatic share price surge.    
    Shares in the Marburg-based company have climbed around 4,000% at its peak this month from
early March last year when it first added a coronavirus test to its portfolio, sparking a boom
in its business.
    But signs of stock borrowing activity in the German micro-capitalized company emerged for
the first time in more than 15 months last week, data from FIS Astec Analytics showed,
indicating that some investors were taking a stab at shorting the stock.
    Before end-February, there was no trace of borrowing activity, partly due to a low free
float, as traders piled into the shares after demand for COVID-19 testing led to a ten-fold rise
in its 2020 sales and an explosion of its order book.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N2L12U9
    According to the latest data from FIS Astec the cost to borrow shares in the little-known
firm stood at a high of 17% on Wednesday, ten times the sector average, as loan volumes rose. 
    On the same day, NanoRepro hit a peak at over 22 euros, giving the company a market
capitalisation of over 240 million euros ($285million) compared to just 5 million a year
earlier.
    Since then, the stock has lost ground and by 1428 GMT on Tuesday, it was set for its worst
day in five months, down 18%.
    "It falls incredibly quickly. And that doesn't look like a 'dip'. Someone selling seldom
comes alone. I'm glad I'm out," said Reddit-user Porsche981Fan on the German-language 
MauerStrassenWetten forum where NanoRepro became a star.
    Despite the fresh fall, NanoRepro is still up nearly 2,500% over the last year, a move that
dwarfs rallies seen in highly hyped assets like Bitcoin  BTC=BTSP  or Tesla  TSLA.O .
    Meanwhile, the German government's plan to pay for all asymptomatic citizens to have a quick
COVID-19 test at least once a week looks a further boon to the business NanoRepro newly ventured
into.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2L10E9 
    
    ($1 = 0.8413 euros)

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 (Reporting by Danilo Masoni;
Editing by Bernadette Baum)
 ((Danilo.Masoni@TR.com; +39-02-66129734; Reuters Messaging:
danilo.masoni.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; On Twitter https://twitter.com/damasoni))