FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Investors snapped up Adidas and Puma shares on Thursday. With gains of 4.1 and 6.9 percent respectively, the two sportswear manufacturers topped the winners' list in the DAX and MDAX indices.
At Puma, a transaction by British billionaire and investor Michael Ashley provided fresh momentum. Specifically, it concerns the sale of financial instruments (so-called short puts) which, upon maturity, represent around 5.6 percent of Puma's voting rights. This was revealed in a voting rights notification.
Since December, Puma shares have hovered around the 23-euro mark, sometimes with sharp swings in both directions.
By selling these put options, Ashley grants buyers the right to sell Puma shares to him should the stock fall below a predetermined price threshold. In return, as the so-called option writer in the deal, he receives an option premium upfront.
Ashley apparently expects that Puma shares will not lose much value, or may even rise. According to one market participant, he could also be speculating on securing what he considers an attractive entry point in Puma—if the stock drops below the agreed put threshold. Through other financial instruments, Ashley is currently attributed with 0.17 percent of Puma.
Ashley's Frasers Group is also known as an activist investor, meaning it often seeks to have a say in companies' affairs. The Frasers Group holds about 25 percent of the fashion group Hugo Boss.
Meanwhile, Adidas CEO Björn Gulden took advantage of the recent share price drop—which had pushed the stock to its lowest level since early 2023—to buy in. According to a voting rights notice, Gulden purchased Adidas shares worth just over 500,000 euros on Thursday.
Several analysts have lowered their price targets for Adidas following the company's midweek financial results, but their targets remain well above the current share price. UBS analyst Robert Krankowski noted that management had described the start to the current year as good during the conference call. Adam Cochrane of Deutsche Bank Research rated Adidas as attractively valued with regard to its earnings outlook./tih/gl/jsl/jha/
