APN Outdoors (APO), the outdoor advertising operator currently has 10.3% of its stock short-sold, a figure that’s steadily risen over the last 12-months. APO has new management which in April announced their most recent trading update stating their guidance of single-digit revenue growth was all on track – it appears there are no skeletons in the closet – although outdoor advertising is becoming a more competitive area.
The stock’s actually marginally higher for the year and potentially one the hedge fund managers may not want in their short basket for the second half of 2018. The stock’s not cheap trading on a forward PE of 17.2x for 2018 while paying a 3.7% fully franked dividend.
Market Matters Take/Outlook
We like APO at current levels targeting over $6 but we would run stops below $4.80 – solid risk / reward.
