An unknown hedge fund just made a surprising short bet worth $182 million on Italian high-end clothing maker Moncler

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

A model presents a creation by Italian designer Giambattista Valli as part of his Spring/Summer 2014 women's ready-to-wear collection for fashion house Moncler Gamme Rouge during Paris Fashion Week, October 2, 2013.

• Bayfront Investments is shorting Italian sportswear maker Moncler in a massive single trade worth about 160 million euros ($182 million).
• At 2.03%, the stake of borrowed stock as a proportion of this company's shares has never been seen before, says short research firm Breakout Point.
• "We rarely see shorts over 100 million euros," Breakout Point said. "It is a very rare one."

A mysterious bet just popped up in a securities filing. A hedge fund called Bayfront Investments is shorting Italian sportswear maker Moncler in a massive single trade worth about 160 million euros ($182 million).

Moncler is best known for its puffy coats that can cost thousands of dollars. It's not hard to see why short sellers may be circling Moncler - the stock is down almost 30% from highs reached in June. Bayfront made the trade on January 18, according to a regulatory filing.

But what makes this trade unusual is its size. At 2.03%, the stake of borrowed stock as a proportion of this company's shares has never been seen before, says short research firm Breakout Point.

"We rarely see shorts over 100 million euros," Breakout Point said in an email, adding that the biggest short its analysts have seen before this was a 1.6% short by AKO Capital back in April 2015, when Moncler was trading about 50% lower than it is now. "It is a very rare one."

The fund is fully listed in the filing as Bayfront Investments (Mauritius) Pte Ltd, Singapore Branch. And before this trade, it was unknown to Breakout Point. It's likely that Moncler is Bayfront's first short of notable size (above 0.5%) in Europe.

Unlike in the US, some European regulators require investors to disclose short positions when they exceed a certain percentage of the stock.

A Mauritius-listed number for Bayfront was not answered.

Breakout Point

Breakout Point