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what happened to volkswagen stock in 2008

by Dr. Kathryn Mohr DVM Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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In 2008, Porsche bought up so much of Volkswagen’s stock it caused VW’s stock prices to soar. Within two days, price of VW quadrupled. In turn, this caused short sellers to lose tens of billions of dollars in a span of a couple of days.

After the stock's peak on Oct. 28, 2008, it plunged 58% in four days and by September that year, the shares were down 70% from their top, giving away most of the squeeze.

Full Answer

What happened to VW sales in 2008?

Feb 03, 2021 · By late 2008, short positions were 12 percent above outstanding shares. But since most of Volkswagen's shares were reserved for institutional and governmental shareholders, there was a disparity in...

What was the short interest in Volkswagen shares in 2008?

Sep 29, 2021 · By March 2008, Porsche owned 31 percent of Volkswagen and confirmed at the time that it was not looking to increase its holdings to 75 percent, as was widely rumoured. “The speculation of going to 75 percent overlooks the realities of …

What caused the price of Volkswagen stock to go up?

May 04, 2021 · We know now, heading into October of 2008: Around 55% of VW shares were unavailable in the market for any actual purposes. With that, when Porsche increased its stake, it meant that the true available float went down from 45% of outstanding shares to around just 1% of outstanding shares.

What happened to Volkswagen?

Mar 02, 2021 · In 2008, Porsche bought up so much of Volkswagen’s stock it caused VW’s stock prices to soar. Within two days, price of VW quadrupled. In turn, this caused short sellers to lose tens of billions of dollars in a span of a couple of days. Hedge funds lost $30 billion in the VW squeeze Within four days, the stock dropped in price by 58%

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Feb 02, 2021 · After Volkswagen’s peak on Oct. 28, 2008, the shares fell 58% in four days, and a month later the stock was down 70% from its top, giving back most of the squeeze, according to FactSet. So far for...

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How much did VW stock go in 2008?

VOW. F - Volkswagen AG
DateOpenHigh
Oct 29, 2008527.03597.96
Oct 28, 2008484.52978.92
Oct 27, 2008365.86604.16
*Close price adjusted for splits.**Adjusted close price adjusted for splits and dividend and/or capital gain distributions.
1 more row

Why did Volkswagen spike in 2008?

Panic among short sellers set in, and the supply-demand imbalance triggered a monumental short squeeze that drove its share price up from €210.85 to more than €1,000 in less than two days. Indeed, Volkswagen became the world's largest company by market value on October 28—albeit, very briefly.Sep 29, 2021

What did VW hit in 2008?

In October 2008, Volkswagen saw its Frankfurt, Germany-listed shares more than quadruple in two days, briefly becoming the biggest company in the world. After Volkswagen's peak on Oct. 28, 2008, the shares fell 58% in four days, and a month later the stock was down 70% from its top, giving back most of the squeeze.Feb 2, 2021

What percent did Volkswagen go up in 2008?

The squeeze itself happened in late 2008. By that time VW became the most valuable automaker on the planet thanks to its stock price having skyrocketed, while the short position had ballooned to 12% of outstanding shares.Jan 27, 2021

What was VW short interest in 2008?

Furthermore, the seemingly “low” short interest of 12.8% turned into a massive supply and demand imbalance. Thus, millions of shares needed to be bought immediately even though there were simply no shares available to be sold.Mar 2, 2021

Is Volkswagen stock a good buy?

VWAGY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 8.90, which compares to its industry's average of 10.95. Over the past year, VWAGY's Forward P/E has been as high as 14.65 and as low as 7.11, with a median of 9.07.Sep 13, 2021

What was the biggest stock squeeze?

In one of the biggest short squeezes of all time, automaker Volkswagen became "the world's priciest firm" over the course of a single trading day. Just before this massive spike, Volkswagen was widely believed to be an independently owned entity.

When did Volkswagen stock squeeze?

2008
The biggest short squeeze in history occurred in 2008 when Porsche embarked on an unexpected series of maneuvers that left it controlling a huge percentage of Volkswagen's (VW) stock. This briefly made VW the most valuable listed company in the world.Nov 3, 2021

What was Volkswagen highest stock price?

At the end of trading yesterday, VW's share price closed at €675 ($847), a gain of 33% on the day, but not enough to hold onto the title of world's largest company by market capitalization. The secret to VW's earlier valuation success, say the analysts, lay in its successful hedge-fund trading strategies.Oct 28, 2008

Who owns VW now?

Image of Who owns VW now?
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE, is a German multinational corporation primarily known as a holding company of Volkswagen Group with investments in the automotive industry.
Wikipedia

Why did Volkswagen stock go up?

Volkswagen stock is ripping higher Tuesday after the German automotive giant unveiled bold new electrification goals. It seems the best way for a traditional auto maker to drive its share price up is to declare itself an electric-vehicle company. If only it were that easy. Volkswagen (ticker: VOW.Mar 16, 2021

How much did VW short squeeze?

It is estimated the VW short squeeze cost short sellers about £30 billion ($38.33 billion).

How much was Volkswagen short interest in 2008?

But even by October of 2008, the short interest seemed not-too excessive. It stood at just 12.8% of outstanding shares being short.

What is short squeeze?

In short form (not a pun) – A short squeeze is when a stock aggressively increases in price causing short sellers to have to cut losses and exit their positions, inadvertently further driving up the price per share of said stock.

What happened to VW stock in 2008?

In 2008, Porsche bought up so much of Volkswagen’s stock it caused VW’s stock prices to soar. Within two days, price of VW quadrupled. In turn, this caused short sellers to lose tens of billions of dollars in a span of a couple of days. Hedge funds lost $30 billion in the VW squeeze. Within four days, the stock dropped in price by 58%.

What happens when a stock is short squeezed?

A short squeeze happens when a stock’s price begins to rise, forcing traders who had bet its price would fall to hastily buy it back to prevent even greater losses. By repurchasing their short positions, a feedback loop got triggered. The increasing demand attracts more buyers, which pushes the stock higher. In turn, this causes even more short-sellers to buy back or cover their positions.

What happens when you short a stock?

When you short a stock, you don’t own the shares outright, but you borrow them from your broker. I liken it to renting something; you get to use it temporarily, but you need to return it eventually. Keep that n mind about a VW short squeeze. As an example, you “borrow” or sell short 100 shares of GameStop $400.

Why do short sellers buy back shares?

However, when the stock jumps sharply higher, it forces short sellers to buy back shares in order to limit their losses , which leads to a so-called short squeeze.

When is GameStop 2021?

People walk past a GameStop store in Midtown Manhattan on January 27, 2021 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images. Volkswagen often comes to mind when investors try to find a short squeeze comparable to GameStop ’s jaw-dropping spike last week.

What happened in 2008?

In 2008 the economy entered a tailspin, threatening to take many auto manufacturers with it. Consumers no longer had access to the cheap and easy credit that made SUVs affordable, and even those who had jobs and money to spend wanted to more environmentally-friendly vehicles with better fuel economy.

Is Volkswagen a hybrid?

Volkswagen was famously reluctant to add a hybrid engine powertrain to its product line up, which is more expensive to research and manufacture. Instead it preferred diesel engines as the environmentally responsible solution, which it already sold in high volumes throughout the rest of the car-buying world.

What was the cause of the 2008 stock market crash?

The stock market crash of 2008 was as a result of defaults on consolidated mortgage-backed securities. Subprime housing loans comprised most MBS. Banks offered these loans to almost everyone, even those who weren’t creditworthy.

Who is Kimberly Amadeo?

Kimberly Amadeo is an expert on U.S. and world economies and investing, with over 20 years of experience in economic analysis and business strategy. She is the President of the economic website World Money Watch.

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