Heavy falls in Ryanair as most institutions cut back holdings

Shares in Ryanair came in for some heavy selling in Dublin and New York yesterday, and by the close in Dublin had lost almost 10 per cent of their value with almost £50 million wiped off the value of the low-cost airline.

The selling in Dublin took its cue from New York where the share price fell $2 1/2 to $22 1/2 in ADR turnover equivalent to 2 million ordinary shares. In Dublin, after an early deal at 345p, the shares closed on 315p, down 22p on the day.

Most Irish institutions are now thought to have sold out of Ryanair and the bulk of the institutionally-held shares are in the hands of American investors. Against that background, the direction of the Ryanair shares will increasingly become a function of the New York market.

A little over a month ago, Ryanair shares - which were floated at 180p - peaked at 400p, but the direction has been downhill since then with an increasing view in the market that there is no obvious reason why the shares should trade on such a discount to other airlines.

Reports that Lufthansa is planning a low-cost, no-frills airline in Europe have added to the view that a price closer to 300p is more appropriate for Ryanair. Riada has just produced a cautious report prepared when Ryanair shares were at 360p, emphasising the ratings gap between Ryanair and other European airlines.

Otherwise, it was pretty dull stuff, with Irish shares failing to respond to the further gains in London, New York and European stock markets. Among the leaders, AIB added 1p to 591p, Bank of Ireland was unchanged on 790p, CRH lost 5p to 733p, while Smurfit was 1p firmer on 232p. In New York, JS Corp - 46 per cent owned by Smurfit - jumped almost a dollar to $18.94.

There some losses among second-liners with Greencore continuing to lose ground and closing down another 7p on 318p. Fyffes was 3p lower on 98p, Avonmore lost 5p to 305p, IAWS was 6p lower on 230p, while Kerry was 5p lower but well-supported on 705p ahead of interims.