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Hedge Fund Maplelane Loses About 33% on Short Bets This Month

Hedge Fund Maplelane Loses About 33% on Short Bets This Month

Maplelane Capital, a $3.5 billion stock hedge fund, lost about 33% this month through Tuesday in part because of a short position on GameStop Corp., according to investors.

The firm significantly altered its portfolio in recent weeks, adjusting risk, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Those changes helped protect against further losses, and the firm has no liquidity or margin issues.

The New York-based firm, run by Leon Shaulov and Rob Crespi, declined to comment.

Maplelane had puts -- or bets on falling shares -- on several companies at the end of the third quarter, including American Airlines Group Inc., GameStop, IRobot Corp. and National Beverage Corp., according to its latest regulatory filing. The firm was founded in 2010.

Melvin Capital, the $12.5 billion hedge fund run by Gabe Plotkin, fell more than 30% so far this month on similar short bets. Amid the distress, hedge fund titans Ken Griffin and Steve Cohen injected a total of $2.75 billion into the firm. It also recently altered its portfolio.

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