A number of large block trades on Friday which investors said caused big drops in the stocks of a clutch of companies has raised speculation about what was behind them, with Goldman Sachs said to be a bank involved in the sales.
Investors and analysts on Friday cited large blocks of shares in both Viacom and Discovery companies as being put in the market on Friday, calling them massive volumes, likely exacerbating the declines. Viacom also on Friday was downgraded by Wells Fargo. CNBC reported that the selling pressure was due to liqudation of positions by family office Archegos Capital Management, citing a source with direct knowledge of the situation. A person at Archegos who answered the phone declined to comment. Archegos was founded by Bill Hwang, who founded and ran Tiger Asia according to a page capture of the fund's website. Tiger Asia was a Hong Kong based fund fund that sought to profit on bets on securities in Asia.