The stock
of XTB (WSE: XTB),
Poland’s largest retail broker, closed Monday’s session at 68.96 PLN after
dropping 2.6%, marking its steepest single-day decline since mid-September and
breaking through a key support level that had held since early summer.
Although
today’s (Tuesday’s) opening brought a brief relief, the stock resumed its
decline within minutes. At the time of writing, the share price is down another
0.6%, setting an intraday low of 68.34 PLN and testing its lowest level since
April.
What could
be driving the decline? In addition to likely speculation, investors point to
potential depreciation catalysts such as yesterday’s brief technical issues and
selling pressure from larger short positions.
Platform Outages Hit
During Trading Hours
XTB clients
experienced restricted access to Warsaw Stock Exchange trading on Monday
due to what the company described as a third-party software provider
malfunction. The brokerage initially announced a technical break from 12:30
PM to 12:45 PM, later extending the disruption until 1:00 PM.
“Currently
there are temporary difficulties related to the execution of pending
orders on the WSE on our platform. Their cause is a failure on the part of
an external supplier, independent of XTB,” the company said in a
statement, adding that all orders placed in real-time were being executed
correctly.
The
interruption allowed only market orders to be submitted to a holding
queue, with execution delayed until systems were restored. While Monday’s
session saw relatively modest volatility, frustrated clients took to social
media to note this wasn’t the first technical incident at the platform.
New Short Position
Appears in KNF Registry
Poland’s
financial regulator KNF disclosed that BlackRock Institutional Trust Company
established a 0.51% net short position in XTB shares as of October 1,
representing fresh bearish interest in the stock. The filing marks the
first reported short position against the brokerage to appear in the
regulatory database this month.
The timing
of the disclosure coincides with XTB’s stock breaking below its 70 PLN support
level, potentially opening the path toward February-March lows around 64
PLN, which would represent an additional 8% decline from Monday’s close.
Although
XTB’s share price is currently declining, it has still delivered substantial
returns to shareholders in recent years. By contrast, eToro, which debuted on
Nasdaq under the ticker
ETOR in May this year, has
already lost 50% of its value since June and is trading at record lows,
below its IPO price.
Technical Indicators Flash
Warning Signs
Chart
watchers note that XTB’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages are converging
toward a potential “death cross” formation, a bearish technical
signal that occurs when shorter-term momentum falls below longer-term
trends. The last time these indicators crossed was December 2023, though that
instance generated a buy signal that preceded a 150% rally
over subsequent months.
The stock
has wiped out all gains made in 2025, now down approximately 1%
year-to-date. Moreover, the Warsaw-listed shares have now fallen roughly 25%
from their 2025 peak near 92 PLN reached earlier this year, though the
company still maintains gains of approximately 90% over the past
twelve months through 2024. The recent decline represents XTB’s fifth
consecutive down session.
Company Launches
Cashback Program Amid Stock Pressure
In a
separate development announced Tuesday morning, XTB introduced a cashback
benefit offering PRO status clients up to 100 PLN monthly on card
purchases made through its eWallet service. The 1% cashback applies to
transactions exceeding 400 PLN, capping at 10,000 PLN in monthly
spending.
“Almost
every statistic shows that the most common barrier to investing is the
fear of having insufficient funds and the stereotype that you can only
invest large amounts,” said Omar Arnaout, XTB’s CEO, explaining the
rationale behind the new offering.
The PRO
status activates automatically for clients executing at least five monthly
transactions in stocks or ETFs, excluding CFD instruments. The program excludes
money transfers, gambling services, financial services, insurance, and utility
payments from cashback eligibility.
Meanwhile,
the company announced that it plans to
launch options trading later this year, pending regulatory approval from
the KNF. It has also kicked off the largest marketing
campaign in its history, featuring its ambassador and football legend
Zlatan Ibrahimović.
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This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
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