Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO) heads into first-half results on 18 July as one of the most shorted stocks in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to a report from Hazeltree.
The online grocery group topped the list for large and mid-cap stocks in the EMEA region, though some analysts expect to see some improvement from the FTSE 100-listed outfit in next week's interim numbers.
Barclays analysts forecast a revenue increase of 8.7% year on year to £1.37bn and an adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) loss of £23mlm.
This would be a deterioration year-on-year when it made a loss of £14mln in the first half of 2022, it would be an improvement on the second half performance, where the company posted a £60mln loss, as well as the total £501mln loss before tax made for the whole year.
Shares in Ocado are down 5% in the year so far to 615p, having bounced off a recent six-year low helped by reports that Amazon was rumoured to be considering a takeover - which was quickly dismissed by some analysts.
Part of the reason for the big jump was likely to have been this rumour squeezing the short-sellers, where the ShortTracker website makes the shares the most shorted in London, with at least 4.9% out on loan.