By Danilo Masoni
MILAN (Reuters) – Shares in Ocado swung widely on Thursday following a two-month rally that has kept traders guessing over potential suitors circling the British online supermarket.
The highly shorted stock jumped as much as 5.9% to its highest since April 2022 before reversing course again and following a 25% rise the day before, which was likely due to short covering with no obvious catalyst behind it.
An Ocado spokesperson declined to comment on Thursday on the share price move, while traders continued to speculate about potential offers for the London-listed company.
Back in June, the Times newspaper reported possible takeover interest from more than one U.S. suitor, including Amazon, boosting Ocado shares by 47% at on point.
At its peak on Thursday the stock was just a whisker from trebling in value from the lows in early June but it later pared gains and turned negative. By 0300 GMT, it was down 2%.
Amazon declined to comment at the time, while a few weeks later, Ocado CEO Tim Steiner said the group was not looking to be taken over. Ocado returned to profit in its first half.
The shares have risen as much as 197% from their June lows, giving the firm a value above 8 billion pounds ($10.4 billion). They are down over 65% from their lifetime peak in 2020.
Almost 9% of Ocado’s outstanding share capital is out on loan, down from a peak of 12.8% at the end of April, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
($1 = 0.7712 pounds)
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni and Helen Reid; Editing by Amanda Cooper and David Evans)
