Shares in Ocado Group, the British online supermarket and technology group, soared 20% in morning trading on Thursday with traders attributing the rise to a report in The Times newspaper citing talk of possible bid interest in the company.
A spokesperson for Ocado declined to comment on either the stock's rise or The Times report.
The Times report noted there was speculation of bid interest from more than one US suitor.
"The talk was that technology heavyweights such as Amazon were pondering the merits of an £8-a-share move," it said.
Read More: UK's Ocado Retail Keeps Profit Guidance After Quarterly Sales Rise: Source
Closing Share Price
Based on Ocado's closing share price on Wednesday of 430 pence, that would represent a near 85% premium.
Shares in Ocado were up 79.8 pence at 509.4 pence at 0825 GMT, paring losses over the last year to 40%.
Analysts at Jefferies noted that Ocado's share price has struggled post pandemic and with about 14% of its free float out on loan has been a popular stock for short sellers.
"It's in this context that the overnight news of bid interest from Amazon (and others) should first be seen," they said.
In February, Ocado plunged to a £501 million ($640 million) full year loss as it took a big accounting charge and profits at its joint venture with Marks & Spencer were wiped out.
Read More: UK's Ocado Retail To Shutdown Hatfield Fulfilment Centre
News by Reuters, edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more technology stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
