Many investors are hoping for their big bets to pay off this week with earnings beats, but others are wagering that companies will disappoint.
Swift Energy, an oil and gas company primarily working in Texas and Louisiana, is the most shorted stock reporting earnings this week—almost 39 percent of its shares outstanding are on loan, according to Markit. The stock is down almost 14 percent year-to-date, but is well above its lows from the beginning of March.
KEYW Holding, a cyber security firm that Reuters reports has worked with the U.S. government, is also heavily shorted—the second-most of any stock announcing earnings this week with 32 percent of shares outstanding on loan. Markit analyst Simon Colvin notes that KEYW's bears have stuck to their guns, driving up short interest to an all-time high despite the stock recovering off of recent lows.
Read More Most shorted stocks that announced earnings last week
But while many of the most shorted stocks announcing earnings this week are less well-known companies, several consumer-facing firms make Markit's list this week: gun maker Sturm Ruger & Co, SodaStream, and Herbalife all have more than 20 percent of outstanding shares on loan.
Here's Markit's full list of the most shorted U.S. stocks reporting earnings this week:
| Name | Ticker | % Shares Outstanding on Loan | 1 Month % Change | Industry | Earnings Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swift Energy | SFY | 38.9 | -5% | Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels | 7/31/2014 |
| KEYW Holding | KEYW | 32.3 | 6% | Aerospace & Defense | 7/31/2014 |
| Walter Energy | WLT | 32.2 | -10% | Metals & Mining | 7/31/2014 |
| Invensense | INVN | 28.8 | 12% | Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components | 7/29/2014 |
| Outerwall | OUTR | 28.5 | 7% | Specialty Retail | 7/31/2014 |
| Exelixis | EXEL | 26.9 | 8% | Biotechnology | 7/31/2014 |
| Veeco Instruments | VECO | 23.4 | 27% | Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment | 7/30/2014 |
| Abiomed | ABMD | 22.0 | 6% | Health Care Equipment & Supplies | 7/31/2014 |
| Quebecor | QBR.B | 21.8 | 21% | Media | 7/31/2014 |
| Cbiz | CBZ | 21.2 | -8% | Professional Services | 7/29/2014 |
| La Jolla Pharmaceutical | LJPCD | 21.2 | 6% | Biotechnology | 8/1/2014 |
| Cgi Group | GIB.A | 21.1 | 0% | IT Services | 7/30/2014 |
| Herbalife | HLF | 20.5 | 14% | Personal Products | 7/28/2014 |
| Sturm Ruger & Co | RGR | 20.3 | 19% | Leisure Products | 7/29/2014 |
| Sodastream International | SODA | 20.2 | 8% | Household Durables | 7/30/2014 |
| Keryx Biopharmaceuticals | KERX | 20.0 | 1% | Biotechnology | 8/1/2014 |
| Arch Coal | ACI | 19.7 | 4% | Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels | 7/29/2014 |
| Iridium Communications | IRDM | 19.6 | 3% | Diversified Telecommunication Services | 7/31/2014 |
| Affymetrix | AFFX | 19.2 | 4% | Life Sciences Tools & Services | 7/31/2014 |
| 3D Systems | DDD | 19.1 | 4% | Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals | 7/31/2014 |
Source: Markit Equities Research
—By CNBC's Everett Rosenfeld