Here are the 10 top retailers that investors are betting against as the holiday shopping season ramps up

Crystal Cox / Business Insider

• After Black Friday and Cyber Monday kicked off the holiday shopping season, investors are betting against a number of key retailers, data from financial-analytics provider S3 Partners show.
• Investors are also betting against the entire retail industry by shorting the SPDR S&P Retail ETF.
• 2019 has been a tough year for the retail industry. Still, shoppers spent record amounts online during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, though sales in physical stores declined.
• Here are the top 10 retailers that investors are shorting, according to S3 Partners.
• Read more on Business Insider.

As the holiday shopping season ramps up after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, investors are betting against a number of big retailers.

Online ecommerce platforms like Amazon as well as brick-and-mortar stores such as Macy's made the list of the top retail companies that investors are shorting, according to data from financial-analytics provider S3 Partners.

Beyond shorting individual companies, traders are also betting against the retail industry as a whole. On Monday, S3 data showed that short positions against the SPDR S&P Retail ETF reached 666% of the fund's available shares, the highest level since March. It's also triple its level from just a year ago.

Pessimism around the industry is nothing new amid a rough year for retailers that brought bankruptcy filings and store closings. It's also weighed on sector stocks - the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained roughly 6% this year, trailing the S&P 500 index, which has gained about 23% year-to-date.

In addition, a number of retailers reported disappointing earnings at the end of November that sent shares tumbling and put investors on high alert before the holiday shopping season. Retailers such as Home Depot, Macy's, and Kohl's all cut their full-year profit outlooks in the third quarter, signaling trouble might be ahead.

Still, there were some bright spots on Black Friday. Target, Walmart, Costco, and BJ's dominated that day, and even though physical sales in stores declined, shoppers spent $7.4 billion online, a new record according to Adobe Analytics data.

That trend continued on Cyber Monday, when shoppers spent a record $9.4 billion in the US, Adobe Analytics data showed.

Here are the top retailers that investors are betting against, ranked in ascending order of short interest.