It’s Phil King against the shorters at small-cap biotechnology play Opthea, which counts the veteran stockpicker’s Regal Partners as its biggest investor and is preparing to release the results of a crucial clinical trial.

But while Regal, with its 30 per cent stake, is long on Opthea, there are plenty who are not. The company’s share price had slumped 22 per cent this year by the time it went into trading halt on Monday. Short interest – the bets against the price falling – has risen from 1 per cent to 3.3 per cent of outstanding stock, according to the latest available figures.