The 10 most shorted ASX stocks plus the biggest risers and fallers – Week 19

Welcome back to the Short Seller Series – A recap of the most heavily shorted stocks on the ASX and those experiencing significant changes to short interest over the past week.

Short selling data is four days behind today's date because reporting is not mandatory until three business days after the trade. The tables below will compare:

• Week-on-week changes between 16 and 28 April 2025

• Month-on-month changes between 24 March and 29 April 2025

• Most covered and rising short tables record week-on-week changes of 0.5% or more

Most Shorted

Key takeaways

• This week saw a slight easing of short interest among the most shorted stocks

• IDP experienced the largest week-on-week decline in short interest, though levels remain elevated; the stock surged 17% from April 24 to May 5.

Rising Shorts

Key takeaways

• Mayne Pharma, which entered a scheme implementation deed with Cosette Pharmaceuticals on February 21 for $7.40 cash per share, saw its stock trade near this level but dip 3-4% in early April amid market weakness tied to Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcements. Despite a trading update on April 22 projecting scheme completion by late June to early July 2025, the stock hovers around $7.00. If the deal proceeds as expected, investors could see ~5% upside over a 2-3 month period, making the recent uptick in short interest ahead of implementation puzzling

Most Covered

Key takeaways

• Short covering emerged in speculative pockets of the market, including Brainchip, The Star, and Droneshield, with most rallying from Liberation Day lows (except The Star).

• Notable short covering fueled rallies in stocks like Paladin Energy (up 53% since its April 9 low) and Flight Centre (up 6.2% since mid-April, despite a recent earnings downgrade)