The 10 most shorted ASX stocks plus the biggest risers and fallers – Week 24

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 4 and 11 June 2024.

Most Shorted

Key takeaways:

• Pilbara Minerals and IDP Education remain the two most shorted stocks on the market. The two stocks have retained the top spots since early February

• Liontown has advanced to #3 amid a sharp pullback in lithium prices. Chinese lithium carbonate prices are down around 17% since late April to 96,000 yuan a tonne

• Westgold's short interest has surged in recent months. The company merged with the TSX-listed Karora resources in April. Macquarie analysts were relatively downbeat on the merger as it would double the company's shares on issue, which will reduce its EPS estimates by 53%/64%/78%/81% in FY25/FY26/FY27/FY28.

Rising Shorts

Key takeaways:

• Xero completed a US$850 million convertible note offering, which analysts view as a clear indication that M&A is a part of the company's offering in the next few years. "We also expect investors to be quite cautious on any sizable acquisitions given Xero’s mixed track record to date (e.g. Planday, Waddle etc.),"

• Lynas recently commissioned its rare earths processing facility in Kalgoorlie, the first of its kind in Australia. Morgan Stanley retained a $5.35 target price and Underweight rating back in late May, citing spare cracking and leaching (a process used to produce rare earths) capacity. "For Lynas' C&L to go to more than 12,000 tonnes per annum NdPr near-term, LYC will need third-party feed, for which we see little to no near-term sources in Australia and Malaysia," the analysts said.

• Uranium stocks have attracted an uptick in short interest. Prices for the underlying commodity fell to below US$85/lb in June, the lowest since early December 2023.

Most Covered

Key takeaways:

• Syrah Resources saw a significant increase in short interest earlier this year due to weak graphite markets and the anticipation of a capital raise. With the capital raise out of the way ($98 million on 13 March at a 21.4% discount), short positions have decreased considerably, falling from a peak of 18.5% in early February.

• Healius has rallied around 30% since early May lows. The stock is starting to bottom after a 75% spiral from 2021 highs. The Australian has cited several reports of potential takeover offers for both Healius and its subsidiary, Lumus Imaging.