The 10 most shorted ASX stocks plus the biggest risers and fallers – Week 31
Short sellers banked from Lotus after its heavy discount raise, while gold names Pantoro and Regis drew fire and GDG faced a squeeze.
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Mentioned
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 13 and 20 July 2026
Month-on-month changes between 22 June and 20 July 2026
Most covered and rising short tables record week-on-week changes of ~0.5% or more
Most Shorted
Lotus faced its reckoning after a seven-week trading halt, raising $34.2 million at 22 cents per share. This represents a 66% discount to its previous close of 66 cents. The company also raised a further $35 million in convertible notes and $30 million through an inventory-backed prepayment facility and marketing agreement with Mercuria Energy Trading. The steep discount reflected a sharp deterioration in operating conditions, compounded by an already-weak balance sheet. Lotus faced sulphuric acid supply disruption from Middle East tensions, while its own acid plant suffered a production failure during commissioning. That came on top of other ramp-up challenges spanning equipment maintenance, sub-optimal uranium recoveries and higher-than-expected costs. The weaker-than-expected production left Lotus short of its 2026 delivery obligations, leaving it with a maximum exposure of US$7 million assuming no further deferrals.
Ticker | Company | Short % | Week-on-Week | Month-on-Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lotus Resources | 22.80% | 0.00% | -0.01% | |
Domino's Pizza | 13.79% | -0.05% | -0.54% | |
4DMedical | 13.14% | 1.14% | 2.09% | |
Droneshield | 13.11% | 0.27% | 0.64% | |
Flight Centre Travel Group | 12.38% | 0.57% | 0.89% | |
Boss Energy | 11.96% | 0.25% | -1.77% | |
Telix Pharmaceuticals | 11.68% | -0.04% | -1.24% | |
Paladin Energy | 11.60% | 0.12% | 0.25% | |
CAR Group | 11.59% | -0.04% | -0.61% | |
Treasury Wine Estates | 10.57% | -0.18% | -0.81% |
Rising Shorts
A few gold names saw an uptick in short interest, including Genesis, Pantoro, Kingsgate and Ora Banda. Genesis is working through its merger with Vault Minerals, while Pantoro has struggled all year and down 58.5% year-to-date after a run of weaker-than-expected production reports. The latest June quarter and FY26 result came in well below guidance, hit by contractor underperformance, seismic complications at deeper underground levels and labour supply challenges.
Ticker | Company | Short % | Week-on-Week | Month-on-Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Immutep | 3.64% | 1.24% | 1.05% | |
4DMedical | 13.14% | 1.14% | 2.09% | |
Genesis Minerals | 8.62% | 0.95% | 2.66% | |
Pantoro Gold | 2.38% | 0.93% | 0.57% | |
ASX | 6.36% | 0.69% | 0.83% | |
Kingsgate | 2.61% | 0.69% | 0.72% | |
Imugene | 1.17% | 0.63% | -0.13% | |
Flight Centre | 12.38% | 0.57% | 0.89% | |
Clarity Pharmaceuticals | 8.19% | 0.57% | 1.08% | |
Ora Banda Mining | 4.28% | 0.53% | 1.17% |
Most Covered
Qoria short interest vapourised after the company merged with Aura, whose CDIs now trade under the ticker AXQ. There was not much activity elsewhere. Regis short interest eased after the stock tanked 8.4% on 17 July, when its FY27 production, cost and capex guidance came in materially higher than analysts expected. The short selling data runs four days behind, so next week's numbers will show how GDG short sellers faced a squeeze after the stock surged 37% on Thursday 23 July on a material quarter-on-quarter jump in funds under management.
