The 10 most shorted ASX stocks plus the biggest risers and fallers – Week 32
Healius joins the top ten as Polynovo shorts rebuild, while Webjet bears got squeezed out ahead of a guidance beat and buy-back.
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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 20 and 27 July 2026
Month-on-month changes between 29 June and 27 July 2026
Most covered and rising short tables record week-on-week changes of ~0.5% or more
Most Shorted
No major changes among the top shorted stocks. Treasury Wine slipped out of the top ten, replaced by Healius. Next week's short series will show how short interest in Lotus Resources moved in response to the 57.5% one-day dip on 27 July, when the company raised $60 million at 22 cents per share, a 66% discount and roughly 100% of its shares on issue.
Ticker | Company | Short % | Week-on-Week | Month-on-Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lotus Resources | 22.49% | -0.31% | -0.33% | |
Domino's Pizza | 13.64% | -0.15% | -0.30% | |
Droneshield | 13.37% | 0.26% | 1.63% | |
4DMedical | 13.36% | 0.22% | 2.40% | |
Flight Centre Travel | 12.34% | -0.04% | 0.92% | |
Paladin Energy | 12.03% | 0.43% | 0.48% | |
Telix Pharmaceuticals | 11.67% | -0.01% | -0.56% | |
Boss Energy | 11.61% | -0.35% | -2.02% | |
CAR Group | 11.47% | -0.12% | -0.06% | |
Healius | 10.79% | 0.55% | 0.52% |
Rising Shorts
PolyNovo has been on a wild ride. Short interest climbed to 14.6% by 12 May, only for the stock to rally 26% over the next three sessions on no news, squeezing the figure back to 8.0% by late May. Bearish bets have built steadily since. The FY26 trading update on 23 July showed group sales up 21.1% to $102.1 million, short of consensus, with analysts flagging a second half slowdown in US sales and softer commercial momentum than earlier in the year. Shares fell 2.6% on the day and another 11.8% over the following two sessions. Retail names and pathology plays including Healius and Sonic Healthcare have also drawn heavier shorting.
Ticker | Company | Short % | Week-on-Week | Month-on-Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Polynovo | 9.58% | 0.83% | 0.99% | |
Stockland | 4.34% | 0.83% | 0.73% | |
Universal Store | 5.06% | 0.66% | 1.07% | |
Minerals 260 | 5.78% | 0.63% | 2.21% | |
Nick Scali | 4.23% | 0.60% | 0.11% | |
Alcoa Corporation | 1.65% | 0.57% | 1.12% | |
Alpha HPA | 5.83% | 0.55% | 0.20% | |
Healius | 10.79% | 0.55% | 0.52% | |
Sonic Healthcare | 7.21% | 0.50% | 1.19% |
Most Covered
Short interest in Web Travel Group declined ahead of its 1H26 guidance update on 29 July, where revenue margin topped both the prior period and consensus, and FY26 EBITDA guidance topped market expectations. Management also announced an on-market buy-back of up to $90 million, with cash conversion remaining seasonally strong and a further update flagged for the August AGM. The stock rallied 17.1% on the day.
