The 10 most shorted ASX stocks plus the biggest risers and fallers – Week 43

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 22 and 15 October 2024

• Month-on-month changes between 24 September and 22 October 2024

Most Shorted

Key takeaways:

• Investors remain bearish on lithium and uranium

• Boss Energy jumped to #2 last week and continues to hold this position

• MinRes shorters are taking profits into recent weakness. The stock tumbled 13.7% on 21 October after the company confirmed its investigation into claims of tax evasion by Managing Director Chris Ellison

Rising Shorts

Key takeaways:

• Nick Scali short interest ticked higher after Chairman John Ingram announced his retirement plans. Mr Ingram, who has served on the Nick Scali board since April 2004, sold approximately 44% of his holdings (worth $2.3 million) in February 2024, just four days after the company reported strong half-year results. In the same announcement, the company delivered a mixed trading update for June to September 2024. Australian and New Zealand written sales orders for the period grew 3% year-on-year, though this was offset by a 240 basis point decline in gross margins due to unexpectedly higher freight costs. The company's UK business continues to face volatility during its restructure, impacting both margins and sales. The company projects UK operations to record a loss between $3.3-3.7 million.

• Corporate Travel's short interest has climbed to record levels. While the company hasn't released any market-sensitive news since its August full-year result, the stock has been pressured by recent earnings downgrades from industry peers Flight Centre and Web Travel Group. Flight Centre's year-to-date trading update revealed flat year-on-year growth across key metrics including transaction volumes, margins, and profits. Meanwhile, Web Travel Group downgraded its revenue margin guidance just six weeks after a previous downgrade, citing weakness in its European business.

Most covered

Key takeaways:

• AUB Group saw its short interest drop dramatically over the past week from 3.3% to 0.8%. This decline coincided with a major selldown from American private equity firm Odyssey Investment Partners, which divested its 7.7% stake at $30.70 (a 1% discount to the previous close). The block trade likely triggered a forced recall of shorted shares.

• Short sellers appear to be covering positions in response to recent strength from companies like Accent Group (which has surged almost 45% since late May and briefly reached its highest level since April 2021 last week) and Bank of Queensland (which rallied 14% between October 15-17 after reporting better-than-expected earnings).