The 10 most shorted ASX stocks plus the biggest risers and fallers – Week 5
Domino's has climbed to the #1 most shorted stock on the market, while short sellers covered their bearish uranium bets last week.
Source: iStock
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 12 and 20 January 2026
Month-on-month changes between 16 December 2025 and 20 January 2026
Most covered and rising short tables record week-on-week changes of 0.5% or more
Most Shorted
Ticker | Company | Short % | Week-on-Week | Month-on-Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Domino's Pizza | 17.32% | -0.25% | -0.46% | |
Boss Energy | 16.27% | -3.19% | -8.30% | |
Guzman Y Gomez | 13.79% | 0.05% | 0.44% | |
Treasury Wine Estates | 12.95% | 2.51% | 4.75% | |
IDP Education | 12.27% | 0.10% | 0.61% | |
Paladin Energy | 11.87% | -0.61% | -1.45% | |
Polynovo | 11.67% | 0.16% | -0.02% | |
Telix Pharmaceuticals | 11.27% | 0.02% | 0.22% | |
Flight Centre | 11.08% | 0.67% | -0.06% | |
PWR Holdings | 10.65% | -1.04% | -0.69% |
Key takeaways
Domino's is now the market's most shorted stock after Boss Energy experienced a sharp dip in short interest. The short thesis is clear following 2025's developments: a mass C-suite exodus, continued sales deterioration, over-reliance on discounts to generate sales, an FY25 result that flagged higher leverage and a lower dividend payout, and more. In November 2025, Domino's provided a trading update where same-store sales for the first 17 weeks of FY26 continued to decelerate, down 1.2% versus the 0.9% drop at the 7-week trading update. The stock is down 18% in the last twelve months, but has rallied 80% from October 2025 lows. Domino's may represent a high-risk short, as Domino's still operates over 21,700 stores worldwide. In other words, it has massive leverage where a small improvement in key metrics can trigger a significant turnaround.
Rising Shorts
Ticker | Company | Short % | Week-on-Week | Month-on-Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Treasury Wine Estates | 12.95% | 2.51% | 4.75% | |
James Hardie Industries Plc | 3.76% | 1.36% | 1.56% | |
Lynas Rare EARTHS | 7.63% | 1.00% | 2.17% | |
Catapult Sports | 4.34% | 0.70% | 1.31% | |
Flight Centre | 11.08% | 0.67% | -0.06% | |
IPH | 10.12% | 0.66% | -1.01% | |
ZIP Co | 5.57% | 0.58% | 1.44% | |
Endeavour Group | 6.40% | 0.55% | 1.01% | |
Bapcor | 7.70% | 0.49% | 0.53% |
Key takeaways
Short sellers are aggressively ramping up their bets against Treasury Wine. The stock is trading at the lowest level since October 2015, following a series of guidance downgrades and withdrawals, a cancelled share buyback, non-cash impairments ($687.4m at 30 June 2025), excess inventory and a leveraged balance sheet. The latest earnings update in late December guided to 1H26 earnings 30% below consensus expectations, triggering a 9% selloff to fresh decade lows. The update confirmed years of over-shipment into China and the US, with management now focused on a two-year inventory correction. "Treasury is planning to destock key channels for Penfolds and the Americas over the next 2 years. A key risk from our perspective is that it takes longer than expected for channel inventory to return to normal levels, resulting in near to medium term sales missing expectations. The issue is compounded in the US by the combination of a market deterioration and the California distribution change," Citi analysts said in a note last month. While the stock has been battered in recent years, and trading at a near single-digit price-to-earnings ratio, its structurally challenged operating environment and leverage forecast to exceed target levels for at least two years likely leaves more downside risk.
Most Covered
Ticker | Company | Short % | Week-on-Week | Month-on-Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Boss Energy | 16.27% | -3.19% | -8.30% | |
Lotus Resources | 6.77% | -1.51% | -1.52% | |
Amcor Plc | 0.04% | -1.44% | -1.81% | |
PWR Holdings | 10.65% | -1.04% | -0.69% | |
Droneshield | 10.02% | -0.94% | 0.37% | |
Catalyst Metals | 1.89% | -0.80% | 0.33% | |
Paladin Energy | 11.87% | -0.61% | -1.45% | |
Helia Group | 1.32% | -0.58% | -0.59% | |
Aura Energy | 0.26% | -0.49% | -0.89% |
Key takeaways
Short interest has declined broadly across uranium-related stocks (Boss, Lotus and Paladin Energy). According to Canaccord, uranium market conditions strengthened materially into year-end, with a sharp acceleration in long-term contracting driving a breakout in term prices and lifting the spot price floor, setting a more constructive backdrop for 2026.
Term price breakout: Prices moved decisively higher after ~15 months around US$80/lb, rising to US$86–87/lb by Nov–Dec. Prices are now ~US$9/lb below the 2008 peak (or ~US$145/lb in today’s dollars)
Spot floor lifted: Spot prices traded closer to the historical US$6–7/lb discount to term, establishing ~US$80/lb as a more durable floor
Contracting surged: Contracting increased by ~72Mlbs in the DecQ, taking 2025 volumes to ~115Mlbs, the second-highest year since 2012, though still below replacement demand
Financial demand strong: SPUT and Yellow Cake sequestered ~10Mlbs in 2025, with activity extending into early 2026 as purchase limits reset and both trade at premiums
Enrichment at records: Enrichment prices reached all-time highs (~US$200/SWU spot, ~US$173/SWU term) amid constrained Russian supply and tight Western capacity
Large reactors re-emphasised: Government-backed projects in the US, Europe and India reinforce the central role of large reactors in long-term uranium demand growth
