The 10 most shorted ASX stocks plus the biggest risers and fallers – Week 6
Short sellers remain bearish on lithium, continued to bet against Novonix and covered positions in stocks such as Pilbara Minerals 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 21 and 24 January 2025
Month-on-month changes between 6 and 21 January 2025
Most Shorted
Ticker | Company | Short % | Week-on-Week | Month-on-Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Boss Energy | 19.55% | 0.70% | 2.49% | |
Paladin Energy | 15.06% | -0.37% | 0.63% | |
Domino's Pizza | 13.30% | -0.14% | 1.11% | |
Syrah Resources | 13.21% | 0.16% | 0.42% | |
Idp Education | 12.56% | -0.22% | 0.36% | |
Pilbara Minerals | 12.48% | -1.06% | -1.54% | |
Mineral Resources | 12.42% | -0.05% | -0.04% | |
Deep Yellow | 11.01% | 0.45% | 0.16% | |
Megaport | 10.45% | -0.38% | 0.60% | |
Liontown Resources | 10.20% | 0.24% | 0.58% |
Key takeaways
Boss Energy and Paladin Energy remain the most shorted stocks on the market, with short sellers maintaining their bearish stance on the uranium and nuclear energy sector.
Boss Energy’s short interest has hit record highs every day since 18 December 2024, rising to 16.72% from 1.99% a year ago.
Pilbara Minerals' short interest has fallen to a year-to-date low. The company posted a strong Q2 update last week, exceeding sales expectations, maintaining stable costs, and securing better realised pricing through offtake adjustments. It also reported solid progress on its P1000 expansion and the continued ramp-up of its POSCO joint venture. While lithium market uncertainty and weak prices persist, analysts generally see Pilbara as well-funded for growth, backed by a strong balance sheet and an improved pricing structure.
Rising Shorts
Ticker | Company | Short % | Week-on-Week | Month-on-Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Novonix | 3.82% | 0.77% | 0.18% | |
Telix Pharmaceuticals | 3.31% | 0.77% | 0.28% | |
Polynovo | 2.36% | 0.73% | 0.90% | |
Web Travel Group | 4.36% | 0.72% | 0.97% | |
Boss Energy | 19.55% | 0.70% | 2.49% | |
Mirvac Group | 5.05% | 0.59% | 1.61% | |
Hotel Property Investments | 0.80% | 0.57% | 0.58% | |
Webjet Group | 1.64% | 0.52% | 0.67% | |
Bellevue Gold | 7.46% | 0.51% | 2.01% | |
Insignia Financial | 0.91% | 0.50% | -0.15% | |
Orica | 2.08% | 0.46% | 1.27% | |
Deep Yellow | 11.01% | 0.45% | 0.16% | |
Kogan.com | 1.29% | 0.38% | 0.18% | |
Perpetual | 1.95% | 0.37% | 0.45% | |
Westgold Resources | 3.66% | 0.36% | 1.19% | |
Data#3 | 3.39% | 0.32% | 0.13% | |
Sigma Healthcare | 4.26% | 0.31% | 0.75% |
Key takeaways
Novonix shares are hovering near their lowest levels since June 2020, down 25% year-to-date. The bearish sentiment likely reflects concerns over the company's conditional US$754.8 million loan from the US Department of Energy and the potential impact of a Trump administration on such proposed loans.
Telix’s short interest has climbed to a fresh four-month high. Despite this, the stock remains one of the best-performing large-cap healthcare names, gaining 140% over the past 12 months.
Polynovo saw a spike in short interest just days after reporting its preliminary first-half FY25 results. The company posted 22.8% revenue growth to $59.9 million, including a 27.9% increase in US sales to $41.2 million. Notably, since the short interest uptick, Polynovo shares have declined in six of the past seven sessions, shedding 12.0% in total.
Most covered
Ticker | Company | Short % | Week-on-Week | Month-on-Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Block Inc | 0.11% | -1.16% | -0.90% | |
Pilbara Minerals | 12.48% | -1.06% | -1.54% | |
Bravura Solutions | 0.17% | -0.73% | -0.75% | |
Fineos Corporation | 0.17% | -0.65% | -0.67% | |
Core Lithium | 1.75% | -0.58% | -0.85% | |
AMP | 0.59% | -0.57% | -0.47% | |
Lynas Rare EARTHS | 9.04% | -0.49% | -0.57% | |
Australian Clinical Labs | 1.40% | -0.43% | -0.29% | |
QORIA | 0.13% | -0.42% | -0.47% | |
Capstone Copper Corp | 1.21% | -0.41% | -0.83% | |
Megaport | 10.45% | -0.38% | 0.60% | |
Paladin Energy | 15.06% | -0.37% | 0.63% | |
Rio Tinto | 7.10% | -0.34% | 0.38% | |
Larvotto Resources | 0.02% | -0.32% | -0.35% | |
Australian Ethical Investment | 0.42% | -0.31% | -0.30% | |
Judo Capital | 0.78% | -0.30% | -0.57% | |
Arcadium Lithium | 1.44% | -0.30% | 0.02% |
Key takeaways
The sharp drop in Block's short interest follows its ticker change from SQ2 to XYZ, with short interest now sitting at 1.55% under the new code.
Bravura may have seen a dip in short interest amid plans to return surplus capital to shareholders. On Monday, 22 Wednesday, the stock traded ex-dividend for 16.3 cents per share (a ~7.0% yield). Short sellers holding a position through the ex-dividend date are required to cover the dividend payment.
It's becoming increasingly difficult for short sellers to bet against AMP. The stock is up 10.4% year-to-date and has surged 81% over the past 12 months. Last week, Morgan Stanley named AMP its "preferred play" in Australian wealth management, highlighting its ~12x FY25E P/E and >35% FY23-25E EPS CAGR as part of a compelling investment case.
