The 10 most shorted ASX stocks plus the biggest risers and fallers – Week 7
Short interest in PLS Group and VEA tick higher, while volatility in Droneshield and Appen force shorters to cover their bearish bets.
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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 28 January and 2 February 2026
Month-on-month changes between 12 January and 2 February 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 | 16.96% | -0.25% | -0.73% | |
Boss Energy | 16.64% | 0.52% | -3.05% | |
Guzman Y Gomez | 14.06% | 0.11% | 0.37% | |
Treasury Wine Estates | 13.77% | 0.37% | 3.73% | |
Flight Centre Travel Group | 12.16% | 0.42% | 2.01% | |
Polynovo | 12.05% | -0.04% | 0.46% | |
Telix Pharmaceuticals | 11.94% | 0.62% | 0.69% | |
Idp Education | 11.72% | -0.36% | -0.70% | |
IPH | 11.02% | 0.23% | 1.85% | |
PWR Holdings | 10.24% | -0.13% | -1.70% |
Key takeaways
No major changes among the top shorted stocks
Rising Shorts
Ticker | Company | Short % | Week-on-Week | Month-on-Month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
PLS Group | 8.17% | 1.00% | -0.28% | |
Viva Energy Group | 2.48% | 0.86% | -0.05% | |
SILEX Systems | 9.01% | 0.85% | 1.02% | |
Breville Group | 8.97% | 0.70% | 1.58% | |
Perpetual | 2.66% | 0.68% | 0.72% | |
Peninsula Energy | 1.42% | 0.66% | 0.24% | |
Northern Star Resources | 1.20% | 0.65% | 0.91% | |
Telix Pharmaceuticals | 11.94% | 0.62% | 0.69% | |
Cettire | 1.56% | 0.61% | 0.56% | |
Clarity Pharmaceuticals | 7.53% | 0.60% | 0.90% | |
Syrah Resources | 3.16% | 0.58% | 0.97% | |
Catapult Sports | 4.85% | 0.56% | 1.07% | |
Inghams Group | 6.39% | 0.54% | 1.17% | |
Boss Energy | 16.64% | 0.52% | -3.05% | |
Macquarie Technology Group | 4.46% | 0.51% | 0.42% | |
Elevra Lithium | 1.50% | 0.51% | 1.04% |
Key takeaways
PLS shorts are ticking higher as prices take a breather. Chinese lithium carbonate futures have pulled back sharply from recent highs of 189,440 yuan per tonne to 138,440, a sizeable ~27% decline.
Viva Energy shares tumbled 8% on 30-Jan after the company's Q4 result missed expectations due to weaker refining margins and ongoing weakness in its Convenience & Mobility division. Analysts highlighted underperformance at the Geelong refinery, where planned maintenance and commissioning delays hampered margins. Convenience fuel volumes and shop sales (particularly ex-tobacco) also disappointed. The absence of FY25 EBITDA guidance added to investor caution, pushing the average target price down 4.6% to $2.44.
Most Covered
Key takeaways
Droneshield has seen extreme volatility in recent weeks, plunging 30% between 22-30 January before bouncing 12% on 2-3 February.
Appen has likely squeezed the life out of short sellers after the stock rallied 71% between 29-30 January, off the back of a solid December quarter result. The company reported 10% revenue growth to $73.4 million and an outsized 182% jump in underlying EBITDA to $13.3 million. The standout was its China segment, where revenue surged 81% to $32 million as well as broader strong demand for generative AI-related projects.
