News
Evening Wrap: ASX 200 dips ahead of critical China stimulus meeting tomorrow, gold stocks pop as iron ore stocks drop
Fri 11 Oct 24, 5:50pm (AEDT)
Short Selling
Which ASX stocks are shorters targeting and covering - Week 37
By
Kerry Sun
Thu 14 Sep 23, 12:09pm (AEDT)
Source: Shutterstock
Stocks in article
Key Points
- Pilbara Minerals has replaced Flight Centre as the most shorted stock on the ASX
- Shorters are taking profits in stocks like 29Metals, Lake Resources, Novonix, Terracom, GWA Group and Ventia Services
- Shorts are building in miners facing risks to production and development like Tietto Minerals, IGO and Vulcan Energy Resources
Welcome back to the Short Seller Series, where we recap the most shorted stocks on the ASX, along with those experiencing a notable rise and fall in 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 table below compares short interest changes between 30 August and 7 September.
Most shorted stocks
Ticker | Company | Short % | Prev | % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pilbara Minerals | 9.88% | 9.80% | 0.08% | |
Flight Centre Travel | 9.80% | 10.47% | -0.67% | |
Syrah Resources | 9.52% | 8.91% | 0.61% | |
Elders | 9.11% | 9.03% | 0.08% | |
Idp Education | 8.55% | 8.19% | 0.36% | |
Brainchip | 7.46% | 7.96% | -0.50% | |
Select Harvests | 7.31% | 7.28% | 0.03% | |
Mesoblast | 7.28% | 7.50% | -0.22% | |
Core Lithium | 7.28% | 7.29% | -0.01% | |
Appen | 7.25% | 7.69% | -0.44% |
What’s changed
Pilbara Minerals has replaced Flight Centre as the most shorted stock on the ASX.
Lake Resources is out of the top ten after shorts eased to 5.89% from 8.30% a week ago. This might reflect some profit taking as the stock is down 78% year-to-date to a 32-month low.
Where are shorters covering?
Ticker | Company | Short % | Prev | % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
29Metals | 4.67% | 7.54% | -2.87% | |
Lake Resources | 5.89% | 8.30% | -2.41% | |
Novonix | 3.20% | 4.65% | -1.45% | |
JB Hi-Fi | 6.96% | 8.29% | -1.33% | |
Terracom | 0.94% | 2.14% | -1.20% | |
GWA Group | 1.81% | 2.89% | -1.08% | |
Ventia Services | 0.24% | 1.28% | -1.04% |
Key themes and takeaways:
Shorters taking profits: Names including 29Metals, Lake Resources, Novonix, Terracom, GWA Group and Ventia Services have struggled this month.
29Metals, Lake Resources, Novonix, Terracom, GWA Group and Ventia Services share price performance since 1 September 2023
Stocks with rising short interest
Ticker | Company | Short % | Prev | % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Orora | 2.84% | 1.15% | 1.69% | |
Tietto Minerals | 5.82% | 4.76% | 1.06% | |
IGO | 3.66% | 2.77% | 0.89% | |
Perpetual | 4.28% | 3.59% | 0.69% | |
Vulcan Energy Resources | 5.40% | 4.75% | 0.65% | |
Syrah Resources | 9.52% | 8.91% | 0.61% | |
Lendlease Group | 7.21% | 6.60% | 0.61% | |
Bank of Queensland | 6.87% | 6.26% | 0.61% | |
Skycity Entertainment | 1.18% | 0.60% | 0.58% | |
Super Retail Group | 3.93% | 3.37% | 0.56% | |
Sayona Mining | 7.04% | 6.52% | 0.52% |
Key themes and takeaways:
A focus on troubled miners: Shorts are building across various battery metal and gold-related names that have faced various risks with bringing projects into production. This includes:
Tietto Minerals (5 Sep): Abujar Gold Mine in Cote d’Ivoire flagged higher costs, lower production and lower grades.
IGO: Ongoing struggle with Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide train 1 ramp up. Management expects it to reach 50% of nameplate capacity by the end of 2023, down from its previous target of 70%.
Vulcan Energy: More broadly speaking, brine and direct lithium extraction plays have struggled to progress key studies.
Orora’s massive raise: The $2.3bn Orora raised $1.1bn at $2.70 per share (21.3% discount to pre-raise close) earlier this month to fund its acquisition of premium bottle maker Saverglass. Analysts have been rather reserved about the acquisition given the modest ~2% earnings accretion after synergies and dilution.
“The Saverglass acquisition comes at a fair multiple with modest EPS accretion after synergies. We understand the attraction but question whether a more complementary opportunity may have been a better fit,” Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note last week.
Orora 12-month price chart (Source: Market Index)
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