When this was written — On 21 October 2026. The figures are as at that date or earlier and have not been updated since.
The most crowded exits on the ASX are not in the most shorted stocks. They are in three consumer names whose positions have been shrinking slowly while the prices rose quickly. Domino's Pizza Enterprises was 11.89% shorted on 15 October, Treasury Wine Estates 9.90% and Endeavour Group 8.46%, in ASIC's daily aggregate report. R1 Over the month to 20 October their share prices rose 16.6%, 15.1% and 10.7%.
What makes them crowded is turnover. Days to cover, the short position divided by the 20-day average volume, is 26.5 at Domino's, 26.5 at Treasury Wine and 35.0 at Endeavour. Those are Shorted's own figures, not ASIC's, and they are the longest of any stock in the squeeze screen's top 25. On the same measure IperionX is 25.6, Lynas 22.5, WiseTech 20.7 and The Lottery Corporation 20.3.
| Stock | Short 16 Jul | Short 15 Oct | Move | Days to cover | Price, month to 20 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endeavour (EDV) | 9.70% | 8.46% | −1.24pp | 35.0 | +10.7% to $3.21 |
| Domino's (DMP) | 13.85% | 11.89% | −1.96pp | 26.5 | +16.6% to $22.01 |
| Treasury Wine (TWE) | 10.56% | 9.90% | −0.66pp | 26.5 | +15.1% to $5.93 |
Every short figure is from ASIC's daily aggregate, published four trading days after the position date, and every move is in percentage points of shares on issue. R1 R2
Domino's: 1.9 million shares covered, 11.3 million left
Domino's was the second most shorted stock on the ASX on 16 July at 13.85%, 13,126,076 shares. R2 By 15 October it was eighth at 11.89%, 11,269,940 shares: 1.86 million covered in three months, about 14% of the position. R1 Nearly all of that happened by early September; the position was 12.03% on 17 September R4 and has moved inside half a point of that since.
The price did the opposite. Domino's closed $17.07 on 21 July, $19.59 on 30 July, $20.53 on 30 September, $22.20 on 9 October and $22.01 on 20 October, up 28.9% over the quarter. Three directors bought on market in that time: John James Cowin 150,000 shares at $19.944 on 27 August, $2.99 million, 14 Andrew Gregory 98,000 at $19.334 on 22 September, $1.89 million, 13 and Drew O'Malley 2,476 at $20.19 on 6 October. 16
The news flow in October ran the other way. Kalkine reports a UBS downgrade to neutral on 14 October, citing labour cost, consumer and competition pressures, 9 and on 18 October that the US franchisor signalled it could reassign some international markets run by the Australian company to other operators, that its sales recovery may not come until next year and that royalty fees are set to rise. 8 The company announced a change to its ANZ chief executive on 11 October. 5 On Shorted's crowded-short breakout screen Domino's is a setup: the position and liquidity rules pass, and the close of $22.01 is 1.7% under the $22.38 pivot.
Treasury Wine: the position peaked in August
Treasury Wine's position rose first and fell second. It was 10.56% on 16 July, R2 peaked at 12.01% on 20 August, 97,123,202 shares, R3 and was 9.90% on 15 October, 80,119,597 shares. R1 From the peak that is 17.0 million shares covered, 17.5% of the position, and 2.10 percentage points. It is the only one of the three where covering is clearly under way in the October data: 10.54% on 9 October, R17 10.27% on 13 October, R18 9.90% on 15 October. R1
The annual general meeting was on 14 October. 6 Kalkine reports management described opening-quarter trading as positive across its priority brands and reaffirmed that this year's earnings should at least match last year's. 10 The stock closed $5.94 on 15 October, its highest close in the three-month window, with 4.81 million shares traded, and $5.93 on 20 October, up 28.4% from $4.62 on 21 July. Business News Australia reported on 12 October that the company agreed to sell Rosemount, Ingoldby and Secret Stone to the Oatley family's wine company as part of a plan to cut its stable from 76 brands to 30. 11
Treasury Wine is the only stock the crowded-short breakout screen rated triggered on 20 October: every core rule passed, with the pivot at $5.94. The one failing rule is the market regime, which the strategy does not require.
Endeavour: the slowest exit
Endeavour is the least shorted of the three and the hardest to leave. The position was 9.70% on 16 July, 174,233,375 shares, R2 and 8.46% on 15 October, 151,931,698 shares. R1 At the 20-day average volume that is 35 sessions of buying, the longest in the squeeze screen's top 25. The price is up 10.7% over the month, from a $2.97 close on 7 October to $3.21 on 20 October, but still 4.5% below its 21 July close of $3.36.
Kalkine reports the company is stepping back from wine production, selling vineyards and wineries and closing its McLaren Vale bottling plant at the end of the year, while keeping brands such as Chapel Hill. 12 The director register shows Jayne Hrdlicka acquiring 323,468 shares at $3.0913 on 25 August, $999,927, 15 and a further 235,077 shares added to her interest on 14 October, with no price disclosed in the record. 7
What the data does not show
A falling position with a rising price is consistent with short sellers buying back, and with anything else that reduces borrowed stock: a lender recalling shares, an index flow, a hedge being lifted. ASIC's aggregate counts positions, not reasons. Days to cover is arithmetic on recent volume; a stock that rallies on heavy volume shortens its own exit, which is what happened at Treasury Wine on 15 October.
The three positions together are 243 million shares. At Domino's and Treasury Wine the prices are at or near three-month highs with the positions still above 9.9%; at Endeavour the position is lower and the exit longer. The TLC piece covers the fourth consumer name on the list, where the position doubled while the price rose. The weekly report tracks all of them.
Disclosure analysis, not a recommendation to buy or sell.