When this was written — On 29 June 2026. The figures are as at that date or earlier and have not been updated since.
Endeavour Group board members are putting their own capital on the line to defend a stock that has shed 20.3% of its value over the past year. It is a direct challenge to the short sellers who have targeted the liquor and hospitality giant following a weak earnings report.
The pressure built after Endeavour reported a 17.1% drop in statutory NPAT to A$247 million for the first half of FY26 R1R2. Rather than letting the slide continue, directors began buying the dip in late May. Michael Ihlein led the charge with a A$250,800 purchase on 28 May 34. Within days, Penelope Winn added A$75.1k 56 and Joanne Pollard spent A$25.0k 78, followed by further buying from Duncan Makeig in early June 910. In total, net director purchases reached A$328.9k over the last 90 days.
This insider buying runs straight into a wall of short interest, which has climbed to 10.53%. That level represents a 2.2 percentage point increase over the past 90 days, making Endeavour a clear sector outlier compared to peers like Woolworths and Coles. With the share price sitting at A$3.30, the 30-day price-to-short correlation sits at -0.231. Short sellers are aggressively building their positions even as the board attempts to establish a floor. Data is subject to the usual ASIC T+4 delay.
A A$328k bet by directors that the short sellers have overplayed their hand.
With short sellers holding a double-digit position and directors actively buying, the near-term path for the stock will depend on who blinks first.