Zip has seen its share price whipsaw over the past month, first rallying strongly on positive news, then dipping sharply. Through it all, a significant short position has largely persisted, reflecting an ongoing scepticism.
April brought a surge of optimism for Zip, with the company upgrading its FY26 EBITDA guidance to A$260 million after reporting record quarterly profit [ref-15, ref-19]. This fuelled a "blistering April rally" 11, seeing shares climb 75% that month 14, driven by strong earnings and US expansion hopes 10. However, this momentum was abruptly checked in May when Zip shares sank after a High Court loss and news of a forced rebrand [ref-2, ref-4]. Despite some market attention on renewed BNPL momentum 1 and record EBITDA performance 6, the legal setback proved a significant drag.
The current short position in ZIP stands at 11.24%, well above the 90-day average of 8.33% and significantly higher than the peer sector average of 4.61%. While the 7-day short slope suggests a slight reduction in recent days, the overall picture shows shorts maintaining a substantial presence. The highest point for short interest in the last 90 days was 12.76%. The stock price has seen a 13.0% drop over the last month and a 7.6% decline over three months, indicating that the recent positive news has not translated into sustained price strength. The 30-day correlation between price and short interest sits at a weak -0.168. ASIC T+4 rules mean these figures reflect positions from last Friday.
The substantial short interest remains a defining feature of Zip's trading, overshadowing recent positive operational news and capitalising on legal setbacks. It appears the market's long-term view is still being heavily contested.