The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 1, 2024
1 Jan 2024 — 5 Jan 2024
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) remains the ASX’s most shorted stock at 20.93% (+0.18% WoW) — a fifth of the register still leaning the same way. The biggest new shorts piled into Arcadium Lithium (LTM) 0.98% → 2.17% (+1.18%) and Sayona (SYA) 8.79% → 9.69% (+0.89%), while Lendlease (LLC) saw the sharpest cover 3.01% → 1.84% (-1.17%).
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
20.93%. That’s PLS — a $13.4B name — with a fifth of its register sold short. Week one of 2024 didn’t reset positioning; it confirmed it. Lithium is still the trade.
PLS (20.93%, +0.18%) stays the market’s main lithium proxy: liquid, index-relevant, and easy to size. The lack of movement week-on-week is the tell — this isn’t a quick punt, it’s a set position. SYR (14.77%, +0.31%) remains heavily shorted, keeping battery materials near the top of the leaderboard. CXO (13.49%, -0.10%) barely eased, while LTR (8.27%, +0.14%) ticked higher — the sector bet is intact, but capital is rotating across the names. Uranium is split. DYL (10.43%, -0.07%) edged down, while PEN (8.94%, +0.54%) jumped. Same commodity, different targets: shorts trimmed the larger name and pressed the smaller, higher-execution-risk one. Outside resources, the shorts are still paying attention to earnings sensitivity. IEL (9.22%, +0.43%) continues to attract selling, while FLT (8.84%, +0.03%) sits there like a standing hedge on discretionary travel demand.
Key financial metrics from recent company reports for the most shorted stocks.
Stocks with the largest increase in short interest this week.
Stocks with the largest decrease in short interest this week.
The week’s cleanest “pile in” was LTM: 0.98% → 2.17% (+1.18%). A fresh vehicle, same underlying commodity exposure — and the short book wasted no time. ATH went 0.01% → 1.18% (+1.17%). That’s what event-risk positioning looks like in a $98M biotech: tiny base, sudden conviction. SYA’s move was the loudest inside the crowded trade: 8.79% → 9.69% (+0.89%). When lithium sentiment sours, shorts don’t spread evenly — they target the names with the least room for error. CHN rose 5.73% → 6.51% (+0.78%) as it pushes Gonneville through study work (see the company’s “Gonneville Project – Pre-Feasibility Study Presentation”: https://chalicemining.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/61302010.pdf). On the cover side, LLC fell 3.01% → 1.84% (-1.17%). That’s a proper unwind, consistent with traders taking risk off into the new calendar year. IVZ collapsed 0.83% → 0.01% (-0.82%). Frontier exploration shorts don’t hang around after a discovery headline — and IVZ’s December 2023 Mukuyu Gas Field update is exactly the kind of news flow that forces an exit. NXT eased 2.38% → 1.83% (-0.55%), a step back from shorting the data-centre tape as demand narratives stay supportive (AGM notice: https://www.nextdc.com/hubfs/ASX%20Announcements/2024%20Notice%20of%20Annual%20General%20Meeting.pdf). ZIP also saw covering, 4.44% → 4.01% (-0.43%).
Materials is still the whole story: PLS, SYR, CXO, DYL, SYA, PEN, GMD and LTR make up eight of the top 10 most shorted stocks, and the biggest riser (LTM) is lithium too. This is concentration, not broad market fear — the market stats back it: 638 stocks shorted, average short interest 1.10%, and the period average change was +0.00%. The more useful read is the shape inside sectors. Lithium shorts are entrenched at the top end (PLS barely moved) but still expanding in the second line (SYA up hard; LTM added quickly). Uranium shorts are getting selective (DYL down, PEN up). And in cyclicals, GWA’s lift (0.83% → 1.59%, +0.76%) fits a market that’s starting to price a tougher 2024 for housing-linked demand.
Watch PLS’s next production/pricing update: with 20.93% short, any realised price disappointment will pull more shorts in, fast. If the update holds up, the first squeeze won’t start in the small caps — it’ll start in the most crowded, most liquid name.
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) is the most shorted at 20.93% of shares short, up +0.18% week-on-week.
Arcadium Lithium (LTM) rose from 0.98% to 2.17%, an increase of +1.18% — the largest weekly rise in the data.
Because the short book is still expressing a lithium downcycle view through liquid ASX names: PLS (20.93%), SYR (14.77%), CXO (13.49%), SYA (9.69%) and LTR (8.27%) are all in the top 10.
It usually means short-covering — traders closing positions — rather than fresh selling pressure.
IVZ fell from 0.83% to 0.01% (-0.82%), consistent with shorts exiting after the company’s December 2023 Mukuyu Gas Field discovery update increased the risk of staying short.
Track the live rankings on the most shorted ASX stocks page, watch short squeeze candidates, or see market-wide totals in the ASX short selling statistics.
Data sourced from ASIC short position reports (T+4 delayed). This report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Short selling data may not reflect real-time market conditions.
