The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 12, 2024
18 Mar 2024 — 22 Mar 2024
In a week where the average short position across 669 stocks barely moved (+0.01%), the action was anything but quiet: Syrah Resources (SYR) saw a sharp unwind from 16.95% to 13.49% (-3.46%), while Aura Energy (AEE) jumped from 0.63% to 3.16% (+2.52%). Pilbara Minerals (PLS) still tops the table at 20.25% short (-0.05%), and the lithium complex remains the market’s favourite punching bag.
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
SYR didn’t drift. It snapped. Short interest fell from 16.95% to 13.49% in a single week (-3.46%) — the kind of move you only see when a crowded trade starts getting uncomfortable. Then, in the same dataset, a junior uranium name (AEE) went the other way: 0.63% to 3.16% (+2.52%). That’s fresh money leaning in.
PLS remains the ASX’s most shorted stock at 20.25% (down just -0.05% WoW). At this level, it’s not a tactical punt — it’s the market’s liquid proxy for lithium pain, and the position is being held, not traded. SYR is still #2 at 13.49%, but the week-on-week collapse (-3.46%) is the story. That reads like profit-taking after a heavy run of negativity, or risk management ahead of a catalyst. Either way, the easy part of the short looks taken. IEL keeps grinding higher: 13.40% short (+0.55%). This is classic positioning in a business exposed to policy settings (student visas), international student flows and currency swings — the kind of setup where guidance risk stays live. Lithium developers and smaller producers remain stacked in the top end: LTR at 10.03% (+0.37%), CXO at 8.29% (+0.43%), and SYA at 7.73% (+0.76%). Different balance sheets, same trade: weaker pricing squeezes margins and makes funding the battleground. FLT is still heavily shorted at 9.62%, but the trim was meaningful (11.14% to 9.62%, -1.52%). Shorts aren’t declaring victory on discretionary, but they’re not pressing into travel at the same intensity either. WBT sits at 7.18% (+0.48%) — a reminder that high-expectation growth names stay in the crosshairs when the market gets picky about cashflows.
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.
AEE was the week’s loudest build: 0.63% → 3.16% (+2.52%). From a low base, that’s a fast pile-in and it usually signals an event-driven bet — timelines, funding, or a sector trade getting faded. WEB also attracted fresh pressure: 4.65% → 5.49% (+0.84%). Pair that with FLT’s covering (-1.52%) and you can see the market splitting the travel complex rather than shorting it as a block. ABB ticked up from 1.34% → 2.05% (+0.71%). It’s not huge in absolute terms, but it’s a clear shift: traders are leaning into margin pressure and competitive intensity. On the cover side, after SYR’s unwind (-3.46%), LKE also saw a sharp pullback: 3.72% → 1.89% (-1.83%). That looks like shorts banking gains in a volatile lithium tape. Gold shorts eased too: GMD fell from 8.70% → 7.74% (-0.96%) and BGL from 6.36% → 5.59% (-0.77%). When the gold trade firms up, those shorts stop feeling like free carry.
Zoom out and the message is clean. Lithium is still the ASX short-selling playground. PLS (20.25%), LTR (10.03%), CXO (8.29%) and SYA (7.73%) are all elevated, and CXO/SYA both rose again this week. Even with covering in LKE, the sector remains where shorts go to express “earnings pressure + funding risk”. Uranium is getting tested at the edges. DYL barely moved at 7.27% (-0.01%), but the shorts pushed into higher-beta names: AEE (+2.52%) and NXG (0.89% → 1.57%, +0.68%). That’s a rotation inside the theme — less about the headline commodity story, more about which balance sheets can wear it. And in travel, the split between WEB (+0.84%) and FLT (-1.52%) says the market is picking exposures, not making a blanket call on holidays.
Next week, watch SYR: if short interest keeps sliding from 13.49% after a -3.46% unwind, it’s a signal the trade is being closed, not just trimmed. The other tell will be whether AEE’s jump to 3.16% is followed by a second week of building — that’s when a one-week punt turns into a campaign.
Syrah Resources (SYR) had the biggest fall in short interest, dropping from 16.95% to 13.49% (-3.46%). Aura Energy (AEE) had the biggest rise, increasing from 0.63% to 3.16% (+2.52%).
Yes. PLS is the most shorted stock in this report at 20.25% short, down -0.05% week-on-week.
Yes. Multiple lithium names are highly shorted and/or rising week-on-week: PLS 20.25% (-0.05%), LTR 10.03% (+0.37%), CXO 8.29% (+0.43%), and SYA 7.73% (+0.76%).
A move from 16.95% to 13.49% (-3.46%) typically reflects deliberate covering — often profit-taking after a crowded trade, or risk being reduced ahead of a potential catalyst.
AEE rising from 0.63% to 3.16% (+2.52%) suggests a rapid build in bearish positioning, commonly linked to event-driven expectations such as funding risk or project timeline concerns.
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.
