The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 17, 2024
22 Apr 2024 — 26 Apr 2024
The top of the short table barely budged in 2024-W17: GHHF held 30.06% and PLS held 21.97%, while the lithium cluster stayed entrenched (LTR 10.74%, SYA 8.34%, CXO 8.27%). The real action was in the movers: PDN jumped 0.28% → 2.78% (+2.50%) as PDNDA collapsed 2.80% → 0.17% (-2.63%), and CSC imploded 66.49% → 0.87% (-65.63%). Average short interest across 692 stocks fell -0.07% on the week.
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
Paladin (PDN) printed the week’s loudest number: 0.28% short to 2.78% in one report (+2.50%). Then you look one line down the fallers list and see PDNDA down 2.63% to 0.17%. Same trade. Different ticker.
The top 10 reads like a market that’s already made up its mind — and is sitting on it. GHHF is still #1 at 30.06% short (no change). That’s a geared ETF, so the short is more plumbing than prophecy. Pilbara Minerals (PLS) is still the big, clean equity short at 21.97% (no change). And the broader lithium complex remains a crowded corner of the book: Liontown (LTR) 10.74% (+0.13%), Sayona (SYA) 8.34% (-0.01%) and Core Lithium (CXO) 8.27% (-0.07%). No fresh pile-on this week — but no meaningful cover either. IDP Education (IEL) is the one in the top end that actually crept higher: 15.96% short (+0.31%). At this level, even a small weekly add matters; it’s sustained pressure, not a one-off. Elsewhere, shorts eased slightly in a couple of familiar macro shorts: Flight Centre (FLT) slipped to 11.32% (-0.15%) and Bank of Queensland (BOQ) to 7.44% (-0.26%).
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.
Start with the mechanical-looking moves. - CSC: 66.49% → 0.87% (-65.63%). That’s not a change of heart. That’s an unwind. - PDNDA: 2.80% → 0.17% (-2.63%) while PDN: 0.28% → 2.78% (+2.50%). The simplest read is position migration between lines rather than a sudden, brand-new conviction short against uranium. Then the genuine adds. - Beach Energy (BPT) took a solid hit: 1.19% → 2.76% (+1.56%). When shorts step into an energy producer that hard in a week, they’re usually leaning into company-specific execution risk rather than making a call on the oil price. - Select Harvests (SHV): 4.14% → 4.99% (+0.85%). That’s a meaningful lift at an already-elevated level. - DroneShield (DRO): 0.02% → 0.77% (+0.75%). Still small in absolute terms, but it’s a new footprint — the kind that shows up when a high-expectations stock starts attracting valuation and timing traders. - Boral (BLD): 4.22% → 4.89% (+0.67%). On the cover side beyond CSC/PDNDA, the trims were smaller but consistent: AusStrat Materials (ASM) 2.95% → 1.34% (-1.62%), Bellevue Gold (BGL) 3.88% → 3.28% (-0.60%), and Nick Scali (NCK) 2.65% → 2.08% (-0.57%).
This week’s short book still has a resources pulse. Battery metals dominate the “structural” end of the list: PLS (21.97%), LTR (10.74%), SYA (8.34%) and CXO (8.27%) remain heavily shorted, and Syrah (SYR) is still high at 13.33% (down -0.10%). The key point from this week’s data isn’t that shorts piled in — it’s that they didn’t leave. Outside resources, the tape looked a touch less aggressive overall (period average change: -0.07%), with BOQ and FLT both seeing shorts trimmed. That’s what a market looks like when it’s selectively de-risking rather than pressing every macro worry at once.
Watch PDN and PDNDA together next week. If PDN stays elevated without a matching move in PDNDA (or other technical offsets), that’s when the “ticker swap” explanation stops working and the short becomes a real directional bet.
Because PDNDA (Paladin deferred settlement) short interest fell from 2.80% to 0.17% in the same week. The data points to shorts moving between tickers rather than a sudden new wave of bearish positioning on Paladin’s fundamentals.
GHHF is a geared ETF, and high short interest can reflect market-making and hedging mechanics rather than a directional view on the fund.
A move that large is consistent with a position unwind or technical change rather than a normal week-to-week shift in sentiment.
Watch for any week where PLS short interest starts falling from 21.97% while price holds up. That combination is how squeezes start.
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.
