The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 21, 2024
20 May 2024 — 24 May 2024
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) remains the most shorted name on the ASX at 21.60%, up another 0.42% in a week where the average move across the market was basically flat (+0.02%). The action was in the mid-table: Nufarm (NUF) jumped +1.23% and Australian Clinical Labs (ACL) lifted to 9.87% (+0.86%), while Boral (BLD) saw shorts bail hard (-1.70%).
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
The headline number is PLS at 21.60% short — and it’s still rising (+0.42% WoW). That’s not a “one bad week” trade. It’s a crowded, persistent bet that the lithium cycle has more pain left, and it’s dragging other battery-materials names with it (SYA +0.46%, CHN +0.42%).
PLS (21.60%, +0.42%) is the market’s cleanest liquid proxy for lithium pricing and sentiment. When shorts keep adding at these levels, the most likely read is they’re leaning into weak spodumene pricing and the risk that any demand recovery is slower than the bulls want. IEL (16.97%, +0.43%) is still a big short, and the weekly increase says the market isn’t done pressing the international student/English testing story. The usual pressure points are policy risk (visa settings), student flows, and currency translation — and with a short this high, any guidance update becomes a real event. SYR (12.83%, -0.14%) eased slightly, but it’s still heavily shorted. That small cover suggests some traders are taking money off the table rather than flipping bullish. FLT (11.10%, -0.55%) had meaningful covering. That looks like shorts reducing exposure into travel demand resilience and the risk of getting caught if consumer spending holds up better than feared. ACL (9.87%, +0.86%) is the standout in the top 10. Shorts don’t add nearly 1% in a week for fun — this looks like positioning around earnings risk, margin pressure, or competitive intensity in pathology. On the resources side, WGX (9.26%, +0.46%) rising while gold has been strong reads like a company-specific scepticism trade (execution, costs, or mine plan risk) rather than a pure commodity call. LTR (9.86%, -0.05%) was basically unchanged, while SYA (9.24%, +0.46%) moved higher — lithium shorts are being selective, not exiting the theme. CHN (8.30%, +0.42%) continues to attract shorts, which fits the classic pre-development discounting: long timelines, capex uncertainty, and commodity price assumptions getting stress-tested. WBT (7.89%, +0.34%) creeping higher suggests the market is still wary of long-duration tech/semis valuations when rates aren’t clearly heading down.
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 biggest riser was NUF: 3.55% to 4.78% (+1.23%). That’s a sharp weekly move and it smells like earnings positioning. Ag/chem names can get hit on margin swings (input costs, pricing power) and seasonal demand uncertainty — and shorts tend to show up when the market thinks guidance is vulnerable. NAN climbed from 5.76% to 6.63% (+0.87%). For a quality healthcare growth name, that’s a real increase. The likely driver is valuation discipline: when growth stocks look fully priced, shorts target any hint of slowing sales momentum or tougher comps. (See NAN’s results pack for how the company frames growth and expansion: http://www.nanosonics.com/media/2jhkaa4z/2025-full-year-financial-results.pdf) ACL’s jump (+0.86%) reinforces that pathology is back in the crosshairs. Digital initiatives are nice, but shorts usually care more about pricing and volumes than brochures. (Company materials: https://www.clinicallabs.com.au/media/4978/ehealth-a4-brochure-2022-aclmar-bf-nat-04236-digital.pdf) BAP rose from 5.32% to 6.14% (+0.82%). That’s a consumer-discretionary tell: higher-for-longer rates squeeze households, and the aftermarket parts story can get pinched if consumers defer spend. On the cover side, BLD collapsing from 4.67% to 2.98% (-1.70%) is the week’s cleanest “shorts got out” signal. That sort of move often follows a catalyst (deal risk removed, earnings delivered, or a sector re-rate). Either way, the trade got crowded and then unwound fast. QPM went from 1.26% to 0.05% (-1.21%), basically wiping out the short. In small caps, that can simply be liquidity — it doesn’t take much buying back to move the percentage. BRG (-1.04%) and APE (-1.01%) both saw decent covering, consistent with shorts stepping back from consumer names as the feared demand cliff hasn’t arrived yet. (APE annual report: https://web-assets.cdn.dealersolutions.com.au/modular.multisite.dealer.solutions/wp-content/uploads/sites/2892/2025/04/18771-Eagers-FY24-Annual-Report_FA02d-Digital.pdf)
The sector pattern is loud: Materials still dominate the top 10 (PLS, SYR, LTR, WGX, SYA, CHN) and the lithium complex remains the ASX’s most crowded short theme. PLS at 21.60% isn’t just “bearish”; it’s a consensus trade. Meanwhile, consumer and healthcare shorts are getting more tactical. FLT shorts are trimming (-0.55%) while BAP shorts are adding (+0.82%) — that’s a split view on discretionary spend (experiences holding up vs goods/maintenance spend under pressure). In healthcare, NAN and ACL both saw shorts increase, which looks like valuation and earnings-risk management rather than a broad “healthcare is broken” call. At the market level, the average short interest is only 1.05% across 673 stocks, and the period average change was +0.02%. Translation: this wasn’t a market-wide risk-off week. The shorts were stock-picking.
Watch for any commodity price lurch (especially lithium) because PLS’s 21.60% short makes it a pressure valve for the whole sector. Next week’s key risk is earnings/guidance updates in the names where shorts just moved aggressively — NUF, ACL, NAN and BAP.
Yes. It’s the highest short interest in this week’s dataset (max short %: 21.60%), and it’s still rising (+0.42% WoW), which signals a very crowded negative view.
That’s a big move in one week and often points to catalyst positioning — typically traders leaning into upcoming earnings risk, guidance uncertainty, or a thesis that margins are about to disappoint.
FLT (-0.55%) suggests shorts are reducing exposure to travel demand holding up, while BAP (+0.82%) fits a more cautious view on household budgets and discretionary/aftermarket spending under higher rates.
Not automatically. But a -1.70% drop in short interest in a week is a strong signal that the bearish trade was unwound quickly, often because a catalyst reduced downside or the risk/reward flipped.
No. The period average change was only +0.02% and average short % is 1.05%, so the week was about targeted moves in specific stocks rather than a broad increase in bearish positioning.
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.
