The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 24, 2024
10 June 2024 — 14 June 2024
GLDN went from 0.01% short to 13.75% in a single week, instantly becoming the ASX’s second-most shorted line item. Lithium is still the crowded trade: PLS stays #1 at 21.03% (down 0.52% WoW) while LTR climbed to 11.30% (+0.91%). Beneath the headline, the market barely shifted overall (average short 1.11%, period average change +0.03%) — the action was stock-specific and violent.
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
GLDN doesn’t drift into the top 10. It arrives with a bang. In one week, the iShares Physical Gold ETF (GLDN) jumped from 0.01% short to 13.75%. That’s not a slow-building bearish view — it reads like a big, mechanical trade: market-maker hedging, creation/redemption arbitrage, or a macro book getting squared fast using the cleanest gold exposure on the board.
1) PLS (21.03% short, -0.52% WoW): Still the centre of gravity for the lithium short. One in five shares shorted keeps it the market’s preferred proxy for “lithium prices haven’t bottomed”. The small cover this week says shorts are managing risk, not abandoning the thesis. (Company report: “December Quarterly advisory” https://1pls.irmau.com/site/pdf/3bba2523-52c7-4c38-bc03-b945945d9698/December-2025-quarterly-activities-report-advisory.pdf?Platform=ListPage) 2) GLDN (13.75%, +13.75%): A brand-new giant position. ETFs get used when funds want speed and liquidity, not nuance — which is why this looks more like positioning than a call on any one miner. 3) IEL (13.45%, +0.33%): A steady grind higher. This is what persistent scepticism looks like: no drama, just shorts staying on as the market weighs policy and demand risk in global student flows. 4) LTR (11.30%, +0.91%): Shorts added again, and they’re targeting the developer end where timelines, funding and commodity assumptions matter most when sentiment turns. 5) WGX (10.39%, +0.43%): A big number for a large gold producer. With GLDN being used as a blunt instrument, WGX looks like a separate trade — stock-specific pressure on delivery and margins rather than a pure gold-price view. (Company report: “December 2025 Quarterly Results” https://www.westgold.com.au/pdf/04f3a488-dcae-4b9a-aa1c-b6f627b7bfda/December-2025-Quarterly-Results.pdf?Platform=ListPage) The rest of the top 10 barely budged: SYR 9.77% (-0.38%), SYA 9.75% (+0.08%), CHN 9.62% (-0.01%), FLT 9.58% (-0.46%), STX 8.51% (+0.30%). That’s a “hold the line” week — except where it wasn’t.
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.
Biggest risers: - GLDN: 0.01% → 13.75% (+13.75%). The scale screams structure, not sentiment. If this is arbitrage/hedging, it can unwind as quickly as it appeared. - CIA: 2.06% → 3.39% (+1.33%). Shorts leaned harder into iron ore exposure — the classic trade when confidence in bulk demand wobbles. - SGR: 3.82% → 4.83% (+1.01%). Shorts piled in. Casinos combine regulatory risk with discretionary spending sensitivity, and the short book is treating it like an event-risk magnet. - LTR: 10.39% → 11.30% (+0.91%). The lithium developer short keeps getting topped up. - RED: 1.16% → 2.06% (+0.90%). A meaningful step-up for a gold name, even if it’s still well below the sector’s headline shorts. Biggest fallers: - PEN: 1.69% → 0.28% (-1.40%). That’s a full unwind, not a trim — a catalyst likely passed or the trade stopped paying. - SLR: 0.94% → 0.19% (-0.75%). Shorts walked away. - BC8: 1.04% → 0.40% (-0.63%). Same story: covering into strength or reducing risk. - PLS: 21.55% → 21.03% (-0.52%) and VUL: 6.13% → 5.61% (-0.52%). Modest covering in lithium — pressure valve, not capitulation.
Lithium still owns the short table. PLS (21.03%), LTR (11.30%), SYR (9.77%), SYA (9.75%) and CHN (9.62%) keep the complex stacked with high short interest, and the week’s incremental add went straight back into LTR. Gold split into two different fights. GLDN became a macro tool overnight at 13.75%, while single-name miners were mixed: WGX stayed heavily shorted at 10.39% and RED attracted fresh shorts (+0.90%), but SLR and BC8 saw sharp covering. That’s not one clean sector call — it’s traders choosing their battles. Outside resources, the consumer tape is still being shorted with intent: SGR added +1.01% in a week, while FLT remains high at 9.58% even after -0.46% of covering. Different businesses, same message: keep risk tight when spending is the variable.
Watch GLDN next week: does 13.75% stick, or does it snap back the way arbitrage trades do? If GLDN reverses while WGX (10.39%) holds firm, the market is telling you the gold debate is stock-by-stock, not metal-wide.
Moves that large in an ETF usually come from institutional mechanics — market-maker hedging or creation/redemption arbitrage — rather than a slow-building retail-style bet on the gold price.
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) is #1 at 21.03% short, down 0.52% week-on-week from 21.55%.
GLDN (+13.75%), CIA (+1.33%), SGR (+1.01%), LTR (+0.91%) and RED (+0.90%).
PEN (-1.40%), SLR (-0.75%), BC8 (-0.63%), PLS (-0.52%) and VUL (-0.52%).
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.
