The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 27, 2025
30 June 2025 — 4 July 2025
Paladin (PDN) is still the ASX’s most shorted name at 16.23% (+0.35% WoW), with uranium and lithium dominating the top 10. The real action this week was IDP Education (IEL), where shorts jumped to 11.80% (+1.11%), while Boss Energy (BOE) saw a sharp unwind to 14.37% (-1.04%).
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
The standout this week wasn’t another uranium name hitting the top of the table — it was shorts piling into IDP Education (IEL). A +1.11% move in a single week to 11.80% is a proper shove, not background noise. When short interest moves that fast in a consumer-facing growth stock, it usually screams “positioning” ahead of a catalyst: guidance risk, a policy headline, or a market that’s simply lost patience with the earnings bridge.
PDN remains the most shorted stock on the ASX at 16.23% (+0.35%). The likely thesis is straightforward: uranium equities have run hard on the structural supply story, and PDN’s operational delivery (and integration complexity after its Fission acquisition) gives shorts a clean way to fade optimism if spot prices wobble or ramp-up timelines slip. If you want the company’s own framing, PDN’s annual reporting is here: https://www.paladinenergy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Paladin-2025AnnualReport-Full-Web.pdf. BOE is still heavily shorted at 14.37%, but the -1.04% WoW drop is meaningful. That looks like risk being taken off rather than fresh conviction being added. With BOE ramping Honeymoon and progressing Alta Mesa, any sign the operational story is tracking can force shorts to trim. The company’s materials are here (quarterly/investor deck): http://www.bossenergy.com/images/media/2973720.pdf and http://www.bossenergy.com/images/documents/Dec24-Quarterly-Results-Presentation.pdf. Lithium is still a magnet for shorts: PLS sits at 13.37% (+0.29%) and LTR at 12.37% (-0.05%), while MIN is 13.76% (-0.09%). The common thread is the same old trade: fade the earnings reset risk while lithium pricing remains the swing factor. MIN’s own FY results pack is here: https://cdn.sanity.io/files/o6ep64o3/production/b23c9b1f93dbe5cc41520061cafecf0c1d214c77.pdf. Outside resources, CTD (9.85%, +0.34%) and LIC (10.10%, +0.12%) show shorts still like rate-sensitive and cycle-sensitive exposures. CTD’s debt facility amendment is here: https://investor.travelctm.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Agreement-to-Amend-Debt-Facilities.pdf.
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.
On the risers list, ALK is the eye-catcher: 1.42% to 2.67% (+1.25%). That’s a big percentage-point jump for a mid-cap miner, and it reads like traders leaning against a valuation that’s run ahead of near-term delivery, with the usual mining risks (costs, approvals, geology) doing the heavy lifting. ALK’s investor materials are here: https://investors.alkres.com/site/pdf/e5fa45d8-2779-48ee-85a7-0eb1098352a7/Corporate-Presentation.pdf. IEL’s +1.11% jump to 11.80% is the week’s cleanest signal. The most likely read is regulatory and demand anxiety around international student flows (visa settings, affordability, and currency effects), plus the market’s tendency to punish any hint of margin pressure in education services. RSG (0.74% to 1.71%, +0.97%) looks like classic gold-sector scepticism: gold can be strong, but single-asset execution and cost inflation are where shorts hunt. CU6 (6.71% to 7.60%, +0.88%) fits the biotech playbook: clinical-stage names attract shorts into trial and funding windows. CU6’s quarterly/activity reporting is here: https://www.claritypharmaceuticals.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/25-10-31_Clarity-Quarterly-Activity-Report-and-App-4C.pdf. On the fallers, IMU going from 5.22% to 0.00% (-5.22%) is extreme. That’s not a gentle change of mind — it’s shorts exiting en masse, likely due to stock borrow dynamics, corporate action risk, or a catalyst that made the risk/reward unattractive. BMN (-3.59% to 4.08%) and AGE (-1.08% to 0.26%) show uranium shorts being selectively reduced outside the big liquid names. That suggests the trade is getting more discriminating: keep the big hedges (PDN/BOE), cut the smaller, spikier ones. BMN’s investor presentation is here: https://bannermanenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/251121_Investor-Presentation_November-2025_final.pdf. JHX also saw a decent unwind (7.36% to 5.99%, -1.37%). That looks like macro positioning: if bond yields ease even a little, the pressure comes off building products and US housing-linked cyclicals.
Two sector trades are doing most of the work. First: uranium is still crowded at the top (PDN 16.23%, BOE 14.37%, plus BMN/AGE unwinds). Shorts aren’t calling nuclear demand fake — they’re betting the equities have priced in a lot, and that operational execution and uranium price volatility will create air pockets. Second: lithium remains structurally shorted (PLS 13.37%, MIN 13.76%, LTR 12.37%). This is the “lower for longer” pricing hangover trade. Even when the commodity stabilises, the market keeps testing who can protect margins and balance sheets. Away from resources, IEL’s surge shows shorts are happy to hit consumer-exposed growth when policy risk is live. LIC’s steady 10.10% short interest is the reminder that anything property-adjacent stays under the rate microscope on the ASX.
Watch for any uranium price volatility and company updates that force shorts to choose between covering and doubling down, particularly in PDN and BOE. On the domestic side, keep an eye on education policy headlines — IEL’s +1.11% jump says the market is braced for bad news.
Paladin Energy (PDN) at 16.23% short, up +0.35% week-on-week.
Alkane Resources (ALK), up +1.25% to 2.67%, followed by IDP Education (IEL) up +1.11% to 11.80%.
Because it usually reflects fresh conviction or catalyst positioning rather than normal day-to-day churn in borrow and hedging.
Imugene (IMU) fell from 5.22% short to 0.00% (-5.22%) in a single week.
Yes — uranium (PDN, BOE) and lithium (MIN, PLS, LTR) dominate the top 10 most shorted names this week.
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.
