The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 30, 2024
22 July 2024 — 26 July 2024
PLS is still the market’s biggest short at 21.46% (+0.37% WoW), but the week’s loudest move was LYC ripping higher from 9.49% to 10.36% (+0.87%). Shorts also piled into SFR (+0.84% to 6.40%) and lifted gold exposure via GMD (+0.64% to 7.97%), BGL (+0.60% to 6.42%) and WGX (+0.40% to 9.76%), while covering showed up in KLS (-0.53% to 3.64%), MIN (-0.51% to 6.36%) and BPT (-0.46% to 2.67%).
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
Forget the usual lithium punching bag for a second. The cleanest tell in this week’s ASIC data is Lynas (LYC): short interest jumped from 9.49% to 10.36% (+0.87%) in one week. That’s not drift. That’s intent.
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) stays welded to the top of the table at 21.46% short, up +0.37% week-on-week. At this level it’s not a trade, it’s a standing position: the market is still happy to press lithium margins and wait for the next datapoint. IDP Education (IEL) remains heavily shorted at 12.54%, but eased again (-0.20%). That reads like exposure management rather than a change in view — education names can gap on policy headlines. Liontown (LTR) (10.99%, -0.13%) and Syrah (SYR) (10.81%, -0.00%) were basically steady. The shorts are still there; the incremental aggression wasn’t. Chalice (CHN) moved the other way: 10.91% short (+0.35%). For an explorer/developer, shorting tends to cluster around study milestones and funding questions, and CHN’s own Gonneville pathway keeps that debate alive (Gonneville Project – Pre-Feasibility Study Presentation: https://chalicemining.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/61302010.pdf). Flight Centre (FLT) is still a crowded short at 10.64%, but shorts trimmed (-0.31%). The position remains big; the week’s action was cover, not attack (FLT disclosure pack: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/643e6b4601023f66d9745f21/683e6fe95e4cd49e755eb086_2025%20BOS%20Prospectus.pdf). Cettire (CTT) (9.80%, +0.33%) is the small-cap discretionary pressure point — when shorts keep adding here, it’s a bet that the consumer won’t carry the margin. Westgold (WGX) (9.76%, +0.40%) and Strike Energy (STX) (9.71%, +0.41%) round out the top 10 with fresh increases: gold and energy both attracting new scepticism in the same week, for very different reasons.
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.
LYC led the risers: 9.49% → 10.36% (+0.87%). The message is simple: shorts are widening the critical-miner net beyond lithium, leaning into the liquid bellwether when they don’t see an easy margin or pricing catalyst. Sandfire (SFR) was next: 5.56% → 6.40% (+0.84%). That’s a meaningful shove into a copper name — the kind of positioning you see when the market wants leverage to global growth nerves and cost pressure risk (SFR quarterly reporting pack: https://sfr.live.irmau.com/site/pdf/bf714256-b5c0-490d-976f-5a235969b842/December-2025-Quarterly-Report.pdf?Platform=ListPage). Then the gold cluster: Genesis (GMD) 7.33% → 7.97% (+0.64%), Bellevue (BGL) 5.81% → 6.42% (+0.60%), Westgold (WGX) +0.40% to 9.76%. That combination is the week’s second theme — shorts aren’t arguing with the spot price; they’re leaning on execution and cost risk into reporting season (GMD annual report: https://gmd.live.irmau.com/pdf/dd4d1488-1cd0-4f66-a7df-34b4d6fc6974/FY2025-Annual-Report.pdf?Platform=ListPage; WGX December 2025 Quarterly Results: https://www.westgold.com.au/pdf/04f3a488-dcae-4b9a-aa1c-b6f627b7bfda/December-2025-Quarterly-Results.pdf?Platform=ListPage). Accent Group (AX1) also popped: 2.48% → 3.11% (+0.62%). That’s a clean discretionary tell — shorts positioning for discounting, softer demand, or margin squeeze (AX1 Annual Report: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5eb1186f84c65a0748a411f1/68f6c658eb95349013ef202a_2025%20Annual%20Report.pdf). On the covering side, Kelsian (KLS) 4.18% → 3.64% (-0.53%) and Mineral Resources (MIN) 6.87% → 6.36% (-0.51%) were the biggest trims. MIN is still meaningfully shorted — bears just took some chips off. Beach Energy (BPT) also saw covering: 3.12% → 2.67% (-0.46%). And Megaport (MP1) 2.76% → 2.32% (-0.44%) suggests the tech short is being tightened up ahead of the next KPI check-in (MP1 H1 FY25 investor presentation: https://www.megaport.com/pdf/MP1_H1_FY25_Half_Year_Results_Investor_Presentation.pdf).
This is still a resources tape. PLS (21.46%), LTR (10.99%), CHN (10.91%), SYR (10.81%), LYC (10.36%), plus WGX (9.76%) means the top end of short interest is dominated by miners — and the week’s biggest adds were also miners. But the flavour changed. Lithium remains the centre of gravity (PLS still rising), while the marginal short dollar moved into rare earths (LYC +0.87%), copper (SFR +0.84%) and gold (GMD +0.64%, BGL +0.60%, WGX +0.40%). That’s a broad “guidance risk” trade: operational complexity, cost control and delivery matter more than the commodity headline. Outside resources, the consumer split is sharp. FLT is still heavily shorted at 10.64% even after covering, while AX1’s jump to 3.11% says shorts are happy to press discretionary retail where they think the next update won’t be kind. Zoom out and the market isn’t getting more short overall: across 652 names, average short interest is 1.15% and the period average change is +0.03%. The action is concentrated — which is exactly why the +0.87% in LYC matters.
Watch whether the gold trio (GMD 7.97%, BGL 6.42%, WGX 9.76%) keeps climbing into the next round of updates. If short interest rises again there while PLS stays pinned above 21%, the trade is clear: shorts are paying up for “cost blowout” exposure across miners, not just a lithium view.
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) at 21.46% short, up +0.37% week-on-week.
Lynas Rare Earths (LYC), up +0.87% from 9.49% to 10.36%.
The data shows short interest rising in Genesis (GMD) to 7.97% (+0.64%), Bellevue (BGL) to 6.42% (+0.60%) and Westgold (WGX) to 9.76% (+0.40%). That pattern is consistent with a margin/execution bet into reporting season rather than a call on the gold price.
Yes. The biggest falls were Kelsian (KLS) to 3.64% (-0.53%), Mineral Resources (MIN) to 6.36% (-0.51%), Beach Energy (BPT) to 2.67% (-0.46%) and Megaport (MP1) to 2.32% (-0.44%).
No. Across 652 stocks, average short interest is 1.15% and the period average change is +0.03%, so the week’s moves are concentrated in a handful of names.
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.
