The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 33, 2026
10 Aug 2026 — 14 Aug 2026
DroneShield (DRO) stayed top of the ASX short table at 15.65% (+0.26% WoW) even as the stock ran to $2.18 (+19.78% for the week). The cleaner signal was the unwind: Lotus Resources (LOT) shed -1.03% WoW to 11.28% as the stock sat at $0.23 (+0.00% week, -65.15% month). Market-wide positioning barely moved: 688 stocks shorted, average short 1.48% with a +0.01% WoW average change.
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
DRO ripped. Shorts added anyway. DroneShield (DRO) finished the week as the ASX’s most shorted stock at 15.65% (+0.26% WoW) while the share price jumped to $2.18 (+19.78%). That’s not panic-covering — that’s traders leaning into the rally. 1 2 At the other end of the emotion chart, LOT finally saw a proper unwind: short interest fell -1.03% WoW to 11.28% with the price stuck at $0.23 (+0.00% week, -65.15% month). When shorts start leaving without a bounce, it usually means the easy money’s been made. 1 2
The top 10 didn’t reshuffle much, but the crowding is real. • DRO leads at 15.65% short, and it’s not a small trade to exit: 11.3 days-to-cover. 1 • The true “don’t blink” setups are the high days-to-cover names: CAR at 29.7 days-to-cover (11.27% short), DMP at 25.5 days-to-cover (12.67% short), TLX at 25.1 days-to-cover (11.02% short), and TWE at 24.6 days-to-cover (10.86% short). If any of these get a one-way bid, the exit door is narrow. 1 • Uranium remains a crowded corner, even with some trimming: BOE is 12.03% short (-0.10% WoW, 10.2 days-to-cover) and PDN is 11.54% short (-0.02% WoW, 16.3 days-to-cover). That reads like risk management, not capitulation. 1
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 week’s biggest moves weren’t “mystery quant flows”. They were campaigns. DRO: shorts added +0.26% to 15.65% while the stock rose +19.78% on the week. Two announcements hit the tape — an investor presentation and a product launch — and the short base still grew. That’s a clean read: fading the move, not chasing weakness. 1 2 3 4 LOT: the standout unwind. Short interest fell -1.03% to 11.28%, its 3rd straight weekly fall, with days-to-cover at 4.0. The price didn’t recover (still $0.23), but the register was busy with substantial holder changes and an operational update on Kayelekera processing operations resuming. Shorts are leaving a trade that’s already done the damage (-65.15% over the month). 1 2 5 GMD: the slow-burn squeeze risk building in plain sight. Shorts added again (+0.15% to 9.96%) for a 7-week streak, even as the stock jumped to $7.33 (+25.73% week, +29.28% month). The fundamental backdrop in the provided filings is strong — revenue from ordinary activities of $820.346 million and profit after tax attributable to members of $238.041 million for H1 FY2026 — yet the short campaign keeps grinding higher. 1 2 6 CAR: a crowded trade that blinked. Short interest fell -0.40% to 11.27% as the stock climbed to $29.70 (+14.32% for the week) during its FY26 results release cycle. With 29.7 days-to-cover, even modest covering can move the tape. 1 2 7 BPT and PNI: smaller adds, but the pattern matters. BPT rose +0.21% to 8.50% (2-week streak) as the stock fell to $0.82 (-8.89% week). PNI rose +0.19% to 5.20% (2-week streak) while the stock climbed to $18.75 (+13.50% week). One is shorts following weakness; the other is shorts leaning into strength. 1 2
Zooming out, the sector tape was more informative than the single-stock noise. Food, Beverage & Tobacco was the biggest aggregate lift: average short interest rose +0.31% WoW to 3.65% across 11 stocks, with TWE the most shorted in the group at 10.86%. 1 Automobiles & Components saw the sharpest retreat: average short interest fell -1.18% WoW to 3.47% across 4 stocks, with ARB the most shorted at 6.18%. That’s a real de-risking move compared with the rest of the board. 1 At the whole-market level, shorting was basically flat: 688 stocks shorted, average short 1.48%, median 0.37%, with breadth slightly favouring covering (121 risers vs 139 fallers). There are 14 stocks above 10% short and 67 above 5%. 1
One thing to watch next week: whether the GMD streak extends to an 8th straight rise in short interest while the price stays bid. At 9.96% short with 14.6 days-to-cover, that’s the kind of slow crowding that can turn into a fast exit. 1 2
Days-to-cover estimates how many days of average trading volume it would take short sellers to buy back their position. Higher numbers (for example CAR at 29.7) mean exits can get crowded quickly if the trade turns. [ref-1]
Because some traders short into strength — adding exposure during a sharp rally — rather than covering. DRO’s short interest rose +0.26% to 15.65% while the price finished the week at $2.18 (+19.78%). [ref-1] [ref-2]
Yes. LOT is still 11.28% short even after the -1.03% WoW unwind. [ref-1]
In this dataset, 14 stocks are above 10% short and 67 stocks are above 5% short, out of 688 stocks with reported short positions. [ref-1]
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.
