The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 35, 2024
Aurizon shorts hit the eject button (-3.00%) while ACL gets leaned on
26 Aug 2024 — 30 Aug 2024
The week’s cleanest signal was Aurizon (AZJ): short interest collapsed from 4.40% to 1.40% (-3.00%), a violent unwind in five sessions. Pilbara Minerals (PLS) still wears the crown at 20.35% short despite a -0.58% trim, while fresh pressure showed up in healthcare and staples led by Australian Clinical Labs (ACL) 5.51% → 6.96% (+1.45%) and Inghams (ING) 2.63% → 3.64% (+1.02%).
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
This Week's Analysis
Forget the 20% short in Pilbara for a second. Aurizon (AZJ) just went from 4.40% short to 1.40% in a week (-3.00%). That’s not a tidy rebalance — that’s positions being ripped up and thrown in the bin.
PLS remains the market’s favourite short at 20.35%, even after a -0.58% week-on-week ease. The message isn’t “lithium is back” — it’s that some shorts are taking profit and tightening risk, while keeping the core trade on. The other big conviction position is IDP Education (IEL), which climbed again to 13.69% (+0.42%). It’s the standout non-resources name in the top 10, and the short case writes itself in positioning terms: earnings sensitivity to student mobility, policy settings and currency swings. Battery materials stay stacked in the top end: Syrah (SYR) at 12.72% (+0.20%), Liontown (LTR) at 10.70% (+0.10%), and Sayona (SYA) at 9.69% (+0.06%). Small weekly moves, same crowded room. A few covers crept in elsewhere: Lynas (LYC) 10.46% (-0.37%), Strike Energy (STX) 10.45% (-0.32%), Paladin (PDN) 9.54% (-0.39%) and Cettire (CTT) 9.28% (-0.14%). That reads like risk management rather than a change of religion.
Daily Snapshots
Top Shorted Stocks This Week
Financial Snapshot
Key financial metrics from recent company reports for the most shorted stocks.
Biggest Risers
Stocks with the largest increase in short interest this week.
Biggest Fallers
Stocks with the largest decrease in short interest this week.
Movers Analysis
The biggest add was Australian Clinical Labs (ACL): 5.51% to 6.96% (+1.45%). When shorts pile in that quickly, they’re usually leaning on a margin story — pricing, costs, or volumes — not a slow valuation debate. ACL has been pushing digital service delivery (eHealth/eResults), but the market’s clearly happy to test how defensive pathology earnings really are (see ACL’s eHealth brochure: https://www.clinicallabs.com.au/media/4978/ehealth-a4-brochure-2022-aclmar-bf-nat-04236-digital.pdf). Inghams (ING) followed: 2.63% to 3.64% (+1.02%). Poultry is a classic “inputs bite, margins vanish” setup — feed costs and biosecurity risk are enough to keep shorts interested. Sigma Healthcare (SIG) also moved sharply: 3.09% to 4.05% (+0.95%). That’s event-risk style positioning in a sector where economics can change quickly. Mesoblast (MSB) lifted from 2.94% to 3.89% (+0.94%). Biotech short builds tend to cluster around timelines and funding risk — if the market starts doubting the path, the short line grows fast. Karoon (KAR) ticked up from 4.76% to 5.51% (+0.75%), keeping energy on the “tradable short” list. On the cover side, AZJ was the headline (-3.00%). The speed suggests a big position closed or a catalyst window passed without delivering the downside. Aurizon’s reporting pack is here for context: https://media.aurizon.com.au/-/media/files/investors/reports-and-webcasts/2025/full-year-results/aurizon-annual-report-2025.pdf. Weebit Nano (WBT) also saw a near-identical unwind: 8.26% to 5.28% (-2.99%). That’s what a crowded tech short looks like when someone decides the risk/reward has flipped. Nufarm (NUF) eased from 7.71% to 6.35% (-1.36%), Platinum Asset Management (PTM) from 1.76% to 0.51% (-1.26%) (latest update link: http://www.platinum.com.au/media/Platinum/Reports/all_m_update_202512.pdf), and Westgold (WGX) from 3.88% to 2.64% (-1.24%).
Industry Positioning
This week wasn’t a broad “risk-on/risk-off” tape in the short data — it was rotation. Resources shorts are still anchored in battery materials: PLS (20.35%), SYR (12.72%), LTR (10.70%), CHN (10.14%) and SYA (9.69%) keep the complex heavily shorted, and the lack of big week-to-week change says the trade is still structural. At the same time, the marginal short dollar shifted into healthcare and defensives: ACL (+1.45%) and SIG (+0.95%) were the loudest tells, with ING (+1.02%) adding a staples angle. Meanwhile, shorts backed away hard from a large industrial (AZJ -3.00%) and from a high-short tech name (WBT -2.99%).
Outlook
Watch PLS next week for any follow-through in covering: it’s still 20.35% short, and a second consecutive trim would be the first real sign the crowd is shrinking. If that happens while shorts keep building in ACL (now 6.96%), the market’s telling you exactly where it wants the next fight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Aurizon (ASX:AZJ) short interest drop from 4.40% to 1.40% in one week?
A -3.00% weekly move usually means a large short position was closed quickly rather than gradually trimmed. In practice, that’s either a catalyst window passing without delivering bad news, or a fund deciding the downside payoff is no longer worth the risk.
Is Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) still the most shorted stock?
Yes. PLS is 20.35% short this week (week-on-week change: -0.58%), the highest short interest in the report.
Which stocks had the biggest increases in short interest this week?
Australian Clinical Labs (ACL) +1.45% (5.51% → 6.96%), Inghams (ING) +1.02% (2.63% → 3.64%), Sigma Healthcare (SIG) +0.95% (3.09% → 4.05%), Mesoblast (MSB) +0.94% (2.94% → 3.89%), and Karoon Energy (KAR) +0.75% (4.76% → 5.51%).
Which stocks had the biggest drops in short interest this week?
Aurizon (AZJ) -3.00% (4.40% → 1.40%), Weebit Nano (WBT) -2.99% (8.26% → 5.28%), Nufarm (NUF) -1.36% (7.71% → 6.35%), Platinum Asset Management (PTM) -1.26% (1.76% → 0.51%), and Westgold Resources (WGX) -1.24% (3.88% → 2.64%).
Are shorts still concentrated in lithium and battery materials?
Yes. Multiple battery-materials names remain heavily shorted: PLS 20.35%, SYR 12.72%, LTR 10.70%, CHN 10.14% and SYA 9.69%.
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.