The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 37, 2025
8 Sept 2025 — 12 Sept 2025
The standout this week was CUV, where short interest jumped from 6.26% to 11.79% (+5.52%) — a huge one-week move for a $589m biotech. BOE remains the most shorted name on the ASX at 21.80% (+2.26%), while PLS shorts pushed higher again to 18.11% (+1.28%). On the other side, LOT saw a sharp unwind (10.35% to 5.58%, -4.77%), hinting at profit-taking or a crowded uranium trade easing.
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
CUV was the week’s tell. A +5.52% jump in short interest (6.26% → 11.79%) isn’t “noise” — it’s funds making a statement. When a healthcare name moves like that, it usually means positioning into a catalyst (results, guidance, regulatory updates) or a sudden shift in conviction that the valuation has run ahead of fundamentals. Either way, retail holders should treat it as a flashing yellow light, not a curiosity.
BOE (21.80%, +2.26%) is now the ASX’s most shorted stock, and the move higher suggests the market is leaning into execution risk. Boss is in ramp-up mode at Honeymoon and advancing Alta Mesa — exactly the phase where timelines, recoveries and costs can disappoint. Shorts don’t need uranium to crash; they just need operations to be messier than the bull case implies. The company’s own materials (e.g., investor presentation: http://www.bossenergy.com/images/documents/Dec24-Quarterly-Results-Presentation.pdf) frame the growth story — shorts are effectively betting the ramp is harder than the slide deck. PLS (18.11%, +1.28%) is the other big message. Shorts keep piling in because lithium is still a sentiment battleground: pricing volatility, China demand signals, and the market’s habit of punishing any hint of margin compression. Even without a fresh company update in this week’s data, the direction is clear — the trade is still “fade the lithium rebound”. Keep PLS’s own reporting cadence in mind; when the next operational update lands, it’s the kind of event shorts use to press or cover (PLS quarterly advisory link provided: https://1pls.irmau.com/site/pdf/3bba2523-52c7-4c38-bc03-b945945d9698/December-2025-quarterly-activities-report-advisory.pdf?Platform=ListPage). PDN (16.37%, -1.09%) went the other way. Shorts trimmed, but it’s still heavily shorted. That reads like profit-taking rather than a full change of mind — uranium names have been crowded on both sides. PDN’s scale and asset base (plus its disclosed reporting, e.g., annual report: https://www.paladinenergy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Paladin-2025AnnualReport-Full-Web.pdf) mean the debate stays anchored on production delivery and uranium price direction, not blue-sky exploration hype. DMP (10.65%, +1.19%) is a clean consumer signal: shorts are leaning into the idea that discretionary spending stays under pressure and that food/input costs and discounting can squeeze margins. When short interest rises over 1% in a week in a liquid consumer name, it often lines up with earnings positioning or a view that consensus numbers are too optimistic. CUV (11.79%, +5.52%) now sits in the top 10 after a single week. Given Clinuvel’s dependence on SCENESSE® and pipeline execution, this looks like classic biotech risk pricing — either scepticism about growth durability or a bet that upcoming updates won’t match expectations. If you want the company’s framing, start with its FY25 annual report (https://www.clinuvel.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/clinuvel-ar25-digital-20250828.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.
The risers were decisive. CUV’s +5.52% is the week’s outlier and the one retail investors should actually investigate (what catalyst is the market leaning into?). BOE’s +2.26% is also big at this level — once a stock is already ~20% shorted, incremental shorting usually reflects strong conviction, not casual hedging. PLS (+1.28%) and DMP (+1.19%) look like sector trades: lithium pessimism and consumer caution. LNW (+0.90% to 3.49%) is smaller in absolute terms, but the direction fits a familiar thesis — gaming names can attract shorts when regulatory risk headlines flare or when growth expectations get stretched. On the fallers, LOT (-4.77% to 5.58%) was a proper unwind. That’s consistent with a crowded uranium complex where traders are rotating exposure: covering in one name while staying short (or even adding) in another. CTT (-2.05% to 7.27%) suggests shorts are banking gains or reducing risk in a smaller consumer discretionary retailer — often a sign the easy money has been made, at least short term. SYA (-1.06% to 0.39%) is basically shorts walking away from a low-conviction position; at sub-1% short interest, it’s no longer a battleground. BMN (-0.99% to 3.44%) also points to uranium shorts being tidied up around the edges rather than doubled down across the board.
Two sector stories dominated: uranium and lithium. Uranium is still the most crowded theme on the ASX short tape. BOE is at 21.80% and rising, while PDN is still very high at 16.37% despite a -1.09% trim. Then you’ve got LOT and BMN seeing meaningful covers. Put that together and it looks less like “uranium is over” and more like stock-picking within the theme: shorts are targeting ramp-up and delivery risk (BOE) while taking money off the table in developers/restart stories (LOT, BMN). Lithium remains under a cloud. PLS at 18.11% and rising tells you the market still doesn’t trust the durability of any lithium price bounce. MIN sits at 11.29% (down slightly, -0.29%), which fits the same macro pressure but with a more mixed business (mining services plus commodities) that can muddy the pure lithium short thesis. Outside resources, the consumer is a steady grind: DMP’s short build says the market is still wary of discretionary demand and margin pressure. Meanwhile, CUV’s surge is a reminder that healthcare shorts can move fast when a single-product or catalyst-driven narrative starts to wobble.
Next week, watch for any commodity price lurch (uranium and lithium) because the short positioning is already crowded and could force sharp covers. Also keep an eye on upcoming company reporting/catalyst windows — CUV and DMP are the two names where the short tape is screaming “positioning ahead of news”.
Because it’s a large, sudden increase (6.26% → 11.79%) that usually signals funds are positioning for a catalyst or a downgrade in expectations, not just routine hedging.
Yes. High short interest can keep rising if the market thinks operational ramp-up risk is being underpriced, but it also raises the chance of violent moves if good news forces shorts to cover.
No — it looks more like rotation. LOT was heavily covered (10.35% → 5.58%) while BOE remains extremely shorted and PDN is still high, suggesting stock-specific views inside the uranium theme.
The most likely read is lithium price scepticism: traders are betting margins and earnings expectations are still too optimistic if lithium pricing stays volatile or weak.
Average short interest across 610 stocks is only 1.32% and the period average change is +0.03%, so the big moves in CUV, BOE, LOT and PLS are stock-specific conviction trades, not a broad shift.
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.
