The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 38, 2026
EF2 shorts hit zero — while TWE, DMP and 4DX turn into exits nobody wants
14 Sept 2026 — 18 Sept 2026
The week’s cleanest tell was EF2: reported short interest collapsed from 5.02% to 0.00% (-5.02%). [ref-1] Up top, the leaderboard barely budged — LOT is still #1 at 16.96% (+0.09%) and DRO is #2 at 16.21% (+0.23%) — but the real pressure point is liquidity, with TWE at 29.7 days-to-cover, DMP at 23.6 and 4DX at 21.6. [ref-2] Market-wide shorting stayed flat: average short interest was 1.50% with a WoW average change of -0.01% (154 risers vs 142 fallers). [ref-3]
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
This Week's Analysis
EF2 didn’t “ease”. It vanished. Reported short interest went from 5.02% to 0.00% in a single week (-5.02%), dwarfing every other move in the dataset. 1 When a position goes to zero, it’s not a rebalance — it’s the door getting used.
The top of the table is still a two-stock arm wrestle. LOT remains the most shorted name at 16.96% (+0.09%) and it’s already in crowded-exit territory at 10.0 days-to-cover. 2 DRO sits right behind at 16.21% (+0.23%) with 11.6 days-to-cover — and the tape is feeding the trade: DRO fell -8.00% over the week and -17.86% over the month. 2 4 But the bigger story this week is where the exits are narrowest, not where the headline short % is highest. TWE is 11.41% (+0.07%) with 29.7 days-to-cover. DMP is 12.02% (+0.01%) with 23.6 days-to-cover. 4DX is 12.27% (-0.16%) with 21.6 days-to-cover. 2 If any of these positions flips, they can’t be unwound quietly. Materials still has the most seats at the top table (LOT 16.96%, IPX 11.72%, PLS 11.17%), but the week wasn’t a straight pile-on: PLS ticked down -0.07% while IPX added +0.04% — even as IPX fell -18.27% for the week and -22.49% for the month. 2 4
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 incremental builds were more revealing than the leaderboard. ARU was the biggest riser: 2.91% to 3.30% (+0.39%), extending to a 4-week streak. That’s a campaign. 5 SDR is even more persistent: 6.98% to 7.26% (+0.28%) for a 6-week streak, and it’s getting harder to exit at 18.8 days-to-cover. 6 Capital Goods is where shorts are pressing their advantage. SLX rose from 8.49% to 8.71% (+0.22%) for a 3-week streak, with 26.2 days-to-cover — and DRO added again in the same industry bucket. 6 2 TLX is the contrarian tell: short interest rose from 10.82% to 11.01% (+0.19%) for a 3-week streak, while the stock was up +0.55% on the week. 6 4 That build came alongside an ASX release titled “FDA Approves Telix Brain Cancer Imaging Drug Pixclara” dated 2026-09-14. 7 On the unwind side, BMN dropped from 7.03% to 6.59% (-0.44%). 6 GMD kept bleeding shorts too: 8.18% to 7.94% (-0.24%), now a 5-week streak lower. 6 No heroics required — just a steady retreat. And despite the drama in EF2, this wasn’t a statistical panic week. None of the provided z-scores hit |z-score| >= 2, so the tape reads as pressure and persistence, not a one-day outlier. 6
Industry Positioning
- Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail3.98%-0.015 stockstopEDV9.24%
- Automobiles & Components3.75%-0.043 stockstopARB5.56%
- Food, Beverage & Tobacco3.61%-0.3511 stockstopTWE11.41%
- Insurance2.68%+0.029 stockstopAUB6.35%
- Consumer Services2.59%+0.0126 stockstopDMP12.02%
- Real Estate Management & Development2.52%-0.019 stockstopLLC8.44%
- Banks2.22%+0.029 stockstopBEN5.08%
- Health Care Equipment & Services2.21%-0.0232 stockstop4DX12.27%
- Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail1.97%-0.0127 stockstopBAP6.90%
- Software & Services1.94%+0.0134 stockstopWTC9.58%
- Financial Services1.82%-0.0439 stockstopZIP10.41%
Sector aggregates confirm the tape is calm — except where EF2 blew a hole in the numbers. The biggest industry move was “Class Pend”: average short interest fell -1.65% WoW to 2.24% across 3 stocks. 8 That lines up with EF2’s reset to 0.00% and explains the chunky sector-level drop. 1 8 Food, Beverage & Tobacco saw the next-largest retreat: average short interest dropped -0.35% WoW to 3.61% across 11 stocks, even though TWE is still the most shorted in the group at 11.41%. 8 2 The crowd is still leaning on the flagship short, but the sector hedge is being trimmed. At the top of the aggregate table, Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail remains the most shorted industry by average at 3.98% (WoW -0.01%), led by EDV at 9.24%. 8 Automobiles & Components sits at 3.75% (WoW -0.04%), led by ARB at 5.56%. 8 The message: the heavy shorts are still concentrated in a few familiar pockets, not spreading across the whole ASX.
Outlook
Watch one thing next week: whether TWE’s days-to-cover stays at 29.7 while short interest keeps rising (it added +0.07% this week). 2 If that number starts falling without the short % dropping, it’s a sign liquidity is improving — and the squeeze risk is easing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did EF2 short interest drop from 5.02% to 0.00%?
This week’s ASIC dataset shows EF2 moving from 5.02% short to 0.00% (-5.02%) and flags it as a second consecutive weekly fall, which is consistent with shorts closing out (or the position no longer being reported in the same way). [ref-1]
Which stocks have the highest short squeeze risk in this report?
In this dataset, days-to-cover is the crowding signal. The highest days-to-cover in the top shorted names are TWE at 29.7, DMP at 23.6, 4DX at 21.6, TLX at 19.2 and IPX at 18.6. [ref-2]
Is shorting increasing across the ASX this week?
Overall positioning was flat: average short interest was 1.50% and the WoW average change was -0.01%. Breadth was slightly positive with 154 risers vs 142 fallers (moves >0.01pp). [ref-3]
Why are shorts building in TLX even though the share price rose this week?
TLX short interest rose from 10.82% to 11.01% (+0.19%) for a 3-week streak while the stock was up +0.55% on the week, and TLX also released an announcement titled “FDA Approves Telix Brain Cancer Imaging Drug Pixclara” on 2026-09-14. [ref-6] [ref-4] [ref-7]
Sources
- ASIC short position weekly data in report_data (EF2: 5.02% → 0.00%) for 2026-W38(2026-09-14) [asic data]
- TOP 10 MOST SHORTED STOCKS table (short %, WoW change, days-to-cover, 13-week history) for 2026-W38(2026-09-14) [asic data]
- MARKET STATISTICS (average/median short %, WoW average change, breadth, counts above 5%/10%) for 2026-W38(2026-09-14) [asic data]
- STOCK PRICE DATA table (weekly/monthly % moves and last price) for 2026-W38(2026-09-14) [price data]
- BIGGEST RISERS list (ARU: 2.91% → 3.30%, streak 4, days-to-cover 5.8) for 2026-W38(2026-09-14) [asic data]
- BIGGEST RISERS and BIGGEST FALLERS lists (SDR, SLX, TLX, BMN, GMD moves; streaks; days-to-cover; z-scores) for 2026-W38(2026-09-14) [asic data]
- Recent ASX announcements list (TLX: “FDA Approves Telix Brain Cancer Imaging Drug Pixclara” dated 2026-09-14)(2026-09-14) [announcement]
- INDUSTRY BREAKDOWN aggregates (avg short %, WoW change, stock counts, most shorted) for 2026-W38(2026-09-14) [asic data]
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.