The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 39, 2026
21 Sept 2026 — 25 Sept 2026
Shorting eased across the tape: average short interest fell -0.02% with 171 fallers vs 126 risers, yet 16 stocks still sit above 10% short. The week’s cleanest signal was PPT, where shorts jumped 2.85% → 4.09% (+1.24%), a +5.47 z-score move with 17.7 days-to-cover. In the top 10, TLX is the new entrant at 10.61% (+0.14%), while LOT stayed #1 but saw covering to 14.80% (-0.84%).
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
The loudest move this week wasn’t at the top of the leaderboard — it was PPT. Short interest snapped from 2.85% to 4.09% (+1.24%), a +5.47-sigma jump versus its own 13-week pattern, and it comes with 17.7 days-to-cover. That’s not a dabble. That’s a position. 1
At #1, LOT is still the most shorted name on the ASX at 14.80%, but shorts kept backing away (-0.84%) even as the stock finished the week at $0.25 (+8.70%). Two straight weeks of covering doesn’t make it “safe” — 8.4 days-to-cover keeps it in crowded-exit territory. 2 3 DRO remains glued near the top at 14.30% (-0.06%) with 10.9 days-to-cover — another trade where the exit door is narrow if the price keeps lifting. 2 The squeeze-risk list inside the top 10 is basically a days-to-cover contest: TWE at 27.6, DMP at 20.1, IPX at 19.6, 4DX at 18.0, TLX at 16.3 and PLS at 15.0. If you’re looking for where a good headline can force buying, that’s the map. 2 And there’s a new face: TLX entered the top 10 at 10.61% (+0.14%). It’s not a huge weekly change — the news is the ranking. Shorts have pushed it back into the ASX’s most-crowded names. 2
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.
Start with the outliers. PPT’s +1.24% jump (2.85% → 4.09%) was a +5.47 z-score event — the kind of move you only call “unusual” when the stats force you to. It’s also a one-week move (streak: 1), so next week matters: does it stick, or was it a hit-and-run? 1 EIQ was the other big statistical flare: 0.85% → 1.62% (+0.77%), a +4.80 z-score move and now a 2-week rising streak. Small absolute short %, but the behaviour changed fast. 4 LIN is the opposite: a slow grind that’s turned into a campaign. Shorts lifted 2.67% → 3.71% (+1.04%), extending a 6-week streak, and the move still clocks in at +2.25 sigma. 5 On the covering side, HLS dropped 5.85% → 5.01% (-0.83%) for an 8th consecutive weekly fall, with a trading halt on 2026-09-24 sitting in the background. When a streak gets to eight, it’s not “noise” — it’s a steady unwind. 6 CKF also saw a sharp de-risking move: 2.65% → 2.04% (-0.61%), a -2.94 z-score drop. 7 One setup worth watching in real time: IPX is 12.39% (+0.40%) while the stock ran to $2.92 (+14.51% for the week). With 19.6 days-to-cover, that’s how shorts get trapped — not by bad news, but by a price that won’t stop going up. 2 3
The sector tape says “lighten up”, not “pile in”. Financial Services average short interest fell -0.10% across 38 stocks, even with ZIP still the most shorted in the group at 10.96%. 8 Insurance was the biggest retreat: average short interest fell -0.34% to 2.81% across 9 stocks, with AUB the most shorted at 7.28%. That’s the clearest sector-level unwind in this week’s breakdown. 8 On the other side of the ledger, Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail was the largest aggregate riser (+0.04% to 1.69% across 27 stocks), led by NCK at 6.90% as the most shorted name in that industry bucket. 8 And Food, Beverage & Tobacco stays the heavyweight: 3.75% average short interest across 11 stocks, with TWE the most shorted at 10.72%. 8
Watch PPT next week: after a +5.47-sigma jump to 4.09% short and 17.7 days-to-cover, the tell will be whether shorts add again (campaign) or fade (one-off). In the top 10, keep it simple — if IPX keeps running with 19.6 days-to-cover, the squeeze maths gets ugly fast. 1 2 3
Days-to-cover estimates how many days of average trading volume it would take for shorts to buy back stock and exit. High figures like TWE at 27.6 and DMP at 20.1 can turn a positive catalyst into forced buying because covering can overwhelm normal liquidity. [ref-2]
TLX entered the top 10 at 10.61% short, up +0.14% week-on-week. [ref-2]
PPT’s short interest rose from 2.85% to 4.09% (+1.24%) with a z-score of +5.47, meaning the jump is extreme versus its own 13-week history. [ref-1]
Falling overall: the average short % was 1.51% with a week-on-week average change of -0.02%, and there were 171 fallers vs 126 risers (moves >0.01pp). [ref-9]
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.
