The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 40, 2024
30 Sept 2024 — 4 Oct 2024
The ASX short book barely moved overall (period average change: -0.01%), but the flow was anything but quiet: uranium names took fresh heat with DYL up to 9.79% (+1.05%), BOE to 13.34% (+0.82%) and PDN to 13.80% (+0.31%). PLS still tops the board at 19.19% (-0.07%), while the biggest single jump came from VUK, spiking from 0.29% to 1.82% (+1.52%).
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
This week wasn’t stock-picking. It was a sector hit. Shorts added across uranium in one go — PDN 13.80% (+0.31%), BOE 13.34% (+0.82%), DYL 9.79% (+1.05%). Three names, same direction, same week. That’s positioning for a catalyst, and in uranium it usually comes down to spot price swings colliding with ramp-up and delivery risk.
PLS remains the most shorted stock on the ASX at 19.19% (WoW -0.07%). The trim is tiny; the message is that the lithium bear case is still the house view, just already heavily owned in the short book. IEL holds #2 at 14.21% (-0.07%). Shorts haven’t budged: the trade is still about policy and student mobility risk feeding into earnings. Then uranium takes over the next rung. PDN sits at 13.80% (+0.31%), BOE at 13.34% (+0.82%), and DYL at 9.79% (+1.05%). The common thread is execution pressure: PDN and BOE are judged on ramp-up delivery and costs, while DYL is still in the “prove the path to production” bucket after expanding its portfolio via the Vimy Resources acquisition. MIN is still a big target at 13.02% (-0.14%) — a blended short thesis of lithium exposure and broader resources-cycle sensitivity. Battery materials remain crowded: SYR is 12.56% (+0.23%) and LTR is 10.47% (+0.54%). Meanwhile LYC was the cleanest cover inside the top 10, down to 9.87% (-0.53%). CTT rounds out the list at 9.01% (+0.13%), keeping consumer discretionary on the radar even when the week’s headline is commodities.
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.
VUK led the risers: 0.29% to 1.82% (+1.52%). That’s a sharp move off a low base and reads like event-driven positioning more than a slow-burn fundamental short. If you want the hard numbers behind the bank, start with its Pillar 3 disclosures (e.g. http://www.virginmoneyukplc.com/downloads/pdf/vmukplc-december24-quarterly-pillar3-disclosure.pdf). LIC jumped from 6.24% to 7.59% (+1.35%). Rate sensitivity is the trade here: land-lease and property-adjacent models get squeezed when funding costs stay high and buyers hesitate. DMP moved from 5.08% to 6.36% (+1.28%). That’s a clean “consumer under pressure” position: margins (food and labour) plus demand risk in the same box. DYL’s rise (8.74% to 9.79%, +1.05%) confirms the uranium build wasn’t confined to the big two. ALD climbed from 3.11% to 4.07% (+0.96%). Shorts are leaning into earnings sensitivity to fuel and refining margins, plus execution risk as the business expands (company materials: https://assets.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt35cb056c1c8431c3/blt53b77d3a46dc93f1/2025%20Half%20Year%20ASX%20Release.pdf). On the cover side, TOE went from 1.96% to 0.00% (-1.96%). That’s an exit, not a drift. SIG fell from 4.85% to 3.31% (-1.55%), one of the bigger covers on the tape. DXI collapsed from 1.10% to 0.03% (-1.07%), a reminder that REIT shorts can vanish quickly when the trade loses momentum. ILU eased from 3.24% to 2.49% (-0.75%) and WHC from 2.90% to 2.19% (-0.71%), both consistent with profit-taking in volatile commodity-linked names.
Two clusters did the work. 1) Uranium: PDN (+0.31%), BOE (+0.82%) and DYL (+1.05%) all saw shorts add. That’s the market forcing the sector to earn its optimism — timelines, ramp-ups, costs, funding. When the short book moves in a pack like this, it’s less about one company and more about the uranium tape itself. 2) Battery materials: still crowded, but getting selective. PLS is still the biggest short on the market at 19.19% (down only -0.07%), LTR is still attracting fresh shorts (+0.54%), and SYR edged up (+0.23%). LYC, though, saw meaningful covering (-0.53%). Same theme, different conviction. Outside resources, the consumer and rates story is back in the data: DMP (+1.28%) and LIC (+1.35%) both drew new shorts in size, while DXI (-1.07%) showed how quickly property-linked shorts can be cleaned up when positioning shifts.
Watch whether the uranium trio keeps building: PDN, BOE and DYL are now the clearest “one trade” on the board. Next week’s tell is simple — if DYL pushes through 10.00% short, the sector raid is escalating.
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) at 19.19% short (week-on-week change: -0.07%).
Virgin Money UK (VUK): 0.29% to 1.82% short, a +1.52% increase.
Paladin Energy (PDN) rose to 13.80% (+0.31%), Boss Energy (BOE) to 13.34% (+0.82%), and Deep Yellow (DYL) to 9.79% (+1.05%).
It means reported short positions have been closed out. This week Toro Energy (TOE) fell from 1.96% to 0.00% (change: -1.96%).
Both are sensitive to the same pressure points: higher-for-longer rates and a stretched consumer. LIC rose from 6.24% to 7.59% (+1.35%) and DMP rose from 5.08% to 6.36% (+1.28%).
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.
