The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 47, 2024
18 Nov 2024 — 22 Nov 2024
Shorts were busy again in 2024-W47, with the average short position up +0.19% across 642 names. The loudest moves were PWH (+1.27% to 3.96%) and MP1 (+1.05% to 5.26%), while WBT saw a sharp unwind (-2.87% to 3.03%). In the top 10, lithium stayed crowded (PLS 17.71%, +0.33%; MIN 10.79%, +0.22%; LTR 9.34%, +0.09%) and uranium remained heavily shorted (BOE 14.68%, -0.29%; PDN 14.60%, +0.19%; DYL 10.07%, +0.34%).
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
The week’s cleanest message: shorts are leaning harder into “valuation + cyclicality” risk. PWH jumped +1.27% to 3.96% and MP1 rose +1.05% to 5.26% — big weekly moves for mid-caps — while the lithium complex kept attracting incremental shorts (PLS +0.33% to 17.71%, MIN +0.22% to 10.79%). That’s not random. It reads like positioning for a tougher growth backdrop and ongoing pressure in battery materials pricing.
PLS remains the ASX’s poster child for lithium shorting at 17.71% (+0.33%). The likely thesis is simple: lithium pricing and sentiment have been weak, and the market keeps punishing producers on realised pricing, margins and inventory risk. MIN is the same trade in a different wrapper — 10.79% short (+0.22%) suggests the market is still sceptical about earnings durability when you’ve got meaningful exposure to lithium alongside mining services. Uranium is still a battleground. BOE is heavily shorted at 14.68% but eased (-0.29%), while PDN ticked higher to 14.60% (+0.19%) and DYL climbed to 10.07% (+0.34%). That split matters: it suggests shorts aren’t abandoning the uranium theme, they’re rotating within it. The most likely read is stock-specific execution and timing risk — ramp-ups, project delivery and funding/market expectations — rather than a clean sector-wide unwind. IEL is the standout on the cover list for the other reason: shorts are backing off. It fell -1.07% to 13.35% in a single week. That’s a meaningful cover in a name that’s been a favourite short, and it hints the easy money on the downside may have been made (or that some are reducing risk ahead of the next catalyst).
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.
PWH (+1.27% to 3.96%) is a classic “great business, expensive stock” setup. When shorts add this quickly, it usually means someone thinks expectations are too high into the next result cycle, or that demand in high-performance auto/motorsport is more cyclical than the market wants to admit. MP1 (+1.05% to 5.26%) looks like growth-stock scepticism returning. Shorts don’t need a disaster to press a software name — they just need revenue growth to wobble, margins to disappoint, or guidance to look ambitious in a higher-rate world. ELD (+0.73% to 2.89%) and NUF going the other way (-1.11% to 5.03%) is a neat tell inside agri: the market is differentiating. ELD’s short build suggests concern about seasonal/commodity variability feeding into earnings, while NUF’s short reduction suggests some traders are taking profit on a crowded negative view. The biggest single move was WBT: shorts collapsed from 5.89% to 3.03% (-2.87%). That’s not a gentle trim — that’s a rush for the exit. Either a catalyst spooked shorts, or liquidity/borrow dynamics forced covering, but the key point for retail investors is that this sort of unwind can amplify upside volatility. ORA (+0.71% to 3.05%) and GLN (+0.69% to 1.99%) add to the materials caution tape. GLN’s move is small in absolute terms, but the direction matches the broader battery-materials scepticism showing up in PLS/MIN/LTR.
Two sector trades dominated the tape. First: battery materials are still being leaned on. PLS (17.71%), MIN (10.79%), LTR (9.34%) and GLN (1.99%) all moved higher on short interest this week. That clustering usually means the macro driver (commodity pricing and demand expectations) is doing more work than any single company headline. Second: uranium remains crowded but choppy. PDN and DYL saw shorts add (+0.19% and +0.34%), while BOE saw a modest cover (-0.29%). That’s consistent with a market that likes the long-term uranium story but is happy to short individual names on execution risk and valuation. Outside resources, the week had a clear “growth vs rates” flavour: MP1 and PWH both saw sharp short builds, which fits a market that’s still sensitive to bond yields and any hint that earnings expectations are too optimistic.
Next week, watch for any macro prints that move bond yields and the AUD — that’s the fuel for the MP1/PWH-style growth short. In resources, keep an eye on lithium and uranium spot price moves; the short positioning is already heavy, so any sharp commodity bounce can force fast covering.
PLS sits at 17.71% short (+0.33% WoW), which lines up with ongoing bearish positioning across lithium producers as the market worries about pricing, margins and earnings resets.
Yes. PWH rose +1.27% and MP1 +1.05% in a week — that’s aggressive positioning and often signals traders are targeting an upcoming catalyst or think expectations are stretched.
A drop from 5.89% to 3.03% suggests heavy covering, which can reduce downside pressure and sometimes creates sharp rallies if buyers step in.
BOE (14.68%), PDN (14.60%) and DYL (10.07%) show the sector is crowded, but the mixed weekly moves suggest stock-specific execution and valuation debates rather than a single sector call.
Short interest is high and rising (PLS +0.33%, MIN +0.22%, LTR +0.09%), so commodity price moves and any company guidance updates can trigger outsized moves either way.
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.
