The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 48, 2024
25 Nov 2024 — 29 Nov 2024
The standout move in W48 was a brutal short-covering in PLS, with short interest collapsing from 17.71% to 11.63% (-6.08%). MIN moved the other way, jumping to 11.98% (+1.20%), while uranium names stayed crowded near the top (PDN 15.06%, BOE 14.29%, DYL 10.36%).
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
If you’re looking for the week’s tell, it’s PLS. Shorts didn’t just trim — they ran. A 6.08% drop in short interest in one week (17.71% → 11.63%) is a proper unwind, the kind you usually see when the risk/reward flips quickly and the trade gets crowded the wrong way.
At the top of the table sits GSBW34 at 118.08% short (-4.41%). That number is mechanically weird-looking versus equities, and the week-on-week move reads like positioning being adjusted rather than a fresh directional call. In equities, uranium remains the most consistently crowded theme. PDN is still heavily shorted at 15.06% (+0.47%), BOE is 14.29% (-0.39%), and DYL is 10.36% (+0.29%). The most likely read is that shorts are leaning into execution and valuation risk rather than calling the uranium price itself. PDN has corporate complexity after its Fission acquisition, BOE is in ramp-up mode at Honeymoon, and DYL is still in the “build the portfolio, prove the timeline” phase — all fertile ground for shorts when the sector’s had a strong run. On the materials side, MIN is now 11.98% short (+1.20%) and that’s a loud move for a $10.7b name. MIN sits right on the fault line between lithium sentiment and broader resources cyclicality. When shorts add this aggressively, it usually screams “earnings/guidance positioning” or “balance sheet/commodity sensitivity” rather than a one-off headline. Consumer-facing shorts are still there: IEL at 12.92% (-0.43%) and DMP at 10.67% (+0.54%). That pairing makes sense in a higher-for-longer rates world — both are exposed to discretionary pressure and/or demand elasticity, and shorts tend to show up ahead of key updates when confidence is fragile.
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.
Biggest riser: NHF (1.43% → 2.80%, +1.37%). That’s a near-doubling in a week. For a health insurer, this usually comes back to margin anxiety — claims inflation, competitive pricing, and the risk that premium increases don’t fully offset utilisation. MIN (+1.20%) was the other major add. Shorts piling into MIN while PLS shorts are being covered is the interesting cross-current: it suggests the market is getting more selective within lithium exposure — less “short the whole sector”, more “short the name with the messiest mix of moving parts”. MP1 (5.26% → 6.12%, +0.86%) also saw meaningful selling pressure from shorts. This looks like classic growth-tech positioning: if bond yields back up or risk appetite fades, higher-multiple software names tend to wear it quickly. On the cover side, PLS (-6.08%) dwarfed everything. ALD also saw a sharp unwind (5.57% → 1.05%, -4.52%), which reads like shorts taking profit or stepping away after the stock de-risks near-term catalysts. DXS (6.07% → 2.24%, -3.83%) is another big cover — REIT shorts often move with rate expectations, so any shift toward a friendlier rates outlook can force that trade to be cut fast. SYA (7.03% → 4.60%, -2.43%) also had shorts backing off, consistent with the broader “less crowded lithium shorts” message coming through the tape this week.
Two sector stories jump out. First: uranium is still a crowded short, but it’s not moving in one direction. PDN and DYL ticked up, BOE ticked down. That’s what you see when the market likes the commodity theme but wants to fade specific execution risk — ramp-ups, approvals, capex discipline, and deal integration. Second: lithium shorts are getting reshuffled, not abandoned. The violent PLS cover (-6.08%) alongside MIN adding (+1.20%) suggests shorts are rotating into what they see as the more idiosyncratic risk rather than keeping the blunt “lithium down = short everything” trade on. Outside resources, the rate-sensitive complex is still driving behaviour. DXS shorts being cut hard (-3.83%) fits a market that’s less confident about ever-higher yields. Meanwhile, MP1 shorts rising (+0.86%) shows growth tech remains the first place traders go when they want a clean hedge against risk-off.
Next week, watch for macro signals that swing rates expectations (RBA tone and bond yields) because they’ll feed straight into DXS/MP1-style positioning. On the stock-specific front, keep an eye on whether the PLS unwind continues — if it stabilises here, it was a crowded-trade clean-out; if it keeps falling, the shorts are exiting the lithium bear case more broadly.
Because it’s a huge move in a single week (17.71% → 11.63%), which usually signals a crowded trade being forced to unwind rather than a slow change in opinion.
Not necessarily. The data shows uranium names are heavily shorted (PDN 15.06%, BOE 14.29%, DYL 10.36%), but the mixed week-on-week changes suggest shorts are targeting company execution risk as much as the commodity.
A +1.20% weekly jump is aggressive for a large-cap miner and often points to positioning ahead of guidance/earnings risk or concerns about commodity sensitivity, especially with lithium sentiment still fragile.
REIT shorts are tightly linked to interest-rate expectations; when the market gets even slightly more comfortable on rates, that trade can unwind quickly (DXS 6.07% → 2.24%).
Short interest rose from 5.26% to 6.12% (+0.86%), which is a meaningful add and fits the pattern of traders leaning on growth tech when risk appetite softens or yields rise.
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.
