The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 51, 2024
16 Dec 2024 — 20 Dec 2024
Two outsized moves lit up Week 51: Megaport (MP1) jumped 2.47% to 9.87% short, and Paladin (PDN) lifted 2.28% to 18.20% to sit second on the ASX equity list. Boss Energy (BOE) followed with a 1.56% rise to 16.99%, while Karoon (KAR) climbed 1.67% to 10.90%. At the other end, shorts slammed shut in St Barbara (SBM), down 2.82% to 0.92%.
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
Forget the Christmas lull. This week delivered two 2%+ jumps in short interest — MP1 (7.40% → 9.87%, +2.47%) and PDN (15.93% → 18.20%, +2.28%). That’s not drifting positioning. That’s shorts piling in.
First, a quick table-read: AUSGOV Treasury Bond TB 3.50% 12-34 6M (GSBW34) sits at 132.54% short (+0.00%). Treat it as a fixed-income mechanics trade, not a sentiment signal for ASX equities. Now the real leaderboard. PDN is the standout: 18.20% short, up 2.28% in a week. Shorts are concentrating risk in the uranium bellwether — the kind of name that moves hardest if the uranium tape cools or if operational delivery disappoints. PDN has also been busy on the corporate front, which gives the short book more angles to press. (Company filings: Paladin Financial Report PDFs: https://www.paladinenergy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Paladin-2025AnnualReport-Full-Web.pdf and https://www.paladinenergy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/61280657.pdf) BOE is now 16.99% short (+1.56%). The market’s message is simple: ramp-ups are where optimism goes to die. Boss is pushing production at Honeymoon and progressing Alta Mesa, and the short side is leaning into execution risk — timelines, costs, recoveries — over the sector narrative. (Boss quarterly deck: http://www.bossenergy.com/images/documents/Dec24-Quarterly-Results-Presentation.pdf) PLS (14.09%, +0.19%), SYR (12.82%, +0.19%) and MIN (12.50%, +0.38%) remain the familiar battery-materials cluster: high shorts, small week-to-week changes. That’s a set-and-hold thesis trade rather than a fresh attack. Two consumer-facing names sit in the blast radius too. DMP is 12.14% short (+0.46%) — a margin-and-demand story in a rate-squeezed household economy. IEL eased to 12.24% (-0.19%), more like trimming than capitulation. Rounding out the top 10: KAR at 10.90% (+1.67%) and DYL at 10.89% (+0.24%). Uranium and energy are doing the heavy lifting in this week’s risk-taking.
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.
MP1 was the loudest move on the board: 7.40% → 9.87% (+2.47%). In a $1.9B software name, that sort of weekly jump usually means one thing: someone wants to be paid for risk. Whether the trigger is valuation discipline in a yield-sensitive market or positioning ahead of a reporting catalyst, the short book has turned up. (Megaport investor deck link provided: https://www.megaport.com/pdf/MP1_H1_FY25_Half_Year_Results_Investor_Presentation.pdf) PDN (15.93% → 18.20%, +2.28%) and BOE (15.43% → 16.99%, +1.56%) made it a uranium double. Add DYL (10.89%) already in the top 10 and you’ve got a sector where both longs and shorts are crowded — the recipe for sharp moves on small news. KAR (9.23% → 10.90%, +1.67%) reads like an oil-price sensitivity trade: when crude wobbles, leveraged E&P names wear it quickly. CU6 (0.44% → 1.53%, +1.10%) is a big percentage jump off a low base. That’s early positioning in a clinical-stage biotech where the calendar can matter as much as the fundamentals. Then the covers. SBM collapsed from 3.73% to 0.92% (-2.82%). SVL dropped 2.69% to 0.71% (-1.98%). TMG went 1.50% to 0.01% (-1.49%). That’s year-end housekeeping in smaller resources: lock in gains, reduce liquidity risk, and don’t get stuck short when volumes thin out. ELD (2.23% → 1.12%, -1.11%) and IFL (1.86% → 1.00%, -0.86%) also saw shorts step back — more de-risking than a sudden change of view.
The week’s shape is clear. Uranium is the centre of gravity. PDN (18.20%), BOE (16.99%) and DYL (10.89%) are all heavily shorted at once, and PDN/BOE both accelerated. That’s a sector-wide bet that near-term reality (delivery, ramp-ups, pricing) won’t match the optimism already baked into the trade. Battery materials are the other permanent fixture. PLS (14.09%), SYR (12.82%) and MIN (12.50%) stayed elevated without drama — the short book is already positioned and doesn’t need to chase. Zoom out and the market isn’t broadly leaning bearish: 656 stocks are shorted, average short interest is 1.36%, and the period average change is +0.01%. The aggression is concentrated in a handful of high-conviction names — uranium at the top, MP1 as the growth-tech exception.
Watch PDN and BOE for any operational or pricing update that forces a rethink: with PDN at 18.20% and BOE at 16.99%, the next catalyst won’t need to be big to move the tape. If MP1 short interest keeps rising from 9.87%, that’s your tell the market is positioning for a tougher read on growth into the next result.
GSBW34 is a Treasury bond instrument and the reported short can exceed 100% due to market structure and settlement/hedging mechanics. It’s not directly comparable to ordinary ASX equities and isn’t a clean read on bearish sentiment.
Yes. Week-on-week moves like MP1 (+2.47% to 9.87%) and PDN (+2.28% to 18.20%) are rare and usually reflect fresh conviction or positioning ahead of a catalyst.
Shorts are targeting the gap between the uranium narrative and execution risk. PDN (18.20%) and BOE (16.99%) are exposed to delivery, ramp-up and cost/timeline risk, and they tend to move hardest if uranium pricing or sentiment cools.
No. High short interest means positioning is crowded. A squeeze needs a catalyst that forces covering — for example, a strong operational update or a sharp move in uranium pricing — and without that, high shorts can stay high.
SBM fell from 3.73% to 0.92% (-2.82%) and SVL fell from 2.69% to 0.71% (-1.98%). That pattern fits year-end risk management in smaller resources names where liquidity can dry up and covering later can be painful.
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.
