The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 52, 2024
23 Dec 2024 — 27 Dec 2024
The standout move in 2024-W52 was Paladin (PDN) short interest collapsing from 18.20% to 14.43% (-3.77%), a huge weekly swing. Meanwhile Boss Energy (BOE) stayed heavily shorted at 17.06% (+0.07%), and shorts added to rate-sensitive REITs Mirvac (MGR) and Dexus (DXS). The oddball remains GSBW34 at 132.54% short, unchanged week-on-week.
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
PDN’s short interest didn’t just drift lower — it fell off a cliff, down 3.77% in a single week (18.20% → 14.43%). That’s the kind of move you see when a crowded trade gets unwound fast: either shorts are taking profit into year-end, or they’re stepping aside because the risk/reward has flipped. In the background, the ASX’s most extreme print is still the AusGov bond line GSBW34 at 132.54% short (flat WoW), a reminder that “short interest” can be distorted in bond/ETF-style instruments by hedging and settlement mechanics rather than a simple bearish equity view.
Outside GSBW34, the top of the table is still dominated by resources and a couple of consumer names. BOE sits at 17.06% short (+0.07%). That’s a big, sticky short position for a $660m uranium producer ramping Honeymoon and progressing Alta Mesa. The most likely read is shorts are leaning into execution risk: ramp-ups are where timelines slip, costs surprise, and the uranium price can do the rest. BOE’s tiny WoW change says the conviction is already in the price — no panic, no squeeze, just a large position being maintained. PDN is still heavily shorted at 14.43%, but the direction matters more than the level this week. After being the poster child for the uranium momentum trade, a -3.77% weekly unwind suggests the easy money on the short side has been made, or the borrow got tight into year-end. PLS (14.02%, -0.06%), SYR (12.79%, -0.03%), and MIN (12.46%, -0.04%) are basically unchanged. That’s telling: shorts aren’t pressing lithium/graphite harder right now — they’re holding positions and waiting for the next catalyst (commodity price moves, guidance, or quarterly updates). On the consumer side, IEL (12.20%, -0.04%) and DMP (12.19%, +0.05%) remain crowded shorts. The thesis is familiar: discretionary pressure and margin risk for DMP, and policy/regulatory uncertainty around student flows for IEL. But again, the week’s changes were small — no fresh pile-on.
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.
The risers were led by REITs. MGR jumped from 3.12% to 3.44% (+0.32%) and DXS from 1.68% to 1.91% (+0.23%). That’s a clean rates call: when bond yields feel “sticky”, property vehicles with valuation and funding sensitivity attract shorts. Even without a big macro headline in this dataset, the positioning says traders still don’t trust the rate-cut narrative. IGO also saw shorts lift from 3.75% to 4.02% (+0.27%). With lithium-exposed names already heavily shorted elsewhere (PLS, MIN), this looks like sector hedging rather than a single-stock blow-up call. TPW rose from 1.78% to 1.98% (+0.20%). Online retail is a classic sentiment trade: if investors think discretionary demand softens or marketing spend rises to defend growth, shorts show up quickly. On the fallers list, PDN’s -3.77% dominates everything. The next biggest covers were much smaller: BRN (3.56% → 2.72%, -0.83%) and AX1 (2.22% → 1.64%, -0.58%). That reads like year-end risk management — trimming higher-vol names and cyclicals — rather than a sudden fundamental upgrade. APX collapsing from 0.52% to 0.01% (-0.51%) is effectively shorts walking away from a trade that’s no longer worth the effort.
Zooming out, the pattern is split. First, uranium is still crowded (BOE 17.06%, PDN 14.43%, DYL 10.85%), but the big PDN unwind hints the trade is getting more selective. Shorts may prefer execution-risk names (ramp-ups, project delivery) rather than a blanket “uranium down” bet. Second, the “battery materials” complex remains structurally shorted (PLS 14.02%, SYR 12.79%, MIN 12.46%, plus IGO rising). Yet the lack of big WoW increases suggests shorts are waiting for a clearer commodity signal rather than adding aggressively into year-end. Third, REIT shorts rising (MGR, DXS) is the cleanest macro expression in the weekly movers: a bet that rates and cap rates don’t fall fast enough to bail out property valuations.
Next week, watch whether the PDN cover continues (which would confirm a broader uranium de-crowding) and whether REIT shorting keeps building in MGR and DXS — that’s the simplest tell on how traders are pricing the 2025 rates path.
Yes, reported short interest can exceed 100% in certain instruments due to how lending, hedging, and settlement work; it doesn’t always reflect a simple directional “bearish” bet like it would in a typical ASX equity.
Very. A 3.77 percentage point drop in a week is a major unwind, suggesting profit-taking, risk reduction into year-end, or shorts stepping aside ahead of potential catalysts.
Both are rate-sensitive REITs, so rising short interest (+0.32% for MGR, +0.23% for DXS) usually signals a view that yields stay higher for longer, keeping pressure on property valuations and funding costs.
No. It does mean the stock is a battleground: a large cohort is betting against it, often around execution risk and uranium price volatility, which can amplify moves in either direction if news surprises.
Shorting is concentrated. Most ASX names have little to no short interest, while a handful of crowded trades (like BOE, PDN, PLS, MIN, DMP, IEL) attract the bulk of bearish positioning.
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.
