The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 6, 2024
5 Feb 2024 — 9 Feb 2024
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) is still the ASX’s most crowded short at 20.93% (+0.47% WoW), with lithium names dominating the top 10. The week’s cleanest “new money” move was Deep Yellow (DYL), where shorts piled in from 8.88% to 10.09% (+1.21%). The biggest unwind was Galan Lithium (GLN), which was effectively cleared out from 1.91% to 0.14% (-1.77%).
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
PLS is now a one-in-five stock: 20.93% of Pilbara Minerals is sold short after another +0.47% week-on-week lift. That’s the headline number. But the trade that actually changed this week was uranium — Deep Yellow (DYL) wore a +1.21% short spike like a fresh bruise.
The top of the board is still battery metals, and it’s not subtle. 1) PLS: 20.93% (+0.47%). The size matters as much as the percentage. PLS is the liquid expression of the “lithium stays ugly” view, and the position is still building. 2) SYR: 18.51% (+0.08%). No drama in the weekly change, but the message is unchanged: shorts are camped in the name. 3) CXO: 12.71% (+0.10%). Still a favourite target in the higher-risk end of the lithium complex. 4) SYA: 11.47% (-0.18%). A small trim, but it shows how quickly the market lightens up when the trade gets crowded. Then the new tension point: DYL at 10.09% (+1.21%) sits above IDP Education (IEL) at 10.01% (-0.19%). When an energy name jumps into double-digit short interest in one week, it’s a tactical bet, not a slow burn. Rounding out the list: Genesis Minerals (GMD) 9.23% (+0.07%), Chalice (CHN) 8.97% (-0.30%), Weebit Nano (WBT) 8.64% (-0.15%) and Flight Centre (FLT) 8.44% (+0.04%).
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.
DYL was the standout: 8.88% → 10.09% (+1.21%). The company has been expanding its portfolio via the Vimy acquisition, and this short hit reads like traders leaning into the near-term risks that come with scale-up stories — funding, integration and uranium price volatility. If you want the company’s own framing of the business, start with its investor material (Deep Yellow: http://www.deepyellow.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025AGMCorporatePresentation20Nov25.pdf). Seven West Media (SWM) also lit up: 0.51% → 1.43% (+0.92%). That’s a meaningful move in a small-cap register and fits a simple macro trade: ad dollars get rationed when rates stay high. Liontown (LTR) moved 6.25% → 7.01% (+0.76%). Same lithium tape, same pressure point: capital intensity and execution risk when the commodity price is doing no favours. Zip (ZIP) climbed 3.43% → 4.14% (+0.72%). Consumer credit shorts have a clean macro hook — “higher for longer” squeezes discretionary spending and can lift arrears. The company’s recent securities notices (e.g. cessation of securities: https://yourir.info/ezapi/announcements/dbc6d3e76afbc820/2A1648337/ZIP_Notification_of_cessation_of_securities_ZIP.pdf) don’t explain the move on their own, but they’re a reminder the register is active. On the cover side, GLN was the week’s proper clean-out: 1.91% → 0.14% (-1.77%). That’s not a gentle de-risk — it’s shorts taking money off the table and reducing bounce risk. Costa (CGC) was also heavily covered: 1.70% → 0.32% (-1.38%). Metcash (MTS) dropped 1.99% → 0.75% (-1.24%), which looks like traders stepping away from a defensive staple-wholesaler short rather than pressing it. Insignia Financial (IFL) eased 5.34% → 4.61% (-0.73%) and Nufarm (NUF) 5.03% → 4.31% (-0.73%).
This is still a materials-led short market. PLS, SYR, CXO, SYA, CHN, LTR and GLN tell you funds are happy shorting the lithium basket rather than trying to pick the one name that breaks ranks. The shift worth respecting is the uranium cross-current. DYL’s +1.21% jump says the market is willing to fade the uranium equity bid when valuations run and catalysts get close. Outside resources, the shorts are more selective: IEL remains high at 10.01% (-0.19%) — a stock where policy and student flows can turn earnings quickly — while FLT at 8.44% (+0.04%) sits there as a clean discretionary macro hedge. At the index level, nothing broad changed: 676 stocks are shorted, average short interest is 1.06%, and the period average change was +0.00%. This week was stock-by-stock conviction, not a market-wide lurch.
Watch DYL’s next move in short interest after that 8.88% → 10.09% jump: if it keeps rising, uranium is becoming a tradeable short theme; if it stalls, this was a one-stock valuation hit. In lithium, the tell is whether PLS keeps climbing from 20.93% — crowding at that level can flip from “easy trend” to “violent cover” on any commodity bounce.
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) at 20.93% short, up +0.47% week-on-week.
Deep Yellow (DYL): 8.88% to 10.09%, a +1.21% increase.
Galan Lithium (GLN): 1.91% to 0.14%, a -1.77% decrease.
PLS is a large, liquid ASX lithium name, so it’s the easiest single-stock vehicle to express a bearish lithium view at scale.
No. It means a lot of investors are positioned for a fall. If the stock gets positive news, shorts can be forced to buy back quickly, which can push the price up fast.
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.
