The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 7, 2024
SSR shorts explode 0.40%→4.31% as lithium bears ease off
12 Feb 2024 — 16 Feb 2024
The biggest move on the tape was SSR: short interest leapt from 0.40% to 4.31% (+3.90%), a ten-fold build in a week. Up top, PLS stayed the ASX short king at 20.91% (-0.02%) while the lithium cluster saw trimming (SYR 17.86% -0.65%, CXO 12.10% -0.61%, SYA 10.30% -1.17%). Outside resources, shorts pressed into IEL (+0.80% to 10.81%) and SEK (+1.02% to 4.02%), while TPW saw a sharp unwind (-1.70% to 2.13%).
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
This Week's Analysis
A ten-bagger in short interest doesn’t happen by accident. SSR Mining (SSR) went from 0.40% short to 4.31% in a single week (+3.90%), the kind of move that screams “event risk” rather than a slow-burn valuation debate.
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) still wears the crown at 20.91% short, essentially unchanged (-0.02%). The message: the lithium bear case is still crowded, but nobody’s getting paid to press it harder this week. Under PLS, the battery metals complex actually loosened up. Syrah (SYR) eased to 17.86% (-0.65%), Core Lithium (CXO) to 12.10% (-0.61%), and Sayona (SYA) to 10.30% (-1.17%). That’s classic late-trade behaviour: positions stay big, but risk managers start taking chips off the table when the downside feels less linear. The outlier in the top 10 is IDP Education (IEL). Short interest jumped from 10.01% to 10.81% (+0.80%), pushing it further into crowded territory. This is positioning for a catalyst — the market is leaning into policy and demand uncertainty around international students. Elsewhere, Deep Yellow (DYL) sat at 9.94% (-0.16%), Genesis Minerals (GMD) at 9.18% (-0.05%), Chalice (CHN) at 9.01% (+0.04%), Weebit Nano (WBT) at 8.47% (-0.16%) and Flight Centre (FLT) at 8.40% (-0.04%). The common thread is indecision: plenty of sceptics, but no fresh conviction this week.
Daily Snapshots
Top Shorted Stocks This Week
Financial Snapshot
Key financial metrics from recent company reports for the most shorted stocks.
Biggest Risers
Stocks with the largest increase in short interest this week.
Biggest Fallers
Stocks with the largest decrease in short interest this week.
Movers Analysis
SSR was the week’s headline: 0.40% → 4.31% (+3.90%). Moves like that are deliberate. When shorts pile in this fast, they’re trading a near-term risk window. Strike Energy (STX) also drew heat, rising from 3.43% to 4.70% (+1.26%). In a high-rate world, anything that looks like it might need time, capital, or perfect execution tends to attract shorts. SEEK (SEK) climbed from 3.00% to 4.02% (+1.02%). That’s a straight macro expression: if hiring cools, the jobs board feels it. On the other side, Temple & Webster (TPW) saw one of the cleanest covers on the board: 3.83% → 2.13% (-1.70%). That’s not a drift lower — that’s shorts getting out of the way. 29Metals (29M) also saw a meaningful unwind, 3.62% → 2.22% (-1.40%), and Zip (ZIP) eased from 4.14% to 3.24% (-0.90%). Silver Lake Resources (SLR) was another sharp cover, 1.52% → 0.44% (-1.08%).
Industry Positioning
This week was a rotation inside the short book, not a market-wide lurch. Across 675 stocks, the average short position was 1.06% and the period average change was -0.00%. Resources still dominate the crowded end of the list — PLS (20.91%), SYR (17.86%), CXO (12.10%), SYA (10.30%) — but the key change is direction: the lithium names were trimmed, not topped up. Meanwhile, shorts found fresh targets in economically sensitive services. IEL (10.81%, +0.80%) and SEK (4.02%, +1.02%) both moved higher, a neat read-through on growth expectations: pressure shows up first in student flows and hiring volumes. And the consumer “doom” trade lost a bit of bite. TPW’s -1.70% cover and ZIP’s -0.90% cover say the market is less willing to sit in front of a potential squeeze when positioning is already profitable.
Outlook
Watch IEL at 10.81% short. If the next update doesn’t deliver bad news cleanly, that’s the setup for forced covering — and it won’t take much to move a stock when the short base is already this heavy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What were the most shorted ASX stocks this week?
The top 10 were PLS (20.91%), SYR (17.86%), CXO (12.10%), IEL (10.81%), SYA (10.30%), DYL (9.94%), GMD (9.18%), CHN (9.01%), WBT (8.47%) and FLT (8.40%).
Why did SSR Mining (SSR) short interest jump from 0.40% to 4.31%?
A move of +3.90% in a week is an event-driven build: traders are positioning for a near-term risk window rather than slowly expressing a valuation view.
Is the lithium short trade still crowded on the ASX?
Yes. PLS is 20.91% short and SYR is 17.86%, but this week shorts trimmed across key lithium names: SYR (-0.65%), CXO (-0.61%) and SYA (-1.17%).
Why is IDP Education (IEL) being shorted more heavily?
IEL rose from 10.01% to 10.81% short (+0.80%). When a stock is already heavily shorted and the position still grows, it usually reflects positioning into a catalyst and a clear thesis around policy and international student demand risk.
What does it mean when shorts cover Temple & Webster (TPW) by 1.70% in a week?
TPW fell from 3.83% to 2.13% short (-1.70%). That’s a decisive unwind, consistent with profit-taking and risk reduction when the downside trade is no longer one-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.