The 10 Most Shorted ASX Stocks · Week 8, 2024
19 Feb 2024 — 23 Feb 2024
PLS stayed the ASX’s most shorted stock at 21.24% (+0.34% WoW), but the week’s real tell was CHN: shorts jumped from 9.01% to 10.22% (+1.21%) and pushed it into the top five. At the same time, shorts were cut hard in TLG (4.82% to 2.37%, -2.45%) and ZIP (3.24% to 1.27%, -1.97%), a clean rotation out of crowded, already-smashed trades.
By Shorted AI Research · Published · Sourced from official ASIC short position reports (T+4 delay). Methodology · Not financial advice.
Chalice Mining just got promoted to a serious short. A +1.21% weekly jump (9.01% to 10.22%) isn’t background noise — it’s fresh money leaning into a “big project, big bill” story while other crowded shorts (ZIP, SYA, TLG) were being clipped and banked.
PLS remains the market’s main event at 21.24% short (+0.34%). For a $13.4B stock, that’s not a punt — it’s a sector view with size behind it. The message is simple: the market still doesn’t believe even the best hard-rock operator can outrun a weak lithium price tape. SYR sits at 17.13% (-0.74%) and CXO at 11.66% (-0.43%). That’s not a lithium/graphite bull turn; it reads like risk management. When a trade gets crowded, you see shorts take chips off the table ahead of the next headline. IEL is still heavily shorted at 10.23% (-0.58%). The de-shorting continues, suggesting the market is less willing to press the downside after a long stretch of bad news around student flows and policy risk. CHN is now 10.22% (+1.21%) — effectively level with IEL — and it matters because it’s a different flavour of resources short: not “spot price is ugly”, but “capex, approvals and timelines can blow out”. DYL (9.94%, +0.01%) and GMD (9.26%, +0.09%) barely moved week-on-week. The absolute levels are still high, but the weekly tape says these are being held as positions, not chased. FLT (8.44%, +0.05%) is steady: travel demand is holding up, but shorts keep a toe in because discretionary spending is where the cracks show first if rates stay restrictive. WBT (7.87%, -0.60%) had shorts come off. In high-beta tech, short sellers tend to respect momentum — they don’t hang around when sentiment turns.
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 risers: CHN: 9.01% → 10.22% (+1.21%). This is the week’s statement trade. Gonneville is a large, complex development story, and the market is leaning into execution and funding risk while financing stays expensive. CHN’s own Gonneville Project pre-feasibility materials underline how study-driven (and assumption-sensitive) the story is (https://chalicemining.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/61302010.pdf). LIC: 5.43% → 6.55% (+1.13%). A straight rates trade. Property-adjacent models get marked down when yields rise and affordability tightens. SGR: 1.59% → 2.71% (+1.11%). Shorts are paying for optionality here: regulatory pressure and earnings risk can reprice quickly in casinos. SVR: 1.27% → 2.16% (+0.89%). Credit-sensitive names attract shorts when the market starts thinking about arrears and funding costs again. IRE: 1.06% → 1.88% (+0.81%). The market is still sceptical on delivery risk and margins in financial software. The FY24 results pack is the right reference point for what the market is underwriting (https://www.iress.com/documents/1801/ASX_Announcement_-_IRE_FY24_results.docx_2.pdf). Biggest fallers: TLG: 4.82% → 2.37% (-2.45%). That’s not a gentle trim — it’s a proper unwind. Either the trade got too crowded, or the borrow/positioning equation changed fast. ZIP: 3.24% → 1.27% (-1.97%). Classic profit-taking after a rough run. It’s not a fundamental all-clear; it’s shorts deciding the easy money has been made. Recent securities notices can also pull focus to mechanics and reduce appetite to stay short into corporate housekeeping (https://yourir.info/ezapi/announcements/dbc6d3e76afbc820/2A1648337/ZIP_Notification_of_cessation_of_securities_ZIP.pdf). SYA: 10.30% → 8.64% (-1.66%). More evidence of lithium shorts trimming around the edges — covering the smaller, less liquid names while keeping the sector’s liquid proxy (PLS) heavily short. DMP: 4.57% → 3.24% (-1.34%). Shorts backed off the consumer squeeze trade here, at least for now. CSR: 2.27% → 1.16% (-1.11%). Building products cyclicals saw shorts step back this week.
This was a rotation week, not a market-wide pile-on. The average short position across 683 stocks is 1.05%, and the period average change was -0.01%. The action stayed concentrated in a few themes: 1) Lithium remains the centre of gravity — but positioning is getting cleaner. PLS rose to 21.24% (+0.34%) while CXO (-0.43%) and SYA (-1.66%) were cut. That’s the “keep the liquid flagship, reduce the satellites” play. 2) Capex risk is back in fashion. CHN’s surge (+1.21%) is the clearest example: the market is happy to short long-dated development stories when money is expensive and commodity assumptions are fragile. 3) Rate sensitivity is creeping into the shorts list again. LIC (+1.13%) and SVR (+0.89%) fit the same macro logic: higher-for-longer hurts anything tied to housing turnover, credit quality, or funding costs. Consumer services is still a hunting ground too — IEL remains at 10.23% short and FLT at 8.44% — but the week’s biggest message came from resources and rates, not retail spending.
Watch whether CHN’s short interest keeps climbing from 10.22% — one more week like this turns it from a position into a crowd. If LIC keeps rising from 6.55% at the same time, the market is telling you rates are the trade again.
Pilbara Minerals (PLS) is the most shorted at 21.24% of shares short, up +0.34% week-on-week.
Chalice Mining (CHN): 9.01% to 10.22%, a +1.21% increase.
Talga Group (TLG): 4.82% to 2.37%, a -2.45% decrease.
No. ZIP’s short interest fell from 3.24% to 1.27% (-1.97%), which often reflects profit-taking or risk reduction rather than a confirmed fundamental turnaround.
Yes. Lithium names remain prominent: PLS is 21.24% short, CXO is 11.66%, and SYA is 8.64% (even after a -1.66% week-on-week reduction).
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.
