Sigma shorts vanish (-5.28%) as uranium stays the ASX’s crowded trade
Week 7, 2025 (10 Feb 2025 — 14 Feb 2025)
SIG delivered the week’s cleanest signal: short interest collapsed from 5.86% to 0.59% (-5.28%) while the market-wide average short position sat at 1.44% and the period average change was +0.00%. Uranium remains the most crowded equity short, led by BOE at 20.37% (+0.39%) and PDN at 16.94% (+0.39%). Fresh shorts also piled into WHC (3.51% → 4.72%, +1.21%) and TWE (3.91% → 5.02%, +1.10%).
This Week's Analysis
Sigma Healthcare (SIG) didn’t drift lower on the short list. It disappeared. Short interest fell from 5.86% to 0.59% in a single week (-5.28%), in a market where the average short position was steady at 1.44%. That’s what an unwind looks like when the trade has finished and everyone heads for the same exit.
The top 10 is still a tug-of-war between crowded resources shorts and a few long-running battlegrounds. At the very top sits the oddity: AUSGOV TREASURY BOND TB 3.50% 12-34 6M (GSBW34) at 127.93% short (-0.01%). It barely moved, but it keeps reminding you that some “short” data is plumbing, not a directional view. In equities, uranium owns the podium. Boss Energy (BOE) is 20.37% short (+0.39%) and Paladin Energy (PDN) is 16.94% (+0.39%). That’s not legacy positioning being left to run; it’s fresh weight being added. The common thread is execution risk: BOE is in ramp-up mode at Honeymoon and progressing Alta Mesa, and shorts love the gap between a production plan and a production reality (BOE materials: http://www.bossenergy.com/images/documents/Dec24-Quarterly-Results-Presentation.pdf). PDN’s scale and asset base don’t stop the market from punishing any operational wobble (PDN annual report: https://www.paladinenergy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Paladin-2025AnnualReport-Full-Web.pdf). Mineral Resources (MIN) stays a heavyweight battleground at 12.59% (+0.34%). It’s the kind of “two-cycle” exposure (lithium plus iron ore) that attracts shorts when commodity pricing is doing the narrative work and cost control is the real story (MIN FY results: https://cdn.sanity.io/files/o6ep64o3/production/b23c9b1f93dbe5cc41520061cafecf0c1d214c77.pdf). Lithium is still sticky: Pilbara Minerals (PLS) sits at 11.27% (+0.19%), while Syrah (SYR) eased to 12.24% (-0.68%). That’s not a sector-wide cover; it’s selective trimming. The consumer/services shorts are mixed rather than thematic. IDP Education (IEL) is 12.50% (+0.02%)—steady, structural scepticism. The Star (SGR) is 11.22% (-0.34%) and Domino’s (DMP) is 10.98% (-0.20%)—small trims, not a change of mind. Deep Yellow (DYL) rounds out the uranium cluster at 10.91% (+0.05%). Post-deal, the market tends to shift from “strategy” to “delivery”, and that’s where shorts usually press (DYL annual report: http://www.deepyellow.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025AnnualReport06Oct25NoCoverSheet.pdf).
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
This week’s action is in the movers—where new conviction shows up. Biggest risers: - Whitehaven Coal (WHC): 3.51% → 4.72% (+1.21%). Shorts stepped in hard. Coal equities are a direct bet on commodity price direction and policy noise, and a +1.21% lift reads like positioning for tougher realised pricing and headline risk. - Treasury Wine Estates (TWE): 3.91% → 5.02% (+1.10%). Crossing 5% matters because it signals a real crowd forming. For a global consumer name, this is a clean expression of demand and currency expectations (TWE sustainability report: https://a.storyblok.com/f/171317/x/c3d39083c7/2025_twe_sustainability_report.pdf). - Amotiv (AOV): 1.65% → 2.75% (+1.10%). A sharp jump for a $1.1B auto components name. It fits a simple read: shorts testing whether “stronger-than-expected” conditions are cyclical and about to fade as household budgets tighten. - Treasury Corporation 2.00% LN 17-SEP-35 (XVGHAB): 3.12% → 4.19% (+1.07%). Another reminder that parts of the list are rate/curve plumbing rather than stock-picking. - Bannerman Energy (BMN): 4.14% → 5.05% (+0.90%). Uranium again, but at the development end: when the story shifts from geology to financing and build risk, shorts tend to get louder (BMN investor presentation: https://bannermanenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/251121_Investor-Presentation_November-2025_final.pdf). Biggest fallers: - Sigma Healthcare (SIG): 5.86% → 0.59% (-5.28%). The trade got shut down. - The a2 Milk Company (A2M): 3.56% → 2.67% (-0.89%). That’s profit-taking and risk reduction, not capitulation (FY25 annual report: https://assets-au-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/bca3e5d5-83bd-02bf-1c27-acb036630e5b/9b9ad6ab-d7b8-4d15-8e57-6e9964f4d9d6/FY25%20Annual%20Report.pdf; 1H25 deck: https://assets-au-01.kc-usercontent.com:443/bca3e5d5-83bd-02bf-1c27-acb036630e5b/ce497dba-b5aa-4d11-9ac8-3feb20ffc45b/1H25%20Results%20presentation%20%28Final%29.pdf). - Zip Co (ZIP): 4.97% → 4.19% (-0.78%). Shorts trimmed but didn’t leave; 4.19% is still a live position in a sector that trades on rates and consumer stress (ZIP notice: https://yourir.info/ezapi/announcements/dbc6d3e76afbc820/2A1648337/ZIP_Notification_of_cessation_of_securities_ZIP.pdf). - Bellevue Gold (BGL): 7.52% → 6.80% (-0.72%). A meaningful cover, but it remains heavily shorted. - Treasury Corporation 2.25% LN 15-SEP-33 (XVGHAA): 2.94% → 1.58% (-1.35%). Another rates-linked unwind.
Industry Trends
Two trades are doing the heavy lifting. First: uranium is still the ASX’s most crowded equity short. BOE (20.37%), PDN (16.94%) and DYL (10.91%) sit in the top 10, and BMN just pushed up to 5.05% (+0.90%). That spread across producers, near-producers and developers tells you this is being traded as a sector basket: ramp-up risk at one end, funding risk at the other. Second: “commodity beta” is back on the menu. MIN (12.59%) and PLS (11.27%) remain heavily shorted, and WHC’s jump to 4.72% shows shorts are happy to press both new energy and old energy when the macro tape turns. Outside resources, the consumer picture is stock-by-stock. Shorts added to TWE (5.02%) while covering A2M (2.67%) and trimming DMP (10.98%). That’s not one clean consumer call—it’s positioning around individual earnings and guidance risk.
Outlook
Watch TWE’s next result and guidance: short interest is now 5.02%, and that’s the kind of setup where a clean beat forces fast covering. If TWE doesn’t deliver, the shorts have already built the position to press it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can short interest be over 100% like GSBW34 at 127.93%?
Because the same security can be lent and shorted multiple times through the lending and settlement chain, creating reported short positions that exceed the amount on issue.
What does SIG dropping from 5.86% to 0.59% mean?
It signals a rapid unwind: shorts closed positions quickly, usually because the catalyst they were trading has passed or the risk/reward no longer works.
Which ASX stocks are the most shorted this week?
Among equities, BOE is 20.37% short, PDN is 16.94% short, MIN is 12.59% short, IEL is 12.50% short, SYR is 12.24% short, PLS is 11.27% short, SGR is 11.22% short, DMP is 10.98% short, and DYL is 10.91% short.
Why are uranium stocks like BOE and PDN so heavily shorted?
Shorts are leaning on execution and valuation risk: ramp-ups, cost control and delivery against market expectations, rather than the long-term nuclear demand story.
Does ZIP’s short interest falling to 4.19% mean the outlook has improved?
No. It means shorts reduced exposure by 0.78% this week, but 4.19% is still a sizeable short base.
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.