Uranium schism: BOE hits 24.43% short as PDN gets bought back
Week 12, 2025 (17 Mar 2025 — 21 Mar 2025)
Boss Energy (BOE) is now the ASX’s most shorted stock at 24.43%, up 1.32% in a week. In the same trade, Paladin (PDN) saw heavy covering, down 3.00% to 14.51% — a clean rotation inside uranium, not a sector-wide fade. Market-wide shorting was flat (average short 1.22% across 650 stocks; period average change -0.01%), but single-stock bets got louder.
This Week's Analysis
A quarter of BOE’s register is now sold short. 24.43%. And it’s still climbing (+1.32% WoW). In the same week, shorts bolted from PDN (-3.00% to 14.51%). That’s not “uranium down, sell everything”. That’s traders picking their victim — and their safer harbour — inside the same commodity tape.
1) BOE (24.43%, +1.32%) BOE is the outlier and the ceiling for the whole market this week (max short %: 24.43%). The positioning reads like a direct attack on execution risk: BOE is in ramp-up mode at Honeymoon in South Australia and progressing Alta Mesa in Texas. Shorts love the messy middle — commissioning, recoveries, timelines, guidance. At 24.43%, every operational update has the potential to gap the stock in either direction. The company’s materials are here: http://www.bossenergy.com/images/documents/Dec24-Quarterly-Results-Presentation.pdf. 2) PDN (14.51%, -3.00%) This is what real covering looks like. A 3.00% weekly drop in short interest is a risk-off move from the shorts themselves: either the bearish catalyst has passed, or the price action forced a cut. It also fits the “stay in uranium, change the vehicle” trade — PDN’s scale and asset base can be treated as the cleaner exposure versus a single-asset ramp. PDN’s annual report is here: https://www.paladinenergy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Paladin-2025AnnualReport-Full-Web.pdf. 3) IEL (13.14%, +0.56%) IDP stays a crowded short. The appeal is simple: policy risk (student settings), volume sensitivity, and a liquid stock that funds can size. 4) PLS (12.51%, +0.48%) and 6) MIN (11.62%, +0.30%) Lithium beta is still being worked over. The adds weren’t huge, but they were adds. PLS’ quarterly advisory is the key reference point: https://1pls.irmau.com/site/pdf/3bba2523-52c7-4c38-bc03-b945945d9698/December-2025-quarterly-activities-report-advisory.pdf?Platform=ListPage. MIN’s FY results sit here: https://cdn.sanity.io/files/o6ep64o3/production/b23c9b1f93dbe5cc41520061cafecf0c1d214c77.pdf. 5) DYL (11.70%, -0.31%) Deep Yellow saw a small ease in shorting. In a week where BOE was pressed, DYL’s drift lower in short interest reinforces the theme: uranium shorts weren’t sprayed across the board. DYL’s annual report is here: http://www.deepyellow.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025AnnualReport06Oct25NoCoverSheet.pdf. 7) DMP (11.54%, +0.18%) Domino’s remains heavily shorted. It’s a consumer-facing name where the market punishes any wobble in demand, franchisee economics, or cost pressures — and the short base is still comfortable sitting there.
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
Biggest risers (shorts piled in): - BOE: 23.11% → 24.43% (+1.32%). Already crowded, still getting more crowded. - GDG: 0.06% → 1.21% (+1.14%). That’s a fund-sized position appearing from nowhere. When a quiet financial name jumps a full percent, it’s usually valuation or an earnings-specific view, not macro hand-wringing. - BOT: 0.40% → 1.47% (+1.08%). Classic small-cap biotech set-up: volatile, news-driven, easy to trade around. - IPX: 1.97% → 2.99% (+1.02%). “Critical materials” stories attract capital on the way up and scepticism on timelines and funding on the way down. IPX’s company presentation is here: https://iperionx.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025.12-IperionX-Company-Presentation.pdf. - SIG: 0.84% → 1.82% (+0.97%). A near-1% weekly lift in a mega-cap healthcare name is a proper signal: someone is leaning into a stock-specific risk, not a broad market tantrum. Biggest fallers (shorts ran for the exit): - PDN: 17.52% → 14.51% (-3.00%). The week’s cleanest unwind. - SYR: 9.54% → 6.77% (-2.76%). Material covering in a smaller resources name — profit-taking, risk reduction, or both. - WJL: 2.60% → 0.21% (-2.39%). That’s basically a full close-out. Whatever the trade was, it’s been shut. - KLS: 4.70% → 2.59% (-2.11%). Shorts took money off the table. - ARU: 3.82% → 1.97% (-1.85%). A meaningful step-down in pressure; ARU’s annual report is here: https://www.arultd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/L10013-Annual-Report-2024-25.pdf.
Industry Trends
This week wasn’t “the ASX is getting shorted”. It was targeted. The market backdrop says it all: average short interest across 650 stocks was 1.22% and the period average change was -0.01%. Flat. Inside that calm, two crowded arenas kept trading: - Uranium: a split screen. BOE was hit harder (+1.32% to 24.43%) while PDN (-3.00% to 14.51%) and DYL (-0.31% to 11.70%) eased. That’s rotation within the theme — execution risk versus perceived operational certainty. - Lithium/materials: still structurally shorted. PLS (+0.48% to 12.51%) and MIN (+0.30% to 11.62%) ticked higher, while LTR eased (-0.38% to 10.02%). Same sector view, more selective expression. Outside resources, the fresh spike in GDG (to 1.21%) and the jump in SIG (to 1.82%) are the tell: funds are putting on specific, name-by-name shorts rather than hiding in index-level pessimism.
Outlook
One thing to watch next week: BOE’s next operational update cadence. With BOE at 24.43% short, any statement that touches ramp-up timing, production rates or costs can force a rush of covering — or invite another wave of selling — and it won’t take much volume to move it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most shorted stock on the ASX this week?
Boss Energy (BOE) at 24.43% short interest, up 1.32% week-on-week.
Why did Paladin (PDN) short interest drop so sharply?
PDN fell from 17.52% to 14.51% (-3.00%) in a week, which signals active short-covering — consistent with a rotation within uranium (cover PDN while pressing BOE).
Which stocks had the biggest short interest increases this week?
BOE (+1.32% to 24.43%), GDG (+1.14% to 1.21%), BOT (+1.08% to 1.47%), IPX (+1.02% to 2.99%) and SIG (+0.97% to 1.82%).
What does it mean when short interest collapses like Webjet (WJL)?
WJL dropped from 2.60% to 0.21% (-2.39%), which typically indicates the short trade has been closed out rather than merely trimmed.
Are lithium stocks still heavily shorted?
Yes. Pilbara Minerals (PLS) is 12.51% (+0.48% WoW) and Mineral Resources (MIN) is 11.62% (+0.30% WoW), both in the top 10 most shorted.
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.