Week 45, 2025 (3 Nov 2025 — 7 Nov 2025)
BOSS Energy (BOE) stayed the ASX’s most shorted name at 21.59%, and shorts added another +0.87% in a single week. The real shock was James Hardie (JHX), where short interest jumped from 3.14% to 5.25% (+2.10%) — a big, deliberate bet. Overall positioning barely moved (average short 1.25%, period average change +0.04%), so the action was stock-specific.
The week’s loudest signal wasn’t at the top of the table — it was JHX. A +2.10% weekly lift in short interest is unusual for a large, liquid industrial, and it reads like event positioning rather than a slow-burn valuation debate. Meanwhile BOE pushed further into extreme territory at 21.59% short (+0.87%), keeping uranium right at the centre of the short book.
BOE (21.59%, +0.87%) is now in the zone where any operational hiccup can matter more than the uranium price. The company is in ramp-up mode at Honeymoon and progressing Alta Mesa, which is exactly when shorts like to press: execution risk, commissioning risk, and the chance that timelines slip. If you want the bull case, it’s leverage to uranium demand; the short case is that ramp-ups rarely go perfectly (see BOE investor materials: http://www.bossenergy.com/images/documents/Dec24-Quarterly-Results-Presentation.pdf). DMP (17.51%, +0.65%) is another clear “results positioning” candidate. With rates still biting and consumers trading down, shorts keep leaning into the idea that delivery-led fast food has less pricing power than it did. A +0.65% weekly add at already-high short interest says the market still doesn’t trust the earnings bridge. PLS (14.47%, -0.20%) eased slightly, but don’t misread it as a lithium all-clear. This looks more like trimming after a crowded trade than a change of mind. PLS remains a proxy for lithium price volatility and sentiment swings (see PLS December quarterly advisory: https://1pls.irmau.com/site/pdf/3bba2523-52c7-4c38-bc03-b945945d9698/December-2025-quarterly-activities-report-advisory.pdf?Platform=ListPage). GYG (12.08%, -0.45%) and IEL (11.47%, -0.67%) both saw shorts step back. For GYG, that’s consistent with a market that’s less keen to fight a growth story if sales momentum holds. For IEL, the covering fits a view that the worst of policy and student-mobility fear may already be priced — though currency and regulatory risk don’t disappear just because shorts take profit. FLT (11.04%, +0.38%) keeps attracting sceptics. Travel is cyclical, and shorts tend to show up when the macro starts to look late-cycle: discretionary spend risk, airfare/hotel inflation, and any wobble in corporate travel budgets. The Iglu Cruise acquisition adds integration risk on top (FLT disclosures: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/643e6b4601023f66d9745f21/683e6fe95e4cd49e755eb086_2025%20BOS%20Prospectus.pdf). PWH (10.96%, +0.43%) is a classic quality-growth short target when valuation sensitivity rises. If investors start paying less for “great businesses” and more for near-term certainty, niche manufacturers can get hit. PNV (10.70%, +0.19%) and TLX (10.32%, +0.19%) both ticked up — small moves, but they reinforce that healthcare growth names remain a hunting ground for shorts when expectations are high and catalysts (trials, approvals, sales updates) can cut both ways.
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.
JHX: 3.14% → 5.25% (+2.10%). That’s the week’s standout. The most likely read is a macro/sector hedge: building products are rate-sensitive, and any renewed worry about housing/activity can drive shorts into the liquid bellwethers. A move this sharp suggests someone wanted exposure quickly. GEM: 5.13% → 7.14% (+2.01%). Childcare is politically and regulatorily exposed, and it’s also a household-budget line item. Shorts piling in here looks like a bet that cost pressures (wages) and occupancy/pricing don’t play nicely together if consumers get cautious. JIN: 3.39% → 4.57% (+1.18%). Jumbo’s been active on the corporate front, but the market still treats lottery/gaming as a regulatory headline away from trouble. Even with positive contract news (Lotterywest awarded to Brightstar Lottery: https://www.jumbointeractive.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/3003247.pdf), shorts may be leaning into competitive risk and the durability of growth post-acquisitions. NVX: 0.79% → 1.84% (+1.05%). This is small in absolute terms, but big in direction. Battery materials names can re-rate violently on sentiment, and shorts often step in when funding/execution questions dominate over the long-term strategic story. Leadership change (new MD) can also invite a fresh round of scepticism. DVP: 2.23% → 3.21% (+0.98%). Develop Global sits right in the “execution + commodity” crosshairs. Even with broker optimism around upgrades (e.g., Argonaut/Bell Potter notes hosted by the company: https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/assets.develop.com.au/app/uploads/2026/01/14085822/251217-DVP-Argonaut.pdf), shorts may be betting that softer zinc or underground ramp-up risk bites before the copper upside shows through. On the cover side, ELD: 5.82% → 4.49% (-1.33%) looks like a clean de-risking. Agribusiness shorts can be painful when seasonal conditions or commodity pricing turns, so a sharp cover often signals the risk/reward has flipped. Uranium-adjacent names also saw covering: EL8: 2.06% → 0.98% (-1.08%) and SLX: 7.54% → 6.50% (-1.05%). For EL8, recent corporate updates around its U-pgrade™ work and resource acquisition may have reduced the appetite to stay short into newsflow (see EL8 pilot plant update: https://www.elevateuranium.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/3000512-1.pdf; Napperby acquisition: https://www.elevateuranium.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/3005333.pdf). ARU also saw shorts ease (4.53% → 3.63%, -0.91%), consistent with traders taking profit after a tough run for pre-production critical minerals where funding and timelines dominate sentiment (ARU annual report: https://www.arultd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/L10013-Annual-Report-2024-25.pdf).
Two themes jump out. First: uranium is still a battleground, not a consensus. BOE is being pressed harder (+0.87% to 21.59%) while other uranium-linked shorts are being trimmed (EL8 -1.08%, SLX -1.05%, PDN -0.24% to 11.94%). That split usually means the market is differentiating between “operational delivery risk” (where shorts attack) and “macro uranium thesis” (where shorts are less confident). Second: consumer services is getting selectively targeted. DMP (+0.65%) and FLT (+0.38%) rose, while GYG (-0.45%) and IEL (-0.67%) fell. That’s not a blanket ‘consumer is dead’ call — it’s stock-by-stock. Shorts are leaning into businesses where margins and demand are more exposed to a cautious household, and stepping back where growth or structural drivers can overpower the macro. Outside that, the JHX move is a reminder that rate sensitivity hasn’t gone away. When bond yields or rate expectations twitch, the market reaches for liquid cyclicals to express the view — and short data often shows it first.
Next week, watch for any shift in rate expectations (RBA pricing and bond yields) because it feeds straight into JHX/FLT-style cyclicals. On the stock-specific side, keep an eye on uranium operational updates — BOE’s 21.59% short means even a small surprise can move the share price fast.
It’s a large, fast increase (3.14% to 5.25%) that usually signals traders are positioning for a catalyst or a macro move, rather than slowly building a valuation view.
It’s a warning that the market is heavily split on the story; at that level, execution updates can drive sharp moves either way because positioning is crowded.
The simplest explanation is differentiation: BOE is in a high-risk production ramp-up phase, while EL8 and SLX may have had enough recent newsflow to make staying short less attractive into the next update cycle.
Not necessarily — PLS only moved from 14.67% to 14.47% (-0.20%), which looks more like trimming a crowded position than a decisive change in the lithium thesis.
Use it as a risk map: high and rising shorts (BOE, DMP, JHX, GEM) mean bigger volatility around news, while sharp falls (ELD, EL8, SLX) can signal profit-taking or reduced conviction.
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.