At the start of each week, I like to look at ASIC's short position report to find out which shares are being targeted by short sellers.
This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn't quite right with a company.
With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:
- Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) remains the most shorted ASX share after its short interest rose slightly again to 11.9%. Short sellers appear convinced the market is expecting too much from the travel agent giant.
- Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) has jumped into the top ten with short interest of 9.8%. A recent abject trading update shocked the market and sent the artificial intelligence data services company's shares crashing deep into the red. Short sellers don't appear to believe the pain is over.
- Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) has short interest of 9.8%, which is down week on week. This appears to be due to concerns about its profitability goals and regulatory challenges.
- Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has short interest of 8.8%, which is flat week on week. Valuation concerns seem to be behind this high level of shorting.
- Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) has 8.7% of its shares in the hands of short sellers, which is up strongly since last week. Short sellers aren't giving up on this lithium developer despite a strong rebound by its shares.
- Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) has 8.6% of its shares held short, which is up slightly week on week. The sports betting company's decision to sell its US business hasn't gone down too well with investors.
- Jervois Global Ltd (ASX: JRV) has 8.5% of its shares held short, which is down slightly week on week again. This cobalt developer recently suspended the final construction of the Idaho Cobalt Operation due to weak prices of the battery material.
- Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) has seen its short interest fall to 8%. Sayona Mining is another lithium share that short sellers are going after amid falling battery material prices.
- Select Harvests Ltd (ASX: SHV) has entered the top ten with 8% of its shares held short. Analysts are forecasting a very large loss from the almond producer in FY 2023.
- Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) has seen its short interest rise to 7.7%. Short sellers will have been disappointed to see this online retailer's shares rocket higher last week following a positive trading update.
