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:
- Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) has become the most shorted share after its short interest jumped to 10.5%. This may be due to concerns that lithium prices could continue to tumble in the coming years.
- Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has seen its short interest ease again to 9.7%. Short sellers appear to believe that revenue margin headwinds and weak consumer spending could weigh on the travel agent's performance.
- Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) has a short interest of 9.5%, which is up week on week. Weak graphite prices are having a very negative impact on its performance.
- Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) has seen its short interest increase again to 9.1%. Short sellers don't seem to believe that this agribusiness company's performance will improve any time soon.
- Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has a short interest of 8%, which is up strongly week on week. Short sellers continue to see downside ahead for this lithium miner despite its shares being crushed over the last 12 months.
- IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) has 7.7% of its shares held short, which is down week on week. Some short sellers may be closing positions after the language testing and student placement company released a strong result for FY 2023.
- Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) has seen its short interest ease to 7.4%. This struggling semiconductor company's shares have been hammered over the last 12 months and short sellers appear to believe there's still plenty of declines to come.
- Select Harvests Ltd (ASX: SHV) is back in the top ten after its short interest rose to 7.3%. This almond producer has been facing tough industry conditions and short sellers don't appear to believe things will improve quickly.
- Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB) has a short interest of 7.2%, which is down slightly since last week. The market has doubts that this stem cell-focused biotech will have any clinical success in the near future.
- Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) has seen its short interest reduce to 7.1%. This artificial intelligence data services company's very disappointing performance has caught the eye of short sellers this year.
