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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) remains the most shorted share with a short interest of 11.5%, which is down week on week. Last week, Citi tipped lithium prices to fall 20% from current levels in the near term.
- Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has 9.6% of its shares held short, which is up week on week. Short sellers appear to be betting that revenue margin headwinds weigh on its performance.
- Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) has seen its short interest ease to 9.3%. This gold miner has been busy making some major acquisitions. Short sellers may be betting that their integration isn't smooth sailing.
- Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) has a short interest of 9.3%, which is up week on week again. Short sellers appear to be expecting Syrah to struggle with weak graphite prices for some time.
- IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) has 8.9% of its shares held short, which is up week on week. This language testing and student placement company recently lost its monopoly in the Canadian market.
- Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has a short interest of 8.6%, which is flat week on week. Weak lithium prices have been weighing heavily on its shares.
- Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) has 8.2% of its shares held short, which is down slightly week on week. Once again, weak lithium prices appear to be behind this.
- Select Harvests Ltd (ASX: SHV) has seen its short interest ease to 7.9%. This almond producer has been battling tough trading conditions this year.
- Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) has returned to the top ten with a short interest of 7.7%. Short sellers don't appear to believe this artificial intelligence data services company's performance will improve despite the current AI boom.
- Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB) has a short interest of 7.6%, which is flat since last week. This stem cell-focused biotech company has been under significant pressure since the US FDA dealt it yet another blow.
