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 ASX share after its short interest increased to 20.8%. Short sellers don't appear to believe that lithium prices will be rebounding in 2024.
- Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) has a short interest of 14.5%, which is up slightly week on week. Graphite demand has fallen heavily along with lithium demand over the last 12 months.
- Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has a short interest of 13.6%, which is up week on week. Short sellers will have been pleased to see this lithium miner's shares sink on Friday after it suspended production to conserve cash.
- Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) has seen its short interest rise to 10.5%. Short sellers have started to load up on this uranium share following very strong gains in 2023.
- Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) has seen its short interest ease again to 8.9%. Short sellers may be concerned that the gold miner could be facing integration risks with recent acquisitions.
- Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has 8.8% of its shares held short, which is up week on week. Short sellers have been targeting the travel agent giant due to revenue margin headwinds.
- Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) has 8.8% of its shares held short, which is up week on week. The market may believe it will have to follow Core Lithium's lead and suspend production because of weak prices.
- IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) has 8.8% of its shares held short, which is flat week on week. There are concerns over the impact of student visa changes and the loss of its monopoly in Canada.
- Peninsula Energy Ltd (ASX: PEN) has seen its short interest increase to 8.4%. Peninsula Energy is another ASX uranium share that short sellers are targeting.
- Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) has a short interest of 8.1%, which is down slightly since last week. This is another lithium share that short sellers are going after amid falling lithium prices.
