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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) continues to be the most shorted ASX shares even though its short interest eased to 20.7%. Short sellers continue to believe that lithium prices aren't going to rebound any time soon.
- Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) has short interest of 16.1%, which is down week on week again. Short sellers will have been pleased to see this graphite producer's shares crash last week after raising funds for the umpteenth time.
- IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) has 11.8% of its shares held short, which is up week on week again. Regulatory changes to student visas have been weighing on this language testing and student placement company's shares.
- Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) has seen its short interest increase to 10.7%. It seems that short sellers aren't confident that uranium prices will be as strong as the market is predicting.
- Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has seen its short interest remain flat at 9.8%. Short sellers loaded up on the travel agent's shares following the release of its half-year results. They don't appear to believe the second half will be strong.
- Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) has seen its short interest ease to 9%. This gold miner has been on an acquisition spree recently. Short sellers may believe there are significant integration risks on the cards.
- Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) has seen its short interest jump to 9%. This is despite the company announcing debt funding for the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project last week.
- Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has short interest of 8.5%, which is up week on week. This lithium miner's shares crashed deep into the red last week after posting a huge half-year loss.
- Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) has short interest of 7.8%, which is flat week on week. Valuation and revenue generation concerns are likely to be why short sellers are targeting the semiconductor company.
- Australian Clinical Labs Ltd (ASX: ACL) has short interest of 7.8%, which is down week on week. Tough trading conditions and a poor start to FY 2024 appear to have attracted short sellers.
