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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 its long streak as the most shorted ASX share with short interest 19.1%. Short sellers appear to believe that lithium supply will continue to outstrip demand for some time to come.
- Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) has 14.2% of its share held short, which is up again week on week. Short sellers will have been disappointed to see uranium stocks surge last week on news that another tech giant is turning to nuclear power.
- IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) has 14.1% of its shares held short, which is down slightly week on week again. This language testing and student placement company is going through a tough period due to student visa changes in key markets.
- Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) has short interest of 13.7%, which is down slightly since last week. Uranium stocks appear to be the new lithium stocks in the eyes of short sellers, with Paladin Energy one of a handful being targeted.
- Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) has seen its short interest rise week on week again to 13%. Short sellers may be betting on this graphite miner needing to raise capital again in the near future due to weak battery material prices and cash burn.
- Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) has short interest of 12.1%, which is down week on week. Short sellers appear to be expecting a weak quarterly update from the iron ore and lithium miner this month.
- Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) has 10.7% of its shares held short, which is up week on week. It is another lithium miner that short sellers are going after.
- Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) has seen its short interest remain flat at 9.8%. This rare earths producer's shares hit a 52-week high last week, much to the dismay of short sellers.
- Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) has 9.7% of its shares held short, which is down since last week. It is another uranium stock that has caught the eye of short sellers recently.
- Lotus Resources Ltd (ASX: LOT) is a new entry in the top 10 with short interest of 8.6%. This is a fourth uranium stock in the top ten list. Clearly short sellers think the market is wrong to be bullish on the chemical element.
