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:
- Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) continues to be the most shorted ASX share with short interest of 21.6%. This is up week on week once again. This appears to have been driven by the uranium producer's uncertain production outlook beyond 2026.
- Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) has short interest of 17.1%, which is down week on week. This lithium miner's shares have doubled in value since the end of July, much to the dismay of short sellers. Though, they aren't giving up and continue to bet against a lithium price recovery in the near term.
- Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) has short interest of 14.4%, which is up week on week again. Short sellers don't appear to believe the hard times are over for this pizza chain operator despite its new strategy.
- Guzman Y Gomez Ltd (ASX: GYG) has short interest of 12.7%, which is up slightly since last week. This may be due to the fact that the burrito seller's shares trade on sky-high multiples.
- IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) has 12.6% of its shares held short, which is down slightly week on week. This language testing and student placement company's profits have been hit hard by student visa changes, which have impacted sales volumes.
- Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX: ILU) has short interest of 11.9%, which is up week on week. This mineral sands producer scrapped its synthetic rutile guidance this month.
- Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) has short interest of 11.6%, which is down week on week again. It is one of a number of uranium stocks that short sellers are targeting.
- Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has short interest of 10.6%, which is flat since last week. This may be due to concerns that the travel agent giant is facing structural headwinds.
- PWR Holdings Ltd (ASX: PWH) has short interest of 10.3%, which is down week on week. This motorsport products company's shares have been under pressure due to a lengthy transitional period.
- Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) has returned to the top ten with short interest of 9.6%. Valuation concerns may be behind this. This medical device company's shares trade on an estimated 60x forward earnings multiple.
