The most shorted stocks on the ASX: What you need to know this week

Welcome back to the Short Seller Series, where we recap the most shorted stocks on the ASX as well as those experiencing notable rises, or falls, in short interest over the past week.

Short-selling data is four days behind today's date because reporting is not mandatory until three business days after the trade. The data below refers to short interest changes for stocks between 8-13 June.

Most shorted stocks

What’s changed

• IDP Education climbs from #6 to #2. The stock sold off 20.8% between 26 May and 1 June after Canada opened up its market to rivals for visa English language testing. Although, the stock is up around 17% from its 1 June low.
• Lendlease jumped from #30 to #7. The rise in short interest coincides with the stock experiencing an 8-day losing streak between 31 May and 13 June. No market-sensitive announcements were released by the company during this time.

Where are shorters going?

Lendlease shares are down 12.2% between 31 May and 13 June – which coincides with the recent rise in short interest. However, between 13-20 June, the stock bounced 7.1%. So it’ll be interesting to see whether we see some short covering in next week’s series.

Lendlease 3-month price chart (Source: Market Index)

Brainchip has seen a relatively incremental rise in short interest, which coincides with the stock falling around 16% since 5 June.

Brainchip 3-month price chart (Source: Market Index)

Retail stocks like Baby Bunting, Universal Store and Adairs have been smashed in recent weeks – following some rather depressing trading updates. In this context, it makes sense to see a rise in short interest among one of the largest and most liquid retail stocks.

• Baby Bunting – 6 June: “The key Storktake promotional event … has seen trading both in stores and online well below expectations … since launch, sales have been unprecedentedly low, with comparable store sales of around negative 21.0%.”
• Adairs – 2 June: “... the impact of rising interest rates and higher cost of living has created a more subdued trading environment since April with lower traffic observed both in stores and online.”
• Universal Store – 24 May: “... a deteriorating macro environment, and increasingly clear signs that the youth customer is seeing pressures on their discretionary spending levels.”

Where are shorts covering?

Sayona short interest eased but this follows a $200m placement on 26 May, which was held at a 14.3% discount to its last close.

Zip short interest was as high as 10.9% in April but shorts are unwinding for maybe the wrong reasons. The stock is down around 20% in June and trading near 52-week lows on Wednesday.

Uranium names like Boss Energy and Paladin Energy are experiencing a pullback in short interest amid a breakout in spot prices. Uranium prices hit US$57.8/lb this week – The highest since April 2022 – while Boss Energy shares are up 15.5% this month.

This article was first published for Market Index on Wednesday 21 June 2023.