Short-sellers were likely making good gains at our expense amid the S&P/ASX 200 (Index:^AXJO) (ASX:XJO) market meltdown with the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price and Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) share price among the worst hit over the past month.
But it isn't the worst performers that are necessarily the hot favourites of short-sellers who borrow stock to sell on-market in the hope of buying it back at a lower price later to profit from the difference.
Stocks that are targeted by this group of traders find their share prices under downward pressure and it's worth watching which ASX shares have seen a significant increase or decrease in short-interest.
The ASX stock that has come under the biggest attack by short-sellers is the Infigen Energy Ltd (ASX: IFN) share price.
The percentage of its total shares that have been lent out to short-sellers jumped a whopping 4 percentage points in the past month to 4.01% to 38.4 million shares, according to the latest ASIC data to December 19 as the data is always a week behind.
It's been a profitable trade for short-sellers as the Infigen share price has fallen over 5% in the past month when the S&P/ASX 200 (Index:^AXJO) (ASX:XJO) index has slipped less than 2%.
The large increase in short-interest comes at a time when the renewable energy generation company is believed to be hunting for a buyer, according to a report in The Australian.
The stock (and the sector for that matter) is mired in in political uncertainty as our federal politicians bicker over a national energy policy.
The ASX stock with the second biggest increase in short-interest is the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price with the amount of its shares being short sold nearly doubling to 6.06%, or 197.1 million shares, from 3.49% a month before.
Short-sellers have been raising their bearish bets against the miner even as it completed its US$5.2 billion off-market share buyback and announced a US$1.02 special dividend.
These traders may be using the stock to bet against the Chinese economy as the China-US trade war is dragging on economic growth.
The third favourite flavour of the month for short-sellers is the Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) share price as the percentage of its shares being short-sold increased to 3.45%, or 2.2 million, from 1.5%.
Outperforming stocks on high price-earnings multiples have been hardest hit in the latest market meltdown and the investment platform provider fits the bill.
The Hub24 share price tanked 15% in the past month but its still up an enviable 18% over the 12-months and is currently on a FY19 consensus P/E of nearly 50 times.
On the flipside, the ASX shares that have seen the biggest drop in short-interest includes the CSR Limited (ASX: CSR) share price and the G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) share price.
