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Once a 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:
- Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) continues to be the most shorted ASX share after its short interest remained flat at 14.6%. Fears that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is derailing the travel market recovery continue to weigh on sentiment.
- Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) has seen its short interest ease again to 10.6%. Short sellers have been targeting this ecommerce company due to its very disappointing performance over the last 12 months and expectations that it will continue in FY 2022.
- Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) has short interest of 9.9%, which is down week on week. Redbubble is another ecommerce company that has been underperforming in FY 2022. Short sellers don't appear to believe its performance will improve quickly.
- Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) has short interest of 9.2%, which is up week on week. Earlier this month Novartis terminated an agreement that could have been worth US$1.25 billion to Mesoblast.
- Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) has seen its short interest rise to 9.1%. Zip's shares have come under pressure this month amid reports that US regulators are looking into the BNPL market.
- Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) has short interest of 8.8%, which is down week on week. The emergence of the Omicron variant has spooked investors and demonstrated that the travel market is not out of the COVID woods just yet.
- BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) has short interest of 8.3%, which is up week on week. Short sellers may have concerns about iron ore demand in China amid the Evergrande crisis.
- Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) has seen its short interest rise to 7.5%. Short sellers have increased their positions despite the medical device company releasing a much-improved sales update this month.
- Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) has entered the top ten with short interest of 7.2%. This appears to have been driven by concerns over structural changes that are reportedly seeing some tech companies bypass artificial intelligence data services providers and taking things in-house.
- AMA Group Ltd (ASX: AMA) is in the top ten with short interest of 7.1%. This crash repair company's shares have come under pressure this year amid concerns over its precarious balance sheet.
