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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 run as the most shorted ASX shares after its short interest rose to 20.4%. Short sellers appear to believe that lithium prices will stay lower for longer and weigh heavily on profitability.
- Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) has short interest of 13.6%, which is down sharply week on week. It isn't just lithium that is under pressure. Graphite prices are also very weak, which is weighing on Syrah's performance.
- IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) has 13.4% of its shares held short, which is up week on week again. Short sellers have been targeting this language testing and student placement company due partly to regulatory changes to student visas.
- Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) has seen its short interest rise to 10.1%. Short sellers aren't holding back despite the lithium developer recently announcing debt funding for the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project in Western Australia.
- Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has seen its short interest ease to 9.3%. Short sellers may believe that Flight Centre will have a tough second half to FY 2024 due to consumer spending pressures.
- Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has short interest of 8.3%, which is up week on week. This lithium miner's shares have crashed 80% over the last 12 months. Short sellers appear to believe they can keep falling.
- Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) has seen its short interest ease again to 7.8%. Much to the dismay of short sellers, this gold miner's shares are nearing a new decade-high on Tuesday.
- Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) has short interest of 7.8%, which is up week on week. This is yet another lithium miner that short sellers are targeting due to weak lithium prices.
- Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) has seen its short interest ease again to 7.2%. Short sellers seem to have been closing their position amid optimism over rising uranium prices.
- Australian Clinical Labs Ltd (ASX: ACL) has short interest of 7.2%, which is down week on week. This pathology company has been battling difficult trading conditions. Short sellers don't seem to believe that things will improve any time soon.
