February 2025
February’s ASIC data is a uranium pile-on: BOE rose to 20.93% short (+1.96% MoM), PDN to 17.66% (+1.74%), and DYL to 11.78% (+0.97%). The other loud signal was CTT jumping to 10.43% (+2.47%) while DMP stayed at 10.43% but saw heavy covering (-2.23%). Across the market, the average short position fell to 1.21% and the period average change was -0.18%.
BOE is the most shorted stock in the dataset at 20.93% — and shorts still added +1.96% in a month. That’s not a tidy hedge. That’s a bet that the uranium trade is moving from story to execution, and execution is where things break.
The top of the table is a uranium traffic jam. BOE (20.93%, +1.96%), PDN (17.66%, +1.74%) and DYL (11.78%, +0.97%) all had shorts piled on at the same time. Three names, one theme: production ramp-ups and delivery risk. BOE is the cleanest expression of it. The company is ramping Honeymoon and progressing Alta Mesa; shorts love this phase because timelines, recoveries and costs can turn a clean narrative into a messy quarter. BOE’s own framing of progress sits in its quarterly results presentation: http://www.bossenergy.com/images/documents/Dec24-Quarterly-Results-Presentation.pdf. PDN’s move to 17.66% (+1.74%) reads like the market demanding proof that the bigger group can execute after the Fission acquisition while keeping Langer Heinrich performing. The detail is in Paladin’s annual report: https://www.paladinenergy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Paladin-2025AnnualReport-Full-Web.pdf. Outside uranium, the list is a mix of old battlegrounds and fresh targets: - IEL remains heavily shorted at 12.76% (+0.23%), a reminder that anything tied to international student flows and regulation stays tradable on sentiment. - PLS is still high at 12.38% but eased (-0.32%). - SYR (11.70%, -1.49%) and MIN (10.66%, -1.55%) both saw shorts come off. - CTT is now a top-10 short at 10.43% (+2.47%) — a big number for a $193m retailer. - DMP is still 10.43%, but the -2.23% MoM fall says the short is getting less crowded.
Stocks with the largest increase in short interest this month.
Stocks with the largest decrease in short interest this month.
The real action wasn’t just at the top — it was in the speed of the moves. Biggest risers: - PNV: 2.47% → 5.99% (+3.52%). That’s a sharp turn for a medtech name. When shorts move that fast, it’s usually a valuation and expectations trade: any wobble in growth, competition, or regulatory headlines gets amplified. - TWE: 3.57% → 6.24% (+2.66%). This is a consumer demand and currency-exposure setup: wine volumes and pricing don’t need to collapse for earnings risk to reprice. TWE’s 2025 sustainability report gives useful context on the business and operating environment: https://a.storyblok.com/f/171317/x/c3d39083c7/2025_twe_sustainability_report.pdf. - CTT: 7.96% → 10.43% (+2.47%). Shorts don’t drift into 10% on a small-cap retailer. They sprint. This is the market positioning for a margin squeeze or a sales momentum miss. Biggest fallers: - EDV: 7.04% → 2.24% (-4.80%). That’s a full unwind. Whatever the best version of the EDV short was, it’s been harvested. - MGR: 4.88% → 0.91% (-3.96%). A classic rates tell: when the market starts to price an easier RBA path, REIT shorts get uncomfortable fast. - SEK: 7.15% → 3.35% (-3.79%) and SIG: 4.27% → 0.70% (-3.57%) also saw meaningful covering. One number to treat as technical noise: GSBW34 collapsed from 127.97% to 0.17% (-127.80%). It’s an AusGov bond line item, and that magnitude doesn’t behave like an equity short unwind.
Two rotations stand out. 1) Lithium shorts are less crowded. PLS eased (-0.32%), while SYR (-1.49%) and MIN (-1.55%) both saw shorts trimmed. The sector is still heavily shorted in places, but the one-way “short everything lithium” trade is losing intensity. 2) The new pressure point is execution risk — and the market has picked uranium as the cleanest arena. BOE, PDN and DYL all added shorts in February. That’s sector positioning, not a single headline. The common thread is the gap between a strong long-term uranium narrative and the short-term reality of commissioning, ramp-ups and delivery schedules. Meanwhile, consumer exposure is splitting down the middle: CTT and TWE attracted fresh shorts, while EDV and DMP saw shorts come off. Same macro backdrop. Different expectations.
Watch CTT next month: it’s at 10.43% short after a +2.47% jump, and that’s the kind of positioning that usually demands a catalyst. If the next update doesn’t crack margins or sales momentum, that short can unwind quickly.
Boss Energy (BOE) at 20.93% short as at 2025-02-28, up +1.96% from 2025-01-31.
PolyNovo (PNV) +3.52% to 5.99%, Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) +2.66% to 6.24%, and Cettire (CTT) +2.47% to 10.43%.
BOE (+1.96% to 20.93%), PDN (+1.74% to 17.66%) and DYL (+0.97% to 11.78%) all saw shorts increase together, pointing to a sector-wide trade focused on ramp-up and execution risk rather than a single-company event.
Endeavour Group (EDV) fell from 7.04% to 2.24% (-4.80%), Mirvac (MGR) from 4.88% to 0.91% (-3.96%), SEEK (SEK) from 7.15% to 3.35% (-3.79%), and Sigma Health (SIG) from 4.27% to 0.70% (-3.57%).
GSBW34 is an AusGov Treasury bond line item, and the -127.80% move is best read as a technical or reporting effect rather than an equity-style short-position unwind.
Data sourced from ASIC short position reports (T+4 delayed). This report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Short selling data may not reflect real-time market conditions.