April 2025
April’s cleanest signal wasn’t BOE sitting at 25.48% short (+0.68% MoM) — it was JHX, where shorts jumped from 3.44% to 7.28% (+3.84%). Uranium still dominates the leaderboard (BOE 25.48%, PDN 16.48%, DYL 12.65%), while crowded consumer shorts were trimmed (DMP down to 10.17%, -1.69%).
Forget the usual suspects. James Hardie (JHX) was the month’s tell: shorts more than doubled from 3.44% to 7.28% (+3.84%). That’s not a dabble — that’s size.
Boss Energy (BOE) remains the ASX’s most shorted stock at 25.48% (+0.68%). Paladin (PDN) is next at 16.48% (+0.81%). Deep Yellow (DYL) sits at 12.65% (-0.44%). Same sector, different behaviour: shorts added to BOE and PDN, but eased off DYL. The read is simple. Uranium equities are being treated as execution trades, not just a commodity trade. BOE is still in ramp-up mode at Honeymoon and progressing Alta Mesa; ramp-ups are where timelines slip and costs bite, and the short book is leaning into that risk (BOE investor materials: http://www.bossenergy.com/images/documents/Dec24-Quarterly-Results-Presentation.pdf). Mineral Resources (MIN) at 13.61% (+0.98%) is the other headline inside the top 10. For a $10.7B name, that’s a meaningful lift in bearish positioning. MIN’s mix (lithium + iron ore + mining services) gives shorts multiple ways to be right if commodity pricing softens or customers pull capex (MIN FY results pack: https://cdn.sanity.io/files/o6ep64o3/production/b23c9b1f93dbe5cc41520061cafecf0c1d214c77.pdf). Lithium remains a knife fight, but the shorts are getting selective. Liontown (LTR) climbed to 12.13% (+1.61%), while Pilbara Minerals (PLS) fell to 11.99% (-0.99%). Same theme, different targets: pressure the names with less margin for error; take profit in the liquid bellwether. In consumer, the big position is still there but the foot came off the throat. Domino’s (DMP) is 10.17% short, yet saw heavy covering (-1.69%). IDP Education (IEL) also edged down to 12.09% (-0.21%).
Stocks with the largest increase in short interest this month.
Stocks with the largest decrease in short interest this month.
The month’s action was in the movers, not the averages (market average short interest is 1.36%, with a period average change of +0.11%). Biggest risers (shorts piled in): - JHX: 3.44% → 7.28% (+3.84%). This looks like a cycle call expressed through a high-quality building products name: volumes, pricing and margin sensitivity if construction demand rolls over. - CU6: 4.30% → 7.90% (+3.60%). Event risk plus funding risk is where shorts live in clinical-stage biotech; positioning here fits that playbook (CU6 quarterly/App 4C: https://www.claritypharmaceuticals.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/25-10-31_Clarity-Quarterly-Activity-Report-and-App-4C.pdf). - MYX: 0.47% → 2.85% (+2.37%). A jump from a low base usually means a new thesis has formed. - CKF: 2.53% → 4.35% (+1.82%). Discretionary pressure expressed through a franchise operator; when traffic wobbles and costs don’t, earnings gets hit fast (CKF annual report: https://www.collinsfoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Collins-Foods-Annual-Report-2025.pdf). - MAC: 2.38% → 4.20% (+1.82%). Copper stays a macro battleground; shorts tend to press when they expect growth scares or cost inflation. Biggest fallers (shorts covered): - BRN: 3.34% → 1.39% (-1.95%). Bears took the money and left. - WEB: 6.81% → 5.04% (-1.77%). - DMP: 11.87% → 10.17% (-1.69%). When a 10%+ short starts getting trimmed this quickly, the risk/reward has shifted. - WHC: 5.45% → 4.02% (-1.43%). - SGR: 9.21% → 7.80% (-1.41%).
Three clusters matter. 1) Uranium is still the most crowded short complex on the board: BOE (25.48%), PDN (16.48%), DYL (12.65%). The positioning says the market is happy to argue about project delivery and valuation even if the uranium narrative holds. 2) Lithium shorts are rotating, not retreating. LTR up (+1.61%) while PLS down (-0.99%) is classic “pick the weakest link” behaviour. 3) The cycle is creeping into the short book via non-miners. JHX’s +3.84% is the month’s loudest macro expression, and CKF’s +1.82% shows the consumer is still being tested stock-by-stock, not via a blanket sector call.
Watch JHX next month: if short interest pushes beyond 7.28% again, it confirms this is a sustained construction-cycle trade, not a one-off rebalance. In the top end, BOE at 25.48% is the pressure point — any operational update from Honeymoon is the catalyst that matters.
Boss Energy (BOE) at 25.48% short interest, up +0.68% month-on-month.
James Hardie (JHX): 3.44% to 7.28%, a +3.84% increase.
Brainchip (BRN) fell from 3.34% to 1.39% (-1.95%), Web Travel (WEB) from 6.81% to 5.04% (-1.77%), and Domino’s (DMP) from 11.87% to 10.17% (-1.69%).
Uranium names dominate the top end — BOE 25.48%, PDN 16.48%, DYL 12.65% — with the short book targeting execution and valuation risk around project delivery and ramp-ups rather than making a single pure commodity call.
Mixed: Liontown (LTR) rose to 12.13% (+1.61%), while Pilbara Minerals (PLS) fell to 11.99% (-0.99%), suggesting rotation within the sector.
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.