June 2025
June’s cleanest signal was James Hardie (JHX) jumping from 6.61% to 9.59% short (+2.98%) to crash the top 10. Uranium stayed crowded at the top with Paladin (PDN) the most shorted stock at 16.03% (+0.88%), but Boss Energy (BOE) saw a sharp cover to 15.07% (-4.68%). The biggest unwind was Cettire (CTT), down from 10.50% to 4.77% (-5.73%).
James Hardie just got tagged. Shorts jumped 2.98% in a month to 9.59%, and that’s not a tweak — it’s a position. When a $19.6B building products name gets hit like that, the trade is macro: sticky yields, a choppy construction cycle, and a straight-line bet that US housing and renos don’t bail anyone out in a hurry.
PDN sits at #1 again, and it’s higher: 16.03% short (+0.88%). Uranium is still the market’s favourite argument — price exposure on one side, production execution on the other. Paladin’s own reporting pack keeps the focus on delivery and operating cadence rather than blue-sky narratives (PDN annual report: https://www.paladinenergy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Paladin-2025AnnualReport-Full-Web.pdf). BOE is the more revealing uranium datapoint. It’s still #2 at 15.07%, but shorts were cut hard from 19.75% (-4.68%). That’s what “take the win and reduce risk” looks like, especially for a ramp-up story where one milestone can turn a crowded short into a scramble. Boss has been positioning the market around Honeymoon and Alta Mesa progress (BOE presentation: http://www.bossenergy.com/images/documents/Dec24-Quarterly-Results-Presentation.pdf). Lithium and mining services remain a magnet for sceptics, and the leaderboard shows it: MIN 13.84% (-0.47%), PLS 13.23% (+0.28%), LTR 12.59% (-0.07%). The month-on-month moves are small because the thesis is already well-owned: lithium price volatility and margin pressure. MIN also carries the extra complexity of services earnings plus commodity exposure (MIN full year results: https://cdn.sanity.io/files/o6ep64o3/production/b23c9b1f93dbe5cc41520061cafecf0c1d214c77.pdf). Outside resources, IEL is still heavy at 11.48% (-0.42%), and PNV sits at 10.67% (+0.05%). No drama in the changes — just persistent positioning.
Stocks with the largest increase in short interest this month.
Stocks with the largest decrease in short interest this month.
The risers show where fresh conviction arrived. JHX: 6.61% → 9.59% (+2.98%). This reads like a direct bet against the US housing pulse while rates stay restrictive. It also tells you the market wants liquid, scalable shorts — not just small-cap punchbags. SLX: 9.67% → 11.21% (+1.53%). A high-beta nuclear tech story with regulatory and commercialisation timelines is exactly where shorts show up when the price runs ahead of proof points (SLX document: https://clients3.weblink.com.au/pdf/SLX/03020846.pdf). Healthcare saw shorts creep higher in a cluster: COH 0.56% → 2.06% (+1.50%), NAN 5.25% → 6.72% (+1.47%), and PFP 1.55% → 2.96% (+1.41%). COH is still lightly shorted in absolute terms, but the direction matters: when the market starts shorting premium healthcare, it’s usually about valuation discipline. NAN’s lift to 6.72% lines up with the market interrogating growth durability and the cost of offshore expansion after results (NAN full year results: http://www.nanosonics.com/media/2jhkaa4z/2025-full-year-financial-results.pdf). The covers were more violent. CTT: 10.50% → 4.77% (-5.73%). That’s a full unwind, the kind you see when a trade gets too crowded in a small cap and the risk manager taps the shoulder. SGR: 7.44% → 2.70% (-4.74%). This doesn’t mean the business is fixed; it reads like shorts banking gains and stepping away from headline risk. BOE: 19.75% → 15.07% (-4.68%). Still heavily shorted, but the exit door is getting used. INR: 6.25% → 2.53% (-3.71%). A sharp de-risking move in a $492M materials name. DMP: 9.50% → 6.03% (-3.47%). That’s a meaningful retreat from a popular consumer discretionary short — the market is less eager to press the “consumer cracks” trade at these levels.
Zoom out and June looks like stock-picking, not a market-wide lurch bearish. Across 654 stocks, average short interest is 1.28% and the period average change was -0.07%. Resources still dominate the top end, but the uranium story split in two: PDN shorts added (+0.88%) while BOE shorts were cut (-4.68%), with SLX also seeing a build (+1.53%). That’s not “uranium is over” — it’s the market separating execution risk and valuation name-by-name. Lithium remains structurally shorted (MIN, PLS, LTR all above 12%), yet the small monthly moves say the positioning is already set. If the commodity tape turns, this is where covering can get disorderly. Healthcare is the quiet rotation: COH, NAN and PFP all saw higher shorts in the same month. When defensives start wearing shorts, it’s usually a reminder that multiples don’t get a free pass when rates stay high.
Watch US housing starts and building permits next month as the cleanest read-through to the new JHX short build. If those prints soften, the 9.59% short position has room to grow; if they surprise on the upside, JHX is the one crowded new short that can force a quick cover.
Paladin Energy (PDN) is the most shorted at 16.03%, up 0.88% month-on-month.
James Hardie (JHX) rose from 6.61% to 9.59%, an increase of 2.98%.
Cettire (CTT) fell from 10.50% to 4.77%, a decrease of 5.73%.
Uranium names combine commodity price sensitivity with production and execution risk. In June, PDN increased to 16.03% short (+0.88%) while BOE was covered to 15.07% (-4.68%), showing the market is differentiating between companies rather than making one blanket bet.
No. It can be profit-taking or risk reduction. BOE is still 15.07% short even after a large monthly cover of -4.68%.
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.