These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares

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) remains the most shorted ASX share after its short interest rose again to 13.9%. Short sellers appear to believe the Omicron variant of COVID-19 could push back the travel market recovery.
• Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) has seen its short interest rise to 12.4%. A bad year got even worse for this ecommerce company last week when it was kicked out of the ASX 200 index.
• Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) has short interest of 11.6%, which is up again week on week. Much to the delight of short sellers, Redbubble was also kicked out of the ASX 200 index at the next quarterly rebalance.
• Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) has short interest of 9.4%, which is up week on week. Short sellers appear to believe Webjet’s recovery will be disrupted by the Omicron variant.
• Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) has short interest of 9.1%, which is up week on week. Balance sheet and trial uncertainty appear to be behind this high level of short interest.
• Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) has seen its short interest remain flat at 9%. Intense competition, concerns about rising industry fraud, and increasing costs could be weighing on sentiment.
• Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX: OBL) has short interest of 8.3%, which is up strongly week on week. It remains unclear why short sellers are targeting the class action funder, but their conviction appears to be increasing.
• Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) has entered the top ten with short interest of 8.1%. This appears to have been driven by reports that big tech companies are bypassing Appen and opting for in-house data annotation for artificial intelligence models. The launch of a competing product by Amazon could also be weighing on sentiment.
• BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) has short interest of 8%. Short sellers could be expecting weaker iron ore prices to lead to the mining giant falling short of expectations.
• Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) is back in the top ten with short interest of 7.5%. This medical device company’s softer than expected sales and CEO resignation have weighed on its shares this year.

The post These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Appen Ltd, Kogan.com ltd, POLYNOVO FPO, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Appen Ltd and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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