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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:

• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) is the most shorted ASX shares after its short interest rose week on week to 10.8%. Short sellers are building up their positions despite the travel agent expecting to reach profitability again during FY 2022. They may believe its shares are still overvalued.
• Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) has short interest of 9.6%, which is down week on week. A recent trading update may have spooked short sellers. That update revealed a significant improvement in the performance of its key WebBeds business.
• Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) has short interest of 9.2%, which is up week on week. Short sellers don’t appear to believe the ecommerce company’s inventory issues are going away as quickly as the market might hope. The Kogan website continues to offer significant discounts, which could be a sign that this is the case.
• Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) has seen its short interest remain flat at 9.2%. This high level of short interest may be due to concerns that Zip will have to spend significantly to compete in the BNPL market.
• Electro Optic Systems Hldg Ltd (ASX: EOS) has 8.7% of its shares held short, which is down week on week. This defence and space company’s shares have been targeted due to accounting and cash generation concerns.
• Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) has seen its short interest rise again to 8.5%. There are concerns that this biotech company may have to launch yet another capital raising to fund its operations.
• Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) has short interest of 8.2%, which is down week on week. Concerns that the company has yet to get a mining license may be behind this high level of short interest.
• Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING) has 8% of its shares held short, which is flat week on week once again. Lockdowns and rising grain costs appear to be weighing on investor sentiment.
• Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) has seen its short interest stay at 7.7%. A severe deceleration in its growth during the fourth quarter of FY 2021 could be the reason for this short interest.
• Cooper Energy Ltd (ASX: COE) has 7.6% of its shares held short, which is down slightly week on week. The poor performance of its Project Sole appears to be weighing on sentiment.

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

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• How has the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price performed since reporting FY21 results?
• Why is the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price faring so much worse than Afterpay today?
• How have these 3 ASX 200 travel shares performed since reporting results?
• The Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price is down 24% in a month. What’s next?

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 shares of and has recommended Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited, Kogan.com ltd, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited, Kogan.com ltd, and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. 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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Unfortunately, the Australian share market has decided to baptise the start of a new week with a bloodbath. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 1.99% to 7,262 points.

The index’s disappointing performance follows another abysmal day for iron ore prices. Currently, the steelmaking commodity’s price has fallen below US$92 per tonne. This represents almost a decrease of 34% in September alone. Due to this, many of the big miners in the ASX 200 are down heavily.

Despite the inundation of red, one sector on the market is upholding a partial reminder of what green looks like.

What’s going on with the ASX 200?

Every dog has its day… and today it is the utilities sector. While the sector has woefully underperformed the benchmark index, and every other sector for that matter, today it is shining above the rest.

The market is struggling under the pressure of big falls in the mining sector on Monday.

Some of Australia’s largest ASX-listed companies are down by more than 4% intraday. For example, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) are down 4.8%, 4.85%, and 4.06% respectively.

Providing utility to investors’ portfolios

For those investors of a few ASX 200 utility shares, the green is still quite sparse. However, there are a handful of companies that are likely leaving shareholders with a smile today. These include:

• Spark Infrastructure Group Ltd (ASX: SKI) up 0.36%
• Mercury NZ Ltd (ASX: MCY) up 1.25%
• Spark New Zealand Ltd (ASX: SPK) up 0.22%
• Genesis Energy Ltd (ASX: GNE) up 0.31%
• Meridian Energy Ltd (ASX: MEZ) up 0.01%
• Ausnet Services Ltd (ASX: AST) up 18.69%

Yes, you read that last one correctly — the decimal spot isn’t in the wrong place. Shares in the Victorian energy supply have rocketed higher after Ausnet received a non-binding offer at $2.50 per share — equating to $9.6 billion in total.

The offer to acquire 100% of issued shares came from Canadian-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc (TSE: BAM.A). Brookfield is known to be one of the world’s largest alternative asset management companies, with an estimated US$626 billion in assets under management.

Clearly, the offer has led to an explosion in the company’s share price. As a result, the entire utility sector has been buoyed by the announcement.

The post ASX 200 shares in this sector are withstanding today’s selloff appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are 3 of the most popular ASX 200 shares by volume today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Transurban acquisition, BHP & Fortescue sink
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• These were the best performing ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) shares last week
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) shares last week

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) share price has fallen off a cliff since 13 August, down 16%.

In comparison, its peers, Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) are down just 4.3%, 3.2%, and 3.3% respectively.

The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank hasn’t released any market sensitive news since its full-year results on 16 August. However, we recap on the company’s latest performance and broker updates.

How did Bendigo and Adelaide Bank perform in FY21?

During last month, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank delivered its FY21 scorecard to the ASX, reporting mostly positive numbers.

Here’s a quick summary of the highlights mentioned in the release:

• Statutory net profit of $524 million, up 172% on the prior corresponding period;
• Cash earnings after tax of $457.2 million, up 51.5%;
• Net interest margin of 2.26%, down 7% basis points;
• Total income on cash basis of $1,702.5 million, up 4.5%
• Total lending of $72.2 billion, up 10.6%;
• Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 9.57%, up 32 basis points;
• Total deposits of $78 billion, up 15.2%; and
• Final fully-franked dividend of 50 cents per share, an increase of the 28 cents declared in H1 FY21.

As a whole, investors appeared unmoved by the company’s latest results, sending its shares sideways until the beginning of September.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank managing director and CEO, Marnie Baker commented:

These results – supported by a clear vision, purpose and strategy – reinforce our unique position as we look to further capitalise on the ever-expanding opportunities that lie ahead of us.

We continue to accelerate our digital and customer experience transformation to drive above system lending and ongoing customer growth. This investment is combining our human, digital and community strengths to shape future banking for our customers.

What do the brokers think?

Following its results, a number of brokers weighed in on the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank share price.

Multinational investment bank, Goldman Sachs cut its rating by 2.3% to $10.50 for the company’s shares. Credit Suisse had a more bearish outlook, reducing its view by 4.4% to $9.80.

The last broker note came from JPMorgan, in which its analyst raised its assessment on Bendigo and Adelaide Bank shares by 3.1% to $10. Based on the current share price of $9.30, this implies an upside of around 7%.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank price has gained more than 50% but is flat year-to-date. Currently, the company’s shares are sitting slightly higher than the middle of its 52-week range of $5.80 to $11.68.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank commands a market capitalisation of around $5.19 billion and has approximately 556 million shares outstanding.

The post Why is the Bendigo Bank (ASX:BEN) share price suffering more than its peers today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Could liar loans crash the housing market?
• Is the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN) share price in the buy zone?
• Why AMA, Bellevue Gold, Bendigo Bank, & BlueBet shares are falling
• ASX 200 midday update: TechnologyOne hits record high, lithium miners rise
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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With so many shares to choose from on the ASX, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.

Three top ASX shares leading brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on this mining giant’s shares to $56.00. The broker remains positive on BHP due to the diversity of its operations. It notes that while iron ore prices have tumbled, BHP is still benefiting from strong copper and coal prices. The BHP share price is trading at $37.46 on Monday afternoon.

Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE)

Another note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on this lithium miner’s shares to $11.80. The broker made the move after upgrading its lithium price forecasts to reflect recent strong rises in China. This has led to an increase in its earnings estimates and valuation for the lithium miner. The Orocobre share price is fetching $8.61 this afternoon.

Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB)

Analysts at UBS have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this online travel agent’s shares to $6.85. According to the note, the broker has been looking at the vaccine rollout in Australia and was pleased with the progress that is being made. It feels this is a big positive for travel shares such as Webjet and appears to believe this could be a boost to bookings in the near term. The Webjet share price is trading at $5.81 on Monday afternoon.

The post Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How has the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price performed since reporting FY21 results?
• Why Fortescue, Karoon Energy, Nickel Mines, & Orocobre shares are sinking
• Why is the ASX All Ordinaries (ASX:XAO) struggling lately?
• How have these 3 ASX 200 travel shares performed since reporting results?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Transurban acquisition, BHP & Fortescue sink

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Orocobre Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended 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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The Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) share price is sinking despite no news coming out of the Australian uranium producer.

Boss Energy isn’t alone in its losses. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen at one point more than 2% – or 150 points – today. Additionally, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is down a whopping 3.6% at the time of writing.

While Boss Energy doesn’t call either index home, it’s suffering alongside its uranium peers that do.

The Boss Energy share price is currently 28.5 cents, 17.39% lower than its previous close.

Let’s take a look at what’s dragging down ASX uranium stocks today.

Why Boss Energy in the ASX red today?

Boss Energy’s shares are plunging lower alongside most of the company’s ASX uranium peers.

As The Motley Fool reported earlier today, ASX uranium shares might be falling in reaction to some of the world’s largest uranium companies struggles on other exchanges on Friday.

Of course, Australia and the ASX wake up and get to trading first. Therefore, by the time global uranium stocks tumbled on Friday, ASX market watchers had likely packed up for the weekend.

Meaning, today was the first chance many ASX investors had to react to the apparently shifted stance on uranium.

Additionally, today’s fall follows an incredible recent gain which saw the Boss Energy share price boosted 150% in a month.

Even with today’s losses, Boss Energy’s stock is still 103% higher than it was 30 days ago.

Boss Energy’s great month came as the price of uranium soared amid a feared shortage of the material.

However, the price of uranium hasn’t fallen today.

That likely means Boss Energy’s stock’s struggles could simply be a rebalancing of the ASX uranium market amid a broader materials slump.

Boss Energy share price snapshot

Boss Energy’s shares are currently 190% higher than they were at the start of 2021.

They are 265% higher than they were this time last year.

The post Why the Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) share price is tanking 18% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why ASX uranium shares are diving double-digits on Monday
• Is there a uranium ETF listed on the ASX?
• Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) share price surges 8%, up 90% in a month. Here’s why
• Two exciting ASX uranium shares get big price upgrade by broker
• ASX uranium shares are booming: What’s all the hype about?

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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It has been a very disappointing start to the week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 1.95% to 7,259.1 points.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are charging higher:

Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY)

The Adore Beauty share price is up 3% to $4.55. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Jarden this morning. According to the note, the broker has put a buy rating and $5.70 price target on its shares. Jarden believes the online beauty retailer could double its sales in the next five years thanks to the shift online.

ALE Property Group (ASX: LEP)

The ALE Property share price has jumped over 20% to $5.66. Investors have been buying the company’s shares after it received a takeover approach. The offer from Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW) and Hostplus values the company at $5.683 per share. If it completes, shareholders will receive $3.673 cash along with 0.408 Charter Hall shares for each ALE Property share they hold.

Ausnet Services Ltd (ASX: AST)

The Ausnet Services share price is up almost 19% to $2.35. This follows news that the electricity distributor has also received a takeover approach. According to the release, Brookfield Asset Management has made a non-binding offer to acquire the company for $2.50 per share. This is a 26% premium to Ausnet’s closing price of $1.98 on Friday. Ausnet has decided to provide Brookfield with the opportunity to conduct due diligence.

Zoom2u Technologies Ltd (ASX: Z2U)

The Zoom2u share price is up 15% to 77 cents. This is quite the turnaround for the delivery services company’s shares. This morning Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) revealed that it would be using Zoom2u for a new two-hour delivery offering. However, it appears as though many investors missed the news initially, as the Zoom2u share price was down 12% when I first reported on the deal.

The post Why Adore Beauty, ALE Property, Ausnet, & Zoom2u shares are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 ASX 200 shares holding up amidst today’s market crash
• Which ASX 300 shares are leading the way on Monday?
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price is outperforming the ASX 200 today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Transurban acquisition, BHP & Fortescue sink
• Why the ALE Property (ASX:LEP) share price is rocketing 21% today

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. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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The Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) share price has struggled today.

At the time of writing, shares in the bank have tanked more than 3% in today’s session.

By comparison, the broader S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) is down 2% today.

In addition, other banks like National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB), and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) are both 1.8% lower today.

So why is the Bank of Queensland share price underperforming its sector today?

What’s weighing down the Bank of Queensland share price?

In addition to struggling today, shares in Bank of Queensland have had a tough past week.

The bank has been under pressure after reports that ME Bank could get a penalty of up to $100 million.

A recent article by my Foolish colleague highlighted that ME Bank allegedly made false and misleading representations to borrowers.

However, the Bank of Queensland reportedly came across these allegations in the due diligence stage.

As a result, the regional bank was paid remediation of more than $100,000 before the acquisition.

Following a capital raise, the Bank of Queensland acquired ME Bank in early July for cash consideration of $1.325 billion.

More on the Bank of Queensland share price

Despite struggling today, shares in Bank of Queensland have had a stellar year thus far.

Since the start of 2021, the bank’s share price has gained more than 22%.

By comparison, the broader S&P/ASX200 Index (ASX: XJO) has only managed to claw 9.5% for the year.

There have been various catalysts that have helped propel the Bank of Queensland share price higher this year.

The regional bank has had a strong start to the first half of FY21.

For the first half, Bank of Queensland recorded a 9% increase in cash earnings to $165 million and a 66% lift in statutory net profit after tax to $154 million.

The bank also boosted its interim dividend by 54% to 17 cents per share, fully franked.

Shares in the bank have also been on the receiving end of some positive broker reports.

Most recently, analysts at JPMorgan rated the Queensland-based bank as the third-best financial share on the market.

At the time of writing, shares in Bank of Queensland are more than 3% lower for the day, trading at their intra-day low of $9.13.

The post Why is the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price underperforming its sector today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price is struggling this week
• Could liar loans crash the housing market?
• The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price has fallen 4% since Wednesday. What’s happening?
• Why the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price has beaten the ASX 200 in the last year
• The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price is up 5% in 2 weeks

Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a frankly dreadful start to the trading week this Monday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is down an incredibly nasty 2.04% so far to 7,253 points.

But rather than dwell on that sobering figure, let’s instead check out the SX 200 shares that are proving most popular today by raw trading volume.

The 3 most popular ASX 200 shares by volume today

South32 Ltd (ASX :S32)

Diversified ASX 200 miner South32 is our the first cab off the rank today. This resources giant has seen a hefty 14.23 million of its shares trade on the markets so far this Monday.

With no major news or announcements out of South32, we can probably assume this high trading volume is the result of the poor performance of South32 shares today. The company is presently down a nasty 2.65% so far to $3.30 a share. It’s this steep fall that is likely behind the elevated trading volumes we are seeing today.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

ASX 200 lithium produer Pilbara is next up. This hot lithium share has seen a substantial 22.38 million of its shares swap hands so far. As with South32, we can probably put this high level of activity down to this company’s share price performance so far today.

Pilbara is currently down a shocking 7.86% to $2.11 a share at the time of writing. This has almost certainly resulted in the high volume of Pilbara shares trading today.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

Last, but certainly not least when it comes to trading volume, is ASX 200 iron ore giant Fortescue. Just like Pilbara and South32, Fortescue shares are getting hammered today. Blame falling commodity pricing, including the recent steep fall in iron ore.

This iron digger is down a chunky 3.8% so far this Monday to $14.69 a share after hitting a new 52-week low of $14.15 just this morning. This has resulted in a whopping 22.51 million Fortescue shares changing hands so far today.

The post Here are 3 of the most popular ASX 200 shares by volume today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price is down 6% today. Is it a buy?
• Why Fortescue, Karoon Energy, Nickel Mines, & Orocobre shares are sinking
• Why is the Fenix Resources (ASX:FEX) share price crashing 27% today?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Transurban acquisition, BHP & Fortescue sink
• Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price slides 6% as iron ore woes continue

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is tumbling, down 2.5% in late afternoon trade to $5.77 per share.

It’s not just Webjet’s share price in retreat though. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 2.3% at this same time.

With 4 months now having come and gone since Webjet reported its full 2021 financial year results (FY21), we take a look at how the travel agency has been faring since reporting.

Along with a brief recap of its results…

What FY21 results did the ASX 200 travel share report?

The Webjet share price was in sharp focus on 19 May, the day the company reported its FY21 results before market open.

Among the core results, Webjet saw its revenues plunge, falling from $266.1 million in FY20 to $38.5 million in FY21.

The travel company’s underlying losses more than doubled year-on-year, to an $88.8 million loss, compared to an underlying loss of $42.3 million the previous financial year.

On the positive end of the ledger, Webjet’s balance sheet was strong, with $431 million pro forma cash on hand.

Webjet did not pay an interim or final dividend in FY21.

Commenting on the pandemic stymied results and the company’s ability to bounce back quickly when travel resumes, Webjet’s managing director, John Guscic said:

We know there is strong demand for travel – we’ve seen that with the performance of Webjet OTA, with Australian domestic bookings reaching 95% of pre- Covid bookings in April. Webjet OTA has always had a key strength in servicing the domestic leisure market and our ability to scale costs in line with demand meant it was profitable as soon as borders opened.

How has the Webjet share price performed since reporting results?

The Webjet share price gained 0.6% on 19 May, following the release of its FY21 results. Since then, Webjet shares are up 24%.

By comparison the ASX 200 is up 3% over that same period.

The post How has the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price performed since reporting FY21 results? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How have these 3 ASX 200 travel shares performed since reporting results?
• 2 ASX travel shares to consider buying
• Is it too late to buy Qantas (ASX:QAN) and other ASX travel shares?
• To buy, hold or sell? Experts weigh in on the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price
• Why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price has soared 24% in 4 weeks

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended 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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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is plummeting today as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) battles through a brutal Monday.

Interestingly, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company’s major competitor, Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), isn’t struggling nearly as much.

While the Zip share price has fallen a significant 6.45% to trade at $6.44, Afterpay’s stock is recording a 1.87% slip.

Let’s take a look at what might be making the Zip share price heavier than Afterpay’s.

Why’s Afterpay outperforming Zip on the ASX today?

The Zip share price is sliding today as the ASX 200 spirals.

Meanwhile, fellow BNPL company Afterpay is undergoing only some of the struggle, recording a nearly 2% drop.

One reason Zip’s stock might be tumbling further than that of its peer is its recent short position.

According to ShortMan, an online tracker of shorted ASX stocks, 9.05% of Zip’s shares were in short positions last Monday.

For comparison, only 1.06% of Afterpay’s shares were in short positions this time last week.

This could be weakening the Zip share price, especially as the broader market pushes through a disastrous day.

Additionally, Afterpay’s stock might be outperforming that of Zip because its potential buyer is outperforming its own market.

While most of Australia slept, the NYSE Composite (INDEXNYSEGIS: NYA) fell 0.7%. However, the Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) share price kept its head above water, recording a 0.25% gain.

Of course, Afterpay expects to put Square’s $39 billion takeover to its shareholders this quarter.

Square’s recent performance could be providing additional support to the Afterpay share price since, if all goes to plan, Afterpay shareholders will soon be holders of Square stock (or CHESS depository interests).

Zip share snapshot

Despite today’s dip, the Zip share price has been performing well on the ASX lately.

It is currently 15% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It has also gained 6.8% since this time last year.

The post Why is the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price faring so much worse than Afterpay today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What percentage of Zip (ASX:Z1P) shares are owned by insiders?
• How has the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price performed since reporting results?
• 3 exciting ASX tech shares to buy this month
• Top broker says Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price can rise 22%
• ASX 200 rises, Zip falls, Brambles sinks

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Square, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. 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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