The 10 most shorted ASX stocks plus the biggest risers and fallers – Week 36

Welcome back to the Short Seller Series – A recap of the most heavily shorted stocks on the ASX and those experiencing significant changes to short interest over the past week.

Short selling data is four days behind today’s date because reporting is not mandatory until three business days after the trade. The tables below will compare:

• Week-on-week changes between 17 and 24 August 2026

• Month-on-month changes between 27 July and 24 August 2026

• Most covered and rising short tables record week-on-week changes of ~0.5% or more

Most Shorted

Lotus short interest continues to unwind after the stock’s 62% one-day plunge on 27 July, which followed a $60m raise struck at a 66% discount. Volatility has faded in recent weeks, with the share price settling around the mid 20 cent level.

Meanwhile, Zip’s short interest spiked despite a better-than-expected FY26 result on 20 August. Cash EBTDA rose 57.9% to $268.9 million, a 2% beat, and FY27 guidance of $340 million landed roughly 10% above UBS forecasts. US total transaction growth was guided above 30% against analyst expectations of 21%. The stock rallied 18.2% on the day, then tumbled 15.7% the next session, possibly on CEO Cynthia Scott confirming Zip won’t push ahead with its Nasdaq secondary listing “until we see more conducive market conditions”. The draft registration is already lodged with the SEC, but the timing is now open-ended.

Rising Shorts

Most of the increases are results driven, with short sellers pressing downbeat numbers that triggered a sizeable one-day selloff and continued to bleed after earnings.

• JB Hi-Fi: FY26 was broadly in line, with sales up 4.8% to $11.06bn, NPAT up 2.9% to $489.9m and the full-year dividend lifted 22.5% to 337 cents. The problem was momentum, with Australian sales growth decaying from 6.0% in Q1 to just 0.3% in Q4. July trading had JB Hi-Fi Australia down 0.5% and The Good Guys down 1.7% on supplier price rises and tech stock shortages. The stock tumbled 12.3% on 17 August and has fallen a further 4.6% since.

• Aussie Broadband: Underlying FY26 EBITDA rose 19.6% to $165.3m with margin up 1.2 points to 12.8%, NPATA beat by 3%, and capital management stepped up via a $115m buyback and a 20% dividend beat. But FY27 EBITDA guidance of $205-215m sits around 4% below estimates, and CEO Brian Maher described market pricing as “essentially at wholesale prices” with no sign of rationality returning. The stock dipped 6.5% on 24 August and has shed a further 7.6% since.

• Breville: Record FY26 revenue of $1.8bn, up 6.7%, came in about 2% short as second-half USD and euro weakness dampened reported growth. EBIT of $207m met guidance, with second-half gross margin of 36.8% ahead of both the first half and the prior year on US sourcing mix. The stock dipped 4.1% on 19 August and has traded slightly higher since.

Most Covered

The declines are just as results driven, with short sellers covering into earnings that beat low expectations.

• Australian Clinical Labs: Revenue fell 0.7% on Medicare cuts to B12 and urine tests, yet underlying EBIT rose 1.7% with margin up 20bps to 9.4% and EPS up 8.5% to 18.3 cents. FY27 guidance of $67-73m EBIT excludes the final stage of collector gender undervaluation from January, worth about $7m. A better-than-feared outcome, with the stock surging 14.8% on 17 August and adding another 11% over the next five sessions.

• AGL Energy: Underlying FY26 EBITDA up 2% to $2.10bn was in line and EBIT beat by 2%, though underlying NPAT slipped 2% to $631m. FY27 NPAT guidance of $470-670m sits about 3% above the consensus midpoint, with the FY26 dividend of 50 cents struck at a 53.3% payout. The stock rallied 5.9% on 12 August and has added a further 0.9% since.

• Mineral Resources: The strongest result in its 20 years as a listed company, with revenue up 44% to $6.5bn, underlying EBITDA up 183% to a record $2.6bn and underlying NPAT up 831% to $822m, an 11% beat. An 83 cent fully franked dividend came against nil in estimates, funded by net debt falling $1.1bn to $4.3bn and leverage dropping to 1.7x from 5.9x. A volatile session on 27 August, with shares rallying 5.9% in early trade before closing 2.2% lower.