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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) continues to be the most shorted ASX share with 16.8% of its shares held short. Short sellers may believe that rising living costs could impact consumer spending on leisure travel, slowing the travel market recovery.
- Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) has seen its short interest edge lower to 13.8%. Short sellers could be targeting this betting technology company due to its ongoing cash burn and the high multiples its shares trade on.
- Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) has short interest of 12.1%, which is down slightly week on week. This medical device company's shares have come under pressure recently due to concerns over changes to its sales model in the United States. There are fears that taking things in-house could be disruptive and lead to higher costs.
- Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) has seen its short interest ease to 11.1%. This medical device company's poor performance over the last couple of years has been weighing on its shares.
- Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) has short interest of 9.7%, which is up week on week once again. Short sellers will have been pleased to see this payments company's shares sink last week amid weakness in the tech sector.
- Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) has seen its short interest ease to 9.5%. Short sellers have been going after this artificial intelligence data services company due to its poor start to FY 2022.
- Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) has jumped back into the top ten with short interest of 9%. This ecommerce company's shares have been sinking this year due to its poor inventory management, weak sales, Apple's privacy changes, and rising competition from Amazon.
- Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING) has 9% of its shares held short, which is up week on week. This could have been caused by concerns that high input costs could impact margins.
- Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) has short interest of 9%, which is up week on week. This gold miner has been targeted due to concerns over labour shortages, cost pressures, and lower grades.
- EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) has short interest of 8.9%, which is flat week on week. This payments company's surprisingly poor performance during the second half has hit investor sentiment hard.
