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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) continues to be the most share despite reporting a sizeable week on week reduction in short interest to 14.6%. Short sellers appear doubtful on the travel market recovery.
- Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) has seen its short interest rise to 14.1%. Last month, this betting technology company posted a massive $89.2 million loss in FY 2022. Given the market's current dislike for loss-makers, it isn't surprising to see short sellers target the company.
- Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) has short interest of 10.1%, which is up slightly week on week. Short sellers aren't giving up on this lithium developer's shares despite a huge rally recently. Doubts over its DLE technology and a shock CEO departure recently are partly to blame for this short interest.
- Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) has short interest of 10%, which is down slightly week on week yet again. This short interest appears to have been driven by concerns over a potential US recession and the market's aforementioned dislike of loss-making tech stocks.
- Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) has seen its short interest rise slightly to 9.8%. Short sellers appear doubtful that this buy now pay later provider's cost cutting plans will lead to it becoming profitable in the coming years.
- City Chic Collective Ltd (ASX: CCX) has short interest of 9.05%, which is down slightly since last week. Short sellers have been loading up on this plus sized fashion retailer's shares since the release of a very disappointing full year result which revealed the tripling of its inventory position and negative cash flow.
- Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) has short interest of 8.6%, which is down materially week on week. Short sellers have been targeting this infection prevention company's shares due to concerns over sales disruption from a business model change in the key US market.
- De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG) has short interest of 8.3%, which is also down materially week on week. Short sellers will have been disappointed to see this gold developer's shares surge higher last week following an update on its Mallina Gold Project.
- EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) has returned to the top ten with short interest of 8%. This embattled payments company's European operations are dealing with major regulatory issues at the moment.
- Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) has entered the top ten with short interest of 7.8%. Concerns over this sport betting company's cash burn have been weighing on sentiment greatly.
