Short & Caught: The ASX small caps investors are shorting right now
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Short & Caught is Stockhead’s fortnightly recap of which ASX small cap stocks are heavily shorted. Stocks that are shorted have investors betting they fall.
Shorting works by selling stocks you do not actually own in the hope of buying them back at a lower price.
Because shorting is restricted under Australian law, any substantial shorting of stocks is worth knowing about, even if you own these stocks and only trade long.
| Code | Name | Price (I) | Short Interest (Volume shares) | Short Interest 1 Month % Change | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDV | SCIDEV LTD | 0.65 | 921.55k | 1,196,719.5 | 98.06M |
| MGV | MUSGRAVE MINERALS LTD | 0.66 | 325.00k | 137,030.8 | 301.60M |
| HCT | HOLISTA COLLTECH LTD | 0.07 | 345.63k | 30,059.51 | 20.38M |
| THC | THC GLOBAL GROUP LTD | 0.27 | 400.00k | 5,664.52 | 47.62M |
| MVF | MONASH IVF GROUP LTD | 0.54 | 451.65k | 3,760.61 | 210.40M |
| CAI | CALIDUS RESOURCES LTD | 0.61 | 513.55k | 3,427.13 | 158.55M |
| PDI | PREDICTIVE DISCOVERY LTD | 0.08 | 786.59k | 2,917.46 | 65.09M |
| BTH | BIGTINCAN HOLDINGS LTD | 0.92 | 916.14k | 1,769.22 | 331.37M |
| RVR | RED RIVER RESOURCES LTD | 0.1 | 1.56M | 881.35 | 54.21M |
| BDC | BARDOC GOLD LTD | 0.09 | 1.50M | 704.06 | 141.34M |
| MME | MONEYME LTD | 1.15 | 1.52M | 701.18 | 194.86M |
| MVP | MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS INTERNA | 6.34 | 836.56k | 401.36 | 419.99M |
| TTM | TITAN MINERALS LTD | 0.14 | 642.81k | 393.53 | 129.06M |
| DCG | DECMIL GROUP LTD | 0.06 | 12.31M | 350.97 | 76.19M |
| CST | CASTILE RESOURCES LTD | 0.22 | 355.23k | 340.73 | 41.94M |
| DCN | DACIAN GOLD LTD | 0.35 | 7.38M | 311.15 | 186.37M |
| CAT | CATAPULT GROUP INTERNATIONAL | 1.69 | 580.00k | 307.57 | 327.39M |
| BBUS | BETASHARES US EQ STR BEAR-CH | 2.4 | 774.51k | 282.5 | 312.43M |
| NXS | NEXT SCIENCE LTD | 1.39 | 354.33k | 236.46 | 248.72M |
| PPE | PEOPLE INFRASTRUCTURE LTD | 1.95 | 662.82k | 226.53 | 172.12M |
| MCR | MINCOR RESOURCES NL | 0.77 | 315.43k | 223.77 | 281.21M |
| EHL | EMECO HOLDINGS LTD | 1.05 | 10.37M | 191.63 | 383.29M |
| CDD | CARDNO LTD | 0.33 | 916.00k | 164.82 | 151.99M |
| ECX | ECLIPX GROUP LTD | 1.4 | 11.24M | 164.72 | 447.49M |
| DRO | DRONESHIELD LTD | 0.16 | 1.52M | 148.11 | 40.39M |
| WPP | WPP AUNZ LTD | 0.31 | 1.74M | 118.93 | 268.43M |
| NGI | NAVIGATOR GLOBAL INVESTMENTS | 1.34 | 548.21k | 111.05 | 217.28M |
| CBR | CARBON REVOLUTION LTD | 1.67 | 1.25M | 110.53 | 248.74M |
| AYS | AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LTD | 0.63 | 441.32k | 102.48 | 185.92M |
| LPD | LEPIDICO LTD | 0.01 | 624.66k | 98.35 | 36.30M |
| SVY | STAVELY MINERALS LTD | 0.67 | 817.95k | 87.57 | 148.11M |
| AD8 | AUDINATE GROUP LTD | 5.23 | 1.18M | 63.74 | 352.61M |
A number of the heavily shorted stocks had seen operational disruptions due to COVID-19.
Water tech stock SciDev (ASX:SDV) has seen the biggest percentage increase in short interest.
The company told shareholders in its last quarterly that it had seen reduced sales in the last quarter and projects already secured had been delayed resulting in revenue being delayed into the next financial year.
Holista Colltech (ASX:HCT) was one of the earliest stocks to gain from the hand sanitiser boom due to COVID-19.
But shares took a tumble earlier this month when it told shareholders COVID-19 restrictions had disrupted supply chains globally, particularly in the US.
Other stocks have been shorted despite business ostensibly returning to normal. One is Monash IVF (ASX:MVF), which was forced to halt procedures for a few weeks due to restrictions on elective surgery, but has since been allowed to resume.
Also on the list were a handful of explorers that have made substantial gains in recent months.
Examples include gold plays Musgrave Minerals (ASX:MGV) and Predictive Discovery (ASX:PDI) as well as copper play Stavely Minerals (ASX:SVY).
Shorted finance stocks include fintech MoneyMe (ASX:MME) and investment bank Moelis (ASX:MOE), despite the windfall COVID-19 has caused for the fintech and investment banking sectors.
