Short sellers have moved aggressively into ELV over the past month, even as the broader lithium peer group posts its own weekly losses, creating a stock-specific pressure story that stands apart from sector noise.
The positioning shift is the clearest story here. Short interest has risen 69% over the past month to reach 7.0% of the free float, a meaningful level for a diversified metals name. The week-on-week jump of 19% is the more striking figure: the bulk of that build happened between September 22 and September 24, when short shares climbed from roughly 9.9 million to 12.5 million. The borrow market has not yet tightened in response. Availability is generous at 339%, meaning there are more than three shares available to borrow for every one already lent out. Cost to borrow at 3.6% is broadly flat on the week and well below the levels that would signal a squeeze-prone setup. With availability having tightened sharply from above 900% in late August to its current level, the direction of travel is worth noting even if the absolute reading remains comfortable.
The ORTEX short score reinforces the cautious read on positioning. It has climbed from 48.0 in mid-September to 58.3 now, a move of ten points in two weeks that puts the stock in the more-shorted half of the universe on this composite measure. The short score rank sits at the 6th percentile, meaning ELV scores among the most short-pressured names relative to peers. Days to cover, based on the FINRA fortnightly print, is 7.1, a figure that would matter more if the borrow market were tighter. For now, the setup reads as bears adding conviction rather than a structurally dangerous squeeze configuration.
The stock's price action makes the short build easier to understand. ELV has fallen 29% over the past month to AUD 5.86, clawing back just 1% on Tuesday after losing nearly 5% on the week. Close peers have moved similarly: PLS fell 6.3% on the week and LTR dropped 6.9%. GLN was notably weaker, down 25% in seven days. MIN held up best among the group, off just 3.2%. ELV's underperformance is not new, a note from late September highlighted that the stock had gained only 14.8% year-to-date at a point when some peers had surged more than 65% in a single week, pointing to company-specific rather than sector-wide dynamics.
Institutional ownership offers some context for who holds the other side of this trade. BNY Asset Management is the largest holder at 20.1% of shares, followed by Van Eck at 11.8% and State Street at 7.1%. State Street added 1.99 million shares as recently as September 23, the same week short interest was spiking. RCF Management, a resources-focused manager, trimmed its stake by 2.5 million shares as of its last reported date in early August, leaving it with a 6.2% position. Analyst data in the snapshot is stale beyond the 14-day threshold and is not used here.
Earnings are due on October 22. The two most recent results events both produced negative reactions: the stock fell 5.8% on the day of the August 2026 report and a further 10.6% over the following five days. The July 2026 event went the other way, with a 1.1% day-one gain extending to 17.2% over five sessions. With short interest elevated heading into the October print, and the borrow market still reasonably accessible, how that event lands will determine whether the current short build looks prescient or sets up a sharp reversal.
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