Warning: Traders are lifting short bets against these 10 ASX 200 stocks

Short sellers are lifting bets that lithium, travel and overseas trade exposed businesses on the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) are set to fall in value as President Trump's tariff rollercoaster potentially hurts their bottom lines.

Below is a list of the companies - among Australia's top 200 - that traders bet most heavily against over the week to May 2022. So, it's worth considering why professional investors expect their share prices to fall. 

It's also worth noting that just because companies are targeted it doesn't mean they will definitely fall in value, as the traders could easily be wrong in their bets. 

In fact, if a company that has lots of investors betting against it surprises to the upside it can rocket in value in a process known as a short squeeze. 

So here are the companies in descending order with the short interest increases over the week to May 22 also noted. This is based on numbers from data provider FactSet and ASIC. 

1. Corporate Travel Management (ASX: CTD) 9.4% vs 8.1% - this travel business has significant exposure to the slowdown in business and leisure travel into and around the US. It's already downgraded guidance once and short sellers expect more problems ahead. 
2. Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) 12.6% vs 11.4% - is exposed to the lithium price crash that has wreaked havoc on many junior miners. Broker Macquarie recently warned Liontown is burning through cash, so traders may think it needs to raise capital sometime soon. 
3. Treasury Wine Estates (ASX: TWE) 8.3% vs 7.2% - doubters think this wine exporter may be a tariff war victim as Treasury exports wine into and out of the US. The stock has bombed 28% in 2025. 
4. Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) 14.3% vs 13.3%, this lithium and iron ore bellwether now has a hefty 14.3% of its shares shorted. It's had operational problems, but the shorts are probably betting its debt pile and weak balance sheet will force it to raise capital soon. 
5. GPT Group (ASX: GPT) 2.9% vs 1.9% this is a commercial, retail and office property investor. I must admit I'm stumped as to why a hedge fund whiz would want to bet on this stock falling. But any ideas, please feel free to leave a comment.  
6. Breville Group (ASX: BRG) 5.8% vs 4.8% - is the kitchen appliance business that manufactures a lot of products in China before they're sold in the US. As such it's a potential trade war victim and this stock could be volatile like President Trump himself. 
7. Atlas Arteria (ASX: ALX) 2.1% vs 1.1% - this is the toll road business with operations across Europe and the US. It's possible short sellers reckon it's a casualty of the travel slowdown, although I'd note the short interest is relatively small at 2.1%.
8. Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) 5.2% vs 4.3% - completed the big acquisitions of met coal mines Blackwater and Daunia in 2024 and investors may be worried about its balance sheet. The coal price has also been soft so these factors combined might be encouraging short sellers. Correction* Whitehaven's balance sheet is arguably in pristine condition, so short sellers may not be honing in on this. 
9. Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS) 6.3% vs 5.5% has recently agreed to tie the knot with peer Spartan Resources (ASX: SPR) in a $4.2 billion merger. I'd hazard a guess the merger is related to why shorts are betting on shares falling. 
10. Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX: NEU) 6.3% vs 5.5% - I regularly spoke to the CEO of this business between 2021 and 2024 as its shares rocketed on the back of the commercial success of its drug to treat Rett syndrome. It has a couple of clinical trials in the pipeline so perhaps traders are betting these won't prove such a success. 

Good luck out there everyone!