My guess is they are short AZJ based on the disclosure.If they...

My guess is they are short AZJ based on the disclosure.

If they were long, the release would usually say 'on market purchase' or something similar.

The banks listed as Registered holders are all the big custody banks who lend out their stock to funds looking to short. No big deal, it's part of their business. If your super fund uses one of them as custodian, your stock is probably used in their lending pool (and you get paid quite well for it!).

For anyone interested, the lending fee is usually a couple of % points above the cash rate, but depends on the scarcity of the stock. 2-3% on top of the cash rate is normal, but can get up to 10% or more for a stock that is in short supply and really wanted by short sellers. The borrower also has to pay for the dividends along the way, so need to see about a 10% fall BEFORE making any money on a short sale. They also put up cash to the full value of the borrowed stock as collateral (so you can't just borrow stock, sell it and fly off to a desert island if it all goes wrong). The stock can also be recalled by the owner at any time, in which case the borrower has to find another lender, or go buy back their short position in the market.

Some people hate short sellers, but in my opinion they are part of a free market. You can do with your property whatever you wish (lend it, keep it, sell it).