The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) closed up just 0.3% today and also finished the week up 0.3% at 5,183.10 points. Most of the big banks ended higher, and a strong bounce by BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) certainly helped.
These four companies saw their share prices sink…
1-Page Ltd's (ASX: 1PG) share price plunged 11.9% to $1.23, and has now lost 63% of its value since the start of this year. The technology disruptor wants to revolutionise the way companies hire new employees and interact with their staff. While the company has signed some significant contracts with large companies, 1-Page has yet to turn that news into significant financial results. As an example, the company had just $75,000 in customer cash receipts in the three months to end of December 2015. Investors might be slowly realising that an investment in 1-Page is highly speculative and could take years to pay off – if at all.
Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX: SRX) saw its share price sink 6% to $28.48, after the company announced that the president of the Americas Region had resigned and would be leaving at the end of June 2016. With the US generating the lion's share of Sirtex's revenues, investors are clearly worried about the performance of that division. That comes after Sirtex lost its Asia Pacific Head in November. Lower dose sales in the first half have also added to the gloom surrounding the company.
IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH) share price dropped 5.2% to $6.45. The intellectual property firm provides companies with services to protect, commercialise, manage and enforce their intellectual property rights, including trademarks and patents. The share price has lost nearly 30% of its value so far this year, perhaps as investors bid the price up well beyond its value, and the company's first half results didn't match the lofty expectations built into its share price. Even at today's price, IPH trades on a trailing P/E ratio of 29x according to Google Finance, but this is a high-quality company and is a buy at the right price.
Reject Shop Ltd's (ASX: TRS) share price fell 4.8% to $13.24, perhaps after the company announced that it was outsourcing the operations of its new Victorian distribution centre, which will cost the company $7.3 million in one-off redundancy costs. For a company generating $18 million in first half profit, that's a significant expense, although it is a one-off. The discount retailer had also seen its share soar since mid-February, after reporting a 43% increase in net profit, so some investors (traders) may be taking profits.
