The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) returned to the black on Friday, rising 39 points following a strong night for international equity markets. While the Dow Jones and NASDAQ indices were up 1.2% and 1.3% respectively in the US, the FTSE 100 also jumped 0.8% in the UK.
Although the gains were quite widespread throughout the Australian market; a number of stocks fell considerably in value, including these four.
Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB) delivered its third-quarter production report, revealing an 8% lift in sales for the first nine months on a constant currency basis and confirming its full-year earnings guidance. However, investors may have been disappointed that sales on an actual currency basis have risen just 2% (impacted by a strong US dollar). Meanwhile, sales in its Pallets segment experienced more moderate growth than the company had been expecting. The stock retreated 2.4% as a result to $11.04.
Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) retreated 6.4%, taking its share price to 73.5 cents per unit. While there was no news that would specifically explain the fall, it's likely that the selling could relate to profit-taking activity. Prior to today, the stock had been on a tear having risen 52% since mid-March and 78% since early-November. Given the company's strong growth prospects in the enormous US market, Yowie Group could certainly be one to consider now that its shares have pulled back in price.
Novogen Limited (ASX: NRT) suffered an enormous setback today with its shares crashing 30.1% to 29 cents, representing a loss of 12.5 cents per share. The heavy fall came after the company announced its plans to issue 98.7 million new shares at 30 cents each, stating that it needed the funds to 'provide a runway for our 3 lead oncology candidate drugs'. Despite the drop, investors are still sitting pretty with the stock up 164% since the beginning of the year.
G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) is making a nasty habit of trading in the red. The stock fell a further 6.5% to $3.33, giving it a total decline of 41% since September (ouch!). While investors have been concerned about the impact of possible legislative changes that could impact demand for G8 Education's services, the company updated the market this morning that its overall costs could rise by 2.8% to 3.2% from January 2016 if (as expected) changes are introduced to the National Quality Framework.
Although investors are justifiably concerned, the recent heavy sell down could represent a great opportunity to buy.
