The local share market has climbed 0.7% this afternoon on a day of low volumes thanks to a public holiday and the Melbourne Cup in Victoria. However, some shares are racing in the wrong direction for owners for a variety of reasons.
Let's take a look at what may be prompting investors to hit the sell button on some of today's worst performers.
The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price is down 3% to $10.94 today after shares in the tech-heavy US NASDAQ index took another tumble overnight. Australian tech investors and day or momentum traders tend to take their price lead from the movements of tech shares in the US.
Appen specialises in language translation services and machine learning, but has not updated the market as to its financial performance since August 28, 2018.
The Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) share price is down 1.5% to $27 today despite the gaming-machine manufacturer releasing no specific news to the market. Aristocrat is one of a number of growth shares that fell heavily in October as investors booked profits. It is a manufacturer of some of the world's most sophisticated and popular pokie machines and has also successfully branched out into digital gaming. The digital business and 'gaming operations' business means the group now reports a quarter of its revenue is recurring in nature, rather than relying on new sales of pokie machines. The company sells for 24x annualised earnings per share of $1.13.
The Cochlear Ltd (ASX: COH) share price is under pressure again today after the hearing device manufacturer revealed a US court had made a shock order for it to pay US$268 million to a patent infringement litigant. Cochlear is to appeal the verdict, but given the uncertainty and size of the fine many investors are taking a cautious approach. Cochlear is also already trading on a very high valuation at 40x trailing earnings per share of $4.27.
The Crown Resorts Limited (ASX: CWN) share price is down 2.2% to a 52-week low of $11.63 today after the casino operator handed in a weaker-than-expected trading update on November 1, 2018. Crown reported that for the period July 1 2018 to October 28 2018 that Australian resorts main floor gaming revenue (excluding VIP) was down 0.6% on the prior corresponding period. Crown also carries a lot of debt as it invests in news projects including Crown Sydney due for completion by 2021.
