In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is on course to follow the lead of U.S. markets and bounce back from two consecutive days of declines. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up almost 0.4% to 6,203.3 points.
Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they have tumbled lower:
The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price is down almost 8% to $22.49 after returning from its trading halt this morning. The shares of the global leader in the development of high-quality, human annotated datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence dropped lower after it successfully completed a $285 million placement at an offer price of $21.50 per share. These funds will be used to acquire industry peer Figure Eight.
The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price has tumbled 3% to $9.05. A number of Australian gold miners have dropped lower on Tuesday after investor sentiment improved and led to a fall in demand for risk off assets. The S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index is trading 2.3% lower at the time of writing.
The Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG) share price has sunk a further 5% lower to 19 cents after reports claimed that the embattled food and beverage company was planning to call in administrators. This morning the company dismissed the Courier Mail reports, but this hasn't been enough to keep some shareholders from selling shares in a panic today.
The QANTM Intellectual Property Ltd (ASX: QIP) share price has fallen 7% to $1.54 after IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH) made a move for fellow intellectual property services company Xenith IP Group Ltd (ASX: XIP). QANTM IP had been intent on merging with Xenith IP, but IPH has tabled an offer that is 23.3% greater than the implied QANTM merger consideration. The market appears to believe that IPH is now in the driving seat.
