Why Altura Mining, Australian Ethical, Avita Medical, & Northern Star dropped lower today

In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 index has followed the lead of U.S. markets and is on course to finish the week on a very positive note. At the time of writing the index is up by a sizeable 1.35% to 6,595.2 points.

Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are ending the week in the red:

The Altura Mining Ltd (ASX: AJM) share price has crashed 15% lower to 6.3 cents despite there being no news out of the lithium miner. However, given the outlook for the battery making ingredient after lithium giant SQM pledged to increase its production materially to win market share, I’m not overly surprised to see investors selling Altura Mining’s shares.

The Australian Ethical Investment Limited (ASX: AEF) share price is down 3.5% to $2.18. I suspect that this decline could be down to profit taking after a strong rise in the ethical investment company’s shares over the last two months. Prior to today, its shares had risen over 33% since the start of July.

The Avita Medical Ltd (ASX: AVH) share price has tumbled almost 6% to 45.7 cents following the release of the medical technology company’s full year report. Investors appear to have been left disappointed with the company’s sizeable loss despite its strong revenue growth. AVITA posted a 50% increase in revenue to $17 million, but more than doubled its loss for the year to US$34.6 million. This was driven by a 74% increase in operating costs to US$50.1 million due to investments in commercial, manufacturing, and system capabilities for the U.S. market launch of the RECELL System.

The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price has dropped 3% to $11.83 after positive trade war developments sent safe haven assets like gold sinking lower. It isn’t just Northern Star Resources that has come under pressure today. At the time of writing the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index is down 1.3%.