Why Catapult, Perseus Mining, Prospa, & Spark shares are dropping lower

In late morning trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a very strong gain. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 2.15% to 6,052.7 points.

Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping lower:

The Catapult Group International Ltd (ASX: CAT) share price is down 1% to $1.89. This appears to be down to profit taking after a very strong gain on Monday. Investors were buying the sports analytics and wearables company’s shares after it was awarded a contract to provide video exchange services to the top 130 United States college football teams.

The Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) share price has fallen 2% to $1.51. A number of gold miners have come under pressure today after investor sentiment improved greatly and led to demand for safe haven assets to soften. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is down by 0.5% at the time of writing.

The Prospa Group Ltd (ASX: PGL) share price has tumbled 3.5% lower to 80 cents. This online lender’s shares have come under pressure since the release of its unaudited results for FY 2020 late last week. Prospa expects to report a loss of up to $22 million due to additional provisions and write offs. It has also guided to expected credit losses of 11.7%, which was notably higher than what analysts at UBS were expecting. This morning they reiterated their neutral rating on Prospa’s shares.

The Spark Infrastructure Group (ASX: SKI) share price is down 1% to $2.25. This appears to have been driven by softening demand for safe haven assets. As with gold, investors will put money into utilities when they go into risk off mode. But with the market flying higher today, investors appear to be switching back into risk assets.