In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) remains on course to finish a difficult week on a positive note. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.7% to 7,033.8 points.
Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
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De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG)
The De Grey Mining share price is down 12% to $1.27 despite there being no news out of the gold explorer. However, with its shares up over 250% since the time year amid excitement over its Hemi prospect, today's decline could have been driven by profit taking from some investors.
GrainCorp Ltd (ASX: GNC)
The GrainCorp share price is down almost 2.5% to $5.30. This morning analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded the grain exporter's shares to a neutral rating with a $5.54 price target. This follows the release of its half year results on Thursday. With its shares up 24% since the start of the year, the broker doesn't appear to have seen enough in the result to maintain its outperform rating.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
The Pilbara Minerals share price is down 5% to $1.09. Investors have been selling Pilbara Minerals and other lithium miners today despite there being no obvious reason. Once again, this could be due to profit taking after some stellar gains in 2021. In fact, even after factoring in today's decline, the Pilbara Minerals share price is up almost 25% this year.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)
The Xero share price has continued its slide and is down a further 4% to $112.50. Investors have been selling the cloud accounting platform provider's shares since the release of its full year results on Thursday. The market was disappointed that Xero fell well short of earnings expectations. In addition to this, the company's operating expense guidance for FY 2022 was higher than consensus estimates.
