The FFI Holdings (ASX:FFI) share price has lost 18% this week. Could this be a case of mistaken identity?

It's been a busy week for FFI Holdings on the ASX and for Fortescue Future Industries in the media.

| More on:
A stockmarket chart on a red background with an arrow going down, indicating falling share price

Image source: Getty Images

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More

The FFI Holdings Ltd (ASX: FFI) share price is plummeting this week for no apparent reason.

Interestingly, the same week has been full of news of another FFI. That is, the unlisted, hydrogen-focused, green energy leg of Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), Fortescue Future Industries.

Could the chaos experienced by FFI Holdings' shares have been driven by a case of mistaken identity?

FFI Holdings – operator of Fresh Food Industries – saw its stock soar 21% on Friday despite the company's silence. It has since handed its gains back, plunging 17.97% over the course of this week.

At the time of writing, the FFI Holdings share price is $6.94, having fallen 7.9% on Wednesday.

Let's take a closer look at what might have spurred the food manufacturer and distributor's recent surge and fall.

Why is the FFI Holdings share price falling?

The FFI Holdings share price has had an unexplainably odd week on the ASX while a barrage of announcements has kept Fortescue Future Industries, often abbreviated to FFI, in the spotlight.

The latter acquired a 60% stake in Dutch-based High yield Energy Technologies (HyET) Group last Thursday. The HyET Group houses HyET Solar and HyET Hydrogen.

It then teamed up with the Queensland Government to announce its plan to double global output of electrolysers on Sunday. Electrolysers are the equipment needed to produce hydrogen from water.

It also partnered with Australian fertiliser supplier Incitec Pivot this week. Fortescue Future Industries will help swap Incitec's ammonia-production facility's feedstock from natural gas to renewable hydrogen.

Finally, Fortescue Future Industries' chair, Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, stood beside NSW's Premier Dominic Perrottet and Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean to launch the state's $3 billion green hydrogen strategy yesterday.

Kean told those present that NSW's hydrogen industry will be as big as its coal industry by 2050 and Twiggy stated it will "dwarf the scale of iron ore".

Simultaneous to the barrage of news from Fortescue Future Industries, the FFI Holdings share price has been experiencing turbulence and, not to mention, popularity.

55,702 of the company's shares were traded on Monday, 19,600 on Tuesday, while another 23,351 swapped hands on Wednesday.

For context, over the last 4 weeks, the average day sees around 6,500 FFI Holdings shares traded.

Whether FFI Holdings' dramatic movements have been caused by investors mistaking the company for Fortescue Future Industries is impossible to say. Though, it could help to explain the ASX-listed stock's strange week.

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

More on Consumer Staples & Discretionary Shares

Two colleagues at work looking at a tablet and smiling at a rising share price.
Consumer Staples & Discretionary Shares

Buy this top ASX 200 stock for an 18% gain and 4% dividend yield

Bell Potter has resumed coverage on this stock and is feeling very positive.

Read more »

footwear asx share price on watch represented by look holding shoe and looking intently
Consumer Staples & Discretionary Shares

Does this ASX 300 retail stock really have a 7.6% dividend yield right now?

Is a 7.67% dividend yield too good to be true?

Read more »

A person eats a meat pie on the beach... what's more Australian than that?
Consumer Staples & Discretionary Shares

Which ASX shares could be next on the menu for Ozempic?

This broker believes the market for weight-loss drugs could grow tenfold. What could it consume on its way up?

Read more »

Young couple having pizza on lunch break at workplace.
Consumer Staples & Discretionary Shares

Could the 'clear path to recovery' for Domino's shares be in doubt?

Domino’s has some ambitious growth targets, but are they achievable?

Read more »

A man looking at his laptop and thinking.
Consumer Staples & Discretionary Shares

Woolworths shares hit headlines amid Banducci's jail warning

The outgoing Woolworths CEO is being made to work for his retirement at today's Senate inquiry.

Read more »

A man looking at his laptop and thinking.
Consumer Staples & Discretionary Shares

Wesfarmers share price drops 1% amid accusations of 'mafia-like' behaviour

Wesfarmers shares are having a rude return to trading this Monday.

Read more »

A team in a corporate office shares a pizza while standing around a table chatting about the Domino's share price and Pizza Hut's threat to the business
Consumer Staples & Discretionary Shares

What's Don's plan to put Domino's shares back together again?

Domino's has a new growth strategy, but are investors listening?

Read more »

Young man sitting at a table in front of a row of pokie machines staring intently at a laptop. looking at the Crown Resorts share price
Consumer Staples & Discretionary Shares

Star Entertainment share price tumbles alongside sinking revenues

ASX 200 investors are pressuring the Star Entertainment share price on Friday.

Read more »