The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price has been struggling since its S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) debut.
Sayona shares have lost 24% since market close on 16 September and are now fetching 23 cents. Today, Sayona shares closed flat.
So what's going on with the Sayona Mining share price?
Sayona shares fall
Sayona officially joined the ASX 200 on September 19 following the S&P DJI quarterly rebalance.
The company's shares exploded 200% between market close on 23 June and 12 September before pulling back.
But Sayona is not the only ASX lithium share that has struggled recently.
For example, Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares have dived nearly 20% since market close on 16 September. Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) shares have lost 5% in the same time frame and Galan Lithium Ltd (ASX: GLN) shares have shed nearly 12%.
Sayona has delivered plenty of positive news to the market since joining the ASX 200.
On 4 October, Sayona announced it has launched a pre-feasibility study to produce lithium carbonate from the North American Lithium (NAL) project. Managing director Brett Lynch said the company is working towards "becoming a leading integrated producer and the largest in North America".
Also, on 5 October, Sayona advised it had launched a pre-feasibility study into the Moblan Lithium Project in Quebec, Canada.
However, profit-taking after recent gains and sector weakness may have impacted the Sayona share price recently, as my Foolish colleague James noted.
Looking ahead, a Resources and Energy September quarterly report is predicting both lithium hydroxide and spodumene prices to rise in 2023 before pulling back in 2024.
Sayona share price snapshot
The Sayona share price has soared 42% in the past year, while it has surged 69% year to date.
For perspective, the ASX 200 has lost 7.5% in the past year.
Sayona has a market capitalisation of more than $1.8 billion based on the current share price.
