In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another decent gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.55% to 6,997.1 points.
Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)
The Magellan share price is down over 3% to $9.35. This may have been driven by news that the company's co-founder, Hamish Douglass, has sold down his holding materially this week. Douglass offloaded $118 million worth of shares for $9.10 per share. This sale takes Douglass' holding from 21.45 million shares to approximately 8.45 million shares. The sale isn't exactly a vote of confidence for Magellan.
News Corporation (ASX: NWS)
The News Corp share price is down 9% to $23.55. This follows the release of the media company's first quarter update this morning. News Corp reported a 1% decline in revenue to US$2.48 billion and a 14.5% reduction in EBITDA to US$350 million. Management blamed this on forex headwinds and a fundamental reset by Amazon of its book inventory levels and warehouse footprint.
REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)
The REA share price is down 4.5% to $113.78. Investors have been selling this property listings company's shares following the release of its first quarter update. For the three months, REA delivered a 16% increase in revenue to $305 million and an 11% lift in operating EBITDA to $131 million. While this looks solid, management is targeting an earnings growth rate ahead of revenue growth in FY 2023. So, it has a bit of catching up to do.
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)
The Whitehaven Coal share price is down almost 10% to $8.50. Investors have been hitting the sell button today after the coal miner downgraded its production guidance due to flooding around the Gunnedah Basin. Management ROM production is now expected to be 19 to 20.4Mt. This is down from 20 to 22Mt previously. In addition, Whitehaven Coal's unit cost guidance for the year has been revised higher.
