It might have been a green day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), but not all shares were showered with praise.
The benchmark caught its breath today after being rattled by hawkish commentary on interest rates yesterday. Despite the Tuesday wobble, the market is perched 8.4% above its 2022 endpoint — already outdoing the historical average annual return of 8%.
Still, there are high-quality ASX shares that toppled to their lowest point in a year today. Here's a look at three notable companies that are in the doldrums.
Three solid ASX shares taking a towelling
Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD)
Shares in the Australian agribusiness sank 5.9% to $8.83 on Wednesday without any news from the company. The swift unexplained drop prompted the ASX to issue a price query to Elders, to which it provided a response this afternoon.
While there was no price-sensitive information released, Elders noted that it had conducted multiple investor briefings with institutional investors yesterday. A collection of sector-wide factors were mentioned in these briefings, including:
- Declining livestock prices from historic highs
- Unseasonably wet conditions affecting eastern Australia
- Softer real estate activity amid rising interest rates
- Strong winter cropping outlook
One would need to trace back to early 2020 to find Elders shares trading this low on the ASX.
Bluebet Holdings Ltd (ASX: BBT)
Sportbetting company BlueBet managed to finish the day 1.6% higher at 32.5 cents apiece, but not before setting a new 52-week low. Shares in the microcap reached a low of 31 cents, its lowest on record since hitting the ASX.
There wasn't any clear negative news to explain a new 52-week low from BlueBet today.
Last month, shareholders were supplied with the company's results for the second quarter of FY23. While active customers were up by 32.3% to 59,632 compared to the prior corresponding period, more than $10 million worth of cash was consumed during the quarter.
Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL)
Shares in ASX healthcare giant Sonic took a 3% hit on Wednesday, nudging down to $29.21. The last time the company reached a share price this low was around mid-2020 as it was beginning to catch the COVID-19 tailwind.
Earlier in the week, analysts at Goldman Sachs named Sonic as one ASX share it suspects will surprise to the downside this ASX reporting season. According to Goldman analyst Chris Cooper, investors are underestimating the impact of inflation on the business.
The Sonic Healthcare share price is down 24.6% over the past year.
