In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed Wall Street's lead and is on course to end the week on a positive note. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.3% to 7,308.4 points.
Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV)
The Clinuvel share price is down 3% to $23.33. This is despite the release of the pharmaceutical company's half-year results, which revealed explosive earnings growth. Clinuvel reported a 19% increase in revenue and a 94% jump in profit after tax. This was driven by growth in prescriptions and expert centres administering the Scenesse therapy.
CogState Limited (ASX: CGS)
The CogState share price is down 25% to $1.22. This neuroscience technology company advised that it expects to report a 12% decline in first-half clinical trials revenue to $17.1 million and breakeven profit before tax. This soft performance has been driven by a slower than expected enrolment of patients by pharmaceutical companies in a small number of their large Alzheimer's trials.
Omni Bridgeway Ltd (ASX: OBL)
The Omni Bridgeway share price has crashed 18% to $2.97. Investors have been selling this class action funder's shares since the release of its half-year results on Thursday. As well as a poor result, which saw Omni Bridgeway report a net loss after tax of $30.1 million, the company revealed that its long-serving CEO would be retiring from the role later this year.
Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX)
The Westgold share price is down 5% to 91 cents. This morning, this gold miner released its half-year results and reported a 1% increase in revenue to $315 million but an $11.1 million loss after tax. This is down from a $19.9 million profit a year earlier.
