The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having another underwhelming session on Thursday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down almost 0.2% to 7,756.1 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX)
The James Hardie share price is down 2.5% to $47.22. This may have been driven by a broker note out of Citi this morning. Ahead of the company's investor day event, the broker has reaffirmed its neutral rating and $53.40 price target. It appears to believe that trading conditions in the United States aren't particularly favourable for the company at present. This may have spooked investors and caused fears that tomorrow's event will contain some bad news.
Mader Group Ltd (ASX: MAD)
The Mader Group share price is down over 5% to $6.16. This has been driven by news that its founder and executive chair has sold down his stake. Luke Mader sold 9.75 million shares via a buyer-led share crossing at a discount of $6.15 per share. Mader Group advised that the buyer was a tier one global financial services company with over US$2 trillion in assets under management. Mr Mader remains the majority shareholder in the company, retaining 103,697,095 shares. This represents ~52% of Mader's issued capital. In other news, Mader Group has reaffirmed its FY 2024 guidance for revenue of at least $770 million and net profit after tax of at least $50 million.
MMA Offshore Ltd (ASX: MRM)
The MMA Offshore share price is down 2% to $2.64. This morning, this marine and subsea services provider revealed that its suitor, Cyan, has increased its takeover offer by 10 cents per share to a total of $2.70 cash per share. This was just one cent ahead of where its shares were trading yesterday. This appears to indicate that investors were expecting an even greater offer from Cyan. However, this is where it stops. Cyan has declared the improved proposal as its best and final offer, in the absence of a competing proposal. Its offer continues to have the support of MMA Offshore's directors.
WA1 Resources Ltd (ASX: WA1)
The WA1 Resources share price is down 8% to $18.96. This is likely to have been driven by profit taking following a whopping 27% gain on Wednesday. This was driven by news that its initial metallurgical testwork program on niobium mineralisation at the Luni deposit delivered strong results. Bell Potter was very pleased with the news and described it as a major de-risking event. It commented: "WA1 have passed a significant de-risking hurdle in confirming that niobium minerals from its Luni project can be concentrated via a two-stage floatation circuit with recoveries and concentrate grades in-line with dominant global producers." The broker responded by reiterating its speculative buy rating and lifting its price target to $28.00.
