In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a solid gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.8% to 8,193.3 points.
Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:
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Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH)
The Adairs share price is down 2.5% to $2.00. This may have been driven by a broker note out of Bell Potter this morning. As covered here, the broker named a couple of ASX retail stocks to buy and two to hold. One of the holds was furniture and homewares retailer Adairs. It has put a $2.00 price target on its shares, which is where it now trades following today's decline. Nevertheless, its shares remain up almost 45% since this time last year. So, shareholders won't be too disheartened.
Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT)
The Cettire share price is down a further 12% to $1.94. This online luxury products retailer's shares have been bouncing around wildly this week. After rocketing almost 80% on Tuesday, they are now down 17% over the past two trading sessions. This may have been driven by profit taking. The catalyst for Tuesday's massive gain was the company's auditor finally signing off on its FY 2024 results. Not only did this give sentiment a boost, but it likely caused a short squeeze.
Firefly Metals Ltd (ASX: FFM)
The Firefly Metals share price is down almost 6% to 98.5 cents. This follows the completion of $65 million single-tranche institutional share placement at a discount of 95 cents per new share this morning. Management notes that the placement was strongly supported by several existing and new Australian and international institutions. The proceeds will be used to underpin the next phase of resource growth, discovery, and development at the Green Bay Copper-Gold Project in Canada. FireFly's managing director, Steve Parsons, said: "This landmark capital raising puts FireFly in an exceptional position to unlock the full potential of the Green Bay Project, with 100,000 metres of growth drilling planned through 2024/25."
Step One Clothing Ltd (ASX: STP)
The Step One share price is down 8% to $1.73. This has been driven by news that the online underwear retailer's CEO and founder, Greg Taylor, has offloaded $28.3 million worth of shares at a 9.3% discount of $1.70 per share through a fully underwritten block trade. Commenting on the sale, Taylor said: "The sale represents a small portion of my shareholding, and I will remain Step One's largest shareholder with approximately 57.91%. The decision to sell was driven by strong investor demand and enhances liquidity and free float broadening the share register."
