The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a day to forget on Tuesday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 1.2% to 8,244.7 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8)
The Audinate share price is down 9% to $8.69. This follows the release of the media networking solutions provider's quarterly update. For the three months ended 30 September, Audinate reported quarterly gross profit of US$7.2 million (A$10.6 million). This is run-rating well short of the US$21.8 million recorded in the first half of FY 2024. Management blamed the weak performance on a challenging operating environment. This includes shorter order lead times, increased inventory across the industry, slower clearance of raw material inventories by its manufacturing customers, and softer-than-expected demand from end-users.
Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU)
The Iluka Resources share price is down 4% to $5.96. Investors have been selling the mineral sands producer's shares this morning following the release of its third quarter update. Iluka revealed that mineral sands revenue came in at $232 million for the quarter. This is down 32% on the second quarter and means that year to date revenue is now down 10% on the prior corresponding period. Also heading in the wrong direction are Iluka's costs. It reported a 50.4% year on year increase in unit cash production costs per tonne.
Metcash Ltd (ASX: MTS)
The Metcash share price is down 5.5% to $3.35. Investors have been selling the wholesale distributor's shares in response to a bearish broker note out of Goldman Sachs. This morning, the broker downgraded Metcash's shares to a sell rating with a reduced price target of $3.10 (from $3.80). The broker believes Metcash will underperform the market's expectations in the medium term. It said: "We cut our FY25E-27E group revenue by 1-2% and EBIT by 5-6% on lower Hardware corporate own/JV margins. Our FY24E-27E group revenue/EBIT CAGRs are 4.4%/6.9% and our FY25E-27E EBIT (ex-Horizon costs) are ~4% below FactSet consensus."
Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN)
The Mineral Resources share price is down a further 4.5% to $37.78. This mining and mining services company's shares have come under pressure this week amid allegations that its founder and CEO, Chris Ellison, was running a tax evasion scheme. Mineral Resources responded to the allegations on Monday. It said: "The Board is committed to robust and transparent corporate governance. It has engaged external legal counsel to conduct an investigation into this matter and advise the Board. Mr Ellison has cooperated with the investigation and the investigation is well-advanced." It also stresses that it "has full confidence in Mr Ellison and his leadership of the MinRes executive team."
