In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a strong gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 1% to 8,150.3 points.
Four ASX shares that are failing to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:
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EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)
The EML Payments share price is down 22% to 70.5 cents. Investors have been hitting the sell button today after the payments company announced a shock change of leadership. It advised that its board elected to discontinue CEO Ron Hynes's employment agreement from 21 December. It advised that it made the decision "having resolved that alternate leadership is required to execute the Company's strategy, EML 2.0." Hynes will receive six months' notice but will not receive any equity grants given he will not be in employment on the relevant vesting dates.
GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG)
The GQG Partners share price is down 5% to $2.06. The fund manager's shares have been bouncing around recently due to concerns over its investments in Adani Group. Goldman Sachs believes this has created a buying opportunity. The broker recently put a buy rating and $2.80 price target on its shares. It said: "We retain our Buy rating on GQG. We lower our PT to $2.80 from A$3.00 to reflect the relatively muted impact on flows to date despite an outsized share price reaction resulting in a year P/E of <9x. We've moderated our flows reflecting some slowdown, albeit manageable in our view."
IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO)
The IGO share price is down 3% to $4.64. This follows the release of an update relating to the company's Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery (Kwinana). It owns 49% of this business through the Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA) joint venture. IGO revealed that as a result of prevailing market conditions for lithium hydroxide chemical, TLEA has experienced a build in lithium hydroxide inventory at Kwinana over recent months. This is expected to continue in the short to medium term. As a result, IGO does not expect TLEA to be in a position to pay a dividend in FY 2025. IGO received dividends of $761 million from TLEA in FY 2024.
Integrated Research Limited (ASX: IRI)
The Integrated Research share price is down 20% to 43.5 cents. This morning this user experience and performance management solutions provider released a trading update. It advised that total contract value (TCV) for the first half is expected to be $23 million to $27 million. The midpoint of this range represents a 39% decline year on year. Things are even worse for its EBITDA which is expected to be in the range of negative $0.5 million to positive $2 million. This will be a 93% decrease at the midpoint.
