In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to finish the week with a small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.15% to 8,609.2 points.
Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)
The Evolution Mining share price is down 1.5% to $7.76. Investors have been selling ASX gold shares today after the price of the precious metal fell overnight. The catalyst for this was strong US economic data, which has led to the market reducing its expectations for interest rate cuts. This has seen the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index fall 0.8% today.
G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM)
The G8 Education share price is down a further 5% to 94.5 cents. Investors have been selling this childcare operator's shares this week due to a widely reported criminal incident at one of its centres. The team at Macquarie responded to the news by downgrading G8 Education's shares to a neutral rating with a heavily reduced price target of $1.15. Macquarie made the move after lowering its occupancy estimates for G8 Education due to a potential backlash from the incident.
Lottery Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLC)
The Lottery Corporation share price is down 2.5% to $5.24. This appears to have been driven by the release of a broker note out of Citi this morning. According to the note, the broker has downgraded the lottery company's shares to a sell rating (from buy) and cut the price target on them to $5.00. Citi isn't feeling overly positive about the company's results next month. In fact, it thinks that it could report a double-digit decline in earnings for FY 2025. And with recent trends pointing to lower lottery ticket sales, the broker has trimmed its earnings estimates for next year.
Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)
The Lynas Rare Earths share price is down over 2% to $8.16. This morning, the team at Bell Potter reaffirmed its sell rating on the rare earths producer's shares with a trimmed price target of $6.05. The broker made the move on valuation grounds. It said: "Whilst we like the business, asset, and team, we believe there is significant optimism priced into the stock, with investors using it as a hedge on USChina relations. LYC is well poised, if or when, the tides shift for NdPr, with sufficient installed capacity and leverage."
