In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.25% to 8,790.8 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
Image source: Getty Images
DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)
The DroneShield share price is down almost 9% to $3.80. This follows the release of an update from the counter drone technology company relating to share options. It revealed that almost 44.5 million performance options were vested yesterday after it achieved its performance hurdle of $200 million cash receipts in a 12-month rolling period. DroneShield's CEO, Oleg Vornik, commented: "Performance Options align the DroneShield team and its investors, enabling DroneShield to attract the best talent and incentivise performance, whilst reducing the cash burden on the Company as it continues to rapidly grow."
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)
The Northern Star share price is down 1.5% to $23.60. Investors have been selling this gold miner's shares following a pullback in the gold price overnight. It isn't just Northern Star's shares that are declining today. Most gold miners are in the red, which has dragged the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index down by 2.1% in afternoon trade.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
The Pilbara Minerals share price is down over 4% to $2.95. This follows a poor night of trade on Wall Street for lithium stocks. The catalyst for this could have been profit taking from some investors. After all, a number of lithium stocks have rallied strongly in recent weeks. Pilbara Minerals is one of them. Its shares remain up by 13.5% since this time last month despite today's weakness.
Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX: SVM)
The Sovereign Metals share price is down 7.5% to 56 cents. This is likely to have been driven by the release of a broker note out of Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) this morning. According to the note, the broker has downgraded this rutile and graphite developer's shares to a neutral rating (from outperform) with a heavily reduced price target of 65 cents. It said: "Despite project advancement at SVM, we note the Kasiya project is currently behind schedule given the lapse of 10m Performance Rights, which were subject to the Definitive Feasibility Study Milestone targeted in Oct 2025. Revised funding assumptions and Kasiya delays drive mixed earnings: FY27E losses shrink 30%, but FY28–30E earnings fall 32–87%. Target price cut 35% to A$0.65; downgrade to Neutral."
