In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on track to record a small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.25% to 8,565.4 points.
Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
Cogstate Ltd (ASX: CGS)
The Cogstate share price is down 19% to $2.03. Investors have been selling the neuroscience technology company's shares following the release of a disappointing business update. Due to timing-related deferrals, Cogstate expects first half total revenue to be in the range of $25 million to $26 million. This is an increase of only 5% to 9% on the prior corresponding period, which is short of its previous guidance for between 18% and 20% revenue growth. And with management expecting costs to increase and put pressure on margins, its earnings will also be well short of what the market was forecasting.
European Lithium Ltd (ASX: EUR)
The European Lithium share price is down 5% to 18 cents. This morning, this critical metals company revealed that a term sheet has been executed for a 50%-50% joint venture between Critical Metals Corp (NASDAQ: CRML) and Fabrica de Prelucrare a Concentratelor de Uraniu of Romania. The latter is a state-owned entity and strategic partner. European Lithium owns approximately 45% of Critical Metals Corp. Its flagship Tanbreez project is one of the world's largest, rare earths deposits and is located in Southern Greenland. Broad weakness in the rare earths industry today appears to be overshadowing this.
GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG)
The GQG Partners share price is down 2.5% to $1.73. This follows the release of the fund manager's latest funds under management (FUM) update this morning. According to the release, GQG Partners' FUM grew approximately 1.5% to US$166.1 billion during the month of November. While this is positive, the FUM growth was all performance related, with the company continuing to experience outflows. The company recorded a total monthly fund outflow of US$2.4 billion for November, with weakness across all four segments.
Lindian Resources Ltd (ASX: LIN)
The Lindian Resources share price is down almost 5% to 36.2 cents. This is despite the rare earths company announcing that it has completed the final US$10 million tranche payment for the acquisition of Rift Valley Resource Developments Limited. It is the Malawian company that holds 100% ownership of the Kangankunde Rare Earths Project. The company's executive chair, Robert Martin, commented: "Achieving 100% ownership of Kangankunde marks another important milestone in Lindian's journey. This structure provides clear alignment of our operational entities under which recent contracts have been secure, and with Stage 1 construction advancing rapidly and Stage 2 studies well underway, this consolidation provides full strategic and operational control as we move toward first production on what is one of the rare earth industry's most significant development projects."
