Last week marked the worst week for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) in three years with the benchmark index slipping a massive 4.8%, ending Friday's session below the 5,500 point mark.
Indeed, each of the 10 sectors that make up the ASX 200 index finished the week in the red, with financials and utilities faring the worst, down 5.7% and 5% respectively. Each of the big four banks finished the week down at least 5.6% with National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) being the biggest casualty from the group, down an alarming 7.2%.
The biggest losers
Although the banks acted as the biggest drag on the market, they were by no means the biggest losers for the week. In the lead-up to the end of the financial year, a number of companies suffered enormous losses as they confessed to the market that they were unlikely to meet prior guidance, with Virtus Health Ltd (ASX: VRT) and Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) falling the most.
Virtus Health, which is Australia's largest provider of IVF, indicated that it had lost market share in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria while it also said that it expects earnings to be in the "low-to-mid-single digit percentage growth", compared to prior guidance of "low-to-mid teens". Investors responded by selling the stock down 22.9%.
Metcash also lost a shattering 18.8% after it said that it had been forced to book $640 million worth of impairments, which it blamed on intense competition (investors can thank Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) for that), while it also scrapped its dividend policy for 2015, and likely 2016 as well.
Other big losers for the week were Ainsworth Game Technology Limited (ASX: AGI), Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG) and Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX: QUB), which fell 11.6%, 17.3% and 13.8% respectively.
The biggest winners
Very few companies managed to exit the week unscathed but some managed to pile on considerable gains, including Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX: SRX) and UGL Limited (ASX: UGL).
Sirtex Medical emerged from a trading halt on Monday last week, shedding new light on its SIRFLOX clinical study. The biotechnology group said that it anticipates increased utilisation of its SIR-Sphere microspheres in the first-line setting against liver cancer which could see its sales soar higher over the coming years. The stock rose 4.4% on Friday and 8.8% for the week.
Mining services group UGL also jumped 9% after it provided investors with an update on its operations. It said that it would cut 200 jobs in order to reduce costs while it expects to increase revenue by "at least $300m" in the 2017 financial year due to its exposure to transport infrastructure and LNG maintenance. A number of analyst upgrades followed the announcement while speculation of a takeover offer being launched is likely also supporting the share price.
Other big winners for the week were Bradken Limited (ASX: BKN), which rose 7.3%, and Burson Group Ltd (ASX: BAP), which jumped 8.3%.
Should you buy any of these companies?
Of the companies mentioned, Sirtex Medical, Retail Food Group and Burson Group could be great pickups today. While Sirtex is more suited for investors with a higher tolerance to risk, Burson Group and Retail Food Group could make for excellent long-term bets at today's share prices.
