The Australian sharemarket is back in the black after slipping into negative territory earlier in the session on investor uncertainty. The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is up just under 0.3% with the banks and Telstra leading the way.
Unfortunately however, there are a number of companies which have underperformed the market in a big way.
Here are five companies getting smashed today.
Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) has plunged 5.1% to trade at $24.43 after Morgan Stanley cut its price target by 5.5% to $24.89. As highlighted by the Fairfax press, the downgrade came as a result of a decline in the euro against the US dollar, as well as uncertainty regarding future input costs for the glove and condom manufacturer. As a result, it said that earnings prospects for next year "look challenged".
IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) shares fell by nearly 21% earlier in the session, bottoming out at $8.44. The shares have since recovered somewhat to trade at $9.52 (down 10.7% for the session) after the company responded to allegations from the Fairfax press around alleged wrongdoings.
iCar Asia Ltd (ASX: ICQ) updated the market on its second-quarter operations last week and although they were by no means terrible, they likely weren't as strong as the market was hoping for either. The stock has fallen a further 3.4% today to trade at 85 cents, giving it a total decline of 15.4% since Wednesday.
Lynas Corporation Ltd (ASX: LYC) shares tumbled 7.5% to a new low of 3.7 cents. The rare earths miner, which boasts a market capitalisation of $135 million, has been struggling against falling commodity prices and may need to raise cash in the near future unless conditions can drastically improve.
SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) is the market's biggest loser today with the stock falling more than 12% to a new 16-month low of $14.45. In what has been one of the biggest news stories of the day, SEEK, which operates a global online employment classified platform, said it would not be able to meet the earnings guidance it issued just four months ago. You can read more about that here.
