5 stocks tanking on the ASX today

S&P/ASX 300 (ASX:XKO) gains 0.4%, but these five slipped more than 2%

Mike King

Mike King is a Fool.com.au Investment Analyst and Writer. He caught the investing bug more than a decade ago, at a time when the U.S. had invaded Iraq and fear reigned in the markets. His initial success as the markets took off encouraged his passion and thirst for knowledge. With 13 years behind him at one of Australia's largest domestic banks, Mike's passion for stocks led him to join a boutique funds management firm, where he stayed for four years. A seven-year stint in equity research at one of the largest investment banks in the world followed that, giving Mike a thirst to pursue his passion further. Mike holds a Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment and a Graduate Certificate in Financial Planning. His passion is to help retail investors invest better, and that passion was one of his primary reasons for joining The Motley Fool Australia in late 2011. Mike has written thousands of articles since joining, including for Fairfax Media, Yahoo!7, Ninemsn and has also appeared on ABC's The Business. You can see all of Mikes' holdings here

Published July 10, 2015 6:23 pm AEST

The S&P/ASX 300 (INDEXASX: XKO) (ASX: XKO) managed to post a 0.4% gain today, rising to 5,431.6. it's been a torrid week, but surprisingly, the index is just down 0.9% for the week.

Here're 5 companies sinking on the market today…

APN News and Media Limited (ASX: APN) dropped 3.7% to 65.5 cents. The newspaper, radio, advertising and outdoor advertising company recently appointed Ciaran Davis as its new CEO. News Corp (ASX: NWS) has taken a 15% stake in APN in March, perhaps pre-empting any potential relaxation of media ownership restrictions. APN also posted a 27% increase in full-year underlying profit to $75.2 million for the year ended December 2014, suggesting the current price is cheap.

Cardno Limited (ASX: CDD) fell 3.2% to $3.07, and has lost more than half its value in the past 12 months. The mining services company noted in May that it had become aware of potential corporate activity involving the company – with someone attempting to acquire up to 10% of the company. So far, nothing appears to have come of that but reports that previous CEO Andrew Buckley is working with private equity firm Crescent Capital suggest the end may be near for Cardno as a listed company.

Gold miner EVOLUTION FPO (ASX: EVN) lost 2.9% to close at $1.17. Spot gold is currently trading at around US$1160.00 per ounce and has been steadily declining since early this year. That appears to be due to a strengthening US dollar and a lack of inflation. Often considered to be a hedge against inflation, gold has little demand in this environment. Interestingly, it seems fund managers have recognised this and are selling out with two substantial shareholders selling down their stakes in the past few weeks.

Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) lost another 2.8% to close at $1.39, a long way from its 52-week high of $2.36. Unfortunately for investors, the writing was on the wall as far back as 2012 for commercial broadcasters – when I wrote this article. Free-to-air TV faces a structural decline, and that is likely to accelerate with the arrival of streaming on demand giant Netflix in Australia in March 2015.

Oil and gas explorer Karoon Gas Australia Limited (ASX: KAR) continues to disappoint investors – with shares falling 2.7% today to $2.18. I'm actually surprised the company has any investors left. Karoon has been exploring and wasting shareholders' funds for more than a decade with very little to show for it. Shares have sunk 28% since peaking in May above $3.00, as more and more investors realise Karoon has been a dud investment, and is likely to continue that way.

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