Australian investors are enjoying another day of strong gains today with the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX:XJO) gaining 0.85% to 5,382 points.
Positive offshore leads have really helped to boost local sentiment, although these four shares haven't been so lucky today:
Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)
Shares of Altium fell to a low of $6.65 earlier today but have since regained some of that lost ground to trade around 3% lower to $6.83. The software developer has been one of the top performing stocks over the past 12 months, but today's fall comes on the back of a broker downgrade. Bell Potter has cut the stock to a sell with the shares trading significantly higher than the broker's price target of $6.25.
Despite today's fall, shares of Altium have still gained around 60% over the past 12 months.
Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM)
The gold sector is one of the few sectors in negative territory today thanks to an overnight fall in the gold price. Newcrest shares have fallen by around 1.4% today with a number of other gold producers also falling between 1% and 3%. Despite today's fall, the gold sector remains one of the best-performing sectors over the past 12 months with global economic uncertainty causing investors to rush into the safe haven asset. With the US stock market back to record highs, however, it will be interesting to see where the gold price moves next.
Shares of Newcrest have gained nearly 110% over the past 12 months.
Bellamy's Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL)
Shares of Bellamy's have fallen around 1.5% today on what appears to be a case of profit taking. The infant food maker had seen its share price gain more than 12.5% since last Wednesday so it is unsurprising to see some investors lock in some healthy profits today. As highlighted here, the bigger decline in the share price since the start of the year means the shares now trade at far more attractive levels and this could be an opportunity for risk-tolerant investors to gain exposure to one of the fastest growing companies on the ASX.
Bellamy's share have gained more than 144% over the past 12 months.
Sydney Airport Holdings Ltd (ASX: SYD)
Sydney Airport has been a standout performer over the past few years but its shares have today fallen 0.8% to $7.12. A number of analysts and fund managers have recently made the point that many of the utility and infrastructure stocks, including Sydney Airport, are trading at excessive valuations that are unsustainable. This seems to be a valid argument because there is no doubt share prices have been bid up by investors searching for a reliable dividend yield in an environment of low interest rates. While today's move may seem inconsequential, investors should keep a close on eye on stocks like Sydney Airport because a change in sentiment could have a big impact on its share price.
Sydney Airport shares have gained 32% over the past 12 months.
