Although the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is rapidly closing in on a five-year high, not all shares on the Australian share market have performed so strongly.
Three shares in particular are performing so poorly right now that they have just hit new 52-week lows. Here's why:
The iSentia Group Ltd (ASX: ISD) share price fell to a 52-week low of $1.42 today, bringing its year-to-date decline to a remarkable 50%. The media monitoring company's shares have come under heavy selling pressure this year after a shocking half-year report which resulted in a 17% drop in earnings per share. Once again its recently acquired content marketing business was a major drag on its performance. Unfortunately with short interest building strongly, some short sellers appear to believe its shares could still fall lower from here.
The Martin Aircraft Company Ltd (ASX: MJP) share price plunged 15% to a 52-week low of 11 cents this morning. Shareholders of the jetpack company have certainly had a year to forget. In the last 12 months its shares have tumbled 75% as the excitement surrounding its products failed to materialise into meaningful sales. Whilst the jetpacks are a nice idea, I'm not convinced that there is a huge market for them. For this reason I would avoid investing in Martin Aircraft.
The Reef Casino Trust (ASX: RCT) share price dropped to a 52-week low of $3.40 this morning. Like fellow casino stock Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN), Reef Casino has had a difficult year partly due to a decline in its Chinese customer base. This led to the company reporting a 20% drop in full-year profit in February. Whilst it wouldn't be my first pick in the industry, I do think the Australian tourism boom should help the company return to growth this year. This could make it worth considering at today's low price.
