Why Altium and these other ASX shares fell 20% in February

Find out why Altium Ltd (ASX: ALU) and these other ASX shares have slumped as much as 30% lower since the start of February.

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The Altium Ltd (ASX: ALU) share price has crashed lower in February as the ASX 200 was hit hard by soft earnings and coronavirus concerns.

At the time of writing, there are 10 ASX 200 shares which, by my calculations, are down 20% or more this month.

Here's why a handful of the biggest Aussie names have seen their shares crash lower in February.

Altium Ltd

The Altium share price is down 20.06% lower since the start of the month at $31.84 per share. While the WAAAX tech share is still up a tidy 698% in the last 5 years, some more recent buyers might be worried.

Altium released its half-year results in February and didn't impress investors. The engineering software group reported a 22% jump in EBITDA to US$36.8 million as net profit slumped 2% lower for the half.

Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL)

The Blackmores share price is another one that is under pressure as we exit the February earnings season.

Shares in the ASX listed supplements group slumped 13% in one day after it flagged weaker sales and supply difficulties in China due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Between that and the group's disappointing earnings, it was enough to send the Blackmore share price tumbling 23.81% in February.

Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)

The Beach Energy share price slumped 4% lower after the ASX 200 energy group reported its half-year earnings, and is down 28.5% in February.

Despite strong underlying net profits, Beach lowered its FY 2020 production guidance to between 27 million of oil equivalent (MMboe) and 28 MMboe. The Aussie energy group also flagged lower customer demand in the first half of the year and investors have been selling out since.

Adelaide Brighton Ltd (ASX: ABC)

The Adelaide Brighton share price fell 4.95% in yesterday's trade alone and is now down 20.88% in 2020.

The group reported a 31.8% slump in underlying earnings for the first half of the year and slashed its dividend to 5 cents per share, down from 11 cents the year prior.

High leverage has hit Adelaide Brighton earnings hard and magnified the problems for the group. The ASX 200 construction group could bounce back in March but recent investors no doubt be feeling the pain.

Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (ASX: MYX)

Given some of the heavy losses from those above, it might surprise you that Mayne Pharma is one of the worst-performing ASX  shares on the market.

The ASX listed pharmaceuticals group posted a half-year $17.5 million loss which failed to please investors. The Mayne Pharma share price is now trading at just $0.32 per share – 30.43% lower compared to where it started the month.

Motley Fool contributor Kenneth Hall has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Blackmores Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Altium. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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