In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week on a positive note. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.7% to 6,697.5 points.
Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are sinking lower:
Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB)
The Bubs share price is down 8% to 68.5 cents. This morning analysts at Citi responded to Bubs' second quarter update by reiterating their sell rating and cutting their price target by 16% to 51 cents. Bubs fell short of its sales estimates and spent far more cash than it was forecasting. Citi appears concerned the third quarter could be another tough one for the company.
Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)
The Kogan share price is down 5.5% to $18.57. Investors have been selling the ecommerce company's shares following the release of its first half trading update. Kogan revealed a 96% increase in gross sales and a 140%+ jump in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). This represents a reasonably sharp slowdown in its growth since end of the first four months of FY 2021. At that point its sales were up 99.8% and its operating earnings were up 268.8% over the same period last year.
Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE)
The Lake Resources share price is down 15% to 30.5 cents. This decline appears to have been driven by profit taking following some very strong gains this month. In fact, even after today's decline, the lithium miner's shares are up a whopping 280% since the start of 2021.
Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA)
The Western Areas share price has fallen 4.5% to $2.35. This decline also appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Citi this morning. Its analysts have downgraded the nickel producer's shares to a neutral rating with a $2.60 price target. This follows a softer than expected quarterly update. According to the note, Western Area fell short of Citi's expectations on both production and costs.
