The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form again last week. Over the five days, the benchmark index lost 1.6% of its value to end the period at 7,279.3 points.
While a good number of shares tumbled lower last week, some fell more than most. Here's why these were the worst performers on the ASX 200:
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Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
The Appen share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 21.5% decline. Almost all of this decline occurred on Friday when Macquarie downgraded the artificial intelligence data services company's shares to an underperform rating and cut the price target on them to $9.50. Macquarie has been speaking to industry participants and notes that there is an emerging trend which has seen some big tech companies look to bypass Appen and directly crowdsource for data annotation services.
Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)
The Bapcor share price wasn't far behind with an 18.3% decline over the period. Investors were selling the auto parts retailer's shares after it announced the exit of its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Darryl Abotomey. According to the release, Mr Abotomey is stepping down on 28 February 2022 after a decade leading the company. Ord Minnett downgraded its shares on the news. It appears concerned by the timing of the CEO's exit.
TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)
The TechnologyOne share price was out of form and tumbled 13.9% last week. The catalyst for this was the release of the enterprise software company's full year results. For the 12 months ended 30 September, TechnologyOne delivered a 43% increase in SaaS ARR to $192.3 million and a 19% lift in profit before tax to $97.8 million. However, this wasn't enough for both Macquarie and UBS. In response, both brokers downgraded TechnologyOne's shares to sell ratings.
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)
The Flight Centre share price was under pressure last week and fell 13.2% over the five days. Investors were selling this travel agent's shares amid concerns over a new COVID-19 variant that has emerged in South Africa. This has sparked fears that the travel market recovery could be derailed just as it was starting to normalise.
