Any ASX investor that has been paying attention to the markets in 2022 would know that it's been a bumpy ride for most ASX shares. Some shares have weathered the storms better than others. But there remain some companies that have seen substantial haircuts to their valuations over both 2022, and, by extension, the past 12 months. Some of the hardest-hit shares have been those which investors typically categorise as 'growth shares'.
ASX growth shares are often smaller, faster-growing companies that perhaps trade with high price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples. Or perhaps are even not profitable yet. Investors tend to get excited about these types of shares when the sun is shining, but quickly abandon them for safer harbours when storm clouds appear on the proverbial investing horizon.
So let's look at three such shares that remain down more than 50% over the past year.
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3 ASX growth shares down more than 50% in a year
Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)
Zip was promoted to the ASX's largest buy now, pay later (BNPL) company early this year when former ASX growth share Afterpay was swallowed by Block Inc (ASX: SQ2). But if investors thought that this promotion would bode well for the Zip share price, they were to be very disappointed.
Zip has had a dreadful 12 months, whatever way you spin it. The BNPL company remains down almost 65% in 2022 alone, and by a depressing 80% or so over the past 12 months. That's despite Zip managing to report some very high growth numbers in its most recent earnings report, despite a bottom-line loss.
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
Appen is another ASX growth share that has had a rough trot in recent months. This annotated dataset company is down a nasty 37.3% in 2022 thus far, and an even nastier 60.1% over the past 12 months. Appen was a company once venerated by ASX growth investors, even making the cut as a WAAAX share.
Its future-facing business model got investors hot under the collar a few years ago, and Appen saw its share price explode by 260% between August 2018 and August 2020. However, the sentiment has significantly cooled since then as Appen failed to meet investors' growth expectations. Its last earnings report wasn't well received by investors when the company reported a near-20% fall in after-tax profits.
Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)
E-commerce share Kogan rounds out our ASX growth shares list today. Like the other two shares on this list, the Kogan share price has been decimated over the past 12 months. At the latest pricing, Kogan has lost more than 35% in 2022 thus far. As well as a sobering 58.2% over the past year. Kogan was in many ways a 'pandemic winner'. The lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 saw huge boosts to Kogan's business, which saw higher customer numbers and revenues.
However, as the country and world has slowly returned to what you could call normal, Kogan saw its fortunes cool. Its most recent earnings report saw a slight increase in revenues and customers. But large falls in adjusted profits and earnings. Investors haven't taken kindly to this, and have continued to keep the Kogan share price depressed.
