In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a solid gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.65% to 8,503.1 points.
Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:
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Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)
The Collins Foods share price is down 2.5% to $8.41. Investors have been selling this KFC restaurant operator's shares after it released its half year results. For the six months ended 13 October, Collins Foods reported a 1.2% increase in revenue from continuing operations to $703.5 million. This reflects modest growth in Australia being offset by softness in Europe. And on the bottom line, underlying net profit after tax from continuing operations was down 23.8% to $23.7 million. The company's margins were impacted by a combination of flat same-store sales and ongoing inflationary pressures.
Macmahon Holdings Ltd (ASX: MAH)
The Macmahon share price is down almost 3% to 36 cents. This follows the release of an investor presentation at the Canaccord Mining Services Series. At the event, the mining services company reaffirmed its FY 2025 guidance of revenue of $2.4 billion to $2.5 billion and underlying EBITA of $160 million to $175 million. It seems that some investors were expecting an improvement to this guidance.
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)
The Northern Star share price is down a further 3% to $16.09. Investors have been selling this gold miner's shares since it announced an agreement to acquire gold developer De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG) in a deal valued at $5 billion. Northern Star's CEO, Stuart Tonkin, said: "De Grey's Hemi development project will deliver a low-cost, long-life and large-scale gold mine in the Tier-1 jurisdiction of Western Australia, enhancing the quality of Northern Star's asset portfolio to generate cash earnings." It looks like a good number of investors don't agree with this view and have been heading to the exits this week.
Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX: PDI)
The Predictive Discovery share price is down 4% to 23.5 cents. This has been driven by weakness in the gold sector offsetting the release of drilling results from the 5.38M ounces Bankan Gold Project in Guinea, Africa. Managing director, Andrew Pardey, said: "Drilling results from 800W continue to be positive, confirming potential for a satellite deposit in the NEB area that can add ounces and provide mine planning flexibility with future upside potential. We are now completing resource modelling for 800W and a maiden Mineral Resource estimate is planned for early 2025."
