As trade opened in Australia this week, the S&P/ASX 200 index found itself down by 0.4%, settling at 7,113.1 points. Likewise, four stocks that market watchers have been keeping their eyes on were noted to have fallen down farther than most.
Lithium and Rare Earths
Three closely-watched firms in lithium and rare earth mining and processing were among the biggest losers for the week.
Atlantic Lithium Ltd remains in hot water this week following allegations by activist investment firm Blue Orca that it had illegally obtained a number of vital mining licenses in Ghana by currying favor with a prominent political family. While Atlantic Lithium executives have denied these allegations, these were enough to decrease its share value by around 9%. The company’s current share price stands at 45.5 Australian cents.
Meanwhile, share prices for Core Lithium Ltd went down to 90.7 cents, marking a decrease of around 4%.
In the case of Arafura Rare Earth Ltd, recent comments from Tesla management drove its share price down by 3.5%. The Musk-led electric vehicle manufacturer recently announced that it would no longer be using rare earths in future EV models. That said, Arafura’s share price now stands at 50.5 cents.
Semiconductors
It may have tried to present itself as a David running against the Goliaths of the semiconductor scene, but Brainchip Holdings Ltd appears to have been trampled on by the competition – and that’s enough to shake investors’ faith in the company.
The mostly unproven semiconductor company continues to struggle to prove its worth in the highly competitive market, but industry watchers feel that it’s unlikely that its sales performance is bound to improve anytime soon.
Brainchip’s share price currently stands at 50.5 cents, dropping by around 4% from last week.