The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was well and truly out of form last week after rising bond yields spooked global markets. This led to the benchmark index losing 1.8% over the five days to end at 6,673.3 points.
While a large number of ASX 200 shares dropped with the market, some fell more than most. Here's why these were the worst performers last week:
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Service Stream Limited (ASX: SSM)
The Service Stream share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 32.5% decline. Investors were heading to the exits in their droves following the release of a disappointing half year result. In the first half the essential network services provider reported a 17.7% reduction in revenue to $409.9 million and a 40.5% decline net profit after tax to $16.2 million. Unfortunately, management was expecting a much stronger second half, but warned that this is unlikely now due partly to COVID-19 related and client-initiated delays to work programs.
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
The Appen share price was out of form last week and recorded a decline of 22.7%. The catalyst for this decline was the artificial intelligence data services company's full year results. For the 12 months ended 31 December, Appen posted a 12% increase in revenue to $599.9 million and an 8% lift in EBITDA to $108.6 million. Looking ahead, Appen is forecasting EBITDA growth of 18% to 28% in FY 2021. While this doesn't look bad on paper in the current environment, it fell well short of the market's expectations. Analysts now appear concerned that increasing competition could put pressure on pricing and weigh on its growth.
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)
The Afterpay share price was an uncharacteristically poor performer and sank 21.3% over the five days. A selloff in the tech sector due to rising bond yields was largely to blame for this share price weakness. But also impacting the payments company's shares was its upsized convertible notes offering. Afterpay raised a total of $1.5 billion from investors via the issue of convertible notes with a due date of 2026 and an initial conversion price of $194.82. These will be used to increase its interest in its US business and support its growth. In addition to this, its Co-CEOs have each sold ~$60 million worth of shares.
Perenti Global Ltd (ASX: PRN)
The Perenti share price had a disappointing week and dropped 17.4% over the period. The catalyst for this was the release of the mining services company's half year results. Although Perenti posted a 4.8% increase in revenue to $1,056.2 million, it wasn't able to grow its earnings. The company reported a 25.8% reduction in underlying net profit to $44.6 million. Furthermore, on a statutory basis, things were even worse. Perenti recorded a statutory net loss after tax of $63.8 million.
