It's been a rather successful year for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far (touch wood). The ASX 200 has now gained 9.5% year to date and has made a series of fresh new all-time highs, the latest of which was just yesterday. However, not all ASX 200 shares have joined the party. Here's a look at three of these shares, which are currently down 50% or more in 2021 so far:
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A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)
It didn't take too long for A2 Milk to go from hero to, well, not quite zero, but a definite loser for many ASX 200 investors. In August last year, A2 Milk was at a fresh all-time high of $20.05 per share, having climbed more than 900% over the preceding 4 years. But today, this company is sitting at $5.72, down 71% from those highs. That includes a 50.04% drop in 2021 alone.
The COVID-19 pandemic, a halt in the daigou trade, deteriorating diplomatic relations between China and Australia, and inventory issues have all contributed to a series of earnings guidance downgrades at the company over the past few months. And the results have not been pretty for A2 shareholders. On the bright side, A2 shares are now up by around 11% since mid-May, so perhaps things have turned a corner. We'll have to wait and see.
Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL)
Another disappointing ASX 200 share in 2021 so far has been the new kid on the ASX block, Nuix. Nuix made its ASX debut back in December last year. Initially, it was quite a successful initial public offering (IPO), with Nuix shares running up by around 40% during the following 6 weeks to a 52-week high of $11.86, but things were all downhill from there.
At the time of writing, Nuix shares are sitting at $2.69, down by around 67% year to date, and around 80% from February's highs. The company's share price also lost 30% in May alone. A series of media reports alleging poor governance and financial disclosure issues appears to be the primary catalyst here. A recent earnings guidance downgrade also didn't help.
Perenti Global Ltd (ASX: PRN)
Mining services company Perenti is another ASX 200 share that hasn't had a great start to the year. Perenti shares were trading at $1.41 apiece at the dawn of 2021 but, today, they are going for just 68 cents. That's a drop of a bit over 50%.
Perenti is another company that has been forced to downgrade its earnings in recent months, much to the chagrin of investors. The company has been hit hard by the pandemic, as well as both a rising Australian dollar and an increased wage bill.
