{"id":5658,"date":"2024-02-10T07:00:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-10T07:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658"},"modified":"2024-02-10T07:00:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T07:00:55","slug":"criterion-thinking-of-risking-a-finger-on-a-falling-knife-sometimes-they-come-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658","title":{"rendered":"CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The \u2018catch a falling knife\u2019 gambit \u2013 buying beaten-down shares \u2013 stands to be tested after a series of savage sell downs involving some of our biggest listed companies.<\/p>\n<p>In late January,  <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/dominos-pizza-enterprises-dmp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Domino\u2019s Pizza Enterprise (ASX:DMP)<\/a> stock plunged 30 per cent in one day after an earnings downgrade \u2013 only two months after delivered an upbeat trading update.<\/p>\n<p>Other plunging stocks include NDIS and employment intermediary <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/apm-human-services-apm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">APM Human Services (ASX:APM)<\/a>, sterilisation device play <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/nanosonics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nanosonics (ASX:NAN)<\/a>, A.I. mob <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/appen-apx\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Appen (ASX:APX)<\/a> and student wrangler <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/idp-education-iel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IDP Education (ASX:IEL)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>APM and Nanosonics had disappointing earnings\/sales updates, while Appen lost Google as a client. The IDP Education sell off appears to stem from Canada\u2019s decision to limit foreign student visas, but the stock has been off the pace for the past year.<\/p>\n<p>We won\u2019t dwell on lithium plays <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/pilbara-minerals-pls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pilbara Mining (ASX:PLS)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/liontown-resources-ltr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR)<\/a>, which have cratered in line with the lithium price.<\/p>\n<p>While there\u2019s no firm rule, the shares of established, profitable entities tend to recover \u2013 and sometimes quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Factors include whether the problem reflects a cyclical downturn (as with lithium), or whether a self-inflicted problem can be corrected. <\/p>\n<p>Domino\u2019s for instance blamed the profit warning on poor sales in Japan, but the local franchise is fine. Presumably the Japanese operation can be fixed with some tough love at the end of a sharpened Samurai sword.<\/p>\n<p>Last October, shares in debt collector <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/credit-corp-group-ccp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Credit Corp (ASX:CCP)<\/a> fell 44 per cent on the back of a bleak trading update. The stock has more than recovered its losses.<\/p>\n<p>Domino\u2019s has a history of sharp retractions and then quick recoveries. That said, the stock is trading at one-quarter of its peak level of $160 in September 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Nanosonics shares have a habit of falling sharply and recovering, although at around $3 a share the stock is well below its zenith of $7.80 in December 2020.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s trickier when the self-off is spurred by something structural, as is the case with Appen and the loss of Google as a client.<\/p>\n<p>Given the tech giant accounted for 30 per cent of Appen\u2019s revenues and 25 per cent of profits, there\u2019s no easy fix. But hopefully the new CEO \u2013 installed this week \u2013 will have answers beyond consulting Chatbot.<\/p>\n<p>So how do investors protect themselves from being lacerated by the falling knife?<\/p>\n<p>It goes without saying \u2013 but we\u2019ll say it anyway \u2013 the company needs a balance sheet that is strong enough to avoid the bankers from calling the shots.<\/p>\n<p>Another consideration is the extent is the level of short selling in the stock (short sellers sell a share before they have bought it, in the hope of purchasing it at a lower price to fulfil the transaction).<\/p>\n<p>But a high level of shorting is not necessarily a \u2018sell\u2019 signal. On the contrary, if the company performs better than expected and the shares rise, the \u2018shorters\u2019 will scramble to buy shares to cover their position (thus pushing up the price further).<\/p>\n<p>On January 29, shares in the marked-down tech play <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/megaport-mp1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Megaport (ASX:MP1)<\/a> soared 28 per cent after a better than expected update, to $12.48. <\/p>\n<p>The current short position in the company is around 2.4 per cent, compared with 12 per cent when the stock slumped to a low of $4.30 in April 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Buyers of trashed shares have the comfort of knowing they are not buying at the peak. But there are disconcerting exceptions to the rule, as holders in the collapsed health\/wellness plays <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/bwx-ltd-bwx\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BWX (ASX:BWX)<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/bod-australia-bod\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bod Health Science (ASX:BOD)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/halo-food-hlf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Halo Food (ASX:HLF)<\/a> would attest.<\/p>\n<p>Others \u2013 notable former tech darling <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/whispir-wsp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Whispir (ASX:WSP)<\/a> and fruit and veg grower <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/company\/costa-group-holdings-cgc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Costa Group (ASX:CGC)<\/a> \u2013 will be acquired for a fraction of their previous worth.<\/p>\n<p><em>This story does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The views, information, or opinions expressed in the interviews in this article are solely those of the interviewees and do not represent the views of Stockhead. Stockhead does not provide, endorse or otherwise assume responsibility for any financial product advice contained in this article.<br \/>\n <\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"et_bloom_bottom_trigger\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/experts\/criterion-thinking-of-risking-a-finger-on-a-falling-knife-sometimes-they-come-back\/\">CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/stockhead.com.au\/\">Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The \u2018catch a falling knife\u2019 gambit \u2013 buying beaten-down shares \u2013 stands to be tested after a series of savage sell downs involving some of <a href=\"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658\" class=\"read-more-link\">[more&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026 - Economic Herald<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026 - Economic Herald\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The \u2018catch a falling knife\u2019 gambit \u2013 buying beaten-down shares \u2013 stands to be tested after a series of savage sell downs involving some of [more...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Economic Herald\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-10T07:00:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1444510357_edited-lFl93I.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1827\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1028\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-10T07:00:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658\"},\"wordCount\":715,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/GettyImages-1444510357_edited-lFl93I.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Finance\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658\",\"name\":\"CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026 - Economic Herald\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/GettyImages-1444510357_edited-lFl93I.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-10T07:00:55+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/GettyImages-1444510357_edited-lFl93I.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/GettyImages-1444510357_edited-lFl93I.jpeg\",\"width\":1827,\"height\":1028},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?p=5658#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/\",\"name\":\"Economic Herald\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Economic Herald\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/cropped-cropped-economicheraldlogo-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/cropped-cropped-economicheraldlogo-1.png\",\"width\":850,\"height\":760,\"caption\":\"Economic Herald\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/economicherald.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026 - Economic Herald","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026 - Economic Herald","og_description":"The \u2018catch a falling knife\u2019 gambit \u2013 buying beaten-down shares \u2013 stands to be tested after a series of savage sell downs involving some of [more...]","og_url":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658","og_site_name":"Economic Herald","article_published_time":"2024-02-10T07:00:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1827,"height":1028,"url":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1444510357_edited-lFl93I.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026","datePublished":"2024-02-10T07:00:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658"},"wordCount":715,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1444510357_edited-lFl93I.jpeg","articleSection":["Finance"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658","url":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658","name":"CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026 - Economic Herald","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1444510357_edited-lFl93I.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-02-10T07:00:55+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1444510357_edited-lFl93I.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/GettyImages-1444510357_edited-lFl93I.jpeg","width":1827,"height":1028},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?p=5658#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CRITERION: Thinking of risking a finger on a falling knife? Sometimes they come back\u2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/","name":"Economic Herald","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/#organization","name":"Economic Herald","url":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/cropped-cropped-economicheraldlogo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/cropped-cropped-economicheraldlogo-1.png","width":850,"height":760,"caption":"Economic Herald"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/economicherald.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}