3 stocks that moved by more than 5 per cent on Tuesday

Tuesday's market was relatively flat, but that didn't stop these companies moving by more than 5%

Mike King

Mike King is a Fool.com.au Investment Analyst and Writer. He caught the investing bug more than a decade ago, at a time when the U.S. had invaded Iraq and fear reigned in the markets. His initial success as the markets took off encouraged his passion and thirst for knowledge. With 13 years behind him at one of Australia's largest domestic banks, Mike's passion for stocks led him to join a boutique funds management firm, where he stayed for four years. A seven-year stint in equity research at one of the largest investment banks in the world followed that, giving Mike a thirst to pursue his passion further. Mike holds a Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment and a Graduate Certificate in Financial Planning. His passion is to help retail investors invest better, and that passion was one of his primary reasons for joining The Motley Fool Australia in late 2011. Mike has written thousands of articles since joining, including for Fairfax Media, Yahoo!7, Ninemsn and has also appeared on ABC's The Business. You can see all of Mikes' holdings here

Published April 26, 2012 10:41 am AEST

The S&P/ ASX 200 Index rose 8 points or 0.18 per cent to 4,360.4 on Tuesday. Three stocks in the ASX 200 index moved by more than 5 per cent, one of them positive, two were negative. Let's take a look at them in more detail below.

The only stock in the index to rise by more than 5 per cent, Mirabela Nickel Limited (ASX:MBN) rose by 5.3 per cent to close at $0.495. And that rise comes after the stock has fallen 18 per cent this month, before the company issued its latest quarterly production report on Monday 23^rd April 2012.

In that report, Mirabela announced that production was down 16 per cent and sales for the quarter were down 19 per cent, compared to the last quarter of 2011. Cash costs are expected to improve from US$7.42/lb toward US$6.00/lb by the end of 2012.

Apparently these results were better than had been expected.

Paladin Energy Limited (ASX: PDN) fell 6.25 per cent to close at $1.575. This comes on top of a more than 50 per cent fall so far in the last 12 months. The uranium miner has projects in Namibia and Malawi, and resumed trading today after announcing plans to raise more capital. The company plans to sell at least US$225m of convertible notes due in 2017, and has the option to upsize to US$275m. The funds will be used to rollover US$325m of convertible bonds due in March 2013.

In an amusing side play, The Australian Financial Review reported that Paladin was planning to issue the notes on the 20^th April. The company issued a release later the same day stating that it was not planning to sell convertible notes, only to turn around on Monday 23^rd April and announce that err, sorry, yes, we are actually issuing convertible bonds. Both announcements were signed by the same person, CEO and MD, Mr John Borshoff.

The company has reported increasing losses over the last 18 months, despite higher revenues.

AWE Limited (ASX: AWE) also fell, but by 5.24 per cent to close at $1.81. Possibly because of a Citigroup downgrade in rating from buy to neutral, citing project delays, cost over-runs and lower production forecasts. (Should that really be a sell then, if it's that bad?)

According to the broker, AWE's BassGas joint venture is facing a 2-3 month delay and will cost around $100m more than originally envisioned, due to poor weather and industrial conditions.

AWE has also cut its production forecast to 4.7 million barrels of oil equivalent, due to the slippage in the project schedule and the delay in restarting production. AWE owns 46.25 per cent of the BassGas Project, with Origin Energy Limited (ASX: ORG) holding 42.5 per cent and Toyota Tsusho Gas E&P Trefoil Pty Ltd holding the remaining 11.25 per cent.

The ASX is already on the move in 2012, and Goldman Sachs experts recently said they reckon S&P/ASX 200 could top 5,000 next year. Read This Before The Coming Market Rally is a must-read for investors who don't want to miss out on the party. Click here now to request your free copy, before it's too late

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Motley Fool contributor Mike King doesn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned. Take Stock is The Motley Fool Australia's free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Click here now to request your free subscription, whilst it's still available. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691).

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