Australian shares have recovered from an early dip and are trading marginally higher just before noon. The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) and ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) are both up 0.2% with investors taking a cautious approach in light of the latest updates in Greece's debt drama.
However, a number of companies have managed to buck the trend and have recorded reasonable gains so far, including these five…
1-Page Ltd (ASX: 1PG) has risen 4.3% to trade at $1.96. 1-Page is striving to revolutionise the way in which employers hire and promote talent with a system that could one day threaten the dominance of companies such as SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK). Last week, 1-Page said that it has renewed six enterprise contracts while it has successfully transitioned 100% of its pilots into long-term paying customers.
Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) surged 7.3% higher to $85.36, despite the absence of any specific news which would explain the jump. It's possible that investors are simply taking the opportunity to buy the stock at a discount following a 13% decline over the last five weeks or so.
McMillan Shakespeare Limited (ASX: MMS) rose 5.4% to $12.40 after analysts at Goldman Sachs lifted their price target by 9% to $12.02 per share. McMillan Shakespeare is a provider of salary packaging and novated leasing, together with fleet and asset management services. Although the stock has retreated recently, it's still up 33% over the last 12 months.
Slater & Gordon Limited (ASX: SGH) closed near its lowest price in two years on Friday at just $3.39, but has regained 2.7% this morning to trade at $3.48. Slater & Gordon has come under enormous selling pressure recently as financial regulators look at reported accounting errors. Some investors might be hopeful that no further errors will be uncovered and are thus buying back into the stock, although 'hope' is hardly a reliable investment strategy.
Integrated Research Limited (ASX: IRI) gained another 3.9% to trade at $1.86 which follows the stock's 13.3% rally on Friday. The software business provided an update on its profit guidance, stating that it expects to report net profit after tax in the range of $13.5 million and $14.5 million. That represents a gain of 59% to 71% compared to last year $8.5 million result, highlighting that the group's customer-oriented strategy is working.
