It looks like we are going to have a disappointing finish to the week with the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) currently down by around 0.8% to 5,314 points. Despite the decline today though, the index does look likely to claw out a small gain for the week.
On a day where there seems to have been more shares heading lower than higher, these four shares defied the market and managed to put on strong gains for shareholders.
Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) carried on from yesterday's strong performance with a 7% gain to $12.40. The developer, manufacturer and distributor of gaming content, platforms and systems delivered a great half year report yesterday, with positive full year guidance. Management expects to report full year net profit after tax and amortisation of $366 million, which would be an increase of 55% year-on-year.
Aristocrat Leisure is now up by over 21% this week alone.
Credit Corp Group Limited (ASX: CCP) is another share that is spending a second day flying higher, this time by almost 5% to $12.35. It would appear as though investors are jumping in following the debt collection services company's recent guidance update. The update forecasts an improved growth outlook for the next financial year, with its US operations becoming monthly breakeven by the middle of FY 2017.
Credit Corp shareholders will be pleased to see the share price up by around 18% so far in 2016.
Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) shares were on a tear today, climbing by over 6% to $4.71 at one stage before dropping off a touch. Pro Medicus has been riding high in the last 12 months following a number of contract wins. The company's radiology technology is generally regarded as being head and shoulders above anything else in the market, helping it gain a lot of traction in the lucrative US market. It may trade on an exorbitant trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 140, but the potential growth ahead and its debt-free balance sheet could easily justify paying a premium today.
Pro Medicus' share price has gained over 130% in the last 12 months.
XERO FPO NZX (ASX: XRO) shares have been the standout performer today rocketing around 7% to $15.47. Today's gains appear to be a delayed reaction to the cloud accounting software provider's full year results. The shares may have finished flat yesterday, but today it has been a very different story as investors appear to click on to the exciting growth that may lay ahead for Xero. For the full year, Xero delivered revenue growth of 67%. Equally impressive is the company's low churn rate of just 1.2%.
Despite these gains Xero's share price is still down by 16% in 2016.
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