It's looking a lot like the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is going to finish the week higher. Currently it's up around 0.6% to 5,417 points, putting it up by 1.25% for the week.
There has been little by way of gains to be found in the resources sector, with the consumer discretionary and information technology sectors performing strongest with gains of over 1%.
Four shares that have stood out head and shoulders above the rest are as follows:
Aconex Ltd (ASX: ACX) has been up by over 4% to $6.57 today, continuing its fantastic run of gains since UBS increased its price target on the shares to $7.20. This new price target would imply upside of almost 10% still remains for the shares despite their rapid rise this year. I believe Aconex is one of the brightest growth shares on the ASX, so this price target increase doesn't come as a great surprise. It is definitely worth a closer look in my opinion.
Aconex shareholders have enjoyed a great year, seeing its share price rise by 26% so far in 2016.
Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) was up by over 4% at one stage, but has since dropped back down to a 2.5% gain to $12.77. Today's gain comes on the back of yesterday's half-year report which saw incredible growth year-on-year. Aristocrat Leisure delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 47.4% to just over $1 billion, and statutory net profit after tax growth of 104% to $159 million. With analysts expecting strong earnings growth to come in the future, this could be another one to keep a close eye on.
Aristocrat Leisure's share price has risen by over 25% year-to-date.
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) shareholders will be smiling all through the weekend after seeing its share price climb by over 14% to $2.20 today. The language and voice recognition services company held its annual general meeting today and the reaction to it has been positive. It would appear that it was the full-year outlook which got investors most excited. It expects full-year earnings growth to be in the high-teen percentages or above.
Appen's share price has now rocketed higher by 222% in the last 12 months.
Spotless Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SPO) is bouncing back from a 10% decline yesterday with a 4.3% gain to $1.09 today. Yesterday's decline raised a few eyebrows at The Australian, which reported today that almost 3 million shares in the cleaning and catering company changed hands for $1.09 after the market closed yesterday.
Despite today's gains, Spotless shareholders are still nursing a 12-month paper loss of 51%.
