The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has remained in the red all day, driven down by energy and resources companies and eventually closed down 0.1%.
These five companies all went against the trend, posting strong gains…
Stanmore Coal Limited (ASX: SMR) share price gained 18.2% to $0.71.5, and is now up nearly 400% since the start of the year. The company bought the Isaac Plains metallurgical coal mine for just $1 in July last year from Vale and Sumitomo Corp as coal prices slumped to near decade-lows of around US$70 a tonne. One year on and the spot coal price is now above US$200 a tonne and Stanmore may have got the bargain of the century. Overnight, the coal price rose again, hitting US$218.10 a tonne according to Steel Index.
OBJ Limited (ASX: OBJ) share price gained 8.5% to 7.7 cents, after the company announced that it had been granted two new US patents for its magnetic microarray technology used in skincare and oral healthcare. The company is a small biotech focusing on providing transdermal and intra-dermal drug delivery as well as therapeutic and dermatological skincare, and you can find more details here.
Karoon Gas Australia Limited (ASX: KAR) share price gained 7.5% to $1.795, after publishing an operations review yesterday. The oil and gas explorer saw its share price zoom higher last week after it announced that the company was buying a stake in two oil projects, including one that is producing 45,000 barrels of oil a day. It seems investors are still highly optimistic about the deal – even though the company hasn't said how much it is paying for the stakes.
Money3 Corporation Limited (ASX: MNY) share price gained 7.4% to $1.805, after broker Bell Potter initiated coverage on the company with a Buy rating and a 12-month price target of $2.40. The broker thinks there are several reasons why the shares are worth much more than the current price – including trading on a P/E ratio of just 10x its FY2017 earnings and strong earnings per share growth last year, and also ahead in the next few years.
Cardno Limited (ASX: CDD) share price gained 7.7% to $1.12. Over the past week, the share price has surged over 20%, despite no news from the company. Some investors could be punting on Cardno receiving another takeover offer, after all, Bradken Limited (ASX: BKN) received its fifth and most likely final takeover offer earlier this month. Cardno offers infrastructure and environmental services but has struggled as the resources boom slowly dies. Last year the company received a proportional takeover valued at $3.15 per share – current shareholders may well be crying.
