It has been a disappointing day for the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO). The index is lower by 0.5% to 5,429 points due to heavy declines in the materials and energy sectors.
But going against the grain and storming higher have been four shares in particular. Each has put on a strong gain today and here's why:
ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ) shares have bounced back from yesterday's heavy decline with a 3.5% jump to $6.27. Today's gain appears to relate to a research note out of Macquarie which revealed its analysts had placed an outperform rating on the testing and analytical laboratory services provider. The release of disappointing first-half results yesterday sent its shares lower, but its plans to divest its loss-making Oil and Gas businesses appear to have pleased some investors.
Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF) shares are up over 5% to $5.90 after the KFC franchisee released its half-year results. During the first half net profit after tax rose 7.8% to $15 million. Whilst this was a solid result, I think investors have been buying its shares today due to its international expansion plans. Management provided more details on its recent purchase of 11 German KFC restaurants. The company paid €12.7 million to acquire them, which has been estimated to be around 10x earnings.
JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) shares are up 3% to $27.66, despite there being no news out of the retailer. On Monday JB Hi-Fi announced that its acquisition of The Good Guys completed. I believe this puts the company in a great position ahead of the all-important Christmas shopping period. At around 16x forecast full year earnings and providing a fully franked 3.9% dividend, JB Hi-Fi looks reasonable value to me now.
Zelda Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: ZLD) shares have rocketed higher by 43% to 3.3 cents after the medicinal cannabis company revealed extremely positive results from its proof of concept study into the anti-cancer effects of its THC-rich medical cannabis formulation. Although it is still early days this is definitely a huge step forward for the company and I'm not too surprised to see its shares rally.
