In early afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is on course for another day of gains thanks to strong performances in the telecommunications and industrials sectors. At present the index is higher by 0.1% to 5,757 points.
Four shares which have really caught the eye today with big gains are as follows:
Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO) shares are up 22% to 3.3 cents after the iron ore producer announced that it made a debt repayment of $54 million at the end of the December quarter. As a result management believes the miner is on course to be in a net cash position by the middle of the year. Just as long as iron ore prices remain favourable.
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) shares have rocketed 16% to 10.2 cents despite there being no news out of the uranium production company. Today's gain means its shares have now risen over 43% in the last month. Although things may appear to be improving, I would suggest investors avoid the miner until the ongoing issues with Électricité de France are fully resolved.
Prima BioMed Limited (ASX: PRR) shares have jumped almost 9% to 3.8 cents after the leading immuno-oncology company announced a new collaboration agreement with Japan's CYTLIMIC. The partnership will test a cancer peptide vaccine in combination with Prima BioMed's IMP321 cancer drug. Whilst it is still a little early for an investment, it is worth keeping a close eye on its development in my opinion.
WINHA COMM FPO (ASX: WQW) shares have rocketed 30% to 64 cents. Remarkably this means the specialist food and drink retailer to the Chinese middle class has risen over 82% since listing on the ASX on Wednesday. I think WINHA is a very interesting company with a lot of potential, but I would suggest investors refrain from buying its shares until it has a few solid quarters of growth under its belt.
