The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is having a good day and is up 0.3% to 5,737 points in afternoon trade.
Four shares which have climbed more than most today are listed below. Here's why they have surged higher:
The Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) share price has jumped 4% to $21.90 today. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the gaming technology company's shares since last week's impressive half-year result. It's not hard to see why when half-year profit after tax jumped a massive 56.9% to $249.6 million.
The Freedom Foods Group Ltd (ASX: FNP) share price is up 6.5% to $4.72 despite there being no news out of the food producer. In early afternoon trade almost 4x as many shares have changed hands as they would on an average day. Today's gain now brings its three-month return to an impressive 21%.
The Kidman Resources Ltd (ASX: KDR) share price has rocketed 16.5% to 56.5 cents. The market appears to believe the lithium miner's court battle with mineral exploration company Marindi Metals Ltd (ASX: MZN) is going to go in its favour. Kidman is defending claims by Marindi Metals that an agreement existed between the parties in regard to lithium rights at its lucrative Mt Holland project.
The NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) share price has bounced back from yesterday's decline with a 5.5% jump to $5.42. A research note out of Macquarie this morning revealed that its analysts upgraded the private health insurer's shares to an outperform rating after yesterday's sell-off. Macquarie doesn't believe the ACCC court proceedings will have a material impact on its business.
