The S&P /ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) has slipped 0.3% into the red this afternoon as investors stick to the sidelines ahead of the weekend with no real macro-economic news to give the local market any direction. However, there are four well-known companies storming higher for differing reasons. So let's take a look at what might be behind the share price action.
The Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) share price is up 3.8% to $6.47 today despite the fruit and vegetables grower and distributor releasing no specific news to the market. In financial year 2018 Costa posted a statutory net profit of $115 million on revenue of $1,002 million, it also hiked total annual dividends 23% to 13.5 cents per share. The stock is probably climbing on the back of a broker upgrade as bargain hunters swoop in on a stock that has fallen around 25% since the middle of August.
The APA Group Limited (ASX: APA) share price has rebounded 4.4% higher today after the gas pipeline operator shed more than 8% of its value yesterday on the back of news that the treasurer of Australia, Josh Frydenberg, is set to block its proposed takeover by Hong Kong-based investment group CKI Holdings. The news reportedly shocked APA and CKI management, but it looks like APA is set to remain a public company over the medium term at least.
The AMA Group Limited (ASX: AMA) share price is up an impressive 12% to $1.03 today after the smash repairs group yesterday updated the market to expect full year EBITDA in the range of $58 million to $60 million in financial year 2019. The group has also raised $9.5 million in capital at 95.32 cents per share from a number of institutional investors to help fund the group's next leg of growth. In fact Australia's largest superannuation fund in AustralianSuper now owns 9.67% of AMA Group.
The G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) share price rocketed 11.3% to $2.36 today despite the childcare aggregator releasing no specific news to the market. However G8 shares have still lost nearly 50% of their value of the past year after the indebted group warned of lower occupancy levels as more supply comes online. The share price rise today is probably the result of bargain hunters believing the stock has fallen too far.
