Key takeaways:

• The local share market inched within a whisker of a record high this week

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Which Shares Excelled?

Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX: NEU) continued its impressive run after sharing positive results from its Phase 2 clinical trial for Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS), signalling significant patient improvement. NEU is up 17% for the week and 175% YTD. I/B/E/S data on Selfwealth platform has four analyst ratings: three are ‘buy’ and one is ‘strong buy’ — as always, this is not personal financial advice or information.

Selfwealth Platform ASX:NEU price forecast.

Recent trading sessions saw a notable rise in Adbri (ASX: ABC), bolstered by a non-binding takeover proposal from CRH and the Barro Group at $3.20 per share. ABC is up 45% in the last month and 3.3% in the last five days. I/B/E/S ratings on Selfwealth platform shows the average of nine analyst ratings is ‘hold’.

Link Administration (ASX: LNK) announced a $1.2 billion scheme with Mitsubishi UFJ for its sale at $2.26 per share, engaging in the ongoing M&A activity. While AFR’s Chanticleer column had scathing words for Link (like “good riddance”) investors saw gains to be made, and the stock has increased 95% in the last month and 3.3% in the last five days.

G8 Education (ASX: GEM) also had a strong week after forecasting FY23 operating EBIT to land between $99 million and $102 million, an improvement from $80.3 million in the previous period. Shares are up nearly 17% this week.

Other achievers included Tabcorp (ASX: TAH) with their notable one-day 22% increase that’s since retreated, Imugene (ASX: IMU) with their 21% weekly gain, Ridley Corporation (ASX: RIC) up 10% this week, and Deep Yellow (ASX: DYL) also up 10%.

Which Shares Dragged on the Market?

PEXA Group (ASX: PXA) led the under-performers due to disappointing FY24 guidance and subsequent broker downgrade, causing a significant drop in its share price. PXA is down over 14% this week.

Weebit Nano (ASX: WBT) experienced a setback due to short-term profit-taking and increasing short interest, significantly reducing its market cap since its peak in March. Shares are down 6% this week, and despite being up 23% YTD have been falling since late July. Motley Fool reports that nearly 8% of the company is currently held by short sellers.

Despite recent shareholder endorsement of the $9.7 billion merger with Livent, Allkem (ASX: AKE)‘s stock fell nearly 6% on Thursday and look to finish the week closer to 8% down. The Australian reports that Investment bank Jarden suggests the deal undervalues AKE’s contribution, noting AKE shareholders would only retain a 56.1% stake in the merged entity, newly donned ‘Arcadium Lithium’, despite contributing significantly to its assets and production capacities.

Others that lagged behind included Liberty Financial (ASX: LFG) down 6%, Lifestyle Communities (ASX: LIC) down nearly 5%, Chrysos Corporation (ASX: C79) down 4%, and Temple & Webster Group (ASX: TPW) down 5%.

What Are Readers Asking for?

We’ve been asking you to use the rating tool below, wait until the feedback option pops up, and tell us what data and companies you want analysed. We’ve collated some recent feedback with abridged versions of the requests below, but they don’t represent all of the requests. We’ve heard your desire for TLS, ZIP, SOL, and OPY reports. Same goes for market segments by sector.

“Please bring back the top 5 stocks for the week that you used to publish before changing to this format.”

As always, this data should not be the main driver in your buying or selling decisions. Always consult a licensed personal financial adviser and consult the PDS before buying stocks. Below we’ve got this week’s most-traded stocks (not ETFs) by volume.

1. Pilbara Minerals (PLS) - Buy:Sell Ratio: 0.56

2. Woodside Energy (WDS) - Buy:Sell Ratio: 0.68

3. Fortescue Metals (FMG) - Buy:Sell Ratio: 0.41

4. BHP (BHP) - Buy:Sell Ratio: 0.43

5. ANZ (ANZ) - Buy:Sell Ratio: 0.41

6. Macquarie (MQG) - Buy:Sell Ratio: 0.47

7. Westpac (WBC) - Buy:Sell Ratio: 0.30

8. CSL (CSL) - Buy:Sell Ratio: 0.41

9. ZIP (ZIP) - Buy:Sell Ratio: 0.44

10. Liontown Resources (LTR) - Buy:Sell Ratio: 0.65

“Hi, could you please explain how best to treat a buyback? Currently I have shares in STG Straker Limited and they are running a buyback. Could you please do a post for new people like me what the best thing to do is.”

We’ve cut the piece of the question that got into specific numbers, and can’t give advice on your personal situation, but we have a share buyback post that might help you here. If you still have questions, let us know in the post’s feedback and we’ll amend.

“Follow Origins stake in Octupus. That’s big news in the energy sector.”

Here’s some news from the Selfwealth platform:

Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) increased its stake in UK-based renewable energy company Octopus Energy by 3%, reaching 23%, through a $523 million investment. This investment was part of a joint effort with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and Generation Investment Management (GIM). CPP Investments is investing an additional $561 million to increase its stake from 6% to 11%, while GIM is investing $84 million, maintaining its approximately 10% interest. The latest capital raise values Octopus at a pre-money valuation of $10.4 billion, a 60% increase since December 2021. Octopus Energy is now the UK’s second-largest energy retailer, with its Kraken platform set to serve over half of the UK households and licensed in ten countries. The deal is pending regulatory approvals, including from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority for Origin’s investment.