Key takeaways:

• While iron ore, base metals, and coal struggled this week, the uranium segment was showing no signs of paring its recent gains 

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Before we jump into this week’s recap and reader questions, we’re pleased to announce that the Selfwealth YouTube LIVE Technical Analysis traders’ sessions will be back up and running on January 23. Subscribe to our channel for notifications.

Which Shares Excelled?

Uranium stocks continued their upward trajectory for the third consecutive week, with the commodity hitting a 16-year high of US$106 per pound. This positively impacted stocks like Energy Resources of Australia (ASX: ERA), Boss Energy (ASX: BOE), Deep Yellow (ASX: DYL), and Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN).

Luxury fashion retailer Cettire (ASX: CTT) also performed well, despite any company updates. The only news relating to the sector would be Australia’s recent jobs report which hinted at a slower pace for future RBA rate hikes.

IT services provider Data#3 (ASX: DTL) announced a promising preliminary first-half result for FY24, with net profit before tax set to exceed guidance.

PWR Holdings (ASX: PWH) announced the acquisition of four car dealerships in NSW for approximately $27 million, expected to be “immediately EPS accretive after funding costs”.

Other gainers included Mader Group (ASX: MAD), Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX: TLX), and Life360 (ASX: 360).

Which Shares Dragged on the Market?

APM Human Services (ASX: APM) saw a significant drop of nearly 41% after issuing a profit warning, forecasting first-half underlying net profit of $55 million, versus last year’s $85.4 million.

Large-cap gold producer Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) dropped approximately 20% on Wednesday morning after its December quarterly results saw gold production fall well short of market forecasts, and all-in costs running well above analysts’ consensus expectations.

MarketIndex reports the following on expectations versus performance:

• Gold production of 161,073 ounces, up 2% quarter-on-quarter

• Copper production of 14,041 pounds, up 3% quarter-on-quarter

• All-in sustaining cost of $1,618 an ounce, unchanged quarter-on-quarter

• Cowal: 71,848 ounces vs. 76,700 expected

• Ernest Henry: 20,371 ounces vs. 20,100 expected

• Red Lake: 24,095 ounces vs. 36,100 expected

• Mungari: 28,130 ounces vs. 33,400 expected

• Mt Rawdon: 15,618 ounces vs. 17,300 expected

Evolution has kept their FY24 guidance figures for gold output despite these numbers. Data on Selfwealth platform provided by Refinitiv shows the following price predictions.

After failing to land a takeover, US-listed chemical manufacturing giant Albemarle dumped its stake in lithium developer Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR), which led to a large slump in the latter’s share price, which is now trading almost 60% below Albemarle’s final bid

Liontown price predictions for the same Selfwealth platform data set are below.

Amid weak data from China, Alumina (ASX: AWC), Nickel Industries (ASX: NIC), and South32 (ASX: S32) also saw declines.

What Are Selfwealth Readers Asking For?

On Fridays, we’re going to keep responding directly to readers’ feedback (given after you provide a star rating below). We won’t always be able to get to all of you, but these are a snapshot, with reader questions followed by our responses.

“You again missed major advancers like ZIP, not sure why this is…”

It’s true, we haven’t covering ZIP as extensively as when it was a most-held stock on the Selfwealth platform. The stock is now trading below a market cap of $750 million, which is a threshold we use to assess the week’s major movers since larger stocks typically have a disproportionate role shaping the broader market. Here’s an abridged breakdown of the company’s recent activity:

Zip Co Ltd has taken significant steps to restructure its finances, offering CVI Investments an option to convert $40 million of convertible notes into 21.7 million shares, coupled with a $29.4 million cash incentive. This move is part of Zip’s broader strategy to manage liabilities and remove costly financing from its balance sheet, particularly convertible debt. Despite this, $85 million in senior convertible bonds remain outstanding, with $25.1 million already converted into shares.

The company is also reshaping its funding framework. It has refinanced a $US225 million US receivables funding facility with Victory Park for three years and recently secured $300 million from the Australian securitisation market. These new arrangements are expected to slightly boost Zip’s cash position while having a minimal impact on corporate interest expenses.

Under the leadership of new CEO Cynthia Scott, Zip anticipates positive group cash earnings before tax depreciation and amortisation in the second half of 2024. Citi analyst Siraj Ahmed acknowledges Zip’s robust US revenue growth and potential upside to consensus estimates, leading to an upgraded 2024 cash EBTDA forecast from $6 million to $17 million.

Despite recent fluctuations, with shares falling 3.2% to 61¢ but rising 23% earlier in the year, Zip’s stock remains significantly lower than its peak in February 2021.