ASX Trading Wrap: Zip plots a recovery
Rene Anthony
As alarm bells sound in the US courtesy of the second straight quarter of negative GDP growth, and inflation races away from the RBA and Australian government, the local share market has managed to hit a seven-week high as investors bet the market bottom' may already be behind us.
Which shares excelled?
With a stunning rally this week, and also reclaiming a $1 billion market cap in the process, Zip (ASX: ZIP) is this week best performing stock. The one-time favourite from the buy-now pay-later segment is still down over 85% from its all-time high, but the stock has leapt over 70% just in the first four trading sessions of this week.The catalyst for the stock turnaround has been news of its plans to restructure its operations. This includes exiting some non-core business divisions, like its finance arm, Trade and Trade Plus products, Pocketbook finance app, and geographic markets like Singapore. Management has also put on hold any plans to dip into crypto or investing services, and the recent decision to terminate its proposed tie-up with US based peer Sezzle (ASX: SZL) has been welcomed.Fresh off a boost in energy prices, Karoon Energy (ASX: KAR) has had a bumper week thanks to its quarterly production report. It reported a 13% increase in net realised oil prices compared with the March quarter, reaching US$107.43 per barrel, while daily production volumes reached 11,878. This was enough to see it deliver 4.64 million barrels across the financial year, and US$104.1 million in sales across the quarter.Elsewhere, iron ore and lithium miner Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) handed down its own quarterly update, and the results showed a company hitting its stride. The company notched up a full-year production record of 274 million tonnes of iron ore in the financial year. Although slightly below forecast, investors looked past that fact as its full-year shipments totalled 19.1 million wet metric tonnes of iron ore, at the top end of its guidance, while lithium spodumene numbers also continue to build.Higher gold prices have given the impetus to a number of names that have been out of favour over recent months. The price of the precious metal rallied from a mid-week low of US$1,715/oz to US$1,754/oz, buoying the share prices of St Barbara (ASX: SBM), Bellevue Gold (ASX: BGL), West African Resources (ASX: WAF), Gold Road Resources (ASX: GOR), and De Grey Mining (ASX: DEG).On a different note, shares in graphite miner Syrah Resources (ASX: SYR) have also taken off this week, with the company benefitting from a US$102 million loan from the US Department of Energy. Proceeds from the loan are intended to support the company efforts to expand its Vidalia active abode material facility in Louisiana, with its capacity set to reach 11,250 tonnes per annum.Among this week other major movers are Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA), Lake Resources (ASX: LKE), Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN), and SiteMinder (ASX: SDR).
Which shares dragged on the market?
Dicker Data (ASX: DDR) started the week on unsteady footing despite posting half-year results that featured strong growth for the company. Thanks to the contribution of its new acquisitions, revenue climbed 36% during the half to $1.5 billion, while EBITDA grew 20% to $61 million. One soft point for the firm was a moderation of gross margins, which fell to 8.8% due to supply chain issues.Also beginning the week on the back foot was Polynovo (ASX: PNV), which develops innovative medical devices using its patented bioabsorbable polymer technology. The company shares were sold down after a recent relief rally that largely defied the market decline seen during May.Coal producer Yancoal (ASX: YAL) was hurt by Thursday brutal sell-off as global mining titan Glencore sold its $422 million stake in the business via a block trade. The parcel was cleared at a price of $5 per share, which was a discount of more than 12% compared with the prior closing price of the stock. The sale was enough to see the rest of the market follow suit in lowering its valuation for the company, which has been one of the top-performing ASX names in 2022.Shares in iron ore junior Grange Resources (ASX: GRR) were sold off sharply on Tuesday after releasing its June quarter results. Unlike its bigger peer in Mineral Resources, the company was hurt by news that its realised sales price for iron ore decreased 37% during the quarter, and product costs rose by 15% during that time due to higher energy prices. Attention now turns to the definitive pre-feasibility study for its 70%-owned Southdown Magnetite Project.Toll road operator Atlas Arteria (ASX: ALX) was dealt a setback this week as the company potential takeover was shelved. IFM Global Infrastructure Fund had previously approached the business with a view to lob a bid at the group after taking up a 15% stake in the business. However, the fund has now cooled to that prospect, stating it is not presently in a position to meaningfully progress a proposal.
We'll be back next week with another Weekly ASX Trading Wrap Up - until then, have a great week!
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