The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has closed down 0.6%, as resources stocks were sold off, but that didn't stop the following four stocks posting gains of more than 16%.
Here's why these stocks moved.
Highfield Resources Ltd (ASX: HFR) soared 26% to close at 63 cents, after the potash explorer upgraded its resource estimate for its Javier project in Northern Spain. The project is 100% owned by the company, and is less than 40km from two former operating mines.
LBT Innovations Limited (ASX: LBT) climbed 18.9% to finish at 22 cents. The company designs automated diagnostic solutions in healthcare and recently announced that it expected to see recurring revenues from its Previ®Isola and APAS® products. LBT Innovations expects to see significant milestone payments and licence fees as well as recurring royalties to 2028.
SFG Australia (ASX: SFW) gained 18.5% to end at 86.5 cents, after receiving a 90 cent takeover offer from fellow financial services firm IOOF Holdings. Consolidation in the sector has been rife in recent times, as companies look to reduce costs by increasing in scale.
Armour Energy Ltd (ASX: AJQ) added 16.7% to 17.5 cents. While no news was released today to explain the share price move, a broker report in March this year valued the shares at 59 cents each. The company owns a 100% interest in one of the largest shale gas acreage positions in Australia according to the report.
While some of these companies are high risk small caps, if they can capitalise on their potential, they could be worth much more in the years ahead, despite today's price gains. Having said that, very few small speculative stocks manage to do that, and investors may want to consider three oil and gas companies that are already producing and have plenty of potential.
