On a day when the broader S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) was tumbling 0.9% lower, the following four shares were flying higher.
- Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) – up 11%
Shares of software development firm, Altium Limited, jumped 11% following its signing of an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) agreement with Dassault Systèmes. The agreement will see Altium's Unified Design Platform, which helps designers create printed circuit boards (PCBs) for electronic products, integrate seamlessly with Dassault's new SOLIDWORKS computer-aided design product.
"Dassault Systèmes' selection of Altium's PCB software technology is the most powerful endorsement of Altium's bid for market leadership and is a clear indication that Altium is seen by industry leaders as the future of PCB design software," Altium CEO, Aram Mirkazemi, said.
- Navitas Limited (ASX: NVT) – up 4.7%
Navitas Limited's share price rose more than 9% in early trading today after the global education provider announced its half-year report for the period ended 31 December 2015. Navitas reported an 8% uplift in revenue, 43.8% increase in profit, a dividend of 9.6 cents and a share buyback of up to 7.5% of shares on issue. Navitas' SAE business helped drive profits higher.
- Fletcher Building Limited (Australia) (ASX: FBU) – up 3.7%
Fletcher Building shares rose firmly higher following its announcement to buy Higgins Group Holdings Limited for $NZ315 million and restructure its business. Fletcher has partnered with Higgins for many years. The purchase price, if the deal is successful, represents an underlying EBIT multiple of 9x. Following the group's divestment of Rocla Quarry Products last week, Fletcher Building has divided its operations into five divisions.
- Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA) – up 3.3%
Bega Cheese shares rose 3.3% today after a selloff yesterday saw them fall 10.7%. Yesterday, Bega said it would no only longer continue to produce Coles' home brand cheeses from January 2017. It said it would use the spare capacity to support its growing infant formula and nutritionals platform.
