The S&P/ASX 300 (Index: ^AXKO) (ASX: XKO) has staged an impressive recovery since early March, rising 9.5% to be up nearly 2% since the start of this year.
These 4 companies boast even more impressive gains, having risen more than 40% in the past 3 months…
Emerchants Ltd (ASX: EML)
Emerchants has seen its share price rise 47% since early March and currently trades around $1.48. The company issues and processes prepaid financial cards such as reloadable cards and gift cards. Emerchants had a big win at the end of March, announcing it would launch payment cards in the UK with bet365. Earlier in May, the company also announced the US$35 million acquisition of Store Financial Services, LLC, giving the company exposure to the US and Canada for prepaid store value programs. That acquisition adds $33.3 million of revenues and $4.7 million earnings to the group's results.
Select Harvests Limited (ASX: SHV)
Almond producer Select Harvests has shrugged off a poor first-half result to see its share price recover 71% to trade at $6.96 currently. Bargain hunters poured into the shares after they had hit $3.73 in early April and were trading on a trailing P/E ratio of under 5x. At the current price of $6.96, Select Harvests is still on a low P/E ratio of 8.4x, but that reflects the outlook for the company this financial year. Almond prices have continued to fall, and earlier this year there were reports that buyers had 'disappeared'. A recent presentation appeared to confirm that the company was on track and happy with its progress, boosting investors' confidence.
Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)
Pro Medicus has seen its share price zoom 71% higher in the past three months and now trades at $4.80 after a series of positive announcements. A $21 million deal with US-based Mercy Health to use Pro Medicus' Visage 7 technology for diagnosis and distribution of medical images, a $7 million deal with US-based Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System to use the same technology over 7 years and a share buyback.
That comes on top of an impressive first half FY16 results where net profit zoomed 83% higher. Pro Medicus has a large market to grow into, and a huge pipeline of opportunities, particularly in the US.
Still, shares aren't cheap, trading on a rough annualised P/E of ~80x, but if the company can continue to pick up more contracts, that number will come down quickly. If you want to get a better overview, here's an article that discusses the company in more detail.
Clean TeQ Holdings Limited (ASX: CLQ)
Saving the best performer for last, the Clean TeQ share price is up a whopping 176% since early March 2016 and currently trades at 44.2 cents. You might think Clean TeQ is involved in some sort of value-added service for companies you'd be partly right. In fact, Clean TeQ is part resource company, part tech company. Clean TeQ is using its filtration and purification technology to develop one of the world's highest-grade and largest scandium deposits at its Syerston project in Western NSW.
Scandium is a rare earth element and incredibly valuable – recent prices were around US$2,000 to US$3,000 per kilogram of scandium oxide. The Syerston project contains an estimated 603 tonnes of scandium oxide according to the company.
While still some way from producing commercial quantities of scandium, Clean TeQ is expecting a feasibility study in June 2016 which should give a better indication of the viability of the project.
