It is looking like it's going to be a disappointing finish to the week, with the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down by 1% to 5,309 points in afternoon trading.
These declines are largely across the board, with only the utilities sector posting small gains today. If things stay the same way, the S&P/ASX 200 index will finish the week lower by around 0.2%.
Going against the grain and pushing higher today have been four shares in particular. Here's why:
Idp Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) shares have rallied by around 3% to a 52-week high of $4.70 today following news that it had been included in the S&P/ASX All Australian 200 Index. As this article explains, shares will often rally when they are included in an index for various reasons such as being bought by index-tracking funds or coming onto the radar of the wider market. IDP Education is a Melbourne-based provider of international student placement services and operates English language schools in South East Asia. It grew half-year net profit after tax by over 19% thanks to strong demand for its services. I believe it is worth keeping a close eye on.
IDP Education shares have climbed almost 38% since listing on the ASX in November last year.
Seven West Media Ltd (ASX: SWM) shares have skyrocketed by 11% to $1.21 today despite no news being released to the market. Of all the media shares available on the ASX, I do think Seven West Media is one of the most attractive. At just 8x estimated FY 2016 earnings, its shares do look cheap. In addition to this, its $22 million investment for a 15% stake in the services marketplace of Airtasker is something that caught my eye. It has been estimated that Airtasker and rival Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN) have a total addressable market of $75 billion in gross payment volume. In a few years this could prove to be a smart and profitable investment.
Seven West Media shares are now up by a whopping 54% in 2016.
Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (ASX: VAH) shares have rallied by almost 4% to 29 cents after it was announced that AIR N.Z. FPO NZ (ASX: AIZ) would divest 19.98% of its 26% stake to China's Nanshan Group for 33 cents per share. Shareholders of both companies appear to be pleased with the news, with Air New Zealand shares also ticking higher today. Personally, I think it is unwise to make an investment in Virgin Australia purely on the back of this news. The airline industry is a very competitive industry which more often than not is a wealth destroyer for investors.
Virgin Australia's share price is still down by over 36% so far in 2016.
Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co. (ASX: WCB) has climbed by 3% to $8.50 despite announcing its plans to raise $142 million through a new share offer at $6.75 per share. The market clearly sees value in the proposal which will be used to repay debt and strengthen its balance sheet so it can invest in strategic capital investment initiatives. These initiatives include a planned capital project to expand capacity to manufacture cheese and other dairy products. With dairy prices looking like they will remain weak for a while yet, I would avoid Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co. for the time being.
