On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) finished the week on a disappointing note. The benchmark index finished the day down 0.1% at 5,921.8 points.
Four shares that defied the market decline today are listed below. Here's why they ended the week with a bang:
The Experience Co Ltd (ASX: EXP) share price jumped 12% to 32.5 cents on Friday after the adventure tourism company advised that two of its directors have been buying shares on-market this week. Kerry East picked up $102,700 worth of shares and John Diddams snapped up $29,914 worth of the company's shares. The Experience Co share price has fallen significantly this year after its businesses were negatively impacted by unfavourable weather conditions.
The News Corp (ASX: NWS) share price climbed 3% to $19.86 a day after the release of its quarterly earnings. One broker that liked what it saw was Macquarie. A note out of the Macquarie equities desk reveals that it has retained its outperform rating and lifted the price target on the media giant's shares to $25.84.
The REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) share price finished the day over 2.5% higher at $80.50. Macquarie was also a fan of this property listings company's quarterly result as well. It has upgraded REA Group's shares to an outperform rating with a $90.00 price target. Macquarie thought the result was strong and appears pleased with the take-up of its depth products. I agree with this view and think it would be a great buy and hold investment option.
The Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) share price surged 5% higher to 53.5 cents despite there being no news out of the pharmacy chain operator and distributor. But with its shares losing almost half of their value since the start of the year, I suspect that bargain hunters may be swooping in today. Sigma's shares have come under pressure this year due to the loss of the Chemist Warehouse supply agreement.
