Despite getting off to a positive start, the month of November turned out to be another disappointing one for Australian investors.
The benchmark ASX 200 finished the period with a decline of 2.8%.
But not all shares on the index finished in the red. The three best performers on the ASX 200 in November were as follows:
The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price finished the month with a gain of 31%. The catalyst for this strong gain was an upgrade to its full year guidance given on November 15. Due to a sharp increase in monthly revenues from existing projects from existing customers, the developer of high-quality, human annotated datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence lifted its full year underlying EBITDA guidance to the range of $62 million to $65 million. This compares to previous guidance of between $54 million and $59 million. Although its shares have rallied strongly, I still feel they are the best value in the WAAAX group.
The G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) share price put on a gain of 36% in November. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the childcare centre operator's shares after trading conditions in the industry improved. During the month both G8 Education and one of its rivals reported improvements in key metrics such as occupancy levels. This news led to Morgan Stanley upgrading the company's shares to an overweight rating with a $3.25 price target. The broker believes that G8 Education is at an inflection point.
The Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) share price pushed an impressive 30% higher during the month. Improving investor sentiment in the battery materials space and a positive investor update have largely been the catalysts for Orocobre's rise this month. It was also given a boost when analysts at Citi slapped a buy rating and $6.00 price target on the company's shares at the end of October. Even after its stellar run this month, that price target implies potential upside of 39% from its current share price.
Next month I wouldn't be surprised if one of the five shares revealed below follow Orocobre's lead and push higher.
