A disappointing day of trade on Friday led to the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) finishing the week with a weekly decline of approximately 1.4%.
Three ASX 200 shares that didn't let that stop them from posting strong gains are listed below. Here's why they were the three best performers on the benchmark index this week:
The New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) share price jumped a sizeable 10% this week. A broker note out of Credit Suisse may have helped lift this coal miner's shares. Due to share price weakness the broker upgraded New Hope's shares to an outperform rating with a $4.00 price target. Interestingly, last week equity analysts at Macquarie did the same after upgrading their coal price forecasts.
The Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) share price has rocketed 27.5% higher this week. The catalyst for this was a merger proposal by rival pharmacy chain operator and distributor Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API). The latter has made an offer to merge the companies with a cooperative approach so that Sigma shareholders will receive the equivalent of 68.6 cents for every share they own. Australian Pharmaceutical Industries' chairman, Mark Smith, believes the merger will deliver significant benefits to both groups of shareholders, pharmacists, and customers.
The Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price may have fallen 4.5% on Friday but it was still the third best performer on the ASX 200 this week with a 9% gain. A broker note out of UBS at the end of last week may have been the catalyst for this strong gain. UBS declared Syrah as a buy with a $2.90 price target. In addition to this, investor sentiment has improved this month after the graphite miner advised that the production improvement plan for its Balama Graphite Operation is delivering strong results.
