In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a solid gain. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 0.5% to 6,223.3 points.
Four shares climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they have started the week with a bang:
The Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has continued its positive run and is up 3.5% to $20.25. A number of popular tech shares have posted strong gains on Monday after their U.S. counterparts finished the week on a high on the Nasdaq index. This latest gain means the Afterpay Touch share price has risen 15% over the last three trading days.
The Bellamy's Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL) share price has stormed higher by a further 8.5% to $9.58. The infant formula and baby food company's shares have been on fire over the last few trading days. Investors appear to have looked beyond its disappointing half year result and focused more on its long term growth prospects in the China market.
The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price has surged over 6.5% higher to $6.38. The catalyst for this gain appears to be a note out of Ord Minnett this morning. According to the note, the broker has upgraded the iron ore producer's shares to a buy rating and lifted the price target on them to $7.30. It believes that the production of mining giant Vale could be disrupted for upwards of three years. As a result, it has revised its iron ore forecasts higher.
The Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF) share price has pushed 6.5% higher to $5.35. This morning the crop protection and specialist seeds company's shares were the subject of a positive broker note out of Deutsche Bank. Its analysts upgraded them to a buy rating with a $6.00 price target on valuation grounds. In addition to this, The Australian has speculated that Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) could take advantage of Nufarm's share price weakness over the last 12 months to launch a takeover approach.
