It was a mildly positive week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) last week. After a number of ups and downs, the benchmark index recorded a 0.1% gain to end it at 5,864.5 points.
A number of shares climbed more than most last week. Here's why these were the best performers on the ASX 200 over the period:
Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU)
The Perseus share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with a sizeable 14.2% gain. This appears to have been triggered by a broker note out of Credit Suisse. Its analysts upgraded Perseus' shares to an outperform rating with an improved price target of $1.60 after lifting their gold price forecasts to US$2,500 an ounce in 2021. This appears to have rubbed off on other gold miners, leading to the top four performers coming from the sector. Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST), Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR), and Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) round out the top four. This strong form led to the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index climbing a sizeable 7.4% over the five days.
Perenti Global Ltd (ASX: PRN)
The Perenti share price was the next best performer with a gain of 11% last week. Investors were buying the mining services company's shares after it announced a major contract extension for its hard-rock underground miner business, Barminco. It has signed an 18 month extension at MMG's Dugald River mine in North Queensland. Management estimates that it is worth $140 million.
Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE)
The Eagers Automotive share price wasn't far behind with a 10.5% gain over the five days. Last week the automotive retailer announced plans to spend $105 million to buy eight car yards from property trust Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC). The capital for the purchases is being provided by Toyota Financial Services ($175 million) and Volkswagen Financial Services ($50 million).
Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL)
The Blackmores share price was on form and pushed 9.7% higher over the period. This was despite there being no news out of the health supplement company. However, prior to last week, its shares were down more than a third form their 52-week high. Some investors may believe they had been oversold.
