In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back the majority of its morning gains and is trading just a fraction higher for the day. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up slightly to 7,030.3 points.
Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are storming higher:
Dubber Corp Ltd (ASX: DUB)
The Dubber share price has continued its positive run and is up a further 12% to $2.86. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the unified call recording and voice intelligence provider's shares since its third quarter update last week. That update revealed that Dubber's annualised recurring revenue (ARR) increased 20% over the three months to $34 million. This was also a 158% increase over the prior corresponding period.
PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)
The PointsBet share price has stormed 7% higher to $14.55. This follows the release of two positive broker notes this morning in response to its third quarter update. Both Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse have the equivalent of buy ratings on the sports betting company's shares. Goldman has a $17.20 price target and Credit Suisse has a $16.15 price target on its shares.
Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL)
The Starpharma share price has jumped 10% to $1.86. This appears to have been driven by excitement around the company's Viraleze product. Viraleze is an antiviral nasal spray that contains astodrimer sodium, which has been shown in laboratory studies to inactivate a broad spectrum of respiratory viruses. This includes >99.9% of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)
The Westpac share price is up 4.5% to $26.09. Investors have been buying the banking giant's shares after it reported first half cash earnings of $3,537 million. This is a 256% increase over the prior corresponding period and a 119% lift over the second half of FY 2020. Westpac also declared a fully franked interim dividend of 58 cents per share and revealed significant cost cutting plans.
