The Select Harvests Limited (ASX: SHV) share price is on the rise today, setting a new 52-week high.
With no recent news released to the ASX, investors are clearly enthusiastic about Select Harvests.
During midday market trade, the almond grower's shares reached a 12-month high of $6.92. However, following the strong rise, investors decided to take some profit off the table which led its shares slightly lower.
At the time of writing, Select Harvests shares are up 6.24% to $6.64.
What's driving these gains?
A possible catalyst for the recent surge in the Select Harvests share price could be two broker updates.
After reporting its first-half results for 2021 in late May, investment firms Citi and Wilsons rated the company as buys.
First up, global investment bank Citi raised its 12-month price target for Select Harvests by 4.6% to $6.80. And following suit, advisory group Wilsons lifted its rating by 4.1% to $6.95.
This came despite the company reporting a mixed half-year result which saw net profit after tax (NPAT) fall to $1.3 million. When compared to the previous corresponding period, this is a drop of 92.5%.
However, not all was bad, with Select Harvests highlighting its almond crop grew to 28,250 million tonnes in the period. This reflects an increase of 21.5% over H1 FY20. The company noted global demand for almonds remains strong.
About the Select Harvests share price
While Select Harvests shares have soared higher since the start of the month, it hasn't been all smooth sailing. The company's share price hit a multi-year low of $4.91 in January this year, before a gradual uptick.
Based on today's price, Select Harvests has a market capitalisation of around $803 million, with approximately 120 million shares outstanding.
