In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to finish the week on a strong note. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.8% to 7,314.1 points.
Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are racing higher:
Fletcher Building Limited (ASX: FBU)
The Fletcher Building share price is up over 2% to $6.90. Investors have been buying the building products company's shares following the release of a bullish broker note out of UBS. According to the note, the broker has upgraded the company's shares to a buy rating with an NZ$8.00 (A$7.59) price target. UBS expects Fletcher Building to benefit from the reopening of the ANZ economy.
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)
The Magellan share price is up 5% to $33.78. On Thursday, analysts at Macquarie upgraded this fund manager's shares to an outperform rating with a $38.00 price target. Macquarie made the move on valuation grounds following a significant de-rating. It feels Magellan's shares are too cheap to ignore, especially given the potential for a dividend yield of ~7% in FY 2022.
Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL)
The Sezzle share price is up a further 5% to $5.92. Investors have been buying the buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider's shares this week after US retailer Target launched Sezzle's BNPL service across its network. Consumers shopping with the retail giant ahead of the holiday season will now be able to pay for their purchases in instalments through Sezzle or rival Affirm.
Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL)
The Starpharma share price is up 2% to $1.22. This morning the dendrimer products developer announced a sales and distribution agreement for Viraleze with Admenta Italia Group. It is a leading pharmaceutical retail and wholesale distribution company in Italy. Viraleze is a broad-spectrum antiviral nasal spray which is applied in the nose to provide a physical barrier between viruses and the nasal mucous membrane. The product traps and irreversibly inactivates virus, including SARS-CoV-2.
