In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week on a positive note. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.85% to 6,948.5 points.
Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are pushing higher:
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IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)
The IDP Education share price is up 4% to $28.55. This may have been driven by a reasonably bullish broker note out of Ord Minnett this morning. According to the note, the broker has initiated coverage on the language testing and student placement company's shares with an accumulate rating and $30.50 price target.
PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)
The PolyNovo share price is up 6% to $1.60. This morning this medical device company announced the appointment of its new CEO. According to the release, Swami Raote has been appointed to the role with immediate effect. The release notes that Raote has extensive and deep leadership experience including a 30-year career at Johnson & Johnson.
Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL)
The Sezzle share price is up over 6% to $1.09. This buy now pay later provider's shares have had an incredibly volatile day. They were up over 40% in morning trade after investor responded positively to its quarterly update. Since then they have even traded in the red before recovering again. Sezzle's update revealed major cost cutting plans to put it on a path to profitability. Management warned that this could come at the expense of top line growth.
St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)
The St Barbara share price is up 6% to $1.09. Investors have been buying St Barbara and other gold miner shares after the spot gold price pushed higher overnight. This has led to the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index rising a sizeable 2.3% on Friday.
