In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a small decline. The benchmark index is currently down a few points to 7,144.7 points.
Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are charging higher:
Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)
The Core Lithium share price is up almost 4% to $1.10. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Macquarie this morning. According to the note, the broker has upgraded Core Lithium's shares to an outperform rating with a $1.30 price target. It made the move partly on valuation grounds after the lithium developer's shares crashed over 40% since mid-November.
MMA Offshore Ltd (ASX: MRM)
The MMA Offshore share price is up almost 16% to 92.5 cents. Investors have been buying this marine service provider's shares following the release of a trading update. MMA revealed that it expects to deliver first half EBITDA in the range of $30 million to $32 million. This will be up approximately 70% on the second half of FY 2022.
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)
The Northern Star share price is up 5% to $11.22. Northern Star and other gold miners are rising today after the gold price pushed higher on Friday night. This has led to the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index rising 2.3% this afternoon.
Warrego Energy Ltd (ASX: WGO)
The Warrego Energy share price is up 10% to 33 cents. This morning, Strike Energy Ltd (ASX: STX) revealed that it plans to make a takeover offer for the energy explorer. It is offering 1 share for every Warrego share it does not already own. Based on Strike's last close price, this equated to an offer of 33.5 cents per share. All eyes will be on Gina Rinehart's Hancock Energy business to see if it increases its 28 cents per share offer.
