In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a modest gain. The benchmark is currently up slightly to 7,311.3 points.
Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are zooming higher:
Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU)
The Arafura share price is up 6% to 60 cents. This is despite there being no news out of the rare earths developer. However, it is worth noting that Bell Potter has called recent share price weakness following comments out of Tesla an overreaction. It has retained its speculative buy rating and 72 cents price target.
Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR)
The Myer share price is up 15% to $1.10. This has been driven by the release of the department store operator's half-year results. It revealed a 24.2% increase in total sales to $1,884.9 million and the doubling of its net profit to $65 million. This allowed Myer to declare interim and special dividends of 4 cents per share each.
Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)
The Volpara share price is up almost 4% to 68 cents. Investors have been buying this health technology company's shares following the release of a business update. Volpara revealed a new contract with Sutter Health for its Risk Pathways product. This represents an additional US$900,000 in Total Contract Value (TCV) over an initial three-year period.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)
The Xero share price is up 9% to $85.79. This morning, this cloud accounting platform provider announced a major cost cutting plan. This will involve reducing its workforce by 700-800 roles, which represents upwards of 16.3% of its 4,915 full time equivalent employees. Management expects this to reduce its operating expense to revenue ratio to approximately 75% in FY 2024. This ratio stood at 83.9% in the first half.
