In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.15% to 7,319.3 points.
Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are rising:
Azure Minerals Ltd (ASX: AZS)
The Azure Minerals share price is up 7.5% to $2.87. This morning, analysts at Bell Potter retained their speculative buy rating on the lithium explorer's shares with a massively increased price target of $5. This could mean that its shares still have considerable upside despite already rising over 1,000% since the start of the year.
James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX)
The James Hardie share price is up 14% to $46.62. This follows the release of the building materials company's first-quarter update. James Hardie reported a 5% decline in global net sales but a 13% increase in net income to US$174.5 million. The latter is ahead of its guidance of US$145 million to US$165 million.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
The Pilbara Minerals share price is up 3% to $5.35. Investors have been buying this lithium miner's shares this week after it increased its mineral resource estimate materially at the Pilgangoora project. This went down well with analysts at Macquarie. They have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target to $7.50.
Red 5 Limited (ASX: RED)
The Red 5 share price is up almost 7% to 18.7 cents. This morning, the gold miner released outstanding drilling results that support the long-term growth potential of the King of the Hills underground mine. Pleasingly, there could be more to come. Management notes that "large sections of the King of the Hills orebody remain relatively undrilled."
