The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is bouncing back from yesterday's horror session and is pushing higher in afternoon trade. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.5% to 7,822.5 points.
Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are storming higher on Thursday:
Imugene Ltd (ASX: IMU)
The Imugene share price is up almost 5% to 11 cents. This has been driven by news that the clinical stage immune-oncology company has received a notice of grant from the Chinese Patent Office. Imugene has been granted claims to protect its oncolytic virotherapy, CF33. This includes VAXINIA (CF33-hNIS) and CHECKvacc (CF33-hNIS-antiPDL1). Oncolytic viruses are designed to both selectively kill tumour cells and activate the immune system against cancer cells. They have the potential to improve clinical response and survival. The patent protects the method of composition and method of use of Imugene's licensed oncolytic virotherapy all the way out to 2037.
Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)
The Liontown Resources share price is up 5% to $1.21. This is despite there being no news out of the lithium developer today. However, it is worth noting that a number of lithium stocks are rebounding strongly on Thursday following a positive night for their peers on Wall Street. And as I noted here yesterday, one leading broker is tipping big returns from Liontown shares. Bell Potter has a speculative buy rating and $1.90 price target on its shares.
Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)
The Pointsbet share price is up 2.5% to 82 cents. This morning, this sports betting company announced that the sale of its US business is now complete. Pointsbet has received US$50 million, representing the final instalment of the headline purchase price of US$225 million. As a result, it has transferred the remaining United States-based sports wagering, advanced-deposit wagering, and iGaming operations, together with Banach technology to Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG). Shareholders can now look forward to receiving some of the proceeds from the sale through a capital return. Details will be announced later this month.
Regis Resources Ltd (ASX: RRL)
The Regis Resources share price is up 4% to $2.01. This follows another positive session for the gold price overnight. It hit a record high as geopolitical tensions increased. In other news, this morning Morgan Stanley responded to yesterday's quarterly update by retaining its overweight rating and $2.45 price target on the gold miner's shares. This implies over 20% upside for investors.
