The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a strong session on Thursday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 1% to 7,905 points.
Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are storming higher:
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Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU)
The Arafura Rare Earths share price is up 12% to 20.7 cents. Investors have been buying this rare earths developer's shares after it announced a major offtake agreement. Arafura revealed that it has secured a binding offtake agreement with global metals and minerals trader Traxys Europe SA. This will see it supply at least 100 tonnes per annum (tpa) of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide to Traxys over five years. It also has the option to increase the volume up to 300 tpa. This means that Arafura now has 66% of its offtake goal secured.
Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF)
The Challenger share price is up almost 7% to $5.98. This may have been driven by a bullish broker note out of Barrenjoey this morning. According to the note, the broker has upgraded Challenger's shares to a buy rating (from hold) with an improved price target of $7.00 (from $6.65). This implies potential upside of 17% from current levels over the next 12 months.
Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)
The Nanosonics share price is up 14% to $4.98. This morning, this infection prevention company revealed that it has received De Novo clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its latest innovation, the CORIS system. CORIS is a novel technology designed to reduce infection risk and enhance patient safety. It does this by delivering improved cleaning outcomes for flexible endoscopes. This includes the complex channels of endoscopes which are prone to biofilm build up. Nanosonics' CEO, Michael Kavanagh, said: "CORIS represents a significant opportunity for the organisation and the FDA de novo clearance marks a key milestone for the Company and an important step in bringing this much needed innovation to market."
TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG)
The TPG Telecom share price is up 5% to $4.78. This follows news that the ACCC will not oppose the sale of TPG's fibre network infrastructure assets and Enterprise, Government and Wholesale fixed operations to Vocus Group for an enterprise value of $5,250 million. TPG chief executive, Iñaki Berroeta, said: "We are pleased to have passed this important regulatory milestone and are now focussed on completing the transaction later this year. This transaction forms an important part of our strategy to simplify our business and accelerate and increase the streamlining of our operating structure and cost base."
