In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is fighting hard to stay in positive territory. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up slightly to 8,181.7 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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Generation Development Group Ltd (ASX: GDG)
The Generation Development Group share price is up 8% to $4.69. Investors have been buying this development company's shares after it announced a strategic alliance with BlackRock to codesign and distribute Holistic Retirement Solutions tailored for Australian retirees. Management believes that this alliance combines BlackRock's global investment and technology expertise with Generation Development's leadership in the Australian retirement market. As part of the alliance, BlackRock will acquire a $25 million minority stake through a share subscription at $4.15 per share.
Orica Ltd (ASX: ORI)
The Orica share price is up 6.5% to $17.86. This follows the release of the commercial explosives company's half year results. Orica delivered a 40% increase in net profit after tax (pre significant items) to $250.8 million. Orica's managing director and CEO, Sanjeev Gandhi, said: "Our business continues to deliver strong results, with significant growth across our key financial metrics, driven by robust customer demand for our premium products and innovative technology solutions."
Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME)
The Pro Medicus share price is up almost 5% to $248.27. The catalyst for this is news that the health imaging technology company has signed a $20 million, five-year contract with the University of Iowa Health. It is Iowa's comprehensive academic health system. Based on a transactional licensing model, the contract will see the company's cloud-based Visage 7 Enterprise Imaging Platform implemented throughout UI Health Care providing a unified diagnostic imaging platform. CEO, Dr Sam Hupert, said: "They join a long list of Visage 7 clients to opt for a fully cloud-based solution, which, as a result of our CloudPACS strategy, is becoming the standard in the North American healthcare IT market."
Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)
The Zip Co share price is up 2% to $1.86. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Goldman Sachs this morning. It has initiated coverage on the buy now pay later provider's shares with a buy rating and $2.50 price target. The broker said: "We expect a more favourable economic outlook and continued ZIP outperformance in the US BNPL space would drive a multiple re-rate for ZIP given the compression that has been experienced in the last 6 months on economic outlook concerns, in our view."
