Here's what happening.

ASX shares posting new 52-week highs

Up first we have Farm Pride Foods Ltd (ASX: FRM).

Shares in the Aussie egg company are up 4.8% to 22 cents in very thin trade today.

This puts the ASX share up 83.3% in a year and trading at its highest levels since February 2022.

At the company's half-year results (H1 FY 2025), reported on 26 February, Farm Pride reported an after tax profit of $1.6 million, up from a loss of $920,000 in H1 FY 2024. Management noted this marked the first half-yearly profit the company had achieved since the financial year ending 30 June 2018.

The second ASX share hitting new 52-week plus highs despite today's sinking market is Australian Agricultural Co Ltd (ASX: AAC).

Shares in the Australian beef producer are up 0.3% today, changing hand for $1.535 apiece.

While that's a slender intraday gain, it sees the Australian Agricultural share price up 9.6% in a year and trading at the highest level since June 2023.

The last price-sensitive news from the ASX share was the release of its half-year results (H1 FY 2025).

Australian Agriculture reported a 17.0% year on year increase in revenue to $195.5 million and a statutory net profit after tax of $23.6 million, up from a loss of $105.5 million in H1 FY 2024. However, with operating profit margins sliding from 18.1% to 10.3%, operating profits fell 32.9% year on year to $20.2 million.

Rounding off the list of ASX shares shrugging off today's market sell-down to hit new 52-week highs is New Murchison Gold Ltd (ASX: NMG), formerly known as Ora Gold.

The New Murchinson Gold share price is up 7.7% to 1.4 cents a share, giving it a market cap of just over $108 million. This puts the share price up 40% in a year.

The ASX share closed up 33.3% on Monday following a promising exploration update from the Garden Gully Gold Project in Western Australia.

Commenting on the exploration results earlier this week, New Murchison Gold CEO Alex Passmore said:

While we caution that assays are awaited …we are pleased to report the strong visual indications of mineralisation in a key extensional area for the Crown Prince resource.

The post 3 ASX shares leaping to new 52-week highs in today's sinking market appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

During the late afternoon trade, shares in the vertically integrated egg producer are up 28.2% to 25 cents.

What did Farm Pride announce?

According to its release, Farm Pride advised that it has received a Revocation of Quarantine Notice from Agriculture Victoria. The notice was in regards to its 2 previously affected sites. This follows the confirmed Avian Influenza outbreak that occurred in August last year at two of its farms.

The issued notice will be welcoming news for the company as the closure of both farms saw it lose 33% of its productive hen flock.

On being granted approval, Farm Pride has sought to quickly restock the two sites to their maximum capacity. The company will focus on cage-free and free-range egg production.

In addition to the positive news, Farm Pride stated that it conducted a strategic review of all operations soon after the outbreak.

To improve its margins and recover from the financial fallout, Farm Pride determined that its farm in Pittsworth, Queensland will be sold off. It noted that it does not consider the farm to be a core asset and important to its long-term strategy. As a result, Farm Pride launched an open market expression of interest (EOI) process. This was facilitated by CBRE Brisbane late last year.

More recently, an unconditional contract has been entered with Hall & McLean Pty Ltd to purchase the farm and its associated assets. The sale of the farm has been agreed to an amount of $3.1 million excluding expenses. Settlement is expected to occur sometime in the middle of March.

Farm Pride will allocate the funds to its working capital to support business development, capital expenditure, and to reduce debt.

Furthermore, the company revealed it will seek to take extra measures to shore up its balance sheet, and strengthen its working capital.

About the Farm Pride share price

Despite today's meteoric rise, the Farm Pride share price has been a poor performer. In particular, over the last 12 months, falling 18%.

The company's shares hit a multi-year low of 15 cents in March, before moving on a rollercoaster ride.

Based on the current share price, Farm Pride has a market capitalisation of around $13 million.

The post Why the Farm Pride (ASX:FRM) share price is up 28% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Sure, some are highly speculative – and several could easily end up losing their shareholders all of their current gains.

But when you consider the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) index has returned just 1.7% over the past three years (since October 21, 2013), 1,000% returns – or more than ten times the initial price are truly astonishing.

If you include dividends reinvested over that time, the Index return becomes 16.2% in total – not a great return at all.

Source: S&P Global Markets Intelligence, Google Finance

Some of these companies are in hot sectors, but a number also have some very exciting new technology.

Pilbara Minerals and Neometals are lithium companies benefitting from the surging demand for the product for use in rechargeable batteries – not just in mobile phones but growing electric car manufacturing.

Magnis operates in the equally hot graphite sector – hence its share price soaring.

Structural Monitoring Systems has benefitted from the increased demand for real-time monitoring of the structural integrity in products like airplanes, bridges, pipelines and buildings. The company has first-mover advantage and a huge market, although is still loss-making.

Resapp Health wants to develop smartphone apps to diagnose and manage respiratory disease. While it sounds promising, the company is still undergoing trials for its products. 3 years ago, Resapp was called Narhex Life Sciences and was looking at moving into the resources space.

Agrimin has also transformed – from a company called Global Resources Corporation three years ago, into a potash miner in July 2014. Potash is one of the main ingredients in fertilizer – expected to see almost as much demand in future as lithium.

Cardinal Resources is a gold explorer in Ghana, Africa and investors appear excited by the company's deposits.

Eden Energy is using carbon nanotubes to form a concrete admixture that means concrete doesn't need steel reinforcing added to it. Tests so far suggest Eden's product is far superior to standard concrete in many ways.

Eureka Group has profited by moving into aged care and development and management of retirement villages, and is steadily growing its business with big tailwinds behind it.

Egg and egg products supplier Farm Pride has had a strong couple of years thanks to consistent growing profits – mostly by substantially reducing its production costs.

Dacian Gold has profited from the recovery in the gold price of the past few years as well as progressing its 100% owned Mount Morgans Gold Project.

Red River benefitted from the demise of Kagara Ltd, picking up the Thalanga zinc operations from the administrator for just $6.5 million in July 2014. The company is working to restart operations within the next 12 months.

Foolish takeaway

It seems clear that each of the companies listed above have exciting developments on the go. Whether they will all be successful is another questions though and not easily answered. My three tips for a closer look would Eden Energy, Farm Pride and Eureka Group.

The post These 12 stocks have seen gains of more than 1,000% in the past 3 years appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Australian investors were some of the first to react to last Friday's shock decision and it wasn't pretty.

The S&P/ASX 200 (Index:^AXJO) (ASX:XJO) had a swing of as much as 4.5% on the day, and although the market seems to have regained some of its composure since then, the main index is still around 3.4% lower from its pre-Brexit levels.

Interestingly, a number of shares have actually been able to trade higher through this recent period of volatility to make new 52-week highs.

Five shares that should be on the radar of investors include:

Burson Group Ltd (ASX: BAP) – Burson is Australia's leading provider of automotive aftermarket parts and services. The business has some attractive defensive qualities and is often regarded as 'recession proof' because people will often have no choice but to repair their cars despite the economic environment. Burson has impressed since listing in 2014 and its recent strong share price performance highlights its attractiveness during times of market volatility.

Somnomed Limited (ASX: SOM) – Somnomed is a $200 million healthcare company that has developed mouthguard like devices to treat sleep related disorders such as sleep apnoea and snoring. While much smaller than ResMed Inc. (CHESS) (ASX: RMD) and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH), the company is showing strong revenue and unit sales growth and is already reasonably well established in North America and Europe. This company is not yet profitable, but a favourable growth outlook means the share price continues to climb.

Farm Pride Foods Ltd (ASX: FRM) – Farm Pride Foods continues to make new highs even though the shares have already gained a whopping 717% over the past 12 months. The company is involved in the production and sale of eggs and has benefited tremendously over recent years from the increased demand for free range and organic eggs. This increased demand has helped Farm Pride Foods to deliver an improved operating performance and, at the same time, improve its balance sheet by paying down its debt.

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) – Appen shares continue to perform strongly and have now increased by more than 311% since listing in January 2015. This small-cap tech company provides translation and language services to some of the world's largest software developers including Microsoft. Appen's technology is also used in voice recognition applications in things like GPS units, gaming consoles and voice driven internet search engines. Unsurprisingly, the company has delivered very strong earnings growth over the past couple of years and investors are expecting this growth to continue well into the future.

Scentre Group Ltd (ASX:SCG) – Scentre Group is one of the few blue chip shares to have come out of the last few days unscathed and is now trading at all-time highs. It has a portfolio of 40 Westfield shopping centres located throughout Australia and New Zealand and, even with the rise of online shopping, continues to deliver steady growth. Scentre Group may not necessarily be the fastest growing company on the ASX, but investors appreciate the fact that it pays a reliable dividend and can offer protection during times of volatility.

The post 5 ASX shares that have defied the Brexit fallout appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

As ever, a number of stocks considerably outperformed, and here's why:

Surfstitch Group Ltd (ASX: SRF) leapt 15% to $1.36, after trading as much as 20% higher on news the Managing Director had resigned and was attempting to take the company private, with the help of private equity backers. Although no formal bid has yet been registered for the company, it seems investors have been buying in anticipation of an offer higher than what shares have been changing hands for recently. As recent experience with some other beaten-up growth shares has indicated, opportunistic bids that undervalue the company are not likely to be well received by management, and I believe any bidders will have to pay well above today's prices to snap up Surfstitch.

Surfstitch shares are down 2% in the past 12 months.

Farm Pride Foods Ltd. (ASX: FRM) rose 7% today on no news and average volume as investors continue to re-value the company in light of its recent announcements and interim results, which revealed an 80% leap in profit. A claim against the company and related bodies by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was also resolved in favour of Farm Pride, which is likely to reduce investor nervousness as well, although the ACCC is appealing.

Farm Pride shares are up 430% in the past 12 months.

McMillan Shakespeare Limited (ASX: MMS) rose 4% to $12.19 today as investors buy the company on the back of some heavy falls in price recently. McMillan shares recently traded above $14 before investor fears over potential changes to salary packaging impacted the share price. Recent results and the appointment of a wholly-owned subsidiary to the panel of the NSW government's leasing provider reminded investors that McMillan has been a strong performer in recent years, and in truth the company doesn't look particularly expensive today. A price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 12 and a fully franked, 4.8% dividend is likely to lure in some bargain hunters.

McMillan Shakespeare shares are trading virtually flat over the past 12 months.

Worleyparsons Limited (ASX: WOR) rose 4% to $5.64 in ongoing volatility following a sharp spike in share prices on the back of February's interim results. Probably the recent lift in commodity prices had something to do with it, as much of Worley's business is dependent on demand for the infrastructure required to produce commodities like oil, gas, and iron ore. However, investors buying into the rising prices may have misplaced their faith, given that there is often a substantial lag time between higher (or lower) commodity prices and changing demand for commodity infrastructure.

Worleyparsons shares are down 44% in the past 12 months.

The post Here's why these 4 shares smashed the market today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

All we hear about is bank shares crashing, the price of oil is plummeting, and our miners are getting pummeled. But, what if we're not looking in the right places.

Instead of focusing on BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB), why not focus on a whole bunch of good news stories about shares that have had an amazing growth spurt over the past 3 months.

Some of them you'll recognise, and some you won't, but take some time to read a little about them as you might just find some great value opportunities.

Here they are, 10 shares that have grown by a minimum of 15% to 148% in the past 3 months.

(Source:Commsec)

Farm Pride Foods Ltd

Farm Pride produces cage, barn, and free range eggs and egg products. The company operates more than 6 farms and sources eggs from across Australia to process and pack approximately 8 million eggs every week. Its Keysborough site has egg processing plants that turn shell eggs into value-added egg products for supply into the food service industry.

a2 Milk Company Ltd (Australia)

a2 Milk produces and supplies a2 brand milk and milk related products. Products include Liquid Milk, Infant Formula and other dairy products like cream and yoghurt. a2 Milk is pure dairy milk which comes from cows specially selected to produce a2 beta-casein protein rather than A1.

BWX Ltd

BWX manufactures and sells beauty and personal care products. The company also manufactures beauty and personal care products for third party customers. Products include Sukin, DermaSukin, Uspa, Edward Beale & Renew Skincare. BWX sells its products through its wholesale distributor network, direct to wholesale pharmacy customers, and through specialty beauty retail outlets.

Australian Dairy Farms Group

Australian Dairy Farms is a farm owner and operator which produces fresh milk for sale to milk processors. The group basically operates three farms. The Brucknell Farms accommodate a total of 1,508 dairy livestock comprising an annual average of 935 milking cows and 483 calves and heifers. The company has also announced contracts for two other farms, known as Ignatios Farm, Glenfyne, and Brucknell No 3 Farm.

Metcash 

Metcash Limited is a wholesale distributor which supplies dry grocery, perishable and general merchandise to IGA, Foodland, FoodWorks and Lucky 7 (convenience) stores. The company also distributes liquor products to Australian Liquor Marketers.

Pental Ltd

Pental manufactures and distributes home care and personal care products including soaps, detergents, bleach and other fast moving consumer goods. It supplies its own brands including Country Life, Natural Selections, Sunlight, Velvet, Knights Castile and Lux Flakes, together with the sale of icon brands such as Jiffy Firelighters, Softly premium wool wash, Huggie fabric softener, Country Homestead wool mix, Sureguard moth and silverfish repellent, Hi Speed iron cleaner and Close Up and Aim toothpastes.

Bellamy's Australia Ltd

Bellamy's produces a range of organic food and formula products for babies and toddlers. It offers over 30 baby and toddler products though supermarket chains, pharmacy chains and independent stores. Products include baby formula, baby food pouches, dry cereals, teething rusks, pasta, fruit snacks and fruit bars.

Treasury Wine Estates 

Treasury is a global wine company with a portfolio that includes wine brands: Penfolds, Beringer, Lindemans, Wolf Blass and Rosemount Estate and more. The company owns over 11,000 hectares of vineyards, with more than 3,000 winemakers, viticulturists, sales, distribution and support staff. Treasury's wines are sold in more than 70 countries around the world.

Freedom Foods Group 

Freedom Foods is a diversified food company operating in the Health and Wellness sector. The company provides a range of products to meet specific dietary or medical conditions including allergen free (i.e. gluten free, wheat free, nut free) products. Other products include a range of canned seafood covering sardines, salmon and specialty seafood, and a range of UHT (long life) food and beverage products including liquid stocks, soy, rice, almond and dairy milk beverages.

Wesfarmers 

Wesfarmers is a diversified business, operating supermarkets and department stores.The company is best known for its ownership of retail giants Coles, Bunnings, Officeworks, Target and Kmart.

The post These 10 growth shares crushed the market over the last 3 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

However, these 4 companies are seeing their share prices soar…

Farm Pride Foods Ltd (ASX: FRM) share price has rocketed up 23% to $2.00, following a profit upgrade late last week. The national egg supplier also said it was using its improved cash flow to pay down debt – something the company has been doing consistently for the past 4 years. Investors are clearly expecting bigger and better things  from Farm Pride Foods in the years ahead.

Vmoto Ltd (ASX: VMT) share price has jumped 4 cents or 13.3% to 34 cents. The electric-powered motor scooter manufacturer today said it sold more than 23,300 units in the fourth quarter of 2015 – up 18% over the previous year. The company has also launched its range in Australia and secured an order to supply 300 units to a large European supermarket group. Vmoto also says it is on track to report around $5 million in underlying net profit for 2015.

Redflow Ltd (ASX: RFX) share price is up 10% at 22 cents. The maker of zinc-bromine liquid batteries is attempting to compete with Tesla's Powerwall energy battery for home energy storage. Redflow is gearing up to test its batteries with executive chairman Simon Hackett installing two at his Adelaide home, according to The Australian. Redflow says its batteries are better for home use than Tesla's, lasting longer and storing more power.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price has jumped 3.2% to $1.64, after the iron ore spot price gained 1.9% to US$43.84 a tonne, maintaining a solid base over the past week. That has seen Fortescue's share price gain 7.2% in the past five business days. Still, the iron ore miner's shares are down more than 30% over the past year as the iron ore price plunged, and the miner worked frantically to lower its production costs.

The post 4 shares zooming higher on the ASX today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

A number of companies significantly outperformed the market today, and as companies file their half-yearly reports over the next few weeks we can expect plenty more where that came from.

Here's what you need to know:

Farm Pride Foods Ltd. (ASX: FRM) skyrocketed 29% to $1.71 today after the company announced its Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) for the six months to December 2015 should be in the range of $7.5m -$8.5m, a significant increase from the previous year.

Shares in Farm Pride Foods are up 450% in the past 12 months.

Shine Corporate Ltd (ASX: SHJ) gained 5% to $0.56 today after the bargain hunters took a closer look at the business. Shine's shares lost 75% of their value just last week after management announced a significant cut to their full-year forecasts as a result of overly optimistic Work-In-Progress (WIP) accounting. While many are debating the merits of publicly listed law firms, Shine now trades on a very low earnings multiple, and doesn't have to do a whole lot to justify today's prices.

That is, of course, assuming there isn't more bad news yet to come.

Kathmandu Holdings Ltd (ASX: KMD) jumped 12% to $1.54 after announcing a huge increase to earnings and profits for the first half of this financial year. Management also announced sizeable revenue and same-store sales growth that was profitable thanks to cost efficiencies achieved by the company.

Despite today's rise, Kathmandu shares are down 26% for the year, and down 12.5% since their debut in 2009.

Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) rose 6% to $3.93 as investors digested Friday afternoon's quarterly activities report, which revealed mining operations were in line with forecasts and efficiency gains continue to be made at the company's mining operations. Mineral Resources also recently announced an offtake agreement with a Chinese buyer for its Mt Marion lithium project.

Mineral Resources shares are down 42% in the past 12 months.

The post Here's why these 4 shares smashed the market today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Farm Pride Foods now expects operating earnings for the half-year period between $7.5 million to $8.5 million, which will continue a streak of strong earnings growth as the company pays down debt and posts growing volumes of retail egg sales.

The business is gradually improving operating performance largely by reducing costs as it continues to adjust to changing demand patterns across the retail sector.

For example free-range egg demand is forecast to steadily increase and the business has been investing to meet this growth, while egg consumption in general continues to grow thanks in part to the natural support of Australian population growth.

Investors clearly liked today's news over the earnings upgrade and sent the stock to a record high of $1.90 at one point today, although risks remain for investors over the potential for regulatory, biosecurity, or meteorological issues impacting the company's earnings outlook significantly.

The agriculture space in general has caught an updraft recently with stocks like fruit and vegetable supplier Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC), agricultural operator Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD), and honey retailer Capilano Honey Ltd (ASX: CZZ) performing well over the past six months.

The post Why the Farm Pride Foods Ltd. share price soared today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.