Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are climbing:

Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL)

The Bellevue Gold share price is up 3.5% to $1.15. This may have been driven by the release of a broker note from Ord Minnett this morning. According to the note, the broker has upgraded the gold miner's shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $1.40. This implies further potential upside of 22% for investors over the next 12 months. In addition, the gold price hit a new record high overnight. This has driven the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index 0.8% higher on Tuesday.

DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)

The DroneShield share price is up a further 3.5% to $4.56. Investors have been scrambling to buy this counter drone technology company's shares this week thanks to some big industry news. That news was the European Union's Defence Commissioner saying that the bloc will build a drone wall along the eastern flank, integrating detection, tracking and interception to counter hostile UAVs. The European Union is making the move after recent airspace violations. Bell Potter notes that "further details are expected at early-October EU meetings in Copenhagen and Brussels."

Orthocell Ltd (ASX: OCC)

The Orthocell share price is up 17% to $1.46. This morning, this regenerative medicine company announced that it has appointed its first distributor in the US$75 million Canadian market for its nerve repair and regeneration device Remplir. Orthocell's CEO and managing director, Paul Anderson, said: "Securing our first Canadian distributor provides immediate access to key provinces and will build Remplir's profile as a next-generation nerve repair solution. This is a major step in accelerating Remplir's international growth and our team is looking forward to supporting Canadian clinicians in delivering improved patient outcomes."

Restaurant Brands New Zealand Ltd (ASX: RBD)

The Restaurant Brands NZ share price is up 59% to $4.30. This follows news that the New Zealand based quick service restaurant operator has received a takeover offer. Finaccess Restauración has tabled a cash offer of NZ$5.05 per share. Its suitor stated: "[T]he offer price of NZ$5.05 per ordinary share is the final and best price that we are willing to pay under the takeover offer and accordingly we will not increase the consideration payable under the offer."

The post Why Bellevue Gold, DroneShield, Orthocell, and Restaurant Brands NZ shares are rising today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The company, whose Australian-listed shares were valued at $336.8 million at Monday's close of trade on the ASX, operates 522 quick service restaurants across the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Carl's Jr. brands in New Zealand, Australia, and the US.

In an announcement to the ASX on Tuesday morning, Restaurant Brands said it had received a notice under the New Zealand Takeovers Code from Finaccess Restauración, S.L., indicating that it intended to make a full takeover bid for the company at NZ$5.50 ($4.43) per share.

This price is a 64.1% premium to the last close of trade on the ASX, at $2.70.

Restaurant Brands' ASX-listed shares hit an early high of $4.37 before settling slightly to trade 60.74% higher at $4.34 at the time of writing.

Finaccess Restauración already owned 75.02% of the company and lodged a notice on Tuesday that it had increased its stake to 91.3% after securing deals with another major shareholder.

Business steady in challenging conditions

Restaurant Brands in August announced record half-year revenue of NZ$703.2 million ($617.9 million) and a net profit of NZ$11.9 million ($10.5 million).

At the end of June this year, the company owned 380 stores itself and had another 142 franchised stores, with 156 owned stores in New Zealand, 83 in Australia, 70 in Hawaii, and 71 in California.

The company's first-half net profit was down 5.6% on the previous year's first half, affected by "persistent macroeconomic headwinds and shifting consumer patterns across the quick service restaurant sector", the company said.

Margin recovery was tempered by increased labour, energy and rentals costs, as well as higher aggregator charges, and a slower-than-expected macroeconomic improvement across several regions. These conditions have limited the impact of strategic initiatives, including cost control measures, operational efficiencies, and pricing programmes.

The company's chair, Jose Pares, said at the time that the company had navigated an "extended period of cost pressure and economic uncertainty''.

Prolonged inflationary pressures, cost-of-living constraints, and value-focused customer behaviour continued to shape trading across key markets during the half year, yet the group continues to grow top-line sales, focusing on profitability and protection our brand position in all markets.

The company was targeting revenues of $2 billion per year and had opened one new store during the first half.

Restaurant Brands did not declare a first-half dividend.

The company said in August it was expecting stronger sales across Australia and New Zealand in the second half as inflationary pressures and interest rates eased, "coupled with innovation and strong marketing campaigns''.

While elevated labour and energy costs persist, global economic trends are expected to progressively improve operating conditions into 2026.

The post Fast food company shares surge almost 60% on takeover bid appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Consumers have hardly any spare cash to spend after ten consecutive months of steep interest rate rises. Yet you would never know it if you visited an airport, where queues are sneaking out of the terminal building.

These contradictions exist because of the stifled freedoms and pent-up savings Australians accumulated during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Consumers just want to have some fun now.

Here are two ASX shares to buy that could benefit from this theme:

International travellers are back

Wilson Asset Management equities dealer Cooper Rogers likes the look of Experience Co Ltd (ASX: EXP).

"It's benefiting from the recovery of the international traveller," Rogers said on a Wilson video.

"We're seeing increased spend on experiences, rather than goods, particularly from our Chinese and Indian travellers. We expect that to really bode well for Experience Co."

The Experience Co share price has dropped 8.3% over the 12 months, but it has gained a handsome 14.6% since the start of 2023.

According to Cooper, there is one particular business unit that's going gangbusters.

"The skydive division is the one you want to look at. It's got massive operational leverage and with those increased numbers coming back, a lot of that incremental revenue is going to drop through the bottom line," he said.

"EXP is a buy for us."

Even back in 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 delta lockdown, one expert predicted a boom two years later for this company.

"When international tourists return en masse, hopefully in 2023, it's our belief that this lean, restructured business will be significantly more profitable than ever before," said Forager Funds chief investment officer Steve Johnson.

Hungry for earnings upgrades

Another spending habit that endures even during tough economic conditions is fast food.

In fact, with consumers wanting to spend less eating out, the quick service restaurants become more appealing compared to fancy dining or even mid-price options.

This is why Wilson senior equity analyst Sam Koch considers Restaurant Brands New Zealand Ltd (ASX: RBD) a buy at the moment.

"If you've been to a KFC in NSW recently, you definitely would have been helping our holding."

As well as the KFC brand, the franchisor operates Pizza Hut, Carl's Jr and Taco Bell outlets across New Zealand, Australia and US Pacific territories.

"What we're really attracted to is the fact that whilst input cost inflation has impacted their business…, we see that troughing and actually recovering from here," said Koch.

"And you saw that in the last result."

The stock fell off a cliff late last year, resulting in a current share price that's less than half what it was six months ago.

This gives investors a buying opportunity, according to Koch.

"Earnings upgrades and deploying excess capital are the catalysts we're looking for tos ee a re-rate back to the prior multiple that it traded on."

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