Stocks making the biggest moves at noon: A2 Milk, GQG Partners, Uranium Miners and more

These are the companies and sectors making headlines in afternoon trade.

A2 Milk (ASX: A2M) – Shares rallied 14.4% after the company upgraded its FY25 earnings outlook and introduced a new dividend policy.

• FY25 revenue growth to be mid-to-high single digits year-on-year compared to prior guidance of mid-single digit growth and consensus expectations of 5.8%

• EBITDA margin (as a % of revenue) in FY25 is still expected to be broadly in-line with FY24

• Dividend policy targeting a payout ratio between 60-80% of net profit after tax

• First interim dividend expected to be declared in February 2025 based on the company's 1H25 result

Electro Optic Systems (ASX: EOS) – Shares in the space, defence and communications company rallied 13.2% after the company announced plans to sell its EM Solutions business for an enterprise value of $144 million. EM Solutions was acquired in a scrip-based transaction in 2019 for $26 million. The proceeds will be used to support the company’s core business, including counter-drone market

GQG Partners (ASX: GQG) – Shares in the global equities manager bounced 10.8% after a steel 19.3% selloff on Thursday. The selloff was in relation to an alleged scheme where Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest men, offered $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials. GQG has invested a significant portion of its funds in Adani companies, which surged nearly 170% over the past year.

Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) – Shares ticked 4.4% higher after Citi upgraded the stock to a Neutral and retained a $35 target price. The upgrade reflects MinRes's falling share price (down 7% over the past month and 50% year-to-date) rather than any improvement in company fundamentals. The note said "we continue to see incremental buyers as limited here with MinRes facing several headwinds," including:

• Ongoing government concerns

• Market uncertainty around the senior leadership team

• Marginal to loss-making lithium JV assets

• Ongoing internal and external investigations

Yancoal (ASX: YAL) – Shares in the coal miner rallied 6.3% amid growing hopes of a return to dividend-paying status. For context, Yancoal dropped an absolute bombshell as part of its FY24 results: "The Board has not declared an interim dividend in respect of the six months ended 30 June 2024, with the retained cash providing flexibility for potential corporate initiatives and may be distributed in the future if not." This triggered a sharp one-day selloff of 13% on 20 August.

According to the Financial Review, Yancoal is out of the race for Anglo American's Queensland coal portfolio due to FIRB approvals. In the absence of any further M&A speculation, this could put a special dividend on the cards.

Uranium miners – The uranium sector is experiencing a broad-based rally after a strong overnight lead, with the Global X Uranium ETF up 3.5%. Stocks leading to the upside include Deep Yellow (+7.8%), Paladin Energy (+7.2%), Lotus Resources (+6.5%), Bannerman Energy (+6.3%) and Boss Energy (+6.3%).

Megaport (ASX: MP1) – Shares dipped 11.1% after the company reaffirmed its FY25 revenue and earnings guidance at its AGM.

• FY25 revenue guidance of $214-222m

• FY25 EBITDA guidance of $57-65m

The latest forecasts from Macquarie still expect Megaport to deliver FY25 EBITDA of $64 million vs. the reaffirmed guidance midpoint of $61 million.

Wisetech Global (ASX: WTC) – Shares opened 18.2% lower as the market opened but now down only 9.2% (as at 12:35 pm AEDT). The company downgraded its FY25 guidance, flagging "distractions from recent media attention" and organizational restructuring as key factors.

• "Commercial launch of Container Transport Optimization has been delayed and pushed back to the second-half of FY25, resulting in a delay to anticipated revenue."

• FY25 revenue guidance cut to $1.2-1.3bn, previously guided to $1.3-1.35bn revenue. The new guidance represents a 5.6% downgrade at the midpoint and 6.7% below Morgan Stanley estimates

• FY25 EBITDA guidance lowered to $600-660m, previously guided to $660-700m EBITDA. The new guidance represents a 7.3% cut to the prior guidance and 8.6% below Morgan Stanley estimates

• FY25 EBITDA margin expected to be 50-51%