Stocks making the biggest moves at noon: Lovisa, Insignia Financial, Banks and more

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

Lovisa (ASX: LOV) – Shares in the jewellery retailer rallied 7.7% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equalweight with a $32.00 target price. The analysts cited an acceleration in Lovisa's January 2025 website data, which they view as a potential indicator of solid store growth. The stock is down around 20% over the past six months, which the analysts view as presenting an increasingly attractive risk/reward profile. Lovisa now trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of approximately 25x, which is 20% below its five-year average of 31x, while earnings are forecast to grow at least 18% per annum from FY24 to FY27.

Insignia Financial (ASX: IFL) – Shares in the financial services company rallied another 5.8% after it received a revised takeover proposal from CC Capital. The company is currently in the midst of an intensifying bidding war between CC Capital and Bain Capital.

• 17 January 2025: CC Capital offers $4.60 cash per share

• 13 January 2025: Bain Capital offers $4.30 cash per share

• 6 January 2025: CC Capital offers $4.30 cash per share

• 12 December 2024: Bain Capital offers $4.00 cash per share

Latin Resources (ASX: LRS) –Shares in the lithium explorer gained 4.3% after the company's shareholders voted in favour of the proposed acquisition by Pilbara Minerals. ILatin Resources shares are expected to be suspended from trading on the ASX at the close of trading on January 22, with the schemes set to be implemented on February 4. Post-implementation, Latin holders will own approximately 6.4% of Pilbara Minerals.

The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index is leading the charge today, up 0.78%. This follows the defensive pivot overnight, where sectors such as Utilities, Real Estate and Industrials outperformed on Wall Street. Today's top gainers include AGL Energy (+1.6%), APA Group (+1.0%), Origin Energy (+0.9%) and Meridian Energy (+0.7%).

4DS Memory (ASX: 4DS) – Shares in the semiconductor technology company dipped 7.3% after it successfully raised $6 million at 3.6 cents per share, representing a 12.2% discount to its last closing price.

Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC) – Shares dipped 5.4% after the company released its December quarter report .The company reached its annual limit for lanthanide processing in Malaysia for its Mt Weld Project, which subsequently impacted downstream production.

The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index is the worst performing sector on Friday, down 0.31%. All of the big four banks are trading lower, led by ANZ (-1.0%), Westpac (-0.7%), NAB (-0.7%) and Commonwealth Bank (-0.5%).