These are the ASX companies and sectors making headlines in afternoon trade.
The S&P/ASX 200 is trading 38 points higher or 0.46% higher on Tuesday, recovering some of yesterday's -1.34% selloff.
Predictive Discovery (ASX: PDI) – Shares in the Guinea-based gold explorer rallied 12.0% after the company successfully raised $69.2 million via a private placement at 26.5 cents per share. This represented a nil discount to its previous close. PDI received strategic investments from the Lundin family ($45.1m for a 6.5% stake) and Zijin Mining ($24.1m for a 3.5% stake).
Nufarm (ASX: NUF) – Shares rallied 4.9% after the company provided a positive trading update at its AGM, including:
Demand for crop protection products has been strong and, although active ingredient prices have not moved materially
Seeing benefits of stability in cost of goods on crop protection margins
Expect to achieve $100m in omega-3 revenue in FY25
Cost saving and inventory reduction initiatives that were announced at the FY24 result are on track
Identified $50m of annualised cost savings; full impact of these savings expected to be realised in FY26
Pro Medicus (ASX: PME) – Shares rallied 3.7% to fresh all-time highs after the company secured a 7-year, $53 million contract with Florida’s BayCare health system to deploy its Visage 7 imaging platform. The full rollout is expected by late 2025.
The Star (ASX: SGR) – Shares rose 4.1% amid speculation that Blackstone is considering acquiring the company, according to The Australian. Sources say that the opportunity to gain The Star's gaming machines is a key attraction for the alternative asset manager. Although they would likely wait to make a move on The Star after it has entered voluntary administration.
Xref (ASX: XF1) – Shares dipped another 22.5% after a 24% selloff on Monday. The company's scheme with Seek has been terminated after Xref failed to meet the 75% minimum threshold for the takeover. Seek offered 21.8 cents per share, which was a 52% premium to where the stock was trading before the offer.
Tech is the best performing sector on Tuesday, bouncing after the tariff-driven selloff on Monday. Stocks including Megaport (+4.6%), Siteminder (+4.0%), NextDC (+2.7%) and TechnologyOne (+2.4%) are leading the gains.
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