In early afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another solid gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 1.15% to 6,105.5 points.
Four shares that have climbed more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are storming higher:
The Downer EDI Limited (ASX: DOW) share price is up 3% to $4.88. This gain appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Morgan Stanley this morning. Its analysts have upgraded Downer's shares to an overweight rating with an improved price target of $5.60. It believes the company is well-positioned to benefit from the Federal Budget.
The ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO) share price has jumped over 10% to $5.81 after announcing a major new acquisition. ELMO is acquiring UK-based Breathe for an initial payment of 18 million pounds (A$32.4 million) using a combination of cash and scrip. Breathe is a fast-growing, scalable human resources platform for small businesses. Its annualised recurring revenue (ARR) as of 31 August 2020 stood at 3.6 million pounds (A$6.5 million) and has been growing at over 30% annually.
The Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL) share price has surged 6.5% higher to $17.01 following the release of its first quarter update. During the three months ended 30 September, Netwealth recorded an 8% or $2.5 billion increase in funds under administration (FUA). This was driven by net inflows of $1.9 billion and favourable market movements of $0.6 billion.
The Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price has stormed 7% higher to $8.55. This follows the release of its third quarter update. For the three months ended 30 September, the buy now pay later provider reported a sizeable 231.5% year on year increase in underlying merchant sales (UMS) to US$228 million (A$318 million). This was driven by a 178.1% year on year increase in active customers to 1.79 million, a 178.3% lift in active merchants to 20,890, and strong repeat customer growth.
