Shares of the Australian speciality pharmaceutical company Acrux (ASX:ACR) rose as much as 4.9% to A$0.043, an increase that marks their highest intraday percent gain since September 6.

Acrux (ASX:ACR) reached its peak since September 12.

The company has announced the termination of the commercialisation deal of the generic Testosterone Topical Solution product for the U.S.

market.

Following this termination, Acrux (ASX:ACR) will maintain exclusive ownership of all rights and intellectual property of the product.

Despite this uptick, the stock is down 41.4% this year, as of the last close, compared to a 2.2% increase in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index.

Acrux (ASX:ACR) is an Australian speciality pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing a range of patient-preferred pharmaceutical products.

Allup Silica (ASX:APS) witnessed a notable rise of 16.7% to A$0.056, setting the stage for its best-performing day since June 27, given the gains are maintained.

The sharp rise can be attributed to the firm’s confirmation of the presence of clay-hosted rare earth oxides at its Pink Bark project in Western Australia.

This discovery has caused its stock value to soar to the highest level since September 6.

However, the stock has experienced a downturn this year, registering a 46.7% decrease Year To Date based on the last closing figure.

Allup Silica is a company specializing in silica exploration.

Orica (ASX:ORI), a well-regarded explosives maker, is advantageously set to seize decarbonisation-related commercial opportunities, claim analysts at Jefferies.

Orica’s stock has been recommended as a ‘buy’ by Jefferies, with a maintained price target (PT) of A$18.80, indicating an 18% upside on the last close.

Jefferies expects Orica to primarily benefit from the global explosives market’s favorable outlook.

However, analysts also caution that the shutdown of the KI ammonia plant may result in the company being short of about 70 kilotons of ammonia, entailing a loss of around A$30 million.

Despite this, the strong consumer demand and increased earnings from blasting and digital technology offerings are expected to remain profit drivers for the company in the second half of 2023 and the financial year of 2024, according to Macquarie.

While maintaining its ‘outperform’ rating, Macquarie has nonetheless reduced its price target from A$18.0 to A$17.8 based on the fiscal year 2024 standard operating procedure.

The company’s earnings before interest and taxes estimates have been lowered due to the impact of the KI plant shutdown.

Coincidentally, the analysts' average rating also equates to ‘buy’, with their median price target standing at A$18.

Regardless, Orica’s shares are currently down by 2.3% in inconsistent trading.

The stock is up by 5.4% year to date, as per its last close.

Orica is a globally recognized explosives manufacturer.

Financial analysts at E&P Capital anticipate a long-drawn-out industrial conflict at Inghams, Australia’s largest poultry producer, causing disruption in its supply chain.

Going on strike for 24 hours on Friday, Inghams employees' pay discussions that kicked off at the start of the year have not reached an agreement, announced the United Workers Union.

The brokerage firm anticipates some level of compromise will be reached.

Shares of Inghams are experiencing an upturn of as much as 2.1%, marking the largest earnings in 4 weeks.

According to data from LSEG, 7 out of 10 analysts rate the stock as a ‘buy’ or higher, with 2 holding and one selling, with a median PT sitting at A$3.67.

From the start of this year until the last close, the stock has risen by 17.8%.

Inghams is the largest poultry producer in Australia.

Shares of KMD Brands (ASX:KMD) fell as much as 3.7% to NZ$0.79, marking their lowest level since September 18.

KMD Brands suffered its largest intraday percentage fall since September 11.

The company reported its fiscal year 2023 net profit from continuing operations.

The reported net profit from continuing operations for the financial year was NZ$36.6 million, a 0.6% dip compared with the same period last year.

Furthermore, KMD Brands stated that its group sales for August were down by 6.4% compared to last year.

As of its last closing, KMD Brands' stock has depreciated by 20.4% year-to-date.

KMD Brands is a New Zealand-based retail company that delivers products in the sportswear and camping gear sectors.

Shares of Australian-based gold mining company Besra Gold (ASX:BEZ) rose significantly, marking an intraday percentage gain of roughly 35.7% to A$0.190, which is their largest increase since July 25.

This surge takes the value of Besra Gold shares to their highest level since September 6th.

The company has confirmed that all conditions preceding a binding $300 million gold purchasing agreement with main CHESS Depositary Interest holder Quantum Metal Recovery have been met.

With this deal, Besra Gold will utilize the deposits for exploration, feasibility studies, and mine development purposes.

Over 4.6 million shares exchanged ownership making it an above average trading day compared to the 30-day average of approximately 1.8 million shares.

Besra’s stock has already climbed more than 169% this year, as of the most recent market closure.

Besra Gold (ASX:BEZ) is an Australian-based gold mining company.

Sims has sold a 50% stake in LMS Energy, the landfill gas operator, according to RBC Capital Markets.

This strategic divestment is aimed at allowing the company to focus on its core metals business.

The interest in LMS was sold for A$272 million to Pacific 2023 Holdco A Pty, a company owned by funds managed by Pacific Equity Partners.

The incoming A$272 million will potentially provide an opportunity for Sims to deploy capital elsewhere, facilitating its capital recycling strategy.

RBC Capital rates Sims as ‘outperform’ with a price target of A$16.50.

Out of 13 analysts, 2 rate Sims as ‘buy’ or higher, 7 rate it as ‘hold’, and 4 rate it as ‘sell’ or lower, presenting a median price target of A$15.

The company’s stock has appreciated 5.4% this year, going by the numbers till the last closure.

Sims is a metal recycling company that specializes in ferrous and non-ferrous recycling, and provides solutions for metal and electronics recycling.

National Tyre & Wheel (ASX:NTD) may be on track for its best performance in over two years, if it manages to maintain its recent momentum.

The tire and wheel distributor recently announced it has secured agreements to distribute Dunlop’s consumer and commercial tyres in Australia and New Zealand.

The company estimates that this new partnership will bring in an additional annualised group revenue of A$118 million across both countries.

As a result of this news, National Tyre & Wheel’s shares have reached their highest level since September 2022, with a year-to-date increase of 31.5%, as of their last closing price.

National Tyre & Wheel (ASX:NTD) predicts that the distribution of Dunlop tyres will result in a modest increase in fixed costs.

National Tyre & Wheel is a distributor of tires and wheels, with a wide-ranging customer base across Australia and New Zealand.

Analysts anticipate a potential decline in New Hope Corporation’s (ASX:NHC) future earnings amid a reduction in thermal coal demand.

The company has reported an approximately 11% increase in earnings for fiscal year 2023, a figure that was consistent with Jefferies' projections but slightly below those by Citi and Macquarie.

Citi, despite raising its price target on New Hope’s stocks to A$5.50 from A$5.30, has downgraded it to ‘Sell’ due to discontentment with the company’s shares, which have risen about 32% since July lows.

Citi has expressed the belief that the recent thermal coal price increase resulting from LNG disputes is excessively done.

The bank predicts that demand for thermal coal will diminish into the shoulder season, leading to an 11% and 19% reduction in EBITDA estimates for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Macquarie maintains an ‘underperform’ rating on the company’s performance although it has readjusted its price target by 2% to A$4.20.

Jefferies maintains a ‘hold’ rating on its stocks while revising its price target to A$5.30 from A$5.20.

On average, analysts hold an equivalent of a ‘hold’ rating on New Hope; their median price target is A$5.30, while LSEG’s data shows the stock has risen by 0.8% this year to date.

New Hope Corporation (ASX:NHC) is an Australian company engaged in coal mining.

Australian miners are seeing a significant drop, as much as 1.7%, marking their largest intraday percentage loss since September 7.

This could potentially result in a loss for the sub-index for the third consecutive session, assuming the prevailing trend holds.

Falling iron ore prices, exacerbated by an increase in domestic supply and ongoing demand concerns, particularly from the struggling property sector, have soured investor sentiment.

Copper prices have also seen a downturn as inventories build and market players exhibit caution ahead of a forthcoming US Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Among the major players, both Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and BHP Group (ASX:BHP) experienced a slump, with declines of 1.5% and 1.9% respectively, setting both for their largest downward shifts in two weeks.

Iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) also took a hit, with a drop of 1.6%.

As of the most recent closing, the sub-index has seen a 0.7% decrease this year.

The Australian miners are major contributors to the economy with a focus on the extraction of precious and base metals.