To The Moon

As of the close on Friday, $S&P/ASX 200(XJO.AU)$ closed at 8,118.80 on Friday, down 1.13% in the past 5 days.

1. $MINERAL RESOURCES LTD(MIN.AU)$ +19.02%

• Mineral Resources share price soars on asset sale. Investors are bidding up the Mineral Resources share price after the company reported it has agreed to sell its two oil and gas exploration permits in the Perth Basin to Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting. Hancock will pay the ASX 200 miner a total cash consideration of up to $1.13 billion.

• The MinRes board said on Thursday that it expected to hand down the conclusion of an investigation into the tax affairs of Mr Ellison by Monday. The miner also announced Hancock Prospecting has bought two of its onshore gas projects for up to $1.1 billion and inked a joint venture deal to explore tenements in nearby basins in Western Australia.

• MinRes also released its quarterly report where the miner maintained its volume and cost guidance for the 2025 financial year for all its operations and said it expected higher costs in the first half.

2. $Zip Co Ltd(ZIP.AU)$ +10.04%

• Investors have been bidding the company's shares higher this week following the release of its first quarter update. According to the release, Zip delivered group cash EBTDA of $31.7 million for the three months. This is up an impressive 233.7% over the prior corresponding period. It is also almost half the $69 million group cash EBTDA it recorded in the entirety of FY 2024.

• Management advised that this earnings growth was driven by a particularly strong performance from the US business. It notes that Zip US delivered total transaction volume (TTV) of US$1,301.8 million for the period, which is up 42.8% year on year. This led to US revenue increasing 43.9% to US$92.1 million.

• Zip Co share price is up an incredible 907% in the last year alone. Also pleasing for shareholders was the 50% gain in the last three months. On the other hand, longer term shareholders have had a tougher run, with the stock falling 52% in three years. Anyone who held for that rewarding ride would probably be keen to talk about it.

3. $PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED(PMV.AU)$ +6.05%

• The Premier Investments share price is up 6.05% to $33.14 this week. Investors have been buying the company's shares after it announced a merger agreement with Myer Holdings Ltd. The deal will see Myer acquire Premier's Apparel Brands business in Australia and New Zealand in exchange for the issue of 890.5 million new shares.

• The Apparel Brands business comprises Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Portmans, Dotti, and Jacqui E. Upon completion, it will have $4 billion revenue and $152 million EBIT on a pro forma FY 2024 basis. The shares being issued will be distributed to Premier Investments shareholders on a 7.2 for 1 ratio.

• “We view this as a positive catalyst for Premier Investments shareholders,” Morgan Stanley analysts including Joseph Michael wrote in a note. The company will be left with its highest-quality brands like back-to-school accessorizer Smiggle, which should support the stock, they added.

4. $NEWS CORP - CLASS B- CDI(NWS.AU)$ +6.04%

• News Corporation is a diversified media and information services company. Its segments include Digital Real Estate Services, which include property and property-related advertising and services, including the sale of real estate listing and lead generation products and referral-based services to brokers, and homebuilders and landlords; Subscription Video Services, which provides sports, entertainment and news services to pay-television and streaming subscribers and other commercial licensees;

• Prominent proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) on Thursday urged News Corp , opens new tab investors to back a plan to end the company's dual-class voting structure, lending support to an activist hedge fund's push for such a change, which may drive the stock price up!

5. $WISETECH GLOBAL LTD(WTC.AU)$ +5.80%

• WiseTech Global Ltd (WiseTech) operates as a developer of cloud-based software solutions. It offers end-to-end logistics solutions through its product, CargoWise. The company provides CargoWise services including customs, optimization, enterprise, transport, warehouse, parcel, e-commerce and others. WiseTech also offers learning solutions, software support and maintenance. The company also owns other businesses such as ABM Data Systems, ACO Informatica, Bysoft and CargoIT, among others.

• WiseTech Global Ltd.’s billionaire founder and Chief Executive Officer Richard White stepped down after a series of damaging allegations over his relationships with several women last week. WiseTech Share price rebounds this week.