To The Moon

As of the close on Friday,$S&P/ASX 200(XJO.AU)$ closed at 7,177.80 points, up 3.2% in the past 5 days. Its YTD performance was 1.98%.

During the last 5 trading days,  $Liontown Resources Ltd(LTR.AU)$ , $United Malt(UMG.AU)$ , $Syrah Resources(SYR.AU)$ , $Chalice Gold Mines(CHN.AU)$ , $Allkem Limited(AKE.AU)$ were up 73.15%, 38.08%, 24.83%, 19.27%, and 16.81% respectively.

I. Weekly TOP 5 Gainers Review

1. $Liontown Resources Ltd(LTR.AU)$ skyrocketed 73.15% as it rejects takeover bid and incites a short squeeze

Mining explorer Liontown Resources rejected a takeover offer of A$2.50 per share from US mining giant Albemarle. Liontown shares soared 54.1% on the day to A$2.35.

After this news, the ASX battery metals sector surged across the board, with producers Pilbara Minerals and Mineral Resources rose 10.2 % and 5.9 %, respectively.

1) 195.9 million shares were shorted due to plunge of LCE price

Liontown had 195.9 million shares sold short on March 21 as the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in China recently plunged below $40,000. But after Tuesday's spike, short sellers took a total book loss of $174 million.

2) Insititutions are positive on its future growth

Macquarie had a Buy rating on Liontown and a price target of A$2.70 per share, an 8% premium to Albemarle's A$2.50 bid.

Citi Resources analyst Kate McCutcheon said the trend in lithium prices is nearing a bottom as Chinese battery makers begin to replenish supply in the second quarter and fundamentals support growing demand for electric vehicles.

 2. $United Malt(UMG.AU)$ rose 38.08% after receiving a takeover bid

United Malt Group processes and supplies malt and craft ingredients to brewers, distillers, and food markets

United Malt Group share price jumped 31.7% after it received a takeover proposal worth $1.5 billion. The company reported that it had entered into a process and exclusivity deed with French maltster Malteries Soufflet.

Malteries Soufflet is the largest commercial maltster in Europe and the second-largest maltster in the world. It has submitted a conditional, non-binding, and indicative proposal to acquire all of United Malt’s stock for $5.00 per share in cash. That’s a 45% increase above the United Malt share price at Friday’s close .

3. $Syrah Resources(SYR.AU)$ jumped 24.83% as it reported record production and got upgraded

Syrah Resources Ltd is an industrial minerals and technology company. The company’s share price jumped due to several reasons.

1) Syrah reported record graphite production and would supply $Tesla Motors(TSLA)$

Syrah Resources said Thursday it achieved record graphite production in 2022.

Graphite production more than doubled to 163K metric tons in 2022 from 72K tons in the previous year, at a weighted average price of $661/ton for the year. The increased production pushed Syrah's revenues to $106.2M in 2022 from $29M in 2021.

Tesla is looking to buy 8K tons/year of graphite from Syrah's Vidalia plant starting in 2025, Joseph L. Shaefer noted in an analysis.

2) Macquarie gives the company $2.30 price target

After this graphite producer released a mineral resource update for the Balama project, Macquarie has retained its outperform rating and $2.30 price target on the company’s shares.

This implies potential upside of 26% for investors over the next 12 months.

4. $Chalice Gold Mines(CHN.AU)$ rose 19.27% on its resource updates

Chalice Mining Ltd is a mineral exploration company. The company’s share price jumped after investors responded positively to the release of a mineral resource update at the Gonneville deposit of the Julimar nickel-copper-platinum group element (PGE) project in Western Australia.

This will bring ~50% increase in the contained nickel equivalent metal relative to the July 2022 estimate to approximately 3Mt.

The company revealed that it is continuing to respond to strong strategic interest in the Julimar Project and intends to commence a formal strategic partnering process.

5. $Allkem Limited(AKE.AU)$ up 16.81% - Goldman and Bell Potter both bullish for it

Allkem Limited engages in the production and sale of lithium and boron in Argentina. Its flagship project is the Olaroz Lithium Facility located in Jujuy province in northern Argentina.

Allkem’s share price jumped due to its production growth and downstream optionality which will keep its earnings strong and offset the pressure caused by lower lithium prices.

According to a note from Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their buy rating and $15.40 price target on its shares. Bell Potter also says that Allkem shares are a buy now for 80% upside over the next 12 months from current levels.

II. Top 5 Gainers in Q1

$S&P/ASX 200(XJO.AU)$ closed at 7,177.80 points, with YTD performance of 1.98%.

During the Q1(from 1st Jan. - 31st Mar.), $Liontown Resources Ltd(LTR.AU)$ , $NEWCREST MINING LIMITED(NCM.AU)$ , $Domain Australia(DHG.AU)$ , $Eagers Automotive Ltd(APE.AU)$ , $Wisetech Global(WTC.AU)$ were up 95.45%, 31.76%, 30.39%, 28.96%, and 28.49% respectively.

1.$Liontown Resources Ltd(LTR.AU)$ skyrocketed 95.45% because it rejects takeover bid this week

Mining explorer Liontown Resources rejected a takeover offer of A$2.50 per share from US mining giant Albemarle. Liontown shares soared 54.1% on the day to A$2.35.

2. $NEWCREST MINING LIMITED(NCM.AU)$ jumped 31.76% after it received the biggest M&A from Newmont

Newcrest Mining has received a A$24bn ($17bn) conditional and non-binding indicative takeover bid from global gold producer $Newmont Mining(NEM)$ on Feb.

The offer proposes to acquire 100% of the issued shares of Newcrest through a scheme of arrangement where investors would be entitled to receive 0.380 Newmont shares for each Newcrest share held.

If successful, Newmont’s latest grab for Newcrest would be the largest merger and acquisition deal announced so far this year.

3. $Domain Australia(DHG.AU)$ rose 30.39% due to high CPI

Domain Holdings Australia Limited engages in the real estate media and technology services business in Australia.

Possible reasons behind DHG’s rally may be: first, the timber issue for real estate market eases; second, China’s reopening may help real estate industry recover; third, the rent prices may continue to increase according to the CPI data.

4. $Eagers Automotive Ltd(APE.AU)$ performed steadily and gained 28.96% after earnings

The Eagers Automotive, Australia's biggest car sales group, jumped 10% on the day it released stellar full-year results for 2022.

It announced a final dividend of 49 cents per share for FY22, creating a record total full-year dividend of 71 cents per share for investors.

Eagers achieved record underlying operating profit before tax of $405.2 million

Eagers Automotive said its record profit came down to continuing strong demand for both new and used cars.

In addition, the successful acquisition and integration of the ACT and South Australia multi-franchised dealership groups and continued investment in strategic partnerships also contributed to the results.

5. $Wisetech Global(WTC.AU)$ rose 28.49% after aquisition

It’s reported that logistics software company WiseTech Global has struck a $414m deal to buy rail solutions provider Blume Global.

WiseTech Global is making a strategic step in integrating rail into its landside logistics business in North America as it announced the purchase of US-based Blume Global, for US$414 million.

Blume’s platform enables complete asset management and reservation processing for intermodal railroad operations. With Blume, railroads can manage and track crucial assets across the complete supply chain lifecycle.

In its first half results, WiseTech posted $378.2 million in revenue, up 35% over the same period last year. The company hopes to grow revenue by up 26 to 30 percent in the second half and finish the year with revenue of $790 million–$822 million.