ASX March 2025
Top Gainers and Losers

March was an eventful month for Australian stocks, with some companies delivering standout gains while others took a beating. Below, we break down the top three best-performing ASX stocks of March 2025 and the three biggest laggards, explaining why their share price movement.

Top 3 Performers

1. Spartan Resources (ASX: SPR), +44.66%. Spartan Resources, a gold exploration and development company specialising in high-grade gold projects across Australia, is strategically repositioning itself as an advanced gold explorer. The company's shares surged dramatically in March following a takeover bid from Ramelius Resources.

   During the month, Spartan's board accepted a buyout offer from Ramelius, valuing the company at approximately $2.4 billion—representing roughly an 11% premium on its pre-deal share price. The proposal includes 25 cents in cash plus 0.6957 Ramelius shares for each Spartan share, effectively valuing Spartan at around $1.78 per share.

   Should shareholders approve the merger, Spartan's gold assets will be integrated into Ramelius, with Spartan shareholders retaining approximately 39.5% ownership of the combined entity.

2. West African Resources (ASX: WAF),+33.33%. West African Resources, a mid-tier gold producer with mining operations across West Africa—particularly in Burkina Faso—saw its share price surge by one-third in March, driven by impressive company results and strengthening gold prices.

   The company, on track to produce hundreds of thousands of gold ounces annually and develop a multi-million-ounce production profile, reported a 49% increase in full-year profit early in the month. This announcement was accompanied by optimistic forecasts for significantly higher gold output in 2025, signalling robust performance from the company's mining operations and immediately boosting investor confidence.

3. EBR Systems (ASX: EBR) +13.64%. EBR Systems, a medical device company, has developed the world's first wireless heart pacemaker for heart failure patients. Their flagship product is a leadless cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) pacemaker, which can stimulate the heart without requiring the traditional wires used in conventional pacemakers.

   The company's shares experienced a strong rally in March as EBR moved closer to securing FDA approval. In late March, management announced they anticipate receiving U.S. FDA approval within weeks for their WiSE CRT system – positioned to be the only leadless pacemaker available for treating heart failure.

   EBR says the device faces no direct competition and has demonstrated exceptional clinical outcomes, including markedly improved heart function in trials. Further bolstering market confidence, the company reported passing an FDA pre-approval inspection with no observations—an uncommon achievement in the medical device sector.

Bottom 3 Performers

1. Helia Group (ASX: HLI), -34.70%. Helia Group is an Australian lender’s mortgage insurance (LMI) provider. The company's core business involves selling insurance to banks and lenders, protecting them against potential losses should borrowers default on home loans.

   The company's share price plummeted in March following a concerning announcement about a potential loss of business. Helia revealed that its largest client, Commonwealth Bank (CBA), may terminate its LMI contract, which has been in place for decades.

   CBA represents Helia's last major bank partner, having already lost NAB's contract in 2020. The prospect of losing CBA would substantially reduce the company's future revenue streams. When Helia disclosed that the CBA contract was "at risk" in a Friday announcement mid-month, investors offloaded the stock, triggering a 25% share price crash in a single trading day, with minimal recovery in subsequent sessions.

   In response, analysts significantly downgraded their valuations for Helia as the business outlook deteriorated without CBA's continued partnership. While one broker, Macquarie, did upgrade Helia to "Neutral" following the substantial decline, suggesting the sell-off had already priced in the negative news, the overall impact was severe.

2. Zip Co. (ASX: ZIP), -34.55%. Zip Co. is a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) fintech company enabling consumers to purchase goods immediately while repaying in instalments over time. The company's shares declined significantly in March, continuing a downward trend as investors responded to disappointing earnings and ongoing challenges facing the broader BNPL sector. While Zip had initially experienced a brief rally in late February following announcements of positive cash EBTDA, market focus quickly shifted to concerning details within their financial performance by March.

   The company's latest financial results revealed earnings that fell short of analysts' expectations, raising concerns about its pathway to profitability. Zip's EBITDA performance came in below forecasts from major brokers, including RBC and Citi, despite showing improvement compared to the previous year. The earnings miss triggered a substantial sell-off, with Zip's stock falling approximately 25% in a single trading session following the report.

   Broader industry headwinds also impacted the sector: rising interest rates, increasing funding costs, heightened regulatory scrutiny of BNPL credit practices, and growing competition from established banks and technology companies entering the space.

3. HMC Capital (ASX: HMC), 31.84% is an alternative asset manager and investment firm. It manages and invests in real assets like real estate (through REITs and funds) and private equity deals on behalf of institutional and retail investors.

   The company's stock fell sharply in March after issues emerged at one of its major investment vehicles. In early March, HMC announced that its HealthCo Healthcare & Wellness REIT – a listed trust it manages – had issued breach notices to Healthscope for failing to pay all its rent due for March.

   This rent shortfall from a key tenant represented a significant concern for investors. Consequently, HealthCo REIT withdrew its earnings and distribution guidance for the year pending issue resolution. The news unsettled investors concerned about potential lost rental income, legal complications, and impacts on HMC's management fees and reputation.

   HMC's share price decreased by approximately 5% immediately following the announcement, with the decline continuing throughout the month, particularly after HMC indicated it might become directly involved in rescuing or acquiring Healthscope's hospital business. Additional factors weighed on the stock, including challenges in its digital infrastructure fund and rising interest rates affecting property values, which added to market pessimism.

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DISCLAIMER: Please note that the information provided in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. It is not intended to encourage you to buy/sell assets or make economic decisions. We strongly recommend conducting your own research before making any investment.