With just a few hours of trade left in the week, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.2% since last Friday's close, despite the best efforts of four fast-rising ASX 200 stocks.
Two of the outperformers in question are mining stocks, one is an IP services company, and the third is a major energy provider.
So, which stocks are racing ahead of the benchmark this week?
Read on!
The first outperforming ASX 200 stock is IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH).
Shares in the intellectual property (IP) services company closed last Friday trading for $4.71. At the time of writing, shares are changing hands for $5.03 apiece. That sees the IPH share price up 6.8% for the week.
There's no fresh news out from IPH this week. But as the Motley Fool reported on Wednesday, Morgans believes the stock has been trading at a significant discount.
The broker has an add rating on IPH with a $6.30 price target. That's more than 25% above current levels, even after this week's strong run.
IPH shares also trade on a partly franked 7.2% trailing dividend yield.
Which brings us to the second ASX 200 stock posting strong weekly gains despite the broader market retrace, IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO).
Shares in the lithium miner closed last Friday trading for $4.26. In afternoon trade today, shares are trading for $4.58 each. That sees the IGO share price up 7.5% for the week.
It's been a while since there was price-sensitive news from IGO. However, the analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) remain bullish on the outlook for IGO shares. The broker has an outperform rating and a $4.50 price target on IGO shares.
Moving on to the third ASX 200 stock racing ahead of the benchmark this week, we find Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG).
Shares in the energy provider closed last Friday at $10.82. At the time of writing, shares are trading for $11.74 apiece. This puts the Origin Energy share price up 8.5% for the week.
The analysts at Macquarie also ran their slide rule over Origin Energy shares this week. Though the broker maintained its neutral rating, it raised its price target by 8.1% to $10.94 a share.
Rounding off the list of ASX 200 stocks smashing the benchmark this week, we have Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX: ILU).
Shares in the rare earths miner closed last Friday at $3.79 and are currently fetching $4.83 apiece. That sees the Iluka share price up a whopping 27.4% for the week.
Most of those gains are coming today, with shares up 21.2% in intraday trading on Friday.
Investor interest looks to have been piqued by news of a multi-billion dollar US government contract, inked by the Pentagon with rare earths company MP Materials Corp (NYSE: MP).
As the US ramps up moves to break China's stranglehold on global rare earths production, Aussie miners like Iluka Resources could see increased demand for their minerals.
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