We launched our Speculative Report in mid-December 2011 to cater for traders looking to leverage small stocks to make big gains.

One of the unique features of the report is our Movers & Shakers page, which scans the market for the best short-term trading opportunities.

The page has been a great success, picking many of the market’s best performing micro-cap stocks over the last six weeks. Below is a list of 5 of the best stocks we have unearthed:

COMPANY: Peninsula Energy (PEN) is a small uranium developer, with projects in US, South Africa and Fiji. The company recently completed studies that confirmed the viability of two of its projects in Wyoming USA.

TRADE: We unearthed PEN in the report on the 20th of December when its share price was just 2.9 cents and the company had a market cap of only $62 million.

RESULT: PEN has since risen 83% to its last price of 5.3 cents.

COMPANY: Alliance Resources (AGS) is a small diversified exploration company, although its main focus is on uranium through its stake in the Four Mile uranium project in SA. The project has been subject to litigation regarding native title, and AGS shares have rallied strongly in the last six weeks after revealing litigation has been adjourned.

TRADE: We unearthed AGS in the report on 14th of December when it was trading at 21 cents with a market cap of $68 million.

RESULT: AGS has risen 71% since then to trade at 36 cents.

COMPANY: ZYL Limited (ZYL) is a small metallurgical coal explorer, working on a few coal projects in South Africa. In mid-December – the day we featured the stock in the report – ZYL advised the market that it had attracted some takeover interest and had hired Macquarie as its financial adviser.

TRADE: We unearthed ZYL in the report on 14th of December when it was trading at 14.5 cents and had a market cap of $60 million.

RESULT: ZYL has since risen 66% to 24 cents.

COMPANY: African Iron (AKI) is an emerging iron ore player, developing an iron ore mine in the Republic of Congo that is scheduled to start significant production next year. The company received a takeover offer earlier this month from South African miner Exxaro, which has bid up to 57 cents a share.

TRADE: We unearthed AKI in the report on 16th of December, when it was trading at 34 cents and had a market cap of $170 million.

RESULT: AKI has since risen 65% to 56 cents per share.

COMPANY: Golden Rim Resources (GMR) is small gold and copper explorer, operating in West Africa. The company has recently released drilling results from its exploration in Burkina Faso, which showed very high-grade intercepts.

TRADE: We unearthed GMR in the report on 20th of December, when its share price was just 10.5c and the company had a market cap of only $38 million.

RESULT: GMR has since risen 62% to its last price of 17 cents.

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Centro Retail (ASX:CER) has decided to purchase Centro Properties Group (ASX:CNP) as it looks to consolidate its assets.

The new group will be called Centro Retail Australia, and is forecast to deliver an FY12 distribution yield of approximately 5%.

CER said the consolidated entity is likely to have the size and scale to enhance long-term value and moderate gearing levels.

The takeover announcement has seen CNP rocket almost 60% so far today, making it one the top performers in the stock market.

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Sigma Pharmaceuticals (ASX:SIP) is a manufacturer and marketer of prescription, over-the-counter, and generic pharmaceutical products. It is also the owner of a leading full-line wholesale and distribution business to pharmacies.

Today SIP reported a 1H12 net profit of $26.7 million, which compares to a net loss of $9.2 million a year earlier.

SIP’s strong cash flow generation put a major dent in net interest expense, which was a key driver of the profit result.

EBIT jumped 55% on-year, helped by a 9% lift in underlying revenue.  The healthy sales result reflected market share gains.

An interim dividend of 1.5 cents was declared.  SIP said more would be done in the coming year to keep it ahead of industry changes.

SIP has been one of today’s best performers in the Australian share market.  It has also been one of the top stocks in recent months, having more than doubled in price since March.

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QR National (ASX:QRN) is Australia’s largest rail freight operator and the world’s largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port for export markets.

The group generated significant interest when it floated in November 2010, and it has since been one of the top stocks, having surged almost 30% to date.

Today, QRN announced that it signed a $900 million agreement to construct a rail link to the Wiggins Island coal export terminal.

The project would support an initial 27 million tonnes of coal per annum to the Wiggins Island terminal.

Construction is due to begin early next year, with expected completion by March 2015.

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Bradken (ASX:BKN) is a leading supplier of consumable parts, capital equipment and associated maintenance and refurbishment services to the resources and freight rail industries.

The company’s five divisions are mining products, rail, power and cement, engineered products and industrial.

BKN suffered from a volatile environment over 2008, as the commodities bubble burst and the market worried over demand for BKN’s services.

BKN has seen signs of improvement in 2010 on a turnaround for miners and iron ore prices, improved order intake levels and strength in its Rail division.

Shopping spree

Bradken (BKN) announced two acquisitions for a total consideration of $222 million.

BKN expects the acquisitions to deliver $28 million of additional EBITDA in FY12.

The company will fund the acquisitions from current cash and debt facilities.

The move is in line with BKN’s strategy of globalising its consumable products businesses and building a substantial presence in the world’s major mining regions.

BKN shares finished the day of the announcement up 4%.

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Resolute Mining (RSG) is a gold mining and exploration company, operating primarily in Africa and Australia.

The group’s portfolio focus is on Africa, but the miner also has projects in Australia, Mali and Tanzania.

RSG has three operating mines: Golden Pride in Tanzania, Ravenswood in Queensland, and the newly re-developed Syama in Mali, which was once a BHP Billiton operation.

RSG’s operations are well-placed, and exploration is likely to lead to further resource discoveries, underground, and in nearby pits.

The company continues to benefit from a boom in gold prices.

Golden update

RSG this week provided its Group gold production and cash cost guidance for FY12.

Gold production in the coming year is forecast to increase to 410,000 ounces at a cash cost of $730 per ounce.

This cements RSG’s position as the second largest primary listed gold producer on the ASX.

It also represents a substantial increase in production and reduction in cash costs.

RSG’s continued improvement in outlook is underpinned by ongoing progress being achieved at the Syama operation in Mali.

Resolute mining shares surged 7.6% on the back of the news.

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NRW Holdings (NWH) provides a diverse range of specialist services to Australia’s mining and resources organisations.

The group’s business units are split into four divisions: Civil, Mining, Action Mining Services and Action Drill & Blast.

NWH has been one of the shares to buy since June last year, with its stock price more than tripling from those lows.

Last week, NWH confirmed that it is on track to achieve an FY11 revenue target of at least $700 million.

However, adverse weather has impacted productivity at a number of NWH’s sites.

As a result, NWH expects FY11 net profit to be at the lower end of consensus estimates between $40 million and $45 million.

In addition, NWH has announced a $70 million capital raising.  The issue price of $2.74 is an approximately 4% discount to NWH’s closing price on 13 April.

NWH said it would use the proceeds to moderate its gearing levels following the acquisition of plant and equipment from Comiskey Earthmoving.

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Biota (BTA) is an Australian based, anti-infective drug development company.

The group specialises in the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals, focusing on research for the treatment of viral respiratory diseases, particularly influenza (flu).

Recently, BTA announced that Japan-based Daiichi Sankyo has received approval to manufacture and market its product, Inavir.

Inavir is an anti-viral drugs designed to treat or prevent influenza infections.

Under the agreement, BTA will receive a royalty on all sales in Japan, and both companies are now in talks to market Inavir to the rest of the world.

BTA will be one of the top shares to watch in coming months, as the market waits to see whether the group can successfully launch Inavir on a global scale.

BTA shares rocketed 17% on day of the announcement, making it one of the best performers on the Australian share market.