Day: 23 August 2021

The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has walked through the session in the green during trade on Monday.

Appen shares are on the move ahead of the artificial intelligence (AI) company’s earnings report due on Thursday.

Let’s investigate further.

A bit more on Appen

Appen is a “global leader” in human annotated training data for machine learning and AI. It has two main segments, content relevance and speech collection.

Its language technology is used in over 150 languages and dialects by technology companies and various governments.

Appen has a market capitalisation of $1.47 billion at the time of writing.

What’s behind the Appen share price ahead of its earnings report?

Over the last week, Appen shares have gathered momentum on the charts, climbing from lows of $11.32 on 17 August.

There has been no market-sensitive information by the company over this time. However, investment bank Citi holds an $18 per share price target on Appen shares.

The broker feels that, because many of Appen’s large customers have recognised an accelerated growth period in revenue this year, Appen is well-positioned to benefit from this.

On this note, given the market’s reaction to Appen’s FY20 earnings report back in February, it may be that investors are seeing the strengths of its end-markets as a plus for the Appen share price.

What else?

As such, investors may be banking on an earnings surprise in its report on Thursday, where it would beat guidance on revenue, EBITDA and/or net profit after tax (NPAT).

An earnings beat is typically associated with positive sentiment, and investors may be seeking to enter a position early in order to capture any upward movements in the Appen share price post-earnings.

To illustrate, recall that after its last earnings report in February, the Appen share price sunk 7% on the day it was released. That’s despite the fact the company grew revenues by 12% and EBITDA by 8% over the year.

However, management downgraded guidance in the report and then subsequently again in May. Thus, Appen shares have faced selling pressure over the last few months.

For instance, in May, the company forecasted an EBITDA range of US$83–$90 million, down from US$120–$130 million in its FY20 report.

However, even this figure signifies an 18%–28% year on year growth pattern from the year prior.

Therefore, without any additional news related catalysts, it therefore stands to reason that investors may be pushing the Appen share price higher in anticipation of a strong performance in its FY21 half year results on Thursday.

Appen share price snapshot

Appen shares have posted a year to date loss of 48%, extending the previous 12 month’s loss of 68%.

Despite this, Appen shares are up 9.4% over the last week. Further, they are around 2% in the green over the last month.

These results have lagged the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 25% over the past year.

As mentioned, investors can expect the company’s FY21 half year earnings report on Thursday. Remember, this may be subject to change, so keep an eye out.

The post Appen share price (ASX:APX) up 6% ahead of earnings this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are 3 buy-rated ASX growth shares
• Why the Appen (ASX:APX) share price fell 7% last time it reported
• 2 excellent ASX tech shares with strong growth potential
• Why AGL, Appen, CBA, & Rio Tinto shares are tumbling lower
• Appen (ASX:APX) share price slides following board renewal

The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) moved higher on a solid day for tech shares. The benchmark index finished 0.35% higher to 7,487.3 points. While most of the Aussie index was in the green, it was the tech sector that pulled the furthest ahead.

The question is: which shares from the top 200 delivered the most green on the ASX today? Here are the ten stocks that delivered the biggest gains:

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the lithium producer increased 10.9% despite no announcements. Find out more about Pilbara Minerals here.

The next best performing ASX share out of the top 200 today was Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC). The coal producer’s shares climbed 7% to $2.28 as coal prices continue to strengthen. Uncover the latest Whitehaven Coal information here.

Today’s top 10 biggest gains were made in these ASX 200 shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)	$2.24	10.89%
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)	$2.28	7.04%
Zimplats Holdings Ltd (ASX: ZIM)	$22.58	6.81%
Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC)	$18.33	6.26%
IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO)	$9.32	5.79%
Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN)	$6.60	5.43%
Event Hospitality and Entertainment Ltd (ASX: EVT)	$13.15	5.37%
Orocobre Ltd (ASX: ORE)	$9.05	4.50%
Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX: PNI)	$16.92	4.19%
Reece Ltd (ASX: REH)	$25.88	4.19%

Our top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check-in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares on Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Whitehaven (ASX:WHC) share price lifts 6% ahead of earnings this week
• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price bounces back, up 8% on Monday
• Which ASX companies are the top movers in the ASX 300 today?
• What’s moving the ASX 200 Index (ASX:XJO) on Monday?
• ASX 200 midday update: NIB sinks and Sonic falls on full year results

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price was a positive performer on Monday.

The gold miner’s shares rose 1.5% to end the day at $25.08.

However, despite this gain, the Newcrest share price is still down 24% over the last 12 months.

Why did the Newcrest share price push higher?

Investors may have been bidding the Newcrest share price higher after analysts at Goldman Sachs responded positively to its full year results release from last week.

According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating but trimmed its price target on the company’s shares to $33.00.

Based on the current Newcrest share price, this implies potential upside of 31.5% over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Goldman Sachs was pleased with Newcrest’s better than expected performance in FY 2021.

It commented: “NCM’s FY21 result was ahead of our expectations; EBITDA of US$2,443mn was +4%/+5% ahead of GSe/VisibleAlpha consensus respectively, driven largely by non-cash other income items.”

“Underlying NPAT of US$1,164mn was +1%/+4%. FCF of A$1,104mn was ahead of our expectations (+15%) after favourable 2H working capital movements and lower cash tax payments than expected. Net cash of US$176mn was therefore better than our expectations and also consensus.”

“The strong FCF, as well as an increase in payout ratio (41% of FY21 FCF), resulted in an upsized final dividend of US40cps (fully-franked), well ahead of our forecast, however in-line with policy of 30-60% for the full year,” it added.

Guidance disappoints but valuation remains attractive

One slight negative, though, was its guidance for FY 2022. Unlike its result in FY 2021, this was below its expectations.

Goldman said: “FY22 guidance was softer than our expectations, particularly driven by higher than expected AISC at key assets and higher capex. Gold and copper production were in-line with our prior estimates at the group level, however Lihir’s outlook was ~10-20% below our prior forecasts, offset by stronger production expectations at Telfer.”

Nevertheless, the broker still see a lot of value in the Newcrest share price. As a result, it has retained its buy rating, noting its “compelling valuation discount (0.76xNAV), attractive growth pipeline, and increasing copper earnings.”

So, while the last 12 months have been disappointing, Goldman appears confident the next 12 months will be much more positive for the Newcrest share price.

The post Top broker tips Newcrest (ASX:NCM) share price to have a golden 12 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Miners drag ASX back to earth
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• The Newcrest (ASX:NCM) dividend boosted 129%
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) share price on watch as profit jumps 55%

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX) share price is surging today despite a joint investigation by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) finding the company’s implementation of a planned systems upgrade was “largely not consistent” with industry practices.

On 16 November last year, the ASX was forced to end the trading day early when technical issues arose from a botched systems upgrade. While independent assessor IBM Australia found the stock exchange operator met industry practices in 58 out of 75 of the capabilities assessed, it missed in 17.

Near the market close today, shares in the company were trading for $88.52 – up 3.01%. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), for context, is 0.35% higher.

ASX share price lifts after ASIC investigation finishes

When it came to business case development, resourcing, stakeholder engagement, and incident management of the systems update, the ASIC investigation found ASX met or exceeded industry practice.

However, ASIC and its partners found the system was not ready for implementation in mid-November and the ASX should have been more cautious. As well, it found risk management “did not meet industry practices” and that there were “gaps” in the rigour applied to risk management.

The investigation also made 7 key recommendations to ASX relating to risk, governance, and testing; among others.

ASIC chair Joe Longo said:

The independent expert found that ASX met or exceeded leading industry practices in most areas, but the conclusion that the project was not ready for go-live is very disappointing.  ASX has acknowledged and accepted the need for improvement. 

We do, however, require assurance that these improvements are implemented effectively and result in an overall improvement to ASX’s enterprise-wide project management practices.

Despite today’s findings, the ASX share price is lifting today.

A separate investigation into whether ASX met its obligations under the Australian Market Licence, is still ongoing.

ASX responds

In a media statement, the ASX acknowledged the report findings and said it would address all the recommendations for improvement. The company added that management did believe it was ready for go-live, contrary to the findings of ASIC and the RBA.

ASX managing director and CEO Dominic Stevens said:

Last November’s market outage fell short of ASX’s high standards. We believed that the software was ready for go-live, as did our technology provider Nasdaq. Clearly there were issues, which was particularly disappointing given the significant progress we have made on resilience in recent years.

He added

ASX is well advanced in developing a detailed response plan for execution over the next 12 to 18 months, and we’ll commission the independent expert to review our actions to meet its recommendations. Our delivery of this program of work will be under the oversight of ASIC and the RBA.

ASX share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the ASX share price has fallen 0.85%. The 200 largest companies on its trading system have outperformed it by about 23 percentage points.

ASX Ltd has a market capitalisation of about $16.6 billion.

The post ASX (ASX:ASX) share price lifts despite ASIC findings on system failure appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX (ASX:ASX) share price edges higher on mixed FY21 results
• How did the ASX share price respond last earnings season?
• ASX (ASX:ASX) share price climbs on reports of major restructure
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The cryptocurrency Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) hasn’t exactly occupied the limelight as much as it used to over the past few months. Remember, this flagship cryptocurrency was one of the best-performing assets in the world during 2020.

It seems ludicrous now but, back in March 2020, Bitcoin plunged to almost US$5,000 a coin. By April 2021, it was back making new all-time highs of more than US$60,000 a coin, meaning some investors enjoyed gains of 10x or more in just over a year.

But the past few months have told a wildly different story. Since topping out above US$60,000 in April, Bitcoin has spent the subsequent 4 months falling back to Earth. By mid-July, it was back under US$30,000 a coin, quickly halving any gains investors had made by April. Such is life for a cryptocurrency investor.

What’s behind Bitcoin’s volatility in 2021 so far?

What caused this collapse? Well, with a decentralised asset like Bitcoin, it’s hard to know for sure. But most commentators put it down to a combination of the regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrencies in China as well as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk’s whipsawing.

Musk made headlines earlier this year when he announced Tesla would accept Bitcoin as a payment method from its customers after the company invested some of its balance sheet cash into Bitcoin. Just a few months later, Musk backflipped, stating Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin due to the environmental cost of mining the coins.

But that was then, and this is now. Since mid-July, Bitcoin has again surprised investors with a remarkable rally. The crypto has risen from below US$30,000 to just today crossing the US$50,000 price mark for the first time since May. Yep, in just over a month, Bitcoin has increased by almost 50%.

It’s not just Bitcoin either. Other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), Ripple (CRYPTO: XRP ) and Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) have also rallied.

So what’s driving it? Again, it’s hard to say. A report in today’s Australian Financial Review (AFR) points to a self-fulfilling prophecy, stating that “the revival in virtual currencies has excited animal spirits again among the crypto faithful”.

However, the report also warns that the rally might be nearing its peak. It quotes Rick Bensignor, CEO of Bensignor Investment Strategies, as stating, “[Bitcoin is] getting nearer the higher end of what I expect as a new trading range in the low-$US40,000s to low-$US50,000s”.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens from here. If there’s one thing we can probably all agree on with Bitcoin, it’s to expect the unexpected.

The post Up 50% in a month! Bitcoin is back over US$50,000 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 1 smart way to invest in Dogecoin without buying cryptocurrency
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Miners drag ASX back to earth
• Will the ASX 200 follow the S&P 500 to double its March 2020 lows?
• Why Ethereum is the top cryptocurrency investment of 2021
• Why Tesla stock was up sharply on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a solid gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.3% to 7,480.9 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are storming higher:

Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC)

The Charter Hall share price is up 6% to $18.31 following the release of its full year results. For the 12 months ended 30 June, the property company reported a 15.1% decline in EBITDA to $204.4 million. However, the prior corresponding period included a $98 million performance fee. Excluding this, EBITDA would have been up strongly year on year. Looking ahead, management expects post-tax operating earnings per share growth of no less than 23% to 75 cents in FY 2022.

IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO)

The IGO share price is up 5% to $9.28. This morning the battery materials producer revealed that its Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery has produced its first lithium hydroxide chemical product. IGO owns a 49% interest in Kwinana through a joint venture with Tianqi Lithium Corporation. Looking ahead, IGO expects saleable product will be produced by the back end of 2021.

Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL)

The Vulcan share price has surged 13% higher to $13.69. This morning the lithium developer announced the appointment of BNP Paribas as its financial advisor. The two parties will work together on a bankability review in the lead up to the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). And upon its completion, they will work together on the structuring and execution of the financing of the Zero Carbon Lithium Project. BNP Paribas has a strong track-record in advisory and financing of battery and renewable projects.

Z Energy Ltd (ASX: ZEL)

The Z Energy share price has jumped 15% to $3.32 after receiving a takeover approach from Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD). The latter has tabled an offer price of NZ$3.78 cash per share. This represents a 35% premium to its close price on 26 July 2021. This was the day prior to the first media speculation in relation to corporate activity involving Z Energy. Ampol’s offer values Z Energy’s equity at NZ$2 billion.

The post Why Charter Hall, IGO, Vulcan, & Z Energy shares are storming higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) share price surges 6% on $477 million FY21 profit
• Which ASX companies are the top movers in the ASX 300 today?
• Z Energy (ASX:ZEL) share price surges 15% on acquisition news
• ASX 200 midday update: NIB sinks and Sonic falls on full year results
• IGO (ASX:IGO) share price climbs on lithium production update

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is off to a positive start this week. As the buy now, pay later provider nears its FY21 full-year results release on Wednesday, investors are paying extra attention to this company.

At the time of writing, shares in Afterpay have strengthened 2.54% to $132.80. This upwards move is closely aligned with potential acquirer, Square Inc (NYSE: SQ), and its 2.2% share price gain during Friday trade in the United States.

Before results drop, let’s run through the latest at Afterpay.

Afterpay Day and a speedy ambassador

While Afterpay released its FY21 trading update 3 weeks ago, there’s one big event that could have investors excited – Afterpay Day.

The biannual discounted shopping event entails a shopping frenzy across a range of retailers through the Afterpay payment platform. This 4-day sale event concluded at midnight last night after commencing on 19 August.

In the past, Afterpay day has been a major driver of sales and new active customers. For example, the event held earlier in the year delivered an increase of 117% in underlying sales compared to the same period a year ago. On top of that, the March sale resulted in a 40% increase in new active customers globally.

Although it’s not confirmed, investors might be treated to some details on the August sale event in Wednesday’s full-year results.

Adding to the excitement, Afterpay co-founder Nick Molnar revealed the company’s latest local ambassador addition. Suitably, Afterpay paired up with someone that moves fast – just like the Afterpay share price in recent years. The new addition is none other than Aussie Formula One racing champion Daniel Ricciardo.

The partnership kicked off Afterpay Day with Ricciardo selling his own limited edition signature 2021 mini helmet on the platform.

Commenting on becoming an ambassador for Afterpay, Ricciardo said:

Seeing another Australian brand with similar values and goals as mine, succeeding in such a competitive field, really does put a smile on my face. Beyond that, I’m pumped to help educate a new audience on what Afterpay is, the in-built controls they have, all focused on helping customers achieve financial freedom.

What else could weigh on the Afterpay share price?

Investors and analysts alike will hope to get any more details around the proposed Afterpay–Square transaction. Since the original announcement of the nearly $40 billion deal, things have been fairly quiet.

The scheme of arrangement transaction had been agreed to, though there was speculation over whether a counter offer from another big US-based payments company would eventuate. At this stage, there have been no other proposals for the Aussie BNPL provider.

At the minimum, the market will be looking for an update to see how the Square deal is progressing. Currently, the transaction is likely to close in Q1 of the 2022 calendar year.

The post Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price rallies 3% ahead of this week’s earnings appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Miners drag ASX back to earth
• August has been a great month so far for the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price edges higher as ‘Afterpay Day’ kicks off
• The Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is up 35% this month. Here’s why
• 7 traps to avoid right now when buying ASX shares

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Square. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Small and mid-cap ASX shares have belied the lockdown paralysing much of Australia to enjoy an excellent reporting season.

That’s the view of Wilson Asset Management portfolio managers Catriona Burns, Matthew Haupt and Oscar Oberg, who noted company forecasts were generally “cautious” because of the current COVID-19 delta outbreak.

“While outlook statements for Australian small-to-mid cap companies remain tempered as the Delta variant grips NSW and Victoria, we expect economic growth and company earnings to bounce back strongly with inoculation rates demonstrating solid progress,” they said in a memo to clients.

“We believe some of the most compelling opportunities continue to exist in sectors benefiting from global reopening, such as tourism and entertainment, and those exposed to local infrastructure projects such as mining services.”

Having said this, the trio singled out Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) and Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR) as ones to watch right now.

Who wants pizza? Everyone, apparently

The Wilson fund managers were impressed with Domino’s 14.6% annual growth in network sales and its 27.2% boost in underlying earnings. It also entered its 10th consumer market when it opened its first store in Taiwan in June.

This all led to a 62% increase in the final dividend from the pizza chain. 

“The strong result was underpinned by a record number of new store openings and strong same-store sales growth,” the Wilson team said.

“The company also upgraded its medium-term outlook targets, lifting the roll-out of new stores to 9-12% per annum, up from 6-9%, and now expects to be operating 6,650 stores by 2023, suggesting a more than doubling of the network.”

Wilson Asset Management holds Domino’s shares in multiple funds and remains upbeat on its prospects.

“We remain positive on Domino’s Pizza, with key growth markets such as Japan, Germany and France reaching an inflection point underpinning a robust organic growth profile, while latent capacity remains for further earnings accretive acquisitions.”

Who wants cars? Everyone, apparently

With people all around the globe shying away from public transport in the coronavirus era, ASX shares involved in selling private vehicles are going gangbusters.

And Australia’s carsales.com was no different, said the Wilson fund managers.

“Online automotive marketplace carsales.com delivered the highest annual net profit growth in 7 years and strong earnings growth with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 10%, driven by ongoing pricing and yield optimisation domestically and strong results in international markets, particularly South Korea and Brazil.”

Haupt, Burns and Oberg were positive about carsales.com’s acquisition of US company Trader Interactive.

“A US vehicle marketplace business [provides] carsales.com with exposure to the US market and a strong platform for additional offshore growth,” they said.

“We believe the accelerated digitisation of the automotive retail industry has the potential to create significant medium-term growth opportunities.”

The post 2 ASX shares shining this results season appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• 3 of the best ASX results from week three of reporting season
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Domino’s (ASX:DMP) dividend boosted by 45%

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises Limited and carsales.com Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX: SOR) share price is jumping 9% on Monday as the pooled development fund reports its FY21 earnings.

Let’s investigate further.

Strategic Elements share price jumps on strong growth in contract revenue

The company outlined several investment highlights in its report, including:

• Contract revenue growth of 34% year on year to $127 million
• Successful capital raise of $5.1 million through a share purchase plan
• Further $3 million raised via an institutional placement
• Loss for the year of $2.35 million versus $2.55 million the year prior
• $7.9 million in cash on the balance sheet, up from $2.27 million the same time last year.

What happened in FY21 for Strategic Elements?

In a positive for the Strategic Element share price, the company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries exhibited progress in FY21.

For instance, the company’s wholly-owned venture, Stealth Technologies, has developed the first “autonomous security vehicle (ASV)” in the world. The ASV has the designation of automating perimeter security, “reducing human involvement” in patrols.

Strategic is collaborating with the Defence Science Technology Group and the University of WA to conduct a live demonstration to the army. As such, both parties have committed to “providing $500,000 in cash and in kind resources”.

Another venture, Australian Advanced Materials (AAM), is developing a self-charging battery and its “Nanocube printable memory technology” technology at the University of NSW.

The pair have formed a collaboration, and the Nanocube project received funding from the Australian government of $1.069 million over a three year period.

In addition, the company also completed a series of capital raises throughout the year, totalling $8.1 million before costs.

As per Strategic, all of the capital raised “will be used to advance existing 100% owned businesses and fund new potential opportunities”.

What did management say?

Regarding the Nanocube and battery ink technologies, Strategic’s directorship said:

The Nanocube Memory has been continually developed by the Company and the University of New South Wales during the year. A one megabit demonstrator is under development, however the rapid success of the Battery Ink led the Company to divert some resources away from the Nanocube Memory and deploy them to escalate the Battery Ink development.

What’s next for Strategic Elements?

Strategic’s subsidiaries are extending the application of technologies within the company’s portfolio.

To illustrate, Strategic has been collaborating with Honeywell to build ASV’s for the “correctional sector”.

This will continue into 2022, with both parties now actively “negotiating a new agreement” to commercialise the ASV.

In addition, it has extended the ASV’s application to weed identification in food crops. Here Strategic is collaborating with Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative in field testing to advance the ASV sensor’s weed identification capacity.

Aspects of this are expected to be “included into an expanded trial” conducted in November 2021.

The Strategic Elements share price has gained 75% this year to date, extending the previous 12 month’s climb of 422%.

These returns have far outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 25% over the past year.

The post Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) share price soars on 33% revenue growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) share price rockets 20% higher

The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is pushing higher in late-afternoon trade. This comes as the coal miner prepares to release its FY21 full-year results on Thursday.

At the time of writing, Whitehaven shares are up 6.1% to $2.26. It’s worth noting that the company’s share price is within reach of breaking its 52-week high of $2.43 achieved on 12 August.

Let’s take a closer look at what could be driving these gains today.

Whitehaven shares on the rise

With no market-sensitive news out of the company since its June quarterly report, it appears investors are reacting to a series of broker notes.

Goldman Sachs remains confident in Whitehaven, raising its 12-month price target by 18% to $2.60.

Its analysts are predicting a soft result for FY21 followed by a bumper performance by December 2021.

The broker highlighted that the company is aiming to halve its net debt to $300 million by the end of the year. To that end, management has doubled down on controlling costs, resulting in savings across the business. In addition, free cash flow is expected to generate more than $500 million from realised coal prices.

As such, Whitehaven is expected to report the following for its FY21 result:

• Total revenue is estimated to be approximately $1,580 million, which is 8.5% below FY20’s $1,725 million.
• Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is projected to stand at $201 million, down 34.3% from the prior corresponding period ($306 million).
• No final dividend to be declared; however, this is assumed to be reinstated in February 2022.

Shaw & Partners raised its outlook by 4% to $2.60 as well. This implies an upside of around 15% based on the current Whitehaven share price.

The last broker to weigh in on Whitehaven shares came from Morgans, adding 15% to $2.65.

Whitehaven share price summary

In the past 12 months, Whitehaven shares have surged almost 80%, with year-to-date gains closing in on 40%.

Whitehaven commands a market capitalisation of roughly $2.34 billion, making it the 182nd largest company on the ASX.

The post Whitehaven (ASX:WHC) share price lifts 6% ahead of earnings this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How did the Whitehaven (ASX:WHC) share price respond last earnings season?
• Whitehaven (ASX:WHC) share price leaps 3% amid soaring thermal coal prices
• Here are the best and worst performing ASX 200 energy shares of 2021

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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