The Talga Group Ltd (ASX: TLG) share price is in the green after the company released news of its Vittangi Graphite Project.

Talga declared it has begun resource depth extension drilling at the Swedish project. Additionally, the company has received expressions of interest exceeding its targeted 2025 anode production capacity by 14 times. Talga expects this demand to exceed 50 times its production capacity by 2030.

Right now, the Talga share price is $1.32, 2.72% higher than its previous close.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news from the technology minerals company.

New drilling program and increasing demand

The Talga share price is moving upwards today while its drilling program is going lower.

According to Talga, its Vittangi Project is Europe’s largest graphite resource.

The depth extension drilling will explore underneath 3 existing resources to test the project’s estimated mineral resource.

The project’s JORC exploration target estimate was expanded to between 170 million and 200 million tonne at 20% to 30% graphite last month.

The results of the drilling will likely include information regarding potential underground mining operations and future expansion programs.

Talga expects the drilling to finish in October and internal studies using the assay results to begin in the final quarter of 2021.

Additionally, Talga has submitted exploitation concession applications for the project’s Niska deposit to government authorities. It hopes to receive governmental approval and commence developing the site in line with the Niska Scoping Study.

The deposit’s scoping study found that Talga could become the largest lithium-ion battery anode producer outside China by 2025. That could translate well for the Talga share price.

Talga will submit Niska’s environmental permit once Nunasvaara South received its environmental permit. That’s expected to be before mid-2022.

The company is working with 11 automotive companies and the majority of battery manufacturers in Europe under advancing qualification and procurement processes.

Commentary from management

Talga managing director Mark Thompson commented on the news driving the company’s share price higher today:

With very strong commercial interest in our range of green graphite battery anodes, and progression towards production outlined in the Vittangi Anode Project DFS, Talga is in a strong position to be a key player in the European battery supply chain. However, it is also clear that expansion is a necessary step. Vittangi is Europe’s largest, highest grade graphite resource and a world leader in low emission battery anode production for electric vehicles. We want to see as much of that graphite in electric vehicles as possible, helping to decarbonise the global economy.

Talga share price snapshot

The Talga share price has fallen from grace lately.

It is currently 27% lower than it was at the start of 2021. However, it has gained 122% since this time last year.

The post Talga (ASX:TLG) share price lifts following drilling update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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 Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is on fire today, up a healthy 3.18% so far to $6.16 a share at the time of writing. In contrast, the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.16% so far this Monday to 7,500 points.

So why is the Santos share price outperforming today with so much enthusiasm?

Well, there are no major announcements out of this ASX 200 energy share today.

So let’s take a look at what’s happening with the crude oil price. Santos, as an ASX energy share, is exposed to this metric arguably above all others.

Higher crude oil prices turbocharge ASX 200 energy shares

Well, it might be no surprise to reveal then, that crude oil prices have also been on fire over the weekend. The price of Brent crude is currently trading at US$72.70 a barrel, up 2.3% in the past 24 hours. Its sister commodity, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude, is also up 1.96% over the same period to US$68.74 a barrel at the time of writing.

If this is the reason why the Santos share price is on the up today, then surely we would be seeing similar moves in other ASX 200 energy shares. Well, it turns out, we are.

Santos isn’t the only one on the rise today. This Monday also sees Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) shares up a healthy 1.17% so far to $1.08 a share. Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) is also up by 2.43% to $3.80 a share, as is BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), up 3% today.

This indicates that higher energy prices are buoying the entire ASX 200 energy sector today.

About the Santos share price

Although Santos shares are having their time in the sun today, the past few months haven’t been too kind to investors. Even after today’s substantial rally, Santos shares remain down 4.2% year to date in 2021 so far.

Saying that, this company is still up 8.5% over the past 12 months, and also up by more than 43% over the past 5 years. That underperforms the ASX 200 over the past year (the ASX 200 was up 23.73%), but just pips it over 5 years (39.57%).

At the current Santos share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $12.8 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 32.6, and a dividend yield of 2.28%.

The post Santos (ASX:STO) share price lifts 3% following oil price rise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) share price faded its morning gains after opening 2.88% higher to a new all-time high of $43.95.

At the time of writing, shares in the medical diagnostics company are flat at $42.72.

Sonic Healthcare positioned to perform COVID-19 testing for vaccine passport

Sonic Healthcare has played a crucial role in pandemic control, performing ~30 million COVID PCT tests from March 2020 to date.

According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), Sonic Healthcare is “positioning itself as the top contender to conduct the COVID-19 testing for an eventual “vaccine passport” if there is a government tender process”.

Sonic Healthcare CEO Colin Goldschmidt told the AFR that “While there has not been any signal from the government about such a tender process, at the moment the airlines are trying to co-ordinate since they don’t want COVID-19 infected travellers on the plane,”.

“It’s early days, but we are very much investigating what sort of role we can play in terms of travel passports, vaccination and testing, and then linking in with international air carriers. It’s a big and complicated area,” he said.

COVID-19 testing lifting Sonic Healthcare’s earnings

Sonic Healthcare said in its FY21 results that COVID-19 testing has enhanced its financial performance.

As a result, the company’s revenue increased 28% to $8.8 billion while net profit surged 149% to $1.3 billion.

Despite a strong financial performance, the Sonic Healthcare share price fell 2.76% to $41.65 on the day of the announcement.

One potential concern is the company’s increasing dependency on COVID-19 testing.

Sonic Healthcare flagged that COVID-19 PCR volumes were lower in the second half of the year versus the first half, but have been increasing post-year end with the spread of the Delta variant.

Sonic Healthcare share price snapshot

The Sonic Healthcare share price is up 29.91% year-to-date and 33% in the past 12-months.

The company’s shares will go ex-dividend on Tuesday 7 September for 55 cents per share. Investors can expect the dividend to be paid out on Wednesday 22 September.

The post Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) share price struggles despite COVID passport positioning appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 Sonic Healthcare 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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.15% to 7,499 points.

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

Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY)

The Adore Beauty share price is up 3.5% to $4.99. This follows the release of the online beauty retailer’s full year results. For the 12 months ended 30 June, Adore Beauty reported a 48% increase in revenue to $179.3 million and a 53% jump in EBITDA to $7.6 million. A key driver of this growth was a 39% increase in active customers to 818,000.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price has risen 6% to $21.25. Investors have been buying the iron ore miner’s shares following the release of its full year result. For the 12 months ended 30 June, Fortescue reported a 117% increase in net profit after tax to US$10.3 billion. This was just ahead of the analyst consensus estimate of US$10.2 billion. This strong performance allowed the Fortescue Board to declare a fully franked final dividend of $2.11 per share. This doubled its full year dividend to $3.58 per share.

InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC)

The InvoCare share price has jumped 8% to $12.14. This follows the release of a strong half year update by the funeral company this morning. InvoCare returned to form during the first half, delivering a 13% increase in operating revenue to $257.3 million and a 31% lift in operating EBITDA to $63.6 million.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

The Temple & Webster share price has surged 11% higher to $14.42. This strong gain has been driven by the release of the online furniture and homewares retailer’s full year results. And while its numbers were largely pre-released at the end of July, today’s release included an update on current trading. That update revealed that revenue between 1 July and 27 August was up 49% over the prior corresponding period.

The post Why Adore Beauty, Fortescue, InvoCare, & Temple & Webster are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns shares of and has recommended Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended InvoCare Limited and Temple & Webster Group 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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