The Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price has been among the best performing large caps in 2021.

Since the start of the year, the banking giant’s shares have gained over 23% to trade at $28.38 today.

This is more than double the return of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this year.

Can the ANZ share price keep rising?

Despite the ANZ share price rising strongly already this year, one leading broker believes it can keep rising.

According to a recent note out of Morgans, its analysts have an add rating and $34.50 price target on the bank’s shares.

Based on the current ANZ share price, this suggests there’s still over 21% upside ahead. And that’s not including dividends.

If we include the $1.65 per share fully franked dividend the broker is forecasting in FY 2022, the total potential return widens to a mouth-watering 27%.

Why is Morgans a fan?

ANZ has been the broker’s top pick among the big four for a while now. This is largely due to the valuation of the ANZ share price.

It also likes the bank due to its cost reduction plans and the work it has done reducing the risk of its loan book.

Morgans recently commented: “We believe ANZ is the most compelling of the major banks on a valuation basis. We expect ANZ to continue to focus on absolute cost reduction over the medium term. ANZ has de-risked its loan book over recent years – particularly its institutional loan book – such that the quality of its loan book has improved. While ANZ’s Australian home loan book has been growing below system over recent months, we expect a disciplined margin performance from ANZ.”

All in all, this could make the ANZ share price one to consider if you’re looking for options in the banking sector.

The post Here’s why Morgans is tipping 21% upside for the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price 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. 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 Noxopharm Ltd (ASX: NOX) share price is edging higher this afternoon and is currently trading up 2.8% at 55 cents apiece.

Shares in the drug development company are on the move after it released a key announcement regarding its lead drug candidate Veyonda.

Here’s what we know out of Noxopharm’s corner today.

What was announced?

The company advised it had received “notices of allowance” from both the Australian and European patent offices covering use of the active ingredient in Veydona, idronoxil.

Veydona is the company’s lead drug candidate currently in Phase 2 safety and efficacy clinical trials. The company has the end goal of turning the drug into a label that’s indicated in all types of cancer treatment.

Specifically, the patent governs the use of Veydona to “allow dosages of chemotherapy to be lowered to safer levels without compromising their anti-cancer effectiveness”.

This involves a particular method where Veydona is supplied with a low dose of chemotherapy drugs in the treatment of various cancers.

Noxopharm is confident the combination therapy can “deliver an even stronger anti-cancer response at the same time as offering the same benefit”.

The end result will be that Veydona may be offered as a combination therapy to patients unable to undergo full-strength chemotherapy.

The need, Noxopharm says, originates from the wide-ranging side effects of the current care standard through the use of chemotherapy compounds known as “platinum drugs”.

This category ranks among the gold standard of commonly used chemotherapy drugs.

In the population taking these platinum drugs, Noxpharm explained that adverse side effects cause a reduction in therapy in around 30% of cases. They also result in 10% of patients having to stop therapy altogether.

The company says idronoxil, through the Veydona label, purportedly enhances chemotherapy “up to a magnitude of 1,000 times…without increasing the sensitivity to healthy cells to the damaging effects of the drugs”.

This concept was proved back in April in the company’s CEP-1 study which investigated Veydona’s effects when administered this way.

A new study, CEP-2, followed further building on the results obtained from the original clinical trial. Results will be available in due course.

The patent granted today builds on other patent positions it has filed for in both radiotherapy and immunotherapy earlier in the year.

What did management say?

Speaking on the announcement, Noxopharm’s CEO Graham Kelly said:

A high proportion of cancer patients are deprived of the benefits of chemotherapies because of toxic side-effects. The development of side-effects leads to drug dosages being lowered or stopped altogether. Other patients either are too ill or too elderly or just unwilling to even start chemotherapy. That is the gap that we see Veyonda filling by allowing the patient to still gain the benefit of the chemotherapy but at dosages that are much better tolerated. With an estimated US$150 billion spent globally each year on chemotherapy, that gap represents a very major medical need and commercial opportunity.

Regarding other patent filings and the company’s growth vision, Kelly added:

Allowance of these claims is a major milestone in the Company’s aim to see Veyonda become a standard of care companion drug in oncology for chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. With the radiotherapy (ASX Announcement 27 September 2021) and immunotherapy patent positions looking strong, the allowances announced today represent an important step towards achieving that eventual aim, something that we are confident will be attractive to major pharma companies with strong chemotherapy drug portfolios.

Noxopharm share price snapshot

The Noxopharm share price has had a difficult year to date, having posted a return of 12% since January 1.

As such, it has only climbed around 9% in the last 12 months and is in the red by around 2% in the last month.

These results have lagged the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 21% in the past year.

The post Why is the Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) share price up 4% on Monday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the socks 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 Andromeda Metals Ltd (ASX: ADN) share price is sliding today on the back of the company’s quarterly activities report.

Over the quarter ended 30 September 2021, the company worked to commercialise product from its Great White Kaolin Project, entered a new joint venture, and completed a $15 million share purchase plan.

However, the market has reacted poorly to Andromeda’s release. At the time of writing, the Andromeda share price is 18.8 cents, 10.71% lower than its previous close.

Let’s take a look at the quarter that’s been for the mineral exploration company.

Andromeda share price falls on quarterly report

The Andromeda share price has slipped despite the company releasing an outline of a seemingly productive quarter.

Great White Kaolin Project

The company’s 75%-owned Great White Kaolin Project is still pending approval, with its mining lease application under assessment by regulators.

Andromeda has been focusing on signing binding offtake agreements for the approximately 40,000 tonne per annum of product remaining from the phase 1 plant production capacity.

The additional product will go to the ceramic sector. The company has sent samples to potential customers and distributors for approval testing. The product received good results and negotiations are ongoing.

The project’s definitive feasibility study (DFS) is also continuing. The project’s trademarked PRM products, useful for making coatings, and CRM products, used in ceramics, are incorporated in the DFS.

Andromeda is continuing its studies to find other uses for Great White Kaolin products.

The company began a bulk sample drilling program at the Great White project. Once processed, the material from the program will provide around 1.5 tonne of high purity halloysite kaolin to Andromeda’s 50%-owned Natural Nanotech Ltd.

Natural Nanotech is partnering with the University of Newcastle’s Global Innovative Centre for Advanced Nanomaterials to research and develop new applications of halloysite nanotubes. Such applications could include carbon capture and storage, and energy storage.

The samples will also provide material for a cosmetics marketing exercise. Andromeda notes high-purity halloysite-kaolin is highly valued in the cosmetics industry. The product will also be tested to find if it can be used in the concrete industry.

The company’s kaolin is also undergoing testing that might see it used as a feedstock for high purity alumina.

Joint ventures

Additionally, Andromeda signed a binding heads of agreement with Peninsula Exploration Pty Ltd to form the Eyre Kaolin Project Joint Venture.

Peninsula holds four exploration licences covering around 2.8 square kilometres on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. The licences are near the Great White project and contain halloysite kaolin targets.

Andromeda could earn an 80% interest in the Eyre Kaolin tenements by spending $2.75 million at the project over 6 years.

Further, the company’s joint venture partner, Cobra Resources PLC, met an expenditure commitment and earned a 65% interest in Eyre Peninsula Gold Project tenements over the quarter. Cobra plans to spend another $1.25 million to earn a 75% interest in the project.

Capital raise

Andromeda also completed a $15 million share purchase plan during the quarter.

It followed on from a $30 million placement completed on 30 July.

The funds are set to go towards purchasing equipment and product development.

Andromeda share price snapshot

The Andromeda share price gained 6.6% over the first quarter of financial year 2022.

However, this year has taken its toll on the company’s stock. Right now, it’s trading for 32% less than it was at the start of 2021.

The post The Andromeda (ASX:ADN) share price is sliding 10% today. Here’s why 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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With so many shares to choose from on the ASX, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.

Three top ASX shares leading brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their conviction buy rating and lifted their price target on this agribusiness company’s shares to $15.65. The broker sees Elders as delivering a compelling combination of top line growth and margin expansion over the coming years. This is expected to be driven by market share growth and gross margin expansion as it backward integrates key rural product lines. The Elders share price is trading at $11.61 today.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

A note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that its analysts have retained their overweight rating and $10.50 price target on this app maker’s shares. The broker notes that the Google Play Store has halved the commissions on initial subscriptions to 15%. Morgan Stanley believes this bodes well for Life360’s margins and supports its bull case. It also suspects that Apple’s App Store may follow suit in the near future. The Life360 share price is fetching $9.34 this afternoon.

Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE)

Analysts at Citi have retained their buy rating and $11.00 price target on this lithium miner’s shares. The broker believes Orocobre is a top option for investors in the lithium space. This is because it feels it is well-placed to benefit in the near term from very strong lithium prices and over the long term through its development program. The Orocobre share price is trading at $9.07 on Monday afternoon.

The post Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Orocobre Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Elders 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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