It was a disappointing day for the Avita Medical Inc (ASX: AVH) share price as it hit a new 2-year low.

The regenerative medicine company has failed to regain momentum since the beginning of its fall from grace during the COVID-19 crash. Since its peak in February 2020, Avita Medical shares have plummeted 75% to their current position.

In the past month, there have been only two notable announcements from the skin restoration company. Let’s revisit these to grasp what’s influencing the company’s multi-year low share price.

One step forward, two steps back

Investor sentiment towards the Avita Medical share price is clearly swaying towards the negative. However, it hasn’t been all bad news for the RECELL spray-on skin system developer in recent weeks.

On 4 November, the medical technology company revealed that the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had approved Avita’s application for a new category code. In short, this means patients will now be able to offset the cost associated with the company’s RECELL burns treatment across hospitals and surgical centres.

Importantly, the news hinted at the possibility of widespread adoption of the company’s skin regeneration treatment. In turn, the announcement captured the excitement of ASX investors. This update resulted in a ~15% spike in the Avita Medical share price.

However, the excitement was short-lived as the company’s shares soured the following week. The downfall was triggered by Avita’s earnings report for the first quarter of FY22.

Interestingly, the company’s performance was surprisingly robust. For instance, total revenue increased 39% to $7.0 million. Meanwhile, gross profit margin improved 300 basis points to 85%. Perhaps investors had been hoping for an earnings positive quarter, while Avita delivered a loss of $5.9 million during the period.

Avita Medical share price snapshot

Despite the disappointing share price performance by Avita Medical over the last two years, on a longer timescale, it looks more positive.

From January 2019, the company’s share price has gained 153%. This equates to an annual growth rate of approximately 38.8% over the near 3-year time span. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has an annual growth rate of ~10.2% before dividends over the same duration.

The post Why has the Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) share price just hit a 2-year low? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns shares of and has recommended Avita Medical Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Avita Medical 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 ASX welcomed another new face today as RAS Technology Holdings (ASX: RTH) underwent its initial public offering (IPO).

The company’s shares floated at 11 am AEDT on Tuesday before finishing their first day trading at $1.60. That represents a 6.6% gain on the company’s prospectus‘ offer price.

Let’s take a closer look at the ASX newbie and its debut on the market.

But first, what does RAS Technology do?

The RAS in RAS Technology is an acronym for Racing and Sports, indicating the industry in which the company operates.

Racing and Sports is the holding company’s main subsidiary. It works to provide integrated premium data, enhanced content, and software-as-a-service solutions to the racing and wagering industries.

It operates in both business-to-business and business-to-customer spheres and services a geographically diverse and established customer base of racing bodies and authorities, wagering operators, media and digital organisations, and retail and private clients.

Right now, it has staff in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Sri Lanka. It also has plans to expand into the United States in 2022.

RAS Technology’s IPO

RAS Technology raised $29 million through its IPO.

Under its prospectus, RAS Technology offered 19.3 million shares for $1.50 apiece.

That meant it expected its market capitalisation at the time of listing to be around $68 million.

Though, as of its first close, the company can boast a valuation of approximately $72.6 million.

How has the business performed recently?

Here is a brief breakdown of the company’s results for financial year 2021:

• Around $5.5 million of revenue
• Gross profits of approximately $5.4 million
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of around $1.4 million
• Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue came to 84.1%

The company doesn’t have any plans to pay dividends.

The post RAS Technology (ASX:RTH) share price leaps 6% on IPO. Here’s what you need to know 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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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rallied into the close this afternoon on strength within the mining sector. At the end of the day, the benchmark index gained 0.78% to 7,410.6 points.

The Aussie market was filled with green on Tuesday despite a disappointing session for US shares overnight. Leading the benchmark higher were energy and mining shares following a rebound in oil and iron ore prices. Meanwhile, tech companies were the worst-performing within the ASX index on Tuesday.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the ten stocks that rose to the occasion:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the iron ore mining company surged 10.32% after the price of the steelmaking commodity climbed to a higher position. Find out more about Fortescue Metals Group here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA). Just like Fortescue, this iron ore explorer received an 8.27% boost to its share price following the increase in the commodity price. Uncover the latest Champion Iron details here.

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

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG)	$17.43	10.32%
Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA)	$4.58	8.27%
Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL)	$2.75	5.36%
Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR)	$2.95	5.36%
Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN)	$44.07	4.85%
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)	$2.50	4.17%
New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC)	$2.05	4.06%
BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)	$38.05	4.02%
Summerset Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SNZ)	$13.08	3.89%
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO)	$95.305	3.80%

Our top 10 ASX shares today 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 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) share price has been performing solidly this year. A change in sentiment towards the insurance company has followed the insurer’s return to profitability.

At the end of Tuesday’s session, shares in QBE finished at $12.38, representing an increase of 1.23%. Meanwhile, the company’s share price has surged 45% since the beginning of the year.

The more than impressive performance has not solely been led by retail investors either. A number of analysts are also bullish on the business since it reported a robust first-half result in August. While more severe weather events have been a concern for investors of insurance companies, one expert remains optimistic on QBE and its shares in 2022.

Are QBE shares an opportunity?

In a letter, Ausbil’s executive chair, chief investment officer, and head of equities Paul Xiradis outlined his expectations for shares next year. A year that Xiradis expects will see COVID-19 brought under control by the country’s health measures.

Positively, the fund manager believes the year ahead will include strong earnings growth for some cyclical businesses. While some pundits are proclaiming that ASX shares are expensive, Xiradis and the Ausbil Management team see value in some areas of the market based on forward earnings per share (EPS) growth.

For example, general insurance is one of a few sectors that Ausbil believes is offering strong potential EPS growth for FY22 relative to value. QBE Insurance was named as an opportunity within the sector inside the letter.

Describing the potential tailwind for QBE shares, Xiradis wrote:

We are entering an environment where general insurers will benefit from stronger margins and returns, with companies like QBE of interest in this space.

Shaking off large claims

While investors are getting excited about the QBE share price, natural catastrophe claims have been stacking up across the insurance industry.

In an interview with The Australian, QBE CEO Andrew Horton said:

The insurance industry is there to support the challenge of risk but there’s a limit to what the insurance industry can do. The challenge for the insurance industry is to work with governments.

Furthermore, QBE is yet to advise shareholders of the latest impact from Australia’s stretch of wild weather in October. Whereas, Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) has outlined an estimated $225 million to $250 million worth of claims.

Despite this, ASX-listed QBE shares are up nearly 5% since these erratic weather events.

The post Could it be time to consider buying QBE (ASX:QBE) shares in November? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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