Day: 23 March 2022

The Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL) share price is surging higher on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, the environmental technology company’s shares are up 12% to $7.79.

Why is the Calix share price shooting higher?

Investors have been bidding the Calix share price higher today in response to an announcement relating to the company’s LEILAC-2 project.

According to the release, the LEILAC-2 project has passed the financial investment decision (FID) milestone.

This will see Calix build a plant capable of capturing 20% of a cement plant’s CO2 at very low cost. It will be integrated into HeidelbergCement’s operational plant in Hannover, Germany, which will be the first-of-a-kind modular retrofit, aiming to address a cement plant’s unavoidable emissions.

The release notes that the FID milestone has been achieved despite the complications arising from the global pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Management will now proceed with the detailed design and expects to commence construction in 2023. Though, it warns that there remain key project risk flag points prior to purchasing major components, given the market situation.

What is LEILAC?

LEILAC is an acronym for Low Emissions Intensity Lime and Cement. It has been designed to enable a green and just transition to a low-carbon future with the objective of strengthening local industry and maximising the use of local resources – while addressing climate change.

Calix aims to demonstrate, at industrial scale, a breakthrough technology that can capture a cement or lime plant’s unavoidable process emissions for minimal cost, which provides a viable and effective decarbonisation solution. The LEILAC-2 plant is being designed to capture 100ktpa of CO2.

Calix’s MD, CEO and Chairman, Phil Hodgson, commented: “The positive FID decision marks a significant milestone and further demonstrates the momentum which is building around the LEILAC-2 project. The completion of the FEED has been achieved despite the challenging circumstances and is a testament to the strong level of collaboration which has been cultivated between the consortium partners, who have all worked together to make significant progress on this breakthrough project.”

The post Here’s why the Calix (ASX:CXL) share price is shooting 12% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Calix (ASX:CXL) share price is storming higher today

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 Australian share market is having another pleasing day of gains as it currently stands this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up a healthy 0.51% at just over 7,650 points. But that’s nothing compared to the Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price.

Kogan shares are shooting the lights out today. This ASX e-commerce company has put on an impressive 7.7% so far today and is now trading at $5.75 a share. Not only that, but Kogan is now up a staggering 14.7% over the past 5 trading days alone.

So what’s causing Kogan to rocket today? Well, it’s not entirely clear. There has been no news out of Kogan itself today. Or indeed since last month.

Kogan share price rockets alongside ASX tech shares

But we can speculate that Kogan’s rocketing share price is just part of the general love of ASX tech shares that investors seem to be rediscovering today. This sector is going off. We’ve seen massive moves like Kogan’s across many other ASX tech shares. Take Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P). It’s up more than 6.5% right now. EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) has surged 7%. And Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2) is up more than 7.3% after touching a new all-time high earlier this morning. 

It’s possible that Kogan is just following the herd today. The company had had its fair share of recent woes too, so that could also be playing a role. Although we have seen the Kogan share price surge today, it still remains down a painful 33.4% year to date in 2022. It’s also down a sobering 57% or so over the past 12 months. Perhaps with these rather massive falls in valuation, investors have finally decided that Kogan is too cheap to ignore. Its most recent 52-week low ($4.50) only came earlier this month, after all.

Whatever the reason for Kogan’s share price rise today, it has no doubt come as a relief for investors. 

At the current Kogan share price, this ASX e-commerce share has a market capitalisation of $571 million. 

The post On fire! Why is the Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price up 8% right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Block, Inc., EML Payments, Kogan.com ltd, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Block, Inc., EML Payments, and Kogan.com 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

Many cryptocurrencies and crypto-related stocks posted sharp price gains on Tuesday. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) saw 24-hour gains of 3.9% and 3.2%, respectively, at 2 p.m. ET today. Leading cryptocurrency trading service Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) held a 7.2% price increase at the same time, while the crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital (NYSE: SI) was up 5.6%.

It’s no surprise to see the biggest names in cryptocurrency jumping today because they were fueled by a handful of bullish news items.

So what

First and foremost, cryptocurrencies took another meaningful step toward the mainstream economy. A leading Malaysian government official asked his country to elevate cryptocurrencies to a form of legal tender.

Malaysia’s deputy minister of communications and multimedia Zahidi Zainul Abidin addressed the country’s parliament on Monday, asking legislators to accept Bitcoin and other digital coins in addition to the Malaysian ringgit. The government started kicking the tires of a state-backed cryptocurrency in January, but Abidin’s request could broaden that review into raising the legal status of many existing cryptocurrencies.

Malaysia could become the second nation to take this step, following El Salvador’s policy of accepting Bitcoin payments in addition to the U.S. dollar. Malaysia has a larger population and economy than El Salvador. Hence, whatever happens in Malaysia is more likely to move the needle for Bitcoin and other crypto names in the long term. That being said, Malaysia’s cryptocurrency review is still in its early stages, while El Salvador has already taken the Bitcoin leap.

Furthermore, Malaysia is working with the governments of Australia, Singapore, and South Africa to set up an international payment system involving digital assets issued by each country’s central bank. The panel considering this idea issued a report on Tuesday morning, saying that a prototype platform for border-crossing digital payments is “technically viable”. Similar reviews are also taking place in important markets such as Switzerland and Hong Kong.

Ethereum rode along on Bitcoin’s gains to some degree. At the same time, the smart-contract platform continued to burn tokens as it moves closer to a long-awaited technical upgrade. The next-generation Ethereum system will be faster and leaner, moving from the power-hungry proof-of-work architecture to the environmentally friendly proof-of-stake alternative, and the inflationary creation of new Ether tokens will drop by 90%. Several popular media outlets picked up on Ethereum’s progress on Monday afternoon, throwing fuel on the digital currency’s fires.

When Bitcoin and Ethereum are up, Silvergate and Coinbase are sure to follow. That’s not always the correct market reaction, since both companies are more interested in cryptocurrencies seeing high trading volumes than high coin prices, but that’s life on Wall Street. The reasons behind each price move might not always make sense in the short run, though the market tends to be a very fair system of value assessments in the long run.

Now what

Tuesday’s respectable price surge will not completely make up for the crypto market’s weakness in recent months — not by a long shot. Every security and digital coin mentioned above is still down by 27% or more since the slide began in mid-November. By comparison, the S&P 500 market index has lost only 3% of its value over the same period:

SI data by YCharts.

In other words, prices are still low, and long-term cryptocurrency bulls should see a solid buying opportunity in this long-lived market dip. You won’t even remember the single-digit gains you missed on Tuesday in the context of much greater gains in the long run.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and crypto stocks are soaring appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Anders Bylund owns Bitcoin, Coinbase Global, Inc., and Ethereum. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Bitcoin, Coinbase Global, Inc., and Ethereum. The Motley Fool recommends Silvergate Capital Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT) share price has dropped almost 10% in trading today after an announcement regarding a selldown of shares by the founder of the business.

Cettire is a global online retailer. It offers a large selection of personal luxury goods through its website, Cettire.com. It has around 200,000 products of clothing, shoes, bags and accessories from approximately 1,700 luxury brands.

Cettire share price sinks after founder selldown

In a statement to the ASX, Cettire said that the founder and CEO of the luxury retailer, Mr Dean Mintz, has agreed to sell down 35 million shares in the company. These shares were recently released from voluntary escrow.

There have been rumours about a potential sale for a while.

The ASX retail share said that the selldown represented 9.18% of the company’s issued capital.

Sale price

Mr Mintz’s sale of shares was down at a Cettire share price of $1.35 in a block trade.

However, that sale price is still another 5% lower than the current price of $1.42.

Over the last month, the Cettire share price has fallen almost 40% over the past month.

How much of Cettire will Mr Mintz own after the sale?

According to the ASX announcement, after the sale Mr Mintz will still own a 56.72% shareholding in the company. He will still be Cettire’s largest shareholder.

Mr Mintz has also confirmed that he will not sell any further shares in Cettire prior to the release of the company’s FY22 full-year result. This should be released in the August 2022 reporting season.

Dean Mintz comments

Commenting on his loyalty to the company and the benefit of the sale, Mr Mintz said:

Cettire is a huge part of my life, it has a phenomenal market opportunity and I remain fully committed to continuing to lead the company to grow shareholder value. The sale represents a small portion of my shareholding and I will remain Cettire’s largest shareholder. The sale enables greater trading liquidity and a broadening of the share register and I look forward to welcoming the new shareholders to the company.

Cettire share price snapshot

Since the start of 2022, the Cettire share price has fallen around 60%.

This decline has occurred despite the company reporting that its gross revenue increased by 242% in January 2022 compared to January 2021.

Earlier this month, Cettire also announced that it is entering the Chinese online luxury market. By 2025, China is expected to be the world’s largest personal luxury goods market. This will represent a $150 billion potential addressable market.

Supporting this Chinese expansion move is a partnership with JD.com, one of the world’s biggest e-commerce players. JD.com has 550 million active customers and it is China’s largest online retail platform. JD.com will help drive traffic and brand awareness.

The post ‘Selldown’: Here’s why the Cettire (ASX:CTT) share price is sliding 8% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Cettire Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cettire 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 benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is trading up by 29.9 points at the time of writing and now sits at 7,371.

Brent Crude futures, having charged 18% higher in the five days to Tuesday, have pared back those gains. Brent Crude oil is now trading at US$114 per barrel at the time of writing.

Meantime, gold, the world’s safe-haven asset, is once again testing the US$1,918/t.oz mark having bounced from this level three times since 15 March.

In fact, whilst most commodity markets are taking a backward step today, equity indexes are powering on, as investors digest the latest macro-economic tidal wave of events overnight.

Matching the selloff in commodities is a rapid selloff in the bond markets overnight, particularly out of the US. As Bloomberg reports, this is seeing the 10-year yield spike to nearly 2.4%.

The US Fed has committed to raising base rates throughout 2022. Many brokers are adamant the pace of rate hikes will be quite fast for the Fed to “stay ahead of the curve”, as they say on Wall Street. This means employing interest rate rises in a bid to combat inflation and prevent a recession.

Language used by Fed chairman Jerome Powell was interpreted to be hawkish. This prompted UBS analyst Paul Donovan to say there is a “possibility (not the certainty) of deliberately pushing [economic] growth below trend”.

He went on to say that, with these moves, “recession risks come in”. He also asserted “the global economy has significant structural change, and US economic data is notably less reliable today”.

“Delicately positioning the US economy below trend, but above recession, would be harder than in the past,” he added.

What does this mean for shares?

Judging by the market’s response, the news appears to be good and investors have responded by rapidly selling bonds and are pouring inflows into stocks instead.

Bloomberg contributor Mohamed El-Erian said on Bloomberg Television yesterday that stocks are “more resilient” but he isn’t surprised, despite the Fed raising base rates for the first time in 3 years.

Co-founder and Portfolio Manager at Montaka Global Investments Chris Demasi agrees with the sentiment and urges that investors remember his firm’s key message: “compounding capital over the long-term”.

“That means staying the course and holding long-term winners and using the current near-term stock price weakness to buy the world’s best companies that have outstanding opportunities,” the portfolio manager wrote on Livewire.

Looking ahead, Demasi says equities look to offer the best return potential this year, especially given many individual stock prices have retreated.

“The MSCI [world index] and S&P500 trade at 18x and 20x respectively, down from 20x and 23x at the end of last year,” he said.

“In return terms, that’s an extra percentage point of current earnings yield,” the expert went on to say. “At the same time, long-term interest rates are only up one-tenth of a percentage point.

“So, the spread between interest rates and the return from owning equities has increased.”

Where to find the best bargains?

Demasi notes there is potential value in the mega-cap tech space on global exchanges, particularly in US names like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) for instance.

The company is now trading at around 30x post-tax earnings, he said, “where it was almost three years ago”. But despite the sharp pullback in 2022, Montaka Investments’ game plan remains unchanged.

It is aiming to stick with global equities in order to “reap their long-term rewards”, Demasi says, preferring to adopt the mantra of ‘time in the market’ versus ‘timing the market’.

“Playing a long-term game is easier if you are holding businesses winning from durable transformations with valuations that don’t reflect that potential.”

If the correlation between a hike in rates and the spike in equities is anything to go by, then Goldman Sachs says that May and June might be key inflection points for stock markets.

“The shift in wording from ‘steadily’ to ‘expeditiously’ today strikes us as significant, and changes in Fed communication like this usually happen for a reason,” Goldman’s chief economist Jan Hatzius said in a recent note.

Goldman now predicts two 50 basis point hikes in both May and June, followed by four 25 basis point jumps for the remainder of 2022.

A word of caution from other experts

The bullish sentiment isn’t shared equally amongst all experts, however. Mohammed El-Erian also told Bloomberg TV that investors might be overlooking the prospects of a global recession by blindly investing in stocks.

“My baseline, for what it’s worth,” he stated, “is we’re going to see a global stagflation, lower growth, higher inflation.”

“The equity market hasn’t quite priced that in yet because it’s still thinking in a relative space,” he opined.

Chief investment officer at Union Bancaire Privee Norman Villamin also told Bloomberg that “a high volatility regime should remain in place in the months ahead as the situation remains fluid on the geopolitical and economic front”.

Moreover, not all pockets of the market are soaring at the time of speaking. Those shares tied to commodity baskets are taking a hit with the S&P/ASX 300 Metals & Mining Index (XMM) down more than 1% at the time of writing. It is the financials sector leading gains today.

The post Why investing in shares still offers the ‘best return potential’ in 2022: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow owns Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Microsoft. 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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We’ll go out on a limb here and say that every investor wants to put their money into ASX shares that outperform.

At least, as opposed to ASX shares that underperform.

Working on that rather safe assumption, how do you go about narrowing the field of options to those companies more likely to deliver outsized gains?

ASX shares and ‘the owner’s mindset’

You’re probably familiar with Ryan Stokes, eldest son of billionaire Kerry Stokes.

Among the other captain’s hats he wears, Stokes (the son) is the CEO of Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW). And his family’s Australian Capital Equity investment group owns a majority stake in Seven Group, which has a market cap of $7.7 billion.

Speaking at a private dinner address in Sydney, Stokes told attendees that “the owner’s mindset” is a key to identifying outperforming ASX shares.

According to Stokes (quoted by The Australian):

You take the dollar personally. You think about that from an expense perspective and from an investment perspective, and really try to instil that value through the group. How do you, as an owner, think about that? Not from a sense of empowerment to do what you want, but what is a responsible thing to drive value for that dollar.

That’s something we think permeates through our group. But it’s also empowering the right people to lead and driving the organisation to success.

Stokes added that his own owner’s mindset at the helm of Seven Group makes his job a “personal” passion:

You have to love it and in that love comes a real commitment to it. That emotional connection is a bit contagious within organisations. Leaders who have that belief, it can transpire through others as well.

Rapid response time

ASX shares run by company founders also can benefit from a quicker response time.

According to Shane Galligan, Credit Suisse senior client partner (quoted by The Australian):

They can also act more quickly than others. We believe that’s what separates entrepreneurial companies, as well as the cultural aspects in executing well. It’s that ability to see something early. We see it with entrepreneur-led companies in Australia. They’ve got that vision for change; they drive that vision through their businesses. Not to say that corporates that aren’t founder-led don’t, but entrepreneur-led companies are typically more nimble.

There is a bit more of a can-do kind of attitude. If there are problems, they seem to be able to cut through them and resolve them more quickly. They don’t take no for an answer, more so than non-founder led corporates.

Supporting the idea that ASX shares run by owners may be more likely to outperform, The Australian cited a recent study by Bain & Co.

That study concluded that, on average, companies that were run with “a founder’s mentality” delivered 3.1 times better total shareholder return than non-founder led companies over a period of 15 years.

The post Is this the secret behind ASX shares that outperform? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Leading the pack! ASX tech shares storm higher on Wednesday
• The Woodside (ASX:WPL) dividend is being paid today. Here’s what you need to know
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip jump, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare sinks
• Uniti (ASX:UWL) share price jumps amid rumoured Macquarie approach
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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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is once again pushing higher so far in this Wednesday’s trading session. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up another 0.47% at just under 7,400 points. That puts the ASX 200’s gains over the past 2 weeks at an impressive 5.7%. But no sector is gaining more today than ASX tech shares. 

ASX tech shares are on fire this Wednesday. As it currently stands, the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) is up a pleasing 3.21%, making it the best performing sector of the ASX 200 so far, and by far. 

You only have to look at some of the ASX 200’s best gainers today to see why. We have Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), up a healthy 7.2% at $1.64 a share. Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) is up 7.6% at $1.84. And Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2) is currently leading the ASX 200 with a pleasing gain of 8.54%. 

That puts Block, the new owner of Afterpay, at $189.94 a share after it went as high as $190.48 earlier this morning, a new all-time high for the company’s ASX listing. Block has been an incredible performer. This ASX tech share is now up a staggering 63.7% since 24 February alone. Not bad for a month of waiting. 

ASX tech shares boom after US markets lead the way

So why are ASX tech shares booming? Well, it seems the sector has taken its lead from the performance of US tech shares overnight, as my Fool colleague James predicted this morning. Last night saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index put on a healthy 1.94%. Shares like Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) were both up around 2%. While smaller tech shares like Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP) and Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ: BYND) rose around 6%. Electric vehicle and battery manufacturer Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) rose almost 8%. 

Sentiment on the US markets often spills over into our own share market, and this effect seems especially potent for tech shares. We’ve had a lot of red ink in this space over 2022 so far, so it seems some investors were waiting to spend up big in this space. Now, we seem to be seeing that continue into our own ASX tech shares sector. 

The post Leading the pack! ASX tech shares storm higher on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip jump, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare sinks
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• Why A2 Milk, Atlas Arteria, Block, and Boral shares are tumbling today
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns Amazon, Shopify and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Amazon, Beyond Meat, Inc., Block, Inc., Shopify, Tesla, Tyro Payments, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2023 $1,140 calls on Shopify and short January 2023 $1,160 calls on Shopify. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Tyro Payments. 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 Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is edging higher amid the company’s eligible shareholders being rewarded today.

The energy giant’s shares are currently up 0.09% to $32.19 apiece. This means its shares have risen more than 3% in the past week, and almost 10% in a month.

In context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is climbing higher on Wednesday. The benchmark index is up 0.54% to 7,380.5 points.

Woodside pays out FY21 dividend

Woodside reported strong growth across key metrics in its results for the 2021 financial year.

In summary, underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) surged 262% year-on-year to US$1,620 million. Higher realised prices in gas and oil, as well as improvement in sales volumes, underpinned the result.

The board declared a fully franked final dividend of US 105 cents per share to be paid on 23 March (today). This is a significant increase on the first-half dividend of US 30 cents and the FY20 final dividend of US 12 cents.

When calculating against the current share price, Woodside is trailing on a forecast fully franked dividend yield of 6.29%. In addition, the payout ratio is calculated to be around 80% or US$1,018 million of the energy giant’s underlying NPAT.

Woodside’s dividend policy remains unchanged following a review in 2021. The group noted that the dividends will continue to be based on NPAT, excluding non-recurring items, with a minimum 50% payout ratio.

The NPAT basis helps preserve cash and protect Woodside’s balance sheet in periods of low commodity pricing.

The targeted payout ratio is between 50% and 80%.

Woodside share price snapshot

Following the uptrend, the Woodside share price has gained around 32% in the last 12 months. When looking specifically at year to date, its shares are hovering around 46% higher.

Woodside commands a market capitalisation of roughly $31.22 billion.

The post The Woodside (ASX:WPL) dividend is being paid today. Here’s what you need to know appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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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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At lunch on Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another solid gain. The benchmark index is currently up 0.5% to 7,377.6 points.

Here’s what is happening on the ASX 200 today:

Tech shares rise

A key driver of the market’s gains today has been the tech sector. The likes of Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) are rising strongly after a very positive night of trade on the tech-focused Nasdaq index. This has led to the S&P ASX All Technology index charging a sizeable 2.3% higher at lunch.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare disappoints

The Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) share price is tumbling today after investors responded negatively to the release of a trading update out of the medical device company. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare expects FY 2022 operating revenue in the range of NZ$1.675 billion to NZ$1.70 billion. This represents a 13.7% to 15% decline year on year from NZ$1.97 billion in FY 2021. Management revealed that the Omicron strain has caused softening demand for respiratory intervention requirements. It also warned that higher freight costs would impact margins.

IAG business interruption insurance update

The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price is trading lower today following an update on the second business interruption test case. This morning the insurance giant revealed that it has filed an application for special leave to appeal the Federal Court’s finding on JobKeeper payments. It believes JobKeeper payments should be considered when calculating the amount of the business interruption insurance payment. As things stand, IAG advised that no adjustment to its $1,222 million net provision for potential business interruption claims is being made.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the Block share price with an 8% gain. This follows a strong gain by its NYSE listed shares overnight after US tech stocks rallied. The worst performer has been the Fisher & Paykel Healthcare share price with a 6% decline. Its revenue guidance disappointed the market.

The post ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip jump, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare sinks appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (ASX:FPH) share price is sinking 6% today
• From over $12 to $1.53 in little more than a year, why it may not be all bad news for the Zip share price
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
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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 and has recommended Block, Inc. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Block, Inc. and Insurance Australia Group 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 Uniti Group Ltd (ASX: UWL) share price is outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this morning as new takeover rumours swirl.

This time it could be Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) planning a move on the fibre network owner, reported The Australian.

Uniti share price jumps as rumoured new suitor appears

Mind you, it’s only speculation, and Uniti remains tight-lipped on any corporate interest. But this has not stopped the Uniti share price from advancing 1.42% to $4.28 at the time of writing.

In contrast, the ASX 200 has gained 0.44%, while the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has added 0.3%.

Media speculation forced Uniti to admit last week that it had entered into exclusive discussions with HRL Morrison & Co. The Kiwi fund manager made a non-binding and conditional takeover cash offer valuing Uniti at $4.50 a share.

More than a love triangle

The Australian alleges that Macquarie Asset Management has given Uniti a higher offer. While the exact amount is unknown, the article suggests at least one other suitor is looking to crash the party.

This means we would see a takeover tussle for Uniti as the business owns assets that will be of interest to several parties.

Morrison & Co’s bid is subject to a number of conditions and includes a break fee. This complicates the picture, but there may be a fiduciary exemption.

Conditional offer for Uniti share price

The exclusivity arrangements may not apply if there is “a bona fide, actual, proposed or potential competing proposal” that would “reasonably be expected to lead to a superior proposal,” reported The Australian.

Other conditions attached to Morrison & Co’s offer are satisfactory completion of the bidder’s confirmatory due diligence; unanimous recommendation of the transaction from the Uniti Board; entry into a mutually acceptable scheme implementation agreement containing customary exclusivity terms, conditions precedent (including but not limited to FIRB), prescribed occurrences, and receipt by Morrison & Co of its required internal approvals.

Uniti outperforming its peers

Uniti builds and operates fibre broadband networks in residential areas. The company has also been in the spotlight as its executive director Vaughan Bowen was charged with two counts of insider trading.

The Uniti share price has surged nearly 80% over the past year. That’s well ahead of its peers. The Telstra share price gained a relatively modest 17%. The TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG) share price slumped by an equal amount in the last 12 months.

The post Uniti (ASX:UWL) share price jumps amid rumoured Macquarie approach appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX shares with compelling futures: fund manager
• Uniti (ASX:UWL) share price climbs amid reports Vocus will make a play
• Why Austal, Contact Energy, Nanosonics, and Uniti shares are dropping
• ‘Cannot rule out new interest’: What you need to know about the Uniti (ASX:UWL) takeover bid
• Uniti (ASX:UWL) share price rockets 31% after confirming takeover approach

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended TPG Telecom Limited and Uniti Group 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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