Author: openjargon

Terra Metals Ltd (ASX: TM1) shares are having an incredibly positive session on Thursday.

At one stage today, the copper explorer’s shares were up 210% to a new high of 9.6 cents.

The ASX small-cap stock has pulled back a touch since then but remains up 171% to 8.4 cents at the time of writing.

Why is this ASX small-cap stock exploding?

Investors have responded very positively to the announcement of new drilling results from the Dante Project in the West Musgrave region of Western Australia.

According to the release, a further 14 wide-spaced, first-pass reconnaissance drill holes at the Dante Reefs has confirmed the discovery of multiple Platreef-style copper-PGE sulphide reefs.

Management notes that the mineralisation has been defined over 4.5km so far across Reef 1 and Reef 2. However, it remains open along strike and downdip. There are assays pending from a further 16 drillholes covering an additional 4.5km of strike at Reef 2.

The company believes the drilling results to-date confirm that the Dante Reefs have the potential to host a large sulphide deposit containing copper, gold, PGEs, vanadium and titanium.

‘First of its kind in Australia’

The ASX small-cap stock’s managing director and CEO, Thomas Line, was excited with the results. He notes that this is the first of its kind in Australia. Line said:

We are excited to have discovered multiple Platreef-style copper-PGE sulphide reefs from a first pass-reconnaissance drilling program at the Dante Project; the first of its kind in Australia. Our next step is to continue to replicate these results over the extensive strike at the Dante Reefs, ensuring we are well positioned for success.

It’s clear that there is a concentration and combination of high value metals within the same layers in the Dante Reefs. Chalcocite and bornite appear to be the dominant copper-sulphides. Our highly experienced metallurgical team, led by Dr. Evan Kirby, have already commenced initial metallurgical test work, focusing on the application of conventional flowsheets.

Line also notes that there is still a lot of drilling to come, which could mean even stronger results are coming in the future. He said:

This is just the beginning of the discovery story at the Dante Project, where the vast majority of targets and strike remain undrilled. New insights at the Cronus Prospect are highlighting possible vectors for higher-grade magmatic sulphides. We look forward to presenting these along with further assays in the coming weeks.

The post ASX small-cap stock explodes 210% on new copper find appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Costs and lack of skilled labour delay innovation among Australian businesses
• Why James Hardie, Mader Group, MMA Offshore, and WA1 shares are dropping today
• Uh-oh! Are ASX copper shares about to hit a speed bump?
• Why Bigtincan, DroneShield, Guzman Y Gomez, and Helia shares are racing higher
• 2 ASX 200 bank shares smashing new multi-year highs 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 Scott Phillips.

Innovation is one of the share market buzzwords of the moment amid all the hype around artificial intelligence these days.

Like most developed countries, Australia has a productivity problem.

AI is the latest innovation measure to gain attention, and it’s touted as a game-changer because of its potential to make workers more efficient.

But it appears Australian businesses are lagging behind when it comes to implementing innovation.

Innovation activity falls in FY22 and FY23

A report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today says only 46% of Australian businesses implemented some sort of innovation activity over the two years to 30 June 2023.

For the purposes of the survey, innovation was defined as the introduction of a new or significantly improved good or service, an operational, organisational, or managerial process, or a marketing method.

Overall, innovation activity fell from 52% of businesses over FY20 and FY21 to 46% over FY22 and FY23.

What’s the problem?

The dip is at least partly due to the early COVID years skewing the results. The pandemic forced many businesses to quickly adapt to urgent new safety measures in their daily processes.

Another factor in the dip may be rising costs due to inflation, with the ABS finding economic pressures were the leading barrier.

A shortage of skilled workers was the second biggest reason why businesses were delaying innovation.

The report looked at two areas of innovation.

The first was goods and services, including new products and services, and new characteristics of existing products, such as fresh designs or packaging. The other was processes, defined as any improvement to the way a business is run.

Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said:

Businesses are now shifting their focus away from process innovation, to concentrating on their goods and services innovation. They’re now adjusting to the current economic conditions as cost-of-living pressures hit households and businesses.

Which businesses are innovating?

The ABS research showed innovation was more important to the income of smaller businesses.

Microbusinesses, with four or fewer employees, had the greatest proportion (at 8%) of companies earning three-quarters or more of their total income from new or improved goods and services.

In contrast, less than 1% of large businesses with 200 or more employees said their new and improved goods and services generated three-quarters or more of their total income.

The most popular items purchased for innovation were new machinery, equipment, or technology.

This was followed by new marketing activities and training, both at 37%. 

What are companies spending on innovation?

The data shows three out of every four businesses spent less than $25,000.

One in five businesses said a lack of funds stopped them from attempting innovation in FY22 and FY23.

Among the businesses that did implement some innovation, 30% undertook measures that cost nothing.

Ewing said:

Of the businesses that spent nothing on their innovation activity, some were doing this by improving their marketing activities to attract new customers.

We heard businesses were using social media to advertise and promote their goods and services. While others focussed on improving internal work practices to adapt to economic conditions.

This shows that businesses continue to find ways to innovate that don’t require substantial expenditure, which is especially important for very small businesses.

The post Costs and lack of skilled labour delay innovation among Australian businesses appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why James Hardie, Mader Group, MMA Offshore, and WA1 shares are dropping today
• Uh-oh! Are ASX copper shares about to hit a speed bump?
• Why Bigtincan, DroneShield, Guzman Y Gomez, and Helia shares are racing higher
• 2 ASX 200 bank shares smashing new multi-year highs today
• Who owns Guzman y Gomez shares?

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen 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 Scott Phillips.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having another underwhelming session on Thursday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down almost 0.2% to 7,756.1 points.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX)

The James Hardie share price is down 2.5% to $47.22. This may have been driven by a broker note out of Citi this morning. Ahead of the company’s investor day event, the broker has reaffirmed its neutral rating and $53.40 price target. It appears to believe that trading conditions in the United States aren’t particularly favourable for the company at present. This may have spooked investors and caused fears that tomorrow’s event will contain some bad news.

Mader Group Ltd (ASX: MAD)

The Mader Group share price is down over 5% to $6.16. This has been driven by news that its founder and executive chair has sold down his stake. Luke Mader sold 9.75 million shares via a buyer-led share crossing at a discount of $6.15 per share. Mader Group advised that the buyer was a tier one global financial services company with over US$2 trillion in assets under management. Mr Mader remains the majority shareholder in the company, retaining 103,697,095 shares. This represents ~52% of Mader’s issued capital. In other news, Mader Group has reaffirmed its FY 2024 guidance for revenue of at least $770 million and net profit after tax of at least $50 million.

MMA Offshore Ltd (ASX: MRM)

The MMA Offshore share price is down 2% to $2.64. This morning, this marine and subsea services provider revealed that its suitor, Cyan, has increased its takeover offer by 10 cents per share to a total of $2.70 cash per share. This was just one cent ahead of where its shares were trading yesterday. This appears to indicate that investors were expecting an even greater offer from Cyan. However, this is where it stops. Cyan has declared the improved proposal as its best and final offer, in the absence of a competing proposal. Its offer continues to have the support of MMA Offshore’s directors.

WA1 Resources Ltd (ASX: WA1)

The WA1 Resources share price is down 8% to $18.96. This is likely to have been driven by profit taking following a whopping 27% gain on Wednesday. This was driven by news that its initial metallurgical testwork program on niobium mineralisation at the Luni deposit delivered strong results. Bell Potter was very pleased with the news and described it as a major de-risking event. It commented: “WA1 have passed a significant de-risking hurdle in confirming that niobium minerals from its Luni project can be concentrated via a two-stage floatation circuit with recoveries and concentrate grades in-line with dominant global producers.” The broker responded by reiterating its speculative buy rating and lifting its price target to $28.00.

The post Why James Hardie, Mader Group, MMA Offshore, and WA1 shares are dropping today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 2 ASX shares with big takeover updates today
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• Why Chrysos, Hansen Technologies, Pantoro, and WA1 Resources shares are pushing higher
• 2 ASX mining shares rocketing over 16% on big news
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. 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 positions in and has recommended Mader Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Mader Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

If you bought ASX copper shares late in 2022, congratulations!

On 20 October 2022, the red metal was trading for US$7,550 a tonne.

Amid surging demand and limited new supplies, the copper price then rocketed to near all-time highs of US$10,890 on 20 May.

Now there aren’t many pure-play ASX copper shares to choose from. At least, not on the larger end of the market.

Back on 20 October 2022, Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) was the only S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) miner to really fit that bill.

Since then we’ve had dual-listed, Canadian-based Capstone Copper Corp (ASX:CSC) join the ASX on 8 April 2024.

But if you wanted to stick to established, copper focused miners on the ASX in 2022, Sandfire was the way to go.

And what a run it had.

From 21 October 2022 through to 20 May 2024, the Sandfire Resources share price soared 203%.

With copper prices having since retraced to US$9,786 a tonne today, the Sandfire Resources share price has fallen 13% since 21 May.

So are the good times over for ASX copper shares like Sandfire Resources and Capstone Copper?

Chinese inventories could hit ASX copper shares

Well, over the shorter term, ASX copper shares could face some bumps in the road amid fast-building copper inventories in China.

According to Bloomberg data, copper inventories in Chinese warehouses are at the highest levels in four years.

With China’s struggling property markets and tepid industrial sector, manufacturers have been delaying new purchases amid the historically high copper prices.

“If you’re a copper manufacturer in China, then you have every incentive to run down your own stockpiles and hold off buying from the market because demand is OK but not stellar and global prices have surged,” David Wilson, commodities strategist at BNP Paribas said (quoted by The Australian Financial Review).

And ASX copper shares could come under more selling pressure if prices for the red metal continue to slide, as some analysts are cautioning.

“China has hit a soft patch,” Daniel Smith, head of research at London metals brokerage AMT said. He added that the copper price “could go back down to $US9,000 per tonne,” if funds turn bearish on the outlook for the metal and begin to short it.

The bigger global picture

All commodities are subject to cyclical price moves.

While the copper price could well retrace to US$9,000 per tonne, as Smith suggested, ASX copper shares are still eyeing significant long-term demand growth for the red metal.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence’s global head of metals & mining, Grant Sporre, and senior analyst Rob Barnett:

Global copper consumption is likely to be 2 million tonnes higher by 2030, with over half from the US, as power-hungry AI fuels data-centre capacity growth.

Powering data centres via copper-intensive renewables and reshored manufacturing is set to spur US needs (stagnant for a decade), lifting worldwide demand to above-trend 2.7% to 3% annual growth.

Citi also remains bullish on the outlook for copper.

“Citi’s global commodity team continues to highlight copper as their top pick,” Citi analyst Paul McTaggart said last week.

The broker recently lifted its 2025 forecast for the copper price to US$12,000 per tonne.

If Citi has that right, ASX copper shares like Sandfire Resources could again deliver some market-smashing gains.

The post Uh-oh! Are ASX copper shares about to hit a speed bump? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What’s the outlook for ASX 200 mining shares in FY25?
• Why are these experts so bullish on ASX copper shares?
• Buy ’em now! Brokers name 3 ASX All Ords shares to add to your portfolio
• Are these beaten-up ASX shares too cheap to ignore?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 Scott Phillips.

In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.15% to 7,756.9 points.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back today are listed below. Here’s why they are racing higher:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

The Bigtincan share price is up 12% to 11 cents. This morning, this tech company revealed that it received and rejected a new takeover offer. Bigtincan received a revised confidential, non-binding, incomplete and indicative offer from Vector Capital Management at an indicative offer price of 19 cents per share. The Bigtincan board advised that it has evaluated the revised proposal and, after consultation, views it as insufficient to engage with Vector and has formally rejected it. Bigtincan remains committed to executing its strategic plan and maximising shareholder value.

DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)

The DroneShield share price is up 6% to $1.66. This follows news that the counter drone technology company has won a major new contract. DroneShield has received an order valued at $4.7 million from a new non-government Swiss international customer. The order will see the company provide the customer with multiple vehicle-based counter-drone (C-UxS) systems. The system will be powered by the DroneSentry-C2 command-and-control system, including its proprietary AI-based sensor fusion engine. The end user for this technology has not been named by DroneShield. However, it has been described as a high-profile Government agency.

Guzman y Gomez Limited (ASX: GYG)

The Guzman y Gomez share price is up 36% to $30.00. Investors have been fighting to get hold of this quick service restaurant operator’s shares following the completion of its IPO today. Guzman y Gomez listed on the ASX with a price of $22.00 per share. Following today’s gain, the company now has a market capitalisation of ~$3 billion. This means that its shares are changing hands for approximately 500x FY 2025 forecast earnings.

Helia Group Ltd (ASX: HLI)

The Helia Group share price is up 16% to $3.87. Investors appear to believe this lenders mortgage insurance provider was oversold yesterday following an update on its contract with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). Analysts at Macquarie believe the news is actually positive and expects Helia to become the sole provider of this insurance to the banking giant. As a result, they have upgraded its shares to an outperform rating with a $3.90 price target.

The post Why Bigtincan, DroneShield, Guzman Y Gomez, and Helia shares are racing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Who owns Guzman y Gomez shares?
• Beaten-up ASX 200 stock rebounds 15%. Macquarie says more to come
• 2 ASX shares with big takeover updates today
• Guzman y Gomez shares rocket 36% on IPO day
• Why these 3 ASX 200 stocks just scored sizeable broker upgrades

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 positions in and has recommended Bigtincan, DroneShield, and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Two ASX 200 bank shares have skyrocketed to multi-year high prices today amid an otherwise lacklustre day on the Australian share market.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares reached a nine-year high of $36.42 earlier today.

The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) share price also soared to its highest level in almost five years at $11.39.

Meantime, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.084% to 7,763.2 points at the time of writing.

There is no official news relating to either of these ASX 200 bank shares today. However, resetting price thresholds has been an ongoing trend among bank stocks in recent months.

All of the Big Four bank shares, along with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) and Bendigo Bank, have hit multi-year peaks in 2024. The Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ) is the only underperformer.

Australia’s biggest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), reset its all-time high once again this week, reaching $127.99 per share on Tuesday.

All these price breakthroughs follow an extraordinary run of growth for ASX 200 bank shares that began in November 2023. That’s when the market began talking about the prospect of interest rate cuts in 2024.

The chart below shows what’s happened with ASX 200 bank shares since 1 November 2023.

Such a strong run of share price growth is quite unusual for ASX 200 bank shares.

Historically, bank stocks have been seen as better income investments than growth investments, with the exception of CBA and Macquarie. Check out how bank dividends have offset poor capital growth.

What do the brokers think of ASX 200 bank shares today?

Many experts think the ASX 200 bank shares have now overshot.

Goldman Sachs says some investors should consider locking in capital gains now. In a recent note, the broker said: ” … we now think a more negative view on the banks is appropriate …”.

The only Big Four ASX 200 bank share Goldman rates a buy is Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), but it’s already trading above the broker’s 12-month price target of $28.15.

Dylan Evans from Catapult Wealth says ANZ shares are a hold for him, but says they’re the “best value of the major banks” because they’re trading on a more attractive price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio.

Let’s compare P/Es as they stand now.

According to CommSec data:

• Bank of Queensland shares have a P/E ratio of 10.74x
• Bendigo and Adelaide Bank shares have a P/E ratio of 11.62x
• ANZ shares have a P/E ratio of 12.62x
• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares have a P/E ratio of 13.74x
• NAB shares have a P/E ratio of 15.4x
• CBA shares have a P/E ratio of 21.83x
• Macquarie shares have a P/E ratio of 25.04x

Curious about the outlook for the Westpac share price in FY25? Check out our article here.

The post 2 ASX 200 bank shares smashing new multi-year highs today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Beaten-up ASX 200 stock rebounds 15%. Macquarie says more to come
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Own NAB shares? The bank just made an important crypto investment
• Here’s how much passive income I’d get if I invested $20,000 in Westpac shares now
• ASX 200 stock plunges 15% on CBA deal news

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Anz Group, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia, and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bendigo And Adelaide Bank and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.