Stock Pick

Author: therawinformant

  • Did Hedge Funds Make The Right Call On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (AUPH) ?

    Did Hedge Funds Make The Right Call On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (AUPH) ?The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey have plowed through 821 13F filings that hedge funds and well-known value investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F filings show the funds' and investors' portfolio positions as of March 31st, a week after the market trough. Now, we are […]

    from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3fsJV1m

  • How investors should think about the 2020 presidential election: Morning Brief

    How investors should think about the 2020 presidential election: Morning BriefTop news and what to watch in the markets on Monday, July 13, 2020.

    from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3fpF29d

  • AUD/USD and NZD/USD Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Up on Risk Sentiment, but COVID-19 Worries Linger

    AUD/USD and NZD/USD Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Up on Risk Sentiment, but COVID-19 Worries LingerA failure to contain the spread of the virus could plunge the economies of the United States, Australia and New Zealand back into hibernation.

    from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2Wfrjue

  • Alibaba’s Jack Ma sells $8.2 billion worth shares, stake dips to 4.8% – filing

    Alibaba's Jack Ma sells $8.2 billion worth shares, stake dips to 4.8% - filingAlibaba Group Holding Ltd co-founder Jack Ma has cut his stake in the company over the past year to 4.8% from 6.2%, cashing out around $8.2 billion at its current share price, the firm’s annual filing released on Friday showed. The divestment comes as Ma retired as the Chinese e-commerce company’s executive chairman in September and pulled back from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy. Alibaba did not disclose the average selling price of his divestment.

    from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2We4jvu

  • These ignored stocks may be poised to rebound

    These ignored stocks may be poised to reboundBuying value stocks at bargain-basement prices has netted sub-par returns for more than a decade. But don’t count out these stocks yet.

    from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2Cxjitn

  • Polish Commisson: President Duda Set to Win Election

    Polish Commisson: President Duda Set to Win ElectionJul.13 — Grzegorz Poniatowski, vice president at Centre for Social and Economic Research, discusses Poland’s general election results. He speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: European Open.”

    from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3iTQCf0

  • Why the Appen share price gained 53% in the first half of 2020

    graphic image of man in business suit standing on the shoulder of AI robot

    The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has been on fire over the first half of 2020, despite the massive share market crash in March.

    Across the first half of the year, the Appen share price rose from $22.18 on 2 January to $33.92 per share on 30 June. That’s an appreciation of 52.93% – not bad for 6 months’ work. Since 30 June, Appen shares have climbed even higher and are sitting at $35.93 at the time of writing – adding another 5.9% since the start of the new financial year. Considering the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is still down around 11% year to date at the time of writing, it’s a fantastic result for Appen shareholders.

    Appen is a human dataset specialist. In laypersons terms, it harnesses data about how we humans speak and communicate and puts it in a form that computers can understand and learn from to develop better artificial intelligence (AI). It’s companies like Appen that help virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri and Amazon.com’s Alexa better communicate with us in more natural ways. 

    So, what’s behind this dataset company’s stellar year so far?

    What’s been moving Appen share price this year? 

    The Appen share price did take a tumble in the broader market crash that hit us in March and April, falling from around $27 in mid-February to a low of $15.70 in mid-March. But it didn’t take long for Appen shares to recover, with the stock almost doubling from its March lows by early May. In fact, Appen made a new all-time high of $37.12 just last week.

    In my view, the success of the Appen share price this year (so far) has been two-fold. Firstly, Appen is a company whose earnings look to be relatively unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns. Appen doesn’t release a list of its clients, but it’s pretty safe to assume that it has worked (or works) with most of the biggest tech names in the world – think Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Amazon, to name a few. These companies are not likely to cut down on their research and development (R&D) budgets this year or going forward, in my opinion, meaning these valuable revenue streams for Appen are likely to remain open.

    Secondly, the company is sitting in a powerful tailwind of AI investment. Appen acquired the US-based Figure Eight last year, which has a strong position in both the government and not-for-profit sectors. Spending by these groups on AI research and services is set to expand rapidly in the years ahead. This should prove a boon to Appen. The company noted as much in its May annual general meeting, telling investors the US government has around US$5 billion earmarked for AI spending in its budget. It also noted that globally, overall AI spending is growing at an average rate of 28% per annum. That’s a pretty nice slipstream to reside within.

    Foolish takeaway

    Appen looks to be extremely well placed for growth and minimally exposed to any complications from the coronavirus pandemic. In my view, it’s these 2 factors that have been fuelling Appen’s share price growth over the first half of 2020.

    Right now, the Appen share price looks relatively fairly valued to me, if not a touch expensive. But if the company’s shares dipped again, it might be a great chance to pick up this forward-facing company for your ASX portfolio.

    5 stocks under $5

    We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Altium or Afterpay when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true.

    And while Altium and Afterpay have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $5 a share!

    See the 5 stocks

    *Extreme Opportunities returns as of June 5th 2020

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Appen Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

    The post Why the Appen share price gained 53% in the first half of 2020 appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

    from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2Zm1QRB

  • Carnival Spikes 11% On Demand Optimism; Analyst Warns Risk Remains

    Carnival Spikes 11% On Demand Optimism; Analyst Warns Risk RemainsShares in Carnival Corp (CCL) spiked 11% in Friday’s trading after the cruise company reported its second quarter earnings results- and revealed better-than-expected demand levels for 2021.Specifically, Q2 Non-GAAP EPS of -$3.30 missed Street estimates by $1.54 while GAAP EPS of -$6.07 also fell short of consensus expectations by $4.47. However revenue of $740M beat by $2.19M, despite representing a drop of 85% from the same period last year.Due to COVID-19, CCL paused its guest cruise operations in mid-March but now says it expects to resume operations in a phased manner. For instance, AIDA previously announced it will resume guest cruise operations from ports in Germany beginning August 2020 with three of its ships.CCL also stated that it is reducing capacity by ship delivery deferrals and 13 expected ship dispositions. As previously announced, the company intends to accelerate the removal of ships in fiscal 2020 which were previously expected to be sold over the ensuing years.Carnival CEO Arnold Donald noted, “We have been transitioning the fleet into a prolonged pause and right sizing our shoreside operations. We have already reduced operating costs by over $7 billion on an annualized basis and reduced capital expenditures also by more than $5 billion over the next 18 months.”He added: “We have secured over $10 billion of additional liquidity to sustain another full year with additional flexibility remaining.”In addition, the company has $8.8 billion of committed export credit facilities that are available to fund ship deliveries originally planned through 2023.During the pause in guest operations, the monthly average cash burn rate for 2H is estimated to be $650 million. This includes $250 million of ongoing ship operating and administrative expenses, working capital changes, interest expense and committed capital expenditures and excludes scheduled debt maturities.The pause in guest operations is continuing to have material negative impacts on all aspects of the company’s business, says Carnival, which continues to expect a net loss on both a U.S. GAAP and adjusted basis for the second half of 2020.However, despite substantially reduced marketing and selling spend, the company continues to see demand from new bookings for 2021. For the most recent booking period, the first three weeks in June 2020, almost 60% of 2021 bookings were new bookings. The remaining 2021 booking volumes resulted from guests applying their future cruise credits (FCCs) to specific future cruises.“As of June 21, 2020, cumulative advanced bookings for the full year of 2021 capacity currently available for sale remain within historical ranges at prices that are down in the low to mid-single digits range, on a comparable basis, including the negative yield impact of (future cruise credits) and onboard credits applied,” the company said.Indeed, Carnival continues to expect any decline in the customer deposits balance in the second half of 2020, all of which is expected to occur in the third quarter, to be significantly less than the decline in the second quarter of 2020.Following the update, Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Woronka reiterated his Hold rating on CCL with a $13 price target (20% downside potential).“We certainly don’t dispute that the majority of headlines relevant to CCL… are decidedly positive on the surface, but we think this is a classic case of extrapolating news flow into future earnings potential with a perhaps unwarranted degree of optimism” the analyst warned investors.“And while we are believers in the pent up demand angle, the fact remains that CCL’s interest expense in 2023 is likely to be ~$850m greater than it was in 2019 and its share count about 11% higher” Woronka continued.Said differently, he estimates that CCL’s 2019 EPS would have been $2.88 (vs. the $4.40 reported) using anticipated 2023 interest expense and share count, all else (including EBITDA and D&A) being equal.“With return of capital seemingly off the table for quite some time and a newly leveraged balance sheet that will still look to support additional ship purchases, we think multiples need to be reflective of the new reality” the analyst concluded.Overall, analysts share his cautious approach with a Hold consensus and $16.51 average price target (2% upside potential). Shares in CCL have so far plunged 68% year-to-date. (See Carnival stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Tesla’s Elon Musk Overtakes Buffett On Billionaires Rich List Gilat Strongly Rejects Comtech’s New Merger Complaint; Seeks Remedies Nio Jumps 12% In Pre-Market On Record Quarterly Car Deliveries More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Tesla’s Elon Musk Overtakes Buffett On Billionaires Rich List * Gilat Strongly Rejects Comtech’s New Merger Complaint; Seeks Remedies * BeiGene Plans $2B Direct Offering; Analyst Sees Further Upside Ahead * Apple Moving Some Foxconn Manufacturing From China to India- Report

    from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/3ejlB0p

  • De Grey Mining share price plunges another 13% lower today

    red chart with downward arrow

    The De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG) share price has fallen 13.84% to 68 cents per share in today’s trade, putting its share price losses at 18.07% since Friday morning. 

    This drop follows a general meeting held on Friday 10 July, where a capital raising carried out by the company in May was approved. Also approved were resolutions related to director pay and the granting of zero price options to directors. The company also announced an extension to the Brolga deposit at its Hemi prospect.

    What were the resolutions approved by DeGrey shareholders?

    The first 3 resolutions put to shareholders were related to the issue of 92,196,430 shares at an issue price of $0.28 cents, which had already been carried out in May. This was approved by shareholders.  

    Resolutions 4 and 5 involved changes to the company’s constitution to increase aggregate non-executive director’s pay from $250,000 to $700,000. These resolutions passed.

    The 6th resolution related to granting performance rights to director, Mr Glenn Jardine and resolutions 7 to 11 were related to granting $414,000 worth of zero price options to the company’s directors. These resolutions were also passed by shareholders.

    What else was announced?

    On Friday morning, the company also announced that it had confirmed a further extension of the Brolga deposit at the company’s Hemi prospect. The results from drilling included 16 metres at 2.4 grams per tonne of gold. The Southern extension at Brolga is currently around 1,000 metres long by 200 metres wide.

    How has the De Grey Mining share price performed lately?

    De Grey Mining is a Western Australian-based miner that conducts exploration and production of gold and base metals. Its primary focus is currently the Mallina gold project, which includes the Hemi prospect. The project currently contains 2.2 million ounces of gold with De Grey’s goal being to build the project to 3 million ounces.

    According to the company, its Hemi prospect has the potential to demonstrate tier one gold production potential. This prospect was identified in June 2019 with its first discovery made in December 2019. It contains the company’s Aquila, Brolga and Crow deposits.

    The De Grey Mining share price is up 1,643.59% from its 52-week low of $0.039 cents. It has risen 1,260% since the beginning of the year and is up 750% since this time last year.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    See The 5 Stocks

    *Returns as of June 30th

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Chris Chitty has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

    The post De Grey Mining share price plunges another 13% lower today appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

    from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/38QL28t

  • ASX 200 goes up 1%, big 4 ASX banks rise

    ASX 200

    The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose almost 1% today to 5,978 points today.

    COVID-19 continues to dominate headlines in Australia, there are now 21 cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel cluster in NSW.

    Big ASX banks lead the ASX 200 higher

    The ASX 200 received a helpful boost from the big ASX banks today.

    Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) saw a share price increase of 2.1%.

    The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price rose by 1.75%.

    National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) also experienced share price growth of 1.75% today.

    The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) share price went up 1.9%.

    Global investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) also had a good day, its share price increased by around 2%.

    Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) reports of a COVID-19 case

    The casino operator announced a patron tested positive for COVID-19. The Star share price dropped 0.4% compared to Friday’s price, but it finished 7.5% lower compared to the $2.90 price reached in early trading. 

    That person visited on 4 July 2020. Star Sydney has been operating with restricted opening and is operating its COVID-safe plan. The plan includes spatial distancing measures, and hygiene and cleaning measures across the property including extensive intra-day cleaning and a daily comprehensive clean during a property shutdown between 6am and 10am.

    The share price of the ASX 200 casino company is still 37% lower compared to the pre-coronavirus share price.

    COVID-19 infections at Estia Health Ltd (ASX: EHE) home

    The company announced today that 13 residents at its Ardeer home have tested positive for COVID-19. Estia has activated its positive test response plan and is working in the health officials to manage and monitor the situation.

    Earlier in the day the company announced a number of other updates.

    Estia is going to recognise an impairment of between $124 million to $148 million relating to goodwill from historical acquisitions. This won’t affect Estia’s debt facilities, compliance with banking covenants or ability to undertake capital management initiatives.

    At 30 June 2020 it had occupancy of 92.7%, this has gradually improved since May 2020 with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. The FY20 occupancy was 93.2%, with the second half occupancy being 92.6%.

    The new homes at Southport and Maroochydore ended the financial year with occupancy rates of 100% and 70.6% respectively. The occupancy at 10 July 2020 was 92.6%, with 5,728 of the total 6,183 operational beds being occupied.

    Esita announced the one-off payment from the government to assist caring for residents during the pandemic totalled $5.8 million and has been received by the company.

    At 30 June 2020 the company said its net bank debt was $99.4 million. It hasn’t sought covenant relief.

    TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) share price drops

    The TechnologyOne share price fell 6.4% today after being on the receiving end of a short attack.

    GMT Research alleged that the ASX 200 share has used accounting tricks to bring forward its revenue and profit to hide a slowdown of growth at the business.

    However, TechnologyOne refuted the allegations. In an ASX announcement the company said: “GMT Research spent only 30 minutes with us, so we are very surprised with their limited knowledge that they would have published a report in the first place, and more importantly without verifying the accuracy of the report with us. TechnologyOne was at no time shown the report.

    “The claims made in the AFR by GMT Research are false and misleading. TechnologyOne unreservedly stands 100% behind our audited accounts as being a true and accurate reflection of our business over the last 21 years.”

    Other ASX shares have been the target of GMT Research before such as Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) and Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM).

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    See The 5 Stocks

    *Returns as of June 30th

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and Treasury Wine Estates Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

    The post ASX 200 goes up 1%, big 4 ASX banks rise appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

    from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2ZorLsc