Category: Stock Market

  • Woodside share price dips despite ‘significant achievement’. Here’s why

    A group of disappointed board members.A group of disappointed board members.

    The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is heading south today despite a positive update from the company.

    At the time of writing, the oil and gas company’s shares are exchanging hands for $32.15, down 1.2%.

    Let’s take a closer look at what Woodside announced, and what might be dragging its shares lower.

    Woodside accelerates production from offshore Pluto fields

    The Woodside share price is in the red despite the company revealing it has commenced the processing of gas from the offshore Pluto fields located at the North West Shelf project’s (NWS) Karratha gas plant (KGP).

    Notably, the production is ahead of schedule following the start-up of the Pluto-KGP Interconnector.

    The interconnector is a 3.2-kilometre pipeline that connects Pluto liquefied natural gas (LNG) with KGP. This allows other resource owners’ gas to be processed at KGP.

    The plant is expected to process roughly 2.5 million tonnes of LNG and around 20 petajoules of domestic gas from Pluto between 2022 to 2025.

    One petajoule is equivalent to powering 19,000 homes for an entire year, or almost 380,000 dwellings with 20 petajoules.

    Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill touched on the “significant achievement”, saying:

    The start-up of the Pluto-KGP Interconnector provides access to spare capacity at Karratha Gas Plant to process gas owned by other resource owners, both onshore and offshore Western Australia. The commencement of Pluto gas flowing through the Interconnector is the first example of this.

    The processing of gas from the offshore Pluto fields through Karratha Gas Plant enables Woodside to deliver additional LNG cargoes into the international gas market.

    The commercial agreements underpinning third-party gas processing at the North West Shelf reflect the commitment of Woodside and the North West Shelf Project to maximising value from the significant infrastructure on the Burrup Peninsula.

    So why are Woodside shares falling?

    It is possible the Woodside share price is being affected by falling oil prices today. This comes amid news the Biden administration is contemplating releasing its oil reserves, as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to impact fuel prices.

    The plan being weighed up involves releasing approximately a million barrels of crude oil per day from the strategic petroleum reserve.

    The total release is expected to be as much as 180 million barrels of oil to ease demand for the crucial commodity.

    In addition, efforts are being co-ordinated with other countries to also release their strategic oil reserves.

    While no final decision has yet to be reached by the United States, an announcement could come as soon as tonight.

    About the Woodside share price

    Over the past 12 months, the Woodside share price has risen by 34% in value. However, when looking at year to date, its shares have surged by almost 50% following an uptick in oil prices.

    Based on today’s price, Woodside commands a market capitalisation of roughly $31.8 billion.

    The post Woodside share price dips despite ‘significant achievement’. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Woodside right now?

    Before you consider Woodside, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Woodside wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

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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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  • Fortescue share price jumps 4% higher

    The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is up by 4%, adding to the gains it has seen over the past couple of weeks.

    Since 15 March 2022, Fortescue shares have risen by 20%.

    The iron ore miner is rising amid the increase of the iron ore price overnight. According to Commsec, the iron ore price went up by 0.4% overnight to US$150.88 per tonne.

    Changes in the iron ore price may impact the Fortescue share price as it’s one of the world’s biggest iron ore miners.

    Fortescue isn’t the only miner that is seeing gains today. The other iron mining giants in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) are also up. The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is up 3% while the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price is up by 2%.

    Further green hydrogen progress

    Earlier this week, investors learned that the green division of Fortescue, called Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), had signed a large green hydrogen deal in Germany.

    FFI and energy giant E.ON signed a memorandum of understanding to partner and execute on the ambition to deliver up to five million tonnes per annum of green, renewable hydrogen to Europe by 2030. The Fortescue share price has risen 6% since the announcement of this deal.

    FFI said:

    This historic partnership marks E.ON’s and FFI’s broader ambition to lead the decarbonisation of Europe and to strengthen security of green energy supply at a time when Europe needs to reduce its energy dependence on fossil fuels from Russia as quickly as possible. Five million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of renewable GH2 is equal to approximately one third of the calorific energy Germany imports from Russia.

    Both companies will work together, in collaboration  with their governments, regarding how to achieve supply as fast as possible. This will help to decarbonise thousands of medium-sized enterprises all over Germany and the Netherlands, as well as other European cities and communities to which E.ON distributes energy, according to FFI.

    The post Fortescue share price jumps 4% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Fortescue right now?

    Before you consider Fortescue, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Fortescue wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

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    Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns Fortescue Metals Group 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 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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  • Why is the Xero share price sliding 4% lower today?

    a woman looks exhausted and overwhelmed as she slumps forward into her hand while looking at her laptop screen.a woman looks exhausted and overwhelmed as she slumps forward into her hand while looking at her laptop screen.

    The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is tumbling lower on Thursday despite no word having been released by the company.

    However, it’s a rough day on the market for many ASX tech shares, particularly those on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

    At the time of writing, the Xero share price is $103.84, 3.55% lower than its previous close.

    For context, the ASX 200 is currently trading 0.41% higher.

    Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on with Xero’s stock today and the performance of its ASX 200 technology peers.

    Xero share price slumps 4% on Thursday

    The Xero share price is sliding lower today, losing all its gains for the week so far.  

    After tumbling 5% on Monday, the cloud-based account and business software provider’s stock gained 3% on Tuesday and 5% on Wednesday.

    Sadly, today’s tumble has brought it back to square one.

    It also makes Xero the second worst performing stock on the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) on Thursday.

    Only Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) is recording a bigger fall. Its share price is currently down 3.79%.

    Though, the ASX 200 sector as a whole is also suffering, having slipped 1.39% at the time of writing.

    Looking at the tech sector beyond the ASX 200, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is recording a 0.88% slump.

    The Xero share price’s poor Thursday performance sees it 28% lower than it was at the start of 2022. It has also fallen 17% since this time last year.

    The post Why is the Xero share price sliding 4% lower today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Xero right now?

    Before you consider Xero, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Xero wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

    More reading

    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. owns and has recommended Block, Inc. and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Block, Inc. and Xero. 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 ASX fintech just did a deal with Mastercard, and its shares are soaring 16%

    Woman looks amazed and shocked as she looks at her laptop.Woman looks amazed and shocked as she looks at her laptop.

    The Change Financial Ltd (ASX: CCA) share price is soaring today after the company struck a financial agreement with Mastercard.

    The company’s shares are currently swapping hands at 9.9 cents, a 16.47% gain. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is climbing 0.41% today.

    Change is a global fintech company providing payments as a service (PaaS) to 141 clients in 41 countries

    Let’s take a look at what this ASX fintech announced today.

    Deal with Mastercard

    The Change Financial share price is surging after the company announced it has signed an exclusive six-year agreement with Mastercard in Australia and New Zealand.

    The company will receive a cash incentive payment of $1.4 million from Mastercard upon the launch of the first direct issuing program in Australia or New Zealand. This is expected in H1 FY23.

    Mastercard and Change will now be able to work together to spearhead prepaid and debit card programs for banks and fintechs.

    Change also expects the agreement will deliver transactional and recurring revenues and incentive discounts that will reduce the network costs.

    The ASX fintech is optimistic this deal will open up further opportunities to drive growth in the Oceania region.

    Commenting on the agreement fuelling the Change Financial share price today, CEO and managing director Alastair Wilkie said:

    This Agreement strengthens both our long-standing relationship with Mastercard in the US, as well as our transaction processing capabilities for existing clients.

    Our partnership with Mastercard will deliver direct issuing capabilities for our Australian and New Zealand clients, giving them a faster path to market for innovative prepaid and debit card products

    The Oceania region generates 29% of Change’s revenue and 33% of its client base.

    Change Financial share price snapshot

    The Change Financial share price has fallen 9% in a year and almost 5% this year to date.

    In the past month, the company’s shares have soared 14%, while they are up 12% in the past week alone.

    For perspective, the benchmark ASX index has returned about 11% over the past year.

    The company has a market capitalisation of about $39 million based on the current share price.

    The post This ASX fintech just did a deal with Mastercard, and its shares are soaring 16% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Change Financial right now?

    Before you consider Change Financial, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Change Financial wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

    More reading

    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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  • What’s boosting the Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN) share price today?

    A young woman wearing a blue blouse with white polkadots holds her phone up with an intrigued and happy look on her face as she reads news about the Galan Lithium share price rising todayA young woman wearing a blue blouse with white polkadots holds her phone up with an intrigued and happy look on her face as she reads news about the Galan Lithium share price rising today

    The Galan Lithium Ltd (ASX: GLN) share price is marching higher today, up 2.16%.

    Shares in the ASX lithium explorer closed yesterday at $1.86 and are currently trading for $1.90.

    So, what’s boosting the Galan Lithium share price today?

    Strong progress at lithium project

    This morning Galan provided an update to ASX investors on the site and study activities at its 100%-owned Hombre Muerto West Lithium Project (HMW), located in Argentina.

    Galan reported that its Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) – led by engineering consulting group Hatch – is on budget and on track. It is expected to be completed by the end of December. The construction of its pilot plant is also progressing well.

    Investors may also be bidding up the Galan Lithium share price after the company reported a diamond drill hole was underway at the Pata Pila site. Galan expects the exploratory drilling to provide key geological data for a potential extension to the existing mineral resource.

    In other highlights from this morning’s release, Galan said its recently completed Transient Electromagnetic (TEM) geophysical survey had identified potential new mineral resource zones.

    It plans to begin exploration drilling in the newly-identified zones in the second quarter of 2022.

    Commenting on the progress, Galan Lithium’s CEO, JP Vargas de la Vega said:

    I am very pleased to say that our world-class lithium HMW Project is progressing strongly, on all fronts. My meetings with local Catamarca authorities saw evidence of excellent governmental and community support for the HMW and Candelas Projects.

    We are proud to be rapidly advancing projects that offer such economic and social benefits to the broader regions in which they are located.

    Galan Lithium share price snapshot

    The Galan Lithium share price is up 205.6% over the past 12 months. It has raced beyond the 11.6% gains of the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) over the same period.

    Over the past month, Galan Lithium shares have gained 39.3%.

    The post What’s boosting the Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN) share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Galan Lithium right now?

    Before you consider Galan Lithium, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Galan Lithium wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

    More reading

    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 Newcrest (ASX:NCM) dividend is hitting bank accounts today. Here’s the lowdown

    An older female ASX investor holds a gangster-style fist pump pose showing off gold rings with dollar signs on them as the Newcrest share price rises and the ASX 200 gold miner pays its interim dividend todayAn older female ASX investor holds a gangster-style fist pump pose showing off gold rings with dollar signs on them as the Newcrest share price rises and the ASX 200 gold miner pays its interim dividend today

    Shareholders of Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) are about to strike gold today. Not through any prospecting that this ASX 200 gold miner is doing. Or from the 0.58% rise to $27.03 that the Newcrest share price is presently enjoying. Rather, today is the day that Newcrest shareholders will receive the company’s latest dividend payment.

    Today’s dividend is Newcrest’s interim payment. The gold miner announced the dividend in its half-year earnings report that was delivered last month. This earnings report, covering the six months to 31 December, outlined a difficult environment for Newcrest. The company reported a 46% slide in statutory profits, as well as a 21% fall in revenues.

    This was perhaps why the interim dividend of 7.5 US cents per share, or 10.4 cents in our currency, was significantly below the 19.31 cents per share interim dividend that investors saw last year.

    This dividend is also a notable decrease from Newcrest’s last dividend payment, which was the final dividend for FY21 paid out in September. That dividend was worth 55.2 cents per share.

    Newcrest investors have dividend nuggets in their pans today

    Anyhow, Newcrest shareholders will receive this latest interim dividend of 10.4 cents per share fully franked today. But if you have recently bought shares in the gold miner, you may be out of luck. Newcrest traded ex-dividend for this payment back on 25 February. That means any ASX investor who opened a position in Newcrest on or after that date will not be eligible to receive this dividend. Conversely, any investor who sold their Newcrest shares between 25 February and today will still receive the payment.

    Putting together this dividend with the company’s September final payment and we get to a total of 65.64 cents per share, fully franked. That gives Newcrest Mining a trailing dividend yield of 2.43% based on the current share price. That’s 3.47% grossed-up with full franking.

    Newcrest share price climbs in 2022

    The Newcrest share price is up 10.37% in 2022 so far.

    The ASX 200 gold miner has a market capitalisation of $24 billion.

    The post The Newcrest (ASX:NCM) dividend is hitting bank accounts today. Here’s the lowdown appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Newcrest Mining right now?

    Before you consider Newcrest Mining, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Newcrest Mining wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

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    Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns Newcrest Mining 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 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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  • It’s payday for Bendigo Bank (ASX:BEN) shareholders today. Here’s the deal

    a man wearing casual clothes fans a selection of Australian banknotes over his chin with an excited, widemouthed expression on his face.a man wearing casual clothes fans a selection of Australian banknotes over his chin with an excited, widemouthed expression on his face.

    Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) shareholders will be cheering on the sidelines as the company releases its dividend distributions today.

    The regional bank is rewarding eligible investors with a fully franked interim dividend payment of 26.5 cents per share.

    At the time of writing, the Bendigo Bank share price is swapping hands for $10.28, down 0.19%.

    For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is heading the other way, up 0.42% to 7,546.2 points.

    Let’s take a look at all the details regarding the company’s dividend.

    Bendigo Bank pays out interim dividend

    Bendigo Bank reported strong growth across key metrics in its results for the first half of the 2022 financial year.

    In summary, revenue rose 8.5% from the prior corresponding period to $965.1 million. This was supported by residential lending growth, up 8.4%, as well as settlements growth, up 4.3%.

    Management noted that despite the robust performance, this was partially offset by weakness in its agribusiness lending. This was due to seasonal factors and softness in business lending.

    Nonetheless, the board opted to increase its interim dividend by 12.8% on H1 FY21’s 23.5 cents per share.

    When calculating against the current share price, Bendigo Bank is trailing on a forecast fully franked dividend yield of 5.16%.

    Management expects the dividend payout ratio target of 60% to 80% of cash earnings to be at the low-end in FY22.

    Bendigo Bank share price snapshot

    The past 12 months have been choppy for the Bendigo Bank share price, registering a gain of just 2%.

    Its shares hit a 52-week low of $8.43 in December 2021, before zipping above the $10 mark in 2022. This has led the company’s share price to increase by 13% in value for the current calendar year.

    Bendigo Bank has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 18.86 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $5.77 billion.

    The post It’s payday for Bendigo Bank (ASX:BEN) shareholders today. Here’s the deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Bendigo Bank right now?

    Before you consider Bendigo Bank, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Bendigo Bank wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

    More reading

    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 owns and has recommended Bendigo and Adelaide Bank 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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  • ‘Fundamental link’: Here’s why the Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price is surging 11%

    Team celebrating corporate success screaming with joy.Team celebrating corporate success screaming with joy.

    The Archer Materials Ltd (ASX: AXE) share price is taking off following an update on the company’s ‘lab-on-a-chip’ technology.

    The company recently integrated a graphene layer that is just one atom thick with silicon electronics. Now, the microscopic graphene electronic properties have been found to be retained post-processing and integration with silicon.

    At the time of writing, the Archer Materials share price is 97 cents, 11.49% higher than its previous close.

    Though, earlier today it surged 19.5% to trade at $1.04.

    Let’s take a closer look at the news driving the materials technology company’s stock higher on Thursday.

    One step closer to creating ‘lab-on-a-chip’

    The Archer Materials share price is in the green on news the tech company has successfully measured and confirmed the electronic transport in the integrated graphene device.

    The device is part of the development of the company’s biochip. The biochip is expected to see droplets of biological specimens analysed and processed using graphene-based sensors.

    If all goes to plan, the biochip will allow for ultrasensitive detection and analysis of diseases.

    The direct electronic measurements results announced by the company today are an important step towards building graphene-based transistors.

    Such transistors are integral to the operation of Archer’s biochip technology.

    “Prior to this latest work, Archer had achieved the integration of graphene in silicon electronics,” said Archer Materials CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair.

    Archer has now successfully performed complex post-integration lithography and atom-thick materials’ device processing that preserve graphene’s advanced electronic properties.

    The electronic transport measurements performed by the Archer team are the fundamental link with respect to using graphene in transistor technology intended for future biosensing operations in Archer’s biochip devices.

    Archer Materials share price snapshot

    Sadly, today’s gains haven’t been enough to boost the Archer Materials share price back into the green on the ASX.

    Right now, the company’s stock is trading for 19% less than it was at the start of 2022.

    Though, it’s 12% higher than it was this time last year.

    The post ‘Fundamental link’: Here’s why the Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price is surging 11% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Archer Materials right now?

    Before you consider Archer Materials, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Archer Materials wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of January 13th 2022

    More reading

    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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  • Why Solana Stock jumped 10% today

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

    Crypto and NFT diagram.

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

    What happened 

    The value of cryptocurrency Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) jumped as much as 9.7% in the last 24 hours as of 4:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday as investors poured into the token. And Solana is up big while most of the rest of the crypto market is down slightly today. 

    So what 

    The biggest news of the day is that OpenSea is opening support for Solana NFTs in April. OpenSea is by far the largest NFT marketplace today with a $13 billion valuation and over $3 billion in transactions in a good month, but thus far it has not welcomed the Solana blockchain. 

    One of the theories is that OpenSea opening to Solana will allow much higher-valued NFTs on Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) to be compared to Solana NFTs, which often trade for a fraction of the price. It also opens up more well-heeled buyers of NFTs to the booming blockchain. Adding money and users should be good for Solana in the long term. 

    Now what 

    I like this news broadly for Solana but don’t know how it will impact the cryptocurrency in the long term. If buyers are just getting into NFTs, it might not drive up the value of the underlying cryptocurrency at all. That said, it’s a positive to have more users in the ecosystem, and that should be good for Solana’s blockchain over the long term. 

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

    The post Why Solana Stock jumped 10% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should 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 over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

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

    *Returns as of January 12th 2022

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    Travis Hoium owns Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson. 

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

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  • Here’s why Macquarie just upgraded the EML (ASX:EML) share price

    A compass with the word opportunities is shown in black and blue representing a broker upgrade on the EML share priceA compass with the word opportunities is shown in black and blue representing a broker upgrade on the EML share price

    The EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price is lower today, down 1% to $2.96 at the time of writing.

    But major broker Macquarie thinks the stock should be trading about 33% higher.

    EML Payments is a business that ‘powers’ payments around the world. It operates across 27 countries with 23 currencies in areas like card payments, open banking, and digital account payments.

    EML provides services for the banking and financial sector, buy now, pay later, sports betting and gaming, retail and e-commerce, and government.

    Macquarie upgrades EML share price

    According to the Australian Financial Review, Macquarie has increased its price target on EML to $3.95, up from $3.80. That implies a potential upside of about 33% over the next 12 months.

    The broker believes that EML will benefit from the rising interest rate environment. This is due to the A$2.7 billion that EML held in its stored float as of 31 December 2021. About $2.3 billion was held in cash and $400 million was in “highly rated, low-risk bonds”, according to EML.

    EML itself said that it “benefits as interest rates rise due to our large stored value float”. Based on the current banking arrangements, if rates across all jurisdictions were to rise by 1%, this would add $14 million to $15 million to EML’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA).

    EML previously announced that it is looking to increase the size of its low-risk bond portfolio to offset negative interest rates on Euro balances. This is expected to help improve returns in the second half of FY22.

    The AFR reported comments made by Macquarie:

    Based on current one month OIS forward curves (as at 28 March) and varying arrangements across jurisdictions we estimate EML’s effective interest rate on stored balances peaks at ~1.7% in FY24. All things being equal this would imply ~$45m of interest revenue upside, which has no associated expenses.

    EML share price valuation

    Macquarie’s profit estimates put the EML share price at 21x FY23’s estimated earnings.

    But Macquarie isn’t the only broker that is positive on the business.

    For example, UBS also rates EML as a buy, with a price target of $4.55. That implies a potential upside of more than 50%.

    UBS is a fan of the recent move by EML to enter the European employee benefits market with Up Spain, covering meal vouchers and employee benefit solutions. Globally, the employee benefits solutions market is worth $88 billion, with Europe representing 35% of it.

    Up Spain is one of the three biggest providers in Spain, with more than one million users across approximately 4,700 corporate clients and a network of more than 30,000 restaurants in Spain.

    Up Spain is a subsidiary of Up Group, which offers employee benefits and incentive programs in 28 countries.

    The post Here’s why Macquarie just upgraded the EML (ASX:EML) share price 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 EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie 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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