Category: Stock Market

  • Here’s why the FBR (ASX:FBR) share price is sinking 7% today

    man grimaces next to falling stock graph

    The FBR Ltd (ASX: FBR) share price is seeing red today following a company announcement regarding a recent capital raise.

    At the time of writing, the robotics company’s shares are down 7.55% to 4.9 cents. It’s worth noting that regardless of the significant drop, its shares have shot 25% higher in the past month.

    FBR completes placement

    A major catalyst for FBR shares plummeting could be investor concerns about the impending dilution of shares.

    According to its release, FBR advised it has received firm commitments from an array of investors to raise $10 million. The strongly supported placement primarily came from new and existing institutional and sophisticated investors from Australia, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and the United States.

    The placement will see around 222.22 million new ordinary shares created at an issue price of 4.5 cents apiece. This represents a 14% discount to the 5-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP) and an 11% discount to the 30-day VWAP.

    FBR will use its existing placement capacity under listing rule 7.1. This allows up to 15% of its shares to be issued without shareholder approval. The new shares will rank equally with the company’s existing ordinary shares.

    The proceeds received from the placement will be used for working capital and to deliver its commercialisation strategy. This includes:

    • Complete 27 builds in pipeline, plus additional builds yet to be committed;
    • Complete assembly of two additional Hadrian X construction robots to meet demand in Australian market;
    • Finalise the design of the next iteration of the Hadrian X and commence manufacturing;
    • Continue scale up of organisational capability post-COVID; and
    • Further development of BIM architectural software to enable integration into construction design and planning with customers.

    FBR managing director and CEO, Mike Pivac said:

    We are pleased to have attracted support from both existing and new institutional and sophisticated investors to help us progress the commercialisation of FBR’s technology.

    The funds raised will position the Company well to execute on and expand its current committed work pipeline and to capitalise on commercial opportunities that are frequently presenting themselves globally, particularly in North America and Europe.

    FBR share price snapshot

    Despite today’s fall, the FBR share price has delivered modest gains for the past 12 months, up 6%. The company’s share price reached a 52-week high of 6 cents in mid-November, before pulling back.

    Based on valuation grounds, FBR presides a market capitalisation of roughly $108.12 million, with over 2.21 billion shares outstanding.

    The post Here’s why the FBR (ASX:FBR) share price is sinking 7% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

    Before you consider FBR, 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 FBR wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly 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 August 16th 2021

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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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  • Why are ASX 200 travel shares having such a shocker today?

    Woman sitting looking miserable at airport

    S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) travel shares are having a lousy day today.

    In fact, Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB), and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) are all in the unwelcome group of worst 5 performers on the ASX 200 today.

    At the time of writing, the Qantas share price is down 5.1%, the Webjet share price is down 5.3%, and the Flight Centre share price is down a painful 6.7%.

    The ASX 200 is also in the red, but ‘only’ down by 1.2%.

    So what’s going on?

    COVID variant hammers confidence in ASX 200 travel shares

    ASX 200 travel shares, and indeed most risk-on assets, are taking a beating today on news of a new and potentially dangerous COVID variant.

    The new variant – B.1.1.529 – emerged in South Africa where full vaccination rates remain below 40%. It’s believed the variant may have stemmed from an individual with HIV, according to Francois Balloux, director of the UCL Genetics Institute.

    As Bloomberg reports, “The virus can linger for longer in people whose immune systems are compromised, potentially offering a bigger window for mutations.”

    Of potential concern for the world’s reopening plans and investors in ASX 200 travel shares:

    Scientists are still trying to determine whether the new variant … is more transmissible or more lethal than previous ones. What’s clear is that it has the most mutations of any strain yet identified.

    Air travel restrictions rolled out

    ASX 200 travel shares look to be getting sold off amid fears that initial travel restrictions just put in place overseas to mitigate the spread of the new variant may only be the tip of the iceberg.

    Both the United Kingdom and Israel have already announced a temporary halt on flights from South Africa and 5 neighbouring nations.

    Commenting on that move, the UK’s Health Secretary Sajid Javid said (quoted by Bloomberg): “As part of our close surveillance of variants across the world, we have become aware of the spread of a new potentially concerning variant.”

    Travellers who do arrive from these nations will need to quarantine in hotels.

    Unfortunately, as we came to see with the Delta variant, the genie may already be out of the bottle. Hong Kong has reported 2 travellers have tested positive for B.1.1.529, which has yet to receive its own Greek letter.

    Certainly not the sort of news investors in ASX 200 travel shares hoping for a smooth reopening wanted to hear.

    Don’t shoot the messenger!

    The post Why are ASX 200 travel shares having such a shocker today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Flight Centre right now?

    Before you consider Flight Centre, 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 Flight Centre wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly 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 August 16th 2021

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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 recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited and Webjet 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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  • The Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price is having a good month. Here’s why these top brokers are expecting more of the same

    Two laughing male executives wearing dark suits chat across a timber lunch room table while one of them holds up his phone to show information about an ASX share

    The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX :TLS) share price has indeed enjoyed a very successful month. Telstra shares are up a very robust 6.8% since this time last month, rising from approximately $3.80 to the $4.06 they are commanding today at the time of writing. And that’s including the 0.5% dip we’ve seen so far today.

    But if we zoom out, the picture just seems to get better and better. Telstra is also up a healthy 34.9% year to date in 2021 so far, as well as 30.55% over the past 12 months. Since going under $2.70 a share back in October last year, Telstra is now up more than 50% from those lows.

    So now that Telstra has enjoyed these strong runs, many an investor might be wondering where Telstra is headed from here.

    Well, to assist in that question, let’s take a look at what some top ASX brokers are saying about this ASX 200 telco right now.

    3 ASX brokers rate the Telstra share price as a buy

    Investment bank and broker Goldman Sachs is bullish, for one. Goldman currently rates Telstra shares as a ‘buy’ with a 12-moth share price target of $4.40 – implying a potential 8.1% upside over the next 12 months (in addition to any dividend returns of course). Goldman likes what it sees in Telstra’s recent Digicel acquisition, and reckons the telco will continue to dole out dividends as well as share buybacks for investors.

    But Goldman isn’t the only expert investor bullish on Telstra shares. As my Fool colleague James covered last week, broker Morgans has also issued an ‘add’ rating on Telstra recently. Morgans sees Telstra with a share price of $4.55 in a year’s time (upside of almost 12%). This broker is attracted by what it sees as Telstra’s strong and stable dividend.

    My Fool colleague Zach also recently analysed fellow broker JPMorgan’s views on Telstra. JPMorgan goes further again, rating Telstra with a share price target of $4.60 (upside of 13%). This broker noted Telstra’s “headstart on the rollout of 5G infrastructure [which] should see market share gains of lucrative postpaid subscribers”.

    It also likes what it saw with the Digicel acquisition as well, and calls the telco “the best placed in the Australian mobile market”.

    So there you have it, what 3 top ASX brokers think of the Telstra share price right now. Time will only tell who turns out to be right. In the meantime, Telstra’s current share price of $4.06 gives it a market capitalisation of $48.3 billion, with a dividend yield of 3.94%.

    The post The Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price is having a good month. Here’s why these top brokers are expecting more of the same appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

    Before you consider Telstra, 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 Telstra wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly 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 August 16th 2021

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    JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of JPMorgan Chase and 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 shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation 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 Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price just hit another 52-week low, its fourth this week. Can it fall any further?

    Group of entrepreneurs feeling frustrated during a meeting in the office. Focus is on man with headache.

    Shares in e-commerce company Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) haven’t found support today and are trading down 5.3% at $8.04. The result marks the fourth 52-week low for the Kogan share price this week after it closed down at $8.49 yesterday.

    Investors applied more selling pressure yesterday after Kogan’s trading update and a remuneration strike from its annual general meeting (AGM).

    Nonetheless, it’s been a sea of red for Kogan shareholders this year. Shares are down 83% from a high of $21.67 in January and have given away another 30% in just over a month.

    Let’s hear what the experts have to say about the outlook for Kogan investors.

    Can Kogan.com fall any lower?

    Following Kogan’s trading update, the team at UBS see challenges ahead for the company but retained its neutral rating and $10 price target in a note today.

    UBS notes that Kogan’s reinvestment strategy may increase its operating expenditure. It also reckons this trend is likely to increase with respect to Kogan’s growth model.

    One point the broker highlights is that Kogan’s operating expenditure was $15 million for October, up 9% on the entire first quarter of FY22.

    This occurred even as Kogan made a substantial reduction to its warehousing costs and lower inventory levels – moves typically made to lower operating expenses.

    The broker notes that Kogan could keep investing capital to support its sales growth plus better premiums on its customer memberships.

    The majority of analysts identified for this report have a neutral or sell rating on the Kogan share price, whereas just 3 are bullish. However, with the share trading at $8 and change, all of these brokers value Kogan at a higher price than the market.

    For instance, the consensus price target is $11.15 from the analyst group, implying an upside potential of around 38%.

    Credit Suisse is the most bullish, valuing Kogan at $13.88 a share back in October, whereas Jarden reckons it’s a sell at $8.86.

    This dichotomy is an interesting one but could make sense given that 50% of the recommendations are neutral on the Kogan share price.

    There could also be further updates from each of these brokers in the coming weeks following Kogan’s trading update yesterday.

    Kogan share price snapshot

    In the past 12 months, the Kogan share price has fallen by more than 50%. It has also crashed 57% this year to date. In the past week, shares are down by more than 11%.

    Kogan is also lagging behind its peers and the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 10.5% in the last year.

    The post The Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price just hit another 52-week low, its fourth this week. Can it fall any further? 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 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 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 August 16th 2021

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    The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended 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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  • Prophecy (ASX:PRO) share price rockets 32% on surging growth

    A group of happy office workers throw papers in the air and cheer after seeing the Latrobe Magnesium price skyrocket 38%

    The Prophecy International Holdings Limited (ASX: PRO) share price is soaring today, up 32% to $1.61 in early afternoon trade.

    This comes after the computer software applications and services company reported significant growth across its 2 product lines, Snare and eMite.

    Snare is Prophecy’s cybersecurity software product line. It offers security monitoring, threat detection, security information and event management, and centralised log management. eMite is a SaaS (software as a service)-based customer experience and call centre analytics platform.

    What growth figures were reported?

    The Prophecy share price is surging after the company reported continued operational progress across its business units.

    Prophecy said its subscription-based annualised recurring revenue (ARR) is up more than $1.8 million in November to date. Its total ARR now exceeds $15.4 million.

    Breaking that down, ARR from its eMite segment stands at $10.5 million, with $4.1 million in ARR from its Snare business and another $600,000 from Legacy subscription revenue.

    The company cited a number of new recurring customers for eMite, such as agricultural (Farmlands), finance (BPER Banca), and health (Providence St Joseph’s). It said there are more deals on the table it still expects to close in November.

    To date for FY22 eMite sales growth has come in at 800% compared to the same period in FY21.

    According to Prophecy:

    In cloud migration, eMite is riding a significant growth trend. We expect that COVID-19 will accelerate cloud migration for the next several years as enterprise customers seek to enable working from home… We will add vendor partnerships similar to Genesys and Amazon for eMite.

    As for Snare, FY22 sales growth to date is up 46% from the same period in FY22. The company said its new subscription sales model for Snare “enhances flexibility for customers and supports continued growth” in its base of ARR.

    The Prophecy share price could also be getting a lift from the company’s outlook for the full 2022 financial year. It stated, “eMite and Snare’s strong performance is expected to continue in FY22”. Prophecy forecasts approximately $13 million in sales for eMite and $20 million for Snare.

    Prophecy share price snapshot

    The Prophecy share price has been red hot this year. Over the past 6 months alone, its shares have surged by around 210%. For comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) gained around 4.5% in that same period.

    Over the past month, Prophecy’s shares are up by more than 50%.

    The post Prophecy (ASX:PRO) share price rockets 32% on surging growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

    Before you consider Prophecy, 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 Prophecy wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly 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 August 16th 2021

    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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  • ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price shrugs off ASIC lawsuit

    city building with banking share prices, anz share price

    The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price is seemingly unaffected by the ASIC lawsuit that has been announced.

    At the moment, ANZ shares are up whilst the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down around 1%.

    ASIC lawsuit against ANZ

    ANZ acknowledged that the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has commenced a civil penalty proceeding relating to three unlicensed third parties providing home loan application documents to ANZ lenders, including in connection with ANZ’s home loan introducer program.

    ASIC is alleging that ANZ contravened the National Consumer Credit Protection Act in relation to 74 home loan applications made between 2016 and 2018, and contraventions of general conduct obligations owed by credit licensees under the Credit Act.

    The big four ASX bank said that it has co-operated with ASIC during its investigation and has established a customer remediation program as well as continuously improving its home loan processes and controls.

    ANZ is considering the matters raised in the ‘Concise Statement’ and won’t be providing further comment because the matter is now before the courts.

    What is ASIC alleging that ANZ did?

    The regulator says that ANZ’s program involved home loan referrals to ANZ from third party “introducers” from various professions, such as cleaners and real estate representatives.

    ASIC noted that introducer programs received considerable criticism in the Financial Services Royal Commission.

    It’s alleged that ANZ breached consumer protection credit laws by accepting customer information and documents from introducers and other unlicensed individuals when this was not allowed. ASIC also alleges that some of the documents provided were fraudulent.

    ASIC is also saying ANZ breached its general conduct obligations by failing to take reasonable steps to ensure its representatives did not conduct business with unlicensed third parties and therefore failed to engage in credit activities “efficiently, honestly and fairly”.

    Comments on the case

    ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said:

    ASIC is concerned that as a result of this conduct some loans may have been granted by ANZ based on false information and some consumers may have entered into home loans that were beyond their ability to pay.

    If banks are going to accept referrals of consumers seeking a home loan from unlicensed individuals, who receive commission payments for the referrals, they need to make sure they have the right systems in place to properly process those referrals.

    How much could the penalty be?

    Time will tell. ASIC said that “between 2015 to June 2020, more than 50,000 loans were referred to ANZ through the introducer program, resulting in lending of more than $18.5 billion. In September 2018, the introducer program contributed to approximately 10% of all home loans sold by ANZ’s branch network in Australia.”

    Though ASIC is referring to 74 home loan applications made between 2016 and 2018 with one of the allegations.

    Last year a penalty of $15m was imposed on National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) for contravening National Consumer Credit Protection laws relating to its introducer program.

    ANZ share price snapshot

    ANZ shares are up 0.3% and it has gone up by 17.6% over the last year.

    The post ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price shrugs off ASIC lawsuit appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

    Before you consider ANZ, 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 ANZ wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly 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 August 16th 2021

    More reading

    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. 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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  • Damstra (ASX:DTC) share price tumbles 11% as guidance downgraded

    A group of disappointed board members.

    The Damstra Holdings Ltd (ASX: DTC) share price is falling today and is now down 10.68% at 46 cents.

    Shares in the enterprise protection software business took a hit from the open following the release of Damstra’s AGM presentation this morning.

    Language at the AGM acknowledged “the market appears to have lost short-term confidence in the company” and that Damstra is focused on sharing “the disappointment in [its] share price performance with other investors”.

    Not only that, the company reduced its forecasts for FY22 after a series of challenges across the year.

    Here are the key takeouts.

    What’s happening with the Damstra share price?

    It’s been a difficult year for Damstra shareholders. Since this time in 2020, the Damstra share price has wobbled down from a high of $1.71 and is now at 52-week lows.

    Alas, management acknowledged Damstra has faced challenges in 2020/21 that have contributed to the current investor sentiment.

    The first major issue related to a contractual dispute with a client acquired through the Vault Intelligence Ltd acquisition. The second came down to “descoping and reduction of service from a global mining client as they internalised their hardware and site access requirements”.

    Both were “extremely disappointing and adversely impacted [the company’s] near-term organic growth outlook”. This resulted in adjustments to FY22 guidance.

    Damstra downgraded its FY22 revenue guidance and now has its sights on $30 million to $34 million, down from $35.9–$38.9 million.

    It also sees an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of 15%–20% after downgrading from 22.5%–25%.

    As noted by the company, these changes reflect the minimal contribution from its Newmont business and the UK business for the remainder of FY22. At the lower end of the guidance range, it assumes minimal new client acquisition for the remainder of the financial year.

    Damstra also notes that even with its new guidance, FY22 revenue is still expected to grow by 10%–24% and, if Newmont was excluded entirely, underlying revenue growth rate would be expected at 21%–37%.

    Despite these headwinds, Damstra reiterated its FY21 results, where it increased sales by 40% to $27.4 million, with 87% of total revenues now annually recurring (ARR). The Damstra share price also fell on the release of these results in August.

    As for Q1 FY22, unaudited revenue was $6.2 million, with 87.3% of that ARR. Cash receipts were unaudited $7.7 million and the number of paying users grew to 746,000.

    What did management say?

    The company also appointed a new CFO today. Andrew Ford will take over as Damstra’s chief of finance. He has more than 20 years of experience in similar roles.

    Speaking on the announcement, Damstra’s executive chairman Johannes Risseeuw said:

    Today we have also announced the appointment of Andrew Ford as chief financial officer, commencing in February 2022 based in Melbourne. Andrew has spent the majority of his 20-year career in CFO and senior finance roles, most recently as CFO/finance director for Infrabuild Ltd/GFG Alliance. Prior to this, he was the CFO of ASX-listed Godfreys Group Ltd. Andrew has also held finance positions with Cleanaway Ltd, Skilled Group Ltd, BlueScope Ltd, and professional services firm Deloitte. Andrew graduated with a commerce degree from the University of Melbourne.

    The Damstra share price has performed well under the market’s expectations these past 12 months, posting a loss of 72% in that time. That’s been spurred on by a 71% loss this year to date. Shares are also down 51% in the past month.

    The post Damstra (ASX:DTC) share price tumbles 11% as guidance downgraded appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Damstra Holdings right now?

    Before you consider Damstra Holdings, 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 Damstra Holdings wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly 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 August 16th 2021

    More reading

    The author has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Damstra Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Damstra Holdings 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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  • Magnis (ASX:MNS) share price slips after retracting $10b ‘potential’ valuation

    Man slipping over on banana skin

    Shares in lithium-ion battery manufacturer Magnis Energy Technologies Ltd (ASX: MNS) are losing charge today, currently trading down 1.8% at 55 cents apiece.

    It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the company the last few weeks, with the Magnis share price closing as high as 73 cents and trading as low as 44 cents – a 64% spread – before smoothing off again to its current levels.

    Towards the end of trade yesterday, Magnis advised it had been in talks with the ASX and had subsequently removed material from the corporate presentation of its annual general meeting (AGM).

    What did Magnis announce?

    Magnis Energy released its 2021 AGM presentation on 22 November, which included details of several investment highlights of its lithium-ion battery plant in New York, Imperium3 (IM3NY). Slide 18 of the presentation contained information about “the potential future value of the company”, as Magnis put it.

    Magnis concluded it was potentially worth $10 billion by conducting a “sum of the parts comparable valuation”, suggesting its battery manufacturing business was worth $4 billion alone. Meanwhile, it slapped an easy $4 billion potential value for its anode materials business.

    Using comparable names such as Novonix Limited (ASX: NVX), Magnis sized up its “equivalent” divisions to the heavyweights and even weighed IM3NY up against the $300 billion market capitalisation CATL Co Ltd.

    Following consultation with the ASX, the company retracted the material on page 18 yesterday and informed investors that they “should not rely on that information as the basis for any investment decision”.

    In the news again

    This isn’t the first time the battery manufacturer has had to clear the air for shareholders. It was only last month that Magnis responded to a ‘please explain’ letter from the ASX.

    The company was asked to clarify updates made in May and September, that listed Indian utility company Sukh Energy as a key stakeholder. The ASX asked Magnis to front up about Sukh’s operations as a going concern.

    Magnis Energy replied it was well aware of Sukh Energy’s business operations, its key customers, and its financial health.

    The company has also had to clarify statements made on its Imperium3 business and was also warned by the ASX back in July about the use of “exuberant language” in its announcements to investors.

    Separately, the regulator also uncovered a potential pump and dump scheme on Magnis’ share price in a Telegram group. As a result, 400 traders from the group were subsequently warned by ASIC.

    The announcement follows a disputed report that Magnis chair Frank Poullas was being investigated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

    As reported by The Motley Fool, Magnis noted its 9.65% owned Charge CCCV had been chosen to participate in the United States government-funded USCAR program.

    Despite the turbulence lately, the Magnis share price is still up 44.7% in the past month and has soared more than 206% in the last year.

    The post Magnis (ASX:MNS) share price slips after retracting $10b ‘potential’ valuation appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

    Before you consider Magnis, 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 Magnis wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly 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 August 16th 2021

    More reading

    The author has no positions 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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  • Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

    ASX shares Business man marking buy on board and underlining it

    It has been another busy week for Australia’s top brokers. This has led to the release of a large number of broker notes.

    Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

    EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

    According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have retained their buy rating and $4.40 price target on this payments company’s shares. This follows an update on the company’s dealings with the Central Bank of Ireland. UBS believes the update is a major de-risking event and suspects that its shares could re-rate to higher multiples in the future if its performance in Europe picks up because of the development. The EML Payments share price is trading at $3.60 on Friday.

    Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI)

    A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating and lifted their price target on this retailer’s shares to $8.90 following its trading update. Morgans was pleased with the company’s performance during the first 20 weeks of FY 2022 and feels it has managed the external challenges of the past few months very well. The broker notes that its sales are ahead of its estimates and its store expansion is also outperforming expectations. The Universal Store share price is fetching $7.69 today.

    Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB)

    Another note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have upgraded this online travel agent’s shares to an add rating with a $6.60 price target. This follows the release of the company’s half year results earlier this week. Morgans was pleased to see that trading has been strong in the third quarter and that two of Webjet’s three businesses are now profitable. Looking ahead, the broker believes that Webjet has the potential to be materially more profitable post-COVID. The Webjet share price is trading at $5.41 on Friday afternoon.

    The post Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

    Before you consider Webjet, 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 Webjet wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly 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 August 16th 2021

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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 shares of and has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Webjet 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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  • What is the NAB (ASX:NAB) fully franked dividend worth in November?

    A young girl counts coins on a table.

    When it comes to ASX banking shares, most investors come for the dividend and stay for the dividend (and maybe the franking credits). It’s arguably no different for National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares.

    Like the other major ASX banks, NAB hasn’t exactly reclaimed its former glory in the dividend space. Sure, it seems to be well on the road to recovery after the devastation of last year’s COVID crash (and dividend wipeout). But this was a bank that, only a few years ago, was paying out $1.98 in fully franked dividends per share every year. Contrast that figure with the grand total of 60 cents per share that investors received last year and you get the picture.

    But NAB has recently released its full-year results for FY2021, which of course included information on its upcoming final dividend. So has the game changed for shareholders?

    Well, it was arguably good news. Yes, NAB reported a 76.8% rise in cash earnings to $6.56 billion, as well as a return on equity metric of 10.7%. That was despite revenues falling 2.4% to $16.73 billion.

    What are NAB’s dividends in 2021 looking like?

    But the real news for income-focused investors was the announcement of a final and fully franked dividend of 67 cents per share (in itself more than NAB’s entire 2020 payouts). This 67 cents per share dividend comes after NAB’s July interim payment of 60 cents per share (also fully franked) and will hit investors’ bank accounts on 15 December.

    The 67 cents per share dividend is a 123% increase from last year’s final dividend of 30 cents per share. The total of $1.27 per share in dividends that investors will receive from NAB in 2021 is likewise a 112% rise on 2020’s 60 cents per share in total dividend payments.

    It also gives NAB shares a dividend yield of 4.51% (or 6.44% grossed-up with full franking) at the current share price (at the time of writing) of $28.11.

    By comparison, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are currently offering a dividend yield of 3.65%. Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) has 5.51% on the table. And Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) is putting up 5.2%.

    At the current NAB share price, this ASX bank has a market capitalisation of $92.07 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 14.95.

    The post What is the NAB (ASX:NAB) fully franked dividend worth in November? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

    Before you consider NAB, 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 NAB wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly 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 August 16th 2021

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of National Australia Bank 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 recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. 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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