Category: Stock Market

2021 has been a bad year for the A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price so far.

Its first close of the year saw it sitting at $11.65. As of today’s close, the A2 Milk share price is $6.26. That represents a 46.26% fall.

The former market darling has only released price-sensitive news to the ASX 4 times since the start of this year.

Unfortunately for A2 Milk investors, each time the company has updated the market, its share price has fallen by more than 10%.

Let’s take a look at what’s been driving the milk and formula producer and supplier’s share price downwards this year.

And a quick note: all dollar figures are converted from New Zealand dollars at today’s exchange rate of AUD$1 to NZD$1.04.

A2 Milk share price struggles through 2021

The first major hit to the A2 Milk share price in 2021 came on 25 February when the company released its results for the first half of financial year 2021.

Over the 6 months ended 31 December 2020, A2 Milk recorded $650.3 million of revenue. That represented a drop of 16% on that of the first half of the previous financial year.

On the same day, A2 Milk also downgraded its forecasted revenue for financial year 2021 to around $1.34 billion.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, A2 Milk’s stock tumbled 13.9%.

The next time the company released price-sensitive news to the ASX was on 10 May.

Then, it downgraded its guidance again after its daigou and cross-border e-commerce markets failed to recover as planned. Its new guidance for financial year 2021 was for revenue of between roughly $1.15 billion and $1.2 billion.

When A2 Milk dropped its guidance, its share price fell 13.1%.

That guidance came to fruition on 26 August when the company announced its revenue for financial year 2021 was, indeed, around $1.16 billion – representing a 30% decline on that of the previous financial year.

A2 Milk’s stock dropped another 11.8% that day.

And the final fall came nearly 3 weeks ago when A2 Milk announced its recovery plan but hesitated to promise it would get back to its previous profit levels.

As readers have likely guessed, the company’s share price plummeted 11.9% on the back of the update.

All eyes will likely be on A2 Milk when it reports its results for the first half of financial year 2022 to see if its new plan puts it on the road to recovery.

The post The A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price has fallen 46% so far in 2021. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• 2 ASX shares I regret and 2 that I don’t: expert
• Are A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) shares a buy? The case for and against
• Is the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price dirt cheap?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

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 recommended A2 Milk. 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 Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) share price closed Monday down 0.74%, after initially jumping 2.8% higher following this morning’s opening bell.

Elders’ shares slipped despite reporting a significant lift in sales and profits for the full 2021 financial year (FY21). Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished the day 0.36% higher.

Below we look at those FY21 results, for the 12 months to 30 September 2021, released by the Aussie agribusiness giant this morning.

Elders share price slips despite FY21 profit boost

In this morning’s ASX release, Elders reported its FY21 results:

• Sales revenue of $2.548 billion, a 22% year-on-year increase
• Statutory profit after tax of $149.8 million, up 22%, or $26.9 million, from FY20
• Underlying earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $166.5 million, a 38% increase from FY20’s $120.6 million
• Total dividends of 42 cents per share, 20% franked. That’s a 91% increase from the previous year, when dividends were fully franked.

What happened during the reporting period for Elders?

The company reported improved financial performance across all its product areas and locations, aside from its Feed and Processing business. That segment came under pressure from higher feeder cattle prices.

The 2021 financial year saw Elders implement the first year of its third Eight Point Plan. That plan saw the company target 5%–10% growth in EBIT and EPS (earnings per share) through the agricultural cycles. Further, Elders was targeting a return on capital (ROC) of at least 15%.

The business exceeded all of those metrics. EBIT and EPS increased by 38% in FY21, while ROC grew by 22.5%.

Elders attributed its growth strategy, which targets 50% of growth from acquisitions, for the strong results.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results, Elders CEO Mark Allison said:

We have made tremendous progress on our current Eight Point Plan and are well positioned to continue our growth into FY22. We have built our business to perform well in challenging years and to outperform in better years.

With our focus on safety, sustainability, innovation and financial discipline, we have laid the groundwork for sustained growth in FY22 and beyond. Significant opportunities remain to gain market share by serving new and existing customers in new and existing geographies with our multiple product and service portfolios. There is also significant value to be extracted from further improvements in our existing business as we continue to implement our third Eight Point Plan.

What’s next for the Elders share price?

Looking ahead, the company has forecast favourable seasonal conditions and high demand for agricultural commodities in the first half of FY22. This could provide some tailwinds for the Elders share price.

It reported actively managing global supply chain disruptions through “forward orders and risk diversification” across its suppliers.

Elders expects the summer crop to drive strong demand for agricultural chemicals, fertiliser and seed. This gives a positive outlook for its Rural Products segment.

The post Elders (ASX:ELD) share price slips despite 22% profit leap appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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 Elders 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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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) made its first day of the new week a positive one. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 0.36% higher at 7,470.1 points.

While the market was mostly green today, a few lagging sectors held the Aussie index back. Materials, energy, and financials all took a step backward on Monday. Meanwhile, optimism among consumer discretionary, healthcare, and tech more than made up for the losses.

As always, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the ten stocks that rose to the occasion:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Zimplats Holdings Ltd (ASX: ZIM) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the platinum group metals miner leaped 9.15% despite there being no announcements from the company. Find out more about Zimplats Holdings here.

The next biggest gaining ASX share today was Resmed Inc (ASX: RMD). Shares in the medical device manufacturer rose 4.93% also without any new announcements from the company today. Uncover the latest Resmed details here.

Today’s top 10 biggest gains were made in these ASX shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Zimplats Holdings Ltd (ASX: ZIM)	$25.40	9.15%
Resmed Inc (ASX: RMD)	$36.62	4.93%
Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)	$1.645	4.78%
NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)	$12.195	4.32%
Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL)	$3.25	4.17%
Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC)	$1.105	3.76%
Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME)	$61.03	3.67%
Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN)	$41.29	3.64%
Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)	$21.48	3.52%
Genesis Energy Ltd (ASX: GNE)	$3.02	3.07%

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check-in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why ASX 200 coal shares are in the spotlight today
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Monday
• Lockdowns are easing, but are CSL (ASX:CSL) shares out of the woods yet?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Incitec Pivot and Mesoblast jump, NAB drops
• ASX 200 lithium shares in focus amid China supply shortage

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended MEGAPORT FPO and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO and ResMed Inc. 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 Argosy Minerals Limited (ASX: AGY) share price may be down today but this hasn’t dented its recent upward trajectory. The lithium miner has been busy progressing construction works at its Rincon lithium project, located in Salta Province, Argentina.

At the time of writing, Argosy shares are down 2.42% to 32.2 cents apiece. Despite the backtrack, the company’s shares have shot up 50% over the past month.

What’s the latest with Argosy?

Investors have been bidding the Argosy share price higher as the company edges closer to bringing the Rincon project online.

Last week, Argosy advised the plant and equipment requisition and procurement works are on track as planned.

Early-lead items such as 150kVA generators, industrial pumps, chillers/coolers, agitators, and motors were sourced from local manufacturers. Furthermore, longer-lead items that include process tanks, reactors, and industrial boilers were being engineering and built locally in Argentina.

Other items, such as the evaporator/dryer, is being manufactured in Germany and filters are coming from Asia. The mill, which has been already built and delivered, came from the United States.

The company is targeting for the construction phase to be completed sometime in April 2022. Plant commissioning works, along with test works and ramp-up, is set to follow immediately after.

Argosy managing director Jerko Zuvela commented:

The Company’s Puna operations team is continuing their timely development progress, with plant and equipment procurement on schedule and budget for the 2,000tpa lithium carbonate production operation at our Rincon Lithium Project.

We look forward to a significant near-term growth phase from the increasing development activity at Rincon as we get closer to completing construction works and transform Argosy into a battery quality lithium carbonate producer and cashflow generator, and then to further progress the 10,000tpa project development expansion.

Argosy share price summary

In the last 12 months, the Argosy share price has gained a mammoth 508%, with year-to-date up more than 303%.

The company’s shares rose strongly at the start of the calendar year before profit-taking took hold. More recently, Argosy shares have zipped upwards to reach a multi-year high of 36.5 cents last week.

On valuation grounds, Argosy has a market capitalisation of roughly $404 million, with 1.25 billion shares on issue.

The post Why the Argosy (ASX:AGY) share price is up 50% in a month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Argosy (ASX:AGY) share price edges higher on Rincon update

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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a gain. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.3% to 7,465 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

The BrainChip share price is down 10% to 54.5 cents. Investors have been selling this artificial intelligence technology company’s shares after it announced the appointment of its new CEO. According to the release, the company has appointed Sean Hehir as its new CEO, with effect from 29 November 2021. The market may have been hoping for a more experienced CEO or one with a background in artificial intelligence.

HT&E Ltd (ASX: HT1)

The HT&E share price is down 6.5% to $1.79. This follows the release of a trading update at the outdoor advertising and media company’s annual general meeting. That update revealed that the company’s growth has continued in the second half. However, it appears as though some investors were expecting stronger growth.

Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM)

The Platinum share price is down 2% to $2.91. This could have been driven by a broker note out of UBS last week. That note revealed that UBS has commenced coverage on the fund manager with a sell rating and lowly $2.25 price target.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

The Whitehaven Coal share price is down 1.5% to $2.44. Investors have been selling this coal miner’s shares after a climate deal was reached at COP26. That agreement will see the world phase down coal use. Though, one slight positive for Whitehaven is that the wording of the agreement was changed late on from phase “out”.

The post Why BrainChip, HT&E, Platinum, and Whitehaven Coal are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why ASX 200 coal shares are in the spotlight today
• Why the BrainChip (ASX:BRN) share price is sinking 9% today
• Why are ASX 200 resources shares booming again on Friday?
• Up 42% in a month: What’s the go with the Brainchip (ASX:BRN) share price?
• The HT&E (ASX:HT1) share price is up 7% on acquisition update

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Shares in insurance giant Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) continue their horrendous run and now trade 0.45% in the red on Monday.

Make no mistake, IAG shares are swimming in a sea of red. They are 13% down in the past month, 18% in the red over the previous 3-months and down 6% this year to date.

It seems whenever one looks, there is a sharp downturn in the IAG share price. As such, top brokers are keeping a close eye on this share’s activity.

No one can predict the future, especially in the financial markets. Whilst many have tried, equally as many have failed at doing so.

Nonetheless, analyst estimates are one of the many drops in an investors bucket when forming an investment decision.

And with several brokers covering IAG shares, it is useful to gather the consensus of their opinion, in order to gauge the market’s sentiment on this floundering insurance giant.

Without further ado, here are what the experts are saying about the outlook for IAG investors.

Can the IAG share price fall even more?

The team at Swiss investment bank UBS reckon this could be the case. It doesn’t see a clear vision of growth for IAG shareholders.

Due to IAG’s recent perils activity, which has plagued its share price over the past few months, UBS reckons there is a downside risk to the company’s earnings. This, especially given “limited sideways insurance cover remaining” if the perils activity is drawn out.

Not only that, UBS is cautious on the spate of regulatory scandals IAG is tied up in, which could bode poorly to its share price, the broker says.

Morgan Stanley expects further downgrades like this, especially as driving activity has almost returned to pre-lockdown levels on NSW and Victorian roads.

This, it reckons, means that there is little protection over IAG’s earnings from what it calls ‘catastrophe risk’. IAG’s shifting business into “short-tail lines..[also] tend to be more catastrophe risk prone” according to the broker.

Not only that, but Morgan Stanley also is cautious on the regulatory proceedings against IAG, and notes there is little shield on IAG’s earnings from this risk either.

It had previously been noted that the regulators choice to launch action against IAG reduces capital flexibility and increases earnings uncertainty.

What other expert opinion is there?

Fellow brokers Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), and Jarden agree with this sentiment, compounding the point with their own analysis.

Both Macquarie and Jarden recently lowered their price targets by 5.3% and 2.6% to $5.40 and $5.65 per share respectively.

However, Macquarie retained its outperform rating on the outlook of IAG shares even with its target revision.

Other recent earnings downgrades come out of Morgans and Credit Suisse. Both recently trimmed IAG price targets by 5% each.

Yet, despite the cut to valuations, both brokers are optimistic about the direction of IAG’s share price. Alongside Macquarie, each of the brokers is bullish on IAG shares.

The team at Credit Suisse maintained its outperform rating, even when cutting its target to $5.60. It states that IAG is likely to absorb the net peril costs plaguing its outlook in FY22. But it likes IAG at its current valuation.

Even still, the broker is cautious on IAG’s earnings outlook, stating it “may elect to manage higher insurance margins and increase reinsurance costs by adjusting its cover, but this could come at the expense of increased volatility”.

It remains constructive on the sector nonetheless, citing a favourable interest rate cycle and rational pricing in its reasoning.

Meanwhile, Morgans reckons that IAG looks cheap at these current levels, and encourages an add recommendation for prudent investors.

For those patient investors, it says, IAG could return to profitability from FY23, as insurance premiums are set to lift beyond FY22 for IAG.

Even though IAG recently revised its FY22 natural perils claims cost to $1.04 billion – up from an estimate of $765 million – Morgans notes that “it’s another 6-month period affected by weather for IAG, which is becoming a consistent theme for the general insurers”.

As such, despite a small haircut to its target, it reckons IAG shares can reach $5.36 given the right environment.

What is the sentiment?

Interestingly, out of the 13 brokers covering IAG, 61.5% have a buy rating on its shares, whereas the remaining 38.5% have a hold.

Curiously, there are no sells on the ratings list provided by Bloomberg Intelligence.

The average price target from all brokers is $5.31, and the spread between the highest and lowest valuation is 85 cents of 18%.

At the time of writing, this implies an upside potential of around 20%. However, it is the market’s opinion that matters most.

And with each decrease in share price, IAG has to recover even more to reach this $5.31 consensus target.

Not to mention the raft of regulatory headwinds IAG is currently embroiled in, which several brokers acknowledge could be a negative for investors.

Alas, as it stands, the opinion appears to be tilted towards an upside target for the IAG share price.

The post Could the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price be heading even lower? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price is down 16% in a month
• The IAG (ASX:IAG) share price has gone backwards so far in 2021. Here’s why
• Why is the QBE (ASX:QBE) share price outperforming IAG lately?
• Is the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price cheap after hitting a 52-week low?
• These top brokers weigh in on the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price

The author Zach Bristow 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 owns shares of and has recommended Insurance Australia Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) shares are struggling on the ASX today, despite no news having been released by the company.

At the time of writing, the Bank of Queensland share price is $8.49, 1.28% lower than its previous closing price.

For context, both the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) are gaining today. They’re up 0.33% and 0.4% respectively.

Additionally, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) has tumbled, at one point this morning down 0.52%, making it today’s worst-performing sector.

Let’s look at what has turned out to be a bad Monday for the Bank of Queensland and its peers.

What’s up with the Bank of Queensland share price today?

The Bank of Queensland is underperforming most of the ASX financial shares today for no obvious reason.

In fact, the only bank stock doing worse than the Queensland-based bank is the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB).

Though, the NAB share price has an excuse for its poor performance. It went ex-dividend today, sinking 1.77% as a result.

Other financial shares struggling today include Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM) and Janus Henderson Group CDI (ASX: JHG). They’ve seen their share prices fall 2% and 1.87%, respectively.

Meanwhile, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is the best performing ASX bank share, having gained 0.97% at the time of writing.

The last time the market heard price-sensitive news from the Bank of Queensland was on 28 October. Then, the bank announced it had sold its stake in insurer St Andrew’s.

The sale’s proceeds came to $23 million. The bank expects to recognise an indicative post-tax statutory loss of $26 million from the transaction in its results for the first half of financial year 2022.

The Bank of Queensland share price has fallen 9% over the last month. It’s currently 13% higher than it was at the start of 2021.

The post The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price is having a lousy start to the week. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How does the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) dividend compare to its sector?
• The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price is now trading on a forecast 4.4% fully-franked dividend yield
• Why is the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price trading at 7-month lows?
• Here’s why the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price tumbled 5% in October
• Own Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) shares? Here’s what you should know about its home loans

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 owns shares of and 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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While the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) climbs higher today, energy shares are holding the market back. In afternoon trade, coal shares are treading in negative territory after almost 200 countries from around the world agreed on a new climate deal at the COP26 summit yesterday.

At the time of writing, shares in Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL), Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC), and New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) are down 1.8%, 1.6%, and 0.5% respectively.

Doubt has been cast on the future of coal mining following the latest development.

ASX 200 in the green as ‘death knell’ sounded for coal power

A final agreement on global coal-fired energy production was reached over the weekend after an arduous process of negotiations. The deal, which includes 197 countries, has been labelled the most ambitious climate pact since The Paris Agreement in 2015.

In a bid to keep global warming at bay, ASX-listed coal shares are feeling the heat today. The deal is hoped to keep the world on track to cap global temperature rises at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

While the terminology didn’t end up being exactly what some had hoped for, it is still being heralded as a major milestone. For instance, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson inferred the deal is a deadly blow to the coal industry, stating:

Together, it is beyond question that Glasgow has sounded the death knell for coal power. It’s a fantastic achievement and it’s just one of many to emerge from COP26.

Johnson’s sentiment of impending doom coincides with energy shares weakening today. However, ASX 200 healthcare, consumer discretionary, and tech shares are leading the Aussie market higher.

The final deal that was agreed upon involves a “phase down”, rather than a “phase out”, of fossil fuels. This was the result of objections from India. In turn, other nations have warned the alteration will make it harder to achieve international targets.

Although, the semantics weren’t of concern to the executive director of Greenpeace International, Jennifer Morgan. The head of the global campaigning network noted the importance of the deal, stating:

They changed a word but they can’t change the signal coming out of this COP, that the era of coal is ending. If you’re a coal company executive, this COP saw a bad outcome.

ASX coal shares still ahead

Although the agreement sets a bleak outlook for companies in the coal-powered space, shares are still far ahead year on year.

A widespread energy shortage has bolstered fossil fuel shares over recent months. As a result, numerous coal shares have outperformed the ASX 200 over the last year.

The post Here’s why ASX 200 coal shares are in the spotlight today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Monday
• Lockdowns are easing, but are CSL (ASX:CSL) shares out of the woods yet?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Incitec Pivot and Mesoblast jump, NAB drops
• ASX 200 lithium shares in focus amid China supply shortage
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has kicked off the trading week on a disappointing note so far this Monday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has lost around 0.32% at 7,467 points so far. 

So let’s not dwell too much on that figure, and instead, let’s check out the ASX 200 shares that are currently topping the ASX trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

3 most active ASX 200 shares by volume on Thursday

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

ASX 200 iron ore mining giant Fortescue is our first ASX 200 share to check out today. Fortescue has seen a hefty 10.26 million of its shares trade on the markets so far this Monday. With no news or announcements out of the company so far, we can probably assume this volume is the result of the movements in the Fortescue share price today.

Fortescue shares are currently up a healthy 1.02% to $15.91 each at the time of writing, a meaningful outperformance of the broader ASX 200. This is the likely reason why this company finds itself on this list today.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

ASX 200 lithium producer Pilbara is next up. Pilbara has watched a sizeable 13.69 million shares find new owners so far today. Again, there are no major developments out of Pilbara thus far this Monday, so we can probably assume this high trading volume stems from the volatility the Pilbara share price has shown over the trading day thus far.

Pilbara shares rocketed as high as $2.51 earlier this morning (a rise of close to 3%). However, these gains have tempered since, and Pilbara is currently trading at $2.46 a share, up a more muted 0.82% so far today. This volatility is the likely cause of such high trading volume.

Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL)

And our final and most traded ASX 200 share so far today goes to the fertiliser and explosives manufacturer, Incitec Pivot. Incitec has seen a chunky 14.78 million of its shares bought and sold so far today. We can probably put this down to the full-year results this company released this morning before market open. As my Fool colleague James covered earlier, these results included the revelation that Incitec managed to grow its revenues by 10% over FY2021, with net profit after tax up 91% to $209 million.

Investors have clearly liked what they’ve seen, as the Incitec share price has popped by roughly 5% so far today to $3.28 a share. Investors sent the company up as high as $3.67 earlier today too (up 11.4%), so that would have also contributed to this high trading volume.

The post These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Cardno, Incitec Pivot, Mesoblast, and WiseTech are storming higher
• Iron ore prices are flat, so why is the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price jumping higher today?
• These ASX 200 shares could be set to face fresh pressure over climate action
• Lockdowns are easing, but are CSL (ASX:CSL) shares out of the woods yet?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Incitec Pivot and Mesoblast jump, NAB drops

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The DevEx Resources Ltd (ASX: DEV) share price is soaring to an all-time high. This comes despite the mining exploration company not providing any new announcements to the market today.

During afternoon trade, DevEx shares are swapping hands for 55.5 cents, up 20.65%. It’s worth noting that its shares have gained an astonishing 79% over the past week.

What’s driving DevEx shares higher?

A possible catalyst for the strong gains appears to be on the back of last week’s positive update.

According to a company announcement, DevEx advised it completed initial diamond drilling at the Sovereign Nickel-Copper-PGE Project at the Julimar Province in Western Australia.

The first two stratigraphic diamond drill-holes intersected a thick intrusive sequence of metamorphosed gabbronorite, norite and ultramafic rocks. The discovery exceeded the company’s expectations, which led investors to snap up DevEx shares in the days between.

Both diamond drill holes are currently being logged in detail, while sampling of the core analysis is unerway. Should the geological observations be confirmed, the official results could further accelerate the DevEx share price.

DevEx managing director Brendan Bradley commented:

We are methodically ticking the boxes towards what we all hope will be a game-changing discovery at Sovereign. The outcomes of these two widely-spaced stratigraphic holes have exceeded our expectations and given us confidence that we are very much on the right track with our exploration approach.

Down-hole electromagnetics (EM) is scheduled to survey both diamond holes later this month. Further diamond drilling is also planned to test the intrusion, with the diamond rig available next month to continue drilling.

The survey is anticipated to take a number of months to complete, given the scale of the defined intrusion.

DevEx share price recap

2021 saw the DevEx share price trade sideways until May and June. The company’s gold and copper assays at its Junee Project in New South Wales excited investors at the time.

However, a sharp fall from June came on the back of profit-taking after DevEx shares reached a previous record high of 53 cents. Since then, its shares have zoomed upwards, reflecting positive investor sentiment.

DevEx has a market capitalisation of around $166 million, with more than 307 million shares on its books.

The post Why is the DevEx (ASX:DEV) share price up 21% on Monday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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