Category: Stock Market

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has ended the trading week on a high note. At the closing bell, the ASX 200 finished the day up a healthy 0.5% to 7,522.9 points.

But let’s dig a little deeper and see which ASX 200 shares topped the trading volume charts today.

3 of the heaviest trading ASX 200 shares today

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

ASX 200 miner South32 is our first cab off the rank today. This diversified miner has seen a hefty 19 million of its shares trade today. This coincides with yet another bumper rise in the South32 share price today.

The company put on another 2.5% to $3.28 a share after hitting a new 52-week high of $3.30 earlier today. This latest move means South32 is now up an impressive 9.7% over the past week. This is probably the reason why there are so many S32 shares trading today.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Another miner in Pilbara Minerals makes the list today. ASX 200 lithium producer Pilbara saw some healthy green numbers this Friday. At the close, Pilbara was up 2.26% to $2.26 after climbing as high as $2.35 earlier today, or 5% higher.

All of this is despite the absence of any major news or announcements out of this hot lithium share. Today’s share price gains have resulted in a sizeable 27.38 million Pilbara shares swappings hands.

Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC)

Last, but certainly not least, today we have ASX 200 aluminium and alumina producer Alumina Limited. Alumina is another resources share that has been on a roll lately. Today, we have seen the company gain an impressive 6.68% to $1.99 a share after making a new 52-week high of its own at $1.06 earlier today. 

With no other news out of Alumina, it is this substantial jump that seems to have seen a whopping 29.28 million Alumina shares bought and sold this Friday.

The post Here are the 3 heaviest traded ASX 200 shares this Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares on Friday
• Why has the Alumina (ASX:AWC) share price rocketed 20% in the last week?
• ASX Tech shares are lagging behind the ASX 200 on Friday
• ASX 200 midday update: TechnologyOne hits record high, lithium miners rise
• What shares are moving the ASX 200 on Friday?

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 Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price has taken its investors on a rollercoaster ride ever since the topic of cycling elevated sales and inventory issues began to emerge late last year.

Kogan shares have tumbled in each and every single one of its updates this year, in addition to sharp declines during its half-year and full year FY21 results announcements.

In an article featured on Livewire, Chris Stott from 1851 Capital and James Gerrish from Market Matters take a look as to whether or not the Kogan share price is a buy, hold or sell.

What do experts think about the Kogan share price?

Stott reiterated his view to sell Kogan shares.

“Sell again. We think they’ve still got inventory issues that will remain for a little while longer, perhaps longer than what people are expecting.”

“They’re cycling higher comps, benefiting at the moment from being locked down, but as soon as the economy reopens, their comps should normalise back down. So sell,” he said.

The concept of cycling higher comparables has been a drag on more than just the Kogan share price this reporting season.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) for example, flagged in its FY21 results announcement that “Bunnings, Officeworks and Catch experienced moderating sales growth from mid-March as they began to cycle the strong demand experienced in the prior year.”

The idea that growth could be flat to negative in the short term has spooked many investors and placed downward pressure on both Wesfarmers and other retail players.

Gerrish on the other hand chose to give the Kogan share price a second chance.

“I think it’s a buy, Matt, at around $11. Obviously, they stuffed up in FY21. There’s no doubt about it.”

“They got too bullish on the demand for their products. And when you have a heap of inventory, it’s hard to store it, it costs money and they’ve obviously had to try and move it through sales. So I think that’s a lesson for them. And I think going out into ’22, that aggressive stance towards growth will eventually pay dividends. So it’s a buy at these levels, at around $11,” he said.

The post Here’s what experts are saying about the Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 leading e-commerce ASX shares that could be buys in September 2021
• Why is the Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price 7% higher today?
• Which ASX shares are leading the way on the ASX 300 today?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: A mixed bag of earnings dominates ASX

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd and Wesfarmers 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 Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has been on a rollercoaster ride over the past 3 months.

There have been several catalysts that have propelled shares in the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) share price over this period.

Let’s take a look at what’s been moving the Afterpay share price.

What moved the Afterpay share price in the last 3 months?

In early June, shares in Afterpay started to claw their way higher after being sold off earlier in the year.

There were several catalysts pushing shares in the BNPL higher during June.

These included overall strength in the broader tech sector and Afterpay strengthening its BNPL offerings.

Arguably, the largest catalyst that moved the Afterpay share price higher in the last 3 months was in early August.

A takeover bid from US payment giant Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) for $39 billion shot shares in the BNPL behemoth higher.

Afterpay has accepted Square’s offer which will involve an all-scrip deal.

If the deal does go ahead, Afterpay shareholders will receive 0.375 shares of Square for every Afterpay share owned.

Another catalyst that moved the Afterpay share price was its FY21 results.

How did Afterpay perform in FY21?

For the 12 months ended 30 June, Afterpay delivered a stellar underlying sales growth of 90% to $21.1 billion.

Other highlight’s of the company’s full-year report included;

• Total income up 78% (or 89% in constant currency) to $924.7 million
• Gross loss to underlying sales ratio flat at 0.9%
• Net transaction loss up 210% to $132.6 million
• EBITDA down 13% to $38.7 million
• Active customers increased 63% to 16.2 million
• Active merchants up 77% to 98,200
• Square-Afterpay transaction on track to complete in Q1 of calendar year 2022

The outlook for Afterpay

In its full-year report, Afterpay acknowledged that the acquisition by Square is expected to go ahead in the first quarter of calendar year 2022.

Regardless of the acquisition, the company continues to work on plans to expand its in-store card offering beyond Australia and the US.

Afterpay also expects to launch its Afterpay iQ platform this September.

Despite surging more than 42% in the last 3 months, shares in the BNPL giant are only 9% higher for the year.

The post Here’s why the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is up 42% in the last 3 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is sliding on Friday
• How has the Square share price performed since announcing the Afterpay deal?
• A2 Milk and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Refundid rides the Afterpay (ASX:APT) wave with $3m funding round
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) ‘Touch Ventures’ eyes IPO

Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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 AFTERPAY T FPO and Square. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. 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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If you’re looking for an easy way to invest, then exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be worth considering.

This is because rather than deciding on which individual shares you should buy, ETFs allow you to invest in a large group of shares through just a single investment.

With that in mind, I have picked out three popular ETFs that could be worth a closer look. They are as follows:

BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

The first ETF to look at is the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF. With cybersecurity continuing to grow in importance, demand for cybersecurity services is increasing and shows little sign of slowing. Especially given some high profile cyber attacks this year. The BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF gives investors easy access to this trend by providing exposure to the leading players in the global cybersecurity sector. This means you’ll be buying a slice of companies such as Accenture, Cisco, Cloudflare, Crowdstrike, and Okta.

iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV)

Another ETF for investors to look at is the iShares S&P 500 ETF. This ETF gives investors exposure to the top 500 U.S. stocks through a single investment. Blackrock believes this can be useful for investors seeking to diversify internationally. It also notes that it offers long-term growth opportunities for a portfolio. Among the companies included in the fund are Amazon, Apple, Disney, Facebook, JP Morgan, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Tesla, and Visa.

VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF (ASX: ESPO)

A final ETF for investors to look at is the VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF. This ETF gives investors targeted exposure to companies that derive a significant portion of their revenues from the video gaming and eSports industry. Among the shares included in the fund are hardware giant Nvidia and game developers Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Roblox, and Take-Two. VanEck notes that these companies are in a position to benefit from the increasing popularity of video games and eSports.

The post 3 high quality ETFs for ASX investors in September appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ETFs for strong diversification in September 2021
• Top ASX shares to buy in September 2021
• 2 ASX tech shares that could be buys in September 2021
• How China is fuelling demand for this leading ASX ETF
• 3 excellent ASX ETFs for investors

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 BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VanEck Vectors ETF Trust – VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF and iShares Trust – iShares Core S&P 500 ETF. 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 wasn’t too long ago that the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price was handily outperforming the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). But alas, times have changed.

Fortescue shares are currently going for $20.93 apiece. That’s up 1.06% for the day at the time of writing.

Unfortunately, that means Fortescue shares are also down more than 15% in 2021 so far. That’s not a very pleasant contrast with the ASX 200, which is currently up around 12% over 2021.

But contrast that with 2020. Over last year, the ASX 200 ended up losing around 3.5%, largely thanks to the coronavirus-induced market crash we had early in the year.

In stark contrast, Fortescue spent last year climbing by more than 100%, from around $11 a share in January to almost $23.50 by December.

Fortescue shares’ monster 2020

Putting those numbers in perspective, suddenly Fortescue’s 2021 performance thus far doesn’t seem so bad. After all, Fortescue shares are still up close to 150% over the past 2 years to date. It’s certainly not rare to see a company, especially a miner like Fortescue, undergo a bit of a pullback after going on a run like we saw last year.

But that’s all water under the bridge now. So what has been holding Fortescue back in 2021 after 2020’s bumper year? Well, we only have to look at the price of iron ore – Fortescue’s lifeblood – to understand what’s happened with this miner.

As you may know, iron ore has gone on an absolute tear over the past year or two. According to Market Insider, iron ore was fetching a price of around US$80 a tonne in early 2020. But by June of that year, it had already cracked US$100 per tonne. And by the end of the year, it was up to US$150.

Investors could evidently see the writing on the wall, knowing that these record-high prices were about to tip a truckload of cash into the low-cost miner Fortescue’s coffers. By the time iron ore hit US$200 a tonne back in May, speculation over the kinds of dividend Fortescue would be able to pay out was hitting fever pitch.

March had just seen the miner dole out its largest dividend payment ever, at $1.47 a share. It will pay out an even higher final dividend of $2.11 per share on 30 September.

So what’s gone wrong in 2021?

Now investors have an idea of what to expect from Fortescue in terms of dividends for the rest of the year, attention is likely turning, once again, to the price of iron ore.

The industrial metal has spent the past few months falling steeply from its highs of more than US$200 a tonne. As it stands today, one tonne of iron ore is going for just US$140 a tonne.

It’s probably a combination of these falling iron ore prices, the company going ex-dividend in March for its monster payout (it trades ex-dividend for its final payout next Monday), and Fortescue’s stunning year last year, that is proving a drag on the Fortescue share price over the year to date.

At the current Fortescue share price, this miner has a market capitalisation of $64.04 billion and a massive dividend yield of 17.2%.

The post Why the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price has underperformed the ASX 200 in the last year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price under pressure as iron ore slides to 7-month low
• This leading broker tips Fortescue Metals (ASX:FMG) share price to rise by 42%
• Why Blackmores, BWX, Fortescue, & Wesfarmers shares are dropping
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in August
• ASX 200 miners beware as UBS warns iron ore will sink under US$100 in 2022

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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In late trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to finish the week with a decent gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.5% to 7,522.4 points.

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

AMA Group Ltd (ASX: AMA)

The AMA share price is down almost 7% to 41.5 cents. This morning the crash repair company hit back at media reports suggesting it may need to raise funds to improve its precarious capital position. Management reiterated that its banking syndicate remain supportive of the company and that it is confident its capital structure review will yield a positive outcome.

Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL)

The Bellevue Gold share price has fallen 8.5% to 85.5 cents. This morning the gold explorer announced that it has received firm commitments to raise $106 million via an institutional placement at 85 cents per share. This represents a 9.9% discount to its last close price. Combined with its $200 million debt facility, Bellevue Gold is now fully funded to production.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN)

The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank share price is down 1.5% to $9.94. Today’s decline has been driven by the regional bank’s shares going ex-dividend this morning for its final dividend. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving the fully franked 26.5 cents per share final dividend on 30 September.

BlueBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: BBT)

The BlueBet share price is down 5.5% to $2.43. This is despite there being no news out of the sports betting company on Friday. However, with its shares up 30% in the space of a month prior to today, this decline could have been driven by profit taking from some investors.

The post Why AMA, Bellevue Gold, Bendigo Bank, & BlueBet shares are falling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: TechnologyOne hits record high, lithium miners rise
• AMA Group (ASX:AMA) share price drops 6% following media criticism
• Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) share price dives 8% after successful $106 million placement
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Why the Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) share price is in a trading halt

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 recommended BlueBet 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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International shares are rising on the radars of Aussie retail investors.

While there are plenty of great companies listed on the ASX, they only represent a tiny fraction of the global stock offering.

So it pays to take some time to investigate the potential risks and rewards offered by international shares.

While there are added risks with investing overseas – exchange rate fluctuations chief among them – international shares can help diversify your portfolio from issues likely to predominantly impact Aussie companies.

The potential rewards offered by international shares has certainly been reflected in the past financial year’s investment allocations by Austalia’s superfunds.

As the Australian Financial Review notes, FY21 saw a record $130 billion of Aussie capital invested into global exchanges.

According to Robert Rennie, senior strategist at Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), a record share of the $450 billion increase in FY21’s super assets was invested in international shares.

“In effect, 28 cents in every dollar placed in super went into foreign equity. That takes foreign assets relative to domestic assets to 19.4%, which is the highest on record,” he said.

With that in mind, Josh Gilbert, market analyst at global online investment platform eToro, outlines 2 exciting international shares to consider.

Global share number 1

The first international share Gilbert recommends is Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD).

Crowdstrike counts among the world’s largest cybersecurity companies.

Gilbert points to United States President Joe Biden’s May 2021 executive order to beef up the nation’s cybersecurity measures as likely to offer significant tailwinds for the company moving forward:

Crowdstrike, is expected to reap the rewards of Joe Biden’s plans. The company is growing at an exceptional rate, with 70% year-over-year revenue growth in its Q2 earnings, whilst adding over 1,660 customers, up 81%. Crowdstrike also raised guidance for Q3 and the full-year, with both coming in above analyst expectations.

As many global businesses continue to upgrade their cybersecurity systems, and enterprises move more work to the ‘cloud’ than ever before, cybersecurity spending is expected to top US$200 billion by 2024.

The Crowdstrike share price is up 36% in 2021.

International share number 2

Another overseas share Gilbert tips is Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA).

The Chinese multinational technology company, co-founded by billionaire Jack Ma, has struggled this year. Shares are down 25% in 2021 amid increased red tape from the Chinese government.

Despite this, however, Gilbert says, “Alibaba’s fundamentals remain strong, with a positive earnings report at the start of August 2021, announcing US$2.57 per share on US$31.85 billion in revenue.”

Additionally:

Alibaba reported a significant increase to its share buyback program, increasing by 50% to US$15 billion. This essentially means Alibaba feels the stock is undervalued and expects further growth in the share price.

Alibaba’s valuation is close to historic lows, trading at a forward P/E ratio of 17.37, lower than value stocks such as Home Depot and Target. This essentially opens an exciting opportunity for investors looking for a bargain. Of course, there will be ongoing risks with Chinese stocks, but adopting a dollar cost averaging strategy can help investors navigate the volatility on a stock that’s undervalued.

The next time you’re looking at adding to your investment portfolio, don’t ignore the ASX.

But you may want to balance the potential risks and rewards offered by international shares as well.

The post Two exciting international shares to consider as superfunds hit record global investments appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What is the outlook for the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price?
• ASX investors were buying Alibaba, Pfizer shares last week
• ASX 200 bank shares could struggle due to lockdowns – expert
• Here’s why the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price is down in the last 3 months
• How does the NAB dividend compare to its sector?

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. 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 Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM) share price is set to finish the week on a positive note. This comes after the global engineering company announced two oil and gas contract extensions.

At the time of writing, Cimic shares are edging 1.35% higher to $21.85. The company’s shares last reached above the $22 mark in early February before plummeting thereafter.

What did Cimic announce?

According to its release, Cimic advised that its subsidiary, UGL has secured two contract extensions for planning, maintenance and shutdown services in Western Australia.

UGL is a diversified engineering company in end-to-end asset solutions. The business delivers critical assets and essential services in power, water, resources, transport, defence and security, and social infrastructure.

The works will see the implementation services for a leading oil and gas company under a non-binding framework agreement. This will include planning and execution of mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, access, insulation, coatings and fire protection.

In addition, UGL will provide maintenance, projects and shutdown services for an oil and gas company with assets in the North-West of Western Australia. This consists of onshore and offshore operations.

Cimic expects the contract to generate revenue of roughly $160 million for its wholly-owned subsidiary.

The implementation services contract is valid until 2024, while the maintenance, projects and shutdown services contract expires in 2022.

What did management say?

Cimic group executive chair and CEO, Juan Santamaria commented:

UGL has the workforce and expertise to support the full spectrum of structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation services for the resources sector. We’re proud to contribute to some of the nation’s most advanced gas production systems and the delivery of energy solution for all Australians on behalf of these leading oil and gas companies.

UGL managing director, Doug Moss added:

UGL is pleased to extend our relationship with our longstanding clients. We are one of Australia’s leading service providers in the oil and gas industry and we look forward to continuing these operations in Western Australia.

About the Cimic share price

It has been an eventful 12 months for Cimic shares, rising to a 52-week high of $27.51 early this year. However, this was short-lived, with the company’s share price freefalling after reporting its full year results.

Since then, Cimic shares have gradually trekked higher rebounding to late February levels.

Cimic commands a market capitalisation of roughly $6.8 billion, with approximately 311 million shares outstanding.

The post Cimic (ASX:CIM) share price nears a 6-month high following contract extensions appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Two exciting international shares to consider as superfunds hit record global investments
• Here’s why the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price is up 10% in a month
• ASX uranium shares are booming this week. Here’s why.
• 3 growing small cap ASX shares named as buys
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

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 Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price has shone over the last month, outpacing the broad index.

Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) has posted a return of around 0.5% from August until date, IAG shares have climbed a further 10% in the green.

What tailwinds are behind the IAG share price lately?

The IAG share price has been on the move since the company reported its FY21 earnings in August.

In the report, the company recognised a 170% year on year gain in cash earnings to $747 million. As a result, the company grew its dividend by 100% to 20 cents a share.

Another key takeout was an approximate 4% growth in gross written premium (GWP), which helped insurance profit climb 36% to over $1 billion.

Investors often value a company’s shares based on historical earnings results and future earnings expectations.

That’s why it is important to consider a company’s guidance, and how this fits in with the bigger growth narrative.

Zooming in on IAG’s guidance, management expects “low single-digit GWP growth” and an insurance margin of 13.5%–15.5% in FY22. As a result, IAG forecasts an insurance profit of “at least $250 million” over the coming years.

This is no doubt heavily considered by many sophisticated and retail investors, who could be buying IAG shares on the company’s future earnings expectations.

One other factor that has weighed in on the IAG share price was the board restructuring back in early August.

The company announced that three new directors will join its board, David Armstrong, George Sartorel and Scott Pickering. All members come with extensive experience in financial services and are said to bring immense value to the IAG board.

The IAG share price jumped from $4.87 to $5.45 over the time in which these two events took place.

IAG share price snapshot

The IAG share price has climbed 14.5% this year to date, extending the gain over the previous 12 months to 9.5%.

Both of these results have outpaced the broad index’s return of around 25% over the past year.

The post Here’s why the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price is up 10% in a month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price is down 3% in a week
• Here’s why the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price is up 6% in the last 3 months
• If you invested $1,000 in IAG (ASX:IAG) shares a decade ago, here’s what it would be worth now
• 10 ASX shares we’re overweight in right now: fund
• How does the IAG (ASX:IAG) earnings result compare to Suncorp?

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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ASX uranium shares are surging across the board this week, as uranium spot prices lift to 6-year highs of US$34.25/lb.

The largest of the ASX uranium shares, Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) has rallied 56% over the past week to an 8-year high of 78 cents.

Explorers including Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL), Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE), Energy Resources of Australia Limited (ASX: ERA) and Peninsula Energy Ltd (ASX: PEN) have also experienced a flurry of buying activity, surging between 20% and 40% this week.

The newest of all ASX uranium shares, 92 Energy Ltd (ASX: 92E) is another big winner, surging 104% this week to 51 cents. The uranium explorer was successfully listed on the ASX on 15 April at a listing price of 20 cents.

Uranium prices lift to 6-year highs

Uranium prices have been in a prolonged bear market after spot prices peaked at about US$135/lb in June 2007.

Between early 2016 and March 2020, it lingered below US$30/lb, rendering many producers unprofitable and discouraging new exploration projects. This explains why many ASX uranium shares are still down more than 90% from 2007 highs.

It wasn’t until after the initial March COVID-19 sell-off in 2020 that uranium spot prices managed to climb above US$30/lb. This week, prices touched US$35/lb for the first time in six years.

To add some perspective, Paladin Energy recently announced plans to restart its “globally significant” Langer Heinrich mine. The company estimates that it will cost approximately US$81 million to restart operations, with life of mine production cash costs of US$27/lb. In addition to freight and logistics of US$0.95/lb and sustaining capex of US$2.90/lb.

Encouragingly, Paladin Energy believes there is an emerging “structural supply deficit with growing demand”. The company’s March equity raising presentation stated the “current primary uranium supply [is] unable to meet current demand”.

The post ASX uranium shares are booming this week. Here’s why. appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Up 50% this week, the Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) share price is booming. Here’s why.
• Which ASX shares are set to finish the week as the top movers on the ASX 300?
• The 92 Energy (ASX: 92E) share price is rocketing 44% today. Here’s why
• Up 29% this week, the Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) share price is soaring again
• Which ASX 300 shares are the biggest winners and losers on Thursday?

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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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