Category: Stock Market

If you’re wanting to invest in the small side of the Australian share market, then the three small caps listed below could be worth a closer look. All three have been tipped for big things in the future.

Here’s why these small cap ASX shares could be worth adding to your watchlist:

Adore Beauty Group Limited (ASX: ABY)

The first small cap to watch is Adore Beauty. It is a leading online beauty retailer which has been growing strongly. This has been underpinned by a significant lift in customer numbers thanks to the shift online. And as this shift is only really getting started in the beauty category, Adore Beauty appears very well positioned for growth over the long term.

Earlier this week Morgan Stanley put an overweight rating and $6.00 price target on its shares. It believes the company can grow strongly over the medium term.

Over The Wire Holdings Ltd (ASX: OTW)

Another small cap ASX share to add to your watchlist is Over The Wire. It is a telecommunications, cloud, and IT solutions provider that has a national network with points of presence in all major Australian capital cities. It offers a range of products and services to businesses including data networks and internet, voice, hosting and security, and managed services. In FY 2021 Over The Wire reported a 29% lift in revenue to $112.7 million and a 36% jump in EBITDA to $23.5 million.

Ord Minnett was pleased with its performance and expects more of the same in FY 2022. In response, it retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $5.06.

Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)

A final small cap ASX share to watch is Volpara. It is a growing MedTech software as a service company and the provider of breast imaging analytics and analysis products. These products improve clinical decision-making and support the early detection of breast cancer. Demand for its offering has been growing strongly, leading to annualised recurring revenue (ARR) rising to NZ$27.8 million this year. However, this is still only a fraction of its US$750 million addressable market in just breast cancer screening.

Morgans currently has an add rating and $1.87 price target on the company’s shares.

The post 3 growing small cap ASX shares named as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX small cap shares to buy
• 2 online ASX shares expecting big things
• Why Adore Beauty, Fortescue, InvoCare, & Temple & Webster are charging higher
• Adore Beauty (ASX:ABY) share price climbs on record result
• 2 quality ASX shares to look at this weekend

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 Over The Wire Holdings Ltd and VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Over The Wire Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3kOmy6q

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 have caught my eye are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

According to a note out of Citi, its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this data centre operator’s shares to $15.40. Although Citi was a little underwhelmed with its full year results, it remains positive on the future. This is due to the broker’s medium term earnings estimates being largely underpinned by contracts and customer expansion options. The NEXTDC share price is trading at $13.95 on Friday afternoon.

Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating and $3.93 price target on this gold miner’s shares. This follows the release of a full year result that was in line with the broker’s expectations. Outside this, the broker remains bullish due to the Tropicana acquisition and underground developments at Duketon. The Regis Resources share price is fetching $2.40 this afternoon.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Analysts at Goldman Sachs have retained their buy rating and $4.30 price target on this telco giant’s shares. The broker has been looking at the telco industry and remains positive on Telstra’s prospects. It notes that NBN prices are rising as market rationality returns. It also highlights regulatory support, with the NBN’s recent 2022 corporate plan implying a reduction in access costs for providers like Telstra. This could be a boost to Telstra’s NBN margins. The Telstra share price is trading at $3.84 on Friday afternoon.

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

More reading

• If you invested $1,000 in Telstra (ASX:TLS) shares a decade ago, here’s what it would be worth now
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• The Regis Resources (ASX:RRL) share price is falling on Thursday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3tcikJl

The ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD) share price has enjoyed strong returns over the past 10 years, up 1,300%. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up around 80% over the same time frame.

Below, we take a look at the power of long-term investing. Let’s calculate how much you would have made if you invested $1,000 in ResMed shares a decade ago.

How does ResMed compare against the ASX 200?

On average, the ASX 200 has returned a yearly average of 5.84% to shareholders in the past decade. The most significant gain was achieved in 2019 when the index grew by 23.02%.

On the other hand, the biggest fall came in 2011, down by 10.84%. You might be thinking that 2020 would be on the list due to major COVID-19 disruptions, but the ASX 200 rebounded sharply during that year.

The healthcare company’s shares have historically outperformed the ASX 200 by a long shot, consistently treading upwards. In the past 10 years, the company has delivered a yearly average return of 30.34% since 2011.

What if you had invested $1,000 in ResMed shares 10 years ago?

If you had invested $1,000 in ResMed shares on this day 10 years ago, you would have bought them for around $2.78 each. This would have given you approximately 359 shares without factoring in any dividend reinvestments over the years.

Fast-forward to today, the current ResMed share price at the time of writing is $39.43. This means those 359 shares would now be worth an astonishing $14,155.37 (359 shares x $39.43). When considering percentage terms, this implies an upside of 1,315%.

Are ResMed shares a buy now?

Following the company’s full-year results, a number of brokers rated ResMed shares with similar price points.

Last month, Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month price target by 27% to $36.20 for the healthcare company’s shares. Macquarie soon followed, adding 7.3% to its outlook of $37.40 per share.

The most recent note came from Citi, which lifted its price on ResMed shares by 12% to $36.50.

The post If you invested $1,000 in ResMed (ASX:RMD) shares a decade ago, here’s what they would be worth now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 top ASX 200 shares that could be buys
• Will the ResMed (ASX:RMD) share price continue its massive bull run?
• Top broker names 3 ASX 200 shares to buy
• 3 ASX growth shares that analysts love
• Revealed: The biggest shocker from results season

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 recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3jDFu8w

The past week hasn’t been kind to the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: AXE) share price. Over the past week, shares in the mining giant have tumbled around 7%.

Let’s take a look at what’s been weighing down BHP shares.

Why is the BHP share price struggling?

Earlier this week, a new bidder emerged to acquire Canadian nickel miner Noront Resources Ltd.

According to reports, Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Wyloo Metals Pty Ltd offered to acquire Noront for C70 cents (A76 cents) per share in an all-cash offering.

The new offer was a 27% premium on BHP’s previous offer of C55 cents (A60 cents) per share.

Shares in BHP came under further pressure after curtailed steel production in China resulted in a weaker iron ore price.

Arguably the largest catalyst that caused the BHP share price to sink was yesterday when the company was trading ex-dividend.

As a result, new shareholders in BHP are deemed ineligible to receive the upcoming dividend payment.

In its full-year report for FY21, BHP declared a record fully-franked dividend of $2.73 per share.

How did BHP perform in FY21?

BHP released its full-year results for FY21 in mid-August. The BHP share price sunk soon after the report was released.

The mining giant’s report was highlighted by a record dividend and news of a merger with Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL).

The proposal involved BHP merging its oil and gas assets with Woodside, and Woodside would be providing new shares to BHP shareholders.

Other highlights from the company’s full-year report included:

• Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 69% to US$37,379 million;
• Underlying attributable profit increased 88% to US$17,077 million;
• Net operating cash flow up 73% to US$27,234 million;
• Underlying earnings per share of 337.7 US cents.

Snapshot of the BHP share price

In addition to struggling this past week, shares in BHP have taken a dive since the company reported its results. Since releasing its full-year results, the BHP share price has tanked more than 17% in the last 3 weeks.

As a result, shares in BHP have given away all their gains for 2021 to be flat for the year.

At the time of writing, BHP shares are up 1.24% on the day to $42.46.

The post This last week hasn’t been great for the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Which ASX 300 shares are the biggest winners and losers on Thursday?
• Why BHP, NIB, Northern Star, & Redbubble shares are tumbling lower
• ASX 200 midday update: BHP sinks, Flight Centre expansion
• Why the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price is down 7% today
• Here’s why the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price is down 7% today

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. 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3BF2z0y

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are in the green in late afternoon trading.

The CBA share price is up 0.6% to $101.94 per share.

If it can hold onto the gains through market close, this will mark 3 consecutive days of positive moves for the CBA share price.

CommBank closed lower on Monday and Tuesday.

What happened with CommBank this week?

CommBank was in the news for both good reasons and bad this week.

First, the bad.

On Tuesday the bank was called out for the poor performance of its superannuation fund under the government’s new ‘Your Future Your Super’ reforms.

Under the reforms, companies providing a default ‘MySuper’ offer need to pass a yearly performance test judging their returns and fees.

Unfortunately for CommBank, and its superannuation clients, the bank was among the 16% that failed the assessment. It will now need to send letters to customers informing them of the poor performance and advising them that they should consider moving to a different superannuation product.

The CBA share price closed down 0.3% on Tuesday, to $110.12 per share.

On a brighter note for CommBank this week, yesterday the bank reported on its ongoing commitment to sustainable energy solutions.

CBA is one of 5 banks helping finance the $330 million development of the 180MW Dulacca Wind Farm in Queensland. On completion in 2023, the project will have 43 wind turbines. That’s reported to be enough to power some 124,000 households. The turbines have a 30-year design life.

Commenting on the development, Sally Reid, CommBank’s executive general manager of global client solutions, said:

Helping our clients advance Australia’s transition to a more sustainable future is a strategic priority for CBA, and we’re very proud to be able to help RES Group and Octopus Investments Australia expand our nation’s renewable energy generation.

Grant Willis, the bank’s managing director, natural resources and energy added, “CBA is delighted to partner with RES Group and Octopus Investments Australia in the development of a high quality renewable energy project.”

RES Group is the developer and asset manager for the Dulacca Wind Farm. Octopus Investments Australia is the project’s long-term owner.

CBA share price snapshot

CBA’s share price is up 22% year-to-date, compared to a gain of 13% posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Over the past month the CBA share price is up 0.5%.

The post What’s moving the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX investors were buying Alibaba, Pfizer shares last week
• ASX 200 bank shares could struggle due to lockdowns – expert
• The CBA (ASX:CBA) share price is now trading on a 3.46% fully-franked dividend yield
• Top broker picks best ASX 200 bank shares to buy coming out of reporting season
• How does the NAB dividend compare to its sector?

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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3n09mhw

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is underperforming the broader market on Friday.

At the time of writing, shares in the buy now, pay later company are swapping hands for $130.53, down 2.9%.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is getting a boost, charging 0.5% higher. As a result, Afterpay shareholders might be wondering what is to blame for today’s weakness.

Attached at the hip

Since announcing the deal which is expected to see Afterpay be acquired by Square, the Afterpay share price has been tied to its acquirer’s share price. This is a consequence of the all-scrip offering, which would see shareholders receive 0.375 Square shares for each share in the Aussie BNPL player.

As a result, the market now tends to value the Australian company’s shares proportionally to Square. This can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the day. Unfortunately for Afterpay shareholders, Square weakened overnight in the United States.

Interestingly, the market is selling off Afterpay more than its acquiring company slipped last night. Specifically, US investors pushed the Square stock price down 0.86% overnight. Meanwhile, Afterpay has fallen significantly more — indicating some level of disconnect.

What could be weighing on the Afterpay share price?

There’s a developing story today that could be weighing on Afterpay. Firstly, it is no secret that the instalment provider is planning to delve into banking services. In short, the company is expected to launch ‘Afterpay Money’ in October, which will offer a savings account and a debit card.

Keeping all that in mind, shareholders might be getting nervous as two tech behemoths reveal their plans to expand further into payments.

Today we started rolling out Facebook Pay as a payment option outside of our apps, giving businesses another easy and secure payment method for their websites. Expect to see it soon in more online stores – starting with @Shopify merchants in pic.twitter.com/GbAk0eLvoA

— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) September 1, 2021

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Facebook has announced its launch of Facebook Pay in Australia. This product from the social media giant will allow users to add a bank card and pay merchants or other people through Instagram and other Facebook apps. While the website doesn’t indicate that the payment method will offer instalments, the entry of a trillion dollar company might have some shareholders unsettled.

This development follows recent news of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) partnering with US-based BNPL provider Affirm Inc (NASDAQ: AFRM) to introduce instalment payments to the largest eCommerce company on the planet.

All in all, the Afterpay share price appears to be reacting to the potential of fierce competitors.

The post Here’s why the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is sliding on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 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
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in August

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and Facebook. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Affirm Holdings, Inc., Amazon, Facebook, and Square. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $1,920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1,940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Facebook. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3yKf7Su

The Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC) share price has had a brilliant week on the ASX despite silence from the company. While there’s been no news from Alumina this week, its shares have seen a surge in activity.

An average month sees around 10.5 million Alumina shares swap hands. However, that number has been surpassed every day this week.

Prior to today, the most active day for Alumina’s shares this week was Wednesday, when 22.8 million were traded. So far today 28.32 million have swapped hands in around 8,700 transactions.

Additionally, the Alumina share price has gained 8.02% today. It’s currently sitting at $2.02.

Not bad considering it started this week at just $1.68.

Let’s take a look at the latest news from the bauxite mining, alumina refining, and aluminium smelting company.

The latest news from Alumina

The last time the market heard news from Alumina was on 24 August when the company released its half-year results.

The market responded positively to the company’s earnings for the 6 months ended 30 June 2021. The Alumina share price gained 1.8% on the back of the release.

While the company reported that its profits had fallen over the period, it did boost its dividend by 21%.

The price of alumina increased over the first half of 2021. However, so did Alumina’s production and freight costs.

According to Alumina, demand for its products is now back to pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, it expects the shipping delays and lack of ships that damaged its bottom line to abate in the near future.

Therefore, it might be reporting a better outcome for the second half.

Alumina share price snapshot

The Alumina share price’s recent gains have placed it back in the green.

Right now, it is 8% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It has also gained 32% since this time last year.

The post Why has the Alumina (ASX:AWC) share price rocketed 20% in the last week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These 3 ASX 200 shares were the most heavily traded on Wednesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• ASX 200 miners dominate most traded shares on Monday
• Lower profits but higher dividend, Alumina (ASX:AWC) share price lifts on 1H21 results

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

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/38Ci119

The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price has certainly given its investors a lot of ups and downs over the past few years. In fact, not too many ASX 200 shares could arguably have given investors as wild a ride as A2 Milk has.

Or, sad as it is to say, so much disappointment.

Backtrack a year or so, and A2 Milk was one of the most popular ASX 200 shares on the market.

It had given investors eye-watering returns for many years. That includes close to 3,500% for any investor lucky enough to bag some A2 Milk shares back in its April 2015 ASX IPO for roughly 50 cents each, and sell them at their $20 peak in July last year.

But the fall has been equally dramatic. A2 has spent the past 14 months falling off a cliff.

After touching $20 a share in July last year, A2 has been steadily sold off. It eventually found a bottom at the share price of $5.04 back in May. Since then, the company has recovered somewhat. But a poorly-received FY21 earnings report last month seemed to confirm a lot of investor fears, and the company is now decisively back under $6 a share.

So when was the best day ever for the A2 Milk share price? You might be thinking we’ll have to back a while to find it. 

When was the A2 Milk share price’s best day ever?

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when A2 Milk had its best trading day ever, seeing as this company has been on the ASX boards for more than 6 years now.

But a leading contender would be 21 February 2018. On that day, A2 Milk had just reported its then-interim results. And it smashed expectations, bringing in a 70% increase in revenues and a 150% increase in profits after tax (sorry if you’re an A2 Milk shareholder and this is a painful recollection of happier times).

As we reported at the time, investors sent A2 shares up a whopping 18% after these results were published. That could well be A2 Milk’s single best day ever.

That’s not to say A2 hasn’t had some good days more recently too though. A more recent pop can be found just a few weeks ago. On 16 August, A2 shares rose 11% at one point after speculation arose that the company may be a takeover target of the global food and beverage titan Nestle.

Today, the A2 Milk share price is having a flat day so far. The company is currently sitting at $5.78 a share, right where it opened at this morning. The A2 share price remains down more than 50% year to date, and by 66.3% over the past 12 months. At the current A2 share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $4.3 billion.

The post When was the best ever day on the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price chart? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• A2 Milk and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Why the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price has underperformed the ASX 200 in the last year
• Here’s why the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price is down 12% in a week
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: A mixed bag of earnings dominates ASX
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of A2 Milk. 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3kShLAK

The WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price has shown strength on the chart over the past week.

Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) has climbed by 0.6% since last Friday, Wisetech shares are more than 5% in the green.

What tailwinds are behind WiseTech?

The WiseTech Global share price has been on the move ever since the cloud-based software company reported its FY21 earnings last week.

In it, the company recognised an 18% increase in revenue to $507 million. It also grew earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) by 63% year-on-year (YoY), smashing EBITDA guidance by a country mile.

One important takeout was that more than 95% of WiseTech’s sales of $101 million was from recurring revenue.

Much of this strength was underlined by increased adoption of its software, resulting in a greater market penetration, according to WiseTech.

As a result, the company doubled net profit after tax (NPAT) to $105 million, and left the year with free cash flow of around $140 million, a 150% YoY increase.

The growth in NPAT and free cash flow allows WiseTech to increase its dividend by 140% to 3.85 cents per share. Consequently, WiseTech shareholders will enjoy a 6.55 cents per share total dividend in FY21.

One other factor that could weigh in on the WiseTech Global share price is the fact management upgraded guidance for its FY22 expectations. Management is now calling for an 18%–25% revenue growth in FY22 to $600 million–$635 million.

This should lead to EBITDA of $260 million to $285 million according to WiseTech’s modelling, which calls for a growth of 26%–38% over the year.

Investors appear to have heavily favoured WiseTech’s results. For instance, they rewarded the company by pushing the WiseTech Global share price from $36.20 to $46.50 on the day of the earnings release, an almost 30% gain on the day.

Since then, WiseTech shares have continued their ascent northwards. However, they are trading 0.35% down on Friday at the time of writing.

WiseTech Global share price snap shot

The WiseTech Global share price has been a major performer this year, posting a return of 58% since January 1. WiseTech shares are also around 64% in the green over the past 12 months.

Both of these results have outpaced the broad index’s gain of around 25% over the past 12 months.

The post The WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) share price is up 5% in the last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These ASX 200 dividend shares increased their payouts this earnings season
• These were the best ASX All Ordinaries performers in August
• This ASX 200 share delivered the highest share price gains this earnings season
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in August
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares on Tuesday

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

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3yES0J5

The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price has fallen around 3% since hitting its year-to-date high of $315.18 on Tuesday.

The global biotech recently reported its full year results, recording modest growth against very challenging conditions caused by the pandemic. However, there are a couple of catalysts as to why its shares have fallen in the past two days.

At the time of writing, CSL shares are traversing the other way, slightly up 0.25% to $304.19.

What’s happened to CSL shares recently?

With Australia’s COVID-19 cases at exponential levels, it seems that the current lockdown could last for a little longer. This is of course unless vaccination rates reached the designed target of 80% in the population.

Today’s statistics revealed New South Wales acquired 1431 new COVID-19 cases while Victoria registered 208 local cases.

However, a deal struck by the Morrison government with Singapore saw 500,000 Pfizer vaccines delivered last night. Furthermore, Australia will receive 4 million Pfizer doses from the United Kingdom this month.

It’s no secret that Australia has been short on vaccines lately, with has, in turn, delayed a return to a post-COVID normal.

CSL has faced plasma collection issues since early 2020 due to government-mandated restrictions on passenger movements. The company relies on plasma from blood donors to make life-saving medicines.

In its most recent report, CSL noted that current plasma numbers are around 20% below the levels recorded in FY20.

Another likely reason for the fall is that the company’s shares went ex-dividend on Thursday. This means that investors who were holding CSL shares beforehand could sell their holding yesterday and still be eligible for the upcoming dividend.

Typically, when a company goes ex-dividend, its shares decline around the same value as you would have received from its dividend distribution.

CSL share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, CSL shares have taken investors on a rollercoaster ride, registering gains of just 4%. When looking at year-to-date, the company’s shares have fared a little better, around 7% higher.

CSL is the second largest company on the ASX with a market capitalisation of approximately $138.5 billion.

The post It hasn’t been a great week for the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These ASX 200 dividend shares increased their payouts this earnings season
• Top broker says CSL (ASX:CSL) share price is a buy
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• The CSL (ASX:CSL) share price is up 6% since earnings result
• Top broker names 3 ASX 200 shares to buy

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras owns shares of CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. 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.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3zGWlgl