Category: Stock Market

The Laybuy Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY) share price is shooting for the stars. That’s after the buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider announced a new merchant partnership with “the UK’s largest independent fragrance retailer”.

Shares shot up 5% amid the news to 59.5 cents but, at the time of writing, Laybuy’s share price has settled at 57 cents – up 2.7%.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news.

The Laybuy share price is rising

In a statement to the ASX, Laybuy Holdings announced it will enter a merchant partnership with ‘The Fragrance Shop’, the largest independent fragrance retailer in the UK.

Laybuy, which launched in New Zealand and listed on the ASX in September 2020, now claims to be one of the top 3 providers of BNPL in the British Isles.

The company says gross merchandise value (GMV) has “more than doubled” in the last quarter to a value of NZ $398 million (around A$379 million). A further 222 merchants in the UK have signed partnership deals in July.

As well, more merchants in Australia and New Zealand have signed up with the service. These include some well-known brands include Sanity, Collette, Culture Kings, and EB Games. The company has over 10,000 merchant partnerships worldwide.

Investors are clearly loving this news, judging by the surging Laybuy share price.

Finally, the company will hold a webinar on 11 August at 9:00am AEST.

Management commentary

Laybuy Managing Director Gary Rohloff said:

The agreement is an important step towards the Company’s goal of having Laybuy available almost everywhere consumers shop in the UK, whenever they shop.

We are delighted to be partnering with The Fragrance Shop, which is a cosmetics and beauty giant with 200 stores across the UK offering over 6,000 products both online and instore.

He added:

The UK is our growth engine. In the past quarter alone, we have added 743 new merchants in the UK as well as 53,800 new active customers to reach more than half-a-million active customers, an increase of 143% year-on-year.

We remain a market leader in New Zealand and have a growing presence in Australia. Our active merchants in Australia and New Zealand (“ANZ”) increased 55% year-on-year, while active customers are up 20% in this more mature market.

Laybuy share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Laybuy share price has decreased 71.5%. Year-to-date, it is down 55.3%.

Laybuy has a market capitalisation of around $141 million.

The post Why the Laybuy (ASX:LBY) share price is rocketing 5% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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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Motley Fool Australia Chief Investment Officer Scott Phillips joined Sky News First Edition on Tuesday morning to discuss Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN)’s profit and dividend surge, the likelihood of the same for other banks, plus the impact for investors from yesterday’s IPCC climate change report.

The post Bank dividends to rise, and Climate Change in focus. Scott Phillips on Sky News First Edition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Suncorp share price surges. Transurban falls. Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News
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Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips 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. 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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The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price remains frozen today after the shares entered a trading halt on Monday. This follows two new market announcements from the lithium producer after market close yesterday.

At Friday’s market close, Core Lithium shares were swapping hands for 36 cents apiece.

Core Lithium announces placement, inks Chinese deal

According to yesterday’s releases, Core Lithium has undertaken a fully underwritten institutional placement. The offer is seeking to raise $91 million through the issuance of 293 million new ordinary shares.

Under the placement, Core Lithium will price each of the shares at 31 cents apiece. This represents a 13.9% discount on the closing price on 6 August 2021, and a 2.4% discount on the 5-day volume-weighted average price.

Core Lithium stated it has also executed a binding offtake agreement with leading Chinese lithium supplier, Ganfeng Lithium. The company is considered one of the world’s largest lithium producers by capacity.

The deal will see Ganfeng Lithium buy 75,000 tonnes per annum of spodumene concentrate from the Finniss Lithium Project in the Northern Territory. The agreement is valid for 4 years.

Furthermore, Ganfeng Lithium will make an equity investment of $34 million to contribute towards the Finniss stage 1 development costs.

Core Lithium will issue approximately 100.5 million shares at 33.8 cents each for Ganfeng Lithium. However, the offtake agreement is subject to Chinese regulatory approvals, as well as approval from Core Lithium shareholders, by 31 October 2021.

In addition, the company will launch a share purchase plan (SPP) for retail shareholders at the same issue price. The company is hoping to raise an extra $15 million through the SPP. Shareholders can apply for up to $30,000 worth of Core Lithium shares when the offer opens on 13 August 2021.

What will the funds be used for?

The monies raised from the placement will be used to fund an array of initiatives. They include the following:

• Upfront capital expenses at Finniss such as plant construction costs;
• Environmental bond payments to the Northern Territory state government;
• Drilling to accelerate reserve and resource growth; and
• Working capital.

Core Lithium managing director Stephen Biggins commented:

The equity raising, including the offtake and equity investment by Ganfeng, represents a transformational moment for Core. We now have immediate certainty over Finniss Project funding and we remain on track to commence construction activities within the 2021 calendar year, ahead of anticipated first production in late 2022.

Core Lithium share price review

It has been an interesting year for Core Lithium shares. They have moved in circles for most of 2021 until recently shooting higher. The Core Lithium share price reached an 8-month high of 36.5 cents before it was halted yesterday.

Based on today’s price, Core Lithium has a market capitalisation of roughly $422.6 million, with over 1.1 billion shares outstanding.

The post Why the Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price remains frozen today 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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The ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO) share price is recovering on Tuesday morning following a sizeable pullback on Monday after the release of its full year results.

At the time of writing, the cloud-based human resources and payroll software company’s shares are up 2% to $5.07.

How did ELMO perform in FY 2021?

For the 12 months ended 30 June, ELMO reported annualised recurring revenue (ARR) of $83.8 million. This was up 52.1% on the prior corresponding period. This was driven by a combination of organic growth and the benefits of acquisitions.

Also heading in the right direction was its underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). It came in at $0.4 million in FY 2021, compared to a $2.9 million loss in FY 2020.

So why did the ELMO share price drop?

The weakness in the ELMO share price on Monday was likely to have been driven by concerns over its churn levels.

The company’s ARR churn was 11.6% for its ELMO business and 13.6% for its Breathe business. The former was up from 7.8% year on year.

However, it is worth noting that this was driven by the impact of COVID-19 on its customers. This could mean a significant improvement next year if the COVID situation doesn’t escalate globally.

Management chat

I was fortunate enough to be in a position to have a chat with ELMO CEO Danny Lessem following the release of the result.

Mr Lessem was deservedly pleased with the company’s performance during the year and optimistic on the year ahead. Particularly given how the company is well-placed to benefit from improving business confidence and the increase in remote based working. The latter is driving the adoption of cloud-based business tools.

This is expected to support a return to pre-COVID growth levels and underpin further operating leverage.

I asked the CEO about acquisitions, given that ELMO finished the period with a cash balance of $81.9 million. While ELMO continues to look for strategic acquisitions, Mr Lessem notes that M&A multiples are a lot higher now than when the company acquired Breathe and Webexpenses. As such, there are slim pickings in the space.

Is the ELMO share price in the buy zone?

According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, the broker sees a lot of value in the ELMO share price and has retained its overweight rating.

And while the broker has cut its price target to $7.80, based on the latest ELMO share price, this still implies potential upside of ~54% over the next 12 months.

The post ELMO (ASX:ELO) share price tipped to jump 54% higher from here appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Elmo Software. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Elmo Software. 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 Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price has jumped into the green in early trade today. Today’s climb comes as Megaport gave a key update to the market, amid other announcements.

Let’s cover what the releases entail.

Quick recap on Megaport

Megaport’s tech service delivery models are touted as “Network as a Service (NaaS)” solutions, a derivative of the high-growth Software as a Service (SaaS) industry.

The company reported FY21 results today and recognised a 35% year-on-year growth in revenue to $78 million. Baked into that figure is a 32% increase in monthly recurring revenue.

For its efforts, Megaport has a market capitalisation of $2.7 billion at the time of writing.

Megaport to acquire InnovoEdge

Today Megaport confirmed it signed the dotted line to acquire “AI-powered multi-cloud and edge application orchestration company” InnovoEdge, Inc.

Under the deal, the transaction includes a cash payment of US$7.5 million and “up to US$7.5 million worth of ordinary shares in Megaport”, as per the company.

Moreover, the equity position will be “issued in three tranches” over the coming three years, subject to performance milestones. Investors can expect the deal to be finalised in mid-August.

For its part, InnovoEdge believes the pair’s expertise “aligns perfectly” while Megaport is confident the acquisition will “drive functionality” across its NaaS platform.

Speaking on the deal, Megaport CEO Vincent English said:

The acquisition of InnovoEdge aligns well with that priority and will help us drive greater functionality across our leading Network as a Service platform. By integrating the InnovoStudio service with our portal and software defined network, we will provide customers and partners with greater visibility and control of networking, cloud, and service resources.

In addition, investors have reacted favourably to the news today, pushing Megaport shares into the green from the market open.

To illustrate, Megaport shares are now exchanging hands at $17.64 apiece, a 1.55% jump from the previous close.

Megaport share price snapshot

The Megaport share price has posted a year to date return of 25%, extending the previous 12 months’ gain of 31%.

Both of these results have outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s climb of around 25% over the past year.

The post Megaport (ASX:MP1) share price lifts after acquisition update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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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 MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT 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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The Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) share price is rocketing higher, up 11% in morning trade.

The lithium-ion battery tech company emerged from yesterday’s trading halt this morning following twin ASX announcements.

We look at those below.

What did Novonix announce?

The Novonix share price was frozen yesterday at the company’s request pending a capital raise announcement today.

That announcement, along with a separate release detailing the reasons for the share issues – spoiler alert, it relates to a strategic investment in the company by United States energy giant Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) – was released this morning.

First, the capital raise.

According to the release Novonix plans to issue 77,962,578 ordinary shares for a cash consideration, priced in US dollars. The new shares will be issued for US$1.924 or AU$2.600 per share at company’s calculated exchange rate.

The Novonix share price opened closed on Friday at $3.02.

Shareholder approval is still required, with Novonix estimating the date for that determination as 30 August. Should shareholders approve, the proposed issue date is 5 October.

As for the purpose for issuing the securities, the company revealed that Phillips 66 has agreed to purchase all the shares:

Phillips 66’s investment will provide Novonix with the capital needed to support growth and ongoing R&D as the group continue to scale synthetic graphite production and develop new technologies for higher-performance energy storage applications.

Phillip’s investment highlights

Phillips reported it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 16% stake in Novonix. It said this investment will support its development of an entirely domestic supply chain for the growing US electric vehicle (EV) market and other energy storage systems.

Commenting on the investment, Greg Garland, CEO of Phillips 66 said:

This strategic investment enables Phillips 66 to directly support the development of the US battery supply chain. It advances our commitment to pursue lower-carbon solutions while leveraging our leadership position and expertise in the specialty coke market and supporting Novonix’s emerging position in US-based anode production.

Novonix’s CEO Chris Burns commented:

We’re excited by Phillips 66’s vision for a sustainable future and confidence in our business plan and management team. Phillips 66’s investment will provide us with the capital needed to support growth and ongoing R&D as we continue to scale our synthetic graphite production and develop new technologies for higher-performance energy storage applications.

Phillips 66 will subscribe for all the 77,962,578 ordinary shares detailed above for a total of US$150 million.

Phillips 66 will nominate 1 director to Novonix’s Board of Directors.

Novonix share price snapshot

The Novonix share price has gained 147% over the past 12 months, racing past the 25% gains posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Year-to-date the Novonix share price is up 155%.

The post Why the Novonix (ASX:NVX) share price is rocketing 11% out of a trading halt appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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

The global financial services market will be worth an estimated $22 trillion in 2021. But despite the size of the overall banking business, many people around the world are actually underbanked. Fintech company Square (NYSE: SQ) aims to fix that with its ecosystem of banking solutions. As a disruptor in the financial industry, here is why Square could one day join the $1 trillion market cap club.

The need for better banking solutions

The brick-and-mortar banks of the traditional lending system have a couple of problems. In many parts of the world, banking services are not accessible. According to Global Findex, approximately 30% of the world’s population is unbanked, with many people living in emerging markets with poor demographics or limited infrastructure (branches, ATMs, and the like).

Additionally, big banks tend to struggle with consumer satisfaction where they do operate. The average Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures how likely a consumer is to recommend a company to someone else, is just over 30 for banks (in a range of negative 100 to positive 100). Square, by contrast, averaged an NPS of 65 in 2020.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has publicly warned of the potential disruption that fintech companies such as Square can have on traditional lenders:

Absolutely, we should be scared…about that…We have plenty of resources, a lot of very smart people. We’ve just got to get quicker, better, faster…As you look at what we’ve done, you’d say we’ve done a good job, but the other people have done a good job, too.

Expanding the Cash App ecosystem

Square is building out its Cash App, a financial services ecosystem that it began in 2013 to store, send, and receive money between users. Square has added features since then, including the ability to order a debit card to spend your Cash App balance, as well as invest and trade stocks, funds, and Bitcoin.

The company is acting aggressively to bring more services to its Cash App. It acquired Credit Karma’s tax business for $50 million in cash in late 2020, with plans to enable Cash App users to file their taxes through the app.

The company also just announced a deal to acquire “buy now, pay later” company Afterpay for $29 billion in stock. The company helps consumers buy products on payment plans, typically with little to no interest or hidden fees. It’s a growing alternative to credit cards, and Square will integrate this into its Seller and Cash App ecosystems.

Square’s end goal is building a financial services platform that can serve all (or at least most) of a consumer’s financial needs within Cash App. It is aiming for a digital financial system that is more accessible to consumers and with lower costs to acquire them, making it superior to traditional banks. Cash App can acquire a customer for less than $5, versus a traditional bank spending as much as $2,000 to bring on users.

A $1 trillion company?

Square generates revenue in several ways, including transaction fees, subscription and services, selling its hardware, and Bitcoin trading. Through the first half of 2021, Square has done $9.7 billion in revenue and is expected to grow 110% to $20 billion for the full 2021 year.

If we factor in the value of Afterpay and its expected $700 million in revenue this year, Square would have a market cap of $140 billion and revenue of $20.7 billion, suggesting a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 6.7.

If the P/S ratio remains the same, could Square generate the approximately $140 billion in revenue it needs to reach a $1 trillion market cap? As of June, Cash App had 40 million monthly active users and 70 million between Seller and Cash App. The company generates nearly 97% of its revenue in the U.S., leaving much of the worldwide $22.5 trillion addressable market untapped. Afterpay’s business is diversified worldwide, which could help Square to begin ramping up its business in new markets. 

Here’s the bottom line

Square has launched and grown Cash App into a multibillion-dollar business in less than a decade, and the company’s recent acquisitions of Credit Karma Tax and Afterpay set the stage for continued features to join the platform. With such a large and unpenetrated market outside the U.S., there is plenty of runway for long-term growth.

Square will certainly have the opportunities to grow into a $1 trillion company someday; it could simply come down to management’s execution, and the patience of investors to hold the stock through the next decade and beyond.

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

The post Could this company have a $1 trillion market cap one day? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Bitcoin, 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.

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

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The AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) share price will be one to watch when the company reports its full-year results this Thursday. This comes as the financial services company is currently trading on a big forecast dividend yield of 9.4%.

At the time of writing, AMP shares are swapping hands for $1.065, unchanged from yesterday’s close.

What’s happened recently?

It has been a few years to forget for AMP shareholders, watching their wealth dwindle since 2018. The company’s share price has been hit heavily over time, but it appears its last worrying update pushed away investors.

In late May, AMP acknowledged that the ASIC had commenced proceedings against the company in the Federal Court. This is in relation to breaches in deducting life insurance premiums and advice service fees from superannuation accounts of deceased customers.

What’s worse is that AMP allegedly knew about the issue in the past. However, the company said it has taken action to change its policies and processes. The matter was covered in the financial services royal commission.

The news sent shockwaves through the investing world with shareholders deciding to pull their money away from the company. This, in turn, led to AMP shares further falling to an all-time record low of $1.038 last month.

How much is AMP forecasted to pay in dividends?

AMP paid a fully franked dividend of 10 cents per share to shareholders last October. While its shares continued to tumble, its dividend yield soared. It’s worth noting though that the company decided against paying a dividend during February’s earnings season.

When factoring in the current share price along with its last dividend payment, this gives AMP a dividend yield of 9.4%. However, with no news on the dividend front, it’s unlikely AMP will pay 10 cents per share in the near term. This is especially given the impact of the company repaying $5.3 million back to customer accounts in May 2020.

About the AMP share price

Over the last 12 months, AMP shares have fallen more than 23% and are down 31% year-to-date. The company’s share price has lost about 80% of its wealth from early 2018, reflecting negative investor sentiment.

Based on today’s price, AMP presides a market capitalisation of roughly $3.4 billion, with approximately 3.2 billion shares on issue.

The post The AMP (ASX:AMP) share price is trading on a forecast 9.4% dividend yield 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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BlueBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: BBT) shares are running higher in early trade after the company announced an agreement to pursue an online sports betting licence in Arizona. At the time of writing, the BlueBet share price is up 7.61% to $2.05.

BlueBet eyes second US sports betting agreement

The BlueBet share price is off to a bumper start on Tuesday morning. This comes after the company advised it has signed an exclusive agreement with the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, BlueWater Resort and Casino, to pursue online sports betting market access in Arizona.

The outcome of its licence application is expected within four weeks.

According to the announcement, online sports betting in Arizona was legalised in April 2021, with an expected launch date of 9 September 9 2021.

If the licence application is successful, BlueBet will offer an online sportsbook through its mobile app and website platform.

Under the terms of the agreement, BlueBet will pay CRIT a market access fee as well as a portion of its net gaming revenues.

In addition, BlueBet will also incur any licencing and regulatory costs associated with operating the online sportsbook.

BlueBet is an emerging player in the USA sports betting scene, taking its first steps last month after signing an agreement to conduct its online sportsbook in Iowa.

The Iowa agreement on 14 July drove the BlueBet share price 5.78% higher to $1.740 on the day of the announcement.

Management commentary

BlueBet chief executive officer Bill Richmond commented on the milestone:

We’re very excited to be announcing this agreement within two months of BlueBet’s IPO. We see Arizona as a fantastic next step for BlueBet in the US. The opportunity is particularly advantageous because Arizona is such an unpenetrated market, with no existing operators despite it being a state of sports fanatics.

Richmond also highlighted Arizona as a “unique green field prospect” to drive the company’s US growth story.

Arizona’s population is twice that of Iowa, where we have our first US skin and where the sports betting market is estimated to have gaming revenue worth more than a billion US dollars¹ per year, so this agreement represents a significant escalation in our push into the US.

About the BlueBet share price

BlueBet successfully made its ASX debut on 2 July at a listing price of $1.14, closing 55% higher at $1.775.

The BlueBet share price has performed strongly on the back of the company’s US market update and recent advances in Iowa and Arizona.

The company’s shares briefly rallied to a record high of $2.63 on 26 July, 130% higher than their listing price and almost 50% higher than where they closed on their ASX debut.

The post Up 8%, the BlueBet (ASX:BBT) share price is booming on Tuesday. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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The Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) share price hasn’t been doing well this last month. It’s been seesawing over the past 30 days but has ultimately fallen 6.3%.

Right now, the Beach Energy share price is $1.19, 0.42% lower than its closing price yesterday.

This time last month, shares in the oil and gas explorer and producer were trading for $1.27 apiece.

In that time, the market’s only heard one piece of price sensitive news out of Beach Energy. Let’s take a look to see if that’s been driving the Beach Energy share price lower.

What’s up with Beach Energy?

The Beach Energy share price isn’t having a great run despite releasing seemingly positive quarterly results last month.

The company’s results for the fourth quarter of financial year 2021 were released on 21 July.

Within them, Beach Energy reported its sales revenue had increased 7% quarter-on-quarter. It brought in $421 million in sales as its realised oil price gained 10%.

It came in just under its forecasted oil production for the financial year, well below its expected capital expenditure, and at the top end of its predicted underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA).

However, the apparently good results didn’t inspire a positive reaction from the market. The Beach Energy share price fell 3.2% on the day it released its quarterly results. Although, it did bounce 4.9% higher the following day.

Another factor likely playing into Beach Energy’s woes is the declining oil price.

Oil prices have recently fallen in response to an increase in US inventories. However, that’s only one piece of a complex puzzle.

According to reporting by Reuters, oil prices have fallen to their lowest point since May today as surging COVID-19 cases in Asia have resulted in a forecasted drop in demand. The strengthening US dollar is also pushing prices down as it makes purchasing oil more expensive for those trading in other currencies.

Beach Energy, and its fellow oil shares, are on watch today as a result.

Beach Energy share price snapshot

It’s been a tough year on the ASX for Beach Energy.

Its shares are currently trading for 35% less than they were at the start of 2021. They’ve also slipped 17% since this time last year.

The post The Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) share price is down 6% this last month. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• 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 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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