Category: Stock Market

In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of US markets and is racing higher. The benchmark index is currently up 1.2% to 7,342.3 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are charging higher:

Credit Corp Group Limited (ASX: CCP)

The Credit Corp share price is up 2.5% to $28.30. This gain appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Morgans this morning. According to the note, the broker has upgraded the debt collector’s shares to an add rating with a $33.45 price target. Morgans is expecting Credit Corp to deliver a profit result at the high end of its guidance range in FY 2021. Though, it has warned that its FY 2022 guidance could underwhelm given current lockdowns.

Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH)

The Oil Search share price is up a further 4% to $4.06. Investors continue to buy the energy producer’s shares after Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) revealed that Oil Search rejected its merger proposal. Ord Minnett believes the proposed merger makes sense. Its analysts have put a buy rating and $5.60 price target on Oil Search’s shares.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The Pilbara Minerals share price has stormed 5% higher to $1.53. This is despite there being no news out of the lithium producer. However, a number of lithium shares are on the rise today after risk sentiment improved following a strong night of trade on Wall Street.

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

The PointsBet share price is up 5% to $12.25. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Goldman Sachs this morning. According to the note, Goldman Sachs has reiterated its buy rating and $17.20 price target on the company’s shares. This follows news that the sports betting company has signed an agreement to enter the Arizona market. Goldman notes that Arizona is the 14th most populous state in the US. The broker considers it to be a tier 2 state and estimates that it offers a total addressable market of ~US$0.8 billion at maturity.

The post Why Credit Corp, Oil Search, Pilbara Minerals, & PointsBet are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price rises on bullish broker note
• Why the Elders (ASX:ELD) share price is outperforming today
• Here are 3 of the ASX 200’s most heavily traded shares on Tuesday

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 Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointsbet 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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There are many index exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the ASX boards. But one in particular has caught the eye of many investors due to its recent performance history. That ETF is the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ).

Yes, this ETF is technically an index fund, since it faithfully tracks the shares in the NASDAQ-100 (INDEXNASDAQ: NDX), the index which tracks the largest 100 companies by market capitalisation on the Nasdaq exchange.

But its recent performance figures are not what is typically thrown up by an index fund.

This BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF has returned 16.16% over just the past six months, and a whopping 31.62% over the past 12 months. It has also returned an average of 27.15% per annum over the past three years, and an average of 22.47% per annum since its inception in 2015. Those numbers would be enough to make even Warren Buffett blush.

That return since inception metric of 22.47% per annum would have turned $10,000 into more than $72,000 in just 10 years. If you add another 10 years, you would be left with a lump sum of over $520,000.

With NDQ returning more than 16% in 2021 so far, it is vastly outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The ASX 200 has managed an impressive 9.47% in 2021 so far. But that number is still close to half of what NDQ has banged out.

So how has NDQ managed such an impressive performance history?

Why has the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 outperformed in 2021 so far?

Well, as with any ETF, it all comes down to its underlying holdings.

Let’s take a look at what this ETF currently holds:

NDQ Holding	Current ETF Weighting (%), as of 20 July
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)	11.6
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)	10
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)	8.6
Alphabet Inc  (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL)	7.6
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB)	3.9
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)	3.7
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)	3.3
PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL)	2.5
Adobe Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE)	2.1
Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA)	1.9

As you can see, NDQ’s holdings reflect the tech-heavy nature of the Nasdaq 100 Index itself. The FAANG stocks are right up there in terms of weighting, bolstered by Microsoft and Tesla.

But what do all of these companies have in common? Rip-roaring performance in recent years, that’s what. Just take Apple, this NDQ ETF’s top holding with a weighting of 11.6%. Apple shares are currently up almost 13% in 2021 so far, more than 50% over the past 12 months, and almost 500% over the past five years.

Microsoft is up 28.3% year to date, 33.8% over the past 12 months, and almost 400% over the past five years.

We see similar numbers with Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook shares. And then there’s Tesla, which is up 1,386% over the past five years. Or NVIDIA, which is up almost 1,400% over the same period.

You get the idea. With holdings that are putting up such incredible performances in recent times, it’s suddenly not too hard to see why NDQ can boast such impressive numbers. Past performance is no guarantee of future success, of course. But as long as its underlying companies pile on the gains, this ETF will follow suit.

The post Here’s why the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX:NDQ) is outperforming this year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft 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 Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Alphabet (A shares), Facebook, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS, Facebook, Microsoft, Nvidia, PayPal Holdings, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adobe Inc. and Comcast and has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $1,920 calls on Amazon, long January 2022 $75 calls on PayPal Holdings, long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple, short January 2022 $1,940 calls on Amazon, and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adobe Inc., Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Nvidia, and PayPal Holdings. 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 surging higher today following the release of its 6-month financial result.

At the time of writing, the global engineering company’s shares are up 4.79% to $19.91. In comparison, the S&P/ASX200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 1.19% to 7,338 points.

Let’s take a closer look at what the company announced to the ASX this morning.

How did Cimic perform for the first-half of FY21?

In today’s release, Cimic reported its financial result for the last 6 months ending 30 June 2021.

According to the update, group revenue jumped to $7.1 billion, up 10.6% when compared to this time last year. The company’s Australian Construction and Services business recorded a strong uptick in revenue which led the charge.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at $464.5 million, compared to $442 million in H1 FY20.

Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) came to $208 million versus $205.3 million in the prior comparable term.

As such, EBITDA, Profit Before Tax (PBT) and NPAT margins remained resilient at 10.1%, 5.4%, and 4.5% respectively.

Free operating cash flow increased by $166.3 million to a loss of $115.9 million. Previously, the company recorded negative $282.2 million in free operating cash flow during H1 FY20. The positive shift reflected management’s efforts in winning new projects and reducing capital expenditure and finance costs.

Cimic declared a strong balance sheet of $4.3 billion in liquidity, comprising $3.2 billion in cash and $1.1 billion in undrawn bank facilities. Net debt stood at $272.2 million at the end of June.

The company also declared an interim dividend of 42 cents per share, franked at 20% payable to eligible shareholders. This represents a 62.8% payout ratio on the H1 FY21 financial result.

Cimic group executive chair and CEO Juan Santamaria commented on the result:

Growth in revenue and profit during the first half of the year, along with a significant increase to our orderbook, provides Cimic with a confident outlook for 2021 and beyond.

The strong performance of our Australian Construction and Services segments supported the increase in revenue and resulted in an improvement in operating cash generation in the second quarter.

Outlook

Cimic noted its core businesses remain positive with numerous stimulus packages by governments in the Construction and Services markets. In addition, around $470 billion of tenders are to be bided/awarded for the remainder of 2021 and beyond.

The company reaffirmed its full-year NPAT guidance of $400 million to $430 million, subject to market conditions.

Mr Santamaria added:

We’re seeing an increased volume of work coming to the market as a result of the various economic stimulus packages. The $10.4 billion in new work we secured in the past six months exceeds the $6.8 billion won in the 12 months to the end of 2020 and there is a substantial pipeline of work yet to be awarded

Cimic share price update

The last 12 months have seen the Cimic share price fall by around 12%, and 18% year-to-date.

Cimic presides a market capitalisation of roughly $6.2 billion, making it the 84th largest company on the ASX.

The post Cimic (ASX:CIM) share price races 5% higher on financial result 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 Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is pushing higher again on Thursday.

In afternoon trade, the cloud business and accounting platform provider’s shares are up 0.5% to $141.63.

This means the Xero share price is now up over 5% since this time last week.

Why is the Xero share price up 5% in a week?

The catalyst for the recent rise in the Xero share price appears to have been the release of a bullish broker note out of Goldman Sachs last week.

According to the note, the broker retained its buy rating and lifted its price target on the company’s shares by 9.3% to $165.00.

Based on the latest Xero share price, this implies potential upside of 16.5% over the next 12 months even after its recent gains.

What did Goldman Sachs say?

The note reveals that Goldman has increased its estimates to reflect price increases in the key ANZ and UK markets.

The broker said: “We see this as a strong positive for Xero in addressing previous concerns on value monetisation, and see limited risk for increased churn, noting (1) it’s consistent with broader industry pricing, and (2) XRO has successfully passed through similarly targeted price rises in Sep-18/Mar-21, with limited churn impacts.”

Goldman is now forecasting revenue growth of 33% in FY 2022. This is up from its previous estimate of 28% and ahead of the market consensus for growth of 27%.

Are there dangers to increasing prices?

While price increases carry risks, as you might have guessed from the Xero share price reaction, Goldman is confident this won’t be an issue.

It explained: “Xero has announced a planned price rise in September 2021 across mid-high plans in its ANZ and UK subscriber bases (Australia +A$2-11, New Zealand +NZ$1.5-3, UK +£2-3).”

“We see this as a strong positive for Xero noting: (1) it will provide meaningful earnings growth into FY22 (uplift of NZ$37mn, with an equal incremental benefit in FY23); and (2) it addresses previous concerns around Xero’s intent to monetise its more mature markets and capture greater value (especially since the COVID deferred price rise came into effect recently in Mar-21).”

“We see limited risk for increased churn, noting (1) that this still places Xero comfortably within broader industry pricing, and (2) XRO has successfully passed through similarly targeted price rises in Sep-18 and in Mar-21, with ANZ churn remaining flat in FY19 to FY21,” it added.

The Xero share price is now up 47% over the last 12 months.

The post Here’s why the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price is up 5% in a week 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 Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Xero. 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 RPMGlobal Holdings Ltd (ASX: RUL) share price has jumped into the green today.

At the time of writing, RPM shares are exchanging hands at $1.98 apiece, a 6.45% gain on the day.

Even though there is no price sensitive news on RPM, let’s take a look at what it has been up to lately.

Quick recap on RPM Global

RPMGlobal is a consulting and software provider with niche expertise in the mining industry.

The company’s software arm is the major contributor to revenue, whilst its advisory division is focused on providing economic consultation to the mining industry.

At the time of writing, RPM has a market capitalisation of $454 million.

What has RPM Global been up to lately?

June was a busy month for the company when it released two key announcements.

On 16 June, the company confirmed it had acquired the environmental, social and governance (ESG) company Nitro Solutions Pty Ltd.

Nitro provides ESG solutions to the mining industry and lends RPM a “dedicated division focused solely on ESG”.

Nitro was acquired through a $2.1 million cash transaction that was finalised on 30 June. RPM Global shares climbed 4.7% in the five days following this announcement.

Then, on 18 June, RPM revealed it had a stronger than expected total contracted value (TCV) for its subscription software sales.

From the release, RPM increased TCV software subscriptions by $9 million, reaching a total of $40 million at that time.

Finally, on 2 July RPM Global shares reached their all-time high after the company revealed strong growth in its FY 2021 results.

RPM explained that TCV from software subscription sales and perpetual licence contracts totalled $52.9 million, up $9.5 million from the announcement on 18 June.

Of particular note was that TCV from software subscriptions alone was $47.7 million, up $7.3 million from $34.5 million the same time last year.

RPM Global shares have climbed a further 10% since this date. Therefore, it stands to reason that investors continue buying RPM shares on the back of these three positive events in the company’s growth narrative.

RPM Global share price snapshot

The RPM Global share price has had a strong year to date, posting a return of 55% since January 1. This has extended the previous 12 months’ return of 108%.

These returns have outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of ~20% over the past year.

The post Why is the RPMGlobal (ASX:RUL) share price up 7% this Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 up, Westpac caught in potential fraud, RPMGlobal rises
• Why the RPMGlobal (ASX:RUL) share price hit an all-time high today, up 5%

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 RPMGlobal Holdings. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended RPMGlobal Holdings. 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 BARD1 Life Sciences Ltd (ASX: BD1) share price is frozen today as the company prepares to announce news of a capital raise.

Trading of its shares will be halted until it either releases an announcement or the ASX opens on Friday morning.

The BARD1 Life Science share price finished yesterday’s session trading at $1.80.

The company is focused on creating non-invasive methods to detect early stage cancers.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news of BARD1 Life Science.

Trading halt ahead of capital raise

The BARD1 Life Sciences share price is halted as it prepares to announce a $10 million placement and a $2 million share purchase plan. The share purchase plan is open to eligible retail investors.

The placement will see shares in BARD1 going for $1.55 apiece. That’s a 13.88% discount on its previous closing price.

The company is currently working on autoantibody tests that have been proven to detect some early-stage cancers.

Its lead pipeline product is its ovarian cancer tests. It is also working to create tests for early stage breast cancer.

Also in BARD1’s pipeline are tests for early stage lung cancer.

The BARD1 share price was temporarily boosted late last month by news its ovarian cancer detection technology had been published by international peer-reviewed journal Genes.

Today’s news is the first time the market has heard of a capital raise by BARD1 since June 2019.

Back then, the company raised $7.5 million to put towards its growth strategy.

BARD1 Life Sciences share price snapshot

2021 has been a good year so far for the BARD1 Life Sciences share price.

Right now, it’s 172% higher than it was at the start of the year. It has also gained 114% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $144 million, with approximately 80 million shares outstanding.

The post Here’s why the BARD1 (ASX:BD1) share price is frozen today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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The Aeris Resources Ltd (ASX: AIS) share price is falling today, down 1.32%.

Below we take a look at the ASX resource share’s latest exploration update.

What update did Aeris provide?

The Aeris Resources share price is moving lower after a market update on its exploration work in the Cobar region in New South Wales.

According to the release, Aeris’ five-hole drill campaign at Canbelego extends the envelope of copper sulphide mineralisation both down dip and along strike.

While assays are still pending for three of the drill holes, the company said it had intersected several intervals of copper mineralisation in one diamond drill hole (CANDD005). This included “zones with visual estimates of between 1-3% copper sulphide (chalcopyrite) mineralisation”.

However, Aeris Resources shares may be sliding after the company also reported that:

Continuation of the massive high-grade chalcopyrite shoots intersected in CANDD002 were not intersected within this complexly deformed and folded host sequence. Further interpretation and modelling is required to determine controls and potential extensions to the high-grade mineralisation, prior to further drilling.

The five diamond drill holes completed so far since the exploration campaign kicked off in April total 1,913 metres. The company says the assay results for the remaining holes are subject to a five to eight week laboratory turnaround time. This lag is being experienced across the entire sector.

Aeris Resources share price snapshot

Aeris Resources’ share price has gained a remarkable 368% over the past 12 months. It has far outpaced the 22% gains posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

A sharply rising copper price has been among the tailwinds helping drive investor interest. One year ago, copper was trading for US$6,486 per tonne. Today that same tonne of the red metal is worth US$9,336, or 44% more.

Year to date the Aeris Resources share price has continued to outperform, up 70% so far in 2021.

Incidentally, Aeris’ shares have gained 87% since 30 April.

The post Aeris Resources (ASX:AIS) share price slides on exploration update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• 3 ASX shares that’ll grow regardless of inflation or economy: expert
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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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The Camplify Holdings Ltd (ASX: CHL) share price is making a strong rebound on Wednesday, up 6.61% to $1.29 after the company announced its June quarter results.

This follows a sharp 6.56% tumble on Tuesday to a record low of $1.21.

Camplify is a digital marketplace platform for recreational vehicles (RVs) such as campervans and motorhomes. It operates a similar business model as Airbnb, allowing holidaymakers to hire RVs for their outdoor adventures.

The company had a successful debut on the ASX on 28 June when its shares closed at $1.40.

What’s moving the Camplify share price today ?

Camplify was pleased to announce that its metrics for the fourth quarter of FY21 are tracking ahead of forecasts.

The company reported Q4 FY21 gross transaction volumes (GTV) of $9.6 million, representing a 163% increase against the prior corresponding period.

On Camplify’s first day of listing, the company upgraded its FY21 forecasts, citing GTV to be in the range of $30.0 million to $31.5 million instead of the $27.8 million in its prospectus.

The company’s strong performance to date has translated to yet another upgrade in FY21 forecasts. It’s now expecting between $31.5 million and $31.8 million in GTV.

In addition, unaudited net revenue for FY21 is forecast to be between $7.1 million and $8.2 million. This exceeds the prospectus forecast of $6.7 million.

Camplify delivers growth across the board

Camplify’s business has experienced strong growth across its core geographic locations.

Today’s announcement reported the Australian and New Zealand markets both experienced “excellent growth rates”.

The Australian market delivered an FY21 GTV growth rate of 158% compared to FY20. Q4 delivered a significant 582% uplift against the previous corresponding period (pcp).

Meantime, the New Zealand market has experienced “strong domestic support in the market as travellers returned to the local caravan and camping markets”. This resulted in a 485% lift in GTV in FY21 and a massive 2,627% surge in Q4 GTV.

On the other side of the globe, Camplify also experienced a “fast recovery” in its UK and Spain markets in terms of GTV and revenue.

The company said the UK and EU markets experienced an FY21 GTV growth rate of 199%, while Q4 growth rates delivered another 4 digit increase of 2,792% against the pcp.

Are lockdowns affecting the Camplify share price?

On 16 and 20 July, the Camplify share price tumbled 5.6% and 6.6% respectively.

It coincided with Victoria announcing, on July 20, that its five-day snap lockdown would be extended by another week until midnight Tuesday, 27 July.

On the same day, South Australia moved into a 7-day lockdown after its health authorities confirmed an outbreak of the coronavirus delta strain.

Commenting on the effect of lockdowns, Camplify said that Melbourne’s 14-day lockdown in May resulted in a temporary decrease followed by a sharp recovery in marketplace activity.

The overall result was a net GTV increase in May.

Similarly, the company expects a similar minor temporary impact on Q1 FY22 performance as a result of more recent lockdowns. But, overall, Camplify forecasts “no negative impact is expected” to its FY22 growth projections and outlook.

The post Camplify (ASX:CHL) share price rallies 7% on triple-digit quarterly growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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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 Apollo Minerals Ltd (ASX: AON) share price has jumped firmly into the money this morning.

Today’s leap into the green comes after the company announced a major zinc and lead discovery from its drilling program at Kroussou, Western Gabon.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s happening with the Apollo Minerals share price today .

What did Apollo announce?

In its release, Apollo confirmed the discovery of “high-grade zinc and lead mineralisation within 40m of [the] surface” at its Kroussou project.

The results “could allow for simple open pit mining extraction” of the minerals, according to the company.

Apollo is adamant drilling will continue to yield positive results, with “multiple opportunities for further discovery” at the Kroussou site.

As such, Apollo anticipates “strong news flow” and expects further results from assays that are currently pending at the site.

Speaking on the assay results, Apollo’s executive directory Neil Inwood said:

These first drilling results confirm the potential of the Dikaki Prospect and of the larger Kroussou system… The results highlight a shallow, flat-lying, broadly mineralised system, with potential for mineralisation to link up across multiple areas; demonstrating that Kroussou has the potential to deliver a significant, large scale, base metal project.

Apollo intends to continue with further assays and exploration at the site.

A bit more on Apollo Minerals

Apollo Minerals is in the business of minerals exploration. Its key interests are located at the Kroussou zinc-lead project, located in Western Gabon, Africa.

The company also has gold projects at its projects in Southern France and Spain.

At the time of writing, Apollo has a market capitalisation of $27 million.

Apollo Minerals share price snapshot

The Apollo Minerals share price has posted a year to date return of around 80%, extending the previous 12 month’s return of more than 250%.

These returns have far outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of ~20% over the last year.

The Apollo Minerals share price is trading near its 52-week high of 14 cents, and aloft the 52-week low of 2.4 cents.

The post The Apollo Minerals (ASX:AON) share price has rocketed 37%. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Macquarie picks the best ASX shares to buy for the August reporting season
• Here’s why the Service Stream (ASX:SSM) share price is halted
• Oil Search, Zip, JB Hi-Fi share prices jump, Aussie predicted to hit US$0.70, Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News
• ASX 200 midday update: Kogan FY 2021 update, Altium sinks
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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. 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 rolling COVID-19 lockdowns to hit our major cities will leave a mark on next month’s reporting season, but a top broker believes these ASX shares will outperform.

The Australian economy is likely to contract in the September quarter. This is threatening to derail the ASX’s best earnings upgrade cycle in decades.

Against this backdrop with more than half of the country’s population living in lockdown, the analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) highlighted several ASX shares to buy.

ASX earnings growth under a COVID cloud

“Australia’s run of positive EPS [earnings per share] revisions – the best in decades – is into its 11th month,” said Macquarie.

“The key drivers were banks and resources; but both are cyclicals, and the cycle is slowing. Results for 2H21 should beat expectations, but this makes for a tougher comp for FY22.”

Best ASX shares to buy for the reporting season

In this regard, the broker reckons the best ASX shares to buy ahead of the August reporting season are the COVID losers.

This is despite this group taking another beating from the current string of lockdowns to hit New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

Talk about a contrarian trade! ASX shares that are suffering under lockdowns are likely to provide dour outlooks. No one knows how long these lockdowns could go on for.

How ASX COVID losers could turn into winners

But Macquarie isn’t fussed. It pointed out that the COVID hit to profits isn’t expected to be as significant as it was in 2020.

“A miss on results could also cause a sell-off in these stocks, but we would buy the dips in re-opening plays, as they offer growth within a slowing cycle,” said the broker.

Macquarie’s best buy ideas for ASX shares favour defensives, growth and capital returns.

Defensive ASX shares to buy now

The defensive ASX shares that it likes includes the Amcor CDI (ASX: AMC) share price and Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB) share price, just to name a few.

Among the growth shares, it rates the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price a buy even as expert opinion is dividend on its outlook.

Increasing competition and high valuation have taken the gloss out of the Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) posterchild.

Other ASX growth stocks on Macquarie’s buy list include the Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC) share price, Resmed CDI (ASX: RMD) share price and SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) share price.

Capital return hopefuls to add to wishlist

The ASX shares that are likely to deliver capital returns that the broker rates a “buy” include three iron ore miners. These are the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price, Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price and Deterra Royalties Ltd (ASX: DRR) share price.

Outside of these ASX miners, Macquarie also added the Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD) share price as a capital return “buy” idea.

The post Macquarie picks the best ASX shares to buy for the August reporting season appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• BHP (ASX:BHP) share price climbing as miner considers selling oil assets
• This ASX share doubled market returns but is still cheap: expert
• The BHP (ASX:BHP) share price is up 8% in the past month. Here’s why
• Forecast crash in Aussie dollar to under US70 cents to boost these ASX 200 shares

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of BHP Billiton Limited, Deterra Royalties Limited, and Fortescue Metals Group Limited. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Amcor Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. and SEEK 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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