Category: Stock Market

ASX technology shares are making a bit of a comeback but there’s one in particular worth watching ahead of the August reporting season.

Tech darlings like the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price, Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price and Rhipe Ltd (ASX: RHP) share price have made strong gains over the past month.

But Morgan Stanley reckons it’s the Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8) share price that will deliver the best surprise among small- to midcap ASX tech shares.

Audinate share price has biggest upgrade potential

“Audinate’s leadership position is clearly strengthening and we view its competitive position and rebound potential as underappreciated,” said the broker.

“We see AD8 as a high quality name offering the best potential for FY22 consensus upgrades.”

A consensus upgrade will likely send the Audinate share price jumping higher. Shares in the audio-visual networking technology company has rallied nearly 67% over the past year.

What is the Audinate share price really worth?

But there could be another 16% upside. Morgan Stanley’s 12-month price target on the Audinate share price stands at $10 a share.

There are several reasons why the broker is so bullish on Audinate. Its Dante system is the dominant leader in its space and has strong competitive advantages.

While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the business due to restrictions on live events and concerts, Audinate is making a quick recovery.

Sales recovery stronger than market believes

“AD8 delivered record sales in 2-3Q as end customers invest in technology to support whatever a new normal looks like,” explained Morgan Stanley.

“Networked AV shift is inevitable – and Covid-19 has accentuated its superiority. If industry forecasts are right, there could be another c. 20% upside to our Street-high FY23 revenue forecast.”

Additional catalyst

Another key catalyst is the launch of Dante-enabled video products. Dante was originally developed to allow disparate audio equipment to be on a common network for control and monitoring.

The same value proposition applies to video equipment and the first Dante video products are now available in the market.

If video equipment manufacturers also embrace Dante, this will drive a further re-rating in the Audinate share price.

Don’t overlook the risks

But the investment is not without risks. Most of Audinate’s earnings are in US dollars and if the Australian dollar were to strengthen, it will translate to lower earnings.

There is also uncertainty about when or how quickly the live sound scene will recover – particularly for indoor concerts.

The adoption and sales of Dante video products may also be slower than what the market is anticipating. All new technologies take time to ramp-up.

Nonetheless, Morgan Stanley believes the rewards justify the risks. It reiterated its “overweight” recommendation on the Audinate share price.

The post Top broker picks the emerging ASX tech shares with the biggest upside next month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is rocketing 15% higher today
• ASX 200 rises, Challenger soars, Zip jumps
• The Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price stormed 5% higher today
• These ASX 200 tech shares are beating the broader market today

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of AUDINATEGL FPO and Nearmap Ltd. 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, AUDINATEGL FPO, and Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, AUDINATEGL FPO, and Nearmap 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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The Rumble Resources Ltd (ASX: RTR) share price is gaining in afternoon trade, up 6% after earlier posting gains of more than 8%.

Below, we take a look at the mineral explorer’s latest assay results, which appear to be spurring ASX investor interest.

What assay results did Rumble report?

The Rumble Resources share price is gaining today after the company reported promising first assay results from its drilling program at the Chinook Zinc-Lead discovery, at its Earaheedy Project in Western Australia.

According to the release, four reverse circulation (RC) drill-holes from the recently commenced 30,000 metres campaign confirmed wide zones of mineralisation. The results increased the ongoing zinc-lead mineralisation footprint by 125%, to an area of 3 kilometres by 1.8 kilometres.

To date, only 2,500 metres of the 30,000 metre drill program have been completed. The company said 2 more RC drill rigs will join the single rig currently on site over the next few weeks to accelerate the campaign.

Among other results, Rumble reported these “very significant widths intersected of near surface oxide Zn-Pb-Mn-Ag mineralisation” from the up-dip position of the south-western margin:

– 49m @ 2.45% Zn+Pb from 18m (0.5% Zn+Pb Cut-Off)

• including 38m @ 2.78% Zn+Pb, 4.6% Mn, 2.9g/t Ag from 23m
• with zone of 9m @ 3.67% Zn+Pb, 7.44% Mn, 3.6 g/t Ag from 46m

Commenting on the early results, Rumble Resources managing director, Shane Sikora said:

It’s important to understand we aren’t infill drilling, and the key first step we are currently undertaking to advance the Chinook Zinc-Lead discovery consists of broad spaced, step out drilling into new untested areas looking to find the edges of the mineralisation. Once the boundaries of mineralisation are defined, drilling will then shift to focus on the inferred feeder structures containing near surface, higher-grade Zn-Pb-Mn-Ag mineralisation…

With each drill hole we gather more data, and our understanding of the geology of this very large sediment hosted base metal system continues to improve. This in combination with our geophysical targeting methods will enable us to zero in on the higher-grade feeder structures inferred to be contained within this very large body of mineralisation.

Rumble Resources share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months the Rumble Resources share price is up 243%, well outpacing the 27% gains posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Year-to-date, the Rumble Resources share price has been a truly stellar performer, up 329% so far in 2021.

The post Why the Rumble Resources (ASX:RTR) share price is charging higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: Zip rockets, AMP asset sale
• Why Tesla stock crashed and burned again on Wednesday
• Here’s why the Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) share price is higher today
• Why is the Rural Funds (ASX:RFF) share price halted?
• Why the Worley (ASX:WOR) share price is edging higher today

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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At lunch on Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another decent gain. The benchmark index is currently up 0.4% to 7,356.3 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Zip share price rockets

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price rocketed as much as 15% higher this morning before easing back. This follows speculation that a rival buy now pay later (BNPL) provider has acquired a strategic stake. The AFR is reporting that Swedish BNPL provider Klarna may have snapped up a 4% interest in Zip. This is understood to be a move designed to strengthen Klarna’s position if the BNPL market consolidates to two to three leading global players in the future.

Megaport update

The Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price is pushing higher today following the release of its quarterly update. For the three months ended 30 June, Megaport reported its strongest customer additions of any quarter. Megaport added 168 new customers, bringing its total to 2,285 customers. This led to the elastic interconnection service provider reporting an 11% or $0.7 million quarter on quarter increase in monthly recurring revenue (MRR) to $7.5 million.

AMP asset sale

The AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) share price is edging higher today after entering into a binding agreement with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) to sell its AMP Capital’s Global Equities and Fixed Income (GEFI) business. Macquarie will acquire the business for a consideration of up to $185 million. AMP notes that this sale delivers on its strategy to focus on high-growth opportunities in private markets across real estate, infrastructure and associated adjacencies.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Zip share price with a 7% gain. This follows the aforementioned speculation about Klarna’s investment. The worst performer has been the WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price is down 2.5%. This morning Macquarie downgraded the logistics solutions company’s shares to a neutral rating partly on valuation grounds.

The post ASX 200 midday update: Zip rockets, AMP asset sale appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 stellar ASX 200 growth shares that could be buys in July
• Is the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price a buy for dividends?
• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is rocketing 15% higher today
• 2 ASX 200 shares that could be great for dividends
• AMP (ASX:AMP) share price in focus after Macquarie (ASX:MQG) asset sale agreement

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 MEGAPORT FPO, WiseTech Global, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and WiseTech Global. 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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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.

What happened

Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock slipped 2.5% in morning trading on the NASDAQ Wednesday, apparently hurt by a pair of bad news items — and a Barron’s report — just the day before.

As Barron’s reports, “safety appears to be the main reason” Tesla stock is struggling this week, as investors worry over news that one Tesla investor’s new Model S Plaid electric car burst into flames last week — while a separate family has launched a wrongful death suit against the company, blaming the performance of its “Autopilot” driver-assistance software.

So what

Some details are in order. Regarding the Plaid fire, The New York Post reported late last week that “a brand-new Tesla Model S Plaid … burst into flames in Pennsylvania” Tuesday in “a harrowing unexplained inferno.” That’s bad PR in and of itself, but what may make it worse is that the EV in question was owned by Susquehanna analyst Bart Smith.

While it’s not yet certain, this incident has the potential to turn “a longtime fan of the brand” into an enemy of Tesla — which might not be great news for the stock price.

Separately, The New York Times says a family in California is accusing Tesla of “partial” responsibility in the death of a 15-year-old child who was killed when a Tesla, possibly operating on Autopilot, collided with the family’s pickup truck.

Now what

All that being said, some context may also be in order. Because it’s a high-profile company, bad news about Tesla tends to gravitate to the top of news headlines. But according to data from Tesla — which admittedly has a vested interest in setting the record straight on this front — the first quarter of 2021 saw an average of:

• One accident per 4.2 million miles driven on cars using Autopilot, versus…
• One accident per 2 million miles driven in Teslas not using Autopilot but using other “active safety features,” versus…
• One accident per 978,000 miles driven in Teslas using neither Autopilot nor other active safety features, versus…
• One accident per 484,000 miles driven in cars in the United States on average.

Long story short and headlines notwithstanding, the data sure does seem to suggest that Teslas are anywhere from twice to nine times safer than any other car on the road — and over the long term, that data has to be good news for the stock price.

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

The post Why Tesla stock crashed and burned again on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Wondering which US shares Aussies bought last quarter? Here’s the answer
• How big could Tesla get by 2030?

Rich Smith 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 Tesla. 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.

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

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The Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) share price is jumped to an intraday high of $1.035 in early trade, before retreating back to $1.00 at the time of writing, up 0.5%.

Below, we take a look at the ASX gold share’s latest resource update and production forecast.

What resource update did Bellevue announce?

Bellevue Gold’s share price is gaining after the company revealed its total resources had increased by 11%. Bellevue’s total resource now stands at 3.0 million ounces of gold at 9.9 grams per tonne.

The company noted its total resource is now up 25% since February, when it completed the stage 1 feasibility study.

The ASX gold producer’s indicated resource also increased since the feasibility study. That now stands at 1.4 million ounces at 11.0 grams per tonne, up from 1.0 million ounces in February.

Bellevue Gold plans to release the results of its stage 2 feasibility study later this quarter. Taking the increased inventory into account, the company is contemplating increasing its production plant capacity from 750,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 1 million tpa. It expects to be able to achieve this with “minimal additional capital expenditure”.

What did management say?

Commenting on the progress, Bellevue Gold managing director Steve Parsons said:

We are advancing, growing and de-risking the project at the same time. This substantial resource increase means we have ticked an important box in our strategy to grow the forecast production rate by expanding mill throughput to 1Mtpa.

Given the surplus capacity built into the stage 1 feasibility study, we believe we can achieve this expanded throughput rate for minimal additional cost. This means we stand to generate increased free cashflow from the higher production rate and greater economies of scale, which in turn should increase the overall project economics significantly.

The company said its discussions for project funding are progressing rapidly, noting it had received 12 indicative proposals from lenders. “We expect to compile a shortlist of lenders in coming weeks,” Parsons said.

Bellevue Gold share price snapshot

The Bellevue Gold share price is down 8% over the past 12 months, compared to a gain of 27% on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) over that same period.

Year-to-date, the Bellevue Gold share price is down 12%.

The post Here’s why the Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) share price is higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) share price is charging 5% higher

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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Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF) shares won’t be going anywhere on Thursday after being placed in a trading halt prior to market open this morning. The Rural Funds share price closed yesterday’s session flat for the day at $2.60.

Today’s trading halt was accompanied by a slew of announcements from the company. Let’s take a look at what Rural Funds reported.  

Capital raising and acquisition

The Rural Funds share price will remain frozen today after the company updated the market with details of a proposed capital raising and acquisition.

In a statement to the ASX, Rural Funds Group announced it proposes to undertake a $100 million equity raising via a fully underwritten entitlement offer.

The company noted the equity raising will be used for the development of 1,000 hectares of macadamia orchards. In addition, Rural Funds intends to use the capital raised to acquire cattle properties and water entitlements.

The equity raising will be undertaken at $2.47 per unit, a 5% discount from the last closing price of Rural Funds shares. The company noted that brokers Bell Potter, Wilsons and UBS will be underwriting the capital raising.

The Rural Funds share price will remain halted until the earlier of the open of trading on Friday 9 July 2021, or when the company announces the outcome of the proposed capital raising.

Rural Funds share price snapshot

Rural Funds is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns a diversified portfolio of Australian agricultural assets. These include almond and macadamia plantations, cattle, and vineyards. Overall, Rural Funds targets distribution growth of 4% per annum by owning and improving farms that are leased.

Rural Funds shares have remained relatively subdued in 2021. After an initial sell-off earlier this year, the Rural Funds share price has recovered to trade 0.78% higher for the year so far.

In February, Rural Funds flagged the company’s intentions to plant 500 hectares of new macadamia orchards this calendar year.

Provided a successful capital raising, Rural Funds forecasts FY22 adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) of 11.6 cents per unit (CPU).

Throughout FY20 and FY21, the group has acquired $104 million of land and water for the development of macadamia orchards. It expects 500 hectares to be planted by November 2021 with an additional 500 hectares planted by June 2022.

Based on the current share price, the group has a market capitalisation of around $884 million.

The post Why is the Rural Funds (ASX:RFF) share price halted? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED. 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 Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR) share price has opened up higher this morning following the announcement of a contract award.

At the time of writing, the engineering group’s shares are up 0.71% to $11.33. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is trading at 7,368 points – up 0.60%.

Let’s take a closer look at what the company released in today’s early morning market news.

Worley secures contract in Egypt

Worley shares are on the move today after the company provided investors with a positive release.

In a statement to the ASX, Worley advised it has secured a services contract with Red Sea National Refining and Petrochemicals Company (Red Sea Co).

The deal will see Worley provide project management consultancy services for a greenfield integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex in Egypt. This includes an early front-end engineering design (pre-FEED), and front-end engineering design (FEED). In addition, the company will deliver detailed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services.

Located in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the project will convert around 4 million tonnes of crude oil into refined products and petrochemicals. This includes jet fuel, low sulphur fuel oil, polyethylene (a common plastic), paraxylene, and monoethylene glycol. The last two types of chemical compounds are used for manufacturing PET plastic bottles, x-ray film and polyester fibres.

The project will be managed by Worley’s Egypt and United Kingdom offices. Furthermore, ongoing support will come from the company’s Global Integrated Delivery team in India.

Worley CEO, Chris Ashton touched on the positive update, saying:

As a global professional services company headquartered in Australia, we are pleased that Red Sea Co. has selected Worley to deliver this important project in Egypt. We are committed to delivering a more sustainable world and will use our project management expertise to help develop reliable and efficient operations for this significant complex.

More on the Worley share price

The Worley share price is up by more than 30% over the past 12 months, but relatively flat for 2021 – down 2%. The company’s share price is sitting in the middle of its 52-week range of $7.75 to $14.01.

Worley commands a market capitalisation of roughly $5.87 billion, with approximately 522 million shares on its books.

The post Why the Worley (ASX:WOR) share price is edging higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price drops on latest contract award
• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price backtracks regardless of contract win
• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price edges lower despite contract wins

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 Alkane Resources Limited (ASX: ALK) share price is gaining in morning trade, up by 2.49% to $1.24.

Below we take a look at the ASX resource producer’s gold production update.

What production update did Alkane announce?

Alkane Resources’ share price is moving higher after the company provided a positive update. Alkane said it had exceeded its 2021 financial year gold production guidance at its Tomingley Gold Operations, in New South Wales.

The company’s original full-year guidance had been for production in the range of 45,000–50,000 ounces of gold. In April, Alkane upgraded that guidance to a higher range of 50,000–55,000 ounces.

In this morning’s announcement, Alkane reported Tomingley had produced 56,958 ounces of gold in FY21.

Additionally, the company reported costs had come in below its guidance of $1,400–1,550 per ounce. Pleasingly, all in sustaining costs (AISC) for the financial year came in at $1,320 per ounce.

Alkane credited a higher grade of material processed than it originally forecast for helping drive its guidance-beating results.

Commenting on the results, Alkane’s managing director Nic Earner said:

Tomingley continues to meet or exceed our expectations, demonstrating why it is a great asset managed by a highly professional and committed operations team.

With an updated mine plan that extends the life of Tomingley to at least 2031, at increased production rates, we remain buoyant about the longer-term prospects both at Tomingley and at our Boda exploration tenements.

As at 30 June, Alkane Resources had (unaudited) $19.0 million in cash, $7.7 million of bullion in hand and $47.2 million of listed investments. It also has $20 million in undrawn credit approved facilities.

The company’s gold production guidance for the 2022 financial year from Tomingley is 55,000–60,000 ounces at an AISC of $1,450–1,600 per ounce.

Alkane Resources share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months the Alkane Resources shares are down more than 3%. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has gained 27% over that same time.

Things have turned around for shareholders in 2021, with the Alkane Resources’ share price up 28% year-to-date.

The post Why the Alkane Resources (ASX:ALK) share price is moving higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Worley (ASX:WOR) share price is edging higher today
• 3 stellar ASX 200 growth shares that could be buys in July
• Here’s why the Laybuy (ASX:LBY) share price is climbing today
• Is the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price a buy for dividends?
• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is rocketing 15% higher today

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is not only home to banking and mining giants, it hosts a number of shares that could grow rapidly over the 2020s.

Three which have been tipped to do this are listed below. Here’s why these ASX 200 growth shares have been named as buys:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The first ASX 200 growth share to look at is Afterpay. This buy now pay later (BNPL) focused payments company has been tipped to continue its explosive growth in the coming years. This is due to the increasing popularity of BNPL with consumers, growing repeat usage, its international expansion, and new product launches. The latter includes the Afterpay Money app which will soon be launched in Australia and its pay anywhere offering in the United States. The pay anywhere offering gives US consumers access to many of the largest retailers in the country, covering almost half of all ecommerce volume.

Macquarie is positive on the company’s growth prospects. Particularly given those upcoming product launches. Earlier this month the broker put an outperform rating and $140.00 price target on its shares.

IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)

Another ASX 200 growth share to look at is IDP Education. It is a provider of international student placement and English language testing services. Although trading conditions have been tough because of the pandemic, it is being tipped to come out the other side in a stronger position. It has also recently made a key acquisition in India, which makes it the dominant language testing force in the lucrative market.

Goldman Sachs believes the company’s growth will accelerate post-pandemic. The broker also notes that it has plenty of opportunities to boost its growth with further earnings accretive acquisitions. Goldman currently has a buy rating and $35.00 price target on IDP Education’s shares.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

A final ASX 200 growth share to look at is Kogan. This ecommerce company may have been struggling with inventory issues and slowing sales in the second half of FY 2021, but its future remains as bright as ever. This could potentially mean the recent weakness in the Kogan share price is a buying opportunity.

Credit Suisse certainly thinks it is. It currently has an outperform rating and $17.93 price target on its shares. The broker feels that investors should look beyond the short term issues and focus on its strong long term growth potential from the structural shift to online shopping and its strong market position.

The post 3 stellar ASX 200 growth shares that could be buys in July appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is rocketing 15% higher today
• IDP Education (ASX:IEL) share price higher on bullish broker note
• 2 ASX 200 shares that could be great for dividends
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 rises, Challenger soars, Zip jumps

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 AFTERPAY T FPO, Idp Education Pty Ltd, and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Kogan.com 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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The Laybuy Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY) share price is on the rise in morning trade. This comes after the buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider released a business update for Q1 FY21.

In early morning trade, Laybuy shares climbed by as much as 5.45% to 58 cents apiece. At the time of writing, they have fallen slightly but are still up 1.82% to 56 cents.

How did Laybuy perform in the first quarter of 2021?

Investors appear excited about the company’s latest performance, sending the Laybuy share price higher.

According to its release, Laybuy reported strong growth across its key operational metrics for the quarter ending 30 June 2021. Gross merchandise value (GMV) increased to a record NZ$184 million (A$172.4 million). On annualised (multiplied by 12) metrics, GMV grew to NZ$738 million (A$691.6 million), up by 58% year-on-year (YoY).

Underpinning the result, the United Kingdom market saw GMV more than double YoY to £49 million (A$90.3 million), up by 107%. The UK is Laybuy’s largest market, followed by Australia and New Zealand.

Active customers lifted to 829,000 by the end of the period, representing a 43% jump YoY. UK active customers surged by more than 143% YoY.

Furthermore, active merchants reached more than 10,000 for the period, up from 9,126 in Q4 FY21. The uptick saw a number of retailers signed, such as Sports Bike Shop, JD Sports, Adore Beauty, Boardriders, and more.

The company also entered into strategic partnerships with AWIN, Rakuten, and Sovrn. This will give Laybuy customers access to 5,000 merchants across the UK. Household brands include ASOS, Nike, Marks & Spencer, Amazon, Boots, easyJet, Booking.com, and eBay.

Laybuy also launched its “tap to pay” product in the UK last month. The feature is seen as a way forward in a post COVID-19 environment. Both Australia and New Zealand rolled out the product in Q3 FY21 with much success.

Management commentary

Laybuy managing director Gary Rohloff appeared pleased with the company’s performance, saying:

Our growth strategy is delivering, with record GMV in the first quarter of FY22, surpassing the traditional peak quarter of December 2020. Since June 2020, we are delighted to have added over 4,800 active merchants and more than 356,000 new active customers which is driving strong growth across all regions, particularly in the UK market.

About the Laybuy share price

In the past 12 months, Laybuy shares have failed to take off, resulting in a decline of more than 70%. This year alone, the company’s share price is down close to 60%, despite building sales momentum.

Laybuy has a market capitalisation of roughly $139 million, with approximately 254 million shares outstanding.

The post Here’s why the Laybuy (ASX:LBY) share price is climbing today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Laybuy (ASX:LBY) share price will be on watch today

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

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