Category: Stock Market

It has been another busy week for Australia’s top brokers. This has led to the release of a large number of broker notes.

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

Amcor CDI (ASX: AMC)

According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have upgraded this packaging company’s shares to an outperform rating with an improved price target of $16.56. Macquarie made the move partly on valuation grounds after recent softness in the Amcor share price. In addition, the broker expects Amcor’s full year result in FY 2021 to be strong, with further growth being recorded in FY 2022. And with Amcor generating significant free cash flow each year, the broker sees opportunities for the company to make bolt-on acquisitions. The Amcor share price is fetching $15.40 today.

Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating but trimmed their price target on this infection prevention company’s shares to $6.57. According to the note, the broker is pleased with Nanosonics’ plans to launch a new digital platform, AuditPro. However, Morgans already had a new product launch built into its forecasts, so no real changes have been made to its estimates. Nevertheless, it remains positive on its outlook and continues to rate it as a buy. The Nanosonics share price is trading at $5.68 this afternoon.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Analysts at Ord Minnett have retained their buy rating and lifted the price target on this telco giant’s shares to $4.25. This follows news that the company has agreed to sell a 49% stake in InfraCo Towers for $2.8 billion. In addition to this, the broker believes that Telstra’s head start with its 5G rollout leaves it well-placed in the mobile market. It suspects the company could make market share gains with lucrative postpaid subscriptions because of this lead. The Telstra share price is fetching $3.77 on Friday.

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

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• Here’s how the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price fared in June
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 rises, Telstra up, AGL sinks
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price jumped 4% higher today

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 Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Amcor Limited, Nanosonics Limited, and Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is rising today despite no recent market announcements. At the time of writing, shares in the coal miner are trading for $2.00 – up 2.56%. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.42% higher.

Let’s take a closer look at what might be driving today’s price jump.

Coal prices are flying

Coal is currently trading on the commodity market for about US$132 a tonne – its highest price in more than 10 years. A 2.7% jump in the fossil fuel’s price overnight saw the black rock reach this record.

Coal has been trending upwards for at least a year. Its market price is 150% higher than compared to this time last year, 63% greater than the beginning of 2021, and 21% above its price last month.

The website Trading Economics puts this sharp price rise down to constricting supply and surging demand, especially out of Asia. Trading Economics is also forecasting the price of coal to increase by almost 20% in 12 months’ time.

This could be one explanation for the growing Whitehaven share price.

Brokers are digging the Whitehaven share price

As Motley Fool Australia reported, Whitehaven shares appreciated by almost 24% over the month of June. A series of positive broker notes related to the company and its chief product, coal, seem to have piqued the interest of investors.

For example, Ord Minnett upgraded Whitehaven shares to a buy rating with a target price of $3.00 – 50% higher than its current share price.

Whitehaven share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Whitehaven share price has increased by 33%. While it has been good news for investors over the past year, for longer-term shareholders, it has not been as bright.

Two years ago, shares were trading for $3.65 and 3 years ago Whitehaven shares were valued at $5.87. In percentage terms, this is respectively a 45% and a 66% fall.

The shift in global demand from coal-fired power to renewable energy probably fuelled this decline. Whitehaven Coal has a market capitalisation of around $2 billion.

The post Why the Whitehaven (ASX:WHC) share price is climbing today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in June
• Woodside among ASX energy shares claiming financiers are pulling the pin
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX makes it 5 out of 5
• These were the worst-performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Here are the 3 most active ASX 200 shares 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 Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is slipping today despite the broader market gaining.

In early morning trade, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant hit an intraday low of $116.60, which was a 2% fall on yesterday’s close. It then recovered and is now trading at $118.22, down 0.70% at the time of writing.

Conversely, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) are both currently trading around 0.40% higher.

If you’re looking for one word to sum up Afterpay’s share price in recent months, it’s volatility.

Let’s take a look at how Afterpay has been tracking on the ASX lately.

What’s going on with Afterpay shares?

Afterpay hasn’t announced any price sensitive news since late April. Its share price continues to fluctuate, regardless.

It’s now mostly recovered from the massive drop it experienced in May, along with many other BNPL shares.

It hit its lowest point in more than 8 months on 12 May at $81.85 during intraday trading. Luckily, it has scraped back its May losses after a bumper June saw tech shares gaining across the board.

The Afterpay share price was boosted again in late June by a broker note and deals with some of the United States’ largest brands.

What happens next is anyone’s guess.

Afterpay share price snapshot

It goes without saying that 2021 has been the best of times and the worst of times for Afterpay on the ASX.

The Afterpay share price began the year at $119.68 at open on the first trading day of 2021. It rose to a record high of $160.05 in February before falling steeply to $101.50 by the end of the March quarter.

It headed north once again to close at $117.65 on April 30 before a second major decline in May.

The BNPL giant has a market capitalisation of about $34 billion, with approximately 290 million shares outstanding.

The post The Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is slipping today while the ASX 200 gains appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are the 5 best performing ASX All Ords shares from FY21
• ASX 200 up 0.25%: IDP Education rockets, Westpac hit with $87m bill
• Got Zip (ASX:Z1P) shares? Here’s what the company has in store for FY22
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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. 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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on track to end the week on a solid note. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.4% to 7,295.1 points.

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

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

The A2 Milk share price is up 5% to $6.53. This appears to have been driven by a bullish broker note out of Bell Potter this morning. According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating and $8.50 price target. It notes that a number of key data points are improving, which could be a sign that the company is over the worst of its issues. In other news, the company has appointed a new Chief Marketing Officer.

Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN)

The Chalice Mining share price has risen 3.5% to $7.22 following a drilling update at its Julimar nickel-copper-platinum element project. According to the release, more high-grade assay results from a step-out drilling program have been achieved, further defining the Julimar project’s mineralisation.

IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)

The IDP Education share price has rocketed 20% higher to $29.40. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the company’s shares after it announced a new acquisition. The language testing company is acquiring 100% of the British Council’s Indian International English Language Testing System operations for 130 million pounds (A$240 million). The deal will mean that IDP Education is the sole distributor of IELTS in the massive Indian market.

Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)

The Imugene share price is up 4% to 36.5 cents. This morning the clinical stage immuno-oncology company provided an update on its oncolytic virotherapy candidate, CHECKvacc. According to the release, the City of Hope independent cancer research and treatment centre near Los Angeles has received US Food and Drug Administration Investigational New Drug approval to initiate a Phase I clinical trial of CHECKvacc. CHECKvacc is Imugene’s novel chimeric orthopoxvirus with robust anti-cancer activity, including triple-negative breast cancer xenografts.

The post Why a2 Milk, Chalice Mining, IDP Education, & Imugene are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 5 best performing ASX All Ords shares from FY21
• Why the IDP Education (ASX:IEL) share price is up 20% to a record high
• ASX 200 up 0.25%: IDP Education rockets, Westpac hit with $87m bill
• Chalice (ASX:CHN) share price gaining on high-grade assay results
• Imugene (ASX:IMU) share price jumps 8% on FDA update

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 Idp Education Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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You may have come across our weekly column where the Motley Fool looks at the most bought and sold international shares that ASX investors are trading.

Well, today we’re looking at the shares ASX investors were holding across the 3-month period that’s just passed, the quarter ending 30 June. The data comes from the global broker and investing platform eToro.

Here are the top 10 most popular shares from around the world that Aussies were holding last quarter:

Rank	Stock	Rank from previous quarter	Rank from June quarter 2020
1	Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)	1	2
2	Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO)	2	9
3	GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME)	3	259
4	Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)	4	1
5	Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE: PLTR)	5	N/A
6	Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)	6	4
7	BioNano Genomics Inc (NASDAQ: BNGO)	7	N/A
8	Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)	10	6
9	AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC)	N/A	N/A
10	Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA)	9	17

Tesla and Nio shares win the ASX race

First off, it’s worth noting eToro also gave us the most popular shares its global investor base were holding over the quarter as well. But interestingly, the list was almost identical to what Aussie investors were holding. The only exception was a preference for cryptocurrency brokerage company Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) in the place of AMC.

But what is immediately obvious is the dominance of electric vehicle and battery manufacturers in Tesla and Nio.

Tesla is of course the US company helmed by Elon Musk. After a breathtakingly successful share price run over 2019 and 2020, Tesla shares have stalled somewhat in 2021, and are currently down 7.1% year to date. That hasn’t stopped Aussie investors from showing their commitment to the company though, it seems.

Nio’s fortunes have been remarkably similar to those of Tesla’s. Although it is listed in the US, Nio is a Chinese company that is sometimes called the ‘Tesla of China’.  Like Tesla, Nio had a 2020 to remember, but is also slightly down in 2021 so far (albeit up 52% since 14 May).

Here’s what eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert had to say on the dominance of Tesla and Nio:

Tesla and Nio have been the two most prominent stocks for Australian investors over the last six months. We can see that Australian investors are adapting to a long-term buy-and-hold strategy with both these assets, anticipating that the EV space will dominate the automotive industry for many years to come. Tesla has slightly more skin in the game than Nio, and that’s why Australian Investors are opting for Tesla shares right now.

Blue chips and meme stocks also popular

In terms of the other popular shares we see above, there seems to be a healthy mix of US blue-chip tech companies such as Apple, Amazon and Microsoft (and the Chinese tech giant Alibaba), as well as some high-growth and (dare we say) ‘meme stock’ plays in companies such as GameStop, Palantir and AMC.

It’s likely not too many investors would have even heard of AMC or GameStop before 2021. We can see this in GameStop’s startling rise from placing 259 this time last year and placing 3 last quarter.

AMC wasn’t even on last year’s list. But the share price insanity we have seen across these companies in various phases through 2021 has certainly put these two names on the map.

Fuelled by social media-driven short squeezes and momentum trades, AMC and GameStop both saw incredible share price appreciation in just a matter of days at various points this year. Aussies have evidently been very excited to try their hands at this type of trading.

In contrast, the dominance of Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon is clear. They were at the top of this list last year, and nothing much has changed.

The post Wondering which US shares Aussies bought last quarter? Here’s the answer 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. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Tesla and Coinbase. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, NIO Inc., Palantir Technologies Inc., and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $1,920 calls on Amazon, 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 has recommended Amazon and Apple. 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 LiveTiles Ltd (ASX: LVT) share price is one of the best performers on the ASX today. This comes after the employee experience software company announced it has secured a major deal with Fortune Global 100 company, Nestlé.

At the time of writing, LiveTiles shares are up an astonishing 20% to 18 cents.

What’s the deal?

Investors are fighting to get a hold of LiveTiles shares following the company’s significant contract win.

According to its release, LiveTiles revealed that it has signed another large enterprise licencing deal with international company, Nestlé.

Headquartered in Switzerland, Nestlé is the world’s leading nutrition, health and wellness company. The business has a market capitalisation of roughly US$333 billion and employs over 328,000 people worldwide.

Under the agreement, LiveTiles will deliver a range of products and services encompassing its employee experience solution. Around 125,000 users will adopt the initial phase. If successful, a second phase will take place where 300,000 people will participate in the program.

Most notably, the contract is a record signing for LiveTiles EMEA. The project integrated and rolled out services last month, and is scheduled to go live on 1 November 2021.

The contract is valid for a period of 3 years and will generate a minimum revenue of $2.1 million for LiveTiles.

LiveTiles co-founder and CEO, Karl Redenbach commented:

We’re proud to be working with Nestlé and delivering an all-encompassing Employee Experience Platform solution to one of the world’s biggest employers. To have a quality brand such as Nestlé signing with LiveTiles shows us that Employee Experience is now top of mind for the biggest employers in the world, particularly in a post-pandemic environment.

LiveTiles share price summary

While the LiveTiles share price is accelerating today, when comparing against the last 12 months, its shares are heavily down. The LiveTiles share price is sitting close to a 30% loss from this time last year, and 26% down year-to-date.

Based on valuation grounds, LiveTiles presides a market capitalisation of roughly $161 million, with about 912 million shares outstanding.

The post Why the LiveTiles (ASX:LVT) share price is rocketing 20% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These ASX shares just sank to 52-week lows

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. owns shares of and has recommended LIVETILES FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended LIVETILES 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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Australia’s largest mining initial public offering (IPO) in more than a decade is under way after 29Metals Limited (ASX: 29M) hit the boards of the Australian Securities Exchange at lunch.

At the time of writing, the newly listed copper producer is trading at $1.97 a share. This is down 1.5% from the company’s offer price of $2.

Upon listing, 29Metals joins the ranks of other ASX copper players such as Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) and OZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: OZL).

29Metals slides into ASX copper cathedral

Prior to going public, 29Metals raised approximately $527.8 million through its IPO offer. Shares were priced at $2 each, giving it an indicative market capitalisation of more than $960 million.

The well-timed debut follows a massive 56% surge in the commodity’s price over the last year. A rebound in the global economy paired with an acceleration in the ‘green transition’ has analysts at Goldman Sachs bullish on copper over the coming years.

According to the Australian Financial Review, Macquarie Capital and joint lead managers Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley had the offer filled at $2.05. However, 29Metals’ owner EMR Capital was conscious of retaining a 45% holding. Because of this, EMR decided to pull the offer price down to $2 and offload a bit more to other institutional investors.

Let’s talk numbers

The miner’s portfolio of mining assets consists of Golden Grove (Western Australia), Capricorn Copper (Queensland), and Redhill (Chile). Between these, 29Metals produced 41,000 tonnes of copper in FY20. For comparison, Sandfire Resources produced 79,000 tonnes.

When including its production of gold, zinc, silver, and lead, 29Metals delivered a copper equivalent production of 87kt. As a result, the company achieved total statutory revenue of $434 million in FY20. Moreover, the board aims to increase production, in copper equivalent terms, by more than 50% over five years.

Based on the prospectus, forecasted statutory revenue for FY21 is $557 million.

The post 29Metals (ASX:29M) slips on biggest ASX mining debut in a decade appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX makes it 5 out of 5

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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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Cyclopharm Limited (ASX: CYC) shares are on the rise today after the company released a trading update earlier today. In early afternoon trading, the Cyclopharm share price is trading 3.03% higher at $1.70.

Shares in the company were up by more than 7% in earlier trade after hitting an intraday high of $1.775.

Lets take a look at what Cyclopharm announced.  

Record first-half revenue

The Cyclopharm share price is getting a boost today after the company released unaudited accounts for the 6 months ending 30 June 2021.

The report was highlighted by record half-year revenue of approximately $8.1 million. The result reflects a 45% increase from the prior corresponding period.

In addition, Cyclopharm highlighted that revenues from Patient Administration Sets are expected to be 20% higher than the first half of 2020.

Cyclopharm noted that the revenue performance reflects the continuing shift in the mix of consumable sales to higher margin markets.

The company also highlighted that net cash at the half-year is expected to be in excess of $30 million. As a result, Cyclopharm confirmed its intention to pay a dividend of 0.5 cents per share at the half-year.

Cyclopharm managing director, James McBrayer said of the results:

Cyclopharm’s strong revenue growth across all our product and service lines in our established markets is driving the business to significantly outperform the results in the first halves of 2020 and 2019.

Cyclopharm share price snapshot

Cyclopharm is a biotech company that operates in the diagnostic imaging field, specialising in lung health. The company’s flagship Technegas technology is used across 60 countries throughout the world.

The Cyclopharm share price was travelling well in 2021 until last week when it tumbled around 40% following a market update.

The company announced it had received negative feedback from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sending investors running for the hills.

According to the announcement, the FDA noted that Cylopharm’s Technegas could not be approved as it stands.

The FDA gave Cyclopharm a list of items it needs to address within 12 months to potentially gain approval. Cyclopharm assured the market it will be able to address the required issues and still hopes to secure FDA approval in 2022.

Despite today’s bounce, the Cyclopharm share price remains more than 32% lower for the year.

The post Cyclopharm (ASX:CYC) share price jumps on trading update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Cyclopharm (ASX:CYC) share price is crashing 42% lower

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

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The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has given back its morning gains and is trading lower this afternoon.

At the time of writing, the banking giant’s shares are down 0.3% to $25.58.

Why is the Westpac share price trading lower?

It has been a busy day for Australia’s oldest bank. This morning the company revealed that it has been hit with an $87 million bill for failing to provide 32,000 customers with critical information from its financial advice business.

Whereas this afternoon, the bank advised that it has discovered a significant potential fraud.

According to the release, Westpac has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Forum Finance. This follows the discovery of significant potential fraud relating to a portfolio of equipment leases with Westpac customers arranged by Forum Finance, which were referred to Westpac’s Institutional Bank.

What is Forum Finance?

According to its website, Forum Finance provides technology and automation solutions that aim to unlock a business’ potential. As well as equipment leasing, its solutions include asset tracking, business processing automation, cloud and managed IT, and managed print services.

Forum Finance claims that its clients include Boston Scientific, Findex, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT, and WesTrac.

What now?

Positively, while investigations are ongoing and the NSW Police, ASIC, and APRA have been notified, at this stage it appears that no Westpac customer has suffered a financial loss from the fraud.

However, Westpac hasn’t been so lucky. It estimates that it has a potential exposure of around $200 million after tax, with the extent of any loss dependent on the outcome of its investigations and recovery actions underway.

The bank has obtained certain asset freezing and search orders to preserve available assets and relevant information. It has also investigated how this was able to happen, including an external review.

Westpac’s CEO, Peter King, commented: “Westpac takes fraud very seriously and will take all necessary actions to protect the interests of the bank and its customers. This is a complex issue, and we are working at pace to address it, including engaging with the police and regulators. At this preliminary stage, the potential fraud is sophisticated and appears to have been perpetrated externally. Our new Chief Executive of the Institutional Bank, Anthony Miller, is working with our customers to ensure no disruption to their operations.”

The post Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price lower after revealing $200m potential fraud appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) share price is lifting after the company announced the sale of its Tasmania general insurance business for nearly $85 million this morning.

After reaching an intraday high of $11.11 this morning, shares in the insurance giant are currently trading for $11.01 – up 0.27%. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.42% higher at 7,295 points.

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

Suncorp sells out

In a statement to the ASX, Suncorp announced the sale of its 50% interest in RACT Insurance (RACTI) to its joint venture partner, the Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania Ltd (RACT).

The sale is worth $83.75 million and the RACT will be paying upfront in cash. Suncorp says the price-to-earnings ratio for the sale is approximately 18:1. Suncorp expects a pre-tax profit of $65 million to $70 million.

Subject to regulatory approval, the sale should be finalised at the end of this calendar year.

The Suncorp share price is moving today after the news.

Suncorp CEO Steve Johnson said:

Suncorp and RACT have enjoyed a successful relationship in Tasmania since 2007. We have mutually agreed that now is the right time for RACT to take full control of the insurance entity. This is consistent with our focus on simplifying the Group and driving improvement in our core insurance and banking businesses.

Tasmania remains an important market for Suncorp Group. We are now focused on driving growth in the region through our wholly owned brands. This includes our leading national mass market brand AAMI, as well as our more specialised brands Shannons and APIA.

Other company news

Suncorp also announced its reinsurance placement for FY22 and a review of its pay and leave entitlements.

On the first matter, the upper limit it is budgeting for home, motor, and commercial claims is $6.5 billion. This is the same as FY21. Its allowance for natural disaster payments is $980 million for FY22.

Regarding pay and leave entitlements, Suncorp advised it will begin payments to employees who have not been granted their lawful pay and/or leave entitlements.

In May 2020, Suncorp self-reported this issue to the Fair Work Ombudsman and has been working to rectify it since, according to the statement.

The group expects the total cost of remediation to be about $60 million.

Suncorp share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Suncorp share price has increased 23.3%.

On the first trading day of 2020 back in pre-COVID times, the Suncorp share price was $12.94.

Over the past 52 weeks, the highest share price reached has been $11.94.

Suncorp has a market capitalisation of about $14 billion.

The post Why the Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price is on the rise today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• ASX 200 up 0.25%: IDP Education rockets, Westpac hit with $87m bill
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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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