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.

Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) has seen its stock fall by nearly 80% since hitting its peak in Feb. 2021. The stock surged to elevated levels amid COVID lockdowns and fiscal stimulus. But as users returned to their offline activities and inflation worsened, consumers — and investors — turned away from Pinterest. On top of that, investors have most recently had to contend with the resignation of co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann.

However, monthly active user levels have begun to rise again, and given the much lower valuation for the social media stock, investors may want to take another look at this company.

The state of Pinterest

Pinterest may arguably be the site most geared to individual tastes. Instead of typical user profiles, users “pin” items based on their likes or passions. This information allows the company to generate revenue through “promoted pins” — ads targeted specifically to users interested in a related product or service. Hence, instead of relying on demographics or psychographics, Pinterest focuses purely on individual tastes.

Also, its users typically have money to spend. About 45% of its U.S. users live in households earning $100,000 or more per year. This level of disposable income should be attractive to advertisers.

Its highest-spending users are in the U.S. and Canada, though it has heavily emphasized attracting non-U.S. users in recent years. Still, in the first quarter of 2022, U.S. and Canadian users contributed an average revenue per user (ARPU) of $4.98. This was well higher than Europe’s ARPU of $0.72 or the rest of the world at just $0.08. Thus, challenges in North America will still affect revenue disproportionately.

The new leadership direction

Additionally, another cloud of uncertainty has appeared as co-founder Silbermann steps down as CEO. Silbermann announced his resignation on June 28, and Bill Ready, who headed the commerce, payments, and next billion users segment at Google, will take over as Silbermann becomes executive chairman.

The company wants to embrace e-commerce more directly, and Silbermann feels Ready will be a better CEO for such a transition. Ready has a background in payments, having previously served as the CEO of Braintree and Venmo. He also held various positions at PayPal, including Chief Operating Officer. Though leadership changes tend to bring added risk, his experience in commerce and fintech should enhance Pinterest’s retailing and payments-related capabilities.

Why the focus on e-commerce should help

The emphasis on e-commerce should improve ARPU, a bright spot in the company’s recent performance. In the first quarter, the company reported 433 million MAUs. While that was up from 431 million in the previous quarter, MAUs were down 9% year over year.

Still, users on the site became more valuable as global ARPU increased 28% year over year to $1.33. Revenue of $575 million was also up 18%, but this extends the company’s trend of decelerating top-line growth, falling well short of the 78% growth reported in the prior-year period, and the 20% growth from the fourth quarter. On the bottom line, Pinterest’s net loss shrank from $22 million last year to just $5 million last quarter.

But amid the tech sell-off, investors have focused on the slowing revenue growth and MAU stagnation. This has forced the stock down 50% year to date. Nonetheless, the price-to-sales (P/S) ratio has fallen to 4.6, just about its lowest level ever.

Should you consider Pinterest stock?

A low valuation and management’s focus on monetizing the platform could motivate investors to buy Pinterest stock. But the MAU results in recent quarters are underwhelming.

Though any major leadership change will bring some uncertainty, Ready has a lot to offer with his experience in e-commerce and payments. Meanwhile, ARPU growth remains robust, and MAU levels do seem to have stabilized. Such conditions could create the foundation needed for Pinterest to inspire a recovery. 

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

The post Pinterest is down 78% — Is it time to buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• Why did the Rio Tinto share price plunge 11% in June?
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• What happened to the Woodside Energy share price last month?
• Why Argosy Minerals, BHP, Ingenia, and Woodside shares are dropping today

Will Healy has positions in PayPal Holdings and Pinterest. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended PayPal Holdings and Pinterest. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PayPal Holdings and Pinterest. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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

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The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price dived 11% last month despite the company keeping a relatively quiet profile.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Resources (ASX: XJR) sector also tracked a disappointing finish, down 12% in June.

Investors headed for the exits across the board following one of the most volatile months on the ASX since COVID-19.

Let’s take a look below at what happened to the mining giant’s shares over the course of June.

What happened to Rio Tinto shares last month?

The Rio Tinto share price headed south last month following weak investor sentiment amid selling pressure on iron ore prices.

External factors such as news surrounding China’s ploy to secure cheap iron ore through a domestic centralised buyer caused concern.

This led the steel marking ingredient price to deteriorate from US$145 to roughly US$130 at the end of June.

When the news broke out, Rio Tinto shares fell almost 10% from 15 June until 20 June.

In addition, investors feared that a global economic downturn sparked by monetary tightening from major central banks would dampen iron ore demand.

A couple of brokers weighed in on Rio Tinto shares following the turmoil across global markets.

As reported by ANZ Share Investing, RBC Capital Market cut its price target by 12% to $97 for the mining outfit’s shares.

Based on the current share price of $100.52, this represents a downside of about 3.5%.

On the other hand, Jefferies lifted its rating by 1.1% but still had a more bearish tone of $93 for Rio Tinto shares.

Rio Tinto share price snapshot

Since the beginning of 2022, the Rio Tinto share price has moved in circles to register nil gains for the period.

Although, when looking at the past 12 months, its shares are down 20%.

Rio Tino has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 5.68 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $38.12 billion.

The post Why did the Rio Tinto share price plunge 11% in June? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 midday update: Regis Resources jumps, BHP and Rio Tinto drop
• These ASX 200 mining shares are digging a deeper hole on Friday
• How have ASX 200 mining shares fared over June?
• Own Rio Tinto shares? Here’s how the company is ‘canning’ carbon emissions
• What was the highest Rio Tinto share price ever recorded?

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 Scott Phillips.

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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 you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO)

According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this battery materials miner’s shares to $12.25. UBS has bumped its earnings estimates higher to reflect stronger than expected lithium prices. The broker also highlights that despite weakness in other commodity prices due to recession fears, lithium prices continue to rise. The IGO share price is trading at $9.86 on Friday.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

A note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and $13.78 price target on this wine giant’s shares. Citi believes that wine demand should be relatively more resilient to inflation and interest rates compared to other alcohol segments. In light of this, it feels that Treasury Wine’s FY 2022 guidance could prove conservative. Looking ahead, the broker sees potential for EBITS growth of 33% in FY 2023. This reflects price rises, wine demand resilience, and a full year contribution from the Frank Family acquisition. The Treasury Wine share price is fetching $11.43 on Friday.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Analysts at Morgans have initiated coverage on this cloud accounting company’s shares with an add rating and $90.25 price target. Morgans is bullish on Xero due to its significant market opportunity. It also sees potential for the company to boost its revenue per user metric through its app store. And while the broker acknowledges that rising interest rates are a negative for the valuations of growth companies, it appears to see a favourable risk reward here. The Xero share price is trading at $77.32 this afternoon.

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

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• Why this top broker just slapped a buy rating on Xero shares
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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. has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Treasury Wine Estates Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Well, June is done and dusted as we embark on a new financial year today.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is in a mildly celebratory mood to mark this occasion, with the index gaining 0.19% so far today at the time of writing.

But that doesn’t take away from the fact that it was a pretty bleak month for the ASX 200. The index lost close to 9% over June, in what has been an especially tough start to winter for investors. But what of the Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) share price?

Woodside Energy is now the biggest energy share on the ASX by a mile after the company completed its merger with BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)’s petroleum business in early June. We all know about the high oil prices that have been lifting the energy sector in 2022. But how has June treated Woodside shares?

Well, Woodside started June at a share price of $29.76. Yesterday, the company closed at $31.84 a share. That means Woodside shares recorded a gain of 6.99% for the month.

Not only is that a pretty stellar one-month gain, but it also represents an outperformance of almost 16% over the ASX 200. So, all in all, a very pleasing month for Woodside shares and shareholders.

What happened with the Woodside share price over June?

There wasn’t a lot of news out of Woodside last month, aside from the BHP merger taking effect. Nor was there much news out of the sector as a whole.

But, as my Fool colleague Brooke covered yesterday, Woodside was actually one of the few ASX 200 oil shares to record a gain over June. Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) was flat last month and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) fell by more than 9.5%.

These moves follow a mellowing of the crude oil price over the month. As we noted yesterday, oil recorded its first monthly fall in price since November last year over June.

So it appears Woodside’s good fortunes over the month are likely due to investor goodwill following the BHP deal. No doubt Woodside investors will be hoping for a repeat performance this July.

At the current Woodside share price, this ASX 200 energy share has a market capitalisation of $58.6 billion, with a dividend yield of 6.06%.

The post What happened to the Woodside Energy share price last month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Argosy Minerals, BHP, Ingenia, and Woodside shares are dropping today
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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Why BWX, Sayona Mining, Tyro, and Woodside shares are sinking
• How did ASX energy shares perform in June?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Scott Phillips.

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As we enter the new financial year, you might want to kickstart your dividend income with these ASX 200 shares.

Let’s take a look at which companies’ shares are set to trade ex-dividend next week.

What dividends are the companies offering?

First up, the GrainCorp Ltd (ASX: GNC) share price will trade without rights (ex-dividend) on Wednesday.

The board declared a fully franked dividend of 12 cents per share at the company’s half-year results in May.

The interim dividend represents an increase of 50% over the prior corresponding period (8 cents per share).

Additionally, a fully franked special dividend of 12 cents per share had also been elected by the board.

Together, the 24-cent dividend will be paid to eligible shareholders on 21 July.

The grain exporter’s shares are currently trading 1.37% higher to $9.64. This means that the company has a 1.91% dividend yield.

Next up, the Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF) share price is also going ex-dividend next week, but on Friday.

Earlier this week, the board announced a fully franked final dividend of 15 cents per share at the company’s FY22 results.

This brings the full-year dividend to 27 cents, and reflects a 17.4% lift from the previous financial year.

For those shareholders who will become eligible for the dividend, you will receive payment on 1 August.

At the time of writing, the restaurant operator’s shares are up 1.31% to $10.04. This means its shares have a dividend yield of 2.7%.

Foolish takeaway

To qualify for any of the above dividends you’ll need to make sure you are on the company’s share registry before the ex-dividend date.

If you do buy GrainCorp or Collins Foods shares on or after the ex-dividend date, then the upcoming dividend will go to the seller.

However, if you decide to offload the company’s shares on or after the ex-dividend date, you’ll still qualify for the dividend.

The post These 2 ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in June
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• Why BlueBet, Collins Foods, Northern Star, and Tassal shares are charging higher

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 positions in and has recommended Collins Foods Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB) shares are up 3.2% to $11.05 following an announcement that will reportedly save the company $1 billion.

In an ASX release after the close of trading on Thursday, Brambles announced its decision to say ‘no’ to a request from Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) in the US to provide plastic instead of wooden pallets to its supply chain network.

According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), saying ‘yes’ would have meant a $1 billion-plus capital investment.

For those unfamiliar with Brambles, it provides returnable pallets, crates, and containers to companies who use them to transport their goods. If you’ve ever noticed a blue crate with the word ‘CHEP’ on it in a supermarket carpark, that’s Brambles.

They own approximately 345 million pallets, crates, and containers and operate in 60 countries.

The power of saying ‘no’

In 2019, Costco announced it wanted to transition away from wooden to plastic pallets in the US.

Since then, Brambles has developed and trialled “an industry-leading plastic pallet” that complied with US fire regulations. Together with Costco, they also worked out ways to save on system costs through new efficiencies.

But those savings didn’t cover the additional capital cost of plastic pallets, which is four times higher than wooden pallets. So, Brambles had to up the price to provide Costco and its suppliers with the new plastic pallets. In turn, they decided they didn’t want to absorb this higher cost.

What did Brambles management say?

Brambles CEO, Graham Chipchase explained the decision:

Our decision not to proceed demonstrates our disciplined approach to capital allocation.

As the market leader, we have leveraged our scale and expertise to exhaust every operational and commercial lever to find a viable solution for Costco’s supply chain in the current environment.

The trial results confirmed the unique efficiencies in Costco’s supply chain and sound operational foundations of a digitally enabled plastic pallet pool.

However, in the current economic and market conditions, a conversion to plastic pallets was deemed commercially prohibitive by Costco’s suppliers and, without adequate cost recovery, dilutive to Brambles’ ROCI (return on capital invested).

We believe today’s decision is the best course of action for our business as we concentrate on helping our customers through the current challenges across global supply chains.

In its statement, Brambles said it continues to have a “strong relationship with Costco and its suppliers”. It also said it “is committed to supporting them through any potential transition”.

However, Brambles also reassured shareholders that any transition by Costco to plastic pallets would take years. Brambles is also confident it can offset any loss of business from Costco and its suppliers.

“… Brambles would seek to offset any associated financial and operational impacts through new business wins and transformation initiatives. Any wooden pallets released from the Costco system during a transition would be redeployed to new and existing customers, resulting in lower capital expenditure.”

Brambles said approximately 50% of the US market was addressable and provided “material opportunities for longer term growth”.

Guidance for FY22 earnings

In its FY22 third-quarter update released on 21 April, Brambles upgraded its FY22 guidance.

It’s now expecting sales revenue growth of 8-9% (previous guidance of 6-8%); and underlying profit growth of 6-7% (previous guidance of 3-5%). And that’s including US$50 million in one-off costs.

Brambles will report its FY22 full-year results during the upcoming earnings season on 17 August.

Brambles share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Brambles share price has decreased by 2.2%.

Year to date, the shares have gained 2.8% in value and outperformed the broader market.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has declined by 13.5% year to date.

The post Brambles share price rises amid $1 billion investment decision appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 dividend-paying and ethical ASX shares to buy now: fund manager
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Costco Wholesale. 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 Scott Phillips.

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week with a small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.2% to 6,585.2 points.

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

Austal Ltd (ASX: ASB)

The Austal share price is up 22% to $2.20. This follows the announcement of a major contract win in the United States. According to the release, the shipbuilder has been awarded a contract with a potential value of US$3.3 billion (A$4.35 billion) for the detail design and construction of up to 11 Offshore Patrol Cutters for the United States Coast Guard.

Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB)

The Mesoblast share price is up 17% to 71.5 cents. This is despite there being no news out of the biotechnology company on Friday. However, it is worth noting that the company’s shares sank to a decade low on Thursday. Some investors may believe that they have now bottomed. Mesoblast’s shares are still down ~50% in 2022.

Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL)

The Regis Resources share price is up 9% to $1.42. This follows news that Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest attempted to acquire a 15% stake in the gold miner. The iron ore billionaire was hoping to snap up the stake for $1.48 per share, which represents a 13.8% premium to its last close price. However, Forrest’s kill or fill order fell short of target at 12% filled and was cancelled.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)

The Zip share price is up 9.5% to 48.2 cents. This is despite there being no news out of the buy now pay later provider. Though, with its shares down 50% last month, some investors may believe they were oversold. Not even a bearish note out of Jefferies has held Zip’s shares back today. The broker retained its underperform rating and cut its price target to a lowly 38 cents.

The post Why Austal, Mesoblast, Regis Resources, and Zip shares are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Zip share price jumping 11% today?
• Why is the Mesoblast share price leaping 19% today?
• ASX 200 midday update: Regis Resources jumps, BHP and Rio Tinto drop
• Why is the Austal share price sailing 28% higher today?
• Regis Resources share price jumps 11% amid Twiggy Forrest raid

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. has positions in and has recommended Austal Limited and ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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 Scott Phillips.

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The Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price was out of form again in June.

During the month, the struggling ecommerce company’s shares dropped 22% and hit a multi-year low.

This stretched the year to date decline for the Kogan share price to a disappointing 68%.

Why did the Kogan share price sinking in June?

There were a few catalysts for the weakness in the Kogan share price in June.

The first was the broad market selloff caused by recession fears, surging inflation, and rising interest rates.

The selling was particularly hard in the tech sector and particularly among ecommerce companies.

This saw fellow ecommerce shares Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT) and Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) record equally painful declines during the month.

What else?

Also putting pressure on the Kogan share price were a couple of bearish broker notes.

Hot on the heels of a downgrade to underperform from Credit Suisse in May, UBS downgraded Kogan’s shares to a sell rating and slashed its price target by 33% to $2.90.

The broker has concerns over supply chain challenges, consumer spending, and margin pressures from elevated inventory levels.

In addition, the team at Jarden retained its underweight rating and cut its price target on the company’s shares by 45% to $3.52.

Jarden highlights the same headwinds as UBS and suspects they could lead to Kogan falling well short of consensus expectations. So much so, it is expecting the company to record a loss after tax in FY 2022.

Investors may not have long to find out if this is the case. The company traditionally releases a business update in the middle of July.

The post Why did the Kogan share price sink 22% in June? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Best ASX shares to buy in July 2022
• Kogan shares slide 7% nearing a 52-week low
• Why is the Kogan share price jumping 12%?
• Why is the Kogan share price soaring 6% on Monday?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares

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. has positions in and has recommended Cettire Limited, Kogan.com ltd, and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cettire Limited and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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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.

Prior to the pandemic, Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) was like many other small biotechs. It had a promising technology that had yet to be proven, and no products available commercially. In fact, for the full year of 2019, Moderna had only $60 million in revenue, entirely from collaborations and grants, and it posted a net loss of $514 million. While this is not uncommon for biotechs, it’s a stark contrast to what was to come. 

As we know, Moderna’s ability to rapidly produce a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus changed the financial prospects for the company and put it in a completely different position today. In the most recent quarter, Q1 of 2022, Moderna’s revenue was $6.1 billion and net income was $3.7 billion. That’s a far cry from the full-year results of just a few years ago.

But the past is the past, and what matters is what happens next. Here are three things about Moderna that smart investors know.

1. COVID-19 revenue will decrease but remain

As much as I wish it were not the case, it appears that Moderna will see COVID-related revenue for the foreseeable future. The most immediate catalyst is the recently received Emergency Use Authorization for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months of age and older. This was the last age group in the U.S. to receive approval to be vaccinated and should help sustain COVID-related revenues for Moderna.

When you consider the global vaccine demand, as well as the need for boosters and possibly new vaccines to combat future variants, there’s still a large market for sales worldwide. In Q1, Moderna reported it had approximately $21 billion in advanced purchase agreements for 2022. The company also believes that sales in the second half of 2022 will be slightly higher than in the first half. This revenue is a far cry from the pandemic highs, but it won’t decrease to zero anytime soon.

2. There’s more in the pipeline

While Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines get the headlines, there are another 46 development programs in the company’s pipeline. Of these programs, Moderna has three programs in phase 3 trials. One program is its COVID-19 boosters, but there are also vaccines for two other viruses nearing their trial endpoints.

Respiratory syncytial virus is one of the leading causes of severe respiratory illness in older adults as well as younger children. The vaccine for older adults is currently in phase 3 trials, and the vaccine for children is in phase 1. A vaccine for cytomegalovirus, the leading cause of birth defects in the U.S., is also undergoing phase 3 trials.

By the end of Q2, Moderna hopes to add an Omicron-specific COVID-19 booster as well as a flu vaccine to its list of programs in phase 3 trials. 

There’s no guarantee that any of these programs will reach commercial sales, but with dozens more products in the pipeline at various stages, it would be reasonable to invest with the expectation that Moderna is able to bring additional products to market.

3. The current valuation is a double-edged sword

It’s clear that the market has priced in the uncertainty around Moderna’s ability to bring future products to market. At the time of this writing, Moderna has a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.3, near its all-time low of 3.4. This is for good reason. While COVID-19 revenue is likely to remain, it won’t return to its peak levels, and even if all the programs in phase 3 trials come to market, the revenue won’t replace what’s lost in COVID-19 sales. 

That said, the COVID-19 vaccines have shown that mRNA technology can be successful, and the revenue generated over the past few years has put Moderna in a much better position to finance the development of future products. There’s risk in buying shares, but there’s also reward if Moderna can replicate its past success with future vaccines.

The bottom line for investors

Whether or not to buy shares depends on each investor’s risk tolerance and investing timeline. There’s reason to believe that over the long term, Moderna can grow to be a mainstay in the biotech space. As biotech investments go, there are certainly more risky investments out there. If Moderna is able to bring more and more products to market over the coming years and decades, it has the chance to be a smart investment for shareholders.

I think Moderna provides a nice balance of risk/reward because the valuation is such that investors don’t need a COVID-like pop for the investment to be successful. However, investors who buy shares expecting another short-term run-up like we’ve seen over the past few years are likely to be disappointed. 

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

The post 3 things about Moderna that smart investors know appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Jeff Santoro has positions in Moderna Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Moderna Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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

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The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price reversed its year-to-date gains in June.

For the month, the iron ore producer’s shares dropped 13% to finish at $17.53 on 30 June.

This was a worse performance than the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which declined 9% over the same timeframe.

And looking at the start of the new month, Fortescue shares are yet again tumbling today.

At the time of writing, the mining outfit’s shares are down 2.05% to $17.17.

What’s caused Fortescue shares to plummet?

While it was a quiet month for the company, the deterioration of iron ore prices led Fortescue shares lower in June.

In particular, the steel making ingredient closed at a six-month low of US$127.92 per tonne last week. While there has been a slight rebound, it’s still heavily down from when it was tracking around the US$146 mark earlier this month.

Currently, the price of iron ore is US$130 per tonne.

Furthermore, a wider fall across the ASX put severe selling pressure on the Fortescue share price.

The S&P/ASX 300 Metals and Mining (ASX: XMM) sector sank close to 15% in June.

This was brought upon by investor concerns regarding rampant inflation and aggressive rate hikes from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

What do the brokers think?

A couple of brokers rated Fortescue shares with varying price points at the beginning and end of the month.

As reported by ANZ Share Investing, the team at RBC Capital Markets raised its price target by 6% to $17.00 for Fortescue shares.

Based on today’s price, this is relatively in line with the market’s consensus.

However, last week, Morgan Stanley put out a more bearish note, slashing its rating by 11% to $14.20.

This implies a downside of 17% from where the Fortescue share price trades today.

Fortescue share price summary

Since the beginning of the calendar year, the Fortescue share price has continued to move in circles.

Down 10% for the period, this goes against the company’s historical share price trends of triple-digit gains.

It’s worth noting that Fortescue shares are not far off their 52-week low of $13.90 that was hit in October 2021.

On valuation grounds, Fortescue commands a market capitalisation of roughly $56.65 billion.

The post How did the Fortescue share price perform in June? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• These ASX 200 mining shares are digging a deeper hole on Friday
• What’s dragging on the Fortescue share price today?
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• Which ASX 200 mining share offers the best dividend yield for FY22?
• How does the Fortescue dividend compare with its peers over the last 5 years?

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 Scott Phillips.

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