Leading investor Jun Bei Liu from Tribeca Investment Partners has pointed to one S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) share that seems to be the cheapest it has been for five years. That ASX stock is SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK).

Jun Bei Liu wrote a piece for the Australian Financial Review that noted the market is now facing somewhat different concerns compared to the start of 2022. At the beginning of the year, there was much commentary surrounding the strength of inflation and how fast the US Federal Reserve would have to increase interest rates to react.

But now there is the concern of ‘stagflation’. What’s stagflation? Jun Bei Liu described it:

Stagflation refers to an unusual period of high inflation with low, or in extreme circumstances, negative economic growth. Many investors have never experienced such an environment. The most recent stagflation experience was back in the 1970s, where inflation rose to as much as 12%, mostly caused by the oil price spike.

It could lead to ‘real income’ declining and a destruction of demand. Real income is the income after taking into account inflation changes. If income rose 3%, but inflation was 4%, that would be a decline in real income.

How bad could stagflation become?

Jun Bei Liu said that if the combination of rising inflation, falling real incomes, and weakening demand became entrenched, it could escalate into a negative spiral that is hard to reverse.

So is this on the cards for Australia and ASX 200 shares?

At this stage, that fate doesn’t seem to be likely for Australia, according to the investment expert.

She pointed to several elements that could help the lucky country, including 5.5% GDP growth projected for Australia in 2022 and 2023. This would be stronger than the US and Europe. Australian households also have a reportedly high level of savings, providing a “nice buffer” for consumer spending.

Another benefit for Australia is that it exports a wide variety of commodities that are seeing high prices, such as energy, copper, and grain.

However, Jun Bei Liu expects inflation to pick up, with many ASX 200 companies talking of increasing prices. Tribeca is expecting Australia’s interest rate increases to be slow and steady.

SEEK named as an ASX 200 share opportunity

The Tribeca fund manager said that share markets have priced in a lot of the bearish sentiment.

Jun Bei Liu sees opportunities in quality companies that are predominately Australia-focused and are growing earnings in a “meaningful way”.

However, some of those ASX (200) shares are being sold off heavily as investors head for the exits.

She named SEEK as a pick. It’s the dominant business in the employment classifieds space. It achieved a high level of profit growth in the recent FY22 half-year result. Continuing operations net profit after tax (NPAT) rose 147% to $124.2 million, excluding significant items.

She said SEEK is expected to be on a double-digit growth trajectory over the next few years.

According to the investment expert, SEEK is now trading on its cheapest multiple for the past five years. The SEEK share price has risen 14% over the past month, but it’s still down by almost 10% in 2022.

For FY22, excluding significant items and the SEEK growth fund, NPAT is expected to be in the range of $230 million to $250 million, according to SEEK.

The post This quality ASX 200 share is trading on its ‘cheapest multiple for the past 5 years’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BHP and New Hope storm higher, Boral slumps
• This rare ASX share is growth, quality AND value: expert
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• How can investors in ASX shares hedge their portfolios amid uncertainty in 2022?
• The National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) share price target upgraded by a top broker

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 recommended SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a grand old time of it on the sharemarkets today. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up by a healthy 1.23% at just over 7,350 points. It seems ASX 200 investors largely have the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price to thank.

BHP shares are having a very strong day indeed today. The mining giant is currently up a healthy 4.74% at $48.65 a share. Since BHP is the largest share by market capitalisation in the ASX 200 Index, it is the share with the most impact on the ASX 200’s movements.

So why is the BHP share price having such a pleasing day of gains so far this Tuesday?

Well, it’s not entirely clear. There have been no major news or announcements released from the company itself recently. 

But a good guess would be what has been happening on the commodity markets over the past 24 hours. Commodities of almost all stripes have had a very pleasing day or two.

As my Fool colleague James covered this morning, oil has had an especially strong rally. WTI crude was up 7.3% overnight to over US$112 a barrel, while Brent crude shot even higher, rocketing by 7.7% to just over US$116 a barrel. Iron ore is also on the rise. According to Business Insider, iron ore is currently going for US$150.59 a tonne. That’s up from the US$144 levels we saw only a few days ago.

BHP has operations in both iron ore and oil, so these moves are obviously good news for the miner.

BHP shares shoot higher amid booming commodity prices

Another factor that might be affecting the BHP share price is the Australian dollar. The Aussie has spent the last week climbing against the US dollar. Well, until yesterday. The Aussie recently peaked at over 74 US cents a few days ago. But since then, it has come back to earth somewhat. At the time of writing, it is only asking 73.88 US cents.

Since BHP exports most of its commodities, a strong Aussie dollar means it will receive fewer Aussie dollars than it would if the currency was lower. So conversely, that means a falling Aussie dollar makes BHP’s exports more attractive.

So it could be a combination of these factors that are helping to push up the BHP share price so decisively today. We also see similar moves in BHP’s mining peers like Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), albeit not quite as enthusiastic. Rio shares are currently up 3.4%, while Fortescue’s gains are closer to 1.5%.

Today’s rise means the BHP share price is now up 14.7% year to date in 2022 so far. At the current share price, BHP has a market capitalisation of $234 billion, with a dividend yield of 9.87%.

The post The BHP share price is up 5% today. What’s going on? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BHP and New Hope storm higher, Boral slumps
• Why has the BHP share price dropped 7% in 2 weeks?
• Is it too late to jump on surging ASX 200 mining shares in 2022?
• Are 2021’s monster dividends from ASX 200 mining shares sustainable in 2022?
• BHP shareholders set for $30 billion windfall: Macquarie

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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Pure Hydrogen Corporation Ltd (ASX: PH2) share price is in the green this week.

Pure Hydrogen shares are currently swapping hands at 44 cents, up nearly 6% since the start of the week.

Let’s take a look at what’s been impacting the Pure Hydrogen share price since Monday?

New hydrogen deal

Pure Hydrogen is planning to work with a partner to trial Australia’s “first ever” hydrogen-fuelled garbage truck.

The company has signed a binding term sheet with waste collection provider JJ’s Waste & Recycling. Pure Hydrogen will supply the hydrogen-fuelled garbage truck, the hydrogen, and refuelling services.

Given JJ Waste has a fleet of 2,000 garbage trucks, Pure Hydrogen is hopeful it can transition more into hydrogen-fuelled vehicles if the trial is successful.

Pure Hydrogen described the supply of Hydrogen fuel cell-powered heavy commercial vehicles as a “game-changer” for the Australian trucking industry.

Commenting on the deal, Pure Hydrogen managing director Scott Brown said:

We believe this is the start of a new era for heavy commercial vehicles in Australia which will not only reduce and fix fuel costs but be cleaner and greener for the Australian environment. It will also reduce our reliance on imported diesel by replacing it with Hydrogen made in Australia.

We see the business case for converting garbage trucks to hydrogen fuel cell trucks as very compelling and we are confident this trial will be a great success.

The trial will take place on the Gold Coast in southeast Queensland and start at the end of this year.

Pure Hydrogen reported a loss of $807,571 in its half-year accounts, released last week. The company also increased its net cash balance by $2 million.

The company recently signed a binding collaboration with French technology company Plenesys to make turquoise hydrogen. This form of hydrogen is created using technology to convert methane into hydrogen and solid carbon.

Pure Hydrogen share price snapshot

The Pure Hydrogen share price has gained 53% in the past 12 months but dropped almost 21% year to date.

For perspective, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained around 9% in a year.

Pure Hydrogen has a market capitalisation of about $148 million based on the current share price.

The post Why is the Pure Hydrogen share price having such a stellar run this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Pure Hydrogen (ASX:PH2) share price leaping 5% this week?

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 Riversgold Ltd (ASX: RGL) share price is off to the races today.

Riversgold closed yesterday at 3.6 cents and is currently trading for 4.7 cents. That puts the Riversgold share price up 30.6% in late morning trade.

ASX investors look to be snapping up shares in the junior explorer today after the company reported on its latest rock chip sampling results.

What assay results were announced?

The Riversgold share price is surging after the miner reported on high grade assay results for lithium. The results were strong across all the rock chip samples taken from surface sampling at its Tambourah Lithium Project in Western Australia.

The miner only acquired 4 lithium-prospective exploration tenement applications covering 164 square kilometres in the Pilbara region earlier in 2022.

According to the release, the assay results confirmed numerous lithium-bearing pegmatite dykes, with the rock chip samples returning values between 1.5% Li2O and 2% Li2O.

The Riversgold share price could also be getting an additional boost from the company reporting that so far, only 200 metres of what could be a 26 kilometre long mineralised corridor have been evaluated.

Commenting on the results, Riversgold CEO, Julian Ford said:

These initial rock chip results from Tambourah are highly encouraging and are only from a 200-metre section of what is potentially a 26-kilometre-long mineralised corridor within the tenement.

We are fortunate to have access to a substantial database of modern geophysical data for the Tambourah Project and our strategy is to fast-track exploration by leveraging this knowledge base and the easy access afforded by the gazetted Marble Bar road.

Ford added that he expects more material news to come as Riversgold pursues its lithium exploration strategies.

The miner is planning to kick off a follow up reconnaissance trip next week, where crews will explore along the strike extension and other priority target areas.

Riversgold share price snapshot

With today’s intraday gains factored in, the Riversgold share price is up 135% in 2022.

That compares to a 3.7% year-to-date loss posted by All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

The post This ASX gold miner just struck lithium, and its share price is surging 31% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BHP and New Hope storm higher, Boral slumps
• Is the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price heading for $250?
• Where will Meta Platforms be in 3 years?
• Boral (ASX:BLD) share price hits 52-week low following guidance update
• Guess which ASX battery metals share has rocketed 100% in a week

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 Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a strong gain thanks largely to the resources sector. The benchmark index is currently up 1.15% to 7,362.2 points.

Here’s what is happening on the ASX 200 today:

BHP storms higher

The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price has played a key role in driving the ASX 200 higher on Tuesday. The Big Australian’s shares have stormed 5% higher today amid a strong night of trade for a number of commodities. This was particularly the case for oil prices, which jumped 7% overnight. And while the spot iron ore price has edged slightly lower, it remains above US$150 per tonne.

New Hope delivers strong profit and special dividend

The New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) share price is racing higher today after the coal miner’s half year results impressed the market. New Hope reported a 153% increase in revenue to $1,025 million and a 582% jump in underlying EBITDA to $554.4 million. This allowed the New Hope board to increase its fully franked interim dividend by 325% to 17 cents per share and declare a fully franked 13 cents per share special dividend.

Boral slumps

The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price is falling today after the building products company warned that heavy rain and rising fuel prices would impact its profits by ~$23 million. Boral now expects underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) from continuing operations (excluding Property) in FY 2022 to be between $145 million and $155 million.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 index on Tuesday has been the New Hope share price with a gain of almost 6%. This follows the release of its half year results. Going the other way, the worst performer has been the Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX) share price with a 5% decline. This morning the toll road operator’s shares traded ex-dividend for its 20.5 cents per share final dividend.

The post ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BHP and New Hope storm higher, Boral slumps appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Boral (ASX:BLD) share price hits 52-week low following guidance update
• New Hope (ASX:NHC) share price up 10% amid huge first half profits and special dividend
• This rare ASX share is growth, quality AND value: expert
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• How can investors in ASX shares hedge their portfolios amid uncertainty in 2022?

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 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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One broker thinks that the Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price has good potential to rise higher.

In March 2022, Macquarie shares have risen almost 10%. But the broker Morgan Stanley thinks that the global investment bank has upside potential of another 25% after upgrading the price target from $242 to $245.

Why is Morgan Stanley more bullish on the Macquarie share price?

According to reporting by The Australian, the cause of the upgrade was due to the EU energy price action and also due to the impacts on Macquarie’s primary US market.

Morgan Stanley increased the FY22 commodity revenue estimate by a further $400 million. However, Macquarie’s commodities and global markets (CGM) segment faces a potential $200 million of increased impairments because of the higher volatility and counter-party risk.

The commodity revenue is expected to decline by 20% in FY23 (after the elevated revenue in 2022), though there could be a longer-term revenue increase, suggesting it’s not just cyclical.

However, while higher commodities revenue is a positive, it’s possible that private markets may be soft, which could be detrimental to earnings in FY23, according to the broker.

What’s the latest on Macquarie’s FY22 so far?

In February 2022, Macquarie reported improved overall market conditions in the three months to December 2021, resulting in a record quarter for the group.

Macquarie said that the annuity-style businesses, Macquarie Asset Management (MAM), and banking and financial services (BFS) saw the combined quarterly net profit contribution fall year on year mainly due to the timing of performance fees and investment-related income.

However, the markets-facing businesses – CGM and Macquarie Capital – saw a combined quarterly net profit contribution “substantially” up thanks to higher principal income in Macquarie Capital with “exceptionally strong” investment realisations in the infrastructure (including green energy), business services and technology sectors.

Macquarie share price target and valuation

Morgan Stanley’s price target on Macquarie is $245.

The broker’s profit estimates put the current Macquarie share price at 17x FY22’s projected profit and 18x FY23’s estimated earnings.

Acquisition play in the works?

The Australian also reported on speculation that Macquarie Asset Management could be interested in bidding for telecommunications business Uniti Group Ltd (ASX: UWL). But, the newspaper reported the bid wouldn’t include Vocus, which Macquarie Asset Management and Aware Super own.

Uniti Group recently received a takeover approach from New Zealand outfit Morrison & Co.

The post Is the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price heading for $250? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• If you invested $10,000 in Macquarie (ASX:MQG) shares a decade ago, here’s what it would be worth now
• Why Macquarie (ASX:MQG) says US will become bank’s ‘biggest earning region’ in 2022
• Broker tips Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price to rise 13%
• Is the ASX set to welcome yet another BNPL share? Macquarie-backed company gears up for IPO
• Is Macquarie (ASX:MQG) gearing up to ink its next big deal?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 recommended Macquarie Group Limited and Uniti Group 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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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.

Earnings season has been brutal for many investors, especially for those who own technology and internet stocks. Even though we are less than three months into 2022, many high-growth stocks are down 30% or more already this year, which can be tough to stomach. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB), the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus, is one of these stocks. Shares are down 40% year to date after the company put out poor guidance for the first quarter and has been hit by the broad market sell-off to start 2022. 

If you’re thinking of buying the dip on Meta Platforms stock, it might be smart to model out and estimate how big this business could be in a few years. Where will Meta Platforms be three years from now? Let’s take a look. 

Solid earnings, but poor guidance

On Feb. 2, Meta Platforms put out its earnings for the last three months of 2021. Revenue grew 20% year over year to $33.7 billion in the quarter, and earnings per share (EPS) was $3.67, slightly down from the year-ago period. Both of these numbers were right around analyst expectations.

User numbers came in a bit weak compared with expectations. Total daily active users (DAUs) were 1.93 billion versus 1.95 billion expected, and monthly active users (MAUs) were 2.91 billion versus 2.95 billion expected. However, the company made up for this user shortfall with average revenue per user (ARPU) of $11.57, which was better than the $11.38 analyst predictions. 

All these fourth-quarter numbers were fine, but the big surprise was Meta’s guidance for the first quarter of 2022. Revenue for Q1 is expected to be between $27 billion and $29 billion, which was much less than the $30.1 billion analysts were expecting. Given this disappointment, Meta’s stock plunged 20% in the days following the report, accounting for a lot of the stock price decline.

Family of apps and reality labs

When it changed its name from Facebook to Meta Platforms, management decided to switch up how the company reported its financials. It now has two segments: “family of apps” (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram) and “reality labs” (the metaverse and virtual reality division). The family of apps division, though marred by controversy, has continued to grow both revenue and profits over the past few years. From 2019 to 2021, revenue for the segment grew from $70 billion to $115.7 billion, and operating income grew from $28.5 billion to $56.9 billion.

With a market cap of $556 billion, that gives Meta’s stock a dirt cheap price-to-operating-income (P/OI) of 9.8 based on its family of apps division. So why are investors discounting family of apps so much when the social media apps have continued to grow and increase their profitability?

The uncertainty comes from Meta’s other segment, reality labs, which houses Oculus and its virtual/augmented reality research divisions. The division burned $10.2 billion in 2021, which is right around the annual burn rate Mark Zuckerberg said the division will run at for the foreseeable future. With only $2.2 billion in 2021 revenue (a small amount for a company of this size), there is still a long way for this division to grow and a lot of uncertainty over whether these investments will ever turn into a viable business. Given this uncertainty and how much money the division is expected to lose, it is understandable that investors are nervous about these moves from Meta Platforms.

Returning capital to shareholders

The good thing about this business, as compared to practically any other that is burning $10 billion a year on a venture-style bet, is that it is still able to generate tons of cash for shareholders. In 2021, Meta Platforms generated $39 billion in free cash flow,  up from $23.6 billion in 2020, which is highly impressive given how much money the reality labs division is losing. 

With so much cash coming in, Meta Platforms has started returning some to shareholders in the form of share repurchases. Meta’s share count has come down by 5.9% in the last five years, with the majority of that drop coming in the last year or so. For reference, management spent $19 billion on buybacks just in Q4 of 2021. At its current market cap of $556 billion, Meta should be able to reduce its share count by around 7% in 2022 if it spends all of its 2021 free cash flow on share repurchases.

FB Shares Outstanding data by YCharts

So where will Meta Platforms be in three years?

Given the differences between Meta’s two operating segments, it is hard to evaluate where this business will be at the start of 2025. It is likely the reality labs division will still be burning $10 billion a year, as that is Zuckerberg’s stated plan right now. Family of apps is harder to predict because of the nature of the social media industry. However, if we assume revenue will grow at 10% a year (which would be a big slowdown from its historical growth rate) over the next three years with stable operating margins, Meta’s family of apps division will be generating around $76 billion in annual operating income three years from now.

Subtract $10 billion in reality labs losses and Meta Platforms’ consolidated operating income could be $66 billion in 2024. At its current market cap of $556 billion (which doesn’t include any benefits from buybacks), that would give the stock a P/OI of 8.4. Unless something drastic happens with the overall stock market from now until then, I think there is a chance Meta Platforms stock could be significantly higher three years from now. 

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

The post Where will Meta Platforms be in 3 years? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ACCC takes Facebook’s owner Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB) to court over crypto scam ads
• 2 metaverse stocks that could double, says Wall Street

Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Meta Platforms, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Meta Platforms, Inc. 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 Boral Ltd (ASX: BLD) share price is slipping today following the company’s latest announcement on its earnings.

During late morning trade, Boral shares are fetching for $3.31, down 4.06%. The company’s share price hit a new 52-week low of $3.21 early in the session.

It’s worth noting that in the past month, the building materials company’s shares have lost more than 10% in value.

Boral experiences tough trading conditions for FY22

Investors are sending the Boral share price lower following the company’s announcement of a disappointing earnings guidance.

In its statement, Boral advised that sales volumes have been impacted for FY22 as a result of macroenvironmental factors. This relates to the strong rainfall that recently occurred in New South Wales and Queensland, as well as sharp increases in fuel and coal prices.

The latter has been a knock-on effect from the war between Russia and Ukraine which has sent commodities prices soaring.

Consequently, underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for Boral’s continuing operations (excluding Property) in FY22 is anticipated to be between $145 million and $155 million.

However, management noted that this is under the assumption that there are no further several weather-related events.

The company stated that its exposure to coal prices is unhedged for the second half of FY22, while expected diesel usage is only hedged until April 2022.

In addition, higher fuel prices were also “exacerbating supply chain constraints”, as previously disclosed.

Boral CEO and managing director Zlatko Todorcevski commented:

The impact on sales volumes of the extreme rainfall across New South Wales and Queensland in late February and early March have adversely impacted Boral’s earnings by ~$23 million. The exceptional weather conditions have prevented us from delivering products to our customers in many regions and caused significant production disruptions to our operations.

In addition, unusually extreme and rapid increases in the price of coal and diesel have recently occurred. This cost escalation is not expected to be recovered by our January and February product price increases, with the future cost impact based on current forward prices.

Boral share price summary

Over the past 12 months, the Boral share price has plummeted by almost 40% in value.

Based on today’s price, Boral commands a market capitalisation of roughly $3.69 billion, with approximately 1.1 billion shares outstanding.

The post Boral (ASX:BLD) share price hits 52-week low following guidance update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Are Boral (ASX:BLD) shares worth buying for dividends?
• Why is the Boral (ASX:BLD) share price trading at 20-month lows?
• 5 ASX 200 shares slipping to 52-week lows today
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in February
• 5 ASX 200 shares tumbling to 52-week lows 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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The Kuniko Ltd (ASX: KNI) share price has been an incredible performer in recent days.

With the battery metals company’s shares up 18% to $1.64 today, the Kuniko share price is now up over 100% since this time last week.

Why has the Kuniko share price doubled in a week?

The catalyst for the incredible rise by the Kuniko share price over the last few trading sessions appears to have been an announcement relating to the Skuterud Cobalt Project from last week.

According to the release, the Norwegian directorate of mining has approved Kuniko’s application to undertake its planned 7-hole, 2,800-meter drilling campaign at the project.

Kuniko has identified three highly prospective targets, including two confident Co-Cu mineralisation targets. Though, it will still be a couple of months until drilling activities commence. The release notes that its drilling contractor, Norse Diamond Drilling, will be mobilising in the first week of May, whilst a preparatory site inspection by Norse is scheduled during March.

In addition, it advised that preparations for sampling across four project sites – Skuterud, Ringerike, UndalNyberget and Nord-Helgeland – are proceeding smoothly.

What else?

The above bodes well for Kuniko given the current outlook for cobalt. As we covered here last week, the cobalt price was charging towards a new record high amid strong demand and tight supply.

Cobalt is used in the batteries of electric vehicles. So with McKinsey suggesting that one in four vehicles on the road will be electric by 2030, a lot of cobalt is going to be required to satisfy demand.

If Kuniko’s drilling results are good, then it will put it in a strong position to negotiate offtake agreements with car makers and battery manufacturers.

Stay tuned for those drilling results later this year.

The post Guess which ASX battery metals share has rocketed 100% in a week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here’s why the ResApp (ASX:RAP) share price is skyrocketing 60% today
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• 2 Warren Buffett stocks to buy and hold if the market crashes
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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 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 ResApp Health Ltd (ASX: RAP) share price is shooting the lights out today.

ResApp shares closed yesterday at 6.2 cents and are currently trading for 9.9 cents. That’s a whopping 59.7% gain for the ResApp share price in early morning trade.

The ASX healthcare share is focused on developing smartphone applications to diagnose and manage respiratory diseases.

Shares went into a trading halt on Thursday and emerged from that pause today after the release of results from its smartphone-based COVID-19 screening test.

What COVID-19 screening results were announced?

Investors are bidding up the ResApp share price after the company reported positive results from its cough audio-based COVID-19 screening test.

The test uses only a regular smartphone and makes use of machine learning to analyse the sound of a patient’s cough.

ResApp said the clinical trial – which recruited 741 patients of who 446 were COVID-19 positive – correctly detected the virus in 92% of infected participants. That success rate, according to the release, exceeds the real-world measured sensitivity of rapid antigen tests.

The company said it sees the best early market opportunities in settings where frequent testing is required. In these settings its smartphone test could cut back on the number of RAT or PCR tests being administered, which would reduce costs and offer a more readily available test.

The ResApp share price could be getting an additional lift today from management’s plans to now seek approvals from regulators and accelerate commercialisation of the smartphone test by partnering with a global health or technology company.

Commenting on the positive results, ResApp CEO, Tony Keating said:

The WHO have recently warned that the pandemic is not over, that health systems globally continue to strain under the current caseload and that we should be prepared for the potential of more dangerous variants to emerge.

We intend to accelerate commercialisation by immediately engaging with regulators globally and we have already commenced discussions with global health and technology companies with the goal of rapidly bringing this product to market.

Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at Deakin University added, “The simplicity, ease of use and unlimited scalability of ResApp’s test will be welcomed by public health officials around the world.”

ResApp share price snapshot

With today’s momentous intraday charge higher factored in, the ResApp share price is up 38.5% in 2022.

That compares to a year-to-date loss of 3.6% posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

The post Here’s why the ResApp (ASX:RAP) share price is skyrocketing 60% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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