ASX renewable shares have been struggling so far in 2022. Particularly if you compare their performance to some of the leading ASX fossil fuel energy shares.

Now, before we continue, there’s no single clear definition of what constitutes an ASX renewable share.

Traditionally, you’d expect them to belong to companies providing sustainable energy sources outside of fossil fuels. Say solar, wind, hydro, tidal, or geothermal.

But, these days, you could argue that lithium miners producing a material vital to battery power storage count among that group too. But then electric vehicles need nickel and copper too.

So, while there’s merit in that argument, for the purposes of this article, we’ll stick to the traditional definition of ASX renewables shares.

How have these ASX renewable shares performed in 2022?

Contact Energy Ltd (ASX: CEN) has a market cap just north of $6 billion. The New Zealand-based electricity provider operates 11 power stations and produces 80-85% of its electricity from renewable hydro and geothermal stations.

The Contact Energy share price is down around 4.3% so far in 2022.

Fellow ASX renewable share, Mercury NZ Ltd (ASX: MCY) has a market cap of just under $7.2 billion. The company generates more than 15% of New Zealand’s electricity and all that electricity is now generated from renewable sources.

The Mercury NZ share price is down almost 8% year-to-date.

Then there’s small-cap ASX renewable share Genex Power Ltd (ASX: GNX), with a market cap of $197 million. The Aussie-based company is focused on the generating and storing renewable energy, with various solar, hydro, and wind assets.

The Genex Power share price is down 27.5% in the New Year.

How does this compare to ASX fossil fuel shares?

While not all ASX fossil fuel focused shares have shot the lights out this year, many have rocketed higher on the back of soaring prices for everything from coal to oil to gas.

The Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX: WPL) share price, as one example, has soared 42% in 2022, with crude oil hitting its highest levels in 14-years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and pre-existing supply constraints.

Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) has performed even better, with thermal coal prices breaking all-time highs last month. The Yancoal share price is up 61% this calendar year.

What the experts are saying

Addressing the lagging performance of many ASX renewables shares, RC Global’s chief investment officer Roy Chen said (quoted by The Australian Financial Review):

It’s a combination of some clean energy stocks being driven up the year before, then becoming relatively expensive, while others do have some real issues. But I see the biggest problem being too many of these ETFs, or even active managers in the space, chasing very similar companies. Then when the tide turned, investors deserted the ETFs, causing outflows.

Chen added that while many fossil fuel companies have been waiting to expand their operations, a lot of ASX renewable shares have been spending big to upscale at a time when commodity prices are soaring.

“There are some of these clean energy companies that have issued profit warning after profit warning, and warned profit margins could even turn negative because costs are becoming so much,” he said.

And the outperformance advantage could lie with ASX fossil fuel shares over ASX renewables shares for some time yet.

According to an analyst at Wentworth Williamson, Martin Marais:

With geopolitical issues and an industry that is incapable of rapidly ramping up production after years of underinvestment, it is likely that the supply/demand imbalance may take many months, if not years, to fix. In our opinion, demand is unlikely to fall much while there are big supply issues in terms of new discoveries and bringing extra projects online.

At US$80 per barrel for oil and with higher gas prices, we believe that Australian oil and gas producers present good value at their current prices, and accordingly we have invested a meaningful portion of our fund into our best picks among them.

What’s next for ASX renewables shares?

But don’t count ASX renewables shares out just yet.

According to VanEck Australia senior associate for investments and capital markets Alice Shen (quoted by the AFR):

This trend towards clean energy stocks too will likely gain momentum as energy consumers seek substitutes for fossil fuels and the demand for renewable energy rises to meet climate change carbon emissions targets.

Clean energy assets are typically pro-cyclical and tend to overperform when the economic cycle expands and capital spending on renewable energy increases. We could therefore see clean energy companies are likely to rally in the months ahead as the world seeks cleaner and more reliable supplies of energy.

The post Why are ASX renewable shares struggling in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Chalice Mining, Santos, Yancoal, and Zip shares are dropping
• Why is the crude oil price tumbling and which ASX 200 shares are being impacted?
• Why is the Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price plunging today?
• Why is the Yancoal (ASX:YAL) share price plummeting 17% today?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Uniti jumps on takeover speculation, Rio Tinto and Yancoal tumble

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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When the Australian Foundation Investment Co Ltd (ASX: AFI), or AFIC for short, first opened its doors back in the late 1920s, it had a very potent advantage. If an investor wanted a broad-based, diversified investment in ASX shares, all under a single ticker code, then AFIC was one of the only options available to investors. 

Perhaps unfortunately for this Listed Investment Company (LIC), that is no longer the case in today’s modern investing world. With the rise of the exchange-traded fund (ETF), there are many investors today, inspired by the teachings of great investors like Warren Buffett and the late Jack Bogle, who simply look to index funds to fulfil this role. Why try and compete with the market, when you can just invest in the market, goes the logic. And perhaps fair enough too. If you’ve tried your hand at investing in individual shares yourself, you probably know how difficult it is to beat the market over a long time frame.

But that doesn’t mean AFIC is irrelevant now. After all, on its latest performance data, this LIC has managed to slightly outperform the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the past 5 years. It has returned an average of 10.6% per annum over this period, against the ASX 200’s flat 10%. 

But what of dividends? There might be many investors who choose AFIC as an investment over an ETF because of its history of delivering strong, fully franked dividend income. 

So let’s see how AFIC compares to the ASX 200 in this regard. 

AFIC vs ASX 200: dividend showdown

So AFIC’s last two dividend payments were an interim dividend of 10 cents per share that investors saw last month. And a final dividend of 14 cents per share that was paid out last August. Both dividends were fully franked. Those two dividends give AFIC shares a trailing yield of 2.94% on current pricing. 

Let’s compare that to an ASX 200 ETF like the iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ). IOZ pays out quarterly dividend distributions. Its last four payments total roughly $1.08 in distributions per share. On today’s unit price, that gives this ETF a trailing yield of 3.63%. However, not all shares in the ASX 200 pay fully franked dividends, so this yield only comes partially franked. But even so, it clearly outstrips AFIC.

But a caveat. AFIC is a LIC. That means it can hoard its dividend payments in order to smooth them out over time. In contrast, most ETFs are trust structures, which means they are compelled to pass on any dividend income to their shareholders almost immediately.

That might explain why AFIC was able to keep its dividends at 2018 levels over 2020 and 2021 – both years where many ASX shares were forced to slash their dividends compared to prior years’ levels. On the other hand, we saw IOZ’s distributions fluctuate wildly over the past few years. So AFIC might appeal to some income investors out there for this reason.

But that’s how AFIC as a LIC compares to an ASX 200 ETF in terms of dividend income. 

The post Does the AFIC (ASX:AFI) dividend beat the ASX 200? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Magellan jumps on buyback news, travel shares take off
• Why I closed my shares fund then launched a digital assets fund
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why has the Coles (ASX:COL) share price rallied 7% in a month?
• Why is the Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price plunging today?

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 Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is taking off amid a positive day for travel shares on the ASX.

Qantas shares are currently swapping hands at $5.06, a 2.43% gain. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is ahead 1.04% at the time of writing.

Let’s take a look at what is happening at Qantas.

International tour

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson are embarking on an investor tour overseas, The Australian reported.

The executives are holding investor conversations in Los Angeles, New York, and London. This includes presenting at a JP Morgan Industrials conference in New York this week. It’s reported Qantas is hoping to drive up overseas interest in the airline, given that foreign ownership has dropped to 21%.

Qantas recently signed a new sustainable fuel deal to power flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Australia. The airline will use almost 20 million litres of biofuels each year from 2025.

The Qantas share price is not the only ASX travel share on the rise today. Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB) is 2.09% higher, Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) is up 0.91% while Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) is currently trading 3.91% higher.

In more positive news for ASX travel companies, the New Zealand government announced today it will be bringing forward the opening of the international border to Australian tourists to 12 April.

And in another show of optimism, Qantas has recently released its fourth A380 from its storage site in the Californian desert. The jumbo planes have been upgraded to include more premium seats, Traveller reported.

As my Foolish colleague Sebastian reported on Monday, Firetrail analyst Sean Drennan believes Qantas shares are a buy. Drennan said:

As the dominant domestic airline, we are confident that Qantas will not only survive the pandemic, but emerge in a much stronger competitive position… There is a huge amount of pent-up demand.

Qantas on the ASX share price recap

The Qantas share price has dropped more than 7% in the past year but is up 1% year to date.

In the past week, the airline’s shares have gained around 12%.

Qantas has a market capitalisation of about $9.6 billion based on its current share price.

The post Qantas share price lifts as CEO takes to the skies appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Magellan jumps on buyback news, travel shares take off
• Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price lifting amid sustainable fuel deal
• Buying Qantas (ASX:QAN) shares is more than a COVID-19 recovery play: expert
• Here’s why ASX 200 travel shares are having another stellar day
• Why Block, Myer, Paladin Energy, and Qantas shares are storming higher

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited, Flight Centre Travel Group Limited, and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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

What happened?

Shares of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) were trading up 2.7% as of 1:21 p.m. ET on Tuesday. By comparison, the Nasdaq Composite index was up 1.7%.

While the tech giant’s upward move is coming during a broadly positive day for the markets, a Reuters article suggests that Amazon might be days away from closing its acquisition of the iconic Hollywood film studio MGM.

So what?

Amazon announced its $8.45 billion offer to buy the studio and its catalog of more than 4,000 films, including classic franchises James Bond and The Pink Panther, in May 2021. Amazon received regulatory approval for the deal from the European Union’s antitrust regulator Tuesday. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is also expected to approve the purchase within days, according to Reuters.

Now what?

MGM’s deep catalog would give Amazon’s Prime Video service a wealth of added content to keep customers engaged, and Prime has already picked up a lot of momentum during the pandemic. The tech juggernaut reported that customers were engaging with Prime’s benefits in record numbers during the fourth quarter. This fall, Amazon will release the highly anticipated original series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which could attract more viewers to the service.

All the major streaming video services are competing to secure exclusive rights to content in their efforts to win more subscribers in a market that could hit 1.7 billion users by 2026, according to Digital TV Research. Amazon Prime is expected to rank along with Netflix and Walt Disney as one of the top streaming providers by 2026. Digital TV Research forecasts that Prime Video will have 245 million users by that year, compared to 275 million for Netflix.

Moreover, securing the MGM deal might further justify Amazon’s recent move to raise the monthly cost of Prime by $2 to $14.99.

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

The post Why Amazon stock was outperforming the market today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Is Amazon stock a buy now before the 20-for-1 stock split?

John Ballard owns Amazon, Netflix, and Walt Disney. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, 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 Amazon, Netflix, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2024 $145 calls on Walt Disney and short January 2024 $155 calls on Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon, Netflix, and Walt Disney. 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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Shares in APA Group (ASX: APA) are nudging higher today and now trade 1% in the green at $10.03 apiece.

APA shares have traded sideways for the past two months and haven’t budged since trading restarted in January.

That trend is fairly consistent across the board, but whilst shares are up just 2% in the past 12 months, they have snapped back hard since last October and bounced from a low of $8.21 per share.

After a solid set of interim results, the company has attracted the attention of analysts who are digesting their next moves on the stock.

Are upgrades on the way for APA shares?

According to analysts at JP Morgan, the group’s solid result is “likely to lead to consensus upgrades”. The broker said that APA released a robust set of results, where EBITDA returned to growth and the organic pipeline continued to build out.

These results are sure to weigh in positively on its share price and the rating analysts assign to their valuations, it said.

“APA released solid interim financials with EBITDA growing 4% and tracking ahead of consensus for the year”, the broker said. “We still expect market upgrades due to the result”.

Whilst the interim dividend of 25 cents was “slightly below expectations and below normal payout ranges”, management still affirmed its full-year dividend guidance of 53 cents per share in the report.

“Free cash flow of A$515 million was impressive at an annualised yield of 9%”, the broker added.

Not only that, but APA’s recent closure of baseload plants is likely to be a net positive for gas use in power generation, and the group is looking to repurpose its Parmelia gas pipeline for hydrogen.

These initiatives could also be an avenue to extend the useful lives of its key assets, something JP Morgan said should lay to rest investor concerns over the group’s remaining gas pipeline.

However, whilst JP Morgan reckons consensus upgrades are on the way, it hasn’t moved an inch on its valuation or rating on the stock.

It still rates APA Group as a hold/neutral with a $10.50 per share valuation on the company and is joined by 6 other brokers in their hold rating.

APA Group share price summary

In the last 12 months, the APA share price has gained just 2% and is flat on the year to date as well. During the previous single month of trading, shares have walked another 2% in the green, and are up 1% on the previous week.

The post Are analyst upgrades on the way for APA (ASX:APA) shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the APA (ASX:APA) share price could be a top dividend share
• APA (ASX:APA) share price falls despite laying ‘foundation for future growth’
• Powering up: is the APA (ASX:APA) share price about to be electrified?

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended APA Group. 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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Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares are on the move today as the bank announces it has created a new position to drive change.

Westpac shares are up 0.43% today, trading at $23.59 at the time of writing. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.55% today.

Let’s take a look at what’s happening at Westpac.

New executive

Westpac has created a new position with the title Chief Transformation Officer. Yianna Papanikolaou has been appointed to the role and will join the company’s executive team. Her responsibilities will include major change, investment programs and accountability for the bank’s Customer Outcomes and Risk Excellence (CORE) program.

Papanikolaou recently joined Westpac as the general manager of the Group Transformation Office.

CEO Peter King commented on the appointment:

Continuing to transform culture and risk management remains a major focus for the Group in our efforts to build a simpler, stronger bank and the CORE program is an integral part of this plan.

Yianna brings a wealth of global experience in large scale transformations across major organisations.

Subject to regulatory approval, Papanikolaou will start in April. Her global experience includes senior roles at Deutsche Bank in the United Kingdom, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Accenture.

My Foolish colleague James reported recently that the team at Morgans consider Westpac shares great value now. The broker has a $29.50 price target on the company’s shares.

The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) is climbing 0.79% at midday on Wednesday. Westpac makes up 18% of the total market cap of the financials sector on the ASX.

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price is up 1.42% today, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) is climbing 0.24%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is ahead 0.64% and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is 1.05% in the green.

Westpac share price recap

The Westpac share price has fallen nearly 5% in the past 12 months, though it has gained more than 10% year to date.

In the past month, Westpac shares have climbed 2.25%, and nearly 9% in the past week.

Westpac has a market capitalisation of $82.5 billion based on its current share price.

The post Own Westpac shares? Here’s why change is afoot appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX dividend shares analysts say are buys now
• Why ASX 200 bank shares are storming higher today
• Is the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price a buy? Top broker expects sector-leading earnings growth
• Why this broker has big doubts over Westpac’s (ASX:WBC) cost cutting plans
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

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 Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Uniti Group Ltd (ASX: UWL) share price is lower in morning trading on Wednesday and is now $3.885, a fall of 3.12%.

Prior to the session, Uniti shares closed the day higher on Tuesday following speculation the telecommunications company is set to be acquired by asset manager HRL Morrison & Co in a $3 billion sale.

The company confirmed its position in an announcement yesterday. Although it also mentioned talks are in the early stages and nothing concrete has been established as yet.

Here’s what you need to know

The discussions surrounding the $4.50 per share offer are “highly conditional, and uncertain as to an outcome”, Uniti remarked yesterday.

At the time of the offer, it represented a 43% premium to Uniti’s closing price on Monday and values the company at $3.06. billion.

That level is actually an almost 30% decline since trading recommenced on January 4, particularly as tech stocks across the board have sunk to new lows.

Plus, stripping out cash on its balance sheet and including debt, Uniti has an enterprise value (EV) of $2.9 billion and a market capitalisation of $2.7 billion.

As speculation mounted, however, traders boosted the Uniti share price almost 30% before the company’s shares were placed in a trading halt.

Uniti said that shareholders needn’t take any action as the project, titled ‘Project Oatmeal’, is the subject of exclusive talks with Morrison & Co. until April 22.

It is also is still subject to a number of terms and conditions, namely due diligence, unanimous board support, and then building a formal agreement.

Analysts at Ord Minnet raised their price target by around 4% to $4.05 in response to the news, noting there will be more upside if another bidder enters the ring.

Bloomberg Intelligence reports that the broker has reduced its rating to hold from a buy in the process, however.

Macquarie also chimed in and noted they remain neutral on the stock at a $3.70 price target. Hence, Morrison & Co.’s offer represents a substantial premium to this number.

In fact, the offer is well above the consensus price target of $4.12 per share on Uniti, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

Uniti share price snapshot

In the past 12 months, the Uniti share price has soared more than 66% but it is down more than 11% this year to date in line with the performance of the broad tech sector.

Over the past month, shares are back in the green following this most recent surge which has seen shares climb 30% in the past 5 days of trading.

The post ‘Cannot rule out new interest’: What you need to know about the Uniti (ASX:UWL) takeover bid appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Uniti (ASX:UWL) share price rockets 31% after confirming takeover approach
• Why Clinuvel, Dicker Data, Healius, and Uniti shares are rising today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Uniti jumps on takeover speculation, Rio Tinto and Yancoal tumble
• Why the Uniti (ASX:UWL) share price jumped 17% before being halted
• These 2 compelling ASX shares are a buy: fund manager

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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 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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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is heading in the right direction at long last on Wednesday.

At the time of writing, the buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares are up over 5% to $1.49.

Why is the Zip share price rising?

Today’s gain by the Zip share price appears to have been driven by a combination of bargain hunting and a rebound in the tech sector.

In respect to the latter, the S&P/ASX All Technology index is up 2.8% at the time of writing. This follows a very strong night of trade on the tech focused Nasdaq index.

As for bargain hunters, with the Zip share price still down 65% in 2022 even after this gain, some (brave) investors appear to believe it could have found a bottom.

Which is reasonably understandable. After all, while UBS still believes Zip’s shares can fall down to $1.00, a number of other brokers have price targets well-ahead of where the company’s shares trade today.

For example, the team at Citi currently has a neutral rating on its shares, but a price target of $2.15. Based on the current Zip share price, this implies potential upside of 44%. That’s not bad considering the broker is sitting on the fence with its recommendation.

Citi recently commented: “While we get the strategic merit in the Sezzle acquisition and see the cost synergies (opex and COGS) as achievable, we do not think the acquisition changes Zip’s competitive position in a meaningful way in the US and also see execution risks (e.g. churn) as part of the integration process. The more immediate concern is higher than expected bad debt and slowing growth due to adjustments to risk settings and slowing e-commerce. However, with the balance sheet repaired we remain Neutral.”

The post Here’s why the Zip share price is surging 5% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Chalice Mining, Santos, Yancoal, and Zip shares are dropping
• Zip share price down 6% to another 52-week low
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Elders jumps, Magellan and Zip tumble
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• The Zip (ASX:Z1P) share purchase plan opens today. Here’s what you need to know

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 and has recommended 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Poseidon Nickel Ltd (ASX: POS) share price won’t be going anywhere on Wednesday.

This comes as the company requested that its shares be placed in a trading halt.

At such, the nickel producer’s share price is frozen at 8.7 cents.

Why is the Poseidon Nickel share price halted?

Prior to the market opening, the company requested the Poseidon Nickel share price be halted while it prepares an announcement.

In its release, the company advised it planned to make an announcement regarding a “significant funding development” with the Pure Battery Technologies Kalgoorlie battery metals refinery.

Poseidon Nickel has asked that the trading halt remain in place until Friday 18 March or following the release of the announcement, whichever comes first.

More on Pure Battery Technologies

Pure Battery Technologies announced plans in October last year to build a $460 million battery material refinery in Western Australia.

The hub will process nickel, manganese and cobalt to initially produce 50,000tpa of precursor cathode active material (pCAM) per year. This will be enough to create up to one million lithium-ion EV batteries in an effort to meet global demand.

Pure Battery Technologies managing director and CEO Bjorn Zikarsky said previously:

The Kalgoorlie pCAM hub is ground-breaking in terms of the green technology it will use and its role in the future of domestic and overseas EV markets.

Both Pure Battery Technologies and development partner Poseidon Nickel have been working together to get the project off the ground.

Poseidon Nickel managing director and CEO Peter Harold commented earlier this month:

We are currently advancing the bankable feasibility study for Black Swan, which includes evaluating a number of offtake options to deliver long term value for the project. These options include traditional nickel smelters, existing leaching plants and proposed plants (ie. PBT’s Kalgoorlie pCAM hub).

About the Poseidon Nickel share price

From March 2021 to July 2021, Poseidon Nickel shares surged from 5.5 cents to an all-time high of 16 cents.

However, this was short-lived with the company’s share price tumbling 60% to around 10 cents in August 2021.

Since then, Poseidon Nickel shares have moved in circles despite the spot price of nickel rocketing 200% in a year.

Based on valuation grounds, the company has a market capitalisation of roughly $266.56 million, with approximately 3.06 billion shares outstanding.

The post Here’s why the Poseidon Nickel (ASX:POS) share price is on ice today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• GameStop 2.0? What you need to know about the nickel short squeeze and how it’s impacting ASX shares
• What’s up with the Poseidon Nickel (ASX:POS) share price on Friday?
• I personally only own 2 ASX shares: fund manager

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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At lunch on Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is back on form and charging higher. The benchmark index is currently up 1.1% to 7,175.9 points.

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

Magellan announces share buyback

The Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price is charging higher today. Investors have been buying the fund manager’s shares after it announced plans to buy back up to 10 million shares on-market. This represents approximately 5.4% of its shares on issue. And while today’s gains are positive, Magellan’s shares are still down 67% over the last 12 months.

Suncorp floods update

The Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) share price is underperforming on Wednesday following the release of an update on flood claims. Suncorp reported that as of Monday it had received more than 34,000 claims related to flood damage. In light of this, the company has increased its estimate of natural hazard costs for the full year by $25 million to $1.1 billion.

Travel shares take off

The travel sector is having a very positive day. A number of travel shares such as Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) are among the best performers on the ASX 200 today. This follows another sharp pullback in oil prices during overnight trade. This bodes well for fuel costs for airlines and consumer sentiment and spending for travel bookers.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the Magellan share price with a 5.5% gain. This follows the announcement of an on-market share buyback. Going the other way, the worst performer has been the Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) share price with a 1.5% decline. This may be due to profit taking after a strong gain on Tuesday.

The post ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Magellan jumps on buyback news, travel shares take off appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price dips amid rising flood claims
• Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price on watch after announcing share buyback
• Why I closed my shares fund then launched a digital assets fund
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why has the Coles (ASX:COL) share price rallied 7% in a month?

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 recommended Flight Centre Travel 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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