The BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price is off to a flying start for 2022 following a company update.

At the time of writing, the artificial intelligence (AI) technology company’s shares are up 7.35% to 73 cents.

What did BrainChip announce?

In the morning, BrainChip provided investors with a board appointment which has led its shares to push higher.

According to its release, BrainChip advised that it has announced the inclusion of highly experienced director, Pia Turcinov to its board.

Serving as a non-executive director effective today, Ms Turcinov brings a wealth of experience to the role. Her knowledge spans across several industries for the last 30 years with a particular focus on innovation, technology, and diversification.

Furthermore, Ms Turcinov holds a number of qualifications in law and business management. She regularly mentors and publicly speaks on topics relating to entrepreneurship, technological disruption and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Incoming non-executive director, Ms Turcinov commented:

I’m excited to be joining the BrainChip Board as they launch a best-in-class neuromorphic AI chip that I believe can change the world. I look forward to bringing my unique qualifications and diverse experience to assist BrainChip through this new period of growth, helping the company build worldwide strategic AI partnerships.

BrainChip CEO, Sean Hehir added:

…She joins us at an exciting time and her extensive knowledge and experience in strategically leveraging entrepreneurship, innovation, commercialisation, economic and supply chain development will be greatly valued.

In separate news, Mercedes Benz has also partnered with BrainChip to use its Akida technology in the EQXX Concept car.

While still in the infancy stage, neuromorphic computing is currently being developed to efficiently power the vehicle.

Mercedes Benz noted that once integrated, energy consumption will be significantly reduced to run its latest intelligence technologies.

BrainChip share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, BrainChip shares have gained 60%. The company’s share price reached a 52-week high of 77 cents per share in March 2021, before moving in circles.

On valuation grounds, BrainChip has a market capitalisation of around $1.15 billion, with almost 1.7 billion shares on its registry.

The post Why is the BrainChip (ASX:BRN) share price leaping 7% on the first trading day of the year? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) share price is jumping 9% today
• Are AnteoTech (ASX:ADO) rapid COVID tests available in Australia?
• The five best crypto performers of 2021 revealed
• Why the Novonix (ASX:NVX) share price rocketed 650% in 2021
• Can Tesla Lead EV Stocks Higher in 2022?

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 Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is starting the year with a bang.

In morning trade, the coal miner’s shares are up 9% to $2.85.

This means the Whitehaven Coal share price is now up 14% since this time last month.

Why is the Whitehaven Coal share price zooming higher?

The catalyst for the strong gain by the Whitehaven Coal share price this morning has been a rise in the coal price.

This was driven by news that Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of thermal coal, has banned coal exports.

According to Reuters, Indonesia banned the shipments because of concerns it could not meet its own power demand. The country’s President, Joko Widodo, has threatened to revoke business permits for any miners who fail to meet domestic market requirements.

The team at Morgan Stanley has warned that this ban could lead to “meaningful upside” to its forecast for high-quality thermal coal at the Newcastle, NSW port averaging US$140 a tonne in the first quarter of 2022.

The broker, courtesy of Bloomberg, comments: “Losing 40% of the seaborne market overnight, in the midst of peak winter demand, could set us up for another coal price spike.”

Coal miners rise

It isn’t just the Whitehaven Coal share price rising on the news. A number of other ASX shares with exposure to coal are also pushing higher this morning.

This includes the Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) share price with a 3.5% gain, the New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) share price with a 4.5% gain, and the Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) share price with its gain of 6%.

All in all, this has helped drive the resources sector notably higher on Tuesday. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Resources index is up 2%, which is double the ASX 200’s gain.

The post Why the Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) share price is jumping 9% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Why is the Whitehaven (ASX:WHC) share price having such a stellar end to the week?
• Why is the Whitehaven (ASX:WHC) share price hitting the dirt today?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 AnteoTech Ltd (ASX: ADO) share price has soared since the start of the pandemic as the company has worked to create a COVID-19 rapid antigen test.

Enthusiasm surrounding the now-developed point-of-care rapid testing device has helped boost the company’s stock by more than 1000% since the start of 2020.

AnteoTech’s EuGeni testing device is now reportedly widely used in the United States and Europe. However, the Queensland-based company’s test is facing ongoing delays for Australian approvals, much to the frustration of AnteoTech’s boss.

At the time of writing, the AnteoTech share price is 31.5 cents, 3.28% higher than its previous close.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX:XJO) is up 0.86% right now.

Is the AnteoTech COVID rapid test locked in TGA delays?

AnteoTech’s calls for more rapid testing have been answered, but the company’s product still can’t be found in Australia.

AnteoTech CEO Derek Thomson reportedly told Queensland’s The Courier Mail, the company pushed the state government to accept rapid tests as a measure to screen for the virus. Last week, the publication quoted Thomson as saying:

We’ve always said that rapid testing has a place to be used to control the pandemic and now we’re seeing that play out…

There’s too much stress on the PCR testing system in all Australian states and it’s really not necessary to go to the full extent of doing a PCR test when you’ve got rapid tests readily available now.

Days after Thomson’s comments, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk declared the state would allow arriving travellers’ entry after they receive a negative rapid test. Previously, arrivals had to receive a negative PCR test.

Further, Palaszczuk announced close contacts in Queensland will soon be given access to 18 million free rapid antigen tests at COVID-19 testing sites yesterday, saying:

We know the transition to RAT tests for close contacts will reduce some of the pressure we have seen at testing clinics in recent weeks, ensuring those with symptoms can be tested sooner.

Still, Thomson reportedly noted it’s “quite frustrating” the Therapeutic Goods Administration hasn’t approved the use of the AnteoTech’s COVID-19 rapid antigen test.

That’s despite the potential its approval could lead to millions more 15-minute tests being made available to Australians. The EuGeni testing device has been proven to be accurate 97.3% of the time.

The post Are AnteoTech (ASX:ADO) rapid COVID tests available in Australia? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• AnteoTech (ASX:ADO) share price falls on TGA update

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) share price was one of the best performers on the Australian share market in 2021.

During the 12 months, the lithium-ion battery technology company’s shares recorded a stunning gain of almost 650%.

This was despite the Novonix share price finishing the year 26% below its highest levels of the year.

Why did the Novonix share price shoot higher in 2021?

Investors were scrambling to buy Novonix shares last year for a number of reasons.

One of course was the ongoing shift to renewable energy solutions, which is expected to lead to a significant demand for lithium-ion batteries over the next decade and beyond.

Another key driver of the Novonix share price gain was an announcement relating to a deal with US energy giant Phillips 66.

According to the release, Phillips 66 acquired a 16% stake in Novonix for US$150 million. It believes this investment will support its development of an entirely domestic supply chain for the growing US electric vehicle (EV) market and other energy storage systems.

In addition, Novonix revealed that Phillips 66’s investment will provide it with the capital needed to support growth and ongoing research and development activities. These include continuing to scale its synthetic graphite production and developing new technologies for higher-performance energy storage applications.

What else happened?

Also giving the Novonix share price a boost late in the year was news that it has been added to the illustrious S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) at the December rebalance. This came just three months after the company’s shares were added to the ASX 300 index.

When a share is added to a key index it can often lead to increased demand on the buy side. This is due to index funds needing to buy shares.

Furthermore, some fund managers have strict investment mandates that allow them to only buy shares from certain indices. This could mean there were some fund managers waiting in the wings to invest once they were given the opportunity to do so.

Shareholders will no doubt be hoping 2022 is another year of market-beating returns. Time will tell if that is the case.

The post Why the Novonix (ASX:NVX) share price rocketed 650% in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 best ASX 200 tech shares of 2021
• Novonix (ASX:NVX) shares rocketed 600% this year. Now what?
• Will Novonix (ASX:NVX) grow into its multibillion-dollar valuation in 2022?
• 5 investment themes to watch on the ASX share market in 2022
• The Novonix share price has tumbled 25% so far in December. What’s going wrong?

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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Whether you’re a crypto fan or crypto sceptic, there’s no denying the numbers.

2021 was a banner year for the world’s top digital currencies.

While there was plenty of volatility along the way, steely nerved investors who bought into the top 5 tokens on 1 January 2021 and held on through 31 December will be sitting on some seriously outsized gains.

Below we take a look at those 5 top performers.

To weed out potential price spikes from tiny altcoins, these leading 5 were all taken from the list of top 100 tokens by market cap, and sourced from data by CoinMarketCap.

With that said…

2021’s fourth and fifth best performing digital tokens

Coming in at number 5, with a 2021 price gain of 10,121% is Terra (CRYPTO: LUNA).

Terra ended the calendar year trading at US$85.54. That gave the token a market valuation of US$24.98 billion, the 10th biggest crypto in virtual circulation and the biggest to make it onto our top performers list.

So, what does Terra do?

According to CoinMarketCap, “Terra is a blockchain protocol that uses fiat-pegged stablecoins to power price-stable global payments systems.” Launched in April 2019, Terra says it offers fast and affordable settlements.

Moving on to the number four best performing crypto, we have Polygon (CRYPTO: MATIC), which posted an 11,816% gain in 2021.

Polygon was trading for US$2.56 on 31 December. That gave it a market cap of US$15.03 billion and made it the number 14 token by market cap.

Polygon, CoinMarketCap tells us, is “a platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development”, capable of building numerous different kinds of applications

2021’s second and third best performing altcoins

The third best crypto performer of the year just gone by is The Sandbox (CRYPTO: SAND).

Sand gained 13,458% during the calendar year, trading for US$5.02 on 31 December. That gave the token a market valuation of US$4.59 billion and brought it up to number 39 in the global list of cryptocurrencies.

The Sandbox is relatively old, by crypto standards, having launched back in 2011. Using blockchain technology, the token provides a virtual world than enables users to “create, build, buy and sell digital assets in the form of a game”.

While you’re unlikely to hear investors in The Sandbox complaining, fellow gaming related crypto, Axie Infinity (CRYPTO: AXS), stole the second best performing spot with a 2021 gain of 16,573%.

On 31 December Axie Infinity was worth US$98.81, giving it a market cap of US$6.02 billion. That moved it up on the list to become the 27th biggest token by market valuation.

Also blockchain based, Axie Infinity is a “trading and battling game that is partially owned and operated by its players… [allowing] players to collect, breed, raise, battle and trade token-based creatures known as Axies.”

Which brings us to…

The best performing crypto of 2021

While most everyone would welcome the returns from the 4 top performing altcoins listed above, none compare to the whopping 46,704% gain posted by 2021’s number 1 crypto gainer, Gala (CRYPTO: GALA).

Gala finished the year trading at 48.1 US cents. That gave it a market valuation of US$3.36 billion, making it the number 46 crypto in virtual circulation as at 31 December.

Like The Sandbox and Axie Infinity, Gala is also rooted in the gaming world. According to CoinMarketCap, “Players can own non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and influence the governance of games within the Gala Games ecosystem.”

Since launching in 2019, Gala Games now has 1.3 million monthly active users. The platform has sold 26,000 NFTs to date, with one selling for US$3 million.

The post The five best crypto performers of 2021 revealed appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Can Tesla Lead EV Stocks Higher in 2022?
• Here’s why the Vulcan (ASX:VUL) share price is charging 6% higher today
• 5 best ASX 200 tech shares of 2021
• Why Evergrande shares were suspended today
• These were the 5 worst performing ASX 200 shares in 2021

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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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.

2021 was a strong year for the stock market, and investors hope that 2022 can provide a repeat performance and give them double-digit returns once again. On the first trading day of the year, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) seemed ready to keep up its momentum, with futures contracts on the index rising three-quarters of a percent as of 7:15 a.m. ET.

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) put in another amazing performance in 2021, with its stock adding another 50% for the year. The growth of its electric vehicle (EV) business has been stellar, and over the weekend, Tesla reported impressive delivery numbers that complemented the numbers from its Chinese competitors quite well.

More records fall for Tesla

Shares of Tesla climbed more than 7% in premarket trading on Monday morning. The EV manufacturer’s fourth-quarter delivery and production numbers came out, and they marked another high note for bullish shareholders in the stock.

Tesla’s Sunday report showed it produced almost 306,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2021. That brought its total production for the year to more than 930,000 vehicles, most of which were mass-market Model 3s and Model Ys. Delivery figures were even more impressive, with 308,600 cars and SUVs going out in the fourth quarter, bringing the total for the year to 936,172.

Many had thought that Tesla’s initial hope for a 50% rise from the 500,000 vehicles it delivered in 2020 was overly ambitious. However, the final numbers show the huge demand for Tesla EVs as well as the company’s ability to get its manufacturing capacity up. Investors are hoping for similar outperformance in 2022.

Chinese EV makers weigh in

Also on the rise were shares of EV manufacturing companies located in China. Tesla’s numbers helped lift the whole industry, but its competitors also reported solid production and delivery numbers of their own.

Nio (NYSE: NIO) shares were up more than 2% in premarket trading. The company delivered nearly 10,500 vehicles in December, up 50% year over year, and topped the 25,000 mark for quarterly deliveries. All told, Nio delivered 91,429 vehicles in 2021, which was more than double its 2020 count.

XPeng (NYSE: XPEV) delivered vehicles at an even faster rate. The Chinese company reported 16,000 deliveries in December, up 181% year over year. That marked more than 41,750 vehicles in the fourth quarter, which was more than triple the year-ago figure, and total deliveries for 2021 came in at 98,155. That prompted a nearly 3% rise in the stock price in premarket trading Monday.

Finally, Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) saw its shares also rise almost 3%. Li delivered 14,087 of its electric cars during the month of December. Fourth-quarter deliveries came in at 35,221, up 144% from year-earlier levels. For the year, Li delivered almost 90,500 EVs.

The future of EVs

Despite the fundamental success of all of these businesses, stock performance among EV companies has been mixed. XPeng and Li have managed to post gains over the past year, but Nio lost 35% of its stock price as investors seemed surprised that its Chinese competitors’ delivery figures raced past its own.

The growth of the entire EV industry is likely to continue in 2022, and the question will be who benefits the most from that growth. As new players like electric truck disruptor Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN) and established automakers like Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) start moving toward bringing more EVs to market, Tesla will have to maintain its immense customer loyalty and first-mover advantage to produce the sort of gains shareholders have gotten used to seeing. 

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

The post Can Tesla Lead EV Stocks Higher in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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

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The Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) share price has started 2022 in fine form.

In morning trade, the lithium developer’s shares are up 6% to $11.05.

Why is the Vulcan share price charging higher?

Investors have been bidding the Vulcan share price higher today after it revealed that it has been granted five new exploration licenses for geothermal energy and lithium in the Upper Rhine Valley, Germany.

According to the release, the licenses cover an area 325km squared which is considered by Vulcan to be prospective for deep geothermal and lithium brine. It increases the company’s granted license area by nearly 50% to over 1,000km squared.

Vulcan’s Managing Director, Dr. Francis Wedin, commented: “Our core mission is to build shareholder value by having a materially decarbonising effect on the lithium supply chain for battery electric vehicles, and on energy production in Europe. To do this, we aim to further grow our Zero Carbon Lithium Project.”

Dr Wedin also spoke about the future and what shareholders should be expecting from the company in the next five to six years.

He said: “Following the signing of binding lithium offtake agreements with Volkswagen Group, Stellantis, Renault Group and Umicore, as well as a binding term sheet with LG Energy Solution, Vulcan’s current plans for lithium production are now fully booked for the first five to six years of planned operation, a unique achievement which is testament to our team and the uncompromising environmental credentials of the Zero Carbon Lithium Project.”

“We have increasing demand from our customers for further supply. These new exploration licenses give us significant potential to further scale up our project as the market continues to grow, whilst also meeting the increasing demand for renewable heat and power,” Dr Wedin concluded.

The post Here’s why the Vulcan (ASX:VUL) share price is charging 6% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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Last year was a wild ride for ASX technology shares.

Sure, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) was up a gentle 3.72% for 2021. But along the way it was also 15% down (in May) and more than 12% up (in November).

Aside from teaching us to hold our shares through the ups and downs, this showed the jitters the markets had about rising inflation and interest rates.

The theory is that rising interest rates impact tech stocks more than other sectors, because many of these companies rely on future earnings to justify their valuations.

But some ASX tech shares managed to ride out the volatility and put broad smiles on the faces of their investors.

Here are the 5 best performers of 2021 out of the constituents of the ASX All Tech index:

Company	2021 share price gain
Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX)	659.5%
Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)	157.25%
Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS)	122.73%
WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)	90.5%
Readytech Holdings Ltd (ASX: RDY)	86.6%

This ASX tech share is up 660% despite no profit, not much revenue

Battery materials and technology provider Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) sure did attract a lot of speculators last year.

Its shares rocketed up a phenomenal 660% over 2021, as investors piled on to take advantage of the electrification of the car industry. It was by far the biggest gainer among the ASX All Tech members.

This is despite Novonix not even making much revenue, let alone profit.

The business has much potential, but the team at Marcus Today wrote last week that they wouldn’t buy in at this stage.

“The near-term picture doesn’t offer that much of a compelling reason to get involved,” the team stated.

“Demand for its products are expected to gain momentum but until there are more cash flows, it is hard to value.”

These shares are still cheap, despite 157% gain in 2021

Family tracking software maker Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) started off 2021 with a bang, announcing in January that early Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB) staffer and sister to the chief executive, Randi Zuckerberg, had joined the board.

Wilson Asset Management portfolio manager Tobias Yao bought in at that time, when the shares were around $3.80.

“Given her profile, and the amount of opportunities that would come across her desk, we thought it was a huge vote of confidence that she decided to choose Life360.” 

The stock closed 2021 at $9.71 after starting the year at $3.77, which is an impressive 157% gain.

Yao told a Wilson video that Life360 shares are still good value.

“The valuation is actually undemanding relative to many of its international peers,” he said.

“We think the share price still has material upside driven by continued top-line growth — as well as multiple expansion on the back of people getting more comfortable with the growth story.”

Boom ASX share set for more gains if interest rates rise

Financial planning software maker Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS) was the only other stock in the ASX All Tech index that more than doubled its value over 2021.

The stock closed the year at $1.47, which ended up being a 123% return for 2021.

Shaw and Partners portfolio manager James Gerrish said last month that he would be happy to buy into Praemium in the $1.30s.

“To me, the independent platform businesses have got such tailwinds around how investors are holding their assets,” he said in a Market Matters video.

“And the huge uplift in the value of investable assets over time.”

Investor software is seen as an inflation beneficiary, as they hold balances of uninvested funds from their users, which they can lend out to banks for the cash rate.

The post 5 best ASX 200 tech shares of 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the 5 best performing ASX 200 shares in 2021
• 3 fantastic ASX shares to buy this month
• Analysts name 2 exciting ASX growth shares to buy in 2022
• Novonix (ASX:NVX) shares rocketed 600% this year. Now what?
• Top ASX shares to buy in 2022

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. Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Life360, Inc., Meta Platforms, Inc., Praemium Limited, Readytech Holdings Ltd, and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Meta Platforms, Inc., Praemium Limited, and Readytech Holdings 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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It was a stunning 12 months for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) in 2021. Over the period, the benchmark index climbed 13% higher.

Unfortunately, not all ASX 200 shares climbed with the market. Here’s why these were the worst performers over the period:

PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)

The PolyNovo share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 in 2021 with a disappointing 60.5% decline. Investors were selling the medical device company’s shares after its sales fell well short of expectations in FY 2021. In addition, the surprise resignation of its Managing Director, Paul Brennan, weighed on sentiment. Mr Brennan’s interactions with senior staff and his management style led to increasing differences between him and the Board. PolyNovo also lost its Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Anthony Kaye, to CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) during the year.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

The Magellan share price wasn’t far behind with a decline of just over 60% during the 12 months. This fund manager’s shares came under pressure last year amid concerns over the underperformance of its flagship fund. This is expected to weigh on performance fees in the near term and could impact fund inflows. In addition, late in the year the company’s shares were sold off after it announced the termination of the St James’s Place mandate. Magellan advised that the mandate represents approximately 12% of its current annual revenues.

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The Appen share price was out of form and dropped 55% over the 12 months. A good portion of this decline came after the release of its half year results in August. Appen reported a 2% decline in revenue to US$196.6 million and a 14.3% fall in EBITDA to US$27.7 million. In addition to this, concerns over structural changes in the artificial intelligence/machine learning data labelling industry have been weighing on sentiment. There are fears that major tech companies will bypass Appen by taking things in-house.

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

The A2 Milk share price was unsurprisingly among the worst performers on the ASX 200 in 2021 with a decline of 52.3%. Investors were selling down this struggling infant formula company’s shares after a disastrous performance in FY 2021. This was driven by a significant reduction in demand for its products in China and the daigou channel and poor inventory management. And while the company provided an investor update which outlined its recovery plans, it wasn’t enough to stop its shares from falling. A2 Milk guided to significantly lower margins compared to pre-COVID levels and a sales target of NZ$2 billion over the next ~5 years. The latter compares to FY 2020’s pre-COVID sales of NZ$1.73 billion.

AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL)

The AGL share price continued its multi-year decline in 2021 and dropped 48.6% over the period. Investors were selling off this energy company’s shares amid weak wholesale prices and its bleak outlook. Not even the release of its demerger plans has been able to give its shares a boost. Those plans will see the company split into two. AGL Energy is planning to become Accel Energy, an electricity generation business focused on the accelerating energy transition. It will then demerge a new entity, AGL Australia, which will be a multi-product energy-led retailing and flexible energy trading, storage and supply business.

The post These were the 5 worst performing ASX 200 shares in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the 5 best performing ASX 200 shares in 2021
• Analysts tip A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) and this share as buys
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in December
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in December

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 Appen Ltd and POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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

What happened

Shares of China’s troubled property company Evergrande Group (OTC: EGRN.F) were suspended from trading on Monday due to the announcement of an order to demolish 39 buildings under construction in China. According to local reports, the building permits were illegally obtained, and authorities had consequently ordered their destruction.

So what

It’s the last thing equity investors, bondholders, and Evergrande property investors wanted to hear. The company is engaged in an ongoing struggle for survival that involves selling assets and shares to pay suppliers and meet bond coupon payments. The news that it will have to destroy buildings under construction will not be well received.

Both Evergrande and another large China property group, Kaisa, have missed bond payments, and rating agency Fitch has already cut their debt ratings to restricted default. Moreover, Fitch’s analysis assumes both companies will be liquidated in bankruptcy. For a flavor of how bad things are in the sector, consider that Fitch estimates the value of Kaisa’s investment properties is just 17% of the book value given by the company at the end of the first half of 2021. 

Now what

It’s no secret that Evergrande and Kaisa are in liquidity trouble, but the critical question is whether there will be contagion in China’s credit markets. The answer to that probably comes from potential government action to limit the fallout in the sector by helping Evergrande with a restructuring plan. Until that happens, investors have cause to be very cautious about the sector in general. 

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

The post Why Evergrande shares were suspended today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Lee Samaha 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.

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

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