In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) looks set to start the week with a decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.3% to 7,280.8 points.

Four ASX shares that have not let that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are pushing higher:

Australian Clinical Labs Ltd (ASX: ACL)

The Australian Clinical Labs share price is up 2.5% to $5.05. This morning the pathology company announced the successful completion of the acquisition of Medlab Pathology for $70 million. It is a leading Australian privately-owned independent pathology provider, with two laboratories and 288 collection centres across NSW and QLD.

Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM)

The Humm share price has jumped 20% to 89 cents. This morning the financial services company revealed that it has received approaches from third parties to acquire all or part of it. No details on the approaches have been provided. However, the Humm Board intends to engage with these potential suitors to determine whether their proposals are capable of becoming definitive offers.

Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT)

The Neometals share price is up 1% to $1.05. Earlier today Neometals advised that its joint venture company, Primobius, has successfully commissioned its commercial shredding plant in Hilchenbach, Germany. From early next year, up to 10 tonnes per day of battery-grade metal sulphate chemicals will be able to be safely recycled into new battery production.

Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA)

The Viva Energy share price is up 3.5% to $2.23. This follows the release of guidance for FY 2021 from the fuel retailer. According to the release, the company expects its operating earnings to almost double to between $470 million and $490 million. Viva achieved strong fuel sales growth across both Retail and Commercial segments in FY 2021.

The post Why Australian Clinical Labs, Humm, Neometals, and Viva Energy are rising appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Neometals (ASX:NMT) share price jumps on battery recycling update
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Magellan shares crash 28%, CIMIC tumbles
• Why is the Humm (ASX:HUM) share price jumping 16% today?
• ASX shares that could be impacted by AdBlue shortage
• Here’s why the Neometals (ASX:NMT) share price is surging 6% 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 recommended Australian Clinical Labs Limited and Humm 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 Poseidon Nickel Ltd (ASX: POS) share price is soaring on Monday following the mining company’s latest drilling assay results.

At the time of writing, the nickel miner’s shares are swapping hands for 9.9 cents a pop, up 8.79%.

What did Poseidon announce?

In today’s statement, Poseidon advised that its latest infill drilling assay results have identified high-grade intersections at the Silver Swan project.

The company’s infill drilling program completed 23 holes, logging well-developed massive nickel sulphides deposits within the Tundra Mute Resource. The recent holes drilled came back with the following results:

• 12.9 metres at 10.63% of nickel (Ni) from a depth of 241.1 metres (PTMD005)
• 6 metres at 11.36% Ni from a depth of 257 metres (PTMD007)
• 11 metres at 13.26% Ni from a depth of 288 metres (PTMD014)
• 3.5 metres at 16.30% Ni from a depth of 287.9 metres (PTMD015)
• 15 metres at 17.92% Ni from a depth of 265 metres (PTMD018)

Poseidon noted that a downhole electromagnetic survey discovered seven plates that are considered highly conductive. These readings often suggest the presence of massive sulphides which are located within the area of known existing mineralisation intersections.

While the results are positive, the company will conduct further electromagnetic surveys in the near future. The information will guide additional drill testing in the area.

Poseidon Nickel managing director and CEO, Peter Harold commented:

We are delighted that the recent Silver Swan drilling has returned a series of high-grade results which will most certainly add tonnes to the resource base at Tundra- Mute.

While these results are very significant on their own, the fact that the down hole EM survey has returned strong EM conductors is a good indication that there is additional high-grade mineralisation in the vicinity of the existing know mineralisation.

These are fantastic results and demonstrate the perspectivity of the Silver Swan Channel.

About the Poseidon share price

Over the past 12 months, Poseidon shares have rallied almost 40% higher, reflecting positive investor sentiment. Since the start of 2021, the company’s share price is up around 50% alone.

On valuation grounds, Poseidon presides a market capitalisation of roughly $300.27 million, with more than 3.06 billion shares outstanding.

The post Here’s why the Poseidon Nickel (ASX:POS) share price is climbing 8% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Poseidon Nickel (ASX:POS) share price booms 17% on ‘exceptional’ drilling results

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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has started the week in a disappointing fashion. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 0.2% to 7,288.6 points.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are tumbling:

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price is down 10.5% to $21.65. This has wiped out most the gains made last week following an announcement. Investors may be concerned why if the company’s digital speaker technology is so revolutionary it has had to resort to signing a fabrication agreement with an unknown Chinese company with no track record.

CIMIC Group Ltd (ASX: CIM)

The CIMIC share price sank 15% to $15.51 before being placed in a trading halt. This follows allegations reported in the AFR of broken promises, extreme personal and financial hardship, and millions of dollars in unpaid wages from Australia’s biggest construction company.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

The Magellan share price has crashed 30% to a multi-year low of $20.62. This morning the fund manager announced the termination of the St James’s Place mandate. The release notes that the mandate represents approximately 12% of the company’s current annual revenues. As a result, the termination of the mandate at this point in the financial year is anticipated to impact its FY 2022 revenues by 6%.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is down 8% to $1.35 after announcing the acquisition of Bardoc Gold Limited (ASX: BDC). St Barbara has offered 0.3604 new St Barbara shares for each Bardoc share. Based on the St Barbara share price at the close of play on Friday, this values Bardoc at approximately $157 million and each Bardoc share at 53 cents. Investors appear to believe St Barbara is overpaying to expand its footprint in the Leonora Province.

The post Why Audio Pixels, CIMIC, Magellan, and St Barbara shares are tumbling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Bardoc Gold (ASX:BDC) share price is rocketing 12% today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Magellan shares crash 28%, CIMIC tumbles
• St Barbara (ASX:SBM) share price tumbles after announcing Bardoc Gold acquisition
• Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price crashes 23% after losing major contract
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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 Lithium Energy Ltd (ASX: LEL) share price is plunging today after a company update on its operations in Argentina.

Shares in the exploration company are trading hands at 70 cents on Monday afternoon, down 6%.

Let’s take a look at what may be impacting the Lithium Energy share price today.

What did the company announce?

In today’s release, Lithium Energy advised that COVID-19 travel restrictions were delaying public consultation at its Solaroz Lithium Project in Argentina.

The company advised the market back in September that approval for the project would be imminent.

Despite obtaining regulatory approval on the technical aspects of the exploration, the company wants to ensure the public consultation is complete before drilling for lithium.

The mining director has initiated follow-up public meetings with the two relevant community groups. This is now possible after COVID-19 restrictions were recently relaxed in the Argentinian province of Jujuy.

In consultation meetings in late July, the company said there were no significant community or landowner objections to the exploration.

Lithium Energy mines for battery minerals at both the Argentina mine and the Burke Graphite Project in Queensland.

Management comment

In a statement authorised by the executive chairman and director, the company said:

Whilst this has caused a delay to the planned exploration activities, Lithium Energy is fully supportive of the request made by the mining director.

Lithium Energy anticipates that such engagement will foster more positive long term community engagement and collaboration moving forward.

Lithium Energy said it would hold these community meetings in the new year and was not expecting any objection to the exploration.

The company is currently engaging with local geophysics and drilling contractors amid the pending approval and hopes to start exploring by early February 2022.

Share price snapshot

The Lithium Energy share price has surged a mammoth 250% in the past 12 months.

Despite this, the company’s shares have dropped by 21% in the past month and 4% in the past week.

The lithium miner has a market capitalisation of nearly $32 million based on the current share price.

The post Here’s why the Lithium Energy (ASX:LEL) share price is tumbling 6% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Audio Pixels, CIMIC, Magellan, and St Barbara shares are tumbling
• 2 ASX dividend shares that could provide steady income in retirement
• Magnis (ASX:MNS) share price leaps 6% on new supply deal
• OFX (ASX:OFX) share price surges 18% on first major acquisition
• Origin (ASX:ORG) share price slips on $42 million acquisition

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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ASX dividend shares could be the answer for investors who are looking for steady income in retirement.

Some businesses may be known for paying large dividend yields, but they haven’t built a reputation of reliability.

That’s why these two compelling investments could be top ideas:

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)

Soul Pattinson is one of the oldest businesses on the ASX. It has been a listed business since 1903 and it has paid some sort of dividend every year since then.

The investment house has held some of its largest investments for many years, including Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG) and New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC).

Soul Pattinson has grown its dividend every year since 2000. It has grown the dividend through the GFC, the COVID-19 pandemic and every other problem that has happened in the last two decades.

It funds its growing dividend from its operating cashflow, after paying for operating costs. The cashflow comes from the portfolio’s dividends and distributions. Some of the ASX dividend share’s other investments includes Pengana Capital Ltd (ASX: PCG), Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI), Pengana International Equities Ltd (ASX: PIA), agriculture, Round Oak and Ampcontrol.

The business is looking to increase its diversification and growth prospects by focusing on a number of investment themes including health and ageing, the energy transition, agriculture, financial services and education.

At the current Soul Pattinson share price of $30.22, it has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 2.9%. However, if the business grows its annual dividend per share by another 2 cents in FY22, it has a forward grossed-up dividend yield of 3%.

APA Group (ASX: APA)

APA is one of the largest energy stocks, with a market capitalisation of $11.6 billion according to the ASX.

This ASX dividend share is another one that has a long record of income growth for investors. It has increased its distribution every year for more than a decade and a half.

APA owns a vast pipeline across Australia, which transports huge quantities of gas. It supplies half of Australia’s natural gas usage.

The business also has stakes in other gas-related assets and also renewable energy assets.

Indeed, last week it announced it had reached a final investment decision to build stage two of the Mica Creek Solar Farm in Mount Isa. This includes the supply of electricity for 15 years, requiring additional capital expenditure by APA of around $70 million. It comprises 44 megawatts of additional solar power generation. There is continued strong interest from customers, so it’s investigating a potential expansion for a third stage.

Referencing the long-term shift to greener energy, APA has said that existing gas infrastructure may also play a critical role in supporting the delivery of ‘clean molecules’ to homes and businesses, such as biogas and hydrogen, which APA said are likely to be critical additions to the future energy mix.

In terms of distribution expectations, APA is guiding a 4% distribution increase in FY22 to $0.53 per security. That translates to a forward distribution yield of 5.3%.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares that could provide steady income in retirement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Are these 2 leading ASX 200 shares worth buying?
• Soul Pattinson (ASX:SOL) share price dips as investors digest AGM
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• APA (ASX:APA) share price leaps 5% amid hydrogen disruption plans
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns Pengana International Equities Limited and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Brickworks. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended APA Group, Brickworks, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended TPG Telecom 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 Magnis Energy Technologies Ltd (ASX: MNS) share price has come out of a trading halt to power ahead today. This comes after the company announced it has entered into a binding offtake agreement.

At the time of writing, the battery technology company’s shares are up 6% to 46.5 cents. In the first 15 minutes after market open when the news broke, the Magnis share price reached as high as 49.5 cents.

Magnis signs supply agreement

The Magnis share price is on the move on Monday as investors appear upbeat following the company’s latest update.

In its announcement, Magnis reported it has signed a legally binding offtake agreement with physical commodity trader and merchant Traxys.

This will see the future supply of natural graphite concentrate from Magnis’ wholly-owned Nachu Graphite Project in southeast Tanzania.

Under the terms, the delivery of the product is valid for a period of 6 years from the commencement date. It’s expected orders will begin to be fulfilled sometime in the second half of 2024.

The sales volume must be 50,000 tonnes of natural graphite concentrate within the first 12 months of the commencement date. In each of the following five delivery years, the sales volume increases to 110,000 tonnes. This equates to a total of 600,000 tonnes of natural graphite covering all flake sizes.

The pricing of the product will be set at the current market rate at the time of the delivery.

Magnis chair Frank Poullas commented:

We are really excited to have signed the binding offtake with a group of the calibre of Traxys which is a supplier of materials to many industries including lithium-ion battery manufacturers. Today’s announcement follows months of providing flake graphite samples from Nachu and is a major step in securing funding for Magnis’ Nachu Graphite Project.

About the Magnis share price

In the past 12 months, Magnis shares have boasted a gain of around 140% from continued positive investor sentiment. The company’s share price charged higher in late October following an update on its New York Lithium-ion Battery Plant.

Although the short-term picture appears rosy, looking over a longer time period, the Magnis share price is down more than 40% across the past 5 years.

Based on today’s price, Magnis has a market capitalisation of around $455.03 million, with roughly 978.56 million shares on issue.

The post Magnis (ASX:MNS) share price leaps 6% on new supply deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why have Magnis (ASX:MNS) shares just entered a trading halt?
• Magnis (ASX:MNS) share price slips after retracting $10b ‘potential’ valuation
• Here’s why the Magnis (ASX:MNS) share price is rocketing 21% 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 OFX Group Ltd (ASX: OFX) share price is taking off today after the company announced that it’s agreed to acquire a Canadian foreign exchange service provider.

The company is set to purchase Firma Foreign Exchange Corporation, which offers its services to corporations, for $98 million.

At the time of writing, the OFX share price is $2.20, 17.65% higher than its previous close.

Let’s take a look at today’s news from the multicurrency payment services and solutions provider.

OFX share price soars on $98 million acquisition

The OFX share price is roaring higher on news of the company’s first major acquisition – set to increase its revenue from North America by 121%.

Firma has around 9,600 corporate customers and 9 offices in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.

According to OFX, the acquisition will significantly increase its volumes in major currency pairs. Such pairs include United States Dollars to Canadian Dollars and United States Dollars to Great British Pounds.

OFX expects it will also bump its underlying earnings per share (EPS) by more than 20% in the first year of ownership and by more than 30% in the second year.

Additionally, it should bring at least $5 million of pre-tax cost and revenue synergies in financial year 2025.

OFX will partly fund the takeover with cash and partly use an underwritten debt facility.

It expects to pay the debt back in less than 4 years. To do so, it will be putting its share buy-back program on hold.

The acquisition should be finalised in the first quarter of financial year 2023.

Firma’s $98 million price tag represents 9 times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the 12 months before 30 September 2021.

What did management say?

OFX CEO and managing director, Skander Malcolm commented on the news driving the company’s share price today, saying:

This is our first major acquisition and very much aligned with our strategy of building scale in the corporate segment and growing the North American region. Firma generates strong earnings from a high-quality customer base and has an excellent service culture, so there is a lot of alignment with OFX…

Our business is continuing to perform well, with the positive trends we drove in the first half continuing into the third quarter. With the addition of Firma we can accelerate that growth by combining our infrastructure and risk culture with their customer base and service excellence, delivering further profitable growth, and value accretion for OFX shareholders.

The post OFX (ASX:OFX) share price surges 18% on first major acquisition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Origin (ASX:ORG) share price slips on $42 million acquisition
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price rises amid latest push for API
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Angel Seafood (ASX:AS1) share price rockets 44% on takeover news
• Here’s why the Bardoc Gold (ASX:BDC) share price is rocketing 12% today

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 Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) share price is struggling to gain momentum on Monday. This follows an announcement from the energy provider revealing it is acquiring community energy services business WINconnect Pty Ltd.

At the time of writing, Origin’s shares are swapping hands for $5.05, down 0.98% from its previous closing price.

Today’s fresh acquisition announcement follows reports last week from the energy producer and retailer. Origin Energy was showing interest in potentially investing more in its highly successful venture in British renewable energy company Octopus Energy.

Expanding through acquisition

It seems investors aren’t too thrilled with Origin Energy’s latest acquisition news. The announcement has been met with some selling pressure on the ASX’s third-largest-listed utility company.

According to the release, one of Origin’s subsidiaries has entered into an agreement to acquire WINconnect. The Hawthorn-based company operates embedded networks mainly in Victoria and New South Wales. These services essentially involve the onselling of utilities to residents of apartment blocks, retirement villages, etc.

Furthermore, the deal will see changes made to Origin Energy’s master services agreement with Intellihub — a provider of metering solutions. The changes involved most notably include an increase in meter volumes. In addition, Intellihub will acquire both Origin’s and WINconnect’s electricity embedded network meters.

Both Intellihub and WINconnect are majority-owned by Pacific Equity Partners, making it the primary party involved in the transaction with Origin.

With both parties acquiring assets from each other, the best way to look at the transaction is from a net perspective. As such, the net amount payable by Origin Energy is slated to be $42.4 million post-tax. Yet, the deal has failed to excite the Origin share price today.

Following the deal, the energy provider will boast an additional 87,000 customers. A further 36,000 contracted apartments await connection in the pipeline. On completion of the acquisition, Origin’s community energy services business will total 367,000 customers.

Origin CEO Frank Calabria commented on the announcement:

The acquisition of WINconnect is a strong fit for Origin, aligning to our retail strategy to expand our existing presence in the embedded networks market. Since 2018, Origin’s CES [community energy services] business has experienced strong growth with customer accounts increasing by 78 per cent.

Origin Energy share price recap

The Origin Energy share price has managed to keep itself in the green since the beginning of this year. However, it has failed to outperform the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The nearly $9 billion energy giant has experienced a share price gain of 5.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the benchmark index is up 8.9%.

Though, the company has dished out 20 cents per share in dividends in 2021. This equates to a dividend yield of 3.96% based on the current share price.

However, Origin Energy’s 12-month trailing revenue has been in a state of decline since the end of 2018. Shareholders might be cautiously waiting to see a return to growth.

The post Origin (ASX:ORG) share price slips on $42 million acquisition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is not having a very merry start to this week of pre-Christmas trading. So far today, the ASX 200 has lost 0.31% and is sitting at 7,281.3 points. But no one seems to have told the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price.

Wesfarmers shares are, at the time of writing, up 0.34% at a flat $58.91 each. This move comes amid continued speculation over who will win the dramatic bidding war for the shares of Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API). Wesfarmers is currently locked in an epic contest with Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) for ownership of API. Both companies have lobbed bids at API shareholders. Woolworths’ offer of $1.75 in cash per share remains the highest offer currently on API’s table. But Wesfarmers has the added advantage of already owning a 19.1% stake of the company.

Wesfarmers keep up the pressure

Wesfarmers doesnt appear to be letting up pressure either. According to a recent article in The Australian, Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott has approached the powerful Pharmacy Guild of Australia lobby group to spruik Wesfarmers’ offer. Here’s some of what was reportedly in Mr Scott’s letter:

We have met many representatives from across the sector and are confident our proposal supports community pharmacists and their businesses… We are confident that with Wesfarmers’ capital and support, API can deliver even better products and services to community pharmacists, and Priceline franchisees, that will help them be more competitive and create value over time.

Pointing out the improvements in supply chains and online customer experience that Wesfarmers would bring to API, Scott also highlighted some issues Wesfarmers sees with Woolworths’ bid:

We note the non-binding, indicative proposal made by Woolworths Limited to acquire API, and have heard director concerns recently about the competition issues associated with supermarket ownership of API…

Supermarkets are already the largest competitors to pharmacies across diverse ‘front of store’ categories including non-prescription medicine like pain relief, vitamins and dietary supplements, and personal health and beauty.

Who will win API investors’ hearts?

Scott added that Wesfarmers’ experience running Woolworths’ supermarket rival Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) until 2018 “meant it understood the strategic value to supermarkets of health, wellbeing and beauty categories”. These concerns, he said, do not apply to Wesfarmers.

It could still be argued that Woolworths remains the underdog in this epic battle, given that Wesfarmers has already said it will use its near-20% stake in API to vote against any proposal from the company. But as long as it has a higher cash offer on the table than Wesfarmers, anything could happen. So if you’re a shareholder in any of these companies, make sure to keep an eye on this space going into 2022.

The post Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price rises amid latest push for API appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How will ASX retail shares go in 2022?
• Broker gives its verdict on the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price after 8% decline
• Goliath vs Goliath: All eyes on Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price as conglomerate vows to vote against Woolies
• Why Afterpay, Cardno, Mesoblast, and Woolworths shares are falling
• Why is the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price having a day to forget?

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 owns and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET and Wesfarmers 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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With so many shares to choose from on the ASX, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.

Three top ASX shares leading brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)

According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have retained their buy rating but trimmed their price target on this airline operator’s shares to $6.20. This follows the release of a trading update last week which revealed expectations for a greater than expected first half loss but a better net debt outcome. Overall, the broker remains positive on Qantas and feels that the risks it is facing are already priced into its shares. The Qantas share price is trading at $4.78 today.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating but trimmed their price target on this energy producer’s shares slightly to $8.65 following the completion of its merger with Oil Search. Morgans is positive on the company’s outlook and sees upside risk from the potential sale of stakes in some of its assets. Overall, the broker believes the merger leaves Santos well positioned to control its own future in increasingly difficult ESG-driven debt and equity markets. The Santos share price is fetching $6.09 on Monday.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

Analysts at Citi have retained their buy rating and $13.80 price target on this wine company’s shares. Citi came away from a key industry event in the United States feeling very positive. It notes that the update pointed to a recovery in high-margin on-premise and cellar-door wine sales in the United States. This is consistent with recent feedback from rival Duckhorn. In light of this, the broker is forecasting Treasury Americas’ first half EBITS to increase by 19% despite the divestment of commercial wine brands in March 2021. The Treasury Wine share price is trading at $12.07 this afternoon.

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

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• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Magellan shares crash 28%, CIMIC tumbles
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• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week

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 Treasury Wine Estates 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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