The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is performing positively on Wednesday.

In morning trade, the mining giant’s shares are up 2.5% to $14.40.

What’s going on with the Fortescue share price today?

Fortescue’s shares are rising on Wednesday despite another pullback in iron ore prices on Tuesday night.

According to Metal Bulletin, the price of benchmark 62% fines fell US$7.66 or 7.4% to US$95.77 per tonne. It was a similar story for the low grade iron ore that Fortescue predominantly mines. The 58% fines iron ore price fell US$6.24 or 8.4% to US$67.70 per tonne.

However, it appears as though a pullback in the Fortescue share price on Tuesday afternoon had already factored this in.

But why are its shares rising?

Today’s gain by the Fortescue share price could be due to growing interest in Fortescue Future Industries and its exposure to green hydrogen, as well as a delayed reaction to a bullish broker note out of Bell Potter yesterday.

In respect to the latter, according to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating but trimmed its price target to $19.75.

In addition, Bell Potter is forecasting a very generous $2.25 per share fully franked dividend in FY 2022.

Based on the current Fortescue share price, this suggests that there is potential for a whopping ~53% total return for investors over the next 12 months.

Why is the broker positive?

The note reveals that Bell Potter’s analysts were pleased with the company’s performance during the quarter and continue to see a lot of value in its shares at the current level. Particularly given its strong free cash flow generation, which it expects to support big dividends.

Bell Potter concluded: “Strong free cash flows, good cost control and an ‘on-track’ production performance emphasise the quality of the business and we retain our Buy recommendation.”

The Fortescue share price is down 42% in 2021.

The post Why is the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price charging higher today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Which ASX shares are involved with green hydrogen?
• What’s the latest on Fortescue Future Industries and green hydrogen?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares so far on Tuesday
• This broker thinks the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price is dirt cheap
• 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 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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Green hydrogen has been the talk of Australia lately and it’s no different on the ASX.

Hydrogen is made ‘green’ when the electrolysis process through which it’s created is powered using renewable energy. Thus, it’s possible to create zero-carbon hydrogen.

The renewable commodity is part of the Australian Government’s plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

According to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, green hydrogen could help Australia reduce carbon emissions in high-temperature industries such as steelmaking, as well as in some transport sectors.

The agency is also looking to find if the renewable commodity could power Australian homes.

Clean hydrogen is also being explored as part of Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy. The strategy aims to see the nation exporting renewable hydrogen by 2030.

Finally, the government of Western Australia, the world’s largest iron ore producing region, began an investigation into a ‘green’ steel future on Monday. The governments of New South Wales and Queensland have also jumped on board the green hydrogen-powered train in recent weeks.

So, which ASX shares are involved in the seemingly up-and-coming green hydrogen sector? Let’s take a look.

ASX green hydrogen-focused shares

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

Market watchers might be wondering how one of the world’s largest iron ore producers made this list. As it so happens, the company’s Fortescue Future Industries division earned it its spot.

Fortescue Future Industries is building a hydrogen-equipment manufacturing centre in Queensland, where it will produce electrolysers. Electrolysers create the electrolysis process.

The renewable-energy focused body is also looking to build hydrogen plants around the world and has a goal of producing 15 million tonnes of the clean commodity by 2030.

Sparc Technologies Ltd (ASX: SPN)

While Fortescue is focusing on producing electrolysers and green hydrogen, Sparc is scrapping both.

It’s working to create ‘ultra’ green hydrogen using only sunlight and a reactor.

Thus, it will bypass the need to capture energy – no matter how renewable – for the process of producing hydrogen.

Sparc announced its new ambition, which it’s pursuing in partnership with the University of Adelaide, last week.

Province Resources Ltd (ASX: PRL)

Finally, a more ‘traditional’ ASX green hydrogen stock.

Province Resources operates the HyEnergy Zero Carbon Hydrogen Project, located at Carnarvon, Western Australia.

Recently, Province began an export feasibility study to look at using Global Energy Ventures Ltd‘s (ASX: GEV) compressed hydrogen ships to export green hydrogen from the project.

The post Which ASX shares are involved with green hydrogen? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price charging higher today?
• What’s the latest on Fortescue Future Industries and green hydrogen?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares so far on Tuesday
• This broker thinks the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price is dirt cheap
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week

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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has had a rather volatile week or so over the past 5 trading days. Since last Wednesday, the ASX 200 has gone backwards by around 0.3%. That’s despite the healthy 1.38% bump the index is enjoying so far today (at the time of writing). But one ASX 200 share that’s fared far worse over the past week has been the Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price.

Northern Star shares are today up 0.55% so far at $9.08 a share. But over the past week, this ASX 200 gold miner has lost around 2% of its value. Since last Thursday, it’s been a loss of 4.3%.

That’s a performance that severely trails the broader market. So what’s going on with Northern Star?

Why has the Northern Star share price had such a lousy week?

Well, our first clue is the gold price itself. As a gold miner, Northern Star’s fortunes are intrinsically tied to the price of the precious metal it mines. So, according to Bloomberg, gold has indeed fallen in value over the past week. Gold spot prices were asking just under US$1,800 an ounce a week ago. But today, the yellow metal is going for US$1,787 an ounce. That’s a small but not insignificant drop of roughly 0.72%.

Another factor to consider is inflation. There has been much talk of inflation and higher interest rates over the past week or so. Just yesterday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) abandoned its ‘yield curve controls’ and is now expecting to raise interest rates in 2023 rather than the previously-flagged 2024.

This is relevant to the Northern Star share price since gold is an asset that is greatly affected by interest rate rises. That’s because gold pays no yield. Thus, its appeal theoretically diminishes if other ‘safe’ assets like government bonds are paying higher interest rates.

So, if it’s macro-factors like the gold price and the threat of higher inflation and interest rates that are holding Northern Star shares down, then surely Northern Star wouldn’t be the only ASX gold miner struggling over the past week? Indeed, that seems to be the case. Other ASX gold miners like Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) and Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) have also gone backwards by similar amounts since last Wednesday.

So if you own Northern Star shares, you can probably place at least part of the blame for the past week at a lower gold price and higher inflation expectations.

At the current Northern Star share price, this ASX 200 gold miner has a market capitalisation of $10.55 billion and a dividend yield of 2.1%.

The post Why is the Northern Star (ASX:NST) share price having such a lousy week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• How did the Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL) share price perform in October?
• Real estate shares are leading the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Netwealth’s merger proposal, IAG sinks

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Newcrest Mining Limited. 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 Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) business within Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) has made more progress when it comes to green hydrogen.

FFI is looking to take a global leadership position in the renewable energy and green products industry and has a vision to make green hydrogen the most globally traded seaborne commodity in the world.

Hydrogen deal in the UK

With a lot of action happening around the climate conference, COP26, Fortescue Future Industries has signed a deal to become the largest supplier of green hydrogen to the UK with a multi-billion pound contract deal with the construction giant J C Bamford Excavators (JCB) and Ryze Hydrogen.

JCB and Ryze will buy 10% of FFI’s global green hydrogen production, under a signed memorandum of understanding.

FFI’s hydrogen production is anticipated to grow to 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030, accelerating to 50 million tonnes per year in the next decade.

Under the partnership, FFI will lead the green hydrogen production and logistics to the UK, whilst JCB and Ryze will manage green hydrogen distribution and development of customer demand in the UK.

Fortescue Future Industries said that the deal was “strongly backed” and that JCB called it a “major advance”.

An extended offtake agreement will also be evaluated to provide green hydrogen to the European market, and the parties have agreed to evaluate collaboration opportunities to accelerate green hydrogen demand and establish green hydrogen and green industry manufacturing centres.

What projects are JCB and Ryze working on?

Jo Bamford, which Fortescue Future Industries said is widely regarded as the UK’s green hydrogen champion, is the founder of Ryze and owner of Wrightbus. Ryze is building the UK’s first network of green hydrogen production plants, while Wrightbus built the world’s first hydrogen double decker.

FFI quoted the JCB Chairman, Lord Bamford, said:

This is an important step towards getting green hydrogen to the customer. It’s fine having an engine powered by green hydrogen, but no good if customers can’t get green hydrogen to fuel their machines. This is a major advance on the road towards making green hydrogen a viable solution.

At best, any hydrogen made from fossil fuel is being promoted as a transition fuel, but the production of it causes more pollution than it saves. This agreement demonstrates that green hydrogen does not need to be ‘transitioned’ via fossil fuel hydrogen. Production of it can commence at once, to meet the needs of all mobility. I have asked Andrew to deliver to me immediately that he has the capacity, and he has agreed.

How much will this the planet?

The FFI Chair Dr Andrew Forrest explained that the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with replacing fossil fuel with only two million tonnes of green hydrogen is the equivalent of taking over 8 million cars off the road, which equates to around a quarter of the UK’s entire fleet.

Dr Forrest also said:

Our agreement signals the first major shift in the global commercial landscape from fossil fuels towards the real, practical, implementable solution that is green hydrogen.

Fortescue Future Industries has announced a number of other initiatives this year, including the construction of a global green energy manufacturing centre in Gladstone, Queensland. The first stage development is an electrolyser factory with an initial capacity of two gigawatts.

The post What’s the latest on Fortescue Future Industries and green hydrogen? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares so far on Tuesday
• This broker thinks the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price is dirt cheap
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Is the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price a buying opportunity?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Fortescue Metals Group Limited. 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 Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is standing firm on Wednesday morning. This is despite the Australian telecommunications giant announcing the renewal of a large contract with the Department of Defence.

In early trade, shares in the telco are trading at $3.90, the same as at yesterday’s close.

Telstra secures an important contract

In news that could give the Telstra share price a boost, the tenth-largest S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) constituent announced an important contract renewal.

According to the release, the company has reached an agreement with the Australian Department of Defence to continue delivering critical network and telecommunications services.

The renewed contract will span the next 5 years and is worth over $1 billion. As part of this agreement, Telstra will provide the Department with its range of telco solutions and technology. Additionally, the Department of Defence will have the option to extend the contract by up to 3 years.

Furthermore, Telstra’s side of the deal will see a significant increase in wireless coverage via a Wi-Fi 6 rollout program. This relatively new Wi-Fi protocol is a much more efficient protocol, upping potential connection speeds from 3.5 gigabit per second (Wi-Fi 5) to 9.6 gigabit per second. At the same time, Telstra’s 5G mobile network will be made available to all Defence personnel.

In addition, the telco giant will provide full SD-WAN (software-defined wide-area network) and SDN capabilities. In turn, this will enable a more flexible, self-healing, and predictive network. The Telstra share price has barely managed to waver, despite this news.

Management commentary

Commenting on the major contract renewal, Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said:

We are very pleased to extend and deepen our partnership with the Department of Defence and use our unique sovereign capabilities, decades of experience, and cutting-edge technology to co-design solutions for today and into the future.

Telstra is committed to working with the Australian Government to ensure a thriving and safe digital economy and society, including ensuring the Department of Defence and Australian Defence Force have access to world-leading technology.

Moreover, management highlighted this contract as a piece of the puzzle contributing towards the company returning to growth. In fact, the deal is the largest customer contract of its kind signed by Telstra Enterprise in its history.

Finally, the Telstra share price is up 30% year to date, bringing its market capitalisation to $46.38 billion. In other words, it has been a good year for Telstra shareholders so far.

The post Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price struggles despite Department of Defence contract renewal 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 owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation 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 Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC) share price could soon be setting new record highs as it prepares to release its earnings results next week.

It the numbers are as good as Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) are expecting, shares in the grain handler could rally to its price target.

The broker pegs fair value at $7.32 a share. It is recommending investors buy the ASX shares ahead of the company’s results on 11 November.

Graincorp share price rising ahead of results

Perhaps some of the enthusiasm is already seeping into the Graincorp share price. It’s jumping 1.6% to $6.52 in morning trade.

That puts it within striking distance to its record high of $6.61 that it reached last month and is still 12.3% below Macquarie’s target.

Don’t forget that the expected FY22 dividend of around 4% will come on top of any capital gain.

Record earnings forecast

Macquarie reckons that Graincorp will deliver a record FY21 result next Thursday with momentum carrying through to the current financial year, and maybe even into FY23.

“We are at the upper end of GrainCorp’s guidance of $310-330m EBITDA and $125-140m NPAT,” said Macquarie.

“This largely reflects a favourable seasonal backdrop across Eastern Australia, resulting in the largest ECA winter crop on record in 2020/21 (30mmt vs LTA of 17mmt).”

Graincorp share price could be on an upgrade cycle

The broker is forecasting Graincorp to post an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $324 milion and a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $136 million.

That’s slightly ahead of consensus forecast of $323 million and $131 million, respectively.

“Our analysis from early Sep indicated that the 2021/22 ECA winter crop could be up to 28.5mmt based on Jan-Aug rainfall and historic ABARES revisions,” said Macquarie.

“This compares to the current ABARES forecast and our model estimate of 26.5mmt (similar to consensus).”

Beating consensus could push the Graincrop share price north of $7 a share, although buy the rumour, sell the fact could see profit takers jump in on the day of the results.

Positive outlook

But any price weakness may not last. Macquarie believes there’s more hay to be made as the sun keeps shining on Graincorp.

Actually, the positive sentiment is more to do with the rain than sun. The Bureau of Meteorology believes there is a 70% chance of La Nina over the coming months.

“La Nina events increase the chances of above-average rainfall for northern and eastern Australia during spring and summer,” explained Macquarie.

“Whilst still relatively early on, this could be supportive for the soil moisture profile leading into the 2022/23 winter crop.”

The post Why the Graincorp (ASX:GNC) share price could outperform next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here’s why the Renergen (ASX:RLT) share price is soaring 21% today
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Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Macquarie Group Limited. 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 shares of and has recommended Macquarie 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) struggled in October, closing the month down 0.1%.

But not all shares performed equally.

Leading ASX 200 energy shares returned some outsized gains.

The companies received some welcome tailwinds in the form of higher energy prices. Brent crude oil kicked off October trading for US$79.28 per barrel. By the end of the month that same barrel was worth US$84.38, up 6.4%.

Now that wasn’t enough to lift all the ASX 200 energy shares.

Below we look at the 3 top performers for the month. Taken together, the 3 stocks gained an average of 8.5%. Quite an outperformance.

October’s top 3 energy shares

Leading the pack last month was Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD). The diversified ASX 200 energy share, with a current market cap of roughly $7.4 billion, gained an impressive 9.3% in October.

Ampol’s share price received a mid-month boost when it announced its agreement to acquire Z Energy Ltd (ASX: ZEL). The agreement valued Z Energy at approximately NZ$2.8 billion, with Ampol saying the acquisition would create a “Trans-Tasman fuel champion”.

Ampol was also rewarded by investors for posting relatively strong third quarter results, released on 26 October.

Moving on to the second best performing ASX 200 energy share, we have Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR). Worley only just missed out on the top spot, delivering a gain of 9.2% in October.

Australia’s largest oil and gas engineering group received a few boosts over the month with the announcements of major contract awards. Those included a service contract with global energy giant Shell.

Which brings us to our third best energy share for October, Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG). Origin finished the month up 7%.

Origin’s share price benefited on several fronts last month. Among those was the company upgrading its guidance for the 2022 financial year (FY22).

Origin’s shares also gained later in the month when the company reported it was selling a 10% stake in Australia Pacific LNG to EIG for $2.12 billion. Origin kept hold of its remaining 27.5% stake in Australia Pacific.

Do these ASX 200 energy shares pay dividends?

That covers off last months outperforming share price gains.

And these 3 ASX 200 energy shares also pay dividends.

Origin pays a 3.96% trailing dividend yield, unfranked.

Worley pays a 4.62% trailing dividend yield, unfranked.

And Ampol pays a 2.45% trailing dividend yield, 100% franked.

The post The top performing ASX 200 energy shares in October unmasked appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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Shares in natural gas and helium producer Renergen Ltd (ASX: RLT) have jumped out of the starting blocks today and are now changing hands 21% higher at $3.40 apiece.

To start the session, the Renergen share price was trading up 25% at $3.45 before correcting back down.

Renergen shares are on the move following a company announcement updating its flagship Virginia gas project in South Africa.

Here are the details.

Renergen increases reserves by over 600%

Renergen advised that after a recent successful drilling campaign, it commissioned a reserves and resources accreditation agency to “estimate the reserves and resources of methane and helium within the company’s Virginia production area”.

The estimate enabled Renergen to substantially upgrade its methane and helium reserves at the site.

The release notes that 1P helium reserves have increased by a mammoth 620% to 7.2Bcf and 1P methane reserves have increased by 427% to 215Bcf.

Judging from the the results, the estimate upgrade “highlights the exciting potential of Virginia to be a globally significant supplier of helium”.

Immediately following the announcement, Renergen also released an investor presentation detailing the upgrade and some of the particulars of the Virginia site.

Investors have sent the Renergen share price flying on the back of the news this morning, solidifying their position in the natural gas and helium producer.

With natural gas prices approaching 10-year highs, and already surpassing 5-year highs, it stands to reason the company may benefit from the newfound resource capacity.

Without a doubt, Renergen management is ecstatic with the upgrade, noting it is a “major milestone for the company and confirms the Virginia project as a world class helium project”.

What are management saying?

Speaking on the announcement, Renergen’s CEO Stefano Marani said:

We have and continue to work towards ensuring Virginia is well-placed to supply helium into a growing and constrained market. Increasing our 1P helium reserves by over 600% since March 2019 is a great step forward in achieving this goal and importantly, highlights the enormous potential of Virginia to become a significant helium supplier to not only South Africa but globally as well. Additionally, an estimated 400 petajoules of methane at 2P also positions the Company exceedingly well to become an integral part of South Africa’s energy mix.

Marani continued:

2021 has been an excellent year for Renergen, with several milestones achieved and we look forward to firmly ending the calendar year. 2022 is shaping up to be even more exciting as we commence production from the Phase 1 plant and begin generating revenue.

Renergen share price snapshot

It’s been a year in the green for the Renergen share price, having climbed 168% in the past 12 months after rallying 215% since January 1.

These results have far outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s climb of around 24% over the same time.

The post Here’s why Renergen (ASX:RLT) share price is soaring 21% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The author Zach Bristow has no positions 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 Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB) share price is in the red this morning amid news of the company’s latest appointment.

Bubs announced it has appointed a new managing director for its Greater China subsidiary. The company has also been given ordinary membership to the Infant Nutrition Council and several of its management team have been promoted.

At the time of writing, the Bubs Australia share price is 56 cents. That’s 3.45% lower than it was at its previous close.

That also brings its gains for this week so far back down to 8%, following the stock’s 7% rise yesterday.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.9% this morning. Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has gained 0.8% so far.

While today’s news from Bubs Australia is marked non-price sensitive, it’s likely drawn the attention of many market watchers. Let’s take a closer look.

Bubs’ latest appointment and promotions

The Bubs share price is down after Dylan Lu was appointed as managing director of Bubs’ Greater China subsidiary.

Lu has 23 years of relevant experience. His most recent role was as vice president of marketing and e-commerce at the A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M).

He also helped set up Hershey Co‘s (NYSE: HSY) e-commerce business and has worked with numerous international companies doing business in China.

On Lu’s appointment, Bubs’ chair Dennis Lin commented:

Dylan is eminently qualified to lead our China subsidiary, Bubs (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd, and cross-functional team in-market. This senior executive appointment serves to underscore the maturity and depth of talent at Bubs as we add international bench strength to our leadership team.

While it’s unlikely today’s news has moved the Bubs share price directly, it could inspire more optimism for Bubs’ Chinese operations.

On top of Lu’s appointment, Bubs also announced a number of internal promotions this morning.

The company’s former general manager of marketing, Vivian Zurlo, has stepped up to become Bubs’ chief marketing and innovation officer of global markets.

Additionally, Richard Paine, who was previously Bubs’ general manager, has been promoted to the role of chief manufacturing officer of quality, dairy, and nutritionals.  

Bubs’ founder and CEO Kristy Carr said of the new appointments:

Vivian and Richard… have proven to be major contributors to maintaining marketing momentum and innovation, manufacturing excellence and supply chain resilience, that stands us in good stead to deliver our future global growth aspirations.

Finally, Bubs’ trading arm, Infant Food Co Ltd, is now an ordinary member of the Infant Nutrition Council. It had previously been an associate member.

Carr said the membership is an opportunity for Bubs to shape the council’s direction in Australia alongside its industry peers.

Bubs share price snapshot

The Bubs share price has struggled on the ASX lately. However, it seems to be inching closer to the long-term green.

Right now, the company’s stock is trading for 4.2% less than it was at the start of 2021. It is also 11% lower than it was this time last year.

The post Bubs (ASX:BUB) share price dips amid China MD appointment appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 recommended A2 Milk and BUBS AUST FPO. 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 mixed bag of results for ASX healthcare shares as we walked through October, as some names came in red hot, whilst others missed the mark completely.

After a sharp downturn in late September, where it lost around 7% in just one week, the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (XHJ) rebounded 4% and began climbing northwards once more.

Within this group lies a subset of individual companies that gave back handsomely to shareholders last month.

Here are four of the standouts from the ASX healthcare basket for the month of October.

Healthia Ltd (ASX: HLA)

Shares in healthcare group Healthia soared 13% in October towards their 52-week high, closing the month at $2.05 per share.

Driving this upside was positive catalysts from the company’s acquisition of the Back in Motion physiotherapy franchise, which settled during the month.

This strategic acquisition gives Healthia exposure to a suite of physiotherapy clinics across Australia and New Zealand, thereby strengthening its Allied Health portfolio.

Healthia provided another update at month’s end confirming it had acquired a further 18 Back in Motion clinics, thereby bringing the total number of clinics acquired to 32 – half of the company’s 64 physio clinics in total.

Investors sent Healthia shares flying on the news, bidding prices higher after coming off a low of $1.78 mid-month.

From this point, Healthia shares jumped over 15%, to finish October, and finished yesterday’s session in the green at $2.02.

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)

Global hospital giant Ramsay Healthcare had a turbulent month, however, came out on top as we rolled over into November.

Shares in the ASX healthcare behemoth jumped 4% from month start to end, however, came off a low of $65.94 at the midpoint to accelerate northwards at a rapid pace.

Investors piled in and added another $5.28 per share in a number of days for Ramsay, as state governments in NSW and Victoria began to roll back COVID-19 restrictions that were limiting hospital patient turnover.

News of the restrictions easing sent Ramsay shares soaring in the days afterwards, as investors appeared to regain confidence in the hospital specialist once again.

This came off a solid first quarter performance on the chart for Ramsay, where it also gained another $6.80 or 11% per share in the three months ending 30 September 2021.

Ramsay shares are set to open the session at $71.85 after inching a further 1% higher in yesterday’s trade.

Aroa Biosurgery Ltd (ASX: ARX)

Shares in soft tissue regeneration company Aroa Biosurgery were another takeout from the ASX healthcare basket last month.

After a wild ride, the wound care and tissue reconstruction specialist finished the month in the green, posting a solid 6.25% gain to close out October.

However, at one point, Aroa shares were trading around 15% higher at $1.22, after the company released its preliminary half year results.

It was a robust half for the Aroa, hallmarked by a contract extension for its Myriad products. This decision enables around 1,500 hospitals and healthcare systems access to its Myriad segment.

Aroa shares jumped on news of the company’s performance and contract extension, with investors securing their position in the company’s growth engine in numbers.

After another day in the green, Aroa shares finished the session 1.8% higher at $1.125 yesterday.

Rhythm Biosciences Ltd (ASX: RHY)

Shares in medical diagnostics company Rhythm Biosciences were star performers last month, claiming a 33.5% gain for its shareholders to bite into.

It was all systems go for Rhythm in October, as investors bid up its share price in rapid succession towards the back end of the month.

Perhaps they were seeking to own a piece of a company making significant advancements in the field of medical diagnostics – like with its ColoSTAT testing technology.

ColoSTAT is the company’s low-cost blood test for the early detection of colorectal cancer.

Rhythm claims this disruptive technology is significantly cheaper and easier to administer than the current standard of care.

And oh my, is Rhythm projecting some serious numbers for its growth outlook in this segment.

The company forecasts a total addressable ‘screening value’ of US$38 billion and a total addressable market of over 770 million people in its market projections for ColoSTAT.

In fact, Rhythm reckons that it can even reach up to a billion people if the standard screening age is lowered to 45 years old.

Rhythm expects it will derive first revenues from the product in late 2022 and is currently working on building out its pipeline of other cancer diagnostics.

For now, it is set to open the session at $1.70 after climbing a further 1.5% into the green yesterday.

Honourable mentions include Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT) who was up around 10% but fell sharply in the last week of October; and Impedimed Limited (ASX: IPD), which climbed 7 cents per share to post a new 52-week high of 19 cents.

The post These were the best performing ASX healthcare shares in October appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 impressive ASX shares that could be buys in November 2021
• Here’s why the Rhythm Biosciences share price (ASX:RHY) is jumping higher today
• Why is the Rhythm Biosciences (ASX:RHY) share price up 11% on Monday?
• Why is the Rhythm (ASX:RHY) share price climbing 10% today?
• Ramsay (ASX:RHC) share price finishes higher as COVID surgery restrictions ease

The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended HEALTHIA FPO and Ramsay Health Care 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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