Australia’s two largest cities are gradually emerging from months-long COVID-19 lockdowns.

Millions of people are trickling back into shops and spending the money that they saved up not going anywhere over the winter.

So which consumer goods ASX shares are in pole position to take advantage?

Marcus Today portfolio manager Thomas Wegner has a couple of ideas:

Buy these ASX shares to take a comfy seat 

Shares for furniture retailer Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) have risen an eye-opening 36.7% since the start of October.

They were given a nice boost last month when the business revealed its intentions to acquire sofa retailer Plush for $103 million.

Wegner likes the direction Nick Scali is heading in.

“October trading was buoyant after New South Wales opened,” he told The Bull.

“We expect the same to occur in Victoria when it fully opens.”

For the 2021 financial year, Nick Scali boasted a 100% increase in underlying net profit after tax, to hit $84.2 million.

“September quarter revenue in fiscal year 2022 was in line with last year, which we commend given lockdowns and shipping delays.”

The company also returns a handy dividend yield of more than 4%.

The stock that’s up 75 times since listing

Stocks for recreational vehicle accessories maker ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARB) has been a favourite of long-term investors.

Earlier this year, Celeste Funds Management analyst Eric Nguyen pointed out that his fund had made 13-times its investment and, overall, ARB shares have multiplied 70 times since its ASX listing.

As of Tuesday’s close, ARB shares have risen 75.7 times their float price in 1987.

But the stock has done pretty well in the short term too. ARB shares have risen 60% since the start of the year.

“This 4-wheel drive accessories company is continuing to perform despite lockdown restrictions,” said Wegner.

“It posted good sales and profit growth in the September quarter, and we expect this to continue in the first half of financial year 2022.”

He added that the order book “remains strong” both in Australia and overseas.

“The company is continuing with its product and store development work program in Australia amid expanding its manufacturing capability.”

The post 2 consumer ASX shares looking good now: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• ARB (ASX:ARB) share price charges 6% higher on broker upgrade
• Why ARB, Flight Centre, HUB24, and Qantas shares are rising today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Rio Tinto cuts guidance, Treasury Wine disappoints

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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 ARB 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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Although the outlook for interest rates is improving, it is likely to still be some time until rates rise to a sufficient level to earn an income from them.

In light of this, the share market arguably remains the best place to earn a passive income.

But which ASX dividend shares should you consider buying? Two to look at are listed below:

Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)

The first option for income investors to consider is Centuria Industrial. This industrial focused property company has built a portfolio of quality assets aiming to deliver income and capital growth for investors.

Centuria Industrial has also just added to its portfolio through the $351.3 million of eight freehold urban infill industrial assets. These assets provide the company with exposure to attractive industrial sub-sectors including distribution centres, cold storage, and transport logistics.

This went down well with the team at Macquarie. In response, the broker retained its outperform rating and lifted its price target to $4.22.

Macquarie is also forecasting a 17.3 cents per share distribution in FY 2022 and an 18.4 cents per share distribution in FY 2023. Based on the current Centuria Industrial share price of $3.63, this will mean yields of 4.7% and 5%.

Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL)

Another ASX dividend share to consider is this retail conglomerate. It could be a top option due to the quality of its BCF, Macpac, Rebel, and Super Cheap Auto brands and their positive long term outlooks.

The popularity and strength of these brands allowed Super Retail to take advantage of favourable trading conditions and deliver a stellar result in FY 2021. Super Retail reported a 22% increase in sales to $3.45 billion and a 107% jump in normalised net profit after tax to $306.8 million.

And while extended lockdowns will make it hard for Super Retail to top this in FY 2022, one leading broker still expects generous dividends in the near term.

The team at Citi recently retained their buy rating and lifted their price target to $16.00. The broker is also now forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 67 cents in FY 2022 and 64.5 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current Super Retail share price of $13.09, this will mean yields of 5.1% and 4.9%, respectively.

The post Analysts name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 2 high-yielding ASX dividend shares – Saturday
• Why the Super Retail (ASX:SUL) share price is crashing today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Kogan jumps, Flight Centre sinks

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 shares of and has recommended Super Retail Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Super Retail 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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On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form and tumbled lower. The benchmark index fell 0.6% to 7,324.3 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 poised to storm higher

The Australian share market looks set to storm higher on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 75 points or 1% higher this morning. This follows a positive night on Wall Street, which in late trade sees the Dow Jones up 0.4%, the S&P 500 up 0.35%, and the Nasdaq trading 0.25% higher.

Domino’s annual general meeting

The Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) share price will be on watch on Wednesday when it holds its annual general meeting. The pizza chain operator is likely to provide investors with an update at the event on how it is performing so far in FY 2022.

Oil prices fall

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could be in the red today after oil prices softened. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.6% to US$83.56 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has fallen 0.25% to US$84.49 a barrel. Traders appear nervous ahead of key economic data and OPEC’s meeting.

Gold price falls

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could fall today after the gold price dropped. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.4% to US$1,788.30 an ounce. A stronger US dollar weighed on the gold price.

Altium shares upgraded

The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price could be good value according to one leading broker. This morning the team at Bell Potter upgraded this electronic design software company’s shares to a buy rating with a $42.50 price target. The broker believes that Altium could still be a takeover target for Autodesk. Its analysts feel Altium’s software would complete Autodesk’s Fusion 360 platform.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How did the Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL) share price perform in October?
• Why is the Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) share price down 6%?
• 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 James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Altium. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Altium. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises 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 Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR) share price has rewarded shareholders handsomely over the past month.

Many investors would consider it a huge win to amass a return of more than 25% over the course of a whole year. Well, shares in the IT wholesale distribution company have delivered this impressive gain in one month. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has inched up 0.63% — the comparison is chalk and cheese.

In light of the remarkable run, we take a peek at what has been happening at Dicker Data.

What’s been driving the Dicker Data share price surge?

In the entire last month, only one price-sensitive announcement has left the doors of Dicker Data. As such, we can deduce this announcement likely had a lot to do with Dicker Data’s share price. That one lonely announcement was the company’s third-quarter trading update.

On the day of release, investors voted with their cash, bidding up the company’s shares. In fact, the share price rose nearly 14% on the unaudited results. Despite experiencing impacts from supply constraints, revenue and earnings increased by double-digit figures when compared to the previous year.

Specifically, year-to-date revenue surged 16.1% year on year to $1.7 billion. Meanwhile, the company’s profit before income tax jumped 26% year on year to $76.6 million.

Those impressive results have brought the Dicker Data share price to within reach of its 52-week high. In August, the company reached its peak of $16.60 before being decimated soon after. The market reacted with fierce selling after finding out the company’s chair and CEO David Dicker had sold a chunk of shares.

The company’s shares continued on a downwards trend until turning the corner in early October. Since then, the Dicker Data share price has regained a phenomenal 31.2%.

Current valuation

Following the outstanding performance over the past month, the company now holds a market capitalisation of $2.7 billion. Compared to other companies in the ASX 200, that wedges Dicker Data between Event Hospitality and Entertainment Ltd (ASX: EVT) and BWP Trust (ASX: BWP).

Finally, at its current price, Dicker Data is trading on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about 44 times. For context, the Australian electronic industry average is 17.4 times.

The post Own Dicker Data? The share price is up 25% in the last month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Why Crown, Dicker Data, Neometals, and Pilbara Minerals are surging higher
• Dicker Data (ASX:DDR) share price up 13% on Q3 earnings
• Here’s why ASX 200 tech shares are surging today

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. owns shares of and has recommended Dicker Data Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Dicker Data 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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I answered the phone this morning.

“Mate, the market is stupid”

It was my mate, ringing to chew the fat on his way to work.

“The S&P 500 is up more than 7%. In a month!”

“That’s nuts”

He’s right, of course.

While the academics tell us how efficient the market is, and the boffins and traders yell “Buy! Sell! Buy! Sell!”, my mate is the proverbial little boy reminding us that the Emperor has no clothes.

He said as much.

“Mate, I’ve been investing seriously for, what, six years? Even I know it’s stupid.”

He went on:

“Just look back at March last year. The market fell 30% [it was actually 37%]. Even I knew it was dumb to sell. People should have been buying, or at the very least, holding.”

“If they sold, they locked in, what, a 40% loss” (I’d corrected him on the 30% thing by then).

“It’s stupid”

“All they had to do was hold. Maybe it might have kept falling. Who knows. But even I knew not to sell.”

“It was almost certainly going to go back up eventually.”

That sound you hear is three-quarters of the finance industry shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

The gurus who waited for the market to fall further. (It didn’t.)

The geniuses who said they’d wait for COVID to be over before they invested (It isn’t. The market is up 62% since.)

Those who thought being an ‘active investor’ beats ‘buy to hold’.

Those who can’t just leave well enough alone.

Who need to be Masters of the Universe.

“You’re right.” I told my mate.

“The problem is that many people in my industry are too busy trying to prove how smart they are.”

“Maybe they’re trying to prove it to themselves. Maybe they’re trying to be smarter than the other guy.”

I hate taking victory laps, I told him. It’s classless, and pride comes before a fall. But I do it in this case, reluctantly, because it’s important.

Because here’s what I wrote during the COVID crash:

—–

“In more than a century of ASX history, the market has never failed to regain and surpass a previous market high.

Think it’s different this time? That’s what they said last time, and the time before.

Yeah, but this time it’s really different? They said that, too.

So here’s the thing: with the ASX down ~30% from its February highs, there’s a ~43% gain on offer if the ASX just gets back to that level.

And then more if — as has always happened before — it goes higher.

Of course it could be different this time. It’s always possible.

But likely? I don’t think so.”

—–

I’m not the smartest bloke in almost any room. That’s perfectly fine by me.

Not that I don’t have an ego — we all do. I’m not so arrogant or naive to think I don’t.

But I don’t feel like I have to prove myself to anyone. Which is a wonderful thing.

Sure, I’m pleased I wrote those words at the very beginning of April last year.

I’m pleased because I hope you listened at the time.

And because I can use it, now, as an example of the simple advice that just works, in investing.

And because I hope it might mean you’ll follow my advice next time.

Not for my sake, but because I want to see more people enjoy long-term success with their investing.

(And maybe listen to fewer of the prognosticators, predictors and self-appointed experts, too!)

Because, I don’t know about you, but I reckon making a few bob beats missing out by trying to be ‘smart’.

So does my mate. If you won’t listen to me, at least listen to him.

Fool on!

The post What if the stock market emperor has no clothes appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 quality ASX 200 shares that could be buys
• The EML (ASX:EML) share price is down 30% so far in 2021. Here’s why
• SciDev (ASX:SDV) share price sinks 9% on Tuesday. Here’s why
• Why UBS just downgraded its rating on Boral (ASX:BLD) shares
• Magnis Energy (ASX:MNS) share price is up 18% on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips 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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If you are looking to bolster your portfolio with some S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares, you may want to look at the three listed below.

Here’s why these ASX 200 shares are highly rated right now:

Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

The first ASX 200 share to look at is Bapcor. It is the Asia Pacific region’s leading provider of vehicle parts, accessories, equipment, service and solutions. It was on form in FY 2021, delivering a 20.4% increase in revenue to $1,761.7 million and a 46.5% jump in pro forma net profit after tax to $130.1 million. This was driven by growth across the business. And while FY 2022’s performance is expected to be much more subdued, analysts are tipping Bapcor’s growth to accelerate again from FY 2023. Particularly given its expansion plans.

The team at Citi are positive on Bapcor. The broker currently has a buy rating and $8.75 price target on its shares.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

Another ASX 200 share to look at is property listings company REA Group. It is best-known for the realestate.com.au website, which is dominating the ANZ market with an average of 121.9 million monthly visits to its website in FY 2021. This was up 35% year on year and is 3.3 times more than its nearest competitor. It is thanks to this dominant market position, together with the thriving housing market and new acquisitions and revenue streams, that REA Group has been tipped to grow strongly in the coming years.

Macquarie is very positive on the company’s outlook. As a result, the broker has an outperform rating and $185.00 price target on its shares.

SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK)

A final ASX 200 share to look at is this leading job listings company. It bounced back strongly from the pandemic and delivered a 1% increase in revenue to $1,591 million and a 58% jump in net profit after tax (excluding significant items) to $141 million in FY 2021. This was driven largely by a rebound in job listings and its dominant market position. Pleasingly, more of the same is expected in the coming years as the Australian economy recovers from COVID-19.

Macquarie is also a fan of SEEK. Its analysts currently have an outperform rating and $37.00 price target on its shares.

The post 3 quality ASX 200 shares that could be buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of SEEK 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 Bapcor. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group Limited and SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price has fallen about 30% since the start of the year.

That was despite the business reporting quite a bit of growth in FY21.

EML Payments’ FY21 result

How a business performs can have a large influence on investor thoughts.

The payments company reported a number of statistics that had a higher level of growth. Gross debit volume (GDV) increased 42% to $19.7 billion. The revenue increased 60% to $194.2 million. This helped underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grow by 65% to $53.5 million.

Looking at the main profitability measures, underlying net profit (NPATA) rose by 54% to $32.4 million, whilst operating cashflow went up by 121% to $48.8 million.

The segment that makes the most revenue is the general purpose reloadable, which has use cases for things like banking as a service, software as a service, neo-lending, multi-currency, government and non-governmental organisations. It made $113.5 million of revenue – up 131%.

However, the existing EML business contributed $35.3 million of the general purpose reloadable revenue, representing 34% growth. The acquired PFS business contributed $78.3 million of revenue.

So, with PFS playing an important part in the overall result, it is no surprise that the market is focused on what is happening with PFS in Ireland.

The CBI investigation

The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has regulatory concerns about the PFS Card Services (Ireland) Limited (PCSIL) business. EML recently received further correspondence about potential ‘directions’ which included, but was not limited to, the remediation plan and material growth.

Whilst the nature of those potential directions is more limited than those originally foreshadowed by the CBI in May 2021. However, as presently framed, EML said that the directions could materially impact the European operations of the Prepaid Financial Services business.

Whilst acknowledging the remediation program currently underway and governance improvements with the PCSIL board, the CBI has advised that PCSIL’s proposed material growth policy is higher than what the CBI “would want to see”.

CBI has also proposed that certain limits be applied to programs that could have a negative impact on the PCSIL business. EML is going to present to the CBI a “significant and detailed” analysis of limits applied across almost 27,000 programs in the next week along with a proposed recalibration of limits for certain programs.

The CBI has invited PCSIL to provide submissions about the potential directions. The remediation plan is on track according to EML, which remains in ongoing dialogue about CBI’s concerns and the remediation plan.

Is the EML Payments share price a buy?

Some brokers are still positive on the EML Payments share price.

For example, EML is rated as a buy by the broker UBS, with a price target of $4.80. That suggests a potential increase of more than 60% over the next 12 months. UBS thinks that there could be a problem relating to bringing on new customers, if the CBI goes ahead with this.

Based on UBS’ numbers, the EML Payments share price is valued at 22x FY23’s estimated earnings.

The broker Ord Minnett has a less optimistic price target of $4.02 for the EML share price. But, once these problems are fixed, Ord Minnett thinks EML has a promising future.

The post The EML (ASX:EML) share price is down 30% so far in 2021. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Can the EML (ASX:EML) share price hit $4.80 by the end of 2021?
• Why has the EML (ASX: EML) share price tumbled 17% in 2 weeks?
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Which shares are set to finish the week as the top movers on the ASX 300?

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The SciDev Ltd (ASX: SDV) share price came out of a trading halt today following the company’s successful placement.

While SciDev is pleased with the latest capital raising efforts, its shares have plummeted 9.03% to 65.5 cents.

Let’s take a closer look at the details regarding the chemical engineering company’s latest announcement.

Why is SciDev shares in negative territory?

A major catalyst for SciDev shares sinking could be investor concerns about the impending dilution of shares.

According to its release, SciDev advised it has received binding commitments from an array of institutions to raise $18 million. The strongly-supported placement primarily came from local and international institutional investors.

The placement will see around 27.7 million new ordinary shares created at an issue price of 65 cents apiece. SciDev will use its existing placement capacity under listing rule 7.1 (15.3 million shares) and 7.1A (12.4 million shares). This allows up to 15% of its shares to be issued without shareholder approval. The new shares will rank equally with SciDev’s existing ordinary shares.

SciDev also announced a share purchase plan (SSP) to raise a further $2 million from eligible shareholders. The issue price was listed as the same offered in the placement.

The proceeds from both the placement and SPP will be used to deliver a number of strategic objectives, that include:

• Consolidation of SciDev’s Australian production facilities, including an upgrade of laboratory capability and expansion of our manufacturing capability;
• Funding an upcoming acquisition payment for SciDev Water Services (Haldon); and
• Funding new green chemistry initiatives to displace oil-based chemistries in the global $11 billion oil and gas market.

Management commentary

SciDev managing director and CEO Lewis Utting commented:

The Placement will allow us to accelerate the growth opportunities across our business, specifically in the large water treatment vertical. The funds will support the expansion of our manufacturing capabilities in Australia, securing our supply chain, improving our margins, and allowing our highly skilled team to continue to develop new technologies to help our clients solve their pressing operational and environmental issues.

About the SciDev share price 

Over the past 12 months, SciDev shares have dropped by more than 7% and are down almost 20% year-to-date. The company’s shares recently reached a 52-week high of $1.07 in August before being pushed lower.

On valuation grounds, SciDev commands a market capitalisation of roughly $104.3 million with approximately 159.26 million shares on issue.

The post SciDev (ASX:SDV) share price sinks 9% on Tuesday. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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Shares in building and construction materials group Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) have fallen sharply this past week, having come off a high of $6.61 on 28 October.

Boral shares continued to fall into the red today, closing at $6.34 and down 1.09%.

What’s up with the Boral share price lately?

Investors were piling into Boral shares last week as the company conducted its AGM. Whilst not price sensitive in any way, investors did appear to scope out the company’s report, paying close attention to a trading update within the presentation.

Here, Boral outlined it had faced significant COVID-related headwinds that impacted its concrete sales when compared to last year.

As such, the company reported a 2% decrease in concrete volumes, underscored by a 14% decrease in concrete volumes in NSW from pandemic-induced lockdowns that saw the construction industry come to a standstill.

Although revenue and earnings took a hit from these challenges, it was the company’s outlook that offered investors relief.

Boral see’s a recovery in its operations as lockdowns subside, with this trend continuing across FY22 as society begins to normalise post-pandemic.

As investing hall-of-famers Warren Buffet and Peter Lynch each correctly point out in their writings, the market values a company’s shares based on a combination of past earnings history and future earnings expectations.

With that in mind, it would appear that the market was factoring in Boral’s revised outlook into its share price to fuel its gains after the update.

However, not all of those analysing Boral’s share price are as rosy on the company’s outlook and believe that market conditions are still tough out there for the company.

What are analysts saying about Boral shares?

The team at investment bank UBS reckons that whilst Boral’s concrete and quarry volumes were a touch better than expected, challenges remain for the company from underlying market conditions.

The broker has updated its modelling, and whilst it “lift[s] EBIT marginally, we still think core margins will struggle to gain traction until there is a meaningful recovery in Sydney commercial and apartment volumes”.

UBS also notes the string of asset divestments Boral has completed over recent times, which consequently slims down its business.

Analysts at the firm question if Boral is up to the test, which is made more difficult by weakening demand in the company’s core market of building and construction materials.

As a result, the broker cut its price target on the Boral share price by 5% – down from $6.80 to $6.45 – and reiterated its neutral rating.

At the time the note was released, this represented a roughly 0.6% discount to Boral’s share price, however, after today’s losses, it actually represents an approximate 2% premium.

Boral share price snapshot

The Boral share price has climbed over 28% this year to date, extending its run into the green to 32% over the past 12 months.

These results are each ahead of the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s gain of around 23% in that time.

The post Why UBS just downgraded its rating on Boral (ASX:BLD) shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why has the Boral (ASX:BLD) share price jumped 5% since the start of this month?
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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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Shares in lithium-ion battery manufacturer Magnis Energy Technologies Ltd (ASX: MNS) finished the day up 18.48% and closed the session at 54.5 cents.

Magnis shares were on the upward trajectory today despite there being no market-sensitive information for the company.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at what’s fuelling Magnis Energy shares lately.

What’s up with Magnis Energy shares today?

The Magnis Energy share price has been gaining ground since the company released a project update late last month.

Magnis advised that its 60% owned venture Imperium3 New York had received approval for an Aquifer Permit.

This is the crucial last step in the approval process for Imperium3, a lithium-ion battery plant located in New York.

As a result of the approval, the plant is now fully funded to begin commercial production in the lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing market with a scale of up to 1.8 GWh.

The release of Magnis’ quarterly activities report for the period ending 30 September 2021 also sent shares higher when the company presented it last week.

In its report, the company advised that Imperium3 “as of end of September is 33% complete, and has completed several milestones” on its quest to production.

It also announced further binding offtakes with its subsidiaries – including Imperium3 – which “include an agreement with Anglian Omega subsidiary Omega Seiki, producer of electric three-wheelers in India” alongside a US government supplier.

Magnis also expects to see fully-automated production at the Imperium3 site by 1H 2022 after phasing out its “semi-automated process” by the end of this calender year.

Aside from this, the spot price of lithium has also rallied once more since we rolled over from October into November.

In the last week or so, the price of lithium has climbed a further 6.4%, or A$2,398/tonne, to reach another all-time high of A$40,156/tonne.

This uplift in lithium prices bodes well for the Magnis Energy share price given Magnis is an ASX resource share that produces the commodity.

As such, it is considered a price taker with a share price that can and does fluctuate with volatility in the broader commodity and lithium markets.

Lithium has made another upward move over the past week, rapidly accelerating a further A$1,460/tonne.

With this in mind, and in the absence of any other price-sensitive information, it stands to reason that Magnis Energy’s share price is faring well on the back of this momentum in the battery metal and the company’s recent trading updates.

Magnis Energy share price snapshot

The Magnis Energy share price has posted outsized returns over the past 12 months of 194%, after rallying 175% this year to date.

These returns are a galaxy ahead of the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s gain of around 23% in that time.

The post Magnis Energy (ASX:MNS) share price is up 18% on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Magnis Energy (ASX:MNS) share price leaps 6% on lithium battery update
• Here’s why the Magnis Energy (ASX:MNS) share price is leaping 7% today

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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