One increasingly popular way to invest is using exchange traded funds (ETFs). And it isn’t hard to see why.

Not only are ETFs an easy way to invest your hard-earned money, but they also provide investors with opportunities that were in some cases unattainable a decade ago.

With that in mind, I thought I would look at two ETFS that are popular with investors right now. They are as follows:

BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

The first ETF to look at is the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF. It tracks the performance of an index that provides investors with exposure to the leading companies in the growing global cybersecurity sector.

This could be a great place to be invested. With cybercrime on the rise, demand for cyber security services is growing fast. This puts companies included in the fund, such as Accenture, Cisco, Cloudflare, Okta, and Crowdstrike, in a strong position for growth over the next decade.

In respect to the latter, CrowdStrike provides the increasingly popular Falcon platform. This platform delivers incident response and forensic analysis services that are designed to help businesses understand whether a breach has occurred. It then allows the user to respond and recover from a breach with speed and precision to remediate the threat.

VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

Another ETF to look at is the VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. This ETF gives investors exposure to a diversified portfolio of fairly valued companies with sustainable competitive advantages.

These competitive advantages, or moats, are something that many investors look for when making investments. And it is easy to see why. Over the last 10 years, the index the fund tracks has outperformed the market and generated a return of 22% per annum.

At present, there are a total of 50 US based stocks in the fund. This includes Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Intel, Kellogg Co, McDonalds, Microsoft, and Philip Morris.

The post 2 excellent ETFs for ASX investors right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 2 ASX shares that could be strong buys
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• 2 high quality ETFs for ASX investors
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• Own BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX:HACK)? Here’s what you’re invested in

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 BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. 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 Medibank Private Limited (ASX: MPL) share price has been underperforming the NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) share price in recent weeks. What has been happening?

Over the last month, the Medibank share price is down by 3.3% whilst the NIB share price has fallen by less than 1%.

There is a much bigger difference over the last year, with Medibank shares up 29% compared to NIB shares going up by 57%.

Recent updates

Some of the biggest influences on the movement of businesses can be the updates they release.

NIB

For NIB, two of the most recent updates has been news from the ACCC and its FY21 result.

The ACCC has authorised Honeysuckle Health and NIB to form and operate a health services buying group. The Honeysuckle Health buying group intends to collectively negotiate and manage contracts with healthcare providers, including medical practitioners and hospitals, on behalf of NIB and other private health insurers and other healthcare payers (such as travel insurance companies) who join the group. However, this authorisation has been granted with a condition that major insurers Medibank, Bupa, HCF and HIF in WA are not allowed to join.

NIB’s FY21 result showed group underlying revenue increased 2.9% to $2.6 billion, whilst the claims expense rose 2.5% to $2 billion. Total group expenses fell 8.8% to $362.1 million. Group underlying operating profit increased 39.5% to $204.9 million, whilst net profit after tax (NPAT) rose by 84.5%.

NIB said that it was expecting similar market conditions in FY22 when compared to FY21. Australian resident health insurance net policyholder growth is expected for FY22 to be in the range of 2% to 3%. Growth in the New Zealand business is expected to be consistent with recent years.

The business has exposure to travel insurance. International travel is now seemingly on track to open sooner than previously expected.

It also said that, whilst it was a small step, its joint venture with Tasly allows it to have a licence to sell health insurance in China and it made its first sales in July. NIB called this opportunity over the long-term “considerable”.

Medibank

Turning to updates from Medibank which could have influenced the Medibank share price in recent times.

The FY21 result was the latest major update from the biggest private health insurer. However, it didn’t demonstrate quite as much profit growth as NIB.

It said that revenue from external customers rose 2.1% to $6.9 billion, health insurance operating profit grew by 14.4% to $538.6 million and total underlying net profit rose by 8.5% to $398.7 million. The continuing operations net profit after tax went up 39.8% to $441.2 million.

Are either of the private health insurers opportunities?

Brokers aren’t convinced either of them are going to rise much over the next year.

For example, Morgans currently rates both the NIB share price and the Medibank share price as a hold.

Morgan’s price target for Medibank is $3.28, whilst the price target for NIB is $6.81. Based on those numbers, it implies that broker thinks that NIB shares will essentially be the same price in a year, but Medibank shares could fall by around 5%.

The post Why is the Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price underperforming NIB (ASX:NHF) lately? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price forecast for more growth: fund manager
• ASX 200 company pays staff $1,500 to work from home
• Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price lifts as staff vaccine mandate hits headlines
• The most important catalyst for outperforming ASX shares: fund manager

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 NIB Holdings 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 Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form and started the week on a positive note. The benchmark index rose 0.3% to 7,441 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set to continue its ascent on Tuesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 21 points or 0.3% higher this morning. This follows a solid start to the week on Wall Street which in late trades sees the Dow Jones up 0.15%, the S&P 500 up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq trading 1% higher.

Telstra shares given buy rating

The team at Goldman Sachs have retained their buy rating and $4.40 price target on the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price. This follows news that the telco giant is acquiring Digicel Pacific together with the Australian government. Goldman notes that: “1) the transaction has significant risk mitigants; 2) is within Telstra’s core competency; and 3) is FCF/EPS accretive according to management.”

Oil prices mixed

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) will be on watch following a mixed night for oil prices. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 0.25% to US$83.54 a barrel, whereas the Brent crude oil price has risen 0.3% to US$85.77 a barrel.

Gold price rises

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could push higher today after the gold price stormed higher. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.7% to US$1,808.5 ounce. The safe haven asset rose after US yields softened.

Tech shares expected to rise

It looks set to be a good day for ASX tech shares such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) on Tuesday. This follows a strong night on the tech-focused Nasdaq index, which was trading 1% higher in late trade. In addition, the Square share price is up over 3% at the time of writing, which bodes well for Afterpay’s shares. Square is acquiring Apple in an all-scrip deal.

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

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• How do ASX share prices typically perform in November?
• Woodside share price (ASX:WPL) lifts amid plans for major WA hydrogen project
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Monday
• The Xero (ASX:XRO) share price is holding up ASX tech shares 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. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Telstra Corporation Limited, and Xero. 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 Australian share market, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy over others.

To narrow things down, I have picked out three options that are highly rated to consider:

Pushpay Holdings Group Ltd (ASX: PPH)

The first ASX share to look at is Pushpay. It is a leading donor management and community engagement platform provider for the faith sector. Pushpay has also boosted its offering with acquisitions. The most recent being the US$150 million acquisition of Resi Media. It is a US-based market-leading streaming solutions provider, servicing more than 70% of the Outreach 100 largest churches in the US. Management notes that it broadens Pushpay’s core product offering and enhances its value proposition to customers, strengthening its digital technology strategy and maintaining its position at the forefront of innovation in the faith sector.

Jarden currently has a buy rating and NZ$2.24 (A$2.15) price target on its shares.

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

Another ASX share to look at is ResMed. It is a medical device company with a focus on the sleep treatment market. Thanks to its industry-leading products, wide distribution network, and successful acquisitions, ResMed has been growing at a very strong rate over the last few years. The good news is that thanks to its significant market opportunity and the growing prevalence of sleep disorders, it has been tipped to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. Its near term performance is also being boosted by a major product recall from a competitor.

Morgan Stanley is positive on the company and has an overweight rating and $40.20 price target on ResMed’s shares.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

A final ASX share to look at is Zip. This buy now pay later (BNPL) provider has been growing at a strong rate over the last few years thanks to the increasing popularity of the payment method and its international expansion. This has continued in FY 2022, with Zip recently revealing record quarterly revenue of $136.8 million during the first quarter. This was up 89% year on year and 8% quarter on quarter. The good news is the company still has a very long runway for growth over the next decade thanks to its massive global market opportunity.

Analysts at Morgans are positive on Zip. They currently have an add rating and $8.56 price target on its shares.

The post 3 buy-rated ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• What do analysts think of the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price following the rebrand?
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• Up 11% in a month: Can the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price keep rising?
• Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price rallies 5% on Tuesday

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 PUSHPAY FPO NZX and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. 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 Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) share price has slipped to a new 52-week low today. Unfortunately for shareholders, this deepens Ansell’s fall from grace. It was only four months ago when the health and safety protection solutions company hit a 52-week high of $44.07.

At the end of Monday’s session, shares in the company finished at $31.30, down 1.07% from their previous close. This means the Ansell share price is now down approximately 29% from its 52-week high milestone.

Let’s have a closer look at what has been happening at the $4.1 billion company.

Going out of fashion

It is perplexing to think a company that delivered strong revenue and earnings growth in its FY21 full-year results is suffering a share price decline. However, that is exactly the case for personal protection equipment (PPE) manufacturer, Ansell.

In August, the company posted a 25.6% increase in sales to US$2 billion. Meanwhile, net profit after tax (NPAT) jumped a staggering 57% year-over-year to US$338 million. Certainly not bad growth for a healthcare company that is 92 years old.

However, the growth story was largely a beneficiary of the COVID-19 pandemic, which created a surge in demand for PPE across the globe. Now, as vaccination rates reach re-opening levels, investors are worried the tailwind might be reversing. Hence, the market is applying downwards pressure to the Ansell share price.

This daily infographic provides the total number of vaccine doses administered in Australia as of 24 October 2021

Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccine information here: https://t.co/lsM33j9wMW pic.twitter.com/7qcW7ymFgK

— Australian Government Department of Health (@healthgovau) October 25, 2021

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

As we recently covered, analysts from Macquarie have shared this perspective in its latest broker note. Essentially, the broker foresees a softening in demand for PPE. Consequently, Ansell is predicted to have difficulty raising prices to offset increasing costs being observed with inflation.

As a result, Macquarie suspects the company might fall short of earnings estimates for FY2022. In response, the broker has applied an underperform rating on the company with a $32 share price target for Ansell.

Ansell share price recap

Although Australia is only now beginning to emerge from its broad lockdowns and restrictions, the Ansell share price has been falling since June. Meanwhile, over the past 12 months, the company’s shares have sunk 23% in value. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 20.9% during that time.

Having said all that, it is worth mentioning that Ansell is currently trading on a trailing 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12.6 times. Likewise, the company is boasting a 3.2% dividend yield.

The post Ansell (ASX:ANN) share price hits a new 52-week low today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Ansell, Predictive Discovery, Strike Energy, & Zip shares are sinking
• Why the Ansell (ASX: ANN) share price is crashing today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Westpac’s $1.3bn earnings hit, Ansell sinks

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 recommended Ansell Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC) share price has plummeted over the last week despite no news having been released by the company.

Interestingly, the company had a good day on the ASX today. That’s despite the Australian Government pledging to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 ahead of next week’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

As The Motley Fool Australia has previously reported, Alumina is one of the S&P/ASX 300 Index‘s (ASX: XKO) biggest carbon polluters. It also doesn’t have a plan to reach net-zero carbon emissions.

As of Monday’s close, the Alumina share price is $2.11, 1.44% higher than it was at the end of Friday’s session. However, it’s still 8.2% lower than it was this time last week.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 0.81% in that time. The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has also gained 0.84% over the week just been.

Let’s take a look at what might have weighed on the aluminium producer’s share price over the past week.

What’s driving the Alumina share price down?

The Alumina share price’s struggles on the ASX came amid the company’s stock being downgraded by a major broker.

As The Motley Fool Australia reported on Saturday, analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded the company’s stock to a neutral rating and slapped its shares with a price target of $1.90.

The reason behind the broker’s downgrade was its belief that aluminium prices are unsustainable and Alumina’s shares too expensive.

The price of aluminium has slipped since last week. It’s been trending downwards since Wednesday after spending most of October surging higher.

According to data from Business Insider, 1 tonne of aluminium is currently US$2,868.15. That represents a fall of 1.46% over the course of today.  

Additionally, Alumina seems to have suffered through a sell-off last week.

Over the last 4 weeks, an average day has seen around 12.2 million Alumina shares swapping hands.

However, Thursday saw a whopping 41.7 million Alumina shares traded. Wednesday and Friday also saw above-average numbers passed from seller to buyer.

The post Why has the Alumina (ASX:AWC) share price fallen 8% over the last week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Which ASX 200 dividend shares have investors been heavily trading this week?
• HESTA boss calls out ASX 300 companies without net-zero targets
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Thursday
• Alumina (ASX:AWC) share price edges lower on quarterly update

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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

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There are a lot of growth shares for investors to choose from on the Australian share market.

To narrow things down, I have picked out three ASX growth shares that are highly rated. Here’s what you need to know about them:

ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO)

The first ASX growth share to look at is ELMO. It is a HR and payroll platform provider that has been growing at a rapid rate over the last few years and even during the pandemic. Its popular software platform allows businesses to simplify and streamline a wide range of tasks. Demand has been strong, leading to stellar recurring revenue growth over the last few years. For example, last week ELMO released its first quarter update and revealed Annualised Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $88.5 million, which was up 61% over the prior corresponding period. This was driven by the benefits of acquisitions and a 35% increase in organic revenue.

In response to its update, Morgan Stanley retained its overweight rating and $7.80 price target on ELMO’s shares.

IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)

Another ASX growth share to look at is IDP Education. It is a provider of international student placement services and English language testing services. It was unsurprisingly hit hard by the pandemic. However, the company has been tipped to win market share and resume its rapid growth once the crisis passes and trading conditions recover. In fact, this is already happening. Last week the company revealed that during the first quarter of FY 2022, IELTS volumes were up 84% on the same period last year.

This led to Morgan Stanley retaining its overweight rating and $40.20 price target on the company’s shares.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

Another growth share to consider is Temple & Webster. It is Australia’s leading online furniture and homewares retailer. It has been growing at a strong rate over the last few years. This has been driven by the shift to online shopping. Pleasingly, this strong growth has continued despite COVID tailwinds easing. Last week the company revealed that its revenue for the period July 1 to 15 October increased 56% over the prior corresponding period.

In response, Credit Suisse retained its outperform rating and lifted its price target on the company’s shares to $15.89.

The post 3 exciting ASX growth shares analysts love appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 excellent ASX growth shares to buy
• The ASX share showing explosive post-COVID growth
• ELMO (ASX:ELO) share price surges 8% on first-quarter update
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Why Audinate, Home Co Daily Needs, Infomedia, and Temple & Webster are falling

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 Elmo Software, Idp Education Pty Ltd, and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Elmo Software. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Back in July, we looked at one fund manager’s bold prediction that the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) will hit 8,000 points by the end of the 2021 calendar year, with the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) presumably well above that level.

Seeing as it’s towards the back end of October now, and the ASX 200 is presently at 7,441 points at the time of writing, the window for this prediction to come true is narrowing. Especially if you consider that global investment manager Research Affiliates was basing this prediction on rising commodity prices at the time. I’m sure the good investors over at Research Affiliates weren’t to know that the iron ore price was about to have the floor pulled out from under it.

But what of the All Ords? Sure, it may not be as followed as its younger sibling the ASX 200, these days. But it’s sure sitting a lot closer to 8,000 points than the ASX 200 is right now at the present 7,754 points.

Can the All Ords hit 8,000 points by the end of the year?

So what would it take for the All Ords to hit 8,000? Well, it already got mighty close. Back in mid-August, the All Ords hit what is now its all-time high of 7,902.2 points. On that day, the ASX 200 also hit its current high watermark of 7,632.8 points.

We would only need the All Ords to put on around 1.8% from today’s levels to hit that number, and another 1.25% roughly to hit 8,000 points.

All we would really need is the big four banks, or perhaps BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) or CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), to have another terrific month, and we’d probably be there. That’s because, just like the ASX 200, the All Ords’ share weightings are dominated by these companies, the largest by market capitalisation on the ASX boards.

So how likely is this scenario? Well, no one seems to be too keen to make the call, at least recently. A few months ago, a survey conducted by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) found that “the majority of equity strategists surveyed… forecast the benchmark [ASX 200] will only add a little more than 2 per cent by Christmas”. That’s going from the 7,300 point mark at the time, implying an ASX 200 at 7,500 points at the end of the year.

We can extend this prediction to a rough level of 7,800 points for the All Ords. Those providing this prediction include brokers JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and UBS.

But that was then, and commentators have been comparatively silent in the months since. As per usual, we will probably have to wait until 31 December to actually have any idea of where the All Ords will end up at the end of 2021. As they say, the waiting is the hardest part!

The post Can the All Ords hit 8,000 points by the end of the year? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. 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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Is it possible that the Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price could drop to just $4 by the end of the 2021 calendar year?

One broker thinks that Lynas shares are headed lower from where they are today.

But time will tell how if, and how much, it falls.

A price target is where a broker feels a share price will be in 12 months from now, not necessarily at the end of the 2021 calendar year.

Brokers regularly update their thoughts about a business. Some businesses are more commonly covered than others.

One of the brokers that covers Lynas is Ord Minnett.

Price target for the Lynas share price

Ord Minnett has a price target on Lynas of $4.30. That suggests that the broker believes that Lynas shares could fall by around 40% over the next 12 months.

The broker noted the high levels of cash that the business has achieved and its good production.

Strong commodity prices are helping Lynas’ profit and cashflow.

Whilst the business has done well with its operations, the broker is cautious after the strong run of the Lynas share price.

Over the last six months, the Lynas share price has risen by 29% and in the last year has gone up by 141%.

FY22 first quarter update

The resource business recently released its update for the first quarter of FY22.

Lynas said the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to present challenges and opportunities for the Lynas business in the quarter ending 30 September 2021.

Strong demand from the magnet market and increased market price for neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) continued as economies recovered from the pandemic.

In terms of the numbers, invoiced revenue for the quarter was $121.6 million, the second highest quarterly result recorded for Lynas. The fourth quarter of FY21 showed $185.9 million of sales revenue.

Sales receipts for the FY22 first quarter amounted $92 million, compared to $192 million in the prior quarter.

Lynas ended with a closing cash balance of A$667.3 million, compared to $680.8 million at the end of FY21.

In terms of production, the company said that total rare earth oxide (REO) production was 3,166 tonnes, down from 3,778 tonnes in the last quarter of FY21. NdPr production was 1,255 tonnes, down from 1,393 tonnes in the prior quarter.

The Lynas share price has fallen 4.5% since the market learned of this update.

Lynas 2025 project

The company also gave a number of updates about its Lynas 2025 project.

Kiln components are en route to Australia, with 70% of procurement now complete. It also said that 70% of the procurement is now complete.

A process water agreement has been signed with the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

On 20 October e2021, the WA EPA recommended the Kalgoorlie rare earth processing facility for environmental approval.

Lynas share price valuation

Based on the Ord Minnett projection, Lynas shares are valued at 17x FY23’s estimated earnings.

The post Can the Lynas (ASX:LYC) share price fall to $4 by the end of 2021? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Aurizon, De Grey Mining, Lynas, and Yancoal shares are falling
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BHP and Rio Tinto fall, Qantas higher
• Lynas (ASX:LYC) share price falls 7% on news of COVID-induced shutdown
• The Lynas (ASX:LYC) share price has leapt 15% in 2 weeks. Here’s why
• The Lynas (ASX:LYC) share price is down 10% in a month. Here’s why

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 Huon Aquaculture Group Ltd (ASX: HUO) share price regained momentum on Monday afternoon. Shares in the Aussie salmon farmer finished the day at $3.83, up 6.7%.

Investors are making a grab for Huon shares after the company released an update this afternoon. The contents of the release relate to the approvals needed for the proposed buyout by Brazil-based meat processor, JBS SA.

Here’s what we know following the update.

Another hurdle cleared

While the takeover of Huon by JBS is not new, the details of its progression are. According to the release, JBS’ takeover offer of $3.85 cash per Huon share has received approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

This means the Commonwealth has made no objections to the Australian company being bought out by the foreign company, JBS. Shareholders are clearly excited, reflected in the higher Huon share price today.

The Huon board is now left to deliberate whether it will pay a special dividend worth 12.5 cents per share. This would allow shareholders to enjoy a further 5 cents per share in franking credits.

Additionally, the company disclosed that no further bids were received after the JBS schemes were announced on 6 August 2021.

Management commentary

Commenting on the FIRB approval, Huon chair Neil Kearney said:

The FIRB decision is another important step in securing the future of Huon, our 800-plus employees and the hundreds of Tasmanian businesses that work with our company. In addition to its commitment to invest in the business and our people, JBS has committed to maintaining our world-leading farming practices to support long-term sustainable growth.

Huon has established the highest standards of animal husbandry, biosecurity, environmental management, and sustainable farming practices and JBS will continue this uncompromising approach. Importantly, JBS also has the proven skills and expertise to access new international markets for Huon’s premium products.

What’s next for the Huon share price?

The Huon annual general meeting (AGM) and scheme meetings will be held on 29 October. If shareholders approve the scheme, the company expects Huon shares will be suspended from trading at market close on 3 November.

The Huon share price has returned 38.9% to its shareholders over the past year. At its current share price, Huon trades on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 43.9 times.

The post Huon (ASX:HUO) share price leaps 6% on takeover update 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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