Wednesday is proving to be tough for ASX hydrogen shares.

At the time of writing, the share prices of ASX hydrogen companies, Hazer Group Ltd (ASX: HZR), Pure Hydrogen Corporation Ltd (ASX: PH2), and Province Resources Ltd (ASX: PRL) are down 3.36%, 3.03%, and 3.12% respectively.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slipped 0.36%, while the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is sporting a 0.44% slump.

Additionally, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is see-sawing on Wednesday. Currently, it is 0.54% higher.

Let’s take a look at what could be weighing on ASX hydrogen shares today.

Have US markets caused ASX hydrogen shares suffering?

It’s a tough day for hydrogen-focused ASX shares, which are potentially being driven downwards by the poor performance of some of their international peers.

As my Foolish US colleague reported yesterday, the growth positions of many hydrogen companies might be weakening their performance.

Of course, hydrogen as an energy source is relatively new. That means many hydrogen companies are in their infancy.

In fact, Hazer, Pure Hydrogen, and Province Resources all sport market capitalisations of between $167 million and $215 million.

Growth stocks are generally at the mercy of markets. Unfortunately, those markets – particularly that of the United States – could look a little rocky at the moment.

Yesterday, United States Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said the Omicron COVID-19 variant is a risk to the nation’s employment and economic activity.

It is, therefore, a potential harbinger of inflation.

Finally, ASX shares tend to move in trend with their United States-listed counterparts.

Thus, ASX hydrogen shares might be reacting to some NASDAQ-listed hydrogen stocks movement overnight.

While most of Australia slept last night, the FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ: FCEL) share price slipped 2.6%. Meanwhile, that of Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG) tumbled 4.2%.

Though, plenty of US-listed hydrogen shares did post modest gains in Tuesday’s session.

The post Why are ASX hydrogen shares tumbling today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Hazer (ASX:HZR) share price getting tasered today?
• Pure Hydrogen (ASX:PH2) share price rebounds 5% on project upgrade
• Why did the Pure Hydrogen (ASX:PH2) share price sink 9% today?
• Pure Hydrogen (ASX:PH2) share price leaps 9% as first plant set to be operational next year
• The Hazer (ASX:HZR) share price is having a bad day but it’s still up 50% in a month

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 Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is in the spotlight again today. This comes after the Australian gold miner announced a convertible funding agreement with Canadian-listed mineral exploration company, Osisko Mining Inc.

At the time of writing, the Northern Star shares are down 0.64% to $9.50.

Northern Star agrees to convertible funding

In a statement to the ASX, Northern Star advised that it has entered into a subscription agreement and debenture with Osisko.

As such, Northern Star subscribed for a private placement of C$154 million (A$169 million) in a convertible senior unsecured debenture.

Similar to a bond, a debenture is a type of medium-to-long-term debt that companies use to raise capital. In this case, Osisko is seeking an investment to fund its development plans for the Windfall gold project in Quebec.

The debenture has an interest rate of 4.75% per annum and is payable semi-annually in arrears to Osisko. Furthermore, the debenture has a maturity date exactly 36 months from now.

In addition, both parties have agreed to exclusively negotiate the terms of an earn-in and up to 50% joint-venture in Windfall. Northern Star can convert the debenture into an interest in the property at a conversion premium of 125%.

Northern Star managing director, Stuart Tonkin commented:

This agreement gives Northern Star an exclusive right to negotiate to acquire a 50% interest in the Windfall Project.

Partnering with Osisko provides a de-risked entry to a high-quality gold province on an advanced development project and aligns with our strategy. A prospective 50/50 JV leverages the skills from both teams to deliver strong returns for our respective shareholders.

The Osisko team are a complementary partner to Northern Star with a proven track record of discovery and development and a strong commitment to ESG principles.

Northern Star share price summary

The Northern Star share price has been gradually descending over the past 12 months, recording a loss of 26%.

Based on valuation grounds, Northern Star has a market capitalisation of approximately $11.06 billion, with around 1.16 billion shares outstanding.

The post Northern Star (ASX:NST) share price struggles despite funding news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• What’s weighing on the Northern Star (ASX:NST) share price today?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras owns shares of Northern Star Resources 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is off its intraday lows but remains on course to start the month with a decline. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 0.6% to 7,214.5 points.

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

Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL)

The Bellevue Gold share price is up 3.5% to 82.3 cents. This morning the gold developer announced that it has executed its project loan facility of $200 million with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG). Combined with its existing cash reserves of $188 million, this means development of the Bellevue Gold Project in Western Australia is fully funded through to production and cashflow.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

The South32 share price is up 3.5% to $3.65. This could be a delayed reaction to a bullish broker note out of Citi on Tuesday. According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target on the mining giant’s shares to $4.45. Citi lifted its valuation to reflect the acquisition of a 45% interest in the Sierra Gorda Copper Mine.

Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL)

The Starpharma share price has jumped 10.5% to $1.20. Investors have been buying the dendrimer products developer’s shares after it announced that its antiviral nasal spray will be launched in Vietnam this week. Starpharma recently signed initial distribution agreements to supply 100,000 units in the country and is finalising a contract for ongoing supply of the product.

Tuas Ltd (ASX: TUA)

The Tuas share price has surged 14.5% to $1.98. This telco’s shares have been storming higher this week after announcing the acquisition of additional 5G spectrum in Singapore. The licence of the spectrum is 15 years in duration and requires it to be used for standalone 5G network services. TPG Singapore intends to move quickly to commence rolling out 5G equipment.

The post Why Bellevue Gold, South32, Starpharma, and Tuas shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• The Starpharma (ASX: SPL) share price surges on Vietnam launch
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• 2 excellent ASX dividend shares to buy next week
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Starpharma Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and Starpharma 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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The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has been a strong performer in 2021

Since the start of the year, the telco giant’s shares have risen an impressive 34%.

Why is the Telstra share price up 34% in 2021?

Investors have been bidding the Telstra share price higher this year amid its improving outlook, which is being underpinned by its T22 strategy and the newly announced T25 strategy.

T22 was based on transforming the company, whereas T25 is going to be about driving growth. So much so, management is targeting mid-single digit underlying EBITDA and high-teens underlying earnings per share (EPS) compound annual growth rates between FY 2021 and FY 2025.

While the mobile business and its cost cutting plan will play a key role in this growth, they won’t be the only things driving it.

Expansion into the energy sector

Leading energy retailers AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) and Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) may want to watch their backs, because Telstra has its eyes on the energy market.

At its T25 event, the company revealed plans to launch a simple, sustainable and integrated energy proposition through its Telstra Energy business. After which, it is aiming to be a top five energy retailer with 0.5 million+ customers by 2025.

And given its relationships with 5.4 million households and 0.9 million small to medium sized businesses, this is being seen as an achievable target.

But Telstra won’t be the only newcomer. The Australian highlights today that global energy giant Shell is also planning to enter the market in the near future, much to the dismay of the big energy retailers.

In fact, The Australian thinks AGL and Origin should be nervous, suggesting that “the environment the newcomers plan to create will be akin to the internet’s impact on the rivers of gold in print classified newspapers.”

All in all, these are interesting times for the Telstra share price and the energy market.

The post Will its energy expansion drive the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price to new heights? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 2 excellent ASX 200 dividend shares to buy in December
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• Why is the Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) share price soaring today?
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Monday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia 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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It’s no secret that the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) didn’t have a fantastic month over the November just passed. The ASX 200 went backwards by close to 1% over the month, falling by 0.92% to finish at 7,256 points. But that’s nothing compared to what happened to the Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price.

Kogan shares had a disastrous month, no way around it. This e-commerce company began November at a share price of $9.94. By market close yesterday, Kogan was priced at just $7.99 a share. Going from $9.94 to $7.99 represents a fall of 19.62%. Ouch.

Not only that, but Kogan has also suffered through four new 52-week lows over just the past week. We had one on 25 November, another on 26 November, a third on 29 November and a fourth just today.

Yes, Kogan shares hit a new 52-week low of $7.74 this morning, and are currently going for $7.92 a share, down 0.88% today thus far. The last time Kogan shares were trading in this range was back in April 2020. On these prices, Kogan shares are now a depressing 70% or so off of the all-time highs of roughly $25 a share that we saw last year.

So what’s gone so wrong for this company?

Kogan share price puts on November rain

Well, Kogan’s more recent woes can be traced back to the quarterly trading update the company released back on 20 October. Kogan reported a 21.1% year on year bump in gross sales for the 3 months ending 30 September to $330.5 million. As well as a reduction in inventory that had been previously plaguing the company’s balance sheet. Even so, investors didn’t seem to be impressed. A week after this report was released, the Kogan share price had lost almost 14%.

Subsequent bearish notes from ASX brokers may also have dented investor enthusiasm for the company. Not to mention Kogan’s repeat appearances on the ASX’s ‘most shorted shares’ list.

The fact that shareholders voted against Kogan’s remuneration report at last week’s annual general meeting for the second year in a row, giving the company a dreaded ‘second strike’. Shareholders overwhelmingly voted against spilling the company’s board. But it still arguably wasn’t a good look. This could be behind the most recent run of 52-week lows.

All in all, it hasn’t been a great week, month or even year for Kogan. But we recently checked in with the Motley Fool‘s Chief Investment Officer Scott Philips for his views on what Kogan shares are really worth, so make sure to check that out.

In the meantime, at the current Kogan share price of $7.747, this company now has a market capitalisation of $828.4 million.

The post The Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price has suffered 4 52-week lows in the past week. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why these 3 All Ordinaries shares just hit 52-week lows
• Why Domino’s, Healius, Kogan, and Vulcan shares are pushing higher
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• The Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price just hit another 52-week low, its fourth this week. Can it fall any further?
• Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price falls amid remuneration second strike

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com 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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Business magnate James Packer might be most well known for his success in Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN). But, the last year has shown Packer’s ability to make a pretty penny in tech shares as well.

The Australian billionaire tends to make his investments through the private company known as Consolidated Press Holdings (CPH). In fact, Crown Resorts’ largest shareholder is Packer via the CPH holding company. However, the gaming and entertainment group played less of a role in the monumental $530 million profit that CPH booked in the last financial year.

Instead, the bumper profit was beefed up by investments in various tech names.

Tech shares deliver for Packer’s pocket

According to documents obtained by The Australian, James Packer’s CPH pulled a profit that puts it among one of the biggest for an Australian private company in FY21. This result is a positive contrast to the $400 million paper loss recorded by CPH in the previous financial year — but what helped the billionaire’s net worth?

In FY21, the assets held on the balance sheet of CPH rose $480 million in value. The company also cashed in on $114 million worth of various assets during the period. This allowed Packer to pay himself a considerable $111 million dividend from his company.

A large chunk of the returns was from Packer’s investment in a number of technology shares. Examples of this include the Southeast Asian real estate marketplace PropertyGuru. The fast-growing business is set to list on the Nasdaq for US$1.8 billion.

In addition to this, it is believed Packer has around $100 million invested directly in the venture capital firm, Square Peg Capital. This gives the Aussie business persona exposure to tech startups such as Airwallex, Canva, Fiverr International Ltd (NYSE: FVRR), and Stripe.

After listing in 2019, the share price of Fiverr soared more than 200% during the last financial year. Although, possibly one of the most successful startup investments in 2021 was graphic design platform Canva.

The Sydney-based company blew minds with its flying valuation — from ~US$6 billion to ~US$55 billion in the space of 12 months.

Not Packer’s first rodeo

James Packer’s foray into investing in ‘tech’ shares is not his first. Throughout the 2000’s, he hit some home runs within the emerging online classifieds space. In 2003, Packer invested $33 million in SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK), giving him a 25% stake in the company at the time. He went on to sell his $33 million investment in the job advertisement platform for $440 million.

Similarly, in 2005 Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR) caught the eye of the businessman. As a result, the Packer family acquired a 41% stake in the company for $100 million.

For reference, Carsales today has a market capitalisation of $7.08 billion.

The post Here’s how James Packer made $500 million from investing in shares this year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Carnaby (ASX:CNB) share price rockets 33% on lithium update
• Why is the Hazer (ASX:HZR) share price getting tasered today?
• IDT (ASX:IDT) share price swings as CEO lauds mRNA tech in fight against Omicron
• How did the Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX:HACK) perform in November?
• Here’s why the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price is sinking 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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SEEK Limited and carsales.com 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 Carnaby Resources Ltd (ASX: CNB) share price is off to the races today, up 33% in early afternoon trade.

Below we take a look at the latest soil sampling results from the ASX resource explorer.

What lithium results were announced?

The Carnaby share price is surging after the company reported promising lithium results at its 100% owned Big Hill Project in the Mallina Basin of Western Australia.

According to the release, soil sampling results revealed a 1.5 kilometre by 0.5 kilometre lithium soil anomaly. Soil results came back with up to 179 parts per million (ppm) lithium.

Carnaby noted the proximity of its project to the “giant world class” Pilgangoora and Wodgina lithium mines. It said the soil anomaly at Big Hill is “coincident with a discrete magnetic high unit” located on a major fault structure. The geological setting appears to be similar to the Pilgangoora and Wodgina lithium deposits.

Commenting on the results, Carnaby’s managing director, Rob Watkins said:

We are in unexplored lithium and gold elephant country at Big Hill and look forward to first pass drilling of the Big Hill soil anomalies as quickly as possible. While we remain extremely excited about our gold prospects in the Pilbara, we cannot ignore a walk up lithium drill target of this ilk, which has presented itself at Big Hill.

Carnaby has significant exposure to energy metals with our Duchess Copper Gold project and considers lithium a long term metal of the future that we are compelled to explore for in conjunction with the gold exploration in the Pilbara of WA.

Carnaby said that heritage clearances needed to commence drilling at Big Hill, have been completed.

Carnaby share price snapshot

Despite today’s intraday leap, the Carnaby share price remains down 18% in 2021. By comparison the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 10% year-to-date.

Over the past month, Carnaby’s shares are up 8%.

The post Carnaby (ASX:CNB) share price rockets 33% on lithium update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Hazer (ASX:HZR) share price getting tasered today?
• IDT (ASX:IDT) share price swings as CEO lauds mRNA tech in fight against Omicron
• How did the Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX:HACK) perform in November?
• Here’s why the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price is sinking today
• Why is the Emerald Resources (ASX:EMR) share price still in the deep freeze today?

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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It’s shaping up to be a rough day on the ASX for the Hazer Group Ltd (ASX: HZR) share price.

At the time of writing, the company’s stock is trading at $1.30, 2.99% lower than its previous close.

The fall comes despite no news released today by the hydrogen and graphite production technology developer.

For context, the broader market is also in the red today. Right now, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen 0.47%, while the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.53%.

Let’s take a look at what might be weighing on the Hazer share price on Wednesday.

Why is the Hazer share price slipping?

The Hazer share price is sliding alongside the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) and its ASX hydrogen peers.

Right now, the materials sector is down 0.43%.

Meanwhile, Pure Hydrogen Corporation CDI (ASX: PH2) and Province Resources Ltd (ASX: PRL) are both experiencing share price drops of around 4%.

So, what’s going so wrong for ASX hydrogen shares today? Well, they might be being impacted by the movements of some of their United States-based counterparts.

US market concerns

Overnight, the share price of FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ: FCEL) fell 2.6%, while that of Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG) tumbled 4.2%.

While the drop wasn’t experienced across the board, its potential cause might be enough to worry ASX investors.

According to reporting by our United States-based colleagues, the NASDAQ-listed companies struggled overnight due to their position as growth stocks.

As hydrogen as an energy source is a relatively new concept, most players in the field are growth stocks.

That leaves them vulnerable to market movements, such as those we often see when big news of COVID-19 or interest rates come out.

And such market movements that might be happening right now, as the Omicron variant takes centre stage, spurring the United States Federal Reserve to pin the variant as a potential driver of inflation.

Meanwhile, back in Australia

However, good news for Australia’s hydrogen industry – though, perhaps a signal of increasing competition – was released recently.

GeelongPort announced it’s committed to building a $100 million hydrogen hub, where it will produce and distribute the energy source, yesterday.

Today’s fall included, the Hazer share price is 12% lower than it was this time last month. Though, it’s still 62% higher than it was at the start of 2021.

The post Why is the Hazer (ASX:HZR) share price getting tasered today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Hazer (ASX:HZR) share price is having a bad day but it’s still up 50% in a month
• Hazer (ASX:HZR) share price rises as hydrogen refuelling gains federal funding

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 IDT Australia Limited (ASX: IDT) share price has been up and down today, currently down 2.46% to 59.5 cents per share.

Today’s price swings follow on from an outstanding performance yesterday.

After the ASX medical research company reported it had successfully created the first mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate in Australia, the IDT share price surged, closing the day up more than 38%.

As the Motley Fool reported yesterday:

The drug product passed all the required specifications and is now going through the release process for clinical trials. In total, 450 doses of the vaccine have been manufactured, allowing 150 volunteers to take part in the upcoming study. This is expected to commence in the new year, with results expected later in 2022.

Below we look at why IDT’s CEO, Dr David Sparling, says it’s critical for Australia to have its own messenger RNA (mRNA) production facilities.

Why mRNA is a vital tool against COVID variants like Omicron

With COVID-19 having again mutated, many experts predict that Omicron will replace Delta as the prevalent strain in 2022. And most experts agree that Omicron is unlikely to be the last variant we see before, hopefully, humanity gets ahead of the pandemic.

Sparling says it’s crucial that Australia obtains the ability to develop and produce its own mRNA vaccines domestically.

According to Sparling (quoted in the Australian Financial Review):

It’s quite pivotal when you think about it. The dividends that can pay off in the future is the ability for us to be less reliant on overseas suppliers of vaccines and more reliant on our own capabilities.

The IDT share price has been volatile as it developed its vaccine candidate in only 5 months. The company worked together with the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Doherty Institute. Addressing the rapid development, Sparling said:

The reason why these vaccines were developed so quickly is because the vaccine can be modified very quickly. That is the beauty of this platform and this technology: you can put a new mRNA sequence into the vaccine and quickly change the vaccine for future variants…

Things can change very quickly, but what I would say is at least developing the capability to manufacture these things for ourselves puts us on the cutting edge of this science and put us in a very good position to fight whatever difficult issues that may come up next.

IDT share price snapshot

The IDT share price has had a tremendous year, up 213% since 4 January. For some context, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 8% year to date.

Over the past month IDT shares have gained 13%

The post IDT (ASX:IDT) share price swings as CEO lauds mRNA tech in fight against Omicron appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Starpharma (ASX: SPL) share price surges on Vietnam launch
• IDT Australia (ASX:IDT) share price rockets 40% on COVID vaccine update

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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November wasn’t a great month for ASX shares, as we can now say since December has begun. Over the month just gone, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went from 7,323.7 points at the end of October to yesterday’s closing figure of 7,256 points. That’s a month-on-month drop of 0.92%. But how did the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK) perform?

HACK investors might be used to some healthy market-beating performance by now. That’s because the HACK exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a bit of a high flyer. As of 31 October, it has managed to return an average of 22.86% per annum since its inception in 2021, including a return of 51.49% over the 12 months to 31 October. 

So did HACK live up to this reputation over November? Let’s find out.

HACK hacks November

So HACK units were asking a price of $10.41 each as we began November. Yesterday, they finished up at $$10.97 each. That’s a monthly return of 5.38% or so. HACK didn’t pay any dividend distributions over the month either, so that’s also investors’ absolute return for November. It also doesn’t include the 1.4% fall HACK units have suffered so far today either (down at $10.82 a unit at the time of writing).

But even so, that 5.38% return is a meaningful outperformance of the ASX 200 and ASX shares in general. So where did this performance come from?

Well, as an ETF, HACK invests in an underlying basket of assets, in this case shares. Not just any shares, though. This ETF only selects companies from the Nasdaq Consumer Technology Association Cybersecurity Index. This index holds a concentrated portfolio of (presently) 36 shares from around the world. It aims to select companies that are leaders in the global cybersecurity space.

As of 31 November, its top holdings (and weightings) were as follows:

1. Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE: PANW) with a portfolio weighting of 7%
2. Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) with a weighting of 6.3%
3. Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) with a weighting of 5.5%
4. Okta Inc (NASDAQ: OKTA) with a weighting of 4.9%
5. Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD) with a weighting of 4.7%

So is it likely that the performances of these top holdings were largely behind the BetaShares Cybersecurity ETF’s stellar November? Let’s check it out.

So Palo Alto indeed had an impressive month, rising just under 7.5% over November as of this morning’s (our time) market close over in the US.

Accenture shares slipped 0.4% though over the same period.

Cisco shares also fell, this time by just over 2%.

Okta had a rather wild month, falling almost 13% over November by market close this morning.

And Crowdstrike came out on the bottom, delivering a nasty 23% or so fall over the month just gone.

What was behind the Global Cybersecurity ETF’s stellar month?

So it was actually the performance of HACK’s top holding in Palo Alto that is largely to thank for this ETF’s impressive November. But HACK’s month would have probably been a lot worse if it wasn’t for the Australian dollar also having a very poor month. The Aussie had a shocker, falling by more than 5% against the US dollar over November. It started the month close to 75 US cents, but is currently around 71 US cents as of today.

Since most of HACK’s top holdings are US companies priced in US dollars, a falling Aussie dollar makes these investments more valuable in Australian dollar terms. This would have given the BetaShares Cybersecurity ETF a huge buffer against any falls its portfolio would have suffered. 

So there you have it, the likely reasons behind the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF’s stellar November. HACK charges a management fee of 0.57% per annum.

The post How did the Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX:HACK) perform in November? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. 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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