The Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD) share price has surged higher in the first quarter of FY22. This comes despite the company not releasing any market-sensitive news since it received a revised takeover proposal last month

Currently, Australia’s largest airport operator’s shares are travelling 0.12% lower today to $8.22 apiece.

What’s sending Sydney Airport shares higher lately?

Investors have been pushing the Sydney Airport share price higher following strong optimism over the resumption of international travel.

With Australia’s accelerated vaccination program on track, the federal government has announced plans to open up international borders. Flights will start as early as next month to a number of selected countries.

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) has plans already in place to restart flights to popular destinations among Aussies. These are likely to include London, Los Angeles, Singapore, Vancouver, Tokyo, Hawaii, and Fiji.

New Zealand routes are expected to begin sometime before the Christmas holidays.

Should all go to plan, Sydney Airport could see passengers fill its terminals very shortly as demand is expected to considerably ramp up.

What happened to Sydney Airport in Q1 FY22?

During July, Sydney Airport shares soared by around 35% following a $22.6 billion takeover proposal by the Sydney Aviation Alliance, a consortium of infrastructure investors. The all-cash transaction deal offered to buy Australia’s largest airport at $8.25 per share.

However, the Sydney Airport board knocked back the proposal just two weeks later. It stated the offer undervalued the company and was not in the best interest of shareholders.

This led the Sydney Airport share price to rocket during the first quarter of the new financial year.

Soon after, a revised conditional and non-binding proposal arrived on 16 August, sweetening the offer. The consortium of infrastructure investors tabled an improved $8.45 per share offer. Yet again, the board declined, noting the current COVID-19 environment does not reflect Sydney Airport’s long-term value.

Then last month another offer arrived, upping the ante to $8.75 per share to acquire 100% of Sydney Airport shares. As such, the board appeared satisfied and allowed the consortium to conduct due diligence on a non-exclusive basis.

It is expected this will be completed sometime in the middle of this month. If approved, the consortium will put together a formal binding proposal.

About the Sydney Airport share price

Since the beginning of July, the Sydney Airport share price has accelerated on the back of several takeover offers received by the company from the Sydney Aviation Alliance.

At the moment, its shares are up more than 40% from 2 July (trading day prior to the first takeover announcement).

Sydney Airport presides a market capitalisation of roughly $22.1 billion, with approximately 2.7 billion shares on hand.

The post Why did the Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) share price have such a great FY22 first quarter? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• September has been a good month so far for the Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) share price
• Why the embattled AGL (ASX:AGL) share price is surging higher today
• Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) share price struggles amid latest takeover blow

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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ASX shares in the renewables and green metals space has been a big winner this year as investors flock into the theme of environmental, social and governance, or ESG, investing.

In an article featured on Livewire, chief investment officer and founder of Regal Investment Fund (ASX: RF1) Phil King spoke at the company’s investor briefing last week. He backs two major themes, a mining bull market and green metals, especially batteries.

King and the team at Regal pointed to four ASX shares, spanning S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) constituents to newly listed initial public offerings.

4 ASX shares for renewables exposure

1. Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN)

The Chalice share price has boomed an extraordinary 2,500% since the company began its extensive drilling program at its Julimar Nickel-Copper-Platinum Group Element (PGE) project in Western Australia.

Chalice believes it’s positioned to emerge as a “world-class, strategic deposit of critical, ‘green metals’ in a world-class jurisdiction” that is “highly leveraged to battery and hydrogen technology adoption”, according to its Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum 2021 presentation.

The team at Regal share the same view, saying:

… we believe (Chalice) has discovered a new tier-one green metals province, remarkably, only 60 kilometres east of Perth, which has the potential to become the most significant polymetallic discovery in Australia.

2. Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX)

Up until last week, the Novonix share price managed to boom 450% year-to-date.

Regal described the company as one that is “engaged in a diverse range of battery-related technologies and is a global leader in producing high-quality synthetic graphite for battery anodes”.

It would also be remiss not to mention its collaboration with Tesla.

3. PPK Group Limited (ASX: PPK)

The PPK share price has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks, losing more than a third in value since mid-September.

The trending PPK share price came to a grinding halt when the company announced a joint venture to manufacture anti-viral and anti-bacterial face masks on 23 September.

Despite the diversified nature of PPK’s business, spread across batteries, ballistic armour, dental products and mining technology, Regal pointed out that:

(PPK) has made significant progress this year in research and development. PPK’s subsidiary Li-S Energy … is developing lithium-sulphur batteries … a competing technology to the well accepted lithium-ion batteries.

4. Li-S Energy Ltd (ASX: LIS)

Li-S Energy made its ASX debut on 28 September, surging as high as $3.05 on open compared to its listing price of just 85 cents.

The company is a spin-off of PPK Group, attempting to disrupt the battery market with a more efficient, safer, faster charging and environmentally friendly lithium-sulphur battery.

The post Bullish on lithium and batteries? 4 ASX shares playing into this theme: fund manager appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• PPK (ASX:PPK) share price sinks 6% amid collaboration agreement
• Li-S Energy (ASX:LIS) share price falls 15% over its first week on the ASX
• Which ASX 300 shares are on the move for the start of the week?
• Why is the Novonix (ASX:NVX) share price plunging 12% today?
• These were the best performing ASX lithium shares in September

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) share price hasn’t exactly amassed a reputation as a market beater over the past few years.

It’s a sad fact for shareholders that AMP has been one of the worst-performing ASX blue-chip investments in recent memory. This company is still down more than 80% over the past 5 years alone, and down close to 94% from the most recent all-time high, which happened to occur way back in 2002.

We are probably all aware of AMP’s shortcomings by now, considering the public excoriation it received following the 2018 banking royal commission.

But a little more recently, the AMP share price’s fortunes seem to have been given something of a reprieve.

Over the past week (or 5 trading days), the AMP share price has gained a healthy 1.18%. Over the same period, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gone the other way, falling by around 0.75%. That means AMP shares have been a market-beating investment for the past week. By quite a large margin too.

In fact, AMP is now up a very robust 17% since it last found a new 52-week (and all-time) low of 88 cents a share late last month. Once again, AMP has outperformed the ASX 200 over this period. The Index went backward by roughly 1% over the same span.

So what’s going on with AMP? Why have investors suddenly started sending this embattled company higher?

AMP share price pulls back from the brink

Well, it’s not exactly clear – the company has not announced any news or major developments recently.

However, AMP hasn’t been entirely out of the limelight. The company has recently launched a new advertising campaign, highlighting its long history of wealth management in the Australian economy. The campaign launched with a 60-second television advertisement that played during Sunday’s NRL Grand Final, according to adnews.com.au.

According to AMP’s corporate newsroom, the new campaign is “focused on recognising the importance of investing for all Australians”.

Here’s some of what AMP CEO Alexis George had to say on the campaign:

AMP is one of the most recognised brands in Australia and has a long history of supporting its customers and the community to plan and invest for the future.

One of my key priorities since joining in August has been to restore pride and trust in AMP. I have spent time listening to our customers and can clearly see the underlying goodwill towards AMP – a goodwill that has been built over a 172-year history and a purpose of supporting Australians…

As we transform AMP, it will be important, more than ever, that we show how AMP can help every Australian achieve their goals through the services we offer.

So it’s possible this new marketing endeavour has given investors the boost they needed to buy back into AMP shares over the past week. Or it could just be a good old-fashioned rush to buy shares at a cheap price.

Whatever the reason for AMP’s stellar week or two, shareholders will no doubt be relieved that AMP has pulled back from the lows we saw last month. At least for now.

At the current AMP share price of $1.03, this company has a market capitalisation of $3.37 billion.

The post How has the AMP (ASX:AMP) share price beaten the market over the past week? 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. 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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With so many shares to choose from on the ASX, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.

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

Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB)

According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have upgraded this supply chain logistics company’s shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $13.30. UBS believes that Brambles is well-positioned to benefit from current supply chain conditions. The broker expects the company to be able to lift prices beyond inflation due to a lack of availability of pallets. The Brambles share price is fetching $10.58 on Tuesday.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

A note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that its analysts have retained their overweight rating and $10.50 price target on this app maker’s shares. The broker has been looking at app download data for the company’s increasingly popular Life360 app. That data reveals that downloads are up 71% over the year. Morgan Stanley believes this puts the company on track to deliver on its expectations this year. The Life360 share price is trading at $8.34 this afternoon.

Uniti Group Ltd (ASX: UWL)

Analysts at Bell Potter have upgraded this internet provider’s shares to a buy rating with a $4.50 price target. According to the note, the broker made the move largely on valuation grounds after some recent weakness in the Uniti share price. Its analysts believe the company’s shares are good value considering its strong growth prospects. Bell Potter expects underlying EBITDA of $146.3 million in FY 2022. This represents a 56% year on year increase and is expected to be driven by a mix of organic growth and full 12-month contributions from acquisitions. The Uniti share price is fetching $3.73 today.

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

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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 Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Uniti Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT) share price is heading south today regardless of the company’s significant positive announcement.

At the time of writing, the healthcare technology company’s shares are down 2.54% to $1.15.

Volpara secures largest-ever contract

According to the company’s announcement, Volpara advised it has signed its biggest contract to date with leading US outpatient diagnostic imaging provider Akumin.

Founded in 2015, Akumin provides freestanding, fixed-site outpatient diagnostic imaging services in the United States. The company is considered the fastest growing provider in this market across the US.

Akumin has an extensive network of 170 locations in 11 states, conducting more than 5,000 procedures per day.

The five-year deal is valued at US$2.15 million which represents an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of US$430,000.

Under the agreement, Volpara will install its Patient Hub software across Akumin’s network of imaging centres. The software solution is expected to provide a standardised patient tracking platform that incorporates Volpara Risk and Scorecard.

As such, this will enable Akumin to accurately decide the appropriate personalised breast cancer screening pathway for each patient.

Volpara estimates that at least one of its software products is used in the breast cancer screening of more than 33% of women in the US.

Whilst the announcement is extremely positive, it appears the broader All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is weighing down the Volpara share price. The index is currently down 0.90% to 7,508.7 points.

Volpara group CEO Dr Ralph Highnam commented:

While we would not normally announce individual deals, this is Volpara’s highest-value contract signed to date.

We are experiencing tremendous momentum for our platform in the market as we bring together best-of-breed patient tracking, risk assessment, and density scoring to allow our customers to provide their patients with the individualised care they deserve.

Our platform provides both Volpara and our customers with a significant advantage and is enabling us to seek out opportunities that did not exist even a couple of years ago.

About the Volpara share price

The past 12 months have been disappointing for investors with the company’s shares down 13%. Year-to-date, their losses are further magnified, almost 20% lower over the period.

Based on today’s price, Volpara presides a market capitalisation of roughly $29 million and has approximately 251.3 million shares outstanding.

The post Volpara (ASX:VHT) share price edges lower despite biggest contract win appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 2 top ASX growth shares that might be worth buying

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. owns shares of and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed Wall Street’s lead and is tumbling lower. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.75% to 7,224.5 points.

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

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price is down 5% to $113.49. This follows a 5% pullback in the Square share price on Wall Street overnight. Afterpay and Square have agreed to an all-script takeover deal which will see the former’s shareholders receive 0.375 Square shares for each Afterpay share they own. In light of this, the value of the takeover rises and falls with the Square price.

Atomo Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: AT1)

The Atomo share price has fallen 9% to 30.5 cents. Investors have been selling the medical device company’s shares following the release of an announcement this morning. According to the release, Atomo and Access Bio have restructured their commercial relationship to reflect the evolving structural changes in the COVID-19 diagnostics market.

Opthea Ltd (ASX: OPT)

The Opthea share price is down almost 5% to $1.29. This is despite the biopharmaceutical company announcing the start of enrolment for its Phase 3 pivotal clinical program of OPT-302 in Europe. This clinical program is testing OPT-302 as a treatment for wet (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Sealink Travel Group Ltd (ASX: SLK)

The Sealink share price is down 5% to $7.87. This morning UBS retained its buy rating but trimmed its price target on the travel and transport company’s shares to $10.20. This follows news that it failed to win the Melbourne Metro Bus Franchise contract. UBS felt that the market had been anticipating that Sealink would win this large contract. Nevertheless, UBS remains positive on the company’s outlook.

The post Why Afterpay, Atomo, Opthea, & Sealink shares are falling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here’s why the Atomo (ASX:AT1) share price is crashing 9% today
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• Why did the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price have such a bad month in September?
• ASX 200 tech shares set to slide as Nasdaq plunges 2%

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. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) share price is edging higher in afternoon trade and is now changing hands at $23.19 apiece.

Curiously, there’s been no price-sensitive information out of Newcrest’s camp that might directly explain the gains today.

However, Newcrest did release its FY21 annual report earlier, which may be weighing in.

Read on for more details.

Record free cash flow for Newcrest Mining in FY21

The key takeout from Newcrest’s annual report was that it recognised a record US$1.1 billion in free cash flow conversion for FY21, up from $804 million in 2019 (as 2020 resulted in a loss from merger & acquisition (M&A) activity).

This brings the cumulative free cash flow generated from FY15 to FY21 to $4.295 billion and consequently allowed for management to approve a US55 cents per share dividend in FY21.

Newcrest also recognised a statutory profit of $1.16 billion, up from $647 million a year ago, whereas it recorded a return on capital employed (ROCE) of 18.5% in FY21, up from 13.8% the year prior.

It achieved this result by mining and producing 21 million ounces of gold for the year, on an all in sustaining cost (AISC) of US$911 per ounce.

Outside of this, Newcrest established its “Forging an even stronger Newcrest plan” that encompasses 5 key areas for development for the company.

These include safety, sustainability, people, operating performance, technology and innovation, as well as profitable growth.

It hopes to achieve the goals set out in its new framework by the end of calendar year 2025, per the release.

Not only this, Newcrest has set out a target to be net zero of carbon emissions by the year 2050 and released its first modern slavery statement in December 2020.

On its path to net zero, the company has a 30% reduction target by 2030 and has set up a number of different model scenarios in accordance with the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures.

Investors certainly haven’t been pushed away from the release of Newcrest’s annual report, and have pushed the Newcrest Mining share price 1% higher on the day.

Newcrest Mining share price snapshot

The Newcrest Mining share price has had a difficult time when zooming out and taking a longer-term view. It’s down 10% this year to date, after falling a further 25% in the past 12 months.

Both of these results are well behind the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s gain of around 25% in the last year.

The post Newcrest (ASX:NCM) share price lifts amid record free cash flow in FY21 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here’s why the Newcrest (ASX:NCM) share price is in the spotlight today
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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

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

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The Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) share price has been performing well lately, and there are plenty of reasons why.

Oil Search is in a fantastic position right now. The price of oil is at a 7-year high, its merger with Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) is inching closer, and it recently reached a commercial agreement with its joint venture partners in the PNG LNG project.

At the time of writing, the Oil Search share price is $4.47. That’s 3% higher than its previous close and 18% higher than it was 2 weeks ago.

Let’s take a closer look at what might be boosting the oil producer’s stock higher lately.

What’s driving the Oil Search share price lately?

The Oil Search share price has been enjoying a brilliant fortnight as numerous factors align in its favour.

One factor that’s likely driving Oil Search’s stock is completely out of the company’s control. That is the increasing oil price. Right now, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate oil will set a buyer back US$77.83. Meanwhile, the price of Brent crude oil is US$81.65 per barrel.

According to reporting by Reuters, the price of oil is being driven higher as OPEC+ said it wouldn’t boost its supply despite growing global demand.

Meanwhile, Oil Search’s merger with fellow ASX energy giant Santos is approaching the horizon.

The merger is subject to the approval of the Papua New Guinean court, Oil Search shareholders, and regulators. Oil Search expects the first Papua New Guinean court hearing will take place later this month, with the second occurring in December.

Additionally, the merger will be put to a shareholder vote next month for an expected implementation date of 16 December.

Finally, the Oil Search share price was boosted on Thursday after the company announced it reached a commercial agreement with its joint venture partners in the PNG LNG project.

The partners agreed the project’s current redetermination process will end, and all future redeterminations will be cancelled.

Under the agreement, Oil Search will get a carried interest of $US176 million from certain non-Papua New Guinean joint venture partners, targeted over the years ending 31 December 2022 to 31 December 2024 in respect of agreed capital expenditures. The carry might change when the results of future drilling activities are assessed after 2024.

The Oil Search share price gained 1.8% on the back of the news.

The post Oil Search (ASX:OSH) share price gains 18% in 14 days. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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 PPK Group Limited (ASX: PPK) share price is deep in negative territory today. This comes despite the group announcing a seemingly positive update to the ASX.

At the time of writing, the technology and mining equipment company’s shares are down 6.4% to $13.75, having earlier been as low as $13.40. It’s worth noting the PPK share price is now down more than 20% over the last week, and 30% in a month.

PPK signs collaboration agreement

In today’s statement, PPK advised its subsidiary White Graphene has entered into a research and development collaboration agreement with Sun Metals.

Established in 2018, Sun Metals is the operator of Queensland’s biggest zinc refinery. The company produces a special high grade of zinc metals and exports them throughout Korea, Australia, and the United States.

Sun Metals is an Australian subsidiary of Korea Zinc, the largest zinc, lead, and silver producer in the world.

Sun Metals produces around 450,000 tonnes per annum of 98% sulphuric acid at its Townsville refinery. The production and handling of this volume of sulphuric acid creates significant challenges. Pumps among other equipment often need to be replaced within months of installation.

Both companies will work together to create new composite protective coatings using boron nitride nanosheets (white graphene). These coatings are being developed to protect the interior surfaces of sulphuric acid pumps and other equipment. As such, this will expand the lifespan while operating in extremely difficult conditions.

Under the terms of the agreement, White Graphene will retain ownership of all intellectual property rights developed during the project.

There will be a full-scale testing stage on sulphuric acid pumps installed at the production facility at Sun Metals’ refinery.

PPK share price summary

Over the last 12 months, PPK shares have posted a gain of around 260%. They are also up 130% year to date. The PPK share price is hovering in the middle of its 52-week range of $3.70 and $21.95.

Based on today’s price, PPK commands a market capitalisation of roughly $1.2 billion and has approximately 89.3 million shares outstanding.

The post PPK (ASX:PPK) share price sinks 6% amid collaboration agreement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why PPK (ASX:PPK) and Li-S Energy are this fund’s largest positions
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• PPK (ASX:PPK) share price wobbles on joint venture news
• PPK (ASX:PPK) share price storms 9% higher to an all-time high

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

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The Perpetual Ltd (ASX: PPT) share price is slipping around 4% into the red during afternoon trade today with its shares now changing hands at $36.06 at the time of writing.

Shares in the financial services company are trading down today despite there being no market sensitive news out of its camp today.

However, Perpetual has announced that it had completed an acquisition earlier today which may be weighing on its share price.

Here’s what we know.

What did Perpetual announce?

Perpetual advised it had completed the acquisition of Laminar Capital Pty Ltd, a “specialist debt markets and advisory business”.

According to Perpetual, Laminar has $8 billion in funds under management/advice (FUMA) alongside a specialist fixed income digital platform with $21 billion in assets under administration, known as Treasury Direct.

Acquiring Laminar Capital will also provide the company with access to new capabilities that it otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

For example, Laminar’s ESG Risk score is a specialised function that Perpetual highlights as supporting the public and mutual bank sector.

In terms of the structural components of the deal, Perpetual Corporate Trust (PCT)’s data and analytics solutions business will become a standalone division of the Trust, known as Perpetual Digital.

The company explains Perpetual Digital is to be Perpetual Corporate Trust’s “innovation company”.

These moves will roll all of PCT’s digital assets into one and fold in Laminar’s Treasury Direct platform to “create a specialist business focussed on providing digital, treasury debt markets and advisory solutions to clients”.

Perpetual itself appears to be satisfied with the acquisition, forming the view that it is accretive to the company’s earnings potential in years to come.

Speaking on the announcement, Perpetual CEO Rob Adams said:

In Laminar we’ve identified a fast-growing debt markets and advisory business with a compelling digital capability. A capability that provides us with a unique opportunity to accelerate Perpetual Corporate Trust’s (PCT) position as a specialist fiduciary and digital solutions provider to the banking and financial services industry.

Perpetual Corporate Trust’s group executive Richard McCarthy was equally as pleased to have nabbed the debt markets specialist Laminar, particularly noting its depth of management experience. He added:

Over time, we have seen Laminar successfully establish itself in the mid-markets sector, developing and delivering debt markets and digital solutions to key client segments. Since its inception in 2009, the team at Laminar has developed a strong reputation as trusted adviser, with deep client relationships and expertise as a treasury and debt markets specialist, leveraging their combined experience built over 30 years in the industry.

Investors are selling the company’s shares today, pushing the Perpetual share price to 4-month lows during trading today.

Perpetual share price snapshot

The Perpetual share price has been all over the place this year to date and has consequently posted a return of just 3.6% since January 1.

Over the past month, it’s given away a further 13% and has slipped 8% into the red this past week.

Despite this, over the last 12 months, Perpetual shares have climbed 23%, just behind the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s gain of about 25% during this time.

The post Perpetual (ASX:PPT) share price hits 4-month low following acquisition news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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