The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) share price is having a pretty decent start to this Tuesday’s trading today. At the time of writing, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank shares are up a healthy 0.56% to $10.76 a share.

That puts this ASX bank’s 2021 gains so far at 13.86% year to date. It’s also up by a very pleasing 56.85% over the past 12 months, but a far more modest 2.57% over the past 5 years.

Wondering how that compares to the other ASX banks? Well, not quite as well as some. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is presently up 26.3% year to date in 2021 so far, 43% over the past 12 months and 39% over the past 5 years.

But Bendigo Bank has certainly outperformed others. National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) is up 17.77% year to date, 54.67% over the past 12 months and just 0.2% over the past 5 years.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) is up 30% year to date, 47.4% over the past year and has actually gone backwards by a hefty 13.8% over the past 5 years.

So with Bendigo Bank reporting its FY2021 earnings next Monday, many ASX investors might be wondering today if now is a good time to buy Bendigo and Adelaide Bank shares?

Are Bendigo Bank shares a buy today?

Well, one broker who thinks it might be a good time to keep one’s powder dry with Bendigo Bank right now is investment bank Goldman Sachs. Goldman currently rates Bendigo Bank shares as ‘neutral’ with a 12-month share price target of $10.75 a share.

You might notice that this is very similar to Bendigo Bank’s current share price — implying not too much in the way of potential upside (aside from dividend returns) over the next 12 months.

Goldman is lukewarm on Bendigo partly because the bank “has historically underperformed on costs” which, Goldman points out, have grown at a much faster rate than other ASX banks over the past few years.

Goldman also expects Bendigo to grow its earnings per share (EPS) at a modest rate over the next few years, forecasting EPS to rise from 71 cents per share in FY21 to 80 cents per share by FY2023.

It also expects Bendigo’s annual dividend to rise from 50 cents per share for FY21 to 60 cents per share by FY2023.

At the current Bendigo and Adelaide Bank share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 22.9 and a trailing dividend yield of 2.6%.

The post Is now a good time to buy Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN) shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of National Australia Bank 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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Investment fund Hyperion initially worried about the $39 billion takeover offer posed to Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), but its concerns over the future of its shares have since eased. The fund’s now forecasting a bright future for the Afterpay share price.

The ASX-listed buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant is Hyperion’s largest investment in its Australian fund.

Fortunately, it also has a hold on shares in NYSE-listed Square Inc (NYSE: SQ), Afterpay’s likely future buyer.

Here’s why Hyperion is still excited about the future of Afterpay.

Why Hyperion’s still hyped over Afterpay

Hyperion still sees value in Afterpay shares despite the company’s plans to merge with Square.

Hyperion’s deputy chief investment officer and portfolio manager Jason Orthman spoke to Livewire, saying he expects Square’s takeover will derisk Afterpay shares.

Orthman commented that when he first heard wind of Square’s takeover, he was disappointed. But upon reading the terms of the takeover, he now believes the businesses will work well together and produce strong returns.

Additionally, Orthman said he is excited about the possibility of a secondary listing on the ASX, or an ASX-listed CHESS Depositary Interest for Square.

Livewire quoted Orthman as saying:

Afterpay shareholders shouldn’t be nervous about rolling into Square. It’s a huge win and a big deal for the Australian Stock Market to get a business of the calibre of Square onto the Exchange.

Orthman told the publication the two companies look likely to disrupt the traditional financial sector, particularly as Generation Z begins to enter the system. Therefore, he believes, the merger will likely future-proof both businesses.

He is also bullish on Afterpay shares because of the synergies between Afterpay and Square. Both are disrupting the financial industry and were beginning to lean into each other’s space.

Square’s interest in Afterpay stems from its desire to get into the BNPL sector. At the same time, Afterpay planned to wriggle into Square’s non-traditional banking space by launching Afterpay Money in October.

Orthman’s belief is the two companies will work better together, each filling gaps in the other’s business model.

Additionally, he said Square’s growth rate is higher than Afterpay’s. He thinks the takeover is a great opportunity to get a holding in Square.

Afterpay share price snapshot

The Afterpay share price is having another good day on the ASX today.

Right now, shares in the BNPL giant are swapping hands for $133.91 apiece. That’s almost 3% higher than their previous close.

The Afterpay share price has gained 13% so far this year. It is also 84% higher than it was this time last year.

The post Why is this fund holding onto its Afterpay (ASX:APT) shares? 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. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Square. 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 Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) share price is pushing ahead today following a change in the company’s leadership team.

At the time of writing, the allogeneic cellular medicines developer’s shares are up 2.58% to $1.99. In comparison, the All Ordinaires Index (ASX: XAO) is up 0.1% to 7,811 points.

What did Mesoblast announce?

Investors appear to be unfazed by the change in senior management, sending Mesoblast shares higher.

According to its release, Mesoblast advised that its chief financial officer (CFO), Josh Muntner will be leaving the company. This will take effect on 30 August 2021 following Mesoblast’s release of its full-year financial results.

Prior to the departure, Mr Muntner will work closely with the board and management to complete the FY21 financial statements. In addition, Mr Muntner will smooth the transition process in which Andrew Chaponnel will take over as interim CFO.

Management stated that Mr Chaponnel brings strong leadership skills over his past 9 years with Mesoblast. Initially, he served as group financial controller, with the last 3 years taking the helm as head of finance. Most notably, Mr Chaponnel has been involved with various corporate transactions and provided oversight of finance functions.

Mesoblast CEO, Silviu Itescu commented:

Josh has been a valuable member of our leadership team; we thank him for his contribution to Mesoblast and wish him well for the future. We are confident that Andrew’s experience in financial oversight and various corporate transactions will be of great benefit as he transitions to his new role.

About the Mesoblast share price

Over the last 12 months, Mesoblast shares have plummeted in value, sinking almost 60%. Year-to-date has fared better but still in negative territory, down 10%. The company’s share price is near its 52-week low of $1.70 reached in June.

At today’s price, Mesoblast has a market capitalisation of roughly $1.2 billion, with approximately 648 million shares on issue.

The post Why the Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price is edging higher on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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The Reckon Limited (ASX: RKN) share price has been a strong performer on Tuesday following the release of its half year results.

In afternoon trade, the software company’s shares are up 8% to a 52-week high of $1.05.

Reckon share price jumps on half year update

• Normalised revenue increased 2.4% on the prior corresponding period to $37.5 million
• 88% of revenue is recurring and from subscriptions
• Normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 7.1% to $16.7 million
• Normalised net profit after tax jumped 18.6% to $5.4 million
• Fully franked interim dividend per share of 3 cents

What happened in the first half for Reckon?

Investors have been bidding the Reckon share price higher today after management revealed that its transition to a cloud software business continued to gather pace during the half.

It advised that the company’s revenue and earnings growth was driven by the continuing uptake of its cloud-based products, particularly through the Business segment. This is supporting strong ongoing profitability.

Another positive supporting the Reckon share price was its improving balance sheet. During the period, the company reduced its debt by $17 million to $13 million through the sale of the ReckonDocs business and a continued focus on capital management.

What did management say?

Reckon’s CEO, Sam Allert, was pleased with the first half. And while no guidance was given for the second half, Mr Allert appears optimistic that the positive form will continue.

He said: “Our transition from a desktop software business to a cloud software business continues at pace. It is pleasing to see cloud adoption across all business divisions, with growth achieved through both APS clients and our small business clients.”

“We have returned the overall business to revenue growth and with our expansive client bases, our talented team, and new cloud product launches across all groups, we are very well positioned to continue this trend,” he added.

Reckon share price continues to outperform

Following today’s gain, the Reckon share price is now up 35% since the start of the year.

This compares very favourably to the ASX 200’s gain of 13% year to date.

The post Reckon (ASX:RKN) share price jumps 8% after strong first half profit growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• BrainChip (ASX:BRN) share price slides despite AI summit invitation
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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. 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 Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB) share price has a hit a new all-time high since listing on the ASX in October 2020. Shares are currently trading for the record price of $3.41 – up 3.96%. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.3% higher.

While the company hasn’t made any price-sensitive announcements in over a week, there has been several stories throughout its ASX existence that have pushed its shares higher.

Let’s take a closer look.

Company profile

Aussie Broadband Ltd is a telecommunications company. It provides NBN subscription plans and bundles to residential homes, small businesses, not-for-profits, corporate/enterprise and managed service providers. The company services all states and territories in Australia.

Since listing on the ASX in October 2020, its share price has lifted 75%. It is a competitor to major ASX players such as Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) and TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG).

Aussie Broadband share price is at record heights

In its most recent update, as Motley Fool has previously reported, Aussie Broadband said its revenue continued to grow strongly in the last quarter. It jumped 8% on the previous quarter to $100 million.

This was driven by a 7.4% or 27,790 quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase in overall broadband connections to 400,848. A 12% or 3,825 increase in business broadband connections is included in this figure. As well, the company said there was a 20% QoQ increase in mobile service plans to 22,454.

In its update, Aussie Broadband said it expects to achieve earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at the upper end of its guidance range of $17 million to $20 million. The Aussie Broadband share price increased over 3% on the day of the announcement.

Aussie Broadband share price snapshot

Year-to-date, the Aussie Broadband share price has increased 68.8%. It’s outperformed the ASX 200 by 56 percentage points in that time and the Telstra share price by about 41.5 percentage points.

Aussie Broadband has a market capitalisation of around $624 million.

The post Why the Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) share price just hit a new all-time high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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 Aussie Broadband Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aussie Broadband 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 BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price has started today’s session in the red.

BrainChip shares are trading lower today despite an extended run into the green recently. At the time of writing, shares are changing hands for 53 cents, down 2.75% on yesterday’s close.

Let’s discuss what’s behind the BrainChip share price lately.

A bit more on BrainChip

BrainChip has unique expertise in artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, the company’s expertise is in neumorphic computing, which replicates the function of human neurons.

As a result, its flagship segment is the Akida neuromorphic processor unit. According to BrainChip, the Akida unit is “a new breed of neural processing computing devices”.

At the time of writing, BrainChip has a market capitalisation of $796 million.

What’s did BrainChip get invited to?

The AI Hardware Summit is an annual event that aims to unite the global AI ecosystem. This year, for instance, the theme is “lifting the hood” on AI affordability and efficiency.

It is being held on 13-15 September, and will be run as a “hybrid” event this year. This means the summit will take place in California but will also be live streamed, due to travel restrictions

BrainChip recently announced its vice president of worldwide sales and marketing, Rob Telson, will speak as a “featured presenter” at the event.

Telson will detail “real-life examples of (Akida’s) on-chip and off-chip functionality” in the presentation, which is titled “Intelligent AI Everywhere”.

Attendees will also observe Akida’s propensity to integrate “efficient” AI within edge devices, by implementing the company’s intellectual property to “solve critical problems of privacy, security, latency and low power requirements”.

Moreover, attendees can view demonstrations of Akida’s capabilities at BrainChip’s in-person booth during the event.

Investors have been pushing up BrainChip shares since this release on 5 August.

To illustrate, BrainChip shares finished yesterday at 55 cents, a 13.5% jump on the previous day’s close. Over the past week alone, BrainChip shares have climbed a further 19% into the green.

However, the BrainChip share price has exhibited selling pressures in early trade today, slipping by 2.75% into the red from the market open.

There are many reasons a company’s share price may fall in the interim, despite a run of positive fundamental momentum. Profit taking by large institutions is one example, while executives selling their own shares can exhibit the same patterns.

BrainChip share price snapshot

The BrainChip share price has posted an outsized return over the year to date, climbing 23% into the green since January 1.

This extends the previous 12 month’s gain of 203%, which has far outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s climb of around 25% over the past year.

The post BrainChip (ASX:BRN) share price slides despite AI summit invitation appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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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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All eyes have been on the Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV) share price since its Initial Public Offering (IPO).

The company that houses Dan Murphy’s, BWS, and other retail beverage outlets including hotels has experienced multiple Australian lockdowns in its short time on the ASX.

So, how do Endeavour’s shares perform during lockdowns?

How does the Endeavour share price react to lockdowns?

Endeavour’s shares have been performing well on the ASX since the company listed. Endeavour split from Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) to debut on the ASX on 24 June.

Woolworths’ financial year 2020 results showed Endeavour Drinks’ sales growth increased by 23.7%, and Dan Murphy’s and BWS reach record sales. Though, the company didn’t state the improvements were caused by COVID-19 lockdowns.

Let’s see if lockdowns spur the market’s excitement for Endeavour.

Endeavour’s IPO occurred the day before Sydney entered its ongoing lockdown, which started life as a ‘soft’ lockdown. While the Endeavour share price gained 1.3% on 25 June, it’s unclear if Sydney’s lockdown was the cause.

Two days after Sydney’s lockdown began, parts of the Northern Territory entered their one and only lockdown. Then, on 28 June, parts of Western Australia also went into lockdown. Parts of Queensland suffered the same fate the following day.

The week during which all the above lockdowns occurred, Endeavour shares seesawed but ultimately gained 1.6%.

When Sydney’s lockdown was extended for the first time on 7 July, the Endeavour share price began an upward trend that’s only been broken during five sessions since.

Additionally, since Victoria entered its fifth lockdown on 16 July, there have been few days that haven’t seen parts of Australia – discounting Greater Sydney – in lockdown.

In that time, the Endeavour share price has gained another 9.9%.

Foolish takeaway

It’s clear that Endeavour’s shares have been performing well lately.

However, it’s hard to say whether they’ve been boosted by lockdowns, as most of Endeavour’s short time on the ASX has seen lockdowns occurring somewhere in Australia.

The Endeavour share price has gained 15% since it first debuted on the exchange. It’s currently $6.93.

The post How does the Endeavour (ASX:EDV) share price perform during lockdowns? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here’s why the Endeavour (ASX:EDV) share price is up 10% in a month
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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 Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is the gift that keeps on giving, rallying another 8.57% on Tuesday to a record high of $2.28.

Let’s have a look at what could be behind Pilbara’s high today.

Lithium prices continue to advance

Lithium spot prices have continued to rally in a spectacular fashion. The latest commentary from Fastmarkets cites “battery-grade lithium prices in China rise further with producers broadly sold out after recent consumer restocking” and “lithium prices in the seaborne Asian market held steady amid logistical disruptions”.

Meanwhile, it reports “US, European lithium spot markets stable amid summer lull”.

With lithium prices continuing to grind higher, it looks as though the Pilbara Minerals share price has followed suit.

JPMorgan is bullish on ASX-listed lithium miners

JPMorgan has slapped an overweight rating on all the ASX-listed lithium miners under its coverage, including Pilbara Minerals, according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

Quoting JPMorgan analysts, the AFR reported, “The lithium commodity complex is one of the few remaining in our coverage where there is meaningful upside likely over the medium term, given the strong demand backdrop.”

As such, the broker raised its long-term lithium spodumene price target by 31 per cent to US$850 a tonne.

By comparison, Pilbara Minerals was able to fetch US$1,250/dry metric tonne for its spodumene concentrate at its recent inaugural lithium auction.

Yet another record high for the Pilbara Minerals share price

On a weekly chart, the Pilbara Minerals share price has rallied to a new record high every week for the past five weeks.

The surge in its share price has seen its valuation balloon to just over $6.5 billion. That’s more than Galaxy Resources Ltd (ASX: GXY) and Orocobre Ltd (ASX: ORE) combined.

The post Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) share price up 9% to all-time high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Digital Wine Ventures Ltd (ASX: DW8) share price is flying more than 8% higher in today’s trading session.

Shares in the online beverage supplier have been buoyant after the company released a market update earlier today.

Let’s take a look at what Digital Wine announced.

Market update fuels Digital Wine share price

The Digital Wine share price received a boost after releasing an exciting market update.

The company says it has successfully completed the acquisition of Parton Wine Distribution.  

In addition, Digital Wine noted plans to expand its presence in Adelaide by opening an additional warehouse in Edinburgh Parks.

According to the update, the new facility is a purpose-built wine bottling warehouse in Adelaide with storage and distribution features.

Digital Wine also notched up a new record. For the month of July, its Wine Depot logistics division shipped 30,468 cases.  

In addition, the company noted that 24 new suppliers have joined Wine Depot since the last company update.

Digital Wine also provided investors with an update on its integration with eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).

According to the update, the company expects its eBay and Amazon integrations to go live in August and September respectively.

The company’s management also highlighted the latent demand despite COVID-19 induced lockdowns.

Digital Wine CEO Dean Taylor said:

Despite the uncertainty and disruption associated with ongoing lockdown restrictions in NSW and Victoria, we have managed to sign up more than 300 venues and generate pleasing levels of orders. The feedback from users on both sides of our marketplace has been extremely positive and demonstrated there’s latent demand for a solution like the one we’ve created.

Snapshot of Digital Wine

Digital Wine is an online beverage supplier that provides end-to-end supply chain solutions for wine producers, distributors, importers and retailers.

The company’s Wine Depot business operates as a cloud-based software-as-a-service, providing a marketplace platform.

At the time of writing, the Digital Wine share price is trading more than 1.39% higher for the day at around 7.3 cents.

Shares in the online beverage company soared more than 8% higher earlier, having hit an intra-day high of 7.8 cents.  

The post The Digital Wine (ASX:DW8) share price storms 8% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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 Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended eBay and has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $1,920 calls on Amazon, short January 2022 $1,940 calls on Amazon, and short October 2021 $70 calls on eBay. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. 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 Ltd (ASX: MPL) share price has travelled 20% higher over the past year. This comes as the private health insurance giant has enjoyed improved trading conditions within the industry.

This morning, Medibank shares were touching a new 52-week high of $3.45, up 1.17%. However, they have partially retreated are now trading hands at $3.42, a gain of 0.29% on yesterday’s closing price.

Why is the Medibank share price pushing higher?

Investors are pushing up the Medibank share price despite no news coming from the company since its last release in late June.

According to the update, Medibank returned roughly $105 million in COVID-19 savings to customers through premium relief. The latest financial support package has boosted the company’s reputation in becoming socially responsible.

Medibank CEO David Koczkar commented:

We said right from the start of the pandemic that we would not profit from COVID-19, and that we were committed to returning any COVID-19 savings back to our customers because it is the right thing to do. And today’s announcement shows that we have done what we said we would.

The Medibank share price jumped into the green on the news.

Furthermore, Medibank advised that the give-back program is not expected to impact its operating earnings for the 2021 financial year.

One broker who retained its outperform rating was leading financial services company, Credit Suisse. The agency raised its price target for Medibank shares to $3.50 on the back of increased earnings estimates for FY21.

How much is Medibank forecasted to pay in dividends?

With the company scheduled to report its full-year results on 25 August, investors may be wondering about the dividend payments.

Medibank paid a fully franked dividend of 5.8 cents in March for H1 FY21, slightly below the 6.3 cents in the prior period.

However, Credit Suisse is forecasting a total FY21 dividend payment of 13 cents, implying a 7.2 cents per share dividend payment. This would give Medibank a current dividend yield of 3.76%. Not a bad return when including the strong Medibank share price rise.

The post The Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price is now trading on a forecast 3.76% fully franked dividend yield appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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