The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a decent gain. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up a decent 0.4% to 7,502 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN)

The Chalice Mining share price is down 6% to $7.20. This is despite there being no news out of the gold explorer. However, it is worth noting that its shares are up 575% over the last 12 months. It’s possible that profit taking is weighing on them today.

GUD Holdings Limited (ASX: GUD)

The GUD share price is down 3.5% to $11.69. This follows the release of the diversified products company’s full year results. Although GUD delivered an EBIT result ahead of its guidance, its outlook for FY 2022 appears to have spooked investors. Management advised that it couldn’t provide guidance for the year ahead due to volatile trading conditions relating to recent lockdowns.

Integral Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: IDX)

The Integral Diagnostics share price has fallen 3.5% to $5.13. This appears to have been driven by an announcement that reveals that Chief Financial and Commercial Officer, Anne Lockwood, is resigning after two years in the role. Mrs Lockwood will be stepping down from the role in December. She is resigning because she wants to pursue new executive opportunities.

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

The PointsBet share price is down a further 3% to $9.45. This sports betting company’s shares have come under pressure this week after completing its institutional placement and entitlement offer. PointsBet has raised $81 million at $8.00 per share and a further $215.1 million at $10.00 per share. It will now push ahead with its retail entitlement offer. These funds will be used to support North American marketing and client acquisition, technology and product development, and US market access and government licensing fees.

The post Why Chalice Mining, GUD, Integral Diagnostics, & PointsBet are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: GUD results, Woodside update, ANZ appointment
• GUD Holdings (ASX:GUD) share price down 2% following FY 2021 results
• Why the Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) share price is surging 6% on Tuesday
• Why Bubs, Mayne Pharma, Paradigm, & PointsBet shares are tumbling lower
• What’s driving the PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price sharply lower?

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 Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Integral Diagnostics Ltd and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Venturex Resources Ltd (ASX: VXR) share price has once again become in focus after breaking into uncharted territory today.

This comes despite the mining company not making any new announcements since the beginning of the week.

During midday trade, Venturex shares reached an all-time high of 87.5 cents. However, some profit-taking from investors has led its shares to slightly retrace to 86.5 cents, up 8.13%.

What’s been driving Venturex shares higher?

In its latest update, Venturex presented a basic overview of its operations and funding capability at the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum on Monday.

The company highlighted a couple of agendas in its presentation, namely changing the company’s name from Venturex to “Develop”. The mining outfit stated that it will focus on building an underground capability whilst achieving decarbonisation.

The company’s flagship asset, Sulphur Springs, contains key elements such as copper, zinc and silver. These clean metals will help push the world’s efforts on decarbonising the environment.

In addition, Venturex noted that its Sulphur Springs strategy is progressing with $10 million committed into a drilling program. It is expected that drilling will lead to upgrading the majority of the company’s Inferred Resource to the Indicated Category. This increases the level of geological knowledge and confidence of Sulphur Springs containing probable Ore Reserves.

The drilling program will form a part of a resource update in June 2022. Final project approvals are anticipated to be obtained sometime in the second half of next year.

Venturex is aiming for Sulphur Springs to become a bankable project by end of 2022.

Quick take on Sulphur Springs

Located 144 kilometres south east of Port Hedland, Western Australia, the Sulphur Springs project contains copper, zinc and silver deposits.

A Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) was completed in 2018 which identified the project as economically strong. The site has a combined total Mineral Resource of 13.8 million tonnes grading 1.5% copper, 3.8% zinc and 17 grams per tonne of silver.

The initial mine life is expected to be around 10-plus years.

Venturex share price summary

Over the last 12 months, the company’s shares have accelerated by an astonishing 1,300%, reflecting positive investor sentiment.

Based on today’s price, Venturex presides a market capitalisation of about $588 million, with more than 680 million shares outstanding.

The post Venturex (ASX:VXR) share price hits record high, up 650% in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Venturex (ASX:VXR) share price continues its strong run, up 5% today
• Why the Venturex (ASX:VXR) share price is surging 7% in afternoon trade

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 Betmakers Technology Group Ltd (ASX: BET) share price is up more than 53% this year — despite a major freefall in late May, which saw its shares plummet 32% in one week.

The company has not released any price-sensitive since its fourth-quarter FY21 report in late July so let’s take a look at what else may be driving its upward trend in 2021.

At the time of writing, the Betmakers share price is edging 1.25% lower to $1.027.

What’s driving Betmakers shares?

There are a couple of possible catalysts for why the Betmakers share price has risen strongly in the past 8 months.

The gain might be a reflection of the strong recovery of the ASX share market from COVID-19. In particular, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX), which Betmakers is a part of, has surged to near-record levels. Over the course of the past year, the index is up around 33%, reflecting positive investor sentiment.

Another factor weighing into the Betmakers share price has been the star-studded performance in its latest quarterly update.

Betmakers reported $8.9 million in cash receipts, a 71% increase on the previous quarter (Q3 FY21). When compared against the prior corresponding period (Q4 FY20), this metric jumped 272%.

The company attributed the strong growth from a significant uptick in the Australian market and positive early results in its international expansion plans. The acquisition of Sportech PLC was completed on 17 June, further enhancing Betmakers’ position to capitalise on revenue-generating opportunities.

In addition, Betmakers finished the quarter with $120 million in cash and continues operating without any debt.

About the Betmakers share price

Looking at the past year, Betmakers shares rose to an all-time high of $1.65 before being walloped in May. The dramatic share price fall came after the company confirmed that it put forward a takeover proposal for Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH). However, that has faded away, with Tabcorp opting to demerge its lotteries and wagering business instead.

The Betmakers share price has delivered returns of around 144% to investors over the last 12 months.

The post The Betmakers (ASX:BET) share price is up 53% so far in 2021. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Monday
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• The Betmakers (ASX:BET) share price is 35% off its 52-week 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. owns shares of and has recommended Betmakers Technology Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Betmakers Technology Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The BWP Trust (ASX: BWP) share price is under pressure on Wednesday following the release of its full year results.

At the time of writing, the Bunnings-focused property company’s shares are down 2% to $4.02.

BWP share price tumbles after FY 2021 result

• Revenue fell 2.3% to $152.24 million.
• Like-for-like rental growth of 1.6%.
• Profit before property gains dropped 2.6% year on year to $113.99 million due to deposit payment forfeitures in FY 2020.
• Gains in fair value of investment properties rose 59.4% to $149.2 million.
• Full year profit jumped 24.9% to $263.2 million.
• Final distribution of 9.27 cents per share, bringing full year distribution to 18.29 cents per share.
• Occupancy of 97.8% and weighted average lease expiry of 4.2 years at 30 June 2021.

What happened in FY21 for BWP?

Thanks to the company’s significant exposure to hardware giant Bunnings, it was able to collect the majority of its rent as normal in FY 2021. Just a small number of tenants, such as gym operators, were subject to COVID-19 closures. This meant that rent abatements totalled $473,571 for the year, leading to the company receiving 99.6% of rent due for the period.

In light of this strength and the attractiveness of Bunnings Warehouse properties to investors, the value of BWP’s property portfolio increased by $149.2 million or 6% over the year.

What did management say?

Management appeared pleased with the company’s performance in FY 2021. It notes that its profits were lower largely due to deposits forfeitures in the prior corresponding period.

It explained: “Total income for the full-year to 30 June 2021 was $152.2 million, down by 2.3 per cent from last year. Rental and other property income was $3.4 million lower than the previous year, largely due to the $2.7 million of forfeited deposits received in the 2020 financial year. A reduction in income attributable to the straight lining of rent of $1.5 million was largely offset from annual increases in rent and rent from the properties repositioned. During the year, the Trust granted rent abatements of $0.5 million (2020: $0.4 million) for tenants affected by the COVID-19 shutdowns.”

What’s next for BWP?

BWP notes that there is a lot of uncertainty due to COVID-19. This could be what is weighing on the BWP share price today.

Its focus for the year ahead will be on filling any vacancies in the portfolio, progressing store upgrades, extending existing leases with Bunnings through the exercise of options, completion of market rent reviews, and the continued rollout of energy efficiency improvements at its properties. It will also continue to look for opportunities to grow its portfolio and create value for shareholders.

As for distributions, subject to there being no major COVID-19 or other disruption of the Australian economy, BWP expects to pay a distribution largely in line with what it paid in FY 2021.

The BWP share price is down almost 10% in 2021.

The post BWP (ASX:BWP) share price tumbles after FY 2021 results 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. 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 will be on the CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price later this month when it hands in its full year results.

Ahead of the release, I thought I would look to see what the market is expecting from the biotherapeutics giant.

What is expected from CSL in FY 2021?

The bad news for the CSL share price is that analysts at Goldman Sachs have tipped the company as one that could negatively surprise this month.

Though, this isn’t necessarily to do with the FY 2021 result itself, but rather its outlook commentary.

Goldman explained: “FY21 result set to be challenging but in itself a minor focus. By reaffirming the FY21 earnings target of +3-8% despite delivering a +25% beat at 1H, CSL guidance points to an earnings decline of (47)-(58)% in 2H21. Whilst management has likely applied more than its usual degree of conservatism amidst so much uncertainty, it is also clear that the company was having to take tough decisions on customer allocations.”

What is the main thing to look for?

The reason the CSL share price has been underperforming this year is concerns over plasma collection headwinds. Goldman suspects that this could lead to cost pressures in FY 2022.

It commented: “Earlier in 2021 there had been some optimism that plasma collection volumes may approach near-normal by early-FY22. In reality, it appears that the industry is still some way short of pre-Covid levels (potentially threatening the strong recovery that had been expected during 2H22), and also that the various costs of collection/processing remain highly elevated (most notably donor fees which constitute >25% of COGS and have increased >50% in the last 18 months).”

“As such, we see scope for cautious commentary on FY22, largely predicated around cost, which may manifest in another year of cautious guidance,” it warned.

Is the CSL share price in the buy zone?

In light of the above, CSL thinks investors should keep their powder dry for the time being.

It has put a neutral rating and $305.00 price target on its shares. Based on the current CSL share price of $291.54, this implies potential upside of 4.5% over the next 12 months.

The post FY 2021 results preview: Is the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price in the buy zone? 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 CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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International investors might have noticed the thunderous performance of the Atlassian Corporation (NASDAQ: TEAM) share price in recent weeks. In the space of one month, the Aussie software developer has increased nearly 23% in value.

The surge in the Atlassian share price means Australian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are hot on the tails of spots 1 and 2 on the Australian rich list.

At the time of writing, the Atlassian share price is US$329.42 (A$444.90). This puts the estimated net worth of Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar at around A$25.85 billion each, excluding other ventures.

So what is driving this astonishing growth in wealth? Well, in the words of management, it was “a ripper” quarter.

Results that beat expectations

A quick look at the one-month chart shows how the Atlassian share price had been chilling between US$260 and US$270 for most of the month. That was until 29 July, when the company reported its Q4 FY21 results.

• Revenue increased 30% year over year (YOY) to US$560 million
• Gross profit increased 28% YOY to US$462 million
• Net loss narrowed to US$213 million compared to US$385 million in Q4 FY20
• Over 23,000 net new customers added during the quarter

The metrics contained in the company’s quarterly report exceeded expectations. A strong focus on a cloud-first approach resulted in a more than doubling of cloud migrations year over year.

Likewise, the strong performance was underscored by Atlassian surpassing the 200,000 customers milestone and US$2 billion in revenue. A huge push towards cloud is leading the charge in growth for the company. In fact, cloud revenue increased 47% YOY as large customers make the shift.

Guidance for FY22 gave investors more optimism. The company put year-over-year subscription revenue growth estimates at the low-to-mid 40% range. Adding, “Subscription revenue will continue to be the primary driver of revenue growth.”

What did management say?

Highlighting the accomplishments of the quarter, Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar said:

There’s a lot to celebrate, but we won’t pause to party. Our sleeves are rolled up and we’re keen to keep putting in the hard yards to seize the massive opportunities in front of us. Our job in FY22 is to keep building on our cloud migration momentum, invest to further strengthen our offerings so we can keep winning in our three addressable markets, forge human connections with each other as we figure out new ways of working in this digital-first world, and to just. keep. executing.

What’s next for Atlassian?

According to the report, the company plans to continue investing heavily and playing offense in its markets. Atlassian still considers there to be many opportunities across agile development, IT service management, and work management tools.

As a consequence, gross margins are expected to decrease in FY22. This is due to the continued shift from server to cloud hosting. Similarly, operating margins and free cash flow will decline for the same reasons.

The Atlassian share price has delivered a return of 85.6% over the past 12 months. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has climbed 24% higher over the same timeframe.

The post The Atlassian share price is up 22% in the last month, here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• FY 2021 results preview: Is the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price in the buy zone?
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• The Dubber (ASX:DUB) share price is soaring 5% today
• Here’s why the Coles (ASX:COL) share price is up 7% this last month

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Atlassian. 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 Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price extended its run into the green from the start of today’s session.

Over the past month, mineral resources shares have pushed 11% higher on the charts.

Mineral’s shares are now exchanging hands at $61.51 apiece, a 2.28% gain on the day.

What’s behind Mineral Resources share price lately?

Mineral Resources’ shares have been under pressure since it announced the 40% acquisition of RHIOJV from Red Hill Iron Limited (ASX: RHI).

The RHIOJV sites contain an iron ore grade of 56.44%, and the deal will close in early September.

The transaction came in at a total of approximately $400 million. Half of that amount will be paid once the first shipment of ore is sent for export.

Moreover, Red Hill receives a royalty under the agreement, with the fee comprised of 0.75% free onboard revenue.

In addition to these moves, analyst sentiment on Mineral shares appears to reflect a positive tone also.

For instance, brokers Citi and Goldman Sachs each reiterated their 12-month price targets on Mineral Resources shares.

Citi now has a price target of $65 on Mineral shares, after upgrading its target by 27%, whereas Goldman sees the Mineral Resources share price valued at $61.

Therefore, given the corresponding moves exhibited on its chart, it stands to reason this fundamental momentum in the company’s growth engine has had some inflection on the Mineral Resources share price.

Mineral Resources share price snapshot

The Mineral Resources share price has outperformed this year, posting a gain of 65% since January 1. This extends the previous 12 month’s return of 130%.

Shares in the mining services company faced some pressures last week, slipping 5% into the red at some point during the week.

Both of these results have outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s gain of around 26% over the previous year.

The post Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) share price storms higher on Wednesday 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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Many of Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a large number of broker notes this week.

Three broker buy ratings that have caught my eye are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

According to a note out of Citi, its analysts have retained their buy rating and $18.80 price target on this artificial intelligence data services company’s shares. The broker believes that the recent acceleration in ad revenue by social media giants Facebook and Google could support increased investment in artificial intelligence. It believes this bodes well for Appen and could result in stronger demand for its offering. The Appen share price is trading significant lower than this price target at $12.65 this afternoon.

Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL)

A note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that its analysts have retained their overweight rating and $6.40 price target on this investigative analytics and intelligence software provider’s shares. The broker has been looking at what the Square-Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) deal means for the rest of the tech sector. It suspects increased M&A activity could be a positive for companies like Nuix that have globally scalable technology and software. The Nuix share price is also trading materially lower than this price target at $2.57 today.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

Analysts at Macquarie have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on this property listings company’s shares to $185.00. The broker made the move ahead of REA Group’s full year results later this month. Macquarie believes there is upside risk to the market’s earnings expectations thanks to positive shifts in its sales mix and stronger ad yields. The REA Group share price is trading at $168.85 on Wednesday afternoon.

The post Top 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 AFTERPAY T FPO and Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA 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 Dubber Corp Ltd (ASX: DUB) share price is soaring today despite no news having been released by the company.

Dubber stocks have broken through its point of resistance to reach its highest price since before it shifted from gold mining to technology in 2015.

Dubber now operates a call recording, management, and access service through its cloud-based platform.

Right now, the Dubber share price is $3.40, 5.26% higher than its previous close.

However, earlier today the Dubber share price reached $3.44, representing a 6.5% gain.

Let’s take a look at what might be driving Dubber higher today.

The latest from Dubber

The last time we heard from Dubber was just last week when the company announced a successful capital raise.

Its unclear whether the gains the Dubber share price is experiencing today is a belated reaction to the announcement.

Last Tuesday, Dubber announced it successfully underwent an institutional placement as part of a $110 million capital raise.

The placement announced by Dubber was the first tranche of a 2 tranche capital raise.

As part of the first tranche, more than 33 million Dubber shares were offered for $2.95 a piece.

The second tranche is dependent on shareholder approval and is expected to take place in September.

The company didn’t state what it plans to use the funds for.

However, Dubber’s CEO commented on a “unique opportunity” that would allow the company to “not only become one of Australia’s leading technology companies, but a true global leader in our field”.

The company also stated it plans to increase its reoccurring revenue by 156% to reach $100 million per year.

Dubber share price snapshot

The Dubber share price has been performing well on the ASX lately.

It has gained an impressive 94% since the start of 2021. It has also increased by 165% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $938 million, with approximately 257 million shares outstanding.

The post The Dubber (ASX:DUB) share price is soaring 5% today 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 Dubber Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Dubber Corporation. 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 Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price has soared 7% this past month.

Shares in the supermarket giant started the month of July at around $16.75. At the time of writing, the Coles share price has continued its strong run, trading at around $17.95 today.

Let’s take a look at what’s been fueling Coles’ good performance this past month.

Lockdowns could be fueling the Coles share price

It seems the share price could be benefiting from increased consumer demand given the ongoing COVID-19 induced lockdowns.

With a majority of the Australian population experiencing some form of lockdown in the past month, essential businesses like Coles stood to benefit.

In its half-year report released earlier this year, the supermarket giant noted increased demand for in-home consumption had driven growth.

For the half-year, Coles reported an 8% increase in revenue to $20,569 million. This comprised supermarket sales of $17,800 million, liquor sales of $1,946 million and express sales of $632 million.

Coles provides attractive dividends

One of the most attractive aspects of owning Coles shares is their dividend.

Following its demerger from conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) in 2018, Coles has been committed to providing shareholders with a high dividend payout ratio.

In 2020, the group paid an interim dividend of 30 cents per share. This was jacked up to 33 cents when Coles declared its interim dividend for 2021.

Outlook for the Coles share price

Recently, analysts from noted broker Goldman Sachs provided a positive outlook on the Coles share price.  

According to analysts, Coles offers solid long term growth prospects, a generous dividend policy, and defensive qualities.

Analysts slapped a buy rating on the supermarket giant, with a price target of $20.70 on its shares.

As a result, many investors will be tuning in this reporting season to see how the supermarket giant performed in the past financial year.

Coles is slated to report its earnings for FY2021 on Wednesday 18 August.

The post Here’s why the Coles (ASX:COL) share price is up 7% this last month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET and Wesfarmers 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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