Motley Fool Australia Chief Investment Officer Scott Phillips joined Nine’s Late News on Monday night to discuss the cash splash ahead for shareholders of iron ore miners, Wesfarmers’ plans to take over API, the parent company of Priceline, and the importance of Tuesday’s business confidence numbers.

The post Miners flying, a takeover for Priceline, and business confidence in focus. Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX lithium shares are surging on Tuesday. Here’s why
• This ASX telco grew 3 times faster than the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• How did the S&P/ASX All Technologies Index (XTX) perform in FY21?
• Transurban (ASX:TCL) share price jumps following broker upgrade

Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips 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 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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While the Telstra Corporation Limited (ASX: TLS) share price is having a year to remember, there’s another ASX-listed telco that’s growing at triple the rate.

At the time of writing, shares in Australia’s largest telecom company are trading for $3.76 – up 0.67% today and 7.9% in the last 52 weeks.

Macquarie Telecom Group Ltd (ASX: MAQ), however, just broke its all-time high to reach $56.50 a share today. That’s up almost 3% today and an impressive 25% over the last 12 months. That’s a growth rate more than 3 times better than Telstra’s.

Let’s take a closer look at the company.

Company profile

Macquarie Telecom Group is divided into four business segments – telecom, cloud, government, and data services.

Serving businesses and government agencies, the company provides a range of services in the tech sector it claims are “completely different from its competitors.” The company says 42% of all federal government agencies choose to work with Macquarie Telecom, for example.

Why this company is outperforming the Telstra share price

Motley Fool Australia has previously reported on how Macquarie Telecom has been tipped to increase by as much as 40%. To be clear, that’s on top of its already impressive gains over the past year.

Montgomery Investment Management said the company is a “structural winner” that was being underrated by most. It claims many are assuming its gains so far are because of COVID-19 lockdowns and increased demand for remote working.

The Telstra share price is also looked upong favourably by some brokers. Goldman Sachs put a 12-month target of $4.20 on the company – a 12% increase on today’s price.

The sale of 49% of its towers business saw investors rushing to Telstra. The company recently hit a 12-month high of $3.79 and has since fallen back to its current levels.

The contrast between the Telstra share price and Macquarie Telecom is even starker when looking over the longer term. Over a 5-year period, Telstra shares have shrunk by 35% while Macquarie Telecom shares have exploded by 352%.

The post This ASX telco grew 3 times faster than the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Is your money safe in Telstra (ASX:TLS) shares right now?
• Why Telstra (ASX:TLS) and this dividend share could be buys
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: COVID wobbles ASX as shares retreat
• 2 high yield ASX dividend shares that could be buys
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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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On Monday I looked at three ASX shares brokers have given buy ratings to this week.

Unfortunately, not all shares are in favour with them right now. Three that have just been given sell ratings are listed below. Here’s why these brokers are bearish on these ASX shares:

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH)

According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have retained their sell rating and NZ$22.65 (~A$21.15) price target on this medical device company’s shares. The broker doesn’t expect Fisher & Paykel Healthcare to benefit meaningfully from the recall of the Philips DreamStation. It is expecting ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD) to be the main winner from the development. Outside this, the broker continues to believe its earnings are under pressure from a reduction in COVID-19 hospitalisation rates. As such, it feels its shares are overvalued. The Fisher & Paykel Healthcare share price is fetching $28.50 today.

Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM)

A note out of Credit Suisse reveals that its analysts have retained their underperform rating and cut the price target on this fund manager’s shares to $4.50. This follows the release of Platinum’s latest funds under management (FUM) update. Credit Suisse notes that Platinum has now recorded 30 months of FUM outflows in a row. Unfortunately, the broker doesn’t appear confident this trend will reverse in the near future. This is partly due to Platinum’s exposure to legacy investment platforms. Credit Suisse fears platform disruption and switching could have a big impact on its FUM performance in the future. The Platinum share price is sinking today and down to $4.27.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Analysts at Citi have retained their sell rating and $45.00 price target on this conglomerate’s shares. This follows news that Wesfarmers has made a takeover approach for Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (ASX: API). Citi estimates that the acquisition will be 1.7% accretive to earnings per share. And while it doesn’t see meaningful synergies from the deal, it acknowledges that it could be a way to boost its growth in a post-COVID environment. Nevertheless, due to valuation reasons, Citi holds firm with its sell rating. The Wesfarmers share price is fetching $58.55 this afternoon.

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

More reading

• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price gains amid rumours of Priceline rival
• ASX 200 midday update: Nearmap rockets, Incitec Pivot jumps
• Why the Platinum (ASX:PTM) share price is sinking 7.5% on Tuesday
• 2 ASX 200 blue chip shares that might be the best to buy
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended 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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The 2021 financial year is starting to feel like a while away now, even though it only ended about a fortnight ago. Here at the Fool, we’ve been looking back at some of the best and worst ASX share performers from FY21, as well as how certain indexes performed over the financial year that was.

Today, we’re continuing this trend with a look at the ASX’s newest index, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX).

The All Tech Index only started life back in February 2020. This means it has just completed its first full financial year on the ASX boards. As such, it’s a great time to check out how it has performed for investors.

How did the All Tech Index perform in FY21?

So, the All Tech Index started the financial year at roughly 2,128 points. It ended up at 2,963 points as of 30 June 2021. This means the index gained an impressive 39.24% in FY21. Not a bad way to mark your first financial year.

When we compare that performance to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), it gets even better. The ASX 200 managed to deliver a rise of 24% over FY21, which was just pipped by the All Ords, with its gain of 26.5%.

Both very respectable numbers, but also close to half of what the All Tech Index managed to deliver. What’s more, all 10 of the top holdings of this index managed a positive return for the year, in stark contrast to some of the other sectors we’ve looked at already.

What does the XTX Index look like?

The All Tech Index has far more than 10 companies within it, 79 at the moment to be precise. But, as the weightings in the table below demonstrate, this index is very ‘top heavy’, with the top 10 shares accounting for almost 70% of the entire index’s weighting. In other words, the shares below did most of the heavy lifting.

So case closed? Don’t bet on it. Let’s now take a look at how the individual holdings of the All Tech Index performed over FY21. Here are the top ten holdings of the index, along with their weightings, according to exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider BetaShares:

ASX XTX Share	XTX weighting (as of 13 July 2021)	FY2021 share price performance	Market capitalisation (as of 13 July 2021)
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)	20.1%	92.2%	$34.8 billion
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)	11.9%	65%	$20.44 billion
Seek Ltd (ASX: SEK)	8.2%	51.4%	$11.49 billion
Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU)	6.5%	28.8%	$9.75 billion
REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA)	5.9%	56.7%	$21.88 billion
Carsales.com Ltd (ASX: CAR)	4.2%	13.2%	$5.99 billion
Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT)	3.8%	20%	$5.43 billion
WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)	3.4%	65%	$9.88 billion
Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)	3.3%	13.8%	$4.95 billion
Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)	2%	125.7%	$6.17 billion

Some ASX tech share winners and… winners

So as you can see, Afterpay remains the king of the All Tech pile, with a massive weighting of 20.1%. Afterpay was also one of the best performers in the entire All Tech Index, managing a very impressive 92.2% over the year.

It was only bested in this top-10 list by healthcare company Pro Medicus. Pro Medicus, while being one of the index’s smaller holdings, managed the best return of the lot, with a pleasing 125.7% for the year.

But even the All Tech Index’s lowest top-10 stock in Carsales.com still managed to add 13.2% for the year to 30 June. That’s nothing to turn one’s nose up at.

So what went so right for ASX tech shares in FY21? Well, the first thing to note is that FY21 started in July 2020, a time when most ASX shares were still in recovery mode from the March 2020 share market crash.

ASX tech shares were hit especially hard in this crash, with the All Tech Index losing around 30% of its value between 28 February (the day it listed, incidentally) and 30 March 2020.

COVID, earnings, SaaS and more

But it’s been onwards and upwards from there. Many of these ASX tech shares were categorized by investors as ‘pandemic winners’ due to their digital product lines and connections to COVID-safe practices such as contactless payments and e-commerce.

But many have also put up some very impressive growth figures in the months (and year) since, which have also boosted their appeal to investors. For example, Xero managed to post revenue growth of 18%, subscriber growth of 20% and a bump in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 39% for the 12 months to 31 March 2021.

WiseTech Global is another share to look at in this light. WiseTech was able to tell investors revenues were up 16% and EBITDA by 43% in its February half-year earnings report.

We also had other events that got investors very interested in tech over FY2021. Afterpay was one of these. The company really turned heads when it announced in May last year the Chinese e-commerce giant Tencent Holdings had acquired a 5% stake in the company.

This helped investors look through the gloom in the months following the March share market crash. These kinds of sentiments could well have spilled into FY21 for Afterapy and other ASX tech shares in this index.

Many of the shares in the All Tech Index have traits in common. Capital light business models, often built on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms. Future-facing technology. Innovative and disruptive products.

All of these characteristics may have helped these companies shake off the market crash, and thrive in a post-COVID world. And investors who stuck to their guns during the volatility of FY21 have certainly been rewarded for their patience.

Who knows what FY22 will bring for this space. But we do know it will certainly be worth watching.

The post How did the S&P/ASX All Technologies Index (XTX) perform in FY21? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Which ASX 200 shares helped deliver record profits and a 4.5% dividend?
• 3 excellent ASX shares for growth investors in July
• Up 12% in a month, is there more to come from the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price?
• What this leading broker thinks about Afterpay (ASX:APT) and Zip (ASX:Z1P) shares in July
• These 3 ASX 20 shares are up more than 60% in a year

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Altium, Pro Medicus Ltd., WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Altium, Pro Medicus Ltd., WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group Limited, SEEK Limited, and carsales.com Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) shares are enjoying some time in the green today after Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) raised its price target on the company.

At the time of writing, the Transurban share price is trading at $14.62, up 1.46%.

Let’s take a closer look at what Transurban has been up to lately.

Transurban Group – what is it?

Transurban stands on the podium as one of the biggest toll-road operators in the world.

Its operations span across Australia and North America, with large interests in each country.

It has expertise in all things toll roads, including the financing, development and maintenance of new and existing toll-road networks.

The company also has adjacent interests in the research of road and vehicle safety.

After listing in 1996, Transurban Group now has a market capitalisation of around $40 billion. It recognised revenue of $1.4 billion in the first half of this calendar year.

Brokers upgrade Transurban share price target

According to Bloomberg, investment banking giant Macquarie Group increased its price target on the company to $15.20 this morning. This represents an almost 4% upside potential to the current share price.

Well before COVID-19, Macquarie had set a price target of $15.48 for the Transurban share price.

Bloomberg also reports that Jarden Securities Limited began initial coverage on the company today, assigning a price target of $14.80.

The Transurban share price continues its walk into the green this morning following the release of these two broker updates.

What else has Transurban been up to lately?

On 24 June, the company announced details of its FY21 dividend distribution and FY21 results.

In the release, Transurban outlined it would return 21.5 cents per share for the six months ending 30 June, bringing the total dividends paid for FY21 to 36.5 cents per share.

Back in May, the company also announced its subsidiary, WestConnex, had completed a $1.8 billion private placement to pay down an outstanding debt facility, to the tune of $1.2 billion.

Since these events in the company’s narrative, shares in the toll-road operator have snaked their way 3% into the green.

Transurban share price snapshot

The Transurban share price has posted a year to date return of around 7%, having also jumped by approximately 7% over the past 12 months.

These returns have lagged the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s gains of ~12% this year, and ~23% over the last 12 months.

The post Transurban (ASX:TCL) share price jumps following broker upgrade appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 2 strong ASX dividend shares tipped as buys
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• 2 quality ASX dividend shares with very attractive yields

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 Ioneer Ltd (ASX: INR) share price is in positive territory during early afternoon trade. This comes after the emerging lithium-boron company announced a contract award for its wholly-owned Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project.

At the time of writing, Ioneer shares are up 2.50% to an intraday high of 41 cents.

Ioneer progresses project development

Investors appear pleased with the company’s latest update, sending Ioneer shares slightly higher.

In today’s statement, Ioneer advised it has awarded FLSmidth a major engineering and equipment supply contract at Rhyolite Ridge.

Established in 1882, FLSmidth is a multinational engineering company based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The firm provides innovative engineering, equipment and service solutions to the global mining and cement industries. FLSmidth has over 10,700 employees operating in over 60 countries.

Ioneer stated that the contract was granted on a limited notice to proceed (LNTP) basis. This means that the supply of the equipment packages is conditional on a Final Investment Decision (FID).

Under the contract, FLSmidth will supply the majority of crushing and material handling equipment, including rotary lithium-carbonate and boric-acid dryers.

Ioneer highlighted that the latest developments represent a major step towards the construction of Rhyolite Ridge.

In addition, FLSmidth has engaged with Denmark’s Export Credit Agency (EKF) regarding potential financing options.

Ioneer managing director, Bernard Rowe welcomed the partnership, saying:

The contract with FLSmidth is one of the more significant supply packages we will award at Rhyolite Ridge and represents another step in the development of the Project.

FLSmidth is focused on providing environmentally sound engineering and technology solutions. This aligns with Ioneer’s ambition to not only produce materials necessary for electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure, but to do so in an efficient and environmentally responsible manner through lowered emissions, significantly reduced water usage and a small surface footprint.

FLSmidth mining president, Mikko Keto went on to add:

We are delighted to win this engineering order and we look forward to working with Ioneer as it progresses development of the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project. This contract provides clear recognition of our experience, know-how, and world class technologies for processing lithium…

Ioneer share price summary

Over the last 12 months, Ioneer shares have risen by more than 220%, and are up almost 50% in 2021. The company’s share price reached a 52-week high of 49 cents in mid-February, before going on a gradual decline.

At today’s price, Ioneer has a market capitalisation of roughly $780 million, and approximately 1.9 million shares on issue.

The post Here’s why the Ioneer (ASX:INR) share price is edging higher 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 Berkeley Energia Ltd (ASX: BKY) share price has tanked more than 50% in early trade.

Shares in the energy company have tumbled after the company released an announcement earlier today.

The Berkeley share price was down more than 50% after hitting an intra-day low of 31 cents. At the time of writing shares in Berkeley have recovered slightly, to be down around 41% for the day.

Lets take a look at what Berkeley announced and why investors are dumping shares in the company.

Berkeley share price tanks on Permitting Update

Earlier today, Berkeley released a permitting update regarding the company’s proposed Salamanca uranium mine.

According to the release, the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (NSC) issued an unfavourable report for the construction of the uranium concentrate plant as a radioactive facility, citing safety concerns.

Berkley expressed its disappointment in not receiving any official notification from the NSC. Instead, the company highlighted that the outcomes of the NSC board meeting were published on the regulator’s website.

Berkeley commenced the application process for approval of the Salamanca mine in 2016. The company highlighted that more than 120 previous permits and favourable reports have been granted for the project.

In the release, Berkeley noted that the company intends to defend its position and will immediately consider a range of legal options available.

Berkeley highlighted that the NSC is the only pending approval required to commence full construction of the Salamanca mine.  

More on Berkeley

Berkeley is a London-based, clean energy company that is listed on both the London and Australian Stock Exchange.

The company’s main operations have been focused on starting production at its wholly-owned Salamanca uranium project in Spain.

As noted previously, Berkeley has submitted more than 120 permits to bring its Salamanca mine into production.

Today’s permitting update was the last approval the company required to commence construction of the uranium concentrate plant and its classification as a radioactive facility.  

In 2016, a definitive feasibility study (DFS) showed that the Salamanca project had the potential for low-cost production. Production costs at Salamanca have been estimated at a total cash cost of US$15.06 per pound.

However, approval of Berkeley’s Salamanca mine has been controversial in the region due to the harmful environmental impacts.

The post Here’s why the Berkeley (ASX:BKY) share price is tanking today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here’s why the iCar Asia (ASX:ICQ) share price is up 41%
• ASX 200 midday update: Nearmap rockets, Incitec Pivot jumps
• Are the 10 highest paid ASX 200 CEOs worth their paypackets?
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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 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 Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price is inching higher today despite reports there could be some competition over its takeover target, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API) – operator of the Priceline chain of stores.

Shares in the diversified conglomerate are currently trading hands for $58.62, up 0.57%.

The latest development concerning the takeover of Australian Pharmaceutical Industries follows Wesfarmers’ $687 million non-binding indicative offer yesterday. The announcement sent API shares 20% higher.

Enter possible challenger

As reported by The Australian this morning, there are rumours that Wesfarmers may be in for a tussle over Priceline before all is said and done. The publication believes that resigning Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) CEO Mr Mark Hopper had been approached by API regarding a possible merger, merely weeks prior.

However, it is thought that Sigma palmed off the proposal as it hunkers down while implementing an update across its IT systems. On top of that, Sigma is still contesting with finding a replacement for Mr Hopper.

While Sigma may not have been interested in the synergistic move earlier, Wesfarmers’ move might have changed the game. Given the size and success of Wesfarmers’ past investments, Sigma might now be forced to consider the cost of not shacking up with its Priceline operating rival.  

Despite the rumours, the Wesfarmers share price is in the green today. At this stage, there’s no official word from Sigma on how it intends to react.

Merger and acquisition frenzy

Wesfarmers is not the only company that has been driving share prices higher with takeover bids lately. The last few months have seen an acceleration in the number of mergers and acquisitions.

To summarise a handful of recent offers, we have IFM Investors’ shot at Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD), Galaxy Resources and Orocobre’s proposed merger, and Soul Patts merger with Milton. And those are just a few in the last month…

According to Refinitiv, global M&A transactions for the first four months of the year were up 124% to $1.77 trillion. In short, analysts put this down to plenty of excess cash and low-interest rates.

Wesfarmers share price snapshot

The Wesfarmers share price has been a solid performer since rebounding from the COVID-19 crash. In the past year, the conglomerate’s shares have experienced a rally of almost 28%. Investors would be pleased to know that is an S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) outperformance of around 5% excluding dividends.

At the time of writing, the company holds a market capitalisation of $66.5 billion.

The post Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price gains amid rumours of Priceline rival appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Why Australian Pharma Industries, Audinate, NRW, & Vulcan are racing higher

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited 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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Shares in iCar Asia Ltd (ASX: ICQ) are soaring today following news the company’s received an acquisition proposal. Right now, the iCar Asia share price is 41.67% higher than its previous close, with shares in the company trading for 42.5 cents apiece.

Earlier this morning, iCar Asia shares reached 46 cents – a new 52-week high and their highest point since 2016.

iCar Asia develops and operates an internet-based vehicle portal allowing people in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand to buy, sell, and learn about new and used vehicles.

Let’s take a look at the news boosting the iCar Asia share price today.

Acquisition proposal

iCar Asia has announced Carsome Group has submitted a non-binding acquisition proposal to buy all iCar Asia shares it doesn’t already own for 55 cents apiece.

Carsome is a Singapore-based company operating an automotive e-commerce platform in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore.

At 55 cents per share, Carsome has valued iCar Asia at around $243 million.

iCar Asia had a market capitalisation of approximately $132.5 million as of market close yesterday.

Initially, Carsome will buy 89.4 million iCar Asia shares – approximately 19.9% of all outstanding shares in the company – from digital investment group Catcha. Carsome will pay Catcha will newly issued Carsome shares.

Additionally, a joint bid agreement will see Catcha’s remaining stake in iCar Asia transferred to Carsome. Once again, Carsome will pay Catcha with newly issued shares.

The acquisition proposal faces several conditions, including receiving joint bid relief from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the finalisation of Carsome’s financing agreements, and iCar shareholder and court approval.

iCar Asia share price snapshot

Today’s gains have put the iCar Asia share price back in the green.

It’s now gained 16% year to date. It is also 43% higher than it was this time last year.

The company has around 441 million shares outstanding

The post Here’s why the iCar Asia (ASX:ICQ) share price is up 41% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Article Correction – iCar Asia (ASX:ICQ)

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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At lunch on Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of US markets and is pushing higher. The benchmark index is currently up 0.5% to 7,370.5 points.

Here’s what is happening on the ASX 200 today:

Nearmap share price rockets

The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price is rocketing higher today. The catalyst for this was the release of a full year update by the aerial imagery technology and location data company. According to the release, a record performance in the United States has led to Nearmap outperforming its guidance in FY 2021. It expects to report a 26% increase in annual contract value (ACV) to $133.8 million on a constant currency basis. This compares to its previously upgraded guidance of $128 million to $132 million.

PolyNovo sales update impresses

The PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price is rising today after investors responded positively to its sales update. According to the release, the medical device company achieved record US Biodegradable Temporizing Matrix (BTM) revenue in the fourth quarter of US$4.9 million. This underpinned a 49% increase in full year US BTM revenue. Management also revealed that it is well-placed to build on this in FY 2022.

Incitec Pivot share price rises

Another ASX 200 on the rise today is Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL). Its shares were given a boost by both an update on its manufacturing model and a broker note out of Citi. In respect to the latter, the broker has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $3.00. Citi made the move after upgrading its earnings estimates partly to reflect increasing fertiliser prices.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Tuesday has been the Nearmap share price with a 15% gain. This follows its FY 2021 update this morning. The worst performer has been the Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM) share price with a 6% decline. This follows another disappointing funds under management update.

The post ASX 200 midday update: Nearmap rockets, Incitec Pivot jumps 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 Nearmap Ltd. and POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Nearmap 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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