The Australian share market is home to a number of quality companies with solid growth prospects.

Two that have been tipped to grow strongly over the long term are listed below. Here’s why analysts think investors should be buying their shares:

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

PointsBet is a leading sports betting company with operations in the ANZ and US markets.

It has been a very impressive performer in FY 2021, delivering explosive growth in both markets. For example, during the third quarter, PointsBet reported a 236% increase in turnover to $905.2 million. This was driven by a 137% lift in Australian turnover to $423.2 million and a 431% jump in US turnover to $482 million.

The good news is that the latter is still only a fraction of its market opportunity in the enormous US market. Goldman Sachs notes that the US sports betting market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 40% out to 2033. It estimates that it will be worth US$39 billion a year at that point.

In light of this and its belief that PointsBet is well-placed in this market, Goldman Sachs currently has a buy rating and $17.20 price target on its shares.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

Temple & Webster is Australia’s leading online furniture and homewares retailer. It has been growing at a strong rate over the last few years and particularly during the pandemic. This has been driven by the accelerating shift to online shopping.

And while Temple & Webster’s growth may moderate now that COVID tailwinds are easing, management remains very confident in its growth prospects. This is largely due to its strong position in a market which is still only really beginning to see sales shift online.

In order to take advantage of the shift and cement its position as the market leader, management is now investing heavily in its sales growth. And although this will come at the expense of margins, it believes the long term gains make it more than worthwhile.

One leading broker that agrees is Morgan Stanley. It is confident in this strategy and has recently put an overweight rating and $15.00 price target on its shares.

The post 2 explosive ASX growth shares rated as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are 3 ASX shares that are cashed up
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• How high can the PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price climb?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

James Mickleboro does not own any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Pointsbet Holdings Ltd and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointsbet Holdings Ltd and Temple & Webster 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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If you’re looking for a way to overcome low interest rates, then you might want to look at the Australian share market.

This is because there are a large number of shares that pay generous dividends each year. Two such shares are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Coles. It has been a very strong performer in FY 2021 thanks to solid growth from its core supermarkets business and also its other businesses such as flybuys and Liquorland.

And while the company is now cycling heightened sales from a year earlier and is likely to report a sharp slowdown in its growth in the immediate term, it looks well-placed to resume its growth again in FY 2022.

After which, its long term outlook remains very positive due to its strong market position, focus on automation, cost cutting, and long track record of same store sales growth.

Goldman Sachs is forecasting dividends per share of 62 cents in FY 2021 and 66 cents in FY 2022. Based on the current Coles share price of $16.99, this will mean fully franked yields of 3.6% and 3.9%, respectively, over the next two years.

National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR)

Another dividend share to look at is National Storage. It is one of the ANZ region’s largest self-storage operators. At present the company tailors self-storage solutions from over 200 centres.

While this might sound like a large number of centres, management still sees plenty of room to grow its footprint in the future.

In fact, it is currently in the process of raising $325 million from investors via a capital raising. These funds will be used to strengthen its balance sheet and replenish its investment capacity. If deployed successfully, this could support solid earnings and dividend growth in the coming years.

Analysts at Ord Minnett are forecasting dividends of 8.2 cents per share in FY 2021 and then 8.6 cents per share in FY 2022. Based on the latest National Storage share price of $2.05, this will mean yields of 4% and 4.2%, respectively.

The post 2 top ASX dividend shares for income investors appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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James Mickleboro does not own any shares 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. 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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There are a handful of ASX dividend shares that have grown their dividend every year back to the GFC.

Indeed, a couple of businesses have actually increased their dividend going back before the GFC. Those are long-term dividend records.

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL)

Soul Patts is the ASX dividend share with the longest growth record.

The investment conglomerate has grown its dividend every year since 2000. It was first listed in 1903 over a century ago and it has paid a dividend every year since then.

Soul Patts has a diversified portfolio of assets to generate earnings and growth.

Listed investments include TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI), Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT), Pengana International Equities Ltd (ASX: PIA), Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG), Palla Pharma Ltd (ASX: PAL), Clover Corporation Limited (ASX: CLV) and Tuas Ltd (ASX: TUA).

It also has a portfolio of unlisted businesses and assets such as resources (Round Oak), swimming schools, financial services and agriculture.

Each year, Soul Patts’ portfolio produces profit and sends cashflow in the form of dividends and distributions to the parent business. After paying for the expenses to run the company, Soul Patts can then pay out a sizeable amount of its net cashflow to shareholders as a dividend.

One of the newest investment focuses of the ASX dividend share is luxury retirement living.

At the current Soul Patts share price, it has a grossed-up dividend yield of 2.8%.

APA Group (ASX: APA)

APA is another business that has been growing its distribution for many years – more than a decade and a half.

It’s one of Australia’s largest infrastructure businesses, with a focus on energy. It owns a huge pipeline network to transport gas around the country.

APA also owns gas infrastructure like storage and energy generation. It also owns some renewable energy assets.

The ASX dividend share pays its growing distribution from the cashflow that it generates.

New projects can help unlock even more cashflow. In recent months the business has announced expansions of its gas pipeline networks.

On the east coast it just announced that it’s expanding the winter peak capacity by 25% for the delivery of gas from Queensland and the Northern Territory to southern markets for a cost of around $260 million.

In Western Australia it is going to invest up to $460 million to construct a new 580km pipeline to connect emerging gas fields in the Perth Basin to the resource rich Goldfields region, forming an interconnected WA Gas Grid.

At the current APA share price, it offers a distribution yield of 5.4%.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares with very long dividend growth records appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• The 10 ASX dividend shares delivering the highest yields
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• 3 ASX shares that keep growing their dividends every year

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Clover Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended APA Group, Brickworks, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company 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 Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form again and raced higher. The benchmark index jumped 0.9% to 7,379.5 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to edge lower

The Australian share market looks set to give back some of its recent gains on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 9 points or 0.1% lower this morning. This follows a nervy night of trade on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones fall 0.3%, the S&P 500 drop 0.2%, and the Nasdaq tumble 0.7%.

Oil prices charge higher

Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a strong day on Wednesday after oil prices charged higher again. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2% to US$72.28 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 1.8% to US$74.15 a barrel. Oil prices climbed after the threat of near term supply from Iran receded.

Bank of Queensland rated as a buy

The Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) share price could be heading higher from here. That’s the view of analysts at Goldman Sachs, who have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target to $9.85. This follows yesterday’s $75 million collective provision release. Goldman commented: “We upgrade our FY21/22E/FY23E cash EPS by +13.1%/-0.7%/+2.5%, driven by i) the A$75 mn collective provision release resulting in lower BDDs, and ii) BOQ’s better volume performance, particularly in housing.”

Gold price softens

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) will be on watch after the gold price softened again. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.3% to US$1,860.0 an ounce. Traders continue to sell the precious metal ahead of today’s US Federal Reserve meeting.

Iron ore price rises

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) shares could have a positive day after the spot iron ore price continued its ascent. According to Metal Bulletin, the spot iron ore price is up a further 0.5% to US$221.87 a tonne.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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James Mickleboro does not own any shares 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by 0.9% today to 7,385 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

The REA Group share price went up 1% today after announcing an acquisition.

REA Group is buying 34% of Simpology. This is a business that aims to increase the efficiency of the mortgage application process. It provides mortgage application and e-lodgement solutions to lending and broker partners across Australia and New Zealand. Simpology’s products enable brokers to seamlessly lodge home-loan applications directly into lenders’ back-end systems. It is integrated in over 30 lenders and over 12,000 brokers.

In addition to the ASX 200 company’s March announcement on the proposed acquisition of Mortgage Choice Limited (ASX: MOC), this investment’s purpose is to further accelerate REA Group’s financial services strategy. It will provide consumers with greater choice and simplicity when navigating their home loan options. It will also deliver productivity improvements to REA’s broker network through higher quality loan submissions, resulting in less re-work, faster loan approval times and streamlined business operations.

REA Group CEO Owen Wilson said:

REA’s investment in Simpology reinforces our commitment to delivering the best end-to-end mortgage application solution for consumers, our brokers and their clients.

Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL)

The Nuix share price rose around 4% today in response to management news.

Nuix announced that CEO Rod Vawdrey has given notice to retire from the company.

Mr Vawdrey will continue in his role while an international search by the executive recruitment outfit Russell Reynolds conducts the search for the next CEO.

Nuix Chair Jeff Bleich said:

Rod’s decision reflects his deep commitment to Nuix and love for the company. Rod has agreed to remain at least through the announcement of end of year results, and throughout the process required to find the right replacement to ensure the smoothest possible transition.

Nuix is a great company with world-leading technology, an extraordinary portfolio of clients, and an incredibly passionate and committed team of employees. We are confident that the pool of candidates will be a deep one and the board is very focused on attracting the right individual to take on the role.

Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ)

The BOQ share price went up more than 1% in response to the bank’s loan provision update.

BOQ announced that its quarterly APRA Basel III Pillar 3 report relating to the period ending 31 May 2021 is expected to include a decrease in the collective provision of $75 million.

The lower collective provision from the ASX 200 bank is due primarily to the improved economic outlook, according to BOQ. There is a further reduction from improvements in data quality relating to collateral.

George Frazis, the BOQ managing director and CEO, said:

Today, Australia is experiencing strengthening business and consumer confidence driving our economic recovery, supported by strong housing growth, lower unemployment rates and increasing business investment.

The reduction in the collective provision during the quarter reflects this improvement in the current economic environment. We continue to prudently manage our provisions to ensure we are well covered for any potential lifetime losses arising from COVID-19.

The post ASX 200 rises, Nuix jumps, REA buys stake of Simpology appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nuix Pty Ltd and 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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At the small end of the Australian share market, there are a number of companies with the potential to grow materially in the future.

Three that investors might want to get better acquainted with are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Adore Beauty Group Limited (ASX: ABY)

The first small cap to watch is Adore Beauty. It is Australia’s leading online beauty retailer. It appears well-placed for growth over the next decade thanks to its leadership position and the structural shift online for beauty sales. Analysts at UBS are positive on its outlook. The broker recently put a buy rating and $5.60 price target on its shares. This compares to the latest Adore Beauty share price of $4.42.

Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8)

Another small cap to watch is Audinate. It is the digital audio-visual networking technologies provider behind the Dante audio over IP networking solution. This solution is used across a number of industries and the industry leader by a significant distance. This has put Audinate in a great position to benefit from increasing demand once the pandemic passes. In fact, you only need to look at its third quarter update to see this. For the three months ended 31 March, pent up demand led to Audinate reporting its highest ever quarterly revenue. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating and $10.00 price target. This compares to the latest Audinate share price of $7.79.

Pointerra Ltd (ASX: 3DP)

A final small cap to watch is Pointerra. It provides businesses with a powerful cloud-based solution for managing, visualising, analysing, and sharing massive 3D point clouds and datasets. The company’s clever platform can effortlessly extract vital information from data that would otherwise take many hours to do. Management believes that it has an enormous $500 billion market opportunity globally.

The post 3 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch this month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 AUDINATEGL FPO and Pointerra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AUDINATEGL FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointerra 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 McPherson’s Ltd (ASX: MCP) share price had a doozy today. McPherson’s shares fell a nasty 15.22% today to $1.22 by the end of trading.

That came after the health and beauty company closed at $1.44 per share last week and opened at $1.22 this morning. This means the company has lost its slender gain for 2021, and the shares are now down 14.34% year to date. The company is also down 56.25% over the past 12 months.

So what went wrong today?

McPherson’s many suitors

The fall in the McPherson’s share price can probably be blamed on an ASX release to investors before market open.

In this release, McPhersons advised the takeover proposal the company received in April from Arrotex Australia Group Pty Ltd will not be going ahead.

Back in April, McPherson’s announced Arrotex had put forward a “non-binding, indicative proposal” to acquire 100% of McPherson’s shares at a price of $1.60 per share. The offer was an all-cash one.

Prior to that, McPherson’s had received a different offer, this one from Gallin Pty Ltd. Gallin put up an offer of $1.40 per share. However, the McPherson’s board advised shareholders to reject this offer.

Earlier this month, McPherson’s gave investors an update on the Arrotex proposal. It noted the following:

The Arrotex Indicative Proposal is conditional upon completion of satisfactory due diligence to be undertaken over a four-week period pertaining to accounting, financial, legal and key operational areas, and a number of other customary conditions.

Well today, here’s what McPherson’s had to say on the proposal from Arrotex:

After providing Arrotex with the agreed four-week due diligence period, the board wishes to advise that the parties have agreed to cease due diligence and Arrotex has withdrawn its indicative proposal.

So close perhaps, but no cigar.

Wedding called off

Here’s some of what McPherson’s CEO Grant Peck said on the outcome:

Following today’s announcement in respect of Arrotex, I now look forward to working with the board to continue to implement the outcomes of our operational review announced on 19 May 2021.

We have a clearly defined strategy and are focused on its execution to deliver significant value to our shareholders in the short and long term… The McPherson’s team will continue to focus its attention on delivering our health, wellness and beauty strategy.

At today’s closing share price, McPherson’s has a market capitalisation of $156.75 million, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 92.04 and a trailing dividend yield of 8.57%.

The post The McPherson’s (ASX:MCP) share price fell 15% today. What happened? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) is reportedly gearing up to receive final bids to sell off its life insurance business. So far, media reports haven’t affected the Westpac share price.

The bank’s share price closed at $26.62 today ­– 1.26% higher than its previous close.

Let’s look at the rumours of Westpac’s latest divestment.

Life insurance under the hammer?

According to reporting by The Australian, parties interested in purchasing Westpac’s life insurance business will need to get their bids in by 25 June.

Unnamed sources told the publication the board will make a final decision on where to send the business once bidding has closed.

The purported trading of its life insurance business follows Westpac’s sale of its general insurance business to Allianz for $725 million late last year.

­Dai-ichi‘s TAL and Resolution Life are said to be interested in acquiring the life insurance business.

The Australian said Westpac was asked to comment on the sale but declined.

Westpac is the last of the big four banks to sell out of life insurance.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) was the first of the big banks to sell its life insurance business in 2017.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) followed suit, selling its Australian life insurance business in 2018 and its New Zealand counterpart last year.

In 2019, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) sold its life insurance business.

Westpac share price snapshot

It’s been a stunning year for the Westpac share price on the ASX.

Shares in the bank are currently 37% higher than at the start of 2021 and have gained 52% since this time last year.

Westpac has a market capitalisation of around $96.4 billion and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 22.4. It has approximately 3.6 billion shares outstanding.

The post Is Westpac’s (ASX:WBC) life insurance approaching its sell-by date? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a pretty decent start to the trading week today. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a healthy 0.92% to 7,379.5 points after rising to a new record high of 7,398 points earlier in the day.

Let’s check out the 3 ASX 200 shares that have been swapping hands with the most enthusiasm today.

3 of the most traded ASX 200 shares today

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Telstra has been a very active ASX 200 share on the markets today, with 13.83 million shares having traded hands so far. That’s despite the Telstra share price being flat today at $3.58 a share, and no major news or announcements coming out of the company. In saying that, earlier in the day Telstra did manage to get up to $3.60, which is just a tad below the ASX telco’s 52-week high of $3.61.

With a market capitalisation of $42.58 billion, Telstra is one of the largest companies on the ASX. And with a relatively low share price compared to some of the other major ASX blue-chips, it tends to have more shares traded on average in comparison to Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares for example.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

South32 is another ASX 200 blue chip that has been swapping hands enthusiastically, with a hefty 17.78 million shares traded today. That might be explained by the South32 share price falling a robust 1.02% today to $2.92 a share.

Those 16 million-odd shares may include some on-market share buybacks by South32 as well. According to ASX notices, this diversified mining company has been taking shares out of circulation most days in recent weeks. Share buybacks are usually ‘return of capital’ exercises that increase earnings per share (EPS) for the remaining shares (and are thus usually beneficial to shareholders).

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

Topping the ASX 200’s most traded shares is uranium miner Paladin Energy, with a massive 71.04 million shares having changed owners today. This is likely the result of the Paladin share price’s disappointing performance today, with Paladin shares down a nasty 11.3% to 51 cents a share.

As we covered earlier today, uranium miners like Paladin have come under pressure following reports that the American government is assessing a possibly radioactive leak at a Chinese nuclear power plant.

The post Here are 3 of the most traded ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Telstra Corporation 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 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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Shares in Kazia Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: KZA) lifted today after news its investigational drug Paxalisib will be part of another study for the treatment of brain cancer. At market close, the Kazia share price is $1.40 – 6.87% higher than its previous closing price.

The investigation will see Kazia partnering with US-based Joan & Sanford I Weill Medical College at Cornell University in New York.

The two organisations will launch a phase II clinical study combining Paxalisib with ketogenesis, the body’s own metabolic process in breaking down fatty acids.

Kazia states the combination has the potential to treat symptoms of glioblastoma, a common and aggressive type of brain cancer.

It’s the ninth ongoing clinical study to involve Paxalisib.

New clinical study

Paxalisib has been developed as a treatment for glioblastoma. The drug is an inhibitor of the brain-penetrant PI3K pathway. Blocking the pathway has so far shown to effectively treat glioblastoma.

In the newly announced clinical trial, Paxalisib is being combined with the human body’s response to the ‘ketogenic diet’. It sees the body using proteins and fats instead of glucose as fuel for energy.

In metabolising fats and proteins, the human body breaks them down into ketones.

Tumour cells can’t metabolise ketones well, so cancers can effectively ‘starve’ on a ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet also enhances the PI3K pathway.

Trial participants will also be given metformin, a drug that lowers insulin levels. Insulin has been shown to also enhance the PI3K pathway.

The study will involve around 32 patients. Of those, 16 will have previously been unsuccessfully treated with standard-of-care treatments for glioblastoma. The other 16 will have not only have undergone unsuccessful standard treatment, but their glioblastomas will have progressed through their treatment.

The primary endpoint will be progression-free survival at six months. The study will take approximately two years to complete.

Kazia will provide the drug and a financial grant for the study.

Kazia Therapeutics share price snapshot

The Kazia Therapeutics share price is performing well on the ASX lately.

Currently, it’s 20% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It’s also gained 250% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $185 million, with approximately 129 million shares outstanding.

The post Here’s why the Kazia Therapeutics (ASX:KZA) share price got a 6% boost today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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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