The Marley Spoon AG (ASX: MMM) share price has had a bumper month so far in June.

The subscription-based meal kit company’s shares have lifted 20.82% this month to $2.96.

What’s driving the Marley Spoon share price?

2021 annual general meeting

Marley Spoon’s annual general meeting took place last Friday. While the announcement wasn’t flagged as price-sensitive, it reiterated the company’s growth trajectory and strategy for moving forward.

Marley Spoon founder and CEO Fabian Siegel described 2020 as a “pivotal year” with “massive growth” that enabled the company to achieve the scale necessary to become profitable for the first time in 2Q20. The company’s maiden profit was underpinned by the doubling of revenues to 254 million euros (~A$400 million).

Looking ahead, Siegel said, “in 2021 we will continue to invest in additional capacity to support the increasing customer demand and our growth ambitions.”

This included the expansion of cool room capacity in the company’s manufacturing centres in Melbourne, New Jersey, Texas and the Netherlands. It’s in addition to a new manufacturing centre in Perth and major expansion projects in Sydney and California.

Meal kit market tailwinds

A widely shared research report titled ‘Meal Kit Market Global Forecast by Country, Type, Ordering Method (Online, Offline), Category (Vegetarian, Non-Vegetarian), Company Analysis’ could be another factor driving the Marley Spoon share price.

The in-depth report said the meal kit industry had grown exponentially in recent years. The onset of COVID-19 has brought about additional tailwinds that “have seen the market for meal kits hit skyrocket”.

According to the report, the global meal kit industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.3% between 2020 and 2027, from US$8.4 billion to US$20.1 billion.

This bullish report could be one of the reasons why the Marley Spoon share price jumped almost 9% last Wednesday to $2.67.

The post The Marley Spoon (ASX:MMM) share price is up 20% this month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Marley Spoon (ASX:MMM) share price jumps 9% following $20b sector forecast

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Marley Spoon AG. 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 Leigh Creek Energy Ltd (ASX: LCK) share price has come out of a trading halt today as one of the worst performers on the ASX. This comes after the energy producer announced a capital raise to progress stage 1 of the Leigh Creek Energy Project.

At the time of writing, Leigh Creek Energy shares are down a sizeable 14.35% to 19.7 cents.

What’s sending Leigh Creek Energy shares lower?

One catalyst for the huge falls in the Leigh Creek Energy share price today may be investor fears over an impending share dilution.

According to this morning’s release, Leigh Creek Energy has successfully raised $18 million (before costs) by a way of placement. The company received support from several Australian and global institutions.

The offer will see 100 million new ordinary shares, at a price of 18 cents each, allocated to participating investors. This represents a 20% discount on the issued capital prior to when the company announced the placement (22.5 cents).

In addition, the new shares will have a one-for-one attached option exercisable at 28 cents within the next 3 years. The issue of the options however is subject to shareholder approval

Leigh Creek Energy will seek to use the proceeds from the capital raise for a number of initiatives. This includes the acquisition of a 3D seismic, drilling and construction of gasifier chambers, acquisition of power generation infrastructure, and general working capital.

Management commentary

Leigh Creek Energy managing director, Phil Staveley spoke about the company’s capital raising efforts:

This $18 million capital injection will enable LCK to continue to move forward with Stage 1 of our flagship project with added confidence and puts us one step closer to our goal of building a plant at Leigh Creek which can deliver urea into the Australian and overseas markets.

The opportunity presented by this capital raise means we can immediately focus all our resources and attention on driving forward the commercial stages of the project.

In the coming weeks we expect to execute the final agreement for engineering, procurement, construction and completion of the urea plant with Korean giant, DL E&C and offer further equity to our existing, loyal shareholders.

The Leigh Creek Energy has gained over 100% in the past 12 months, and is up 14% year-to-date.

The post Leigh Creek Energy (ASX:LCK) share price plummets 14% on capital raise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Austal, Cettire, Leigh Creek Energy, & McPherson’s are sinking today

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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has started the week strongly and is storming higher again. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up a sizeable 1.1% to 7,391.9 points.

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

Austal Limited (ASX: ASB)

The Austal share price has tumbled 8.5% to $2.13 after downgrading its earnings guidance. This morning the shipbuilder revealed that it expects its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to be in the range of $112 million to $118 million in FY 2021. This is down from its previous EBIT guidance of $125 million. Delays due to COVID-19 are behind Austral’s underperformance.

Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT)

The Cettire share price has crashed 21% to $1.98. Investors have been selling the online luxury goods retailer’s shares amid concerns over fund managers selling shares and its long term prospects due to sales tactics and supply chains. The Cettire share price has been paused from trading without explanation.

Leigh Creek Energy Ltd (ASX: LCK)

The Leigh Creek Energy share price has sunk 13% to 19.5 cents. This follows the completion of an $18 million capital raising undertaken at a deep discount of 18 cents per new share. The proceeds will be used to progress stage 1 of the Leigh Creek Energy Project to production of commercial syngas and power generation. Management advised that the placement was supported by several Australian and global institutions.

McPherson’s Ltd (ASX: MCP)

The McPherson’s share price has fallen 17% to $1.20. This morning the beauty products company revealed that Arrotex Australia has withdrawn its Indicative Proposal. In April, Arrotex Australia tabled a $1.60 per share takeover offer. However, following a four-week period of due diligence, the parties have agreed to cease due diligence and Arrotex has withdrawn its proposal.

The post Why Austal, Cettire, Leigh Creek Energy, & McPherson’s are sinking today 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. owns shares of and has recommended Austal Limited and Cettire Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cettire 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 IOUpay Ltd (ASX: IOU) share price is on the climb today. Shares are up 1.56% at the time of writing, having earlier posted intraday gains of more than 11%.

This comes after the ASX buy now, pay later (BNPL) company emerged from a part-day trading halt preceding its new partnership announcement.

What partnership did IOUpay announce?

The IOUpay share price is on the move after the company reported it has entered into a Master Merchant Agreement with Razer Merchant Services (RMS).

Under the terms of the agreement, the company said RMS is “contracted on a non-exclusive basis to refer and acquire its merchants to onboard and utilise IOUpay’s BNPL payment service offering”.

All the participating merchants covered under the RMS agreement are in Malaysia. IOUpay will pay RMS a small, fixed percentage for every successful transaction conducted on its BNPL platform from the agreement.

RMS is operated by Razer Fintech, among the biggest O2O (offline to online) digital payment networks in emerging markets. According to the announcement, Razer has processed billions of dollars in total payment value to date.

RMS currently provides credit card, debit card and e-wallet payment options to its merchants. After successful system integration and testing between IOUpay and RMS, BNPL will join RMS’ payment options. IOUpay said integration and testing could take up to 4 weeks.

Commenting on the new agreement, IOUpay’s CEO Khong Kok Loong said:

We are thrilled to be working together with Razer Merchant Services who represent one of the most progressive networks of online merchants in South East Asia.

Providing our customers with more than 50,000 of Malaysia’s most recognised and popular online stores to shop and pay using our BNPL service offerings is an important step in providing our customers with a wide spectrum of choice across brands, products and services.

IOUpay share price snapshot

IOUpay shareholders have been well-rewarded during the past 12 months, with shares up 1,169%. That blows the doors off the 31% gains posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

However, the IOUpay share price has fallen hard from the 82 cents per share it reached on 18 February this year, currently trading for 33 cents. But even with that retrace, shares in IOUpay remain up 100% so far in 2021.

The post Up 1,169% in 1 year, why the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price is higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Bernd Struben 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 Japara Healthcare Ltd (ASX: JHC) share price has been a positive performer on Tuesday.

In afternoon trade, the aged care provider’s shares are up 6% to a 52-week high of $1.26.

This latest gain means the Japara share price is now up more than 100% since the start of the year.

Why is the Japara share price charging higher?

Investors have been bidding the Japara share price higher on Tuesday after it received a takeover offer from a second suitor.

This follows the receipt of a revised conditional, non-binding indicative proposal from Calvary last week offering $1.20 cash per share.

According to today’s announcement, Japara has now received a conditional, non-binding and indicative proposal from RSL Care RDNS, which is part of the Bolton Clarke Group (Bolton Clarke).

The Australian not-for-profit provider of home care, retirement living, and residential aged care has offered to acquire 100% of the shares in Japara by way of a scheme of arrangement at $1.22 cash per share. This price will be adjusted downwards for any dividend declared prior to implementing a scheme.

Bolton Clarke’s offer is subject to a number of conditions such as the completion of due diligence to its satisfaction, binding financing arrangements with third parties, a unanimous recommendation from all Japara Directors, final approval of the Bolton Clarke Board, and the execution of final agreed transaction documentation.

The release explains that the Japara Board has considered the Bolton Clarke proposal and has determined that it is appropriate to offer due diligence access. This is so that Bolton Clarke can potentially develop a binding proposal.

What’s next?

With the Japara share price now trading above both offers, it appears as though investors are hoping that a bidding war will soon commence, driving the offer prices higher.

Though, it is worth noting that Japara has warned that there is no certainty that either proposal will result in a transaction, let alone a higher offer.

The post Japara (ASX:JHC) share price shoots higher on second takeover offer 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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Shares in A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) are soaring today, despite no news having been released by the company. At the time of writing, the A2 Milk share price is $6.05 – 5.77% higher than its previous closing price.

The company’s share price has been on a generally upwards trend since mid-May. It’s gained 12.6% since this time last month. The gain has come despite circling news of a class action against the company.

Let’s take a closer look at what the former market darling has been up to this year.

What has A2 been up to?

The last time we heard price sensitive news from A2 Milk was on 10 May, when the company released another downgrade – sending its share price plummeting 13.1%.

The latest guidance was A2’s fourth downgrade for the 2021 financial year.

A2 Milk originally expected its revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to be up to 31% higher than its 2020 financial year results. The 2020 financial year saw the company bring in NZ$1.73 billion in revenue and report EBITDA of NZ$549.7 million.

Now, A2 expects its revenue for the 2021 financial year to be between NZ$1.2 billion and NZ$1.25 billion.

It also implied it expects its EBITDA to be between NZ$132 million and NZ$150 million. That’s around 73% to 76% less than last financial year’s EBITDA.

The only other price sensitive news we’ve heard out of A2 Milk this year was its half-year results. In the aftermath of that release, the A2 share price fell 16%.

A2 Milk share price snapshot

Despite today’s upwards movements and its general performance over the past month, 2021 on the ASX hasn’t been good to the A2 Milk share price.

Currently, it’s 47% lower than it was at the start of 2021. It has also fallen 65% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $4 billion, with approximately 742 million shares outstanding.

The post The A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price is up 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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk. 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 ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD) share price has started the week in fine form.

In afternoon trade, the sleep treatment focused medical device company’s shares are up 7.5% to a record high of $30.55.

Why is the ResMed share price shooting higher?

Investors have been scrambling to buy the company’s shares this morning following a favourable industry development.

On Monday global technology giant Philips announced that it would be voluntarily recalling 3.5 million ventilation devices for treating sleep apnoea. The majority of the affected devices within the advised five-year service life are in the first-generation DreamStation product family.

The release explains that despite a low complaint rate (0.03% in 2020), Philips determined based on testing that there are possible risks to users related to the polyester-based polyurethane (PE-PUR) sound abatement foam component in these devices.

The risks include the PE-PUR foam potentially degrading into particles which may enter the device’s air pathway and be ingested or inhaled by the user, and the foam may off-gas certain chemicals.

Philips CEO, Frans van Houten, said: “We deeply regret any concern and inconvenience that patients using the affected devices will experience because of the proactive measures we are announcing today to ensure patient safety.”

“In consultation with the relevant regulatory agencies and in close collaboration with our customers and partners, we are working hard towards a resolution, which includes the deployment of the updated instructions for use and a comprehensive repair and replacement program for the affected devices. Patient safety is at the heart of everything we do at Philips.”

What now?

Given that repairs are expected to take several months to complete, the market appears to believe this will lead to an increase in demand for ResMed’s products, potentially allowing it to win market share from its rival.

The ResMed share price is now up 32% since this time last year.

The post Why the ResMed (ASX:RMD) share price is up 7% to a record high 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 recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. 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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Unless you’ve been living under an ASX rock over the past decade or so, you have probably noticed the rising popularity of ‘passive investing through index exchange-traded funds (ETFs). ETFs have been around for a few decades. That’s in contrast to other, older investment vehicles such as Listed Investment Companies (LICs) and managed funds.

Index funds use computer algorithms to blindly mirror indexes like the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). Because they just track these indexes, these funds don’t have to hire fund managers or investment analysts. As such, they usually have far lower costs and fees than their ‘active’ counterparts.

Active where? Passive funds continue to grow

This advantage, coupled with the fact that many active fund managers struggle to outperform indexes anyway, have boosted the popularity of index ETFs dramatically over the past decade or two. But this popularity has now grown so much that index funds look like they are set to overtake actively managed funds for the first time.

According to a report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, which cites data from EPFR Global, there is now US$8.4 trillion invested in index ETFs and index managed funds globally. That is close to one in every two dollars in global share portfolios (including individual share ownership). In Australia, the figure is now at 54%, up from 45% at the start of last year. Over in the United States, passive funds now account for 57% of listed equity funds.

That follows an injection of US$17 billion into these passive funds just last week. At the same time, US$15.4 billion reportedly flowed out of actively managed funds.

The report quotes Bernd Meyer, chief strategist at the private German bank Berenberg on this trend:

The trend towards passive investing continues unabated… For many investors, entering the capital market no longer means selecting attractive securities themselves or hiring an active portfolio manager to perform the selection… It means putting money into a passive index fund.

The ASX’s largest index ETF is the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS), which tracks the S&P/ASX 300 (ASX: XKO). This index ETF now has a market capitalisation of $8.13 billion, up from $5.83 billion in September last year.

The post Investors are now buying more index ETFs than ASX shares 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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The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is steady today amid reports the oil and gas producer’s managing director is set to tell an industry conference that investors and lenders are turning away from fossil fuels.

Despite the apparent negative sentiments of its managing director, shares in Santos have gained 13% since the start of June.

However, the Santos share price is see-sawing today. At the time of writing, it’s 0.2% lower than its previous close. Shares in the company are currently swapping hands for $7.66.

Climate worries

According to reports in The Age and The Australian, Santos managing director Kevin Gallagher will tell the annual oil and gas industry (APPEA) conference that investors and lenders have “turned off the taps” on western fossil fuel companies.

It’s reported he’ll argue the decreasing financial support may leave the Australian industry facing global competition.

The Australian quoted Gallagher’s not-yet-delivered conference speech:

Equity investors have turned off the taps… Increasing environment, social and governance pressure has restricted access to capital, with banks increasingly under pressure to not fund projects in our sector. As a result, we are seeing national oil companies stepping up with more investment because demand for oil and gas is not disappearing…

Russia, Qatar and [Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] producers know that the developed world will find it increasingly difficult to develop new oil and gas reserves. And they know that demand for oil and gas is not going to decline as fast as the world might want.

Both Santos and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) are facing increasing pressure over their plans to develop offshore oil rigs.

The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility criticised Santos last month. The company is currently developing the Barossa liquid natural gas (LNG) project off the coast of Darwin.  

The director of climate and environment at the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, Dan Gocher, said:

Institutional investors are demanding credible transition plans. Santos continues to fail on this measure.

As The Motley Fool Australia reported last week, the Conservation Council of Western Australia has also been scathing in its criticism of Woodside and BHP’s joint Scarborough project off the coast of Exmouth.

Santos share price snapshot

Despite today’s rocky performance, the Santos share price has been performing well on the ASX lately.

Currently, the Santos share price is around 19% higher than it was at the start of the year. It’s also gained around 47.4% since this time last year.

The oil and gas producer has a market capitalisation of around $15.9 billion, with approximately 2 billion shares outstanding.

The post Santos (ASX:STO) boss says investors and banks are ditching fossil fuels appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Magnum Mining and Exploration Ltd. (ASX: MGU) share price is having a day out today. This comes after the mineral mining company announced it is planning to complete a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).

At the time of writing, Magnum shares are up 8.33% to 19.5 cents, just shy of its all-time record of 21 cents.

Magnum powers ahead

Investors are driving Mangum shares higher following the company’s significant progress for its Buena Vista iron ore project.

Situated in Nevada, United States, the Buena Vista mine is an advanced magnetite iron ore project purchased by Magnum in October 2020. The wholly-owned project has had $34 million spent on it during the past decade undertaking feasibility studies and licences for long-term production.

According to its release, Magnum advised it has signed an agreement with engineering, procurement, and construction management company, Samuel Engineering.

The deal will see Samuel Engineering complete a DFS and basic plant design for phase 2 production at Buena Vista. This includes producing high-grade iron ore wet concentrate of 68%.

Magnum is targeting the final design to be concluded by September this year, with all necessary permits already obtained.

It is expected the premium 68% iron ore concentrate could be ready for shipment as early as Q3 2022.

The DFS will look into detail at the engineering design and financial model of the iron ore concentrate wet beneficiation plant. The report will be used as a basis for investment discussions and strengthening project finance opportunities.

Previously, Samuel Engineering conducted a pre-feasibility study of the iron ore concentrate plant for Buena Vista in 2013.

Magnum share price summary

It’s been a great run for shareholders with Magnum shares accelerating more than 450% over the 12 months. The company’s share price has not looked back in 2021, up an astonishing 260% in 6 months.

At today’s prices, Magnum presides a market capitalisation of roughly $93 million and has about 478 million shares on issue.

The post Magnum (ASX:MGU) share price soars 8%, nears all-time high 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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