• Guess which sector this week’s top performing ASX 200 shares all come from

    ASX shares buy unstoppable asx share price represented by man in superman cape pointing skyward

    The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is looking to finish the week 0.86% higher at 7335.3.

    Taking charge of this week’s gains is the resources sector, with the S&P/ASX Materials (INDEXASX: XMJ) rallying 4.44%.

    Encouragingly, it isn’t just iron ore miners driving gains.

    ASX 200 shares in lithium, gold and mining services have also posted solid gains throughout the week.

    Top performing ASX 200 shares this week

    Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

    First off the ranks is none other than Fortescue.

    Shares in the iron ore major have posted gains in the last eight consecutive trading sessions.

    In this week alone, the Fortescue share price has rallied 8.42% to $25.88, far outpacing the broader ASX 200.

    If Fortescue rallies another 1.5% from current levels, it would retest its 8 January record high of $26.40.

    Supporting the resurgence of Fortescue shares is the iron ore spot price.

    According to Market Index, iron ore prices have been steadily grinding higher, from US$213/tonne at the start of the month to US$218.68.

    Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE)

    The Orocobre share price rallied 7.32% this week to $7.25 and briefly hit a new record high of $7.48 on Wednesday.

    Orocobre alongside its ASX 200 lithium peers has experienced a particularly strong push on Tuesday, thanks to a strong rally in lithium-related peers such as Albemarle and Tesla.

    Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY)

    Similarly, the Galaxy share price also lifted 7.55% this week, marking a new record high of $4.24 on Wednesday.

    The lithium sector has been running hot in recent weeks, likely propped up by a surge in demand for the battery making metal.

    Fastmarkets reiterates this supply tight narrative with producers saying: “Everything needs to be settled before mid-June, otherwise buyers can barely find anything on the spot market”.

    Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN)

    Mineral Resources deserves an honourable mention, despite rallying just 2.95% to $59.97 this week.

    The company has been able to enjoy the best of both worlds, as a fast-growing iron ore miner and emerging lithium producer.

    In an extraordinary display of strength, the Mineral Resources share price has logged 8 consecutive week-on-week gains since 24 May.

    The company is Australia’s 5th largest iron ore producer, with ambitious plans to more than triple its iron ore production from 20 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) to 90 Mtpa over the next five years, according to its half-year results.

    Mineral Resources also operates two lithium joint venture assets, with high profile partners including Ganfeng and Albemarle.

    The post Guess which sector this week’s top performing ASX 200 shares all come from appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

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    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 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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  • It hasn’t been a great 2021 so far for the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price

    airline pilot on the phone looking distraught

    The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price has been out of form so far in 2021.

    Since the start of the year, the airline operator’s shares are down almost 4%. This compares to a 10% gain by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the same period.

    However, that only tells you half of the story. Things were going a lot better for the Qantas share price earlier in the year.

    For example, just four months ago Qantas shares were trading at $5.50. This means the airline’s shares have fallen 14.2% since peaking at that level.

    What is happening with the Qantas share price?

    The volatility in the Qantas share price in 2021 has been driven by uncertainty relating to the recovery of the travel market.

    Earlier this year when Australia was COVID-free, Qantas was busy planning to increase its capacity to take advantage of the strong recovery in the domestic travel market. At that point, investors were scrambling to buy Qantas shares and driving them higher.

    However, since then, outbreaks of COVID-19 have caused lockdowns across several states, grounding a good portion of the airline’s domestic fleet. This has spooked investors, sending many to the exits.

    Is this a buying opportunity?

    The good news for investors is that the majority of brokers in Australia believe the Qantas share price is in the buy zone right now.

    For example, late last month analysts at Morgan Stanley put an overweight rating and $7.00 price target on the company’s shares. This implies potential upside of 48% over the next 12 months.

    Elsewhere, at the end of May, the team at Citi put a buy rating and $5.89 price target on Qantas shares. This represents potential upside of 25% from where it trades today.

    Finally, analysts at Goldman Sachs currently have a buy rating and $6.38 price target. Its analysts believe Qantas is a top recovery investment option for investors. Particularly given its strengthening market position and cost reduction program.

    The post It hasn’t been a great 2021 so far for the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Qantas right now?

    Before you consider Qantas, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Qantas wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

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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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  • Why is the Prescient (ASX:PTX) share price down 16% this week?

    Young man in shirt and tie staring at his laptop screen in anticipation.

    Prescient Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: PTX) shares have just ended a week to forget. By Friday’s close, the Prescient share price was sitting 16% lower for the week. The company’s shares also sank by 4.55% during today’s session alone.

    Let’s take a look at what the healthcare company has been up to lately.   

    What’s driving the Prescient share price lower?

    The company has not released any price-sensitive news this week that could explain the bearish price action.

    As such, it’s possible that some investors are simply deciding to take some profits off the table in what has been a fairly lacklustre week for the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

    The Prescient share price has had an astounding run in 2021, surging by more than 200% since the start of the year. After hitting fresh highs recently, many shareholders may be looking to cash in some of their profits.

    What else has the company been up to?

    Prescient Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology company based in Australia. It has a broad pipeline of products that aim to tailor cancer treatments for patients. Prescient’s oncology therapies genetically modify a patient’s T-cells by adding a new receptor.

    Most recently, the Prescient share price hit new highs following news about its cancer treatment drug OmniCAR released on 5 July.

    The company announced that testing results substantially de-risked the product’s use. Prescient is developing OmniCAR programs for acute myeloid leukemia and other solid tumours. The product’s binding components were tested by an independent researcher to determine if they would cause adverse immune responses that could compromise therapy.  

    Foolish takeaway

    Overall, the Prescient share price has had a stellar run in 2021, as well as over the past 12 months. Since this time last year, shares in the biotech company have soared by more than 250%.

    After being smashed in early trade today and falling by as much as 11%, the Prescient share price did manage to partially recover by the end of today’s session. Based on the current share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $130 million.   

    The post Why is the Prescient (ASX:PTX) share price down 16% this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Prescient right now?

    Before you consider Prescient, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Prescient wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

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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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  • These ASX 200 shares are the most tightly held by individual insiders

    two children hold on tightly to books

    When looking at shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) the amount of insider ownership may not pop up as a consideration. Yet, a company’s share price can be influenced by how much insider support it has.

    Firstly, insiders are directors, officers, and employees of the company. As such, these individuals are likely to have the most up-to-date understanding of how the company is performing. Likewise, while no one can tell the future, insiders usually have the clearest vision of it – after all, they are the ones making it happen.

    Secondly, high insider ownership typically puts upwards pressure on a share price in the event of a good news catalyst. The reason being, there are fewer liquid shares available for investors to get a hold of.

    Let’s take a look at the top 3 ASX 200 shares with insider ownership.

    ASX 200 shares with the highest insider ownership

    Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM)

    Platinum Asset Management is an Australia-based investment manager that focuses on international shares. The company reported having $23.5 billion in funds under management (FUM) at the end of June.

    The ASX 200 constituent suffered a selloff in its share price in the past month. This might have something to do with the $167 million of net outflows experienced by the fund during June.

    However, the fund manager can boast insider ownership of above 50%. At the time of writing, 50.4% of shares on offer are held by individual insiders. Nearly all of these holdings are held by Andrew Clifford (CEO and co-founder), Kerr Neilson (founder), and Judith Neilson.

    Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

    The next company on the list is healthcare imaging software provider, Pro Medicus. Shares in this ASX 200 company have multiplied shareholders’ wealth many times over during the last 5 or so years.

    Across the past 12 months, Pro Medicus has signed several high-value contracts with healthcare providers, the most recent being a $14 million 8-year deal with the University of Vermont. As a result, shares have continued to surge to all-time highs.

    Attesting to the conviction of the founders, Sam Hupert and Anthony Hall still hold 52% of outstanding shares between the two of them. The total amount of insider ownership of this ASX 200 share comes in at 56.05%.  

    Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)

    Finally, the company with the highest amount of insider ownership in our list is Netwealth. For those unfamiliar with it, Netwealth is a fintech company offering a platform for superannuation funds.

    According to its latest quarterly update, the company’s funds under administration stood at $47.1 billion at the end of June. Impressively, this reflected a 12.7% increase from the previous quarter. Additionally, the result placed Netwealth as the sixth largest and fastest-growing platform provider by net inflows in Australia.

    Having said that, it’s not hard to see why co-CEO Michael Heine has maintained a 55.56% ownership in this ASX 200 share. With the highest insider ownership in the index, Netwealth has 58.13% insider ownership.

    The post These ASX 200 shares are the most tightly held by individual insiders appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

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    Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Netwealth and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Netwealth and Pro Medicus 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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  • Here are 3 heavily traded ASX 200 shares today

    share trading depicted as gambling by red buy and sell dice sitting on share price data sheets

    The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a rather wild day of trading this Friday. The ASX 200 has been playing jump rope with its break-even line all day, and is currently up 0.016% to 7,337 points at the time of writing.

    So, let’s take a look at some of the ASX 200 shares that are being traded the most heavily today.

    3 of the top traded ASX 200 shares today

    Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

    The most heavily traded ASX 200 share on the market today is coal miner, Whitehaven with a substantial 16.05 million shares traded.

    This might be the result of some love shown by brokers recently. 

    As my Fool colleague, James covered earlier today, a number of brokers have remained bullish on Whitehaven.

    One is Bell Potter, which lifted its Whitehaven share price target to $2.50 this morning. At the time of writing, the coal miner’s share price is up a very healthy 3.86% to $2.15 a share.

    Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

    Telstra is another high-flying ASX 200 share trading big today, with 10.72 million shares changing hands.

    After hitting a new 52-week high of $3.79 at the start of this month, Telstra has more or less bounced around that level ever since.

    Today, the Telstra share price is down 0.79% to $3.75.

    There hasn’t been any major news or announcements today. However, my Fool colleague, Tony noted this morning that the telco is currently a top holding of a major fund manager.

    Telstra’s intraday high today is $3.79 and the intraday low is $3.75. 

    Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)

    So far this Friday, a hefty 14.34 million shares in this ASX 200 gold miner have been traded. That’s likely a direct result of Evolution’s steep share price losses so far today.

    At the time of writing, the Evolution share price is down a nasty 5.05% to $4.70 a share.

    This fall comes after the company issued an update this morning. The update told investors that the miner’s FY21 production numbers came in at 681,000 ounces of gold, which was 2% below the bottom range of its April guidance.

    Evidently, investors aren’t impressed!

     

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

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

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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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  • Top brokers name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy today

    A smiling woman with a handful of $100 notes, indicating strong dividend payment by Thorn Group

    Fortunately, in this low interest rate environment, there are countless dividend shares for investors to choose from on the Australian share market.

    But with so many to choose from, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. To narrow things down, I have picked out two ASX dividend shares brokers think investors should buy:

    Monash IVF Group Ltd (ASX: MVF)

    According to a note out of the Macquarie equities desk, its analysts have initiated coverage on this fertility treatment company’s shares with an outperform rating and $1.00 price target. The broker notes that trading conditions are very favourable in the IVF industry and its outlook is positive.

    In addition to this, Macquarie highlights that the company’s balance sheet is strong thanks to last year’s capital raising. Macquarie is forecasting a 4.1 per share fully franked dividend in both FY 2021 and FY 2022. Based on the current Monash IVF share price of 83.7 cents, this will mean attractive yields of 4.9% for income investors.

    Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR)

    A note out of Credit Suisse reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $8.55 price target on this copper producer’s shares. The broker was pleased with Sandfire Resources’ strong finish to the year, with copper and gold production at DeGrussa surprising to the upside. Sandfire Resources produced 70,845 metric tons of copper during the 12 months, above its guidance of 67,000 to 70,000 tons.

    Credit Suisse believes the company is well-placed to grow its earnings and dividend. In respect to the latter, it is forecasting fully franked dividends of 39.2 cents per share in FY 2021 and then 40.1 cents per share in FY 2022. With the Sandfire Resources share price currently trading at $6.80, this will mean yields of 5.75% and 5.9%, respectively, over the next two financial years.

    The post Top brokers name 2 ASX dividend 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. 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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  • Why the Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) share price is up 39% in 3 months

    investor wearing a hard hat looking excitedly at a mobile phone representing rising boral share price

    The Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price continues to shine this year, posting a 39% return over the previous 3 months.

    At the time of writing, Mineral Resources shares are exchanging hands at $59.99, a 1.66% dip into the red on the day.

    Let’s zoom in on the tailwinds driving the Australian mining company’s share price lately.

    New drilling advancements

    On 6 July 2021, the company announced its wholly-owned subsidiary Energy Resources Limited had secured a drilling rig for the Lockyer Deep 1 well. The conventional gas exploration well is located onshore in the Perth Basin, along the coast of Western Australia.

    The exploration permit for the Lockyer Deep 1 is a joint venture between Energy Resources and Norwest Energy NL (ASX: NWE). The interests are divided into an 80%-20% split between Energy Resources and Norwest, respectively.

    Energy Resources can now start gas exploration drilling at the site of the well towards the end of July.

    Speaking on the potential benefits of the well’s success to the company, Mineral Resources managing director Chris Ellison said:

    The drilling of Lockyer Deep 1 will be a significant milestone for MRL because it will signify the start of an extensive conventional gas exploration program in our onshore Perth Basin and Northern Carnarvon Basin acreage in line with our strategy to secure our own energy at the lowest cost and lowest emissions possible.

    Investors seem to have liked this outcome, as Mineral’s shares have climbed by 5% since the announcement.

    Macquarie presentation day

    Mineral Resources’ presentation at the Macquarie Conference on 5 May seems to have been a key inflection point its share price.

    In the presentation, the company detailed it is the world’s largest crushing contractor. Additionally, it stated it is Australia’s 5th largest iron ore producer and the world’s 5th largest lithium miner.

    Given the strengths in iron-ore markets observed this year, it stands to reason that Mineral Resources will receive a premium for its iron-ore sales.

    Analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) were quick to upgrade price targets following the conference. They have assigned an outperform rating with a price target of $73.

    Investors have relished the bullish commentary, rewarding Mineral’s shares with a 24% gain since the timing of the conference.

    Mineral Resources share price snapshot

    Mineral Resources continues to be a performing name on the ASX this year, gaining nearly 40% in 3 months.

    The Mineral Resources share price has posted a return of 153% over the last 12 months. By contrast, the S&P / ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has posted a return of 22% over the same period.

    The company has a market capitalisation of $11.5 billion at the time of writing.

    The post Why the Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) share price is up 39% in 3 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Mineral Resources right now?

    Before you consider Mineral Resources, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Mineral Resources wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

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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 Macquarie 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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  • Top broker says Appen (ASX:APX) might be a takeover target at this share price

    Business people shakling hands around table

    The leading broker Citi believes that at the current Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price, it could be a potential takeover target.

    Appen might be a takeover target

    According to reporting by the Australian Financial Review, Citi thinks that the technology business could be a potential acquisition idea at the current share price of around $13.

    The broker noted that an important issue to try to understand was whether Appen’s decline was due to a structural issue (such as self-learning systems, in-sourcing etc), competition or another problem.

    What’s been going on?

    Appen said a couple of months that there were a few reasons why 2020 didn’t show as good growth as normal.

    It pointed out that the Australian dollar strengthened in the second half of FY20, dampening revenue translated from US dollars into Australian dollars. The business also pointed out that COVID-19 has impacted the face to face selling motion (but this appears to be “in the past now” given the uptick in wins it saw in the fourth quarter of 2020).

    Appen also said COVID-19 has interrupted many businesses and that in turn reduced their digital advertising spending for a period. This in turn impacted major customers’ sources of revenue and although digital spending has bounced back “nicely”, it’s driving them to invest in new AI products that are less reliant on advertising.

    Customers are also responding to data privacy and anti-trust concerns, as well as heightened competition amongst each other. Those issues are also driving new AI product developments, ones that rely less on personal data and make them more independent.

    Citi’s thoughts on the Appen share price

    The broker has lowered its growth expectations for the business for the next five years.

    However, due to the company’s low price, Citi now believes that Appen looks attractive. The AFR quoted Citi analyst Siraj Ahmed:

    Our discussions suggest demand for human annotated training data is not structurally impaired and that ongoing growth is expected, with evolving regulations and data privacy laws as key tailwinds medium-term.

    However, our discussions also point to slower growth for data annotation as the major tech companies develop better systems.

    With the recent increase in M&A and given Appen’s position as a leader in the AI training data space as well as client exposure, we would not be surprised if Appen was a potential acquisition target for an IT Services or BPO firm.

    We note Appen’s main competitor Lionbridge was acquired by Telus International for 16x – 20x EV/EBITDA versus Appen currently trading at 13x.

    The post Top broker says Appen (ASX:APX) might be a takeover target at this share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Appen right now?

    Before you consider Appen, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Appen wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

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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. owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Appen 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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  • SelfWealth (ASX:SWF) share price on watch next week after $10 million capital raising

    ASX share price on watch represented by man looking through magnifying glass

    The SelfWealth Ltd (ASX: SWF) share price entered into a trading halt on Thursday, pending the completion of a $10 million capital raising.

    While shares in the trading platform remain halted, the company provided more details for the uses of funds and an earnings guidance for FY21.

    Capital raising to drive growth strategy

    SelfWealth plans to raise $10 million through a capital raising at 39 cents per new share, or a 9.3% discount to its last close of 43 cents.

    In addition, the company will offer eligible shareholders the opportunity to participate in a capped non-underwritten share purchase plan, raising up to $2 million.

    SelfWealth also intends to utilise existing cash reserves of $3 million to pursue its planned growth initiatives.

    With $15 million in total funds, the main areas of spend include $7.3 million in technology investment, $3.5 million in marketing, $2.2 million in data strategy and infrastructure, and $1.4 million in additional headcount.

    SelfWealth previously said that it was negotiating with several cryptocurrency exchanges to roll out a new cryptocurrency product by Q2 FY22.

    However, today’s capital raising presentation said that the company will not be allocating funds towards a new cryptocurrency trading service until all Board and regulatory approvals are obtained.

    As a result, the new cryptocurrency product is not expected to launch earlier than Q3 FY22.

    Earnings guidance

    SelfWealth forecasts FY21 revenue to be in the range of $18.2 million to $18.7 million, compared to $7.8 million in FY20.

    Furthermore, the company expects an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of between $900,000 and $400,000, compared to a loss of $2.9 million in FY20.

    SelfWealth share price tumbles in 2021

    The SelfWealth share price has struggled to gather momentum this year after a stellar 232% surge in 2020.

    After releasing fourth quarter results on Monday, the SelfWealth shares continued to struggle, diving 11.96% lower on the day to a 1-year low of 40.5 cents.

    The post SelfWealth (ASX:SWF) share price on watch next week after $10 million capital raising appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in SelfWealth right now?

    Before you consider SelfWealth, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and SelfWealth wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of May 24th 2021

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    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 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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  • 5G Networks (ASX: 5GN) share price jumps 10% on Webcentral merger

    jump in asx share price represented by man leaping up from one wooden pillar to the next

    The 5G Networks Ltd (ASX: 5GN) share price has rocketed 10.06% higher today after news of a merger with Webcentral Group Ltd (ASX: WCG). Shares in both of these Aussie communications groups have ended the week after entering into a Merger Implementation Agreement.

    Webcentral merger sees 5G Networks share price soar

    Investors received the news of a merger between these Aussie small-caps well. According to today’s presentation, the merger will aim to deliver value through a number of avenues.

    5G Networks focuses on cloud-based solutions, managed services and network services. Webcentral is one of Australia’s top domain providers and the “largest Australian-owned operator of fibre networks, cloud and data centres”, according to the company’s presentation.

    The companies are hoping a larger entity will create enhanced prospects for growth. Webcentral and 5G Networks also flagged a push towards inclusion in the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) as another highlight.

    Other key benefits of the merger include a simplified sales strategy for a combined 330,000+ customers, alongside cost synergies, combined management expertise and a consolidated debt facility.

    Investors were clearly bullish on the merger news as the 5G Networks share price surged higher. Shares in the telco are up 10.06% at the time of writing with Webcentral shares up more than 5%.

    On a pro-forma, consolidated basis, the merged entity would have revenue of $110-120 million with an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin in excess of 20%. On top of the 330,000+ customers, the companies boast 2,500 corporate and government clients, along with 360 staff.

    The big message today was one of growth. This morning’s presentation indicates the consolidated group will be focused on acquisitions and organic growth into FY2022 and beyond.

    That was music to investors’ ears who propelled the 5G Network share price higher on Friday morning. Today’s gains mean the company’s shares are now up 13.5% in July.

    The post 5G Networks (ASX: 5GN) share price jumps 10% on Webcentral merger appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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    Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended 5G NETWORK FPO. 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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