The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is down 2.1% over the past 24 hours.

One Bitcoin is currently worth US$33,312 (AU$43,832), giving the world’s biggest cryptocurrency a market cap of US$624.3 billion.

That’s well off the US$1.2 trillion market cap when Bitcoin was trading at all-time highs of US$64,829 in mid-April. Since then, the token has lost 49% of its value.

Crypto mining machines tumble

The Bitcoin price may have fallen by half since April’s records, but the price of the virtual picks and shovels used to mine the token have tanked even more.

Bitmain Technologies is the world’s biggest producer of the machines used to mine Bitcoin. And Bitmain reported yesterday (overnight Australian time) that the prices for its top-of-the-line mining machines are down 75% since April.

As Bloomberg reports, Bitmain has now “suspended sales of machines for spot delivery globally, aiming to prop up local prices after crypto miners fleeing Beijing’s crackdown dumped used mining rigs on the market”.

As you may be aware, China is aiming to stamp out crypto mining within its borders. In addition, it is looking at banning its financial institutions from facilitating crypto transactions.

Bitmain did not say when it expected to resume selling its Bitcoin mining devices.

$4.7 billion of Bitcoin vanishes

Ameer and Raees Cajee are 2 brothers who founded South African-based cryptocurrency investment platform Africrypt. They now appear to have vanished along with their platform’s US$3.6 billon (AU$4.7 billion) worth of Bitcoin.

Ameer, the firm’s COO, told the platform’s customers that Africrypt had been hacked back in April. Some of his clients pursued the matter, hiring law firm Hanekom Attorneys.

Hanekom Attorneys said (quoted by Bloomberg): “We were immediately suspicious as the announcement implored investors not to take legal action. Africrypt employees lost access to the back-end platforms seven days before the alleged hack.”

The firm’s investigation found Africrypt’s pooled funds were transferred from its South African accounts and client wallets, and the coins went through tumblers and mixers – or to other large pools of bitcoin – to make them essentially untraceable.

With Bitcoin and other cryptos already under the microscope by legislators across the globe, the alleged $4.7 billion theft will only up the pressure for greater regulation.

While that may be in the best interests of investors in the longer-term, it could put further downward pressure on the Bitcoin price in the mid-term.

The post Bitcoin’s misfortunes spreading pain across the globe appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin. 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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Earlier this month we revealed 5 ASX stocks that professional investors regretted, either for losing money or missing out on gains.

It reminded everyone that investing, even for those who do it for a living, never has a 100% win rate.

“To be perfectly honest, we target getting 60% of our decisions correct,” Sage Capital portfolio manager Sean Fenton told The Motley Fool.

“If you don’t do the hard accounting and actually track your investment decisions and work out your wins and losses, people tend to overestimate their skill. But we do do that — and if we can get 60% of our investment decisions right, it means we’re absolutely knocking it out of the park.”

So to counter that friend who brags about his new-found riches, here are stories of 6 more ASX shares that fund managers regretted:

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

Online retailers did very well out of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

People around the world stayed bunkered down and ordered homewares remotely to make their lives more comfortable.

Sage Capital portfolio manager Kelli Meagher regretted not buying into Temple & Webster, with its shares as low as $2.05 last year. They are trading for $10.16 early Thursday afternoon.

“I regret how conservative I was with my valuation discipline, I suppose, when it came to pure online retail stocks when they first started moving last year,” she told Ask A Fund Manager.

“And they’ve gone up, doubled and tripled, I saw that I’d missed the opportunity – and they just kept going. So there’s definitely some remorse from sitting on the sidelines there.”

Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF)

Investment company Challenger has frustrated many shareholders over the last few years.

Trading at $5.34 Thursday afternoon, the stock is more than 38% down on 5 years ago.

U Ethical portfolio manager Jon Fernie admitted defeat.

“The one stock retreat where we got the timing wrong was investing into Challenger several years ago when we thought that interest rates were going to move higher. We also thought that there were going to be regulatory changes that would drive underlying demand for annuities,” he told Ask A Fund Manager. 

“Unfortunately, both those things didn’t happen. And that led to us ultimately exiting the stock at a lower level. So that was probably one investment decision that we regretted.”

Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) and Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ: LULU)

For Forager research analyst Chloe Stokes, she wished she was better prepared when markets nosedived in March 2020.

“We saw brilliant companies like Nike and Lululemon down more than 30% in a couple of days,” she told Ask A Fund Manager.

“Those stocks would have been excellent investments at market prices, but because I never thought they were cheap enough to invest any time into, I didn’t have a thesis ready.”

Nike is up almost 30% in the past 12 months, while Lululemon shares have risen 19.2%.

The big lesson for Stokes was that investors, whether professional or amateur, need to have a ‘hit list’ ready for price dips.

“It might seem like a waste of time, but you never know when the opportunity could come along to own a high-quality business at a more than reasonable price,” she said.

“I wouldn’t want to miss out on owning some of my favourite businesses if the opportunity presents itself again.”

Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ: ZM)

If ever there was a COVID beneficiary, the video conferencing company that became a verb is it.

Zoom shares have risen about 460% since the start of 2020 when no one was thinking twice about going into the office 5 days a week.

Spaceship portfolio manager Jason Sedawie regretted not getting a piece of that action.

“It’s always what you don’t buy that hurts you because they can be the potential multi-baggers,” he told Ask A Fund Manager.

“Whenever I’m on a Zoom call or Google Meet, I just get reminded of that company.”

The video tech provider surprised Sedawie in the way it rose above hot competition from deeper-pocketed rivals.

“We did know about it, but it wasn’t something we were really excited about because everyone used Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts,” he said.

“They were a business service that schools and consumers just all of a sudden knew. So they went from 10 million daily meeting participants to 300 million a couple of months later. Just how they scaled and executed and pivoted – I just have a lot of respect.”

Tripadvisor Inc (NASDAQ: TRIP)

Hyperion Asset Management lead portfolio manager Jason Orthman remembers buying Tripadvisor shares thinking the business could disrupt traditional booking engines.

“Our research didn’t pick up how sticky consumer behaviour was and how strong the competitive offerings were,” he told Ask A Fund Manager.

“It took us about 2 quarters to realise our research was incorrect, and we exited. And that saved our investors a lot of money. We lost money on that investment, but we didn’t experience the significant downside that those that have held onto that business had.”

Tripadvisor stocks have lost more than 34% over the past 5 years.

But there was a final twist to rub salt into the wound.

Stocks for Tripadvisor rival Booking Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: BKNG) have surged almost 83% in the last half-decade.

“We compounded that error, not only buying Tripadvisor, but selling out of Priceline, which is now called Booking Holdings.”

The post 6 more shares that haunt fund managers appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 excellent ASX shares for growth investors
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Booking Holdings, Nike, Temple & Webster Group Ltd, TripAdvisor, and Zoom Video Communications. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Challenger Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Booking Holdings, Nike, Temple & Webster Group Ltd, TripAdvisor, and Zoom Video Communications. 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 price of copper is trending upwards again, as China’s release of stockpiled metals proved smaller than expected.

Copper’s value gained 1.7% overnight, after it tumbled last week.

However, at the time of writing, it has fallen 1.15% since 10am this morning. This leaves it 0.23% higher than it was this time yesterday.

Currently, a tonne of copper is valued at US$9,376.75 on the London Metal Exchange.

How ASX copper shares are performing today

Like the copper price, ASX listed large-cap copper shares have been bouncing around today amid wider market falls.

Currently, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.24%. Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.02%.

The ASX 200’s only pure-play copper company, Oz Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) has spent a decent portion of today in the green, despite currently having slipped into negative territory. The Oz Minerals share price opened lower this morning before jumping more than 1% to an intraday high of $22.95. At the time of writing, however, the company’s shares are trading 0.75% lower at $22.55.

Meanwhile, shares of Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR), the second-largest ASX copper producer by market capitalisation are rising today. Right now, the Sandfire Resources share price is trading 1.63% higher than its previous close.

What’s driving the price of copper?

According to reporting by South China Morning Post, China will sell 20,000 tonnes of copper from its reserves to the market. The metal will go to auction online on 5 July and 6 July.

The news seems to have bolstered confidence in copper, as the market apparently expected a larger amount of the red metal to be released.

This is Beijing’s latest attempt to curb a surge in commodity prices. It will also be releasing 50,000 tonnes of aluminium and 30,000 tonnes of zinc, also to be auctioned.

As The Motley Fool has previously reported, China consumes 50% of the world’s refined copper. If China were to release large amounts of copper from its stockpiles, global demand for the commodity would likely wane and its price would fall as a result.

The price of copper has gained around 21% since the start of 2021. It has also fallen roughly 12% since it hit its record high price of US$10,746 per tonne in May.

The price of commodities – including copper – fell recently after the US Federal Reserve indicated that interest rates could rise sooner than anticipated, strengthened by the US dollar. At the same, rumours of China’s plans to release stockpiled metals were swirling.

The post ASX copper shares up and down as copper price bounces back 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 end of the financial year is usually a time for portfolio reassessment. Potentially, you have an increased desire for income-producing dividend shares in your portfolio. If a few ASX dividend shares have caught your eye, be mindful that many will be going ex-dividend soon.

An investor who purchases a stock before the ex-dividend date is entitled to receive the company’s next dividend payment. If it is purchased after this date, the previous shareholder will receive the dosh.

Here are 3 ASX dividend shares going ex-dividend next week. If you want to buy any of these shares and receive their next dollarydoo delivery, take note of the dates.

ASX dividend shares going ex-dividend

The following ASX shares will be going ex-dividend next week.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

The first cab off the rank is Rural Funds, an Australian agricultural property company. Rural Funds owns a diversified portfolio of agricultural assets ranging from macadamias to vineyards. These high quality assets are leased back to experienced producers on long term agreements.

The group’s half year earnings per unit nearly doubled compared to the prior corresponding period at the end of December 2020. Due to the sale of assets, Rural Funds increased its profit after tax for HY21 to $58.43 million, up from $29.12 million. This has boosted dividend distributions for the full year by 4% to 5.64 cents per share.

Rural Fund’s next dividend payment will be 2.82 cents per share. The cut-off date is Tuesday next week. Based on the current Rural Funds share price, the full 5.64 cents for the year comes to a yield of 2.25%.

BWP Trust (ASX: BWP)

Another ASX dividend paying share nearing its cut-off date is BWP Trust. This real estate investment trust (REIT) owns and manages approximately $2.60 billion worth of commercial properties throughout Australia — most of them Bunnings warehouses.

Despite COVID-19, the trust delivered revenue and earnings roughly in line with pre-pandemic performance. As a result, BWP will be paying a distribution of 9.27 cents per share to eligible registered shareholders prior to 29 June.

The trust’s full year distribution is expected to be 18.3 cents per share. That would represent a dividend yield of 4.21% based on the current BWP Trust share price.

National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR)

National Storage REIT is the last on our list. This one is another real estate investment trust that is invested in the self-storage solutions provided by National Storage. The company now boasts 206 storage facilities across Australasia.

More recently, the company raised $260 million through an accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer. They hope to raise a further $65 million of capital through a retail offer expected to close tomorrow. The funds will be used to repay debt and provide further liquidity.

This ASX share goes ex-dividend on 29 June. All eligible shareholders will receive 4.2 cents per share. Analysts at Ord Minnet are forecasting a total of 8.2 cents per share in FY21. This would represent a yield of 3.94% based on the National Storage share price at the time of writing.

The post Here are 3 ASX shares going ex-dividend next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED. 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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is in the red today as the bank announces its plans to re-enter the invoice financing market.

In the front half of June, CBA’s share price surpassed the $100 mark and rallied to $106.57. Since then, the CBA share price has taken a subsequent downward turn back below the century milestone.

At the time of writing, Commonwealth Bank shares are trading hands at $98.49, down 0.72%.

Keeping the cash flowing for SME

According to reports from The Australian, Australia’s biggest bank is jumping back into the invoice financing game after more than a decade.

For a bit of context, invoice financing is a method of borrowing for businesses where its accounts receivable, or ‘invoices’ are used as the collateral. This can give small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access to cash to grow while waiting for customers/clients to make payments.

Reportedly, CBA will be partnering up with another ASX-listed peer to make it all possible. A company known as Waddle will provide the bank with real-time accounting data to make lending assessments through its cloud-based lending platform. If Waddle sounds familiar it might be because the company was acquired by Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) late last year.

In discussing the return to invoice financing, CBA Group Executive of business banking, Mike Vacy-Lyle said:

While small businesses traditionally use fixed assets such as property to secure an overdraft or loan, we have developed Stream Working Capital, which will allow customers to access funds by using their outstanding invoices as loan security. The loan size reduces automatically as invoices are paid, so customers never pay for credit limits they don’t need.

Invoice lending without the green tinge

While invoice financing sounds similar to the lending fiasco that derailed Greensill Capital, there is a key difference. Importantly, ASX-listed CBA won’t be directly buying businesses’ accounts receivable.

Instead, SMEs will simply be able to convert 40% to 80% of the value of their invoices to loans. The businesses will still need to manage their own invoices and ensure the payments are made.

CBA Executive General Manager, Clare Morgan detailed that now was the right time for the bank to launch a technology-enabled product. Previously, other invoice financing efforts were considered resource-intensive and vulnerable to fraud.

Furthermore, Ms Morgan commented on the move:

They are [CBA customers] also face increasing pressure from suppliers wanting to be paid earlier and buyers wanting to extend payment terms.

Using invoices to access credit addresses this issue and can provide some peace of mind for businesses which can now access cash locked up in their invoices – it’s an essential part of helping small businesses recover and grow as they continue to navigate a new operating environment during the pandemic.

More money for ASX-listed CBA

CBA didn’t become ASX’s biggest bank by being altruistic. Businesses that use the invoice financing product can expect to pay an interest rate in the high single-digits. This rate will also depend on the risk associated with the customer and invoice.

Finally, as part of the partnership Commonwealth Bank will pay Waddle a licensing fee for using its platform.

The post CBA (ASX:CBA) partners with Xero’s Waddle for new financing product appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Xero. 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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Rumours are swirling that a major healthcare provider will soon be going to auction, with ASX big-wig Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) mentioned as a potential buyer. The Wesfarmers share price hasn’t been noticeably affected by the buzz.

At the time of writing, the Wesfarmers share price is $57.88 – 0.4% lower than its closing price yesterday.

The broader market isn’t fairing much better today. Currently, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.24%.

Let’s take a look at the rumours surrounding the diversified conglomerate today.

Rumours of a major acquisition

According to The Australian, investment banks claim Wesfarmers is in the running to purchase Australia’s largest cancer care provider, Icon Group.

If it were to go ahead, Wesfarmers’ acquisition of Icon Group would be its first foray into the healthcare sector.

In a recent research report, Goldman Sachs noted Wesfarmers has been eyeing new acquisitions.

Wesfarmers is said to have billions burning a hole in its pocket after selling off part of its stake in Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) early last year.

According to The Australian, Icon Group will likely sell for more than $2 billion.

Headquartered in Brisbane, Icon Group has expanded its business from Australia to Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and New Zealand.

The group was formed in 2015. It was purchased by a consortium including Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Area, Queensland Investment Corporation, and Pagoda Investments in 2017. The purchase reportedly cost the consortium $1.2 billion.

Last night, The Australian reported global buyout fund Brookfield, unnamed Canadian pension funds, and New Zealand’s infrastructure investor Morrison & Co are also in the running for the acquisition. Previously, the publication has claimed Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) is a contender for the purchase.

Goldman Sachs and Jefferies Australia are said to be heading the sale which will reportedly go ahead in July or August.

Wesfarmers share price snapshot

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

Currently, shares in Wesfarmers are about 12% higher than they were at the start of this year. They have also gained almost 32% since this time last year.

The ASX giant has a market capitalisation of around $65.9 billion, with approximately 1.1 billion shares outstanding.

The post Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) reportedly looking to buy cancer care provider 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 owns shares of and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET and Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ramsay Health Care 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Prime Day, Amazon‘s (NASDAQ: AMZN) members-only shopping event, once again set records, the company announced in a press release on Wednesday morning. Not only did the e-commerce giant sell more items than ever before, but small-business sellers on its platform also thrived, seeing their cumulative sales soar more than 100% year over year.

Here’s a close look at some of the key statistics Amazon released about its Prime Day event, which took place on Monday and Tuesday this week.

1. Customers spent more than $1.9 billion on small businesses

Amazon kicked off a special promotional offer for customers who spent $10 on small businesses, giving them a $10 Amazon credit (limited to one item per customer), during the two weeks leading up to Prime Day. The promotion led to Prime members spending over $1.9 billion across 70 million small businesses. This represented “more than a 100% year-over-year increase on sales compared to the Prime Day October 2020 promotion,” Amazon said.

2. Back-to-school sales thrived

Members took advantage of the event to prepare for the school year. Amazon said it sold 600,000 backpacks, 1 million laptops, 1 million sets of headphones, 240,000 notebooks, 40,000 calculators, and 220,000 Crayola products.

3. The most popular item was an Amazon device

While Amazon’s e-commerce platform helps third-party sellers, it also provides a lift to sales of the company’s own devices. Amazon said its Fire TV Stick, a streaming-TV device, saw greater sales during Prime Day than any other item.

Additionally, sales of TVs powered by Amazon’s own Fire TV operating system were higher than on any other Prime Day.

4. Fire tablet sales were strong

The company said it sold “hundreds of thousands” of its Amazon Fire tablets.

5. In total, over 250 million items were sold

Not only was this a record number, but members’ total savings were also greater than ever before, the company said.

What this means for Amazon’s second quarter

These statistics bode well for Amazon’s second quarter, whose results the company will likely report toward the end of next month.

Of course, management was already anticipating that the shopping event would help drive strong sales growth during the period. It’s guiding for second-quarter sales to be between $110 billion and $116 billion, translating to 24% to 30% year-over-year growth.

With a strong Prime Day, Amazon shouldn’t have any trouble hitting its guidance — particularly since the year-ago period doesn’t even include a Prime Day. Last year, Prime Day took place in October.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Amazon’s record Prime Day: Here are the stats appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Daniel Sparks has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $1,920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1,940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The Prescient Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: PTX) share price is freefalling today after the company provided an update on its next-generation immunotherapy platform.

At the time of writing, the Prescient share price has fallen 11%, trading at 20 cents.

Let’s take a look at the clinical stage oncology company’s news out today.

What did Prescient announce?

Investors are selling Prescient shares after the biotech announced it has completed a CAR-T manufacturing milestone. CAR-T cell therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses laboratory altered T cells to fight cancer.

In today’s release, Prescient advised it has successfully incorporated SpyTag into a range of binders for its next-generation CAR-T programs. This includes the OmniCAR system, a breakthrough CAR T therapy platform that is believed to be a more safe and effective treatment when treating cancers.

In addition to the update, Prescient also received delivery of lentiviral vectors that will be used to produce CAR-T cells expressing SpyCatcher.

Both the binders and lentiviral vectors have been delivered to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. Testing and in vitro (using live culture) and in vivo (using a living organism) development is expected to be undertaken.

Prescient CEO and managing director Steven Yatomi-Clarke commented:

Demonstrating that novel components can be manufactured is a crucial milestone in the development of an innovative next-generation CAR platform like OmniCAR.

… Prescient’s research team at the Peter Mac has completed all the preparatory work in parallel, and the delivery of the binders and vectors now enables the team to progress the development of our in-house next-generation cell therapies.

About the Prescient share price

Established in 1986, Prescient focuses on developing novel, personalised therapies for a range of cancers. This includes cancers such as Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), as well as breast, ovarian and gastric cancers.

Despite today’s fall, the Prescient share price is up more than 185% in 2021, and has lifted 233% over the last 12 months. The company’s shares reached a multi-year high of 23 cents yesterday.

Prescient presides a market capitalisation of roughly $144 million, with approximately 640 million shares on issue.

The post Prescient (ASX:PTX) share price sinks despite positive update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Harris Technology Group Ltd (ASX: HT8) share price is charging higher this afternoon.

At the time of writing, the online consumer electronics retailer’s shares are up 9% to 12 cents.

Why is the Harris Technology share price charging higher?

Investors have been buying Harris Technology’s shares after it released a business update this afternoon.

According to the release, the company experienced a material uplift in sales during Amazon Prime Day.

Across June 21 and 22, the recent Amazon Australia Prime Day promotion saw a record-breaking two days of sales for Harris Technology on the marketplace. During the two days, the company recorded sales totalling $429,963. This was up 32% on the previous Prime Day promotion in 2020.

Underpinning this growth has been its expanding offering on Amazon and high levels of customer satisfaction. In respect to the latter, the company, which was previously owned by Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), revealed that it has received more than 4,750 individual customer reviews on Amazon Australia over the last 12 months. Pleasingly, 100% of these reviews have been positive.

Harris Technology’s CEO, Garrison Huang, said: “As Amazon has increased their footprint in Australia over the past 12 months, Harris Technology has enjoyed a fruitful partnership which has grown both our businesses. As the leading tech seller on the Amazon Australia marketplace, we have seen strong demand for IT and home office products which accelerated further through Prime Day.”

“The retail landscape has undergone an increasing preference towards online platforms, accelerated by the pandemic and very quick delivery times. Online marketplaces continue to grow as the convenient alternative to shopping centres, so we look forward to further growth alongside Amazon Australia which is emerging as one of the national destinations of choice for online shopping,” he added.

Despite today’s strong gain, the Harris Technology share price is down 40% since the start of the year.

The post Harris Technology (ASX:HT8) share price up 9% on Amazon Prime Day update 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 owns shares of and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price has risen by around 23% in the month of June 2021 to date. But could it be a buy after this strong rise?

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) business has been seeing continuing growth of its key metrics in the second half of FY21.

In the third quarter of FY21, Zip saw record group quarterly revenue of $114.4 million, which was an increase of 80% year on year. Quarterly transaction volume of $1.6 billion was up 114%.

There was record transaction numbers for the quarter of 12.4 million, up 195% year on year.

Medium-term revenue growth may be supported further by rising customer numbers and merchants on the platform. At 31 March 2021, customer numbers had grown 88% to 6.4 million and merchants rose 81% to 45,300.

The company pointed to its US division as a standout performer. US transaction volume grew 234% to $762 million, revenue rose 188% to $54.4 million and customers rose 153% year on year to 3.8 million.

But it’s not just the top line that is improving. Net bad debts reduced to 1.78% (down from 1.93%) for the Australian receivables. Management said this was a very strong result, further validating the strength of its proprietary credit decision technology and ability to manage risk.

Focus on international growth

Not only is Zip trying to trying to grow Zip US (Quadpay), but it has also recently made some acquisitions for other acquisitions.

Zip is now looking to expand its BNPL operations to Europe and the Middle East with some acquisitions.

It’s buying the rest of European-focused Twisto Payments as well as Middle East business Spotii.

Zip says that Europe is a $1.1 trillion annual e-commerce market and Twisto’s license can be passported to all 27 members of the EU. The Middle East is described as one of the world’s fastest-growing global e-commerce regions.

Management explained that these strategic transactions will enable Zip to respond to the increased demand from merchants for a single global BNPL solution across multiple markets with a consistent global service quality.

Zip also said that it’s building a playbook of successfully identifying, completing and integrating strategic acquisitions.

The BNPL company believes Twisto and Spotii are now well positioned to leverage the benefits of this competency and the synergies of a global payments business.

Zip’s CEO also said that there is a large untapped opportunity to bring BNPL to emerging markets where cash on delivery remains a significant merchant challenge, and where the digitalisation of retail accelerates.

Is the Zip share price a buy?

There are polar opposites for the ratings on Zip. UBS and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) rate the Zip share price as a sell, with a price target of $5.60 and $5.70 respectively. That’s more than 30% lower than where it is today. Those two brokers highlight rising competition and an increase in growth expenses.

However, there’s also a view like Citi’s with a price target of $10.90. Whilst there is slowing growth, Quadpay continues to be a highlight. However, it recently reduced that price target down from $11.30 because of the slowing growth prospects.

The post The Zip share price (ASX:Z1P) has risen 23% in June, is it a buy? 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. owns shares of and has recommended ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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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