• Why GrainCorp (ASX:GNC) has surged 19% in the last 3 months

    asx rural real estate shares represented by green up trending arrow sitting in a field of green crops

    GrainCorp Limited (ASX: GNC) is one ASX-listed agriculture share that has been in the firing line of China’s 80% import tariff on Australian barley.

    As Motley Fool has previously reported, the tariffs were imposed after China claimed that Australia used the illegal practice of dumping. A claim vigorously denied by Australia.

    Despite the loss of a major part of its market, the GrainCorp share price has enjoyed a bit of a renaissance of late, rising 19% in the last 3 months. We explore the possible reasons. 

    GrainCorp succeeds in finding markets outside China 

    In May, GrainCorp reported revenue of $2,63.5 million for the  half-year ending 31 March, delivering a 30.8% increase on the prior corresponding period. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from continuing operations grew to $140 million. 

    For several years, GrainCorp has made it a priority to focus on other markets, not just as a response to the barley tariffs but because it equated to good business.

    In an interview with the Australian Financial Review, GrainCorp managing director Robert Spurway said: 

    What we have seen is that Australian grain remains competitively priced in most destination markets and that has created opportunities and, as a result of the tariffs, as you always do with tariffs when they are applied, a bit of disruption and dislocation to global trade but the underlying demand remains there.

    Crop forecast to hit peak in June

    A report out of Bell and Porter last month pointed to the June Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics crop report. It highlighted an east coast winter crop forecast of 22.1 megatonnes (mt), the highest June forecast ever and above last year’s previous high of 21.5mt. 

    Further, Bell and Porter added that the “current soil moisture profiles, the three-month rainfall outlook and grain futures pricing, all look supportive of another above-average crop size and trading margin outcome for GNC”. 

    Despite the positive forecast, Bell and Porter downgraded the GrainCorp share price from buy to hold, Analysts cited the main reason for the downgrade being the high likelihood that a seasonal peak in earnings was close to being reached.

    Meanwhile, GrainCorp’s earnings guidance upgrade reflected strong margins due to high global demand for Australian grain and oilseeds. The turnaround demonstrates that exporters can succeed in finding markets outside China.

    The GrainCorp share price is trading at $5.19 up 0.48%, at the time of writing.

    The post Why GrainCorp (ASX:GNC) has surged 19% in the last 3 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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    Motley Fool contributor Frank Tzimas 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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  • US on brink of passing massive anti-China law

    information about US and China trade war

    The United States government is reportedly on track to pass a massive suite of legislation aiming to crack down on China and to promote US technological dominance in the 21st century.

    US politics has long been characterised by bitter partisanship. It’s very rare these days to see a law passed that has the support of both President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party and former President Donald Trump’s Republican Party. This was epitomised by the passage of the massive US$1.9 trillion COVID relief package back in March. This package, which included direct stimulus cheques, managed to pass through Congress despite zero Republican support.

    US-China competition heating up

    But today, it looks as though American politicians have put down their partisan tendencies. Even if temporarily. According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) today, the US Senate has just passed a substantial US$250 billion suite of legislation targeting China. It aims to propel American economic and technological dominance in the face of strong Chinese competition. This bill is titled the US Innovation and Competition Act.

    The Democratic Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, said this on the floor of the US Senate on the bill:

    The bill will go down as one of the most important things this chamber has done in a very long time, a statement of faith in America’s ability to seize the opportunities of the 21st century… Whoever wins the race to the technologies of the future is going to be the global economic leader. With profound consequences for foreign policy and national security as well.

    Importantly, the bill passed the Senate with bipartisan support in a 68-32 vote. It now heads to the House of Representatives for final approval. This is expected to be granted with minimal modification. The bill earmarks US$50 billion over 5 years to support domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips. This is an industry that America views as critical to 21st-century dominance.

    Another US$81.5 billion will be allocated to research and development. This will target the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology as well as 5G and 6G wireless technology. Additionally, it also reportedly instructs the US Secretary of State to list Chinese state-owned companies that have engaged in intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers.

    What does this mean for ASX shares?

    Australia and China have been locked in a deteriorating diplomatic relationship over the past year. This has resulted in a number of economic consequences for Australian business. These include import restrictions on many Australian goods entering China. This has curtailed export access for many ASX companies. Some of the ASX shares that have felt the pain of these restrictions include Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB), Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) and Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE).

    Since Australia is a close ally of the United States, it’s possible that these companies may not be too happy with this news today. It’s unlikely to lessen international tensions, to say the least. We’ll have to wait and see if this bill, upon its likely passage, results in any changes to economic relations between the US, China and Australia over the next year and beyond. But it certainly gives us an insight into where things may be going.

    The post US on brink of passing massive anti-China law 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 owns shares of and has recommended Blackmores Limited and Treasury Wine Estates Limited. 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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  • How Aussies raked in $260 million in Bitcoin profits in 2020

    person dancing in bitcoin spectacles wearing a gold outfit with hands up

    You wouldn’t know it by looking at the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price charts from the past month. A month that has seen the world’s largest digital token by market cap plunge 44% in value.

    But dig back a little further and you’ll gather just how potentially profitable Bitcoin was for crypto investors in 2020.

    Profitable enough, in fact, to see Aussies book US$200 million (AU$260 million) in profits in the calendar year.

    That’s according to data from United States-based research firm Chainalysis, which provided estimates of realised Bitcoin gains in 2020 for nations across the globe.

    United States tops the list

    Australians’ US$200 million in Bitcoin profits last year put the country at number 19 in realised gains.

    Coming in at number 1, with US$4.1 billion in Bitcoin profits, is the US.

    According to Chainalysis:

    “[I]nvestors in nearly all countries saw the biggest increases toward the end of the year. That’s when US investors really broke away from the pack with most of their gains coming from activity on Coinbase.”

    The last 3 months of 2020 really saw the Bitcoin price go hyperbolic, rocketing from US$10,740 on 1 October to US$28,769 by 31 December.

    Rounding out the top 5 gainers, China came in at number 2 with US$1.1 billion; Japan came in at number 3 with US$900 million; the United Kingdom was number 4 at US$800 million; and Russia ranked 5th at US$600 million. (Russia was virtually neck and neck with Germany and France, who ranked 6th and 7th respectively.)

    Chainalysis also noted some interesting discrepancies between a number of nations’ economic clout and the amount their citizens invested in Bitcoin.

    The Czech Republic, for example, ranks 54th in terms of its gross domestic product (GDP). But the country is 17th in realised Bitcoin investment gains at US$281 million. That’s 2 rungs up the ladder from Australia.

    On the flip side, and only 1 rung up the ladder from Australia, is India. While India is the world’s 2nd most populous nation and has the 5th highest GDP, it comes in 18th in Bitcoin investment gains at US$241 million.

    “This may be a result of the Indian government’s historical unfriendliness to cryptocurrency,” Chainalysis says.

    Bitcoin price movement since January 2020

    As mentioned up top, the past month has been largely downhill for the Bitcoin price.

    On 9 May, it was trading for US$58,788 (AU$76,348). Less than a month earlier it had reached all-time highs of US$64,829 in mid-April, according to data from CoinDesk.

    One Bitcoin is currently worth US$33,037. While that’s well down from its April highs, it’s still up 12% so far in 2021.

    What will the rest of the year deliver for the Bitcoin price?

    Ask me around Christmas time!

    The post How Aussies raked in $260 million in Bitcoin profits in 2020 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. Bernd Struben 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 Superloop (ASX:SLC) share price seesaws on successful capital raise

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    Shares in Superloop Ltd (ASX: SLC) are up and down today after the company announced it has completed the first step of its entitlement offer.

    While the Superloop share price spent most of the morning in the green, peaking 3.8% higher at $1.08, it dipped to $1.02 before midday then regained some ground in early afternoon trade. At the time of writing, the Superloop share price is $1.05 – 0.96% up from yesterday’s closing price.

    The institutional entitlement offer announced yesterday is the first step of the telecommunications and infrastructure company’s $100 million capital raise.

    Let’s take a closer look at today’s news from Superloop.

    Successful start to the capital raise

    Superloop’s institutional entitlement offer, open to sophisticated and institutional investors, has seen it raise $79 million.  

    The institutional entitlement offer involved 85 million Superloop shares sold for 93 cents apiece. That represents a 10.6% discount on the Superloop share price as of 4 June’s close.

    Both new and existing investors from Australia and overseas supported Superloop’s institutional entitlement offer.

    A retail entitlement offer – expected to raise around $21 million ­– will open next week.

    The retail entitlement offer will see eligible Superloop shareholders able to purchase one new Superloop share for every 6.67 shares they hold as of 7pm tomorrow. Each share will cost existing investors 93 cents.

    New acquisition

    Superloop will use the cash raised to buy Australia’s largest independent internet service provider, Exetel.

    On top of the $100 million in cash, Superloop will pay $10 million worth of Superloop shares to purchase Exetel.

    The acquisition will boost Superloop’s customer base by 110,000 – leaving it with 155,000 customers.

    Additionally, it will see the companies save a combined $5 million annually.

    Once the companies are combined, Superloop’s 2021 financial year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) are expected to be 89% higher than last financial year.

    Superloop share price snapshot

    Superloop investors need all the good news they can get. Currently, the Superloop share price is down 0.94% from the start of the year, and 3.67% from this time last year.

    The telecommunications company has a market capitalisation of around $384 million, with approximately 365 million shares outstanding.

    The post The Superloop (ASX:SLC) share price seesaws on successful capital raise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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  • 3 growing ASX tech shares for growth investors

    If you’re wanting to add some exposure to the tech sector then you might want to take a look at the shares listed below.

    They have been growing at a strong rate in recent years and could have very bright futures ahead of them. Here’s what you need to know about these three ASX tech shares:

    Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

    The first ASX tech to look at is Afterpay. It is of course the buy now pay later (BNPL) focused payments company which helped popularise the payment method, becoming a verb in the process.

    Afterpay has been growing at a rapid rate in recent years thanks to the increasing popularity of BNPL with consumers and merchants and its global expansion. In respect to the latter, Afterpay has recently launched in Canada and mainland Europe, and is now looking closely at the Asia market. Combined with its $5 trillion opportunity in the United States, it has a huge runway for growth over the 2020s.

    Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

    Another option in the tech sector to look at is Altium. It is an electronic design software provider best-known for its Altium Designer and Altium 365 platforms. These platforms are dominating the electronic design market and look set to drive strong growth for Altium over the next decade.

    This is especially the case given the increasing demand for this kind of software because of the growing Internet of Things and artificial intelligence markets. These are underpinning an explosion in electronic devices of all shapes and sizes.

    Pushpay Holdings Group Ltd (ASX: PPH)

    A final ASX tech share to look at is Pushpay. It is a donor management and community engagement platform provider for the faith sector.

    Thanks to the shift to a cashless society and the digitisation of the church, Pushpay’s industry-leading platform continues to grow in popularity. This has led to it delivering stellar sales growth over the last few years. And thanks to operating leverage, its earnings have been growing at an even quicker rate.

    The post 3 growing ASX tech shares for growth investors appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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    James Mickleboro does not own any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Altium, and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Altium, and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. 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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  • Wendy’s is suddenly a meme stock

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

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

    Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ: WEN) were rocketing 18% higher on Tuesday after the WallStreetBets subreddit crowd apparently turned its attention to the fast-food chain and mentioned it as a possible short squeeze candidate.

    Chat room traders this year have driven up the shares of a number of companies that short-sellers have bet heavily against. While squeezes are not uncommon, retail investors have driven the discussion since January when they rallied together to support GameStop (NYSE: GME) and lash out at hedge funds that overplayed their hands.

    Wendy’s, though, is an unlikely stock to serve as a rallying point for Reddit investors, as there were just 8.2 million shares sold short at last count, down almost 18% from the prior period and amounting to just 4% of the shares outstanding.

    With days to cover standing at around 2.5, it doesn’t seem like a strong candidate to carry the banner next.

    Wendy’s stock is actually up 43% from the 52-week low it hit in March, and last month beat analyst expectations for first-quarter results, posting revenue of $460 million and generating adjusted profits of $0.20 per share.

    That was notably better than the $444 million in revenue and $0.14 per share in earnings Wall Street anticipated.

    While the meme stocks of the trading frenzy that started 2021 continue to capture the Reddit crowd’s fancy, such as AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE: AMC), which has doubled in the past week alone, there have been a few other stocks that were curious choices, such as Tootsie Roll Industries (NYSE: TR), whose stock spiked over 100% in January and still trades 15% above where it started the year.

    Wendy’s has several tailwinds, including a returning workforce and a bullish outlook by management that raised full-year guidance.

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

    The post Wendy’s is suddenly a meme stock appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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    Rich Duprey 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 ECS Botanics (ASX:ECS) share price is smoking the ASX today

    green arrow representing a rise in the share price

    The ECS Botanics Holdings Ltd (ASX: ECS) share price is surging higher following an update on the company’s performance for 2021.

    At the time of writing, the agribusiness and hemp food company’s shares are up 7.32% to 4.4 cents. It’s worth noting that during morning trade, ECS shares rose to an intraday high of 4.8 cents before profit-takers swopped in.

    What did ECS announce?

    In today’s statement, ECS advised it is achieving strong sales growth from its first commercial harvest at its Victorian facility. The robust result is being driven by new customer contracts along with increased demand for its medicinal cannabis products. Current quarter sales have reached more than $0.5 million, with orders received from both domestic and international customers.

    As a result, the company is forecasting to hit $2 million in sales by the end of the calendar year of 2021. This marks a significant jump on the $0.58 million recorded for the first-half of FY21.

    In order to cater for the surging demand, ECS is currently expanding its premium dried flower cultivation capacity. Construction of 2,000 square meters of protective cropping enclosures will add to the company’s existing 1,000 square meter facility. The additional room allows ECS to cultivate specific strains of the medicinal cannabis premium dried flower for its customers.

    Furthermore, the company is also extending its Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) licence to include packing dried flower products.

    ECS managing director, Alex Keach commented:

    The sales performance from our Victorian facility is very encouraging and demonstrates the growing appeal for Australian grown products. Based on the orders received and the increased enquiries from local and European customers, we are increasing our premium dried flower cultivation capacity threefold. There is significant momentum in the business and several developments are imminent.

    ECS share price summary

    The ECS shares rocketed higher in the last 6 months, before coming back to early December levels. This wild share price rise was attributed to the company’s takeover announcement of Murray Meds.

    Looking at a longer timeframe, ECS shares have soared by more than 50% in the last 12 months.

    The post Why the ECS Botanics (ASX:ECS) share price is smoking the ASX today 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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  • Here’s what’s driving the BPH Energy (ASX:BPH) share price today

    off shore drilling operation at sunset

    Shares in BPH Energy Ltd (ASX: BPH) are gaining today, following news the company is tendering for drilling services at the Baleen Prospect. At the time of writing, the BPH share price is $0.9 ­– 2.27% higher than yesterday’s closing.

    Located off the coast of Newcastle, the Baleen Prospect is a joint venture between BPH’s investee company, Advent Energy Ltd, and Bounty Oil & Gas NL (ASX: BUY). The majority of the license to explore the Baleen Prospect is held by Advent at 85%, while 15% is held by Bounty. 

    Let’s take a closer look at today’s news from BPH.

    Baleen tender

    According to today’s announcement, the Baleen-1 well is to be drilled in 125 metres of water – taking around 40 days to reach its total depth.

    A tender for the supply of drilling services has been sent to multiple companies with drilling equipment in the area.

    The drilling is the first physical step of the prospect’s exploration, and is being conducted with two objectives. First, for an expected gas target. Last month, a review of a Geoscience Australia research report found the companies have a high likelihood of striking gas at the Baleen Prospect.

    The second objective is for carbon capture storage (CCS). If the well is found suitable for CCS it could offer the potential for carbon sequestration near the Sydney and Newcastle areas ­– where approximately one third of Australia’s carbon emissions are created.

    BPH recognises that CCS has the potential to address climate change by lessening the impacts of carbon emissions.

    BPH share price snapshot

    The BPH share price has been performing well on the ASX lately, with today’s news bringing its latest boost.

    Currently, the BPH share price is 109.3% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It has also gained 1,197.13% since this time last year.

    The company has a market capitalisation of around $59 million, with approximately 664 million shares outstanding.

    The post Here’s what’s driving the BPH Energy (ASX:BPH) share price today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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  • This tumbling ASX fintech should be 3 times current price: analyst

    A young man pointing up looking amazed, indicating a surging share price movement for an ASX company

    One ASX financial stock has been savaged in the past month but that just doesn’t match up with its fundamentals.

    That’s according to Cyan Investment Management portfolio manager Dean Fergie, who’s frustrated by the market’s treatment of RAIZ Invest Ltd (ASX: RZI).

    Over the month of May, the micro-investment app’s shares sank 13%, from $1.53 to $1.33.

    “We have been somewhat perplexed by the weakness in consumer investment platform Raiz’s share price in recent months,” Fergie said in a memo to clients. 

    “Raiz’s performance is at odds with a strong underlying market and the company’s continued growth in both FUM and customer numbers.”

    He could only attribute the negative sentiment to “some indigestion and associated selling” from a $10 million share placement in late April.

    US version of Raiz worth $2.8 billion

    Raiz allows users to round-up everyday purchases and put those cents into investments such as shares.

    It was originally the Australian version of US company Acorns. The local version rebranded and became independent of its American parent in 2018.

    Acorns in the US announced recently that it would list on the NASDAQ via a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a deal that values the business at about US$2.2 billion ($2.8 billion).

    To Fergie, that backed up his bullishness on Raiz.

    “On similar valuation metrics such as customer numbers and FUM [funds under management], would value Raiz at somewhere around AUD$4 per share or 3 times its current pricing.”

    Rest of market starting to wake up

    It seems other investors have woken up to what Fergie is indicating.

    Raiz shares rocketed 7.14% on Wednesday morning to trade at $1.50. That’s almost a 13% pick up in the first few days of June.

    This week the company revealed funds under management have reached $750 million. According to Raiz, this keeps it on track to achieve its previously stated goal of $1 billion by the end of this year.

    According to The Motley Fool’s Brooke Cooper, Raiz now has 76.2% more funds under management than 12 months ago.

    The post This tumbling ASX fintech should be 3 times current price: analyst appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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  • Here’s why the Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) share price is on fire this week

    A graph ablaze with fire going up, indicating a fired up and surged share price

    The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is on fire today. Whitehaven shares are currently up 13.82% at the time of writing to $1.94 a share after closing at $1.84 yesterday and opening at $1.88 this morning. Since Monday morning, Whitehaven shares are now up around 10.7%. They are also up a hefty 53.5% over the past month.

    So what’s going so right for Whitehaven?

    Haven for coal

    Well, there’s one substantial catalyst for this recent run that we can point to – coal prices. Coal is currently fetching close to US$120 a tonne, its highest price in many years, and very close to its all-time high. Coal has risen substantially over the past year or so, and even in the past month. This is likely to be contributing to Whitehaven’s strong run over the past few weeks and months.

    As the Fool covered this week, we can thank strong demand from China and some scattered supply squeezes combining to push coal to its current heights. That’s despite China refusing to accept Australian coal at the current time due to the trade animosity and diplomatic disputes that have been afflicting the two countries’ bilateral relationship over the past year or so.

    But this refusal of the Chinese government to accept Australian coal is only helping to distort supply chains and push coal prices higher.

    Another factor that may be contributing to investors bullishness over Whitehaven could be its directors – namely one director in George Raymond Zage III. Mr Zage has recently been on a buying spree when it comes to Whitehaven shares. According to ASX notices, Mr Zage picked up just over 883,000 Whitehaven shares back in May, and another 350,000 earlier this month. He now holds roughly 10 million Whitehaven shares (worth close to $20 million on today’s pricing).

    That’s arguably a pretty strong case of a director ‘putting their money where their mouth is’ when it comes to their company, and this would have likely piqued at least some investor interest. ASX investors typically love to see a company’s management team buy more shares (and hate the opposite situation), and so these actions are also a likely contributing factor to Whitehaven’s recent share price strength.

    About the Whitehaven Coal share price

    At the current Whitehaven Coal share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $2 billion. Even though Whitehaven has enjoyed some substantial gains in recent weeks, the company remains down around 67% from its all-time high above $7 a share that we saw back in 2011. Even so, Whitehaven is still up around 130% from its 52-week low of 85 cents.

    The post Here’s why the Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) share price is on fire this week 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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