• Short sellers who sledge ASX companies put on notice

    A business man holds his hand out in a stop sign, indicating a share price trading halt or company in trouble

    Short sellers who run public campaigns to pull down the price of an ASX share have been put on notice by the corporate regulator.

    In recent years there have been several instances of short sellers releasing reports about the downsides of a company, affecting the stock price.

    A classic example from January was when Viceroy Research put out a short report on Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR). The payment company’s shares plunged 12% before a trading halt was implemented.

    Companies like WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) and Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) had also felt the wrath of activist short sellers.

    The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has apparently been watching these campaigns with interest. The regulator on Tuesday released new guidelines for activist short sellers.

    ASIC commissioner Cathie Armour acknowledged that short sellers and their views can contribute to the public’s accurate understanding of an investment.

    But a line is crossed when the campaign becomes reckless.

    “When activist short sellers provide accurate and meaningful new information, they can have a positive impact on price formation and market integrity as they may counterbalance excessive market optimism,” she said.

    “However, activist short sellers can also unfairly distort the price of a target entity’s securities, which is harmful to the integrity of our markets.”

    New guidelines for activist short sellers

    ASIC’s new guidelines made the regulator’s expectations clearer about short seller reports.

    The main points are:

    • Short reports to be released outside ASX trading hours, and not just before the market opens
    • Using reliable information to assess company’s fortunes
    • Avoiding ‘overly emotive’ language
    • Fact-checking with the target company
    • Disclosure of conflicts of interest — such as the author’s short position

    Activist short sellers were warned about the cheeky practice of labelling a report “Not intended for Australian investors”.

    “A short report distributed from outside Australia that contains false and misleading statements may be in breach of the Corporations Act in spite of such a disclaimer,” the ASIC guidelines read.

    The regulator also advises targeted ASX companies to immediately place shares into a trading halt when they find out the existence of a short report. This is to avoid unwarranted damage to the stock and to allow time for the business to respond to the claims.

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  • Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN) share price falls as the retailer deletes Twitter

    Falling ASX share price represented by woman looking shocked at mobile phone

    This article discusses mental health issues and suicide. If you or someone you care about needs support, please contact Lifeline 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.

    The Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) share price is falling today. This comes after the company’s Twitter account was deleted following its response to worker protests. At the time of writing, shares in Harvey Norman are trading for $5.26 – 1.13% lower than yesterday’s closing price.

    The homewares retailer was met with protests outside many of its Australian stores on Friday. However, the worst backlash the company faced happened online.

    Following the protests, the Harvey Norman Twitter account seemingly went rogue. It posted an insensitive reply to a former worker. Additionally, the account blocked hundreds of users who criticised the company.

    As a result, the Harvey Norman Twitter account was removed from the platform roughly 4 hours ago.

    Let’s take a closer look at the drama driving the Harvey Norman and how it is affecting the share price today.

    Twitter storm

    Until recently, Harvey Norman’s Twitter account, despite apparently being unmanned, was replying to and blocking Twitter users criticising the company.

    The protests that spurred the Twitter controversy were ran by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). and called for the minimum wage paid to Harvey Norman workers to be increased.

    The protests followed Harvey Norman’s founder Gerry Harvey’s refusal to pay back $22 million in JobKeeper payments the company received during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Harvey Norman’s revenue increased by 25% over the 6 months ending 31 December 2020 when compared to the same period in 2019.

    In a quickly deleted tweet published over the weekend, the Harvey Norman Twitter account replied to a former employee. The former employee claimed that working at Harvey Norman had been detrimental to their mental health. In response, the account posted with two emojis.

    The former worker’s tweet stated: “working for [the] god forsaken company drove me to suicide in 6 months”.

    Harvey Norman’s Twitter account responded to the former worker with a face-palm emoji and also a waving hand emoji. The combination of emojis is often used to show second-hand embarrassment and disinterest.

    The reply was met with intense backlash from Twitter users. Though, many who criticised the reply were quickly blocked by Harvey Norman Australia.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    Consequently, Harvey Norman removed its Australian Twitter account from the platform around 4 hours ago.

    Share price snapshot

    Despite the recent bad press, the Harvey Norman share price has been performing well on the ASX lately.

    The Harvey Norman share price has gained 10% year to date. It’s also 56% higher than it was this time last year.

    The retailer has a market capitalisation of around $6.6 billion, with approximately 1.2 billion shares outstanding.

    This article discusses mental health issues and suicide. If you or someone you care about needs support, please contact Lifeline 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.

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  • What’s going on with the Worley (ASX:WOR) share price today?

    Natural gas plant engineers using laptop

    The Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR) share price is sliding in early afternoon trade despite announcing a new contract award.

    At the time of writing, the global engineering company’s shares are fetching for $10.49, down 0.66%.

    Lets take a closer look at what Worley updated to the ASX today.

    Details of the contract

    Investors appear unfazed by the company’s positive announcement, sending Worley shares lower.

    According to its release, Worley advised it has entered into an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by Celanese Ltd.

    Founded in 1918, Celanese is an international chemical and specialty materials company that engineers and manufactures a variety of products. This includes acetyl intermediates such as chemical, paint and coatings, construction, and adhesive industries for polymerisation.

    Furthermore, the group is also heavily invested in important sectors such as advanced engineered materials, consumer specialties, industrial specialties, and advanced fuel technology.

    Under the agreement, Worley will build Celanese a new acetic acid unit in Clear Lake, Texas, United States. Worley will provide EPC services from its new fabrication facility in Houston, also in Texas.

    In addition, Worley will deliver fabrication modules from its previous front-end engineering design (FEED) contract for the acetic acid unit.

    Once built, the new acetic acid unit is expected to provide Celanese with production flexibility, improved cost structure and increased production capability.

    Worley CEO, Chris Ashton commented:

    As a global company headquartered in Australia, this project aligns with our strategic focus on supporting our customers in the global chemicals sector. We look forward to continuing to support Celanese’s global acetic acid production strategy and continue our longstanding relationship.

    Worley share price summary

    Worley, a leading global engineering company, provides design and project delivery services, including maintenance, reliability support services, and advisory services. The business operates in the energy, chemical and resources sectors.

    Over the past 12 months, the Worley share price has lifted by more than 20%. However, the company’s year-to-date performance has sagged around 10%. Worley shares took a hit in late January after providing a business update on the impact of COVID-19.

    Worley has a market capitalisation of almost $5.4 billion at today’s prices, with just over 522 million shares outstanding.

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  • Why this quality ASX ETF is back in focus today

    falling telco asx share price represented by mobile phone displaying security breach

    The Betashares Global Cybersecurity Etf (ASX: HACK) is back in the spotlight today as yet another major cyber breach strikes the globe.

    The exchange traded fund (ETF) offers ASX ETF investors exposure to 40 of the world’s leading cybersecurity shares.

    Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) is HACK’s largest holding (6.7%), followed by Accenture Plc (NYSE: ACN) (6.3%) at number 2 and Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD) (5.8%) at number 3.

    So, what’s the latest hack we’re referring to?

    Meat lovers…you may wish to look away

    The latest hacking attack will come as particularly bad news to Aussie meat lovers, who could find themselves shelling out a good bit more for their next barbecue favourites.

    As the Daily Mail Australia (via MSN) reports:

    Australian authorities are part of an international hunt for cyber criminals who’ve shut down the nation’s largest meat and food processing company, JBS Foods. JBS facilities in other countries have also been hit in a cyber attack that could affect meat supply chains world wide.

    JBS Foods has 47 facilities across Australia, which include feedlots and abattoirs.

    Addressing the cyberattack on ABC Radio, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said, “The technology they use goes to the heart of the quality assurance of the beef they are processing.”

    While speculation is rampant, the perpetrators of the latest hack have not yet been officially identified.

    Until the issue is resolved, thousands of Australian workers in the meat industry will be stood down without pay.

    How has this ASX ETF performed?

    Despite a sharp year-on-year increase in cyberattacks, HACK has underperformed the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) over the full year. In the past 12 months, the HACK share price is up 5% compared to a 24% gain on the All Ords.

    Year-to-date, ASX ETF’s shares are down a slender 0.5%.

    Longer-term, since its inception in September 2016, HACK shares have gained 73%, more than double the 35% gains made by the All Ords in that same time.

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  • Here’s why the Legend Mining (ASX:LEG) share price is rocketing 21% today

    mining related professional happy and approving of high share price

    The Legend Mining Ltd (ASX: LEG) share price is rocketing higher today, up 21% at the time of writing.

    Below, we take a look at the latest drill results from the ASX resource explorer.

    What results did Legend Mining report?

    Legend Mining’s share price is surging after the company reported its drilling campaign had intersected more nickel-copper sulphide and mineralised intrusion at Mawson. Mawson is the company’s nickel-copper-cobalt prospect within its Rockford project in Western Australia.

    The latest results come from 9 completed diamond drill holes at the prospect. Legend Mining has 2 drill rigs on-site that are continuing double-shift diamond drilling.

    The company revealed that one hole (RKDD053) intersected a 31.2-metre sulphide zone including:

    • 1 metre of massive and semi-massive nickel-copper sulphide, and
    • 77 metres matrix nickel-copper sulphide

    It also said 3 other drill holes (RKDD046/049/051) intersected wide sulphide zones that have extended the prospective intrusion 200 metres north and west of the previous drilling site.

    Management commentary

    Commenting on the results, Legend Mining’s managing director Mark Wilson said:

    We are very pleased to announce a new zone of massive/semi massive nickel copper sulphide around holes 43 and 53. With ongoing downhole EM and further drilling we expect this zone will evolve over time.

    Equally pleasing is that our strategy of systematic step out drilling continues to expand the 3D footprint of the mineralised intrusive and open up further prospective horizons for future planned drilling.

    Downhole electromagnetic (EM) surveys are ongoing and are also reported to be identifying multiple prospective targets.

    Legend Mining share price snapshot

    The Legend Mining share price has been highly volatile over the past year. In fact, shares closed as low as 9 cents per share on 25 November and as high as 17 cents per share on 3 September. Currently, shares are trading for 14 cents.

    All up, Legend Mining shares have lost 10% over the past 12 months, compared to a 24% gain on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

    Year-to-date the Legend Mining share price is up 23%.

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  • Why a2 Milk, Fortescue, Infomedia, & Talga shares are pushing higher

    stock market gaining

    The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the month on a poor note. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.3% to 7,139.4 points.

    Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back today are listed below. Here’s why they are pushing higher:

    A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

    The A2 Milk share price is up 3% to $5.68. Investors have been buying this infant formula company’s shares after China announced that it will be changing its two-child policy. The Chinese government will now support couples who wish to have a third child in an effort to raise China’s fertility rate. This could be a boost to the infant formula industry in the lucrative market.

    Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

    The Fortescue share price has risen 2.5% to $22.95. The catalyst for this has been a strong rise in the iron ore price during overnight trade. According to Metal Bulletin, the spot iron ore price climbed 4.4% to US$198.83 a tonne following a rise in Chinese steel prices.

    Infomedia Limited (ASX: IFM)

    The Infomedia share price has jumped over 12% to $1.52. This morning the software company announced the completion of the acquisition of United States-based e-commerce platform, SimplePart. It also revealed that it expects its revenue to come in between $95 million and $96 million and EBITDA between $19 million to $20 million in FY 2021.

    Talga Group Ltd (ASX: TLG)

    The Talga share price is up over 2% to $1.62. Investors have been buying the battery materials company following the positive conclusion of its two feasibility studies into the technical and commercial prospects of a Talga Anode Refinery in the UK. According to the release, the studies found that it is technically and economically feasible to refine and produce Talga anodes in the UK.

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  • Austal (ASX:ASB) share price lower despite new contract bid

    A ship captain looking through a pair of binoculars.

    The Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) share price is sinking into negative territory during lunchtime trade. This comes after the shipbuilder announced its new bid to supply upgraded littoral manoeuvre capability for the Australian Army.

    At the time of writing, Austal shares are swapping hands for $2.23 apiece, down 1.33%.

    Austal enters tender process

    Investors are dragging the Austal share price lower despite the company announcing its new contract opportunity.

    In a statement to the ASX, Austal advised it will submit a proposal to design, build and service the Australian Army’s next generation of littoral — or shoreline — capability.

    The Department of Defence’s LAND 8710 (Phase 1) project is seeking to develop a new amphibious vehicle and independent landing craft. They’re scheduled to replace the Army’s lighter amphibious cargo vehicle and current landing craft mechanised (LCM-8) vessels.

    The Australian-built amphibious vehicles and landing craft will aim to provide improved speed and protection in transporting land forces.

    In February this year, the federal government announced plans to invest $800 million into the project. The new vehicles and vessels are expected to be integrated into the Army from 2026.

    Austal CEO Paddy Gregg reinforced the company’s capability, saying:

    Austal is Australia’s proven defence prime contractor that has designed, constructed and sustained multiple naval shipbuilding programs for Australia, and export markets around the world, for more than 20 years.

    Drawing upon this local strength in defence capability, including Australia’s largest team of naval architects, Austal is confident of offering an exceptional new littoral manoeuvre capability for the Australian Army that may be relied upon throughout its working life.

    The company has vessel manufacturing and service facilities across Western Australia, Queensland, and the Northern Territory. As Australia’s premier shipbuilder, Austal supplies some of the world’s most advanced defence vessels.

    Currently, the company is partnering with more than 1,200 businesses across the country to deliver projects such as replacing the guardian-class patrol boats used as part of Australia’s maritime security program in the South Pacific.

    About the Austal share price

    It’s been a difficult 12 months for the company’s shareholders, watching their holdings fall in value by almost 40%. Although the Austal share price has failed to launch recently, for the company, it’s business as usual.

    Austal has been busy completing its guardian-class patrol boats contract, with 12 vessels now delivered. A total of 9 patrol boats remains to be fulfilled, with 6 currently under construction.

    Austal has a market capitalisation of roughly $803 million, ranking it 332 out of the 2,255 companies on the ASX.

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  • How did the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price fare in May?

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    Moons, Junes and Ferris wheels… Winter has finally come to the ASX, as the Starks always warned us it would. At the start of a new season, it’s always a good time to look back and reflect on the month that was. Today, let’s check out the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price and see how the ASX’s largest telco fared in the month of May.

    So Telstra shares started May at a price of $3.39 each. Yesterday, the final day of the month, saw Telstra close at $3.52 a share. That puts the telco at a gain of 3.83% for the month of May. Not a bad result in the scheme of things. Especially considering Telstra outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rather handily. The ASX 200 managed a still-robust 1.9% gain for May, which incidentally resulted in the flagship ASX index making not one, but two new all-time highs over the month. Even so, this means that Telstra almost doubled the gains of the broader market.

    It’s worth noting though that Telstra shares have not had a great start to June today though. At the time of writing, the Telstra share price has given up 0.99% this morning and is now going for $3.48.

    But we’re here to talk about May. So why did Telstra shares have such a good month?

    Telstra share price gets a May boost

    Well, it’s not because there was any positive news, or any news at all, out of the ASX telco last month. It was a quiet May for Telstra on that front. In fact, the last piece of official news out of Telstra came back on 23 April. That was when Telstra announced that it had purchased 1,000 MHz of 26 GHz spectrum rights for $277 million. This is arguably good news for Telstra’s 5G ambitions, but not really enough to move the company’s share price around over May, one would think.

    Instead, we can probably put the month’s positive moves down to some love the telco received from brokers over the month. According to CommSec, investment bank Goldman Sachs reiterated its ‘buy’ rating and $4 per share 12-month share price target for Telstra on 27 May. Goldman reckons the telco’s restructuring plans will unlock value in Telstra shares going forward. That implies a potential pricing upside of almost 15%.

    It’s not just Goldman that’s bullish on Telstra either. As my Fool colleague James Mickleboro covered yesterday, broker Morgan Stanley has also given Telstra shares a $4 pricing target.

    At the current share price, Telstra has a market capitalisation of $41.45 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 23.4 and a trailing dividend yield of 4.58%.

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  • High-flying Goodman (ASX:GMG) share price not expensive after all: UBS

    Goodman share price buy

    Fears that the outperforming Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) share price is overvalued should be put to rest, according to a leading broker.

    UBS uncovered a few surprising trends in the warehouse sector that bode well for the ASX property stock and it upgraded its price target on the Goodman share price by over 13%.

    Goodman is regarded as a darling of the property sector as demand for warehouse space surged during the COVID-19 lockdown.

    COVID winner with more upside

    The Goodman share price surged by around 70% since the market bottomed in March last year when the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) added around 50%.

    The tectonic shift to online shopping was a big tailwind for Goodman . If you were worried that Goodman would be adversely affected by the recent downgrades issued by the likes of the Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price, think again.

    The latest Global Warehouse Occupier Survey by UBS found that it was non-ecommerce tenants that is driving demand for warehouses.

    This is apparently due to the global supply chain disruption, which is epitomised by the worldwide shortage of semiconductor chips.

    Companies are stocking up on inventory to cushion against any supply shortfall in raw materials.

    This isn’t the only notable findings by UBS. The broker found that demand for warehouse space is set to increase by 7% in the next one to two years. That’s a little slower than the average 9% over the previous three surveys, but it’s still a decent increase by any measure.

    Why the Goodman share price is still a buy in UBS’ books

    “Utilisation of warehouses space (y/y) continues to increase (+6% in 2021, vs +2% in 2020 survey,” said UBS.

    “And increasing trends to be in key locations closer to end customers and willing to pay a premium rent to do so.”

    These global trends bode particularly well for the Goodman share price and UBS reiterated its “buy” recommendation on its shares.

    Upgrade to price target

    “GMG remains a major beneficiary as warehouse tenants space requirements grow with an increased focused on new builds and optimal locations near consumers,” said UBS.

    “Their current $9.6b development WIP caters for this and we see upside to development earnings/margins that are not yet reflected in medium-term earnings.”

    In other words, this ASX property group could be cum-consensus upgrade!

    UBS lifted its price target on Goodman to $21.20 from $18.70 a share.

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  • Wisr (ASX:WZR) share price in focus amid $50 million capital raising

    Group of investors madly grabbing for cash on city street.

    As reported yesterday, the Wisr Ltd (ASX: WZR) share price has gone nowhere this week. This comes after the company’s shares were placed in a trading halt before market open on Monday pending a further announcement regarding a capital raising.

    The company has today provided details of the capital raise, with Wisr shares set to resume trading on Wednesday, or after such time the capital raising is completed.

    Wisr share price on watch

    Wisr shares will be on watch when they resume trading tomorrow after the company advised it’s looking to raise $50 million at 25 cents per share. This represents a 21.9% discount to its last closing price of 32 cents on Friday. The approximately 200 million new shares issued under the placement will represent 18.2% of the company’s existing shares on issue.

    A share purchase plan (SPP) will also follow the placement, with eligible shareholders entitled to subscribe to up to $30,000 worth of Wisr shares. The SPP aims to raise approximately $5 million, with the possibility of applications being scaled back at the company’s discretion.

    Trading update

    Alongside the details of its capital raising, today Wisr also provided an update on its performance in the first two months of 4Q21. The company advised it’s well on track to deliver 20 consecutive quarters of growth, with a loan volume of $77.1 million for the two months ending 31 May 2021. This figure represents a 234% increase compared to the $23.1 million in the prior corresponding period.

    Wisr chief executive officer Mr Anthony Nantes commented on the growing momentum behind the company. He said:

    It’s fantastic to see the continuation of our loan origination momentum. Our growth to date has us in prime position to aggressively grow market-share, as we scale towards our medium-term target of a $1B loan book. We’re delivering a clear competitive advantage through a superior alternative model that actually improves financial wellness, going far beyond the traditional lending experience to attract Australia’s most creditworthy customers.

    Inaugural term deal with AAA-rated top tranche

    In further news released today, Wisr advised that its inaugural $225 million asset-backed securities (ABS) transaction, the Wisr Freedom Trust 2021-1, had settled, resulting in a material reduction in its cost of funds.

    The Wisr share price previously jumped 7% on 20 May after the company announced a AAA rating for its ABS transaction. The announcement highlighted that global bond credit rating agency Moody’s had rated its top tranche as AAA, signalling the company has a low credit risk and is well-positioned to repay its debt.

    Now that the transaction has settled, today’s announcement advised Wisr has an improved capital efficiency with required equity contribution falling to 3.2% from 5.0%.

    Mr Nantes also commented on the ABS transaction milestone, saying:

    It’s a phenomenal achievement to receive a AAA rated top tranche from Moody’s on an inaugural transaction. It’s a significant external validation of the quality of the Wisr business operations, underwriting performance capability and the mature stage the business has reached. The oversubscribed demand achieved across all tranches is a clear indication that investors want high quality assets originated by high quality companies, and Wisr has delivered that.

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