Minotaur Exploration Ltd (ASX: MEP) shares are having a bumper day on the ASX on Thursday. At the time of writing, the Minotaur share price is rocketing 21.74% to 14 cents.

Let’s take a look at why the diversified exploration company’s shares are surging.

What’s driving the Minotaur share price?

Minotaur Exploration is a contributing partner to the Great White Kaolin Joint Venture (GWJV) with a 25% stake in the project. Adromeda Metals Ltd (ASX: ADN) is the manager of GWJV and owns the remaining 75%.

The Minotaur share price is surging after the company announced that the GWJV had secured a binding supply and purchase agreement.

According to the release, the GWJV will provide Great White PRM coatings and polymer product at a sale price significantly higher than what was assumed in its pre-feasibility study back in 2020.

As the manager of the GWJV, Adromeda’s ASX announcement provided additional details regarding the offtake partner and contract details. The Adromeda share price is also rallying by more than 20% today.

What’s next for the GWJV?

The Great White project is rich with halloysite. This is used as a porcelain ceramic additive and potentially within a range of new technology applications.

Andromeda Metals previously announced a $4 million research partnership with the University of Newcastle’s Global Innovative Centre for Advanced Nanomaterials (GICAN) to research carbon dioxide capture through the use of halloysite nanotubes.

However, as of now, halloysite’s main applications are in ceramics, where it adds more whiteness, transparency and strength to porcelain.

Andromeda Metals is currently progressing a definitive feasibility study (DFS) to assess the economic viability of the project. The DFS report is expected to be release in July 2021.

Minotaur Exploration share price snapshot

Minotaur Exploration has a market capitalisation of just $57 million. As a microcap with a portfolio of early-stage exploration projects, its share price can be very volatile depending on the exploration outcomes of its prospects.

2020 was a solid year for the Minotaur share price, which rallied from 5 cents to 17 cents for a gain of around 240%. Despite struggling in recent months, and slipping to an 8-month low of 10.5 cents in mid-May, today’s news has put Minotaur shares back within reach of their 52-week high of 24 cents.

The post Why the Minotaur Exploration (ASX:MEP) share price is up 22% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Andromeda Metals (ASX:ADN) share price is surging 20% today
• The Andromeda (ASX:ADN) share price is soaring 7% today. Here’s why

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price hasn’t moved much over the last month. But is it an opportunity today?

NAB’s shares have dropped 1.7% over the last month. However, it has gone up 13% over the last six months to the current price of $26.63.

It has come a long way from the approximate low of around $15 of the bottom of the COVID-19 crash.

How has NAB been tracking recently?

The latest insight that investors have seen into the performance of the business was the half-year result that was released a month ago.

It generated $3.21 billion of statutory net profit. NAB generated $3.34 billion of cash earnings, which was an increase of 94.8% compared to the first half of FY20. There was an increase of cash earnings of 35.1% compared to the first half of FY20, excluding large notable items.

NAB’s balance sheet continues to improve. Its group common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 12.37% was up 90 basis points from September 2020. The pro forma CET1 ratio was 12.75%, reflecting the estimated impacts from the agreed sale of MLC Wealth and BNZ Life, less the acquisition of 86 400.

The personal banking division saw 14.1% growth of cash earnings to $859 million, benefiting from reduced credit impairment charges, home loan repricing and lower funding costs.

Corporate and institutional banking saw a 15.7% increase in profit to $782 million. Earnings increased with improved outcomes across most key drivers.

The New Zealand banking division saw a 9.65% increase of cash earnings to NZ$616 million. It saw higher earnings with revenue increasing due to growth in lending and improved margins, combined with reduced credit impairment charges.

However, the business and private segment suffered a 10.3% drop in cash earnings to $1.22 billion. This reflected lower revenue mostly due to the low interest rate environment, and higher operating expenses.

NAB remains cautious about the outlook. It said at the time of the result release, that the economic outlook had improved, but the sustainability of the recovery remains uncertain at this stage and customer impacts are uneven. To reflect that, the collective provision remains “prudent” at 1.50% of credit risk weighted assets.

AUSTRAC problems

A few days ago, NAB announced that it had been informed by AUSTRAC that it has identified serious concerns with NAB’s compliance with the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) laws.

AUSTRAC advised in a letter at the start of June 2021, that it is AUSTRAC’s view that there is “potential serious and ongoing non-compliance” with customer identification procedures, ongoing customer due diligence and compliance.

However, in the letter, AUSTRAC stated that it has not yet made a decision about whether or not enforcement action would be taken. AUSTRAC also said, at this stage, it is not considering civil penalty proceedings and that this decision is “reflective of the work undertaken” by NAB to date.

Is the NAB share price an opportunity right now?

Most brokers think that NAB shares are now a hold, such as Morgans. It has a price target on NAB of $27.50. The broker thinks the looming AUSTRAC investigation will impact the NAB share price.

The broker Citi has a price target on NAB of $26.20, it has also highlighted the AUSTRAC investigation, though it doesn’t think it will lead to any actual penalties.

According to Citi, NAB shares are valued at around 14x FY21’s estimated earnings.

The post Is the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price an opportunity today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why ‘value’ and ‘growth’ share categories are meaningless
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares rated as buys

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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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It looks like National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) is tipping its hat to the old saying: “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” In reports circulating yesterday, NAB has made an eyebrow-raising new hire amid its investigation by financial watchdog AUSTRAC.

The Australian Financial Review reported that NAB has employed former AUSTRAC CEO Paul Jevtovic to spearhead compliance within the bank.

Bringing in the big guns

Between beefing up its secretive internal Project Apollo and making strategic hires, NAB looks to be upping the ante amid AUSTRAC’s formal investigations into the bank’s possible breaches of Australia’s anti-money laundering laws.

Reportedly, in September, Jevtovic will jump headfirst into compliance as NAB’s Executive Money Laundering and Reporting Officer.

Jevtovic served as CEO at AUSTRAC for two and a half years before finishing in April 2017. Since then, he’s been working for HSBC – originally as head of financial crime threat mitigation, before shifting to regional money laundering officer and head of financial crime.

While the timing is uncanny, ASX-listed NAB had reportedly been working on hiring Jevtovic for months.

Addressing NAB’s elephant in the accounts

No doubt NAB will be looking to tap the former AUSTRAC CEO’s knowledge of financial crime mitigation. It’s an area Australia’s second-largest bank has been grappling with over the years.

Sources have claimed NAB is working with technology more than 20 years old. It’s further alleged analysts are sorting through bank statements manually to determine suspicious activity.

Although AUSTRAC is not considering civil proceedings against the bank at this stage, the “serious concerns” of potential breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing legislation still linger.

In the official letter to NAB, AUSTRAC said:

In particular, the seriousness of self-disclosed matters presented to AUSTRAC over a prolonged period combined with the accompanying closure rates is concerning.

NAB shares underperform big four peers

Shareholders will be disappointed to know NAB shares have underperformed against other members of the big four banks. While the banking sector has enjoyed a strong rebound over the past year, the NAB share price has been the laggard of the bunch.

National Australia Bank shares have climbed by around 32% in the past year. Meanwhile, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has rallied by nearly 42%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) has surged 38%, and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) has climbed by 35%.

The post NAB (ASX:NAB) hires former AUSTRAC CEO while under investigation appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s what I think of Coles, PointsBet, NAB, AMP: analyst
• NAB (ASX:NAB) trying to combat crime loopholes with ‘Project Apollo’
• Why ‘value’ and ‘growth’ share categories are meaningless
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares rated as buys
• S&P Global gives ASX bank shares the thumbs up

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia. 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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Pentanet Ltd (ASX: 5GG) is breaking new ground for Australia’s virtual gaming enthusiasts.

The recently listed ASX telco delivers high-speed internet with next-generation internet speeds.

Below, we take a look at the company’s latest update.

What did Pentanet report?

In an update this morning Pentanet announced it is commencing its Beta Program for GeForce NOW.

GeForce NOW is a cloud-based game streaming service offered by US-based tech giant, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)

Pentanet said its CloudGG portal’s scheduled launch of 7 pm AWST on 9 June marked the formal commencement of the first part of a three-stage rollout. The company expects to launch the service nationally in October.

According to the release, GeForce NOW Powered by Pentanet “will provide Australian subscribers with a high-quality cloud gaming service to almost any device”. The service will enable users to instantly play any game across devices. The company said that previously only high-end gaming PCs were able to deliver a similar gaming experience.

Commenting on the first part of the rollout, Pentanet founder and managing director Stephen Cornish said:

A staged and scalable approach, which adds new testers and new users over time, will enable Pentanet to build a GeForce NOW service that will attract a wide variety of gaming customers through a positive user experience.

Pentanet’s commitment to provide Australia’s gaming community with a user experience that is currently only enjoyed by their international counterparts will allow the company to access an untapped market.

Aussie data centre provider Nextdc Ltd‘s (ASX: NXT), P2 Perth and S2 Sydney data centres will support the underlying infrastructure deployment.

Pentanet share price snapshot

Pentanet first started trading on the ASX on 29 January this year. Since then the Pentanet share price is up 43%. By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has gained 10% over that same time.

The post ASX telco partners with US tech giant Nvidia in pioneering gaming deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) is embracing robotic help
• Trading in Asaleo Care (ASX:AHY) shares will cease today. Here’s why
• Boral (ASX:BLD) states Seven’s takeover bid could undervalue it by 40%
• Why the Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) share price just hit a new 52-week high
• 3 ASX shares for buy and hold investors to check out

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended NVIDIA. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended NVIDIA. Bernd Struben does not own any of the shares 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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Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) is looking to employ some robotic help to optimise its wine grape yield predictions and improve autonomous crop spraying.

In an announcement today, The Yield Technology Solutions said it was partnering with Treasury Wine and Yamaha Motor Co in a new research and development project to trial the robot in Treasury’s vineyards.

Robotic timeline and goals

The trial is expected to begin in Australia later this year and in the United States next year.

The Yield will provide its microclimate, software, analytics, and artificial intelligence platform. Yamaha, which already provides robotic services for intensive irrigated crops in the US, will provide the robotics platform. Treasury Wine, of course, will provide the vineyards.

The goal of the trial is to improve the accuracy of grape harvest prediction as the robot collects visual data throughout the growing season. The trial will also test the robot’s ability to optimise spray effectiveness. This will be done via integrating weather data and spray guidelines.

What Treasury Wine management said

Greg Pearce, general manager of company vineyards at Treasury Wine Estates, said:

As custodian of some of the world’s most iconic wine brands and with a large global agricultural footprint, TWE is committed to taking an integrated approach to sustainability to manage risks and make the most of new, emerging opportunities.

TWE is focused on cultivating a brighter future for everyone who touches our business and products, and this includes investing in new technology and innovations to adapt to the climate trends impacting our business.

Pearce added the collaboration “brings together our viticulture and winemaking expertise with world-class robotics and automation”.

Jim Aota, CEO of Yamaha Motor Ventures and Laboratory Silicon Valley Inc, said: “We see this symbiotic relationship between analytics and robotics as the future for intensive irrigated crops. It is advantageous for customers and better for the environment.”

The Yield’s founder and managing director Ros Harvey added: “We know from customers in Australia that we can double the effective spray windows for robots using our patented microclimate and growth stage predictions.” 

Treasury Wine share price snapshot

After a difficult 2020, when Treasury Wine was affected not just by COVID but also by trade ructions that impacted Chinese wine imports, 2021 has seen a welcome turnaround for shareholders.

Year-to-date the Treasury Wine share price is up 25%. By comparison the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 9% so far in 2021.

Treasury Wine pays a 1.9% dividend yield, fully franked.

The post Why Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) is embracing robotic help appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates 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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Trading in Asaleo Care Limited (ASX: AHY) shares will cease at the ASX market close today, following Federal Court approval yesterday of the company’s proposed scheme of arrangement. This will effectively allow the takeover of its shares by Essity Holding.

In a further announcement this morning, Asaleo Care advised that the scheme was now legally effective. An office copy of the court orders lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) was attached to this announcement.

The hygiene company first announced in December 2020 that it had entered an agreement for hygiene and health company Essity to acquire the remaining 63.8% of its shares at $1.40 apiece. Asaleo Care is listed on the ASX and Essity is its largest shareholder, currently holding 36.2% of the shares.

A scheme of arrangement is a court-approved agreement between a company and its shareholders. According to legal firm MinterEllison, it allows a company to reconstruct its capital, assets or liabilities with the approval of its shareholders and the court.

According to Asaleo Care’s announcement yesterday, the purpose of the scheme meeting held on 1 June was for Asaleo Care shareholders to consider and vote on the proposed acquisition of all Asaleo Care shares by Essity Holding Company..

The announcement states that the board, the CEO and managing director unanimously recommended that Asaleo Care shareholders vote in favour of the scheme.

Asaleo Care shareholders will be given $1.40 for each share they hold on the scheme record date (22 June 2021 at 5pm); and on 21 June 2021.  Shareholders will also receive the fully franked special dividend of $0.02 per share for each share they hold on the special dividend record date (15 June 2021 at 5pm).

Asaleo in this case has used the scheme procedure to effect the same outcome as a takeover bid by transferring shares to Essity Holdings. 

The Asaleo Care share price is trading 0.35% lower today at $1.415.

The post Trading in Asaleo Care (ASX:AHY) shares will cease today. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia 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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Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) has issued a 104-page target’s statement urging its shareholders to once more reject the takeover offer from Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW). At the time of writing, the Boral share price is trading at $6.79 – 1.31% less than yesterday’s closing price.

In today’s ASX release, Boral reiterated its message that Seven Group’s takeover offer undervalues its business. Particularly, considering Boral’s measures to grow the company’s value and streamline operations.

The statement included an independent expert’s assessment of Boral’s value and a statement from the company’s chair.

Let’s take a closer look.

Quick refresher

On 10 May, Seven Group announced its bid to acquire all Boral shares it didn’t already own for $6.50 apiece. The following day, Boral recommended its shareholders reject the bid.

The $6.50 price point represented a nil-premium on Boral shares’ previous closing price and valued the company at around $8 billion.

At the time, The Motley Fool reported the takeover offer was most likely made to evade ‘creep rules’. Creep rules mean the group couldn’t increase its 23.3% holding in Boral without making a takeover offer.

Today’s news from Boral

According to today’s release from Boral, an independent expert has stated that Seven Group’s offer undervalues Boral by as much as 40.5%.

The company stated the expert found the estimated fair market value of Boral is between $8.25 and $9.13 per share, following Boral’s renewed strategy,

This renewed strategy, announced within Boral’s half-year results, includes a target to increase the company’s earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by $300 million.

As part of the strategy, Boral said it will begin a new operating model in Australia to create a “more nimble and more responsive” company.

Additionally, Boral is making changes to its businesses in North America. These include:

• The sale of its Meridian Brick business announced in December 2020.
• The sale of its share in the USG Boral joint venture, completed in late March.
• Potential changes to the management of its North American fly ash business. 
• Potentially divesting from its North American Building Products business.

Boral also stated it has 276 property assets in Australia which are worth $710 million. It’s currently looking into using the properties to increase its profits.

Boral believes Seven Group is taking advantage

The company stated Seven Group wants greater influence over Boral “without paying fairly for it”.

According to Boral, Seven Group’s takeover offer is opportunistic and takes advantage of Boral’s current situation.

Australian construction demand was badly impacted by COVID-19 – the industry saw a 7% decline in spending – but, according to Boral, it’s expected to recover shortly.

The company stated a strong recovery is expected over the next 5 years, with construction spend set to increase by 4% annually.

Commentary from management

Boral chair Kathryn Fagg issued a powerful statement within the release. She said:

The Boral Independent Board Committee has carefully considered the SGH Offer to assess whether it is in the best interests of Boral Shareholders and believes that the SGH Offer materially undervalues your Boral Shares…

The SGH Offer of $6.50 per Boral Share is neither fair nor reasonable and is below the Independent Expert’s estimated fair market value of $8.25 to $9.13 per Boral Share

Boral share price snapshot

Despite plenty of drama, 2021 has been a good year so far on the ASX for Boral shares.

Currently, the Boral share price is 37% higher than it was at the beginning of the year. It has also gained 80% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $8.2 billion, with approximately 1.2 billion shares outstanding.

The post Boral (ASX:BLD) states Seven’s takeover bid could undervalue it by 40% 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 Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is gaining in early afternoon trade, up 4.40%.

At the current price of $2.02 per share, the ASX energy share is trading at 52-week highs.

We take a look at what’s driving investor interest.

Coal prices are rocketing

One of the factors driving the Whitehaven Coal share price to new 52-week highs is the soaring price of coal. Whitehaven’s fixed costs remain essentially the same regardless of the coal price. So any increases in the price tend to go straight to the company’s bottom line.

On Wednesday, analysts at National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) reported that Australian premium coking coal – the kind used to produce steel – was trading at US$168 per tonne, up from US$109 per tonne last month.

NAB’s analysts said (quoted by The Australian Financial Review):

[The increase] reflects a combination of recovering steel demand and tight supply. Given almost 80% of seaborne met coal demand is for markets outside of China, recovery here has been a critical requirement.

Recovery is underway, with steel production in these markets reaching the highest levels ever in April. Combined with tight supply due to planned and accident related outages, and the recovery in met coal prices ex-Australia might finally sustain.

Other welcome boosts for Whitehaven shareholders

The Whitehaven Coal share price has received a few other welcome boosts recently.

Last month both Macquarie and Credit Suisse upgraded Whitehaven shares to an outperform rating.

Macquarie had a $1.70 price target while Credit Suisse’s price target was $1.55 per share. At the time of writing, the shares are trading for $2.00.

The company also scored a legal victory at the end of May. That came as the Federal court dismissed proceedings that may have barred Environment Minister Susan Ley from granting approval for Whitehaven’s Vickery Extension Project.

Whitehaven Coal share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Whitehaven Coal shares are up 6%, trailing the 19% gains posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over that same time.

Year-to-date the Whitehaven Coal share price has outperformed, up 21% so far in 2021.

The post Why the Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) share price just hit a new 52-week high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Bernd Struben 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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If you’re interested in growing your wealth, then investing with a long term focus could be a great way to do it. 

This is because investing in this way allows you to benefit from compounding. This is interest on top of interest.

One legendary investor that has used compounding to his advantage is Warren Buffett. Thanks to some astute investments over several decades, Mr Buffett has amassed significant wealth. And positively, there’s nothing to stop regular investors from following in his footsteps.

With that in mind, I have picked out three ASX shares that could be top candidates for a buy and hold investment. Here’s why they could be worth researching further:

Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)

Cochlear is one of the world’s leading hearing solutions companies. It has a global distribution network and some of the highest quality products on the market. Combined with its high level of investment in research and development, this leaves it well-positioned to benefit from the ageing populations tailwind.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

NextDc is one of the Asia-Pacific region’s leading data centre operators. It has a growing number of world class centres in key locations across Australia. Demand for capacity in these centres is growing at a rate that has led to management having to bring forward expansion plans. The company is also looking to expand its footprint into Asia, which would provide it with a significant growth runway.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

Zip is the buy now pay later (BNPL) provider behind the eponymous Zip brand and the US-based Quadpay brand. It has also recently acquired a couple of smaller but established BNPL providers in Asia and the Middle East. Given its global expansion, the growing popularity of the payment method, and the decline of credit cards, it appears well-placed for growth over the next decade.

The post 3 ASX shares for buy and hold investors to check out appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Cochlear Ltd. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Ecofibre Ltd (ASX: EOF) share price has continued its impressive run today following an interim sales update.

During early afternoon trade, the hemp company’s shares are fetching for $1.15, up 6.98%. This brings Ecofibre shares to a gain of around 30% over the last 4 trading days.

How is Ecofibre performing?

Investors are snapping up Ecofibre shares in light of the company’s impressive sales figures for its Ananda Professional business.

Ecofibre’s Ananda Health division is the number one provider of hemp-derived CBD for retail pharmacies in the United States. The business produces nutraceutical products, topical creams and ointments. There is even a CBD oil specifically for pets such as dogs and cats.

In its announcement, Ecofibre advised that its Ananda Professional CBD products have recorded their highest revenues since September 2020. The strong result has seen the business achieved sales of around $800,000 for the month of May. September 2020 sales attained roughly $900,000.

Management noted that while the sales rebound is positive, monthly results may fluctuate in the short term.

Ecofibre CEO, Eric Wang touched on the company’s progress saying:

This result reflects a combination of trading conditions improving in our core independent pharmacy channel, ongoing investment in new products and direct engagement to support our pharmacy partners.

As we enter a post-COVID environment, we are beginning to see many of our pharmacy partners begin to return to normal operations. Whilst there is still a lot of focus on COVID related activities such as vaccines, it is pleasing to see signs of recovery in our core channel.

Additionally, sales of the new Ananda Professional Chewable products and Women’s Health range have been encouraging. We also launched Ananda Professional’s new direct-to- consumer e-commerce portal with 70 pharmacies in early May, and the business is now focused on building momentum through positive early-adopter experiences.

Ecofibre share price snapshot

While today’s update has lifted Ecofibre shares even further, yearly share price performance has not been so kind to investors. The company’s share price has fallen more than 50% from the past 12 months and is down almost 40% year-to-date.

Ecofibre has a market capitalisation of approximately $397 million, with approximately 341 million shares on issue.

The post Why the Ecofibre (ASX:EOF) share price is surging 30% higher this week 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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