The E2 Metals Ltd (ASX: E2M) share price is surging today after the company announced Emilia scout drilling had returned high-grade silver results.

E2 Metals shares are trading a crazy 26.92% higher at 33 cents at the time of writing.

E2 Metals is an Australian exploration and development company. It holds interests in the Cobar Project and Santa Cruz Projects. The company operates through two segments: Australian projects and Argentinian projects.

E2 Metal’s high grade silver mining results

E2 Metals announced that its scout drilling at its Emilia silver and gold mining project returned high grade results at shallow, open-pit mining depths, sending the E2 Metals share price booming.

Scout drilling within the Emilia prospect defined a new zone of shallow high-grade silver mineralisation with lesser gold, including 9.5 metres at 375 grams per tonne (gpt) of silver (Ag) and 0.4 metres of gold (Au) from 49 metres deep.

This also includes two metres at 630gpt Ag and 0.5gpt Au from 49 metres deep.

The company reports that this mineralisation is within a new structure, untested by the previous drilling located five kilometres north of the project area. E2 Metals says the results highlight the “potential for further high-grade mineralisation” along the Veta Blanca Emilia vein corridor with a measured strike of 2.5 kilometres.

The current high grade mineralisation is open in all directions, and E2 Metals says it will be “immediately followed up” with further drilling. The company proceeded to suggest that these results “further confirm Conserrat [the region] to be an exciting new epithermal vein district located within a world-class gold and silver mining province.”

E2 Metals management comments

E2 Metals Managing Director Todd Williams welcomed the results:

The recent results from Emilia are significant not only because it is a new discovery for the project, but it also underpins the potential for high-grade mineralisation elsewhere within the Veta Blanca-Emilia vein corridor that extends for over 2.5 kilometres strike and remains poorly tested by drilling.

Importantly, mineralisation is hosted within a ‘blind’ structure that is adjacent to the main topographic ridge under shallow colluvium cover, confirming what we already suspected – the best mineralised veins at Conserrat may not be the most obvious ones.

E2 Metals share price snapshot

The E2 Metals share price is on a tear today but is well below its highs of over 70 cents set in October last year.

The E2 Metals share price surged in October, becoming one of the month’s best small cap performers, but until today, it had fallen back to where it was before the price surge.

The company’s share price has still risen a significant 135%  over the past 12 months.

More reading

• All time high! Here’s how much ASX investors have made on BHP shares
• Why is the Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) share price in limbo today?
• Is the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price in the buy zone after its FY21 results?
• The ALS (ASX:ALQ) share price is flying on news of debt refinancing
• What’s happening with the Redflex (ASX:RDF) share price today?

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh 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.

The post E2 Metals (ASX:E2M) share price storming a huge 26% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3nZqVwA

The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) was been one of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s best blue chip performers over the past few months, and indeed, year or two. BHP shares are today climbing to new all-time highs, up 3% and trading at $51.59 at the time of writing. That’s pretty much at the company’s new historical high watermark of $51.75 that we saw earlier today.

So what’s driving BHP to these new heights? Well, two words pretty much sum it up: commodity prices. The prices of the raw materials that BHP extracts and processes have been on an absolute tear in recent months. Iron ore is now well above the historically high level of US$200 a tonne, trading at US$209 a tonne at the time of writing. BHP’s largest operations are in this space.

So obviously higher prices lead to dramatically fatter profit margins for the miner. BHP remains one of the lowest-cost producers of iron ore in the world. That means almost all of these extra profits will flow straight to the company’s bottom line. What’s more, copper prices are also exploding. As my Fool colleague Brendon covered this morning, copper futures are now at an all-time high of US$4.75 per pound. Copper is not BHP’s largest operation, but it still stands to benefit from these highs.

High commodity prices equal high BHP share price returns

That puts the Big Australian up 8.3% in the past week alone, 12% in the past month, 20% year to date, and 64% over the last 12 months. BHP is also up close to 100% since the lows we saw in March last year, and 185% over the past 5 years. All of those returns don’t include dividends either, which BHP has, both historically and recently, been extremely generous with.

They also don’t include the 2015 spin-off of South32 Ltd (ASX: S32). At the time of this spinoff, BHP shareholders received 1 share of South32 for every share of BHP held. The South32 share price has not done quite as well as BHP but is still up more than 30% since the spin-off, and close to 60% in the past year.

So if an investor bought $10,000 worth of BHP shares last year, how much would they be worth today? Well, $10,000 would have picked you up roughly 317 shares this time last year. Those 317 shares would today be worth about $16,362.50. Investors also would have received two dividends over the past year as well, equating to $2.07 per share. That would be worth an extra $655 in dividend returns as well (plus some franking credits to boot). In summary, it has been a very good year to own the Big Australian.

More reading

• The ASX miners caught in the FOMO trade as copper smashed record highs
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Bank shares push ASX 200 towards all-time high
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Iron ore price hits another record high as tensions with China increase
• A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price falls as China suspends dialogue

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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.

The post All time high! Here’s how much ASX investors have made on BHP shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2RGb0qZ

The Artemis Resources Ltd (ASX: ARV) share price isn’t doing much today. Artemis shares are stuck at 9.6 cents a share this afternoon. And that’s where they are going to stay, at least for a while.

We received a market announcement this morning, just before the market open, on the matter. Artemis announced that its shares would remain in a trading halt until “the earlier of an announcement in relation to a capital raise or 12 May 2021″.

Why? Here’s what Artemis told investors:

1. The trading halt is necessary as the company is undertaking a bookbuild in relation to the capital raising.
2. The company wishes the trading halt to last until it announces the capital raising, or this Wednesday, whichever is the earlier.

There’s no official confirmation of how the capital raise will operate or what Artemis will use the funds for. But a report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today cites sources that have floated a placement price of 10 cents a share for some institutional investors that operate in the small-cap resources space. It’s worth pointing out that a price of 10 cents a share is above the price the company last closed at.

The report also states that the cash raised is earmarked to go towards the Carlow Castle project and Artemis’ Paterson Central gold project in WA. If that proves the case, it would seem that Artemis plans to quickly build on its initial success at Carlow. However, we will have to wait for official confirmation from Artemis to be sure of these details.

About the Artemis Resources share price

An ASX gold and copper miner, Artemis has had a few months of relatively flat share price movements since it moved up more than 230% between June and August last year. In fact, the company is down roughly 20% year to date, and more than 12% in the past week. That’s after the company rallied 14% late last month on the back of a quarterly production update, though.

This update informed the market that testing at the company’s Carlow Castle resource area in Western Australia had yielded encouraging signs. Drilling at the site produced test results indicating gold concentrations of 4.36 grams per tonne of gold at a depth of 5 meters. The market was initially very excited about these results, but the sentiment seems to have cooled in the days since. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts when Artemis shares resume trading.

At the current (and frozen) share price, Artemis Resources has a market capitalisation of $104.17 million.

More reading

• What’s sparked a 14% Artemis (ASX:ARV) share price rally?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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.

The post Why is the Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) share price in limbo today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3bfdmE3

The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price has been relatively flat following its FY21 results announcement on Friday. Its shares have edged slightly lower, currently down 0.60% for the session, at $157.45. 

Big brokers have digested Macquarie’s results and come up with new target prices for where the bank might go next. 

Big brokers run the ruler for the Macquarie share price

Bulls 

Morgan Stanley retains its overweight rating for Macquarie shares after its FY21 profit exceeded expectations. The broker was impressed by the diversity of growth options for the bank, highlighting the strong performance of its private markets segment and tailwinds in renewables and infrastructure investments. Its target price edged higher from $172 to $175.

Macquarie’s results also beat Morgans estimates. The broker note highlighted the strong performance in its commodities and global markets division, which offset the weaker or flat performing divisions.  Looking ahead, Morgans notes that management observes a flat FY22 profit outlook with positive results from Macquarie Capital and the bank to be offset by profit normalisation in its commodities divisions. Morgans retained an add rating while it increased its target price from $162.30 to $171.

Neutral 

Credit Suisse upgraded its FY22 earnings estimates by 2% due to lower expenses and higher gains from equity investments. The broker also highlighted the positive performance from its commodities trading division and an increase in fees. 

Despite the positive commentary coming out of Credit Suisse, the broker retained a neutral rating with a $150 target for the Macquarie share price. 

Bears 

Citi remained sell rated on the Macquarie share price despite acknowledging a strong second-half performance.  The broker observes that the company has recovered back to its FY19 profit levels of $3 billion. However, it does not expect growth beyond the $3 billion level until FY24.

Citi believes that Macquarie shares are adequately valued and expectations appear stretched in the near term. The target price was increased from $125 to $140 but represents the lowest target price amongst the broker updates.  

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Bank shares push ASX 200 towards all-time high
• The big four banks and Macquarie offer these juicy dividend yields
• ASX 200 rises, Macquarie falls, Magellan declines
• Here’s how much Macquarie’s (ASX:MQG) dividend is worth now
• ASX 200 up 0.45%: Macquarie full year results & REA Group Q3 update

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Is the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price in the buy zone after its FY21 results? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3y2ozl1

The ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ) share price has gained 4% today following news the company plans to refinance its debt facilities.

At the time of writing, ALS shares are swapping hands for $11.06, up from their previous closing price of $10.62.

ALS is a global testing, inspection and certification company that works within several sectors, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals and construction.

Let’s take a closer look at the news driving the ALS share price today.

ALS debt refinancing

ALS announced today that it has agreed to refinance its existing bank debt with new, multi-currency revolving facilities valued at $US350 million.

The company describes the banks involved in the refinancing activities as “geographically diverse”.

The mix of international banking organisations includes the ASX’s Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC).

Also involved in the refinancing are the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, JP Morgan, Bank of America and Mizuho Bank.

According to ALS, the new facilities will provide a strong level of liquidity, supporting the company’s growth strategy and global funding requirements.

The company also says the debt facilities will support its forex strategy. The strategy will see ALS align its debt currencies with the operating cash flows of its businesses.

The refinancing will increase ALS’ average debt maturity profile to 6.6 years – 19 months longer than it previously was.

ALS share price snapshot

Today’s gains have boosted the ALS share price performance on the ASX so far this year.

After reaching its highest close of the year so far – $11.39 in mid-February – the company’s share price performed poorly for a number of weeks, dropping to close at $9.45 by 4 March. Since then, it’s recovered well, aided by today’s gains.

Currently, the ALS share price is up 13% year to date and has lifted 71% over the last 12 months.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $5.1 billion, with approximately 482 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Bank shares push ASX 200 towards all-time high
• 2 highly rated ASX dividend shares with generous fully franked yields
• The big four banks and Macquarie offer these juicy dividend yields
• 2 blue chip ASX dividend shares given buy ratings
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) and 2 other dividend shares with yields over 6% today

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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.

The post The ALS (ASX:ALQ) share price is flying on news of debt refinancing appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3vTaxAn

The Redflex Holding Limited (ASX: RDF) share price is standing at the starting blocks today after the company released the results of its scheme meeting on a proposed acquisition.

Redflex shares are flat at 95 cents at the time of writing, after gaining more than 145% over the past 12 months.

Redflex designs and manufactures solutions for road congestion and safety, effective flow of traffic, ticketless parking systems, video surveillance, and back-office solutions.

Redflex’s takeover bid

Redflex shareholders voted today in favour of the company’s takeover by VM Consolidated, Inc, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Verra Mobility Corporation. 

Redflex investors voted for the deal after Verra increased its offer from 92 cents to 96 cents for each Redflex share. While the deal still hangs on some regulatory approvals – including from the Saudi Arabian competition watchdog – Redflex expects to lodge paperwork with the ASX by 17 May.

The takeover bid was first announced in January, and 96 cents per share is a significant premium on the closing Redflex share price at any stage in the previous five years before the original offer.

Background on Redflex

Redflex is known for its manufacture of speed cameras and other traffic management products and services which are sold and managed in the Asia Pacific, North America, United Kingdom, Europe and Middle East regions.

Redflex develops, manufactures and operates a wide range of platform-based solutions all utilising sensor and image capture technologies enabling active management of state and local motorways.

The Redflex Group runs its own systems engineering operations, system integration technologies and innovation centre for research and development. It makes most of its revenue from the US, where its traffic business is predominantly a Build Own Operate and Maintain (BOOM) business providing fully outsourced traffic enforcement programs.

Its Australian business involves the sale of traffic enforcement products.

Redflex share price snapshot

The Redflex share price has doubled from 40 to 86 cents per share at the original announcement of the takeover bid and has raised steadily since then to its current price. The last time it was above 60 cents was in February 2015.

More reading

• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price hits record high. Here’s why
• Why Crown, Fortescue, Nearmap, & Tyro shares are charging higher
• Here’s why the Paragon (ASX:PGC) share price has surged 19% today
• 3 unstoppable growth trends to invest in today
• 2 ASX 200 COVID-19 shares to buy

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh 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.

The post What’s happening with the Redflex (ASX:RDF) share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3tsM4jO

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has hit a new multi-year high today as the company announces a new tech partnership. Shares in the bank are currently trading at $94.68, up 0.8% on Friday’s close.

As well as breaking through its previous 52-week high, the CBA share price is closing in on its all-time high of $96.17, achieved in late March 2015. 

Let’s take a look at what the banking giant announced.

Big tech partnership

The Commonwealth Bank has announced a partnership with major e-commerce operator Bigcommerce Holdings Inc, in what The Age today described as a move to attract younger, digitally savvy business banking customers.

BigCommerce is a US-listed company worth $3.34 billion. It provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS) e-commerce platform that helps target online shoppers, similar to that of rival Shopify Inc.

CBA says the partnership will provide the bank’s business customers with a platform that allows them to establish and grow their online presence. Anything from building a website and marketing campaigns through to payment solutions will be covered. It will also enable Commbank merchants to get paid faster through its same-day settlement.

According to The Age, CBA aims to use the platform to make inroads into the business banking sector. Traditionally Commonwealth’s major rival National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) has been dominant in this sector and CBA is looking to change this.

Hunting for millennials

With the cohort of millennials set to grow by 17% over the next 10 years, Australia’s major bank is on the hunt for younger customers. It is widely held that millennials are generally more tech-savy than their older counterparts and, as such, a different style of marketing is required to attract them to a business.

Commonwealth Bank has been increasing its focus on attracting this demographic and, so far, this play appears to be bearing fruit. According to CBA, 57% of all its new bank customers over the last 6 months have been millennials.

Nonetheless, as stated by James Fowle, CBA’s business customer solutions executive general manager:

This is for businesses of all sizes, from a small startup selling things from your Instagram account all the way up to a large e-commerce player with multiple warehouses across Australia.

As such, this move is not just for the younger generation but all those that have transitioned to a stronger online presence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

About the CBA share price

The CBA share price has had a great year so far, gaining more than 13%. What’s more, investors holding the stock will receive a dividend yield of 3.3%, fully franked.

And with the bank yet to disclose its results this month, Citi analysts are expecting a jump in that amount. According to the analysts, Commonwealth Bank should pay a $3.45 dividend in FY21, meaning a 3.65% payout at today’s prices.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Bank shares push ASX 200 towards all-time high
• The big four banks and Macquarie offer these juicy dividend yields
• How the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price moved this week
• 4 reasons this broker thinks the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price is a buy
• IOOF (ASX:IFL) share price higher on transformational acquisition update

Daniel Ewing has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Shopify. 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.

The post Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price hits record high. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3f53kqj

In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a strong gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.8% to 7,137.9 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are charging higher:

Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN)

The Crown share price is up 7.5% to $13.02. This follows news that rival Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) has tabled a conditional, non-binding, indicative merger proposal. On a pro forma basis, Star’s offer implies a price in excess of $14.00 per Crown share. This was a 15.5% premium to its last close price. Crown is considering the offer and also an improved bid from Blackstone. The Star share price is up 6.5% on the news.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price is up 7% to $24.63. Investors have been buying the iron ore producer’s shares after the price of the steel making ingredient continued to rise. According to Metal Bulletin, the spot iron ore price rose US$10.37 per tonne or 5.1% to US$212.25 per tonne on Friday night.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

The Nearmap share price has rebounded 3% to $1.77. This appears to have been driven by some heavy insider buying and a positive broker note out of Morgan Stanley. In respect to the latter, this morning the broker retained its overweight rating and $3.30 price target on its shares despite Nearmap’s legal issues. This price target represents potential upside of 86%.

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

The Tyro share price is up over 7% to $3.67. The catalyst for this was news that the payments company has signed an agreement to acquire health fintech, Medipass, for $22.5 million. Medipass has created a digital health payment platform allowing healthcare providers to accept healthcare payments without the need for a terminal. Its multi-sided platform links healthcare funders, healthcare providers and patients to streamline the claims approval and payment acceptance process.

More reading

• The Tyro (ASX: TYR) share price jumps 5% on 2 positive updates
• Why the Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price is jumping 7% today
• ASX 200 up 1.1%: A2 Milk crashes, Crown-Star $12bn merger, Woolworths update
• Star (ASX:SGR) and Crown (ASX:CWN) shares on watch amid $12bn merger proposal
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Bank shares push ASX 200 towards all-time high

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Tyro Payments. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Why Crown, Fortescue, Nearmap, & Tyro shares are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3vTE39k

The Paragon Care Ltd (ASX: PGC) share price is flying today following two exciting updates from the company. At the time of writing, the Paragon share price is 19% higher than its previous close, with shares in the company trading for 25 cents.

This comes after Paragon announced that it had renegotiated its financing facilities with the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB). It also provided the market with a positive update to its quarterly performance.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news from the medical device company.

Renegotiated financing facilities

Paragon announced today it has renegotiated its financing facilities with NAB.

The company expects the new banking facility to create $575,000 of savings annually, increasing in time.

The new banking contract will cover the next 3 years and is designed to support the company’s future growth.

Paragon states the new facility will allow it to resume dividends and explore acquisition opportunities.

As of the end of March, Paragon had $101 million in debt. Its amortisation will resume from 1 July 2021.

Paragon’s third quarter update

Paragon also announced today its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the financial year to date at the end of last quarter was 79% higher than the prior corresponding period.

It said its improved performance reflects its new cost rationalisation program, which has significantly reduced its employment, marketing, and administration costs.

Paragon also stated its trading conditions have improved over the past six months. Particularly, elective surgery has now returned to pre-COVID levels. As a backlog of elective surgery cases still remain, sustained demand of the company’s devices is expected to continue until next year.  

Paragon’s revenue for the financial year to date is down 3% compared to the prior corresponding period. It’s raked in $173 million so far. Its gross profits are in line with the prior corresponding period.

The company also made $15.3 million in payments to vendors for business acquisitions this financial year. It now has no more payments remaining. Paragon states this will lead to significantly more free cash flow in the future.

As of 31 March 2021, the company had $19 million in cash.

Commentary from management

Paragon’s CEO Phil Nicholl commented today’s updates, saying:

The successful renegotiation of our banking facilities is a significant milestone for the Company. The strength of our underlying business now means that we can repay debt, whilst also preserving our ability to pay dividends and explore acquisition opportunities…

Over the past year, we have been working hard to implement improved processes across the business and these initiatives are now delivering over $7 million in annualised savings and a structurally lower cost base… We are well positioned to capitalise on the growth opportunities to expand our market share as COVID pressure abates.

Paragon Care share price snapshot

The boost to the Paragon Care share price from today’s news has put the company’s shares back into the green on the ASX.

Currently, the Paragon share price is up 8.7% year to date. It’s also gained 25% over the last 12 months.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $70 million, with approximately 337 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• 3 unstoppable growth trends to invest in today
• 2 ASX 200 COVID-19 shares to buy
• Why the Digital Wine (ASX:DW8) share price is crashing 12% today
• Facebook to invest $15 million into regional Australian news media
• Why the Regional Express (ASX:REX) share price is flying higher today

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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.

The post Here’s why the Paragon (ASX:PGC) share price has surged 19% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3f9MwhE

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.

Every day, the media seems to promote a hot new trend for investors to chase. Cryptocurrencies, NFTs, SPACs, and other buzzy terms frequent the headlines with jargon and lofty promises.

Investors might profit from some of those trends, but there are other markets that are more resilient and easier to follow. Let’s review three of them and see why they could be great investing opportunities.

1. The fintech market

The fintech market includes digital-payment platforms, online banking and wealth management services, and some cryptocurrency trading platforms. This sector continues to expand as people use less cash, shop online more frequently, and rely less on traditional banks.

Businesses are also starting to recognize the value of streamlining their payment services, integrating those tools into their mobile apps, and using analytics to track customer purchases and trends. Allied Market Research expects the global mobile payment market to expand at a whopping compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30.1% between 2020 and 2027 to become a $12.06 trillion market.

Companies that could profit from that expansion include PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), which provides online-payment services to 377 million accounts, and Square (NYSE: SQ), which processes payments for merchants and offers consumers peer-to-peer payments, Bitcoin purchases, and free stock trades through its Cash App.

2. Artificial intelligence

The artificial intelligence (AI) market is often associated with intelligent robots but its reach is actually much broader. AI services are now used to crunch data for social networks and advertising platforms, process large amounts of information to help companies make decisions, and control machines and vehicles.

They can power chatbots to streamline a company’s customer-support services, optimize a company’s supply chain by identifying inefficiencies, and improve safety standards by spotting hazards.

The global AI market grew into a $39.9 billion market in 2019, according to Grand View Research, but it could still expand at a CAGR of 42.2% between 2020 and 2027.

My top picks in this market include NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), which provides high-end GPUs for processing AI tasks in data centers, and Palantir (NYSE: PLTR), which collects and processes data for government agencies and enterprise customers.

3. Virtual and augmented reality

The virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) markets are still tiny but both have explosive growth potential.

VR devices, which immerse users in digital environments, could be used for more video games, simulations, and even remote socialization. Facebook‘s Oculus VR enjoys a first-mover’s advantage in this market, and its headsets could expand Facebook’s ecosystem beyond PCs and mobile devices.

AR devices, which project digital images on real-world environments, can be used as heads-up displays for certain professions or entertainment, navigation, and communication tools for mainstream consumers.

One company worth watching in this market is Vuzix (NASDAQ: VUZI), which mainly sells AR smartglasses to enterprise customers. It’s still a small company but enjoys an early-mover’s advantage in the AR space, and could continue to expand as more companies try out AR glasses.

The global VR and AR markets could expand at a CAGR of 42.9% between 2020 to 2030, according to Research and Markets, and become a $1.27 trillion market. That bullish forecast suggests VR and AR devices could become the next big computing platforms after smartphones.

Look before you leap

Spotting these secular trends is a good first step toward finding great growth stocks, but investors should still do more homework and split the more speculative investments from the conservative ones.

For example, PayPal is a more conservative investment than Square, since it’s trading at much lower valuations and isn’t heavily dependent on revenues from Bitcoin trades. Palantir is pricier, more speculative, and more controversial than NVIDIA, and Vuzix could still face tough competition from tech giants like Apple as they enter the nascent AR market.

That said, understanding these companies and their secular tailwinds can give investors a better grasp of the tech sector than simply chasing the financial media’s hippest investing trends.

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

More reading

• Facebook to invest $15 million into regional Australian news media
• 1 simple (and safer) way to invest in cryptocurrency
• Dogecoin price drops by a third after Elon Musk calls it a “hustle” on comedy show
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Bank shares push ASX 200 towards all-time high
• ASX tech shares are in a world of pain. There might be more to come…

Leo Sun owns shares of Apple, Palantir Technologies Inc., and Square. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, 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 recommends Apple, Bitcoin, Facebook, NVIDIA, PayPal Holdings, and Square. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Palantir Technologies Inc and recommends the following options: short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple, long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple, and long January 2022 $75 calls on PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple, Facebook, NVIDIA, and PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post 3 unstoppable growth trends to invest in today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3vSp67b