If you’ve never suffered from a cyberattack, count yourself lucky.

Cyberattacks come in all shapes and sizes. Some are orchestrated by nations – we’re looking at you Russia and China. While many are carried out by individuals or small groups of hackers.

But whether they steal an individual’s bank details to go on a personal shopping spree, or shut down a national gas pipeline for a huge ransom demand, they all have one thing in common.

They’re illegal.

And they must be deterred, if not eliminated.

Cyber criminals raking in tens of millions in ransom

The standard advice if your computer is being held hostage by hackers’ ransomware is not to pay them any money. Doing so won’t guarantee that they unlock your data and device(s). And it will only encourage further hacking.

The reality is that many people and large corporations do buckle in and shell out money to get their tech back up and running.

After Colonial Pipeline Co was hacked in the United States on 7 May – disrupting fuel supply in the world’s biggest economy – the company opted to pay the cyber criminals US$4.4 million (AU$5.6 million).

And Colonial is far from alone.

US insurance giant CNA Financial Corp, which rather ironically offers cyber insurance, was hacked in March this year as well. As Bloomberg reports, the company paid US$40 million “in late March to regain control of its network after a ransomware attack…The Chicago-based company paid the hackers about two weeks after a trove of company data was stolen, and CNA officials were locked out of their network.”

Palo Alto Networks estimates that the average ransom payoff in 2020 was US$312,493. That’s up 171% from cyber-related ransoms paid in 2019.

Bloomberg reports that “a task-force of security experts and law enforcement agencies… estimated that victims paid about $350 million in ransom last year, a 311% increase over 2019”.

And closer to home we have this from the Australian Financial Review:

Nine majority-owned real estate classifieds business Domain is warning users to look out for suspicious emails that purport to be from rental agents offering property deals after it was hit by a cyber attack.

The attack allowed scammers to access personal information, including email addresses and phone numbers.

An ASX ETF fighting for your digital safety

With cyberattacks and the ransoms paid to criminals doubling and even tripling year-on-year, cyber security firms are in the spotlight. And I imagine quite busy.

While the ASX does have a number of smaller cyber shares, the biggest players in the industry are all listed internationally.

But there is an ASX exchange-traded fund (ETF) you can look into which provides exposure to 40 of the leading cyber security shares in the world.

Namely, Betashares Global Cybersecurity Etf (ASX: HACK).

Hack counts Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) as its largest holding, followed by Accenture Plc (NYSE: ACN) and Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD).

While the HACK share price has lagged the returns from the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) over the past 12 months, today is a different story.

In late afternoon trading, HACK shares are up 2.4% while the All Ords is up a slender 0.1%.

More reading

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• 3 high quality ETFs for ASX investors in May

The post Why this ASX ETF is trouncing the index today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Fortunately, in this low interest rate environment, there are countless dividend shares for investors to choose from on the Australian share market.

But with so many to choose from, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. To narrow things down, I have picked out three ASX dividend shares brokers think investors should buy:

Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API)

According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $1.45 price target on this pharmacy chain operator and distributor’s shares. This follows news that Pfizer Australia will start to distribute medicines through Australian Pharmaceutical Industries from September. This is expected to boost its earnings before interest and tax by $4 million per annum. Overall, the broker believes the company is well-placed for growth and is forecasting dividends per share of 5.2 cents in FY 2021 and 7.3 cents in FY 2022. Based on the current Australian Pharmaceutical Industries share price of $1.17, this will mean fully franked yields of 4.5% and 6.2%, respectively.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

Analysts at Ord Minnett have retained their buy rating and $28.00 price target on this iron ore producer’s shares. According to the note, the broker has been looking at the first development project being planned by the company’s Fortescue Future Industries business. It appears to support the development, suggesting that green ammonia demand could be significant in the future. Outside this, the broker continues to expect Fortescue to deliver bumper free cash flows in the near term thanks to the sky high iron ore price. Ord Minnett believes this will lead to fully franked dividends of $3.29 per share in FY 2021 and $2.86 per share in FY 2022. With the Fortescue share price currently fetching $22.42, this will mean massive dividend yields of 14.7% and 12.7%.

G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM)

A note out of UBS reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and $1.30 price target on this childcare centre operator’s shares. This follows the release of its annual general meeting update earlier this week. The broker is pleased with the way the company’s occupancy rates are improving and expects the Federal Budget to support further improvements. Overall, it believes the company will be well-positioned for growth from FY 2022, which it suspects could support a re-rating of its shares. UBS expects fully franked dividends of 4 cents per share in FY 2021 and 6.1 cents per share in FY 2022. Based on the current G8 Education share price of 97.2 cents, this will mean 4.1% and 6.3% yields for investors.

More reading

• Top brokers pick these 3 underperforming ASX shares as their latest buy idea
• Why the Fortescue and BHP share prices are sinking this week
• ASX 200 sinks, EML plunges, Appen soars
• Should ASX iron ore producers worry as China plans to up its own production?
• Why these ASX lithium shares are down for a 5th straight session?

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX dividend shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is a little rocky today. CBA shares opened well down on yesterday’s close, but have slightly recovered since and are trading at $98.02 at the time of writing, down 0.39% for the day.

But that’s not the biggest news for CBA shares today. According to a report from news.com.au, Commonwealth Bank has just given its homeowners an interest rate hike.

Most of us pay attention when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raises or lowers the official cash rate. But banks can raise or lower their own rates independently of the RBA. And that is what has happened today.

According to the report, CommBank has raised its interest rates on 3 and 4-year fixed-term loans – by 5 basis points for owner-occupiers, and by 10 basis points for investment loans.

This makes CBA the first of the big four banks to move in this way. RateCity research director Sally Tindall was quoted as stating the following:

When CBA hiked its 4-year rate in March, a flurry of lenders followed in its wake… We expect the same thing will happen with 3-year rates in the coming months.

What does CBA’s rate hike mean?

If you’ve got a fixed loan with National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) or Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ), you might want to keep an eye on your lender.

The RBA has not made any moves in terms of interest rates since it slashed the cash rate to its current level (and all-time low) of 0.1% last year. That was in response to the coronavirus pandemic, of course. What’s more, the RBA has repeatedly asserted that it doesn’t foresee rates changing until 2024.

It has made such a move dependent on inflation rising and staying at 2-3%, as well as the economy reaching full employment seeing strong wages growth.

So that makes this move by Commonwealth Bank today very interesting. It implies the bank doesn’t quite see the RBA’s stated course as gospel. If the RBA was to raise rates sooner than 2024, it would make CBA’s fixed-rate loans a drag on the bank’s profitability. So CBA is arguably moving ahead of the curve here – and showing its hand on what it thinks of the RBA’s commitment as well.

More reading

• Here’s 1 stock this fundie prefers over Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) shares
• The ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price leads the ASX 200 banks this week
• Can the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price crack $100?
• Aussies’ financial wellbeing at all-time high: CBA (ASX:CBA) report
• ASX bank shares primed for dividend bonanza

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If you’re wanting to invest in the tech sector but aren’t sure which shares to buy, then you might want to consider exchange traded funds (ETFs).

There are a number of ETFs out there that allow investors to buy a slice of some of the world’s biggest and brightest tech companies. Two such ETFs that will allow you to achieve this are listed below:

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

If you already have exposure to the US tech sector, then you might want to consider the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. As its name implies, this ETF gives investors exposure to some of the largest tech companies in the Asian market.

BetaShares believes this is a good place to invest, noting that technological adoption in Asia is surpassing the West. Furthermore, this trend is expected to continue in the future, underpinning strong growth over the next decade.

At present there are a total of 50 companies included in the fund. Among its largest holdings you’ll find Alibaba, Infosys, JD.com, Meituan, Pinduoduo, Samsung, and Tencent.

In respect to the latter, Tencent is a multinational technology conglomerate and one of the largest companies in the world. It is best known for its communication and social platforms, Weixin (WeChat) and QQ, which connect over a billion users with each other.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

If you don’t have exposure to the US tech sector, then one of the best ways to achieve this could be with the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF. It aims to track the performance of the famous NASDAQ-100 Index, which is home to 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

This includes many companies that are at the forefront of the new economy, such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Netflix, and Tesla.

As a whole, these companies have collectively been outperforming the Australian share market by some distance over the last five years. And thanks to their positive long term outlooks, they look well-placed to potentially continue this outperformance over the next five.

More reading

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• Why this outstanding ETF deserves the attention of ASX investors

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The Encounter Resources Ltd (ASX: ENR) share price is surging today. At the time of writing, shares in the mineral exploration company are trading for 17.5 cents each – up 29.63%.

The massive price rise comes after the company announced BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) agreed to enter into a joint-venture agreement to develop a copper project in the Northern Territory.

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

Why the Encounter share price is rising

In a statement to the ASX, Encounter Resources said BHP has exercised an option under a previous agreement to jointly develop the Elliot Copper Project in the NT. BHP will own three-quarters of the endeavour while Encounter will own the remaining portion. This is providing BHP spends $22 million over 10 years on the site. The mining giant will also manage the site.

Investors are clearly loving the prospects for this joint-venture copper project with BHP, judging by today’s Encounter share price action.

Management commentary

Encounter managing director Will Robinson said:

Copper sourced from sedimentary-hosted deposits is one of the fastest growing sources of high-grade copper in the world.

The potential for this region to host large sedimentary-hosted copper deposits is rapidly emerging and we are delighted to be teaming up with BHP to apply leading edge technologies in the search for Tier 1 copper deposits at Elliott. The outcomes of the jointly designed validation program at Elliott have been illuminating and bolstered the potential for the discovery of large sedimentary-hosted copper deposits under shallow cover in the NT.

Copper commodity price

Copper is currently trading for US$4.54 per pound on the commodities market according to the website Trading Economics. While it’s down 2.7% this week, the metal’s value has increased 6.1% this month and 29.0% since the beginning of the year. It should be noted copper was at an all-time high price of US$4.90 per pound two weeks ago and a near-record US$4.79 last week.

The increasing copper price could also be positively affecting Encounter shares today.

As Motley Fool has previously reported, copper demand has been surging recently due to a rebounding global economy and increasing demand for green technologies. Copper is an essential metal in the production of renewable energy technologies.

As also reported, supply of the reddish-brown metal is also down due to a lack of investment in copper production by large mining corporations, as well as tax hikes in Chile. One-quarter of all copper is mined in the South American nation. A mix of increasing demand and decreasing supply will generally increase the price of a good or service.

Encounter share price snapshot

Over the past 12-months, the Encounter share price has increased by 45.83% – the majority of which occurred today. However, since hitting a 9-year high of 33.5 cents per share in October last year, the company’s value has fallen by almost 48%. Encounter Resources has a market capitalisation of $51.7 million.

More reading

• 2 high yield ASX dividend shares brokers love
• Why the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price is trading lower today
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• ASX 200 sinks, EML plunges, Appen soars
• Should ASX iron ore producers worry as China plans to up its own production?

The post Encounter (ASX:ENR) share price rockets 30% on BHP copper joint-project appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares have gained plenty of attention lately, as the bank approaches the $100 mark. Big profits, translating into big dividends, ignited the recent run-up in bank shares. A rotation out of growth no doubt has also helped.

However, managing director and chief investment officer at Allan Gray, Simon Mawhinney, believes there are other opportunities out there for investors.

CBA shares fall outside sweet spot

In its first national investment forum for the year, Alan Gray kicked things off in Brisbane on Wednesday. Mawhinney shared the Allan Gray approach to investing of long-term, contrarian, and fundamental to a loaded room of eager attendees.

We kicked off our national Investment Forum in Brisbane today and it was great to see everyone in person again – next stop Melbourne.

If you missed today’s session you can still register to watch the Sydney Investment Forum livestream on 27 May. https://t.co/9HAkCeQ8lI pic.twitter.com/lWZUOQmPg8

— AllanGrayAus (@AllanGrayAus) May 19, 2021

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Sticking to the Allan Gray values, Mawhinney suggested that the Commonwealth Bank is now sitting outside the fund’s ‘sweet spot’. Which is to say, the bank now trades at too high of a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio for its liking.

For comparison, the rising Commonwealth Bank share price has seen its earnings multiple expand from 11.96 times nearly 10 years ago, to 25.91 times. The industry average is around 15.6 times.

Commenting on Australia’s biggest bank, Mawhinney said:

I believe its earnings and returns on equity are likely to mirror the average of the other banks and suspect that investors would be better off choosing another bank to invest in rather than CBA. But I am not advocating investing in the banks either. There are a lot of other opportunities available to investors.

A potential ASX challenger to Commonwealth Bank

If the banks are not looking favourable, then what are the alternatives? Well, Simon Mawhinney offered a potential contrarian opportunity in the form of Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF).

The fund has been adding to its position in Challenger recently, with its weighting growing to nearly 2% as of 11 May 2021. Allan Gray added heavily following the annuities company’s third-quarter results, which was met with a 10% selloff.  

Mawhinney provided the following commentary on why Challenger looks attractive:

Its annuity distribution network is disrupted and rates it can afford to pay its annuitants has been negatively impacted by the low returns it is able to achieve from its investment portfolio. This is all true but viewed in isolation, is only one side of the coin.

The other side, the price you pay for Challenger, can’t be ignored. In my opinion, some if not a lot of these headwinds are factored into the current share price

Mawhinney doesn’t foresee an imminent reversal in the share price of the ASX’s biggest bank. Though, Challenger might have less upside currently priced in, compared to the Commonwealth Bank.

More reading

• The ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price leads the ASX 200 banks this week
• Can the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price crack $100?
• Aussies’ financial wellbeing at all-time high: CBA (ASX:CBA) report
• ASX bank shares primed for dividend bonanza
• CSL (ASX:CSL) share price backtracks despite renewed optimism

The post Here’s 1 stock this fundie prefers over Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Thanks to a number of favourable long term tailwinds, the healthcare sector looks like it could be a great place to make buy and hold investments.

But which ASX healthcare shares should you be focusing on? Two that are highly rated are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS)

The first healthcare share to look at is Healius. It is one of Australia’s largest pathology and diagnostic imaging providers. It offers pathology and imaging services via various brands including Dorevitch Pathology, QML Pathology, Laverty Pathology, and Healthcare Imaging Services. The company also has a network of day hospitals and IVF clinics.

It has been performing very strongly in FY 2021. For example, during the first half it reported a 16% increase in revenue to $953.5 million and a 190% jump in net profit to $75.6 million. This was driven largely by its key pathology business, which reported a 22% increase in revenue to $711.4 million and significantly wider margins.

Pleasingly, its solid form has continued since the end of the first half, with Healius reporting solid growth during the third quarter.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs are positive on the company. They currently have a buy rating and $4.40 price target on its shares.

Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

Another healthcare share that is highly rated is Pro Medicus. It provides software that facilitates the clinical assessment of medical images. It has been growing at a very strong rate in recent years thanks to the rapidly growing demand for solutions that can process, transfer and store this type of data efficiently. This is particularly the case given that speed and accuracy is fundamentally linked to both treatment success and commercial incentives.

In light of this, it will come as no surprise to learn that Pro Medicus has been winning a number of major contracts over the last 12 months. One of which came earlier this month with the University of Vermont for its Visage platform. This contract is worth $18 million over a total of eight years.

Goldman Sachs is also bullish on the Pro Medicus. They currently have a buy rating and $53.80 price target on its shares. Commenting on recent contract wins, it said: “We believe the heightened rate of uptake underlines the increased value being ascribed by hospitals towards solutions that can provide additional flexibility/resilience; a theme we expect to persist.”

More reading

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• Is the Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) share price a buy after its contract win?
• Why GrainCorp, Pro Medicus, Redcape, & Treasury Wine are pushing higher
• ASX 200 down 0.4%: Xero sinks, Telstra hit with $50m fine
• Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) share price sinks despite new deal

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Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a very popular choice for investors today, especially for younger investors. The ETFs that tend to be the most popular investments are index funds, such as the iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ). These funds blindly follow indexes like the S&P ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which cover almost every company on the market. The good, the bad and the ugly, as it were.

But these broad, simple ETFs have been complemented in recent years by far more specific funds. As the ETF industry has grown, funds have popped up that cover almost any industry imaginable. There are ETFs that only hold gold miners, ETFs that hold healthcare companies, or ETFs that hold just silver bullion, for example.

Among the more popular ‘thematic’ ETFs out there are ones that focus on dividends income. Or at least companies that are supposed to pay high dividends.

So are these dividend ETFs a good investment? Let’s take a look.

On the surface, an ETF that focuses on dividend income might sound like a great idea. After all, who doesn’t love a good dividend? It represents ‘free’, passive income. And getting paid to just own something is a beautiful thing. Many investors, especially retirees, invest purely for dividend income too.

But unlike, say, an ASX 200 fund, which would basically be the same investment, no matter who provides it, not all dividend ETFs are equal.

A range of ASX dividend ETFs

Take the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY). This fund follows a benchmark index called the FTSE Australia High Dividend Yield Index. This ETF holds 64 ASX shares that, according to Vanguard, “have higher forecast dividends relative to other ASX-listed companies”. The largest of these shares are currently BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), and the other 3 big four banks.

The iShares S&P/ASX Dividend Opportunities ETF (ASX: IHD) is another ASX dividend-focused ETF. But instead of the FTSE index, this fund uses the S&P/ASX Dividend Opportunities Index as its benchmark. Its objective is to invest in shares “that offer high dividend yields while meeting diversification, stability and tradability requirements”. The largest of its 51 holdings are BHP, Wesfarmers, Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) and Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL).

Another, newer, income-focused fund available is the Vaneck Vectors Morningstar Australian Moat Income ETF (ASX: DVDY). This ETF tracks a new index again, this time the Morningstar Australia Dividend Yield Focus Index.

DVDY holds far fewer shares, with just 25 holdings. These holdings are selected as the “highest dividend paying ASX-listed securities (excluding Australian real estate investment trusts) that meet Morningstar’s required criteria which combines its Economic Moat and Distance to Default measures”. Wesfarmers is this fund’s largest holding, followed by Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), Woolworths, Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) and APA Group (ASX: APA).

Same but different

All of these funds share something in common. They all offer higher trailing yields than what you could expect from a broad-market index fund such as the IOZ ETF mentioned earlier. However, they also share another, far less enviable trait.

The IOZ ASX 200 ETF has returned a cumulative performance (including both dividend returns and fees) of 10.13% per annum over the past 5 years. However, the Vanguard VHY ETF has returned an average of 8.52% per annum over the same period. The iShares IHD ETF has averaged 6.14% over the same time frame.

The Vaneck DVDY ETF has only been operating for less than a year. But it has delivered a return of 12.76% over the past 6 months. That normally isn’t a great time frame to use, but that’s what we’ve got. The IOZ ASX 200 ETF has returned 20.29% over that time period.

Foolish takeaway

The conclusion we can draw from this? ASX dividend-focused ETFs seem to come with a performance trade-off for the higher levels of income they produce. As the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. It seems that principle applies for income investors too. So if you’ve been enchanted by the idea of an ASX ETF dedicated to passive dividend income, remember, there might be something you’re giving up in return.

More reading

• Why do ASX dividend shares underperform the market?

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The Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) share price has continued to tumble in May. After recording a disappointing performance in April, shares in Redbubble are down more than 15% this month.

The company’s shares started the year strong, hitting an all-time high of $7.35 in January.  Since then, they have more than halved, trading at $3.47 apiece at the time of writing.

What’s been impacting the Redbubble share price?

The initial catalyst that sent Redbubble shares tumbling can be traced back to February. Shares in the company took a dive after the company released its half-year results for 2021.

For the 6 months ending 31 December, Redbubble reported a 96% increase in marketplace revenue of $352.8 million. Its gross profit also increased 118% for the period to $144 million. In addition, the company reported strong customer demand with 572,000 artists making sales.

Despite the promising results, Redbubble noted that customer orders were significantly affected by COVID-19 constraints during the Christmas period. With 69% of Redbubble’s business coming from the United States, the company attributed order delays to temporary issues with its shipping partners.

The falls continue

In April, the Redbubble share price continued to fall after the company released its update for the third quarter.

For the nine months ending 31 March, Redbubble reported gross transaction value of $576 million and marketplace revenue of $456 million. Respectively, these figures were up 85% and 82%, from the prior corresponding period.

However, investors were left disappointed after Redbubble reported shrinking margins. For the first half, the e-tailer reported an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of 13.8% compared to 2.1% for the third quarter. According to Redbubble’s management, smaller margins are the result of the company chasing revenue growth and increasing operating expenses.

What’s next?

Redbubble is an ASX-listed online marketplace connecting independent artists with consumers or businesses that want to buy their products. Shares in Redbubble were flying in 2020 as the company benefitted from the consumer shift to e-commerce.

The company announced an ambitious revenue target of $1.25 billion by 2024. As a result, Redbubble’s management informed investors that temporary sacrifices in profit margins must be made. The company noted that there is a huge opportunity in meeting the demand of e-commerce consumers.

Some analysts have highlighted that Redbubble’s business model and growth profile is still appealing despite the falling share price.

More reading

• 2 fast-growth ASX shares that are being sold off
• ASX 200 sinks, Boral rises, A2 Milk drops again
• Down 9% today, why the Redbubble (ASX:RBL) share price continues to tumble
• Is the Redbubble (ASX:RBL) share price an obvious buy?
• ASX 200 tech shares under pressure after Nasdaq selloff

The post The Redbubble (ASX:RBL) share price has halved from its all-time highs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.13% this afternoon so the chances of finishing the week with four out of five days in positive territory are narrowing. However, Wednesday’s sharp selloff has pretty much put us back to square one anyway.

Despite the whipsaw like action from the broader market, here are 3 ASX shares that managed to top the market.

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The Appen business is looking to turn a new leaf following its business and trading update on Wednesday. Alongside a restructuring of its business divisions, the company reaffirmed its FY21 underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$83 million to US$90 million. The Appen share price has surged 20% this week to $13.18 at the time of writing.

Despite Appen shares making it onto the top-performing ASX 200 shares list, its shares are still sitting at multi-year lows, down 47% year-to-date and more than 60% lower than its all-time record highs. While the company has impressed the market this week and reaffirmed its near-term earnings, this is arguably the first step in Appen’s road to recovery.

Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL)

The jump in the Aristocrat Leisure share price was another announcement-driven catalyst. Its shares jumped as much as 9.40% to an all-time record high of $40.86 on Monday after announcing a half-year earnings upgrade.

The company announced an exceptional product performance and customer engagement for its casino gaming business, coupled with stronger than expected customer sentiment and economic conditions in key US and ANZ markets.

While investors might expect Aristocrat shares to take a breather after such a significant move on Monday, its shares have steadily moved higher, and are currently trading at $40.50 or a weekly gain of 8.70%.

Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU)

Perseus Mining is a less-known gold miner compared to household names such as Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN), Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM). Its shares have rallied 8.50% this week, despite no market-sensitive updates.

This week, gold rallied to a 4-month high of US$1,870, likely propping up both the Perseus share price and its gold mining peers. Factors including rising inflation expectations, easing treasury yields and the recent Bitcoin selloff could be drivers behind the higher gold price.

More reading

• Why Appen, Kogan, Nufarm, & Red 5 shares are sinking
• Here’s why the Appen (ASX:APX) share price is sinking 6% today
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
• Why this expert is urging you to buy these ASX defensive shares even in a bull market
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

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