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.

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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.

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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

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• 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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• 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.

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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.

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• 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.

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There are a few S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares that are seeing a lot of growth despite, or because of, the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the below two global businesses have been generating long-term growth and expect growth after the pandemic subsides:

Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)

Sonic is one of the biggest healthcare shares on the ASX. It is a major pathology business with laboratories all around the world.

It’s currently operating in Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, the UK, Germany, the USA, Ireland and New Zealand.

Sonic’s COVID testing capability continues to play an important part in controlling the control. How important? At the time of its FY21 half-year result release, it had done over 18 million COVID PCR tests across the world.

Whilst the global business revenue (excluding COVID testing) half-year revenue was down 1%, it was hurt significantly less than the initial COVID lockdowns. But the COVID-19 testing revenue contributed significantly. HY21 revenue grew 33% to $4.4 billion, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 89% to $1.3 billion and net profit rose 166% to $678 million.  

The ASX 200 COVID-19 ASX share saw margin accretion in both laboratory and imaging operations because the company was able to utilise its existing infrastructure. That includes specimen collections facilities, courier networks, laboratories and other facilities, equipment, IT, management, staff and supply chains.

Sonic is now focusing on further growth opportunities, including acquisitions, contracts and joint ventures, supported by its “very strong” balance sheet. Management revealed the business is bidding on significant opportunities in Australia, the UK, the USA and Canada.

According to Commsec, the Sonic share price is valued at 24x FY22’s estimated earnings.

Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN)

Ansell is one of the largest global makers of protective gear, specialising in gloves. It has customers in over 100 countries.

It has two main segments – industrial and healthcare. As you can imagine, the healthcare division has seen strong growth over the last year.

Ansell has successfully managed COVID-19 risks at its manufacturing locations, resulting in limited downtime. It has managed to implement price increases to offset raw materials and outsourced supplier costs.

Its non-COVID units have seen a faster and stronger comeback than previously foreseen.

The ASX 200 COVID-19 share has managed to continue to supply customers with product despite the tight raw material supply and freight constraints. Lower travel and marketing costs are also helping profitability.

Ansell is investing in key capacity expansion to meet the increased demand. These expansions are on track.

Over the longer-term, Ansell is expecting more growth even after a high level of vaccinations because of enhanced safety practices at plants and hospitals, better protection awareness leading to increased glove use per capita (particularly in emerging markets), elevated research and testing activities worldwide, improving industrial activity and the potential need for annual COVID-19 vaccinations.

Ansell is expecting the FY21 second half sales growth to be strong despite the solid performance of the prior corresponding period. It’s expecting earnings per share (EPS) to be in the range of US$1.92 to US$2.02.

More reading

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• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Bank shares push ASX 200 towards all-time high
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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ansell Ltd. and Sonic Healthcare 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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The Digital Wine Ventures Ltd (ASX: DW8) share price is having a rough day at trading. At the time of writing, shares in the online wine company are trading for 12 cents each – down 12.0%.

The precipitous fall comes after the company provided an update on its trading during April.

Let’s take a closer look at the announcement and what it means for the Digital Wine share price.

Digital Wine share price crashes on lower sales

In a statement to the ASX, Digital Wines says it sold just over 23,000 cases of wine in April. The company was at pains to point out that this figure is up 580% on the same time last year. However, sales are down 9.1% over March. Back in March, sales increased 540% month on month (MoM). However, orders processed in April are up 350% MoM compared to 504% MoM in March. From March to April, orders processed also fell 22.5% to around 9,500 orders.

Digital Wine largely attributed the fall in sales and orders processed in April to “the extended vintage preoccupying many winemakers.”

Investors did not seem to be buying this, however, judging by the Digital Wine share price.

Other announcements

Along with the sales figure, Digital Wine also had another few announcements in today’s update.

Firstly, 19 additional suppliers have signed with the company since its last update in March. This includes 14 producers and 5 importers/wholesalers.

Digital Wine also reports it has “soft launched” its direct-to-trade marketplace on its Wine Depot platform. First orders were delivered in Sydney and Melbourne last week. Over the next few weeks, the company will progressively roll out access to the trading floor in Sydney before making the platform available in Melbourne.

Finally, the company received a liquor licence allowing Wine Depot to sell alcohol to the general public. With the licence secured, Digital Wine will launch an invitation-only membership program called Insider Trading. Shareholders, staff, and suppliers will be able to purchase wine directly from the business at discounted rates.

Digital Wine share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Digital Wine share price has increased an astonishing 1,733.33%. In mid-April, shares reached an all-time high of 21 cents each.

Digital Wine Ventures has a market capitalisation of $176.3 million.

More reading

• What’s with the Digital Wine (ASX:DW8) share price today?
• Why is the Digital Wine (ASX:DW8) share price tumbling despite strong results?

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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 the Digital Wine (ASX:DW8) share price is crashing 12% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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