It’s not easy finding buying opportunities when the market is trading close to its peak, but Morgans just highlighted a few ASX shares as it updated its “best ideas” list.

These are ASX shares that the broker believes are best placed to generate superior risk-adjusted returns over the next 12-months.

The new picks come at a time when the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) is within striking distance of breaking a new record high set in February last year.

Best bank for your buck

There are three ASX large cap shares that made it on Morgans’ list this month. The first is the Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price.

“We believe ANZ is the most compelling of the major banks on a valuation basis,” said the broker.

“We expect ANZ to benefit the most of the major banks from the tailwinds currently in place for treasury and markets income.”

Morgan’s 12-month price target on the ANZ Bank share price is $33.50 a share.

Positive results put this ASX share on the best buy list

The second on the best buy list is the Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) share price. The medical testing facilities operator has been one of the COVID-19 winners thanks to mass testing.

But the momentum may not wane even as mass vaccinations are rolled out across the world.

“We see COVID-19 testing continuing into the foreseeable future, with growth potential in COVID serology testing,” said Morgans.

“SHL’s global base business is increasingly resilient, benefitting from geographical diversity. Strong [balance sheet] (gearing 21.6x; A$1.3bn headroom) opening the door to acquisitions, contracts and JVs.”

Morgan’s 12-month price target on the Sonic share price is $30.09.

Bright outlook and capital return potential

Meanwhile, the Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX: RWC) share price was also added for its leverage to the ongoing building and renovation boom.

“RWC continues to benefit from strong demand for DIY activity across all regions (Americas, EMEA, Asia-Pacific) which we think will at least continue in the near term,” added Morgans.

“Despite higher input costs such as copper and zinc, management has indicated strong confidence in passing this through to customers via price increases.”

There’s also a good chance that Reliance will undertake a capital return of some sort, according to the broker. Morgan’s price target on the Reliance share price is $5.50 a share.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.25%: Westpac result impresses, PointsBet jumps
• Deterra (ASX:DRR) share price outperforms on royalty update
• ASX miners set for tough start even as commodity premiums hit a 14-year high
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Shares have average week but a great month
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Brendon Lau owns shares of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Reliance Worldwide Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Reliance Worldwide Limited 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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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.

Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) absolutely obliterated analyst estimates when it reported its first-quarter results last week. The social network reported first-quarter revenue of $26.1 billion, up 48% year over year. Net income nearly doubled, hitting $9.5 billion, translating to earnings per share of $3.30. Analysts, on average, were expecting revenue and earnings per share of $23.7 billion and $2.37, respectively.

Though the headline numbers from the earnings release certainly tell quite a story, there was a lot more for investors to digest about the tech company in Facebook’s first-quarter earnings call. Two particular topics that surfaced during the call, for instance, were the company’s growing ambitions in e-commerce and the key drivers for its huge advertising revenue growth.

Here’s what management said about these topics during the call. 

Facebook has big plans for e-commerce

One hot topic during the earnings call that received more attention than usual was the social network’s growing investment in e-commerce. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called commerce one of its “long-term opportunities” that it’s “really focused on.” In addition, Zuckerberg said, “Commerce has been growing in our services for a while, but it has become a lot more important as the pandemic has accelerated a broader shift toward businesses moving online.”

Further, it sounds like Facebook may have an interesting new e-commerce feature in its pipeline that it’s readying for release this year. “[W]ith Instagram and Facebook, we have a unique ability to bring creators and commerce together, and we will share more on that later this year,” Zuckerberg said.

Facebook already has a shopping experience that lets users sell products in a seamless shopping experience that works across Facebook and Instagram. The company has over 1 million monthly active shops and sees 250 million monthly visitors to these shops.

Surging demand from advertisers

Fueling the company’s advertising revenue growth was a 12% year-over-year increase in ad impressions and 30% growth in price per ad.

But what exactly caused such a sharp increase in advertising pricing across Facebook’s social networks? While advertising in its commerce vertical was exceptionally strong, most of Facebook’s advertising revenue growth was simply due to stronger-than-expected demand from all verticals and a sharp recovery from verticals that were negatively impacted by COVID-19.

“[R]eally just strong across-the-board demand for ads has been what’s driven it for us,” explained CFO David Wehner.

Facebook shareholders may want to give the first-quarter earnings call a listen. In addition to the call featuring further discussion of the topics covered in this article, management provided more details on Facebook Marketplace, WhatsApp, payments, and more.

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

More reading

• Why Facebook reported the most impressive earnings of 2021 so far
• Retail just changed. Forever…
• Why Facebook and Apple couldn’t lift the Nasdaq Thursday
• Facebook earnings just obliterated expectations
• Why Facebook is still great value

Daniel Sparks has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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 Facebook. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Facebook. 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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Record low interest rates, a swift economic recovery and low listing volumes have launched national housing values to new record highs. The tailwinds for the Australian property sector has helped the REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA) share price push ~10% higher in April to a close of $158.35, within an arms reach of its previous all-time record high of $162.00 on 8 April. 

Housing prices surge past 2017 peak

At the end of April, the CoreLogic national home value index increased a further 1.82%, driving housing values some 10% higher since September last year. During this time, the REA share price managed to break above its pre-COVID high of $115 in August 2020 before staging a 40% rally to today’s prices. 

Looking over at auction volumes, 2,885 capital city homes went under the hammer last week, an increase of 38% on the prior week. One year ago, a significantly lower 612 homes were auctioned as COVID-19 related restrictions put activity on halt. Interestingly, the final clearance rate for houses came in at 79.1% last week. This is the first time clearance rates have dropped below 80% this year. 

As the property market continues to heat up, it might be worth dividing attention towards the downside risk factors that could eventually ‘pop’ the so-called bubble. Overall, CoreLogic believes that the RBA’s commitment to hold interest rates and the current rebounding economic cycle means solid housing prices are here to say. However, it does point out tighter credit conditions as a potential near term risk. 

Through previous housing cycles, the factors that generally slowed the housing market were either rising interest rates, worsening economic conditions or tighter credit conditions. Looking at each of these factors, we aren’t expecting a lift in short term mortgage rates any time soon, and the economy has some positive momentum, so the most likely factor that will slow housing conditions is a new round of credit tightening along with housing affordability becoming more of a challenge, especially for first home buyers.

Morgan Stanley sees a higher REA share price in 2021–22 

Morgan Stanley was the latest broker to provide an update for the REA share price. On 14 April, the broker rated REA shares as overweight with a $175 target price. 

The broker believes that a sharp increase in Australians searching for new homes carries important implications for the business. Its commentary centres around a potential earnings super cycle in 2021–22 driven by factors such as positive listings growth and additional houses for sale. 

More reading

• These ASX 200 shares are tracking the Aussie economy higher in 2021
• Why Zip (ASX:Z1P) and these ASX shares are rated as buys
• 2 outstanding ASX growth shares rated as buys
• How $20,000 turns into $250,000 in 10 years with ASX shares
• Broker tips REA Group (ASX:REA) share price to shoot higher from here

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA 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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Thomson Resources Ltd (ASX: TMZ) shares are soaring today, up 13.64% to 12.5 cents at the time of writing. In earlier trade, the Thomson Resources share price posted gains of almost 23% before retreating to its current level. 

This comes after the ASX resource share released a series of market-sensitive updates today, following on from its quarterly activity report released on Friday. We take a look at what’s motivating investors below.

What did Thomson Resources report?

The Thomson Resources share price is rocketing today after the company’s flurry of updates.

First, Thomson Resources reported it had restarted drilling at its Bygoo tin project in New South Wales. Drilling had previously been put on hold due to inclement weather. The drilling program is currently more than half completed, with another 1,500 metres of drilling in the pipeline.

Commenting on the drilling progress, Thomson Resources executive chair David Williams said:

We are happy with the progress of drilling at Bygoo and look forward to receiving first results towards the end of June 2021. Time permitting, we are hopeful of commencing the Bald Hill drilling program in the coming weeks. Due to unexpected laboratory delays caused by heightened activity in the region, the results from the Mallee Hen gold project have taken longer than expected, but we anticipate receiving them in the next few weeks.

Agreement on Mt Carrington gold and silver project

In a separate release this morning, Thomson Resources revealed it has now entered into a definitive agreement with White Rock Minerals Ltd (ASX: WRM) for a “3 stage earn-in and option to joint venture agreement”.

Thomson reported it can now move ahead to earn up to 70% of White Rock’s Mt Carrington gold-silver project. If Thomson so opts, it can also form a joint venture (JV) to fund additional exploration at the Mt Carrington leases for epithermal gold-silver (base metal) mineralisation and conceptual large copper-gold targets.

Commenting on the definitive agreement, Mr Williams said:

The signing of the definitive agreement is a great achievement for both Thomson and our partner at Mt Carrington, White Rock… Thomson has targeted, in aggregate, in ground material available for the strategy’s central processing facility of 100 million ounces of silver equivalent and with this agreement now executed, and following the completion of the Texas acquisition in the near future, we believe we will have achieved that target.

Matt Gill, White Rock CEO added, “Securing a quality partner to advance Mt Carrington is a key and timely step in White Rock’s strategy to unlock the value in all of our projects.”

In a busy few days for the company, Thomson Resources also released its quarterly activity report on Friday 30 April. Thomson reported it has been rapidly advancing its Fold Belt Hub and Spoke strategy, aiming for a centralised processing facility, and making progress at its Lachlan Fold Belt.

Thomson Resources share price snapshot

No doubt about it, Thomson Resources has shot the lights out over the past 12 months, with shares up an eye-popping 1,150%. By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has gained 36% over that same time.

Year to date, it’s been a bit slower for shareholders, with the Thomson Resources share price up 8.7% so far in 2021.

More reading

• REA (ASX:REA) share price eyes new record highs after running 10% in April
• Why the Sunrise (ASX:SRL) share price jumped 13% this morning
• The Novatti (ASX:NOV) share price is surging 7% today. Here’s why
• Kangaroo Island Plantation (ASX:KPT) share price rockets 7% on takeover bid
• ASX 200 up 0.25%: Westpac result impresses, PointsBet jumps

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 Sunrise Energy Metals Ltd (ASX: SRL) share price shot for the sky this morning, rising by almost 13% in early trade. At the time of writing, shares in the mineral exploration company have pulled back slightly and are trading for $2.35 – up 5.86% on Friday’s close. By comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is 0.07% higher.

Today’s price leap comes as the company announced a “bonanza grade platinum intersection” from one of its sites.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news and what it means for the Sunrise share price.

Why the Sunrise share price is rising

In a statement to the ASX, Sunrise Energy Metals (formerly Clean TeQ Holdings) says it has found “significant” results from its platinum development at the Sunrise Project in New South Wales.

The best result, according to the company, was a 0.6m wide ore containing 129g per tonne of platinum, 1.23g per tonne of palladium, 1.79g per tonne of rhodium, 4.0g per tonne of iridium, 0.89g per tonne of osmium, and 0.28g per tonne of ruthenium.

Sunrise says its drilling results show the potential for even greater finds in the Phoenix Platinum Zone, which is within the Project.

Collectively, the metals found in this ore sample are known as platinum group elements (PGE). The large find by the company is pleasing investors, judging by the performance of the Sunrise share price this morning.

Sunrise Energy Metals Co-Chair, Robert Friedland, said:

We have long suspected that the Sunrise laterite may be the weathered surface expression of an Alaskan-style dunitic system that lies beneath – in the late 19th century this area was the world’s largest source of platinum and remains the site of the only primary platinum mine in Australia.

He added:

Although it’s still early days for this new and exciting development, this stunningly high-grade platinum intercept is highly encouraging in terms of the potential for what may lie below this amazing Sunrise ore body. We will be following up this initial success with great enthusiasm.

PGE commodity trading

PGE metals have been increasing in price on the commodities market since the beginning of the year.

Platinum is 12.77% greater (US $1,202.43 per troy ounce), palladium is up 20.29% (US $2,945.90 per troy ounce), and rhodium is an incredible 73.53% higher since the start of 2021 (US $29,500 per troy ounce).

According to the website Trading Economics, PGE metals are expected to continue their upward climb for the foreseeable future, as government and industry invests in greener technologies. PGE metals are used as catalysts to lower the emissions from combustible car engines.

Other metals experience similar upswings due to the green revolution are lithium and copper.

Sunrise share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Sunrise share price has increased 14%. It is, however, 38% lower compared to its 52-week high of $3.85. This record was achieved in September 2020.

Given its current valuation, Sunrise Energy Metals has a market capitalisation of $196 million.

More reading

• The Novatti (ASX:NOV) share price is surging 7% today. Here’s why
• Kangaroo Island Plantation (ASX:KPT) share price rockets 7% on takeover bid
• ASX 200 up 0.25%: Westpac result impresses, PointsBet jumps
• Why the Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) share price is frozen
• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price slides despite new contract

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.

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Novatti Group Ltd (ASX: NOV) shares are gaining today, following news the company is ready to launch its banking business. At the time of writing, the Novatti share price is up 7.2%, with shares in the company swapping hands for 67 cents apiece.

Let’s take a closer look at the news the banking and payments company released this morning.

Ready for action

Novatti announced today it has partnered with international financial service provider BC Investment Group Holdings. As a result, Novatti is now in a position to launch its banking business, subject to regulatory approval.

As part of the partnership, BC Invest will provide Novatti’s dedicated banking subsidiary, Novatti B Holding Company (NBHC), with $2 million in its first round of funding. In return, BC Invest will receive a 19.9% stake in NBHC.

In its second round of funding, BC Invest will provide NBHC with another $2.5 million. Novatti will also invest another $3 million into NBHC.

After the funding rounds, Novatti will hold a 57% stake in NBHC while BC Invest holds a 19% stake.

At this point, NBHC will have a post-money valuation of $35 million. This will allow it to begin its banking business immediately after it receives regulatory approval.

Novatti’s application for a banking licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) was delayed due to COVID-19. APRA has now resumed operations as normal.

BC Invest will also pay $3 million for approximately 6.8 million shares in Novatti, which equals 43.9 cents per share.

BC Invest’s CEO David Hinde said the company’s investment in NBHC would provide customer access to Novatti’s payment services before transition to the proposed digital bank’s platform. It will also help the development of its own technology platform.

Commentary from management

Novatti Group managing director Peter Cook commented on the partnership, saying:

Developing Novatti’s new banking business is a key pillar of our long-term growth strategy to provide value-add to our existing, established businesses…

[BC Invest’s] capabilities will be invaluable in bringing income-generating products, including lending products, to market, which APRA has made clear is a priority for all banking licence applicants in addition to their deposit-taking credentials.

Novatti share price snapshot

The Novatti share price has performed well on the ASX lately.

Currently, shares in Novatti are up 144% year to date and have risen 273% over the last 12 months.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $144 million, with approximately 232 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Why the Novatti Group (ASX:NOV) share price is tumbling 5% today
• Novatti (ASX:NOV) share price rockets 27% on Afterpay deal
• Why the Novatti (ASX:NOV) share price is soaring 5% 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 Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers Ltd (ASX: KPT) share price is surging today after the company was subject to a complete takeover bid from an investment fund called Samuel Terry Asset Management.

The Kangaroo Island Plantation share price is up 7.6% to $1.13 per share as a result.

Kangaroo Island Plantation is a logging and timber business located on Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia. The company has been subject to multiple takeover and land-acquisition bids since the devastating Kangaroo Island fires wiped out its plantations, so let’s take a look at this latest offer.

Kangaroo Island Plantation takeover bid

Samuel Terry Asset Management’s bid is to buy all fully paid ordinary shares in Kangaroo Island Plantation for $1.05 per share. The bidder has appointed Third Party Platform as its broker for the purchase of the Kangaroo Island Plantation shares on-market. 

On-market means the offer is unconditional, and provides current Kangaroo Island Plantation shareholders “a simple cash exit from [their] investment” according to the company’s release.

Samuel Terry’s offer states that $1.05 per share “is equivalent to the closing price of Kangaroo Island Plantation shares on 30 April 2021 (the last trading day prior to the announcement of the offer).

It’s also equivalent to the 1 month volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of the company’s shares to 30 April 2021 and represents a premium of 3% to the 3-month VWAP of the company’s shares ($1.02).

The release also stated that it “the offer is a best and final offer, and the bidder will not increase the offer price.”

Kangaroo Island Plantation’s share price rose significantly at the beginning of last month, after the company rejected a land purchase deal worth $20 million. The company says its land holdings on the island are worth more than $60 million alone. Company director Keith Lamb said at the time:

While the company is open-minded to approaches it receives, the board is squarely focussed on maximising shareholder wealth and with this in mind, offers are considered on merit. This resolve has not altered since the tragic fires of 2019-20.

Kangaroo Island Plantation share price snapshot

The Kangaroo Island Plantation share price is up 3.2% the past week and 5.6% the past month, but has fallen 11% since 2021 began.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.25%: Westpac result impresses, PointsBet jumps
• Why the Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) share price is frozen
• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price slides despite new contract
• Moderna just made the Pfizer vaccine’s biggest weakness an even bigger one
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price up 4%: Here’s an expert’s opinion

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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At lunch on Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week on a mildly positive note. The benchmark index is currently up 0.25% to 7,043.7 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Westpac half year result impresses

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is charging higher on Monday following the release of its half year results. Westpac reported cash earnings of $3,537 million for the six months, which was a 256% increase over the prior corresponding period and a 119% lift over the second half of FY 2020. This allowed the Westpac board to declare a fully franked interim dividend of 58 cents per share, which represents a payout ratio of ~60%. Another positive is the bank’s cost cutting plan. Westpac is targeting an $8 billion cost base by FY 2024 to materially improve its efficiency. This compares to a ~$10.2 billion cost base in FY 2020.

PointsBet share price shoots higher

The Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) share price is shooting higher today after being the subject of a couple of bullish broker notes. Goldman Sachs has responded to the sports betting company’s third quarter update by retaining its buy rating with a slightly reduced price target of $17.20. Whereas Credit Suisse has upgraded its shares to an outperform rating with an improved price target of $16.15.

Transurban investor briefing

The Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) share price is trading lower today following the release of its investor briefing. At the briefing, the toll road operator revealed that average daily traffic across the group increased 13% during March compared to the prior corresponding period. The prior corresponding period was of course when COVID-19 first started to impact its roads.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the PointsBet share price with a 7% gain. This follows the positive response to its third quarter update by brokers. The worst performer has been the ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD) share price with a 4.5% decline. This follows a sharp decline by its US-listed shares on Friday night.

More reading

• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price up 4%: Here’s an expert’s opinion
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Deterra (ASX:DRR) share price outperforms on royalty update
• Leading broker tips PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price to shoot higher
• Is the ResMed (ASX:RMD) share price good value after its Q3 update?

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 Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointsbet Holdings Ltd and ResMed Inc. 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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Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC) shares are in a trading halt today as the company seeks to raise an undisclosed amount of capital. At Friday’s close, the Race Oncology share price was trading at $3.07 after significant falls over the past week and month.

Race is a specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development and marketing of a pharmaceutical drug for the treatment of cancer. Its best-known product is Bisantrene, a cancer chemotherapy drug.

Capital raising

In today’s ASX update, Race Oncology requested its shares be placed in a trading halt until Wednesday 5 May or until it provides a further update regarding a capital raising. Today’s announcement didn’t outline the amount of capital the company is seeking to raise or its purpose.

Given recent news from Race Oncology, however, it’s possible the funds are required to progress further studies and trials of Bisantrene, which has returned multiple positive trial results across Australia and the United States. 

The company’s shares edged higher on 28 April after it announced it had entered into a collaborative preclinical research program with The University of Newcastle to further trial Bisantrene’s efficacy. 

The Race share price has risen more than 920% over the past 12 months based on the company’s reports and trial evidence regarding Bisantrene. According to the company, current studies are trialling “cellular models to investigate Bisantrene as a novel treatment for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC)”.

Bisantrene has been studied for its effects on inhibiting cancerous cells in multiple human organs, including skin. The company’s shares rose by more than 10% on 15 April after an announcement stating Bisantrene was an effective inhibitor of skin cancers.

Bisantrene was found to inhibit cancerous cells by stopping the production of a human fat mass and obesity-associated protein. This protein releases a low-level of arsenic, which is poisonous and can transform healthy cells into malignant cancers.

By preventing the production of this protein, Bisantrene can therefore prevent the protein’s role in promoting cancerous cell transformations.

Race Oncology share price snapshot

The Race Oncology share price has risen by around 75% in 2021 so far, rising from $1.75 to its current level in four months. Based on its current valuation, Race Oncology has a market capitalisation of around $433 million.

More reading

• Why the Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) share price is racing higher
• Why Ampol, Netwealth, Orocobre, & Race Oncology shares are storming higher
• Why the Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) share price is rocketing 10% higher

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 Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR) share price is in negative territory during mid-morning trade today despite news of a contract award.

At the time of writing, the global engineering company’s shares are fetching $10.75 apiece, a decline of 1.1%.

What did Worley announce?

Investors appear unfazed by the company’s latest contract win, sending Worley shares into the red.

In this morning’s release, Worley advised it has been awarded a services agreement by CITGO Refining and Chemicals Company L.P.

Under the contract, Worley will provide maintenance, turnaround and sustaining capital services to CITGO’s refineries in the United States.

Situated in Lake Charles, Louisiana and Corpus Christi, Texas, both facilities will see roughly 600 people perform upgrade works. Worley noted that the contractors to be used have previous experience at the sites, providing a seamless delivery of its services.

The contract will run for 5 years and will be managed by Worley’s US field services team.

Worley CEO Chris Ashton welcomed the new deal, saying:

As a global professional services company with an extensive track record of sustaining and optimising refineries globally, we are pleased that CITGO has engaged Worley for services to its Louisiana and Texas facilities.

We look forward to supporting CITGO to deliver on its operational and production targets by providing sustainable and reliable site operations at these refineries.

About the Worley share price

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

Over the past 12 months, the Worley share price has gained close to 30% but fallen around 6% year-to-date. The company’s shares took a hit at the start of February after it provided a business update on the impact of COVID-19.

Worley has a market capitalisation of almost $5.6 billion at today’s prices, with just over 522 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price seesaws on latest contract award
• ASX 200 drops, Santos entices CEO, Centuria acquires again
• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price edges lower despite contract award

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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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