The Genex Power Ltd (ASX: GNX) share price is up today following news of the company’s Kidston Pumped Hydro Storage Project. Genex has secured all the financing it needs to go ahead with the project.

The Genex Power share price has had a poor month. At the time of writing, it’s down 14% since this time last month.

However, today’s news has given the Genex share price a much-needed boost. It’s currently up 2.5%, trading for 21 cents.

Let’s look closer at today’s news from the renewable energy developer.

Kidston hydro storage project funding

This morning, Genex announced it’s secured $660 million of financing to close contracts for its 250MW Kidston Pumped Hydro Storage Project.  

The final piece of the financing puzzle was the $3 million variation deed to the loan note subscription agreement it secured from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

Prior to that, Genex had received a $610 million debt facility from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

It also secured a $47 million project grant funding agreement from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the McConnell Dowell Constructors Pty Ltd and John Holland Group Pty Ltd. Combined with the forgiveness of $9 million of convertible notes previously issued to ARENA by Genex.

In conjunction with Genex’s fully underwritten fundraising of $115 million in late March, the project is now fully funded.

Construction is set to commence this month.

More about the project

The Kidston Pumped Hydro Storage Project is a first-of-its-kind venture into hydro energy.

It is utilising the abandoned Kidston Gold Mine in Far North Queensland, making use of pre-existing mining accommodation and road access.

It will integrate Genex’s 270WM Kidston Solar Project.

The company claims it will be able to generate, store and dispatch renewable energy on demand during peak periods.

Commentary from management

Genex CEO James Harding welcomed the progress, saying:

I would sincerely like to thank our financiers NAIF, ARENA and the CEFC, together with the Queensland Government, for their continued and longstanding support of Genex and the project, without which the realisation of this iconic project would not be possible.

We look forward to updating the market when we commence construction at the Kidston site toward the end of this month.

Genex Power share price snapshot

The Genex Power share price is having a particularly volatile time on the ASX of late.

It’s up by 28% over the last 6 months, but down 6% year to date. It’s also up 57% over the last 12 months.

Genex has a market capitalisation of around $158 million, with approximately 1 billion shares outstanding.

More reading

• The ClearVue (ASX:CPV) share price is up 65% in a month. Here’s why
• Genex Power (ASX:GNX) can count Atlassian founders as major backers
• Genex (ASX:GNX) share price frozen on hydro project fund raising

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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

The post Here’s why the Genex Power (ASX:GNX) share price is up today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3e2OiAO

April has witnessed a number of initial public offerings (IPOs) hit the ground running. As such the 92 Energy Ltd (ASX: 92E) share price will be on the radar when the company makes its ASX debut today.  

Newly listed shares such as Island Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: ILA), Delorean Corporation Ltd (ASX: DEL) and Iceni Gold Ltd (ASX: ICL) all opened at least 45% higher than their initial listing prices. There is clearly an investor appetite for IPOs, which 92 Energy investors will be hoping bodes well for the company’s float today.  

Why the 92 Energy share price is in focus

92 Energy is scheduled to make its ASX debut at 1 pm AEST on Thursday after successfully raising $7 million at an offer price of 20 cents per share. This gives the company a market capitalisation of approximately $13.2 million. 

92 Energy is an Australian uranium exploration company searching for high-grade uranium in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada. 

The company recently acquired significant databases of uranium exploration opportunities based in both Saskatchewan and Eastern Europe.

This led to the 100% purchase of Thunderbird Metals Pty Ltd, which holds information regarding uranium exploration opportunities in Saskatchewan, and European Resources Pty Ltd, which holds information for Eastern European opportunities.  

Relying on the information acquired from Thunderbird, the company entered into an agreement with IsoEnergy Ltd, holding a 100% legal and beneficial interest in a number of uranium mineral claims adjacent to IsoEnergy. 

Current projects

92 Energy currently has three projects that have the potential for unconformity-type uranium mineralisation, which the Athabasca Basin is renowned for. The basin is estimated to have produced around a quarter of the world’s uranium from 2016 to 2018. 

The Gemini Project is an early-stage uranium project located on the eastern margin of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada. This project consists of six granted claims of which the company has 100% legal and beneficial interest in five. 

The company notes that most uranium exploration programs worldwide took place in the 1980s, but because of an oversupplied uranium market and low prices, there has been little activity in the area since. 

92 Energy believes there are considerable untested prospective areas with the potential to host unconformity-type uranium mineralisation. The use of modern geophysical methods and processing techniques will provide greater definition for the targeting of future drill holes.

The Tower Project is an early-stage uranium project also located on the eastern margin of the Athabasca Basin. The company considers its area to be underexplored with untested potential to host uranium mineralisation. Follow-up work is needed involving more detailed geophysics to define drilling targets. 

The Clover Project is located approximately 820 km northeast of Saskatoon. The company is looking to use the best available airborne magnetic data for mapping the basement rocks and important structures before drilling.

Could uranium demand drive the 92 Energy share price? 

Uranium fuels nuclear power generation which many believe has a critical role to play alongside renewables in a low carbon future.

Uranium prices were as high as ~US$130/lb around 2007 before diving to the mid US$20/lb mark between 2016 to 2019. This has resulted in a significant pullback in worldwide exploration and mine development. 

With that backdrop, Tim Gitzel, CEO of Cameco Corp the world’s largest publicly traded uranium company, commented: 

Growing demand for nuclear power means growing demand for uranium. However, on the supply side there are some big question marks about where uranium will come from to fuel the world’s growing demand for nuclear power due to years of persistently low prices that have led to planned production curtailments, lack of investment, the end of reserve life for some mines, shrinking secondary supplies, and trade policy issues, which are currently being amplified by unplanned disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These are the fundamentals that give us growing confidence the uranium market will undergo a transition similar to the conversion and enrichment markets.

More reading

• Here’s why the Genex Power (ASX:GNX) share price is up today
• Is the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price set to surge later this month?
• Why the Ampol (ASX:ALD) share price is climbing
• Why the Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) share price is rocketing 10% higher
• GameStop looks to become debt-free with early debt retirement plan

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 92 Energy (ASX:92E) shares to debut on ASX today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/32th6gB

All eyes are on the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price but the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price could soon be back in the spotlight.

Investors have been focused on the Zip share price after it released a better-than-expected update and move straight into a $400 million capital raise.

The Zip share price fell 1.4% to $9.48 this morning and Afterpay lost a similar amount to $126.12.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) shed 0.4% to fall to just under the psychologically important 7,000 mark.

Upcoming update puts Afterpay share price back in spotlight

But Afterpay could be back in focus when it releases its quarterly trading update. This update is due before the end of this month.

Like Zip, Afterpay could surge if the update beats expectations. While it’s hard to know precisely what the consensus forecast is, Morgan Stanley thinks it’s around what it is predicting.

What investors are expecting from Afterpay’s update

“We look for 14.8m active users (+76% YoY) and A$4.9bn GMV (+90% YoY) in APT’s March quarter (3Q21) update,” said the broker.

“While quarterly consensus is hard to gauge, our 2H21 forecasts are in line with consensus.

“Split by region, we expect A$2.1bn GMV for ANZ and A$2.4bn for the US. We expect 3.5m ANZ users vs 9.4m US users.”

If Afterpay can beat those numbers, it will almost certainly trigger a share price rally for the buy now play later group.

US growth the key focus

More specifically, the US figures could be the main one to watch. This is where Zip Co excited the market.

“APT’s US app downloads were particularly strong in the month of March at 760k, or 3x the amount of the prior year, and exceeded Dec 2020 levels (730k),” added Morgan Stanley.

“This will support future growth. US BNPL peers did not see an increase as large as APT in March.”

Talk about the weight of expectation!

What is the Afterpay share price worth?

But die-hard Afterpay supporters can take heart. Morgan Stanley doesn’t think Afterpay needs to beat expectations to look cheap.

The broker has an “overweight” recommendation on the Afterpay share price with a 12-month price target of $149 a share.

That leaves a more than 18% upside for the Afterpay share price.

More reading

• Strike Energy (ASX:STX) goes into trading halt for $80m cap raise
• Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price sinks lower after $400m notes offering
• Why the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price is up 15% this week
• Is the Klarna / Flybuys partnership the future for ASX BNPL providers?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Is the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price set to surge later this month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/32cJa7A

The Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD) share price is climbing higher this morning after providing unaudited financials for the quarter ended 31 March 2021 (Q1 2021). At the time of writing, the Ampol share price was trading for $25.43, up 4.22%.

Why is the Ampol share price worth watching?

Ampol reported higher earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) numbers across its 3 major segments. Australian Fuels & Infrastructure (F&I) ex Lytton EBIT came in at $59 million, up from $47 million in both Q4 2020 and Q1 2020.

International F&I EBIT increased to $26 million, up from $18 million last quarter and $24 million in the year prior. That represents an 11% increase on prior corresponding period (pcp) as higher prices offset lower volumes. Lytton EBIT recorded losses of $4 million and $18 million in Q4 2020 and Q1 2020 respectively.

The Ampol share price is one to watch in early trade following this morning’s update. Overall F&I EBIT climbed to $85 million from $61 million last quarter and $53 million last year while convenience retail EBIT edged lower came in at $78 million. 

Convenience retail shop performance remains strong despite the impact of snap lockdowns. Ampol reported a positive response to the Ampol rebrand with 109 sites rebranded at the end of March.

Ampol’s Corporate segment posted a $13 million EBIT loss, the same as Q4 2020 and less than the $15 million figure last quarter. Replacement cost of sales operating profit (RCOP) EBIT excluding significant items edged higher on the back of strong segment results.

The Ampol share price has jumped out of the blocks early this morning as strong earnings flowed through to the bottom line.

RCOP EBIT totalled $150 million for the quarter, up from $142 million in Q1 2020 and $122 million last quarter. Group Historic Cost Operating Profit (HCOP) net profit after tax totalled $175 million, up from $12 million in Q4 2020 and a $29 million loss in Q1 2020.

Foolish takeaway

The Ampol share price is climbing higher as investors react well to the latest numbers. Notably, crude oil prices continued to rebound last quarter as the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic continues. 

More reading

• The Ampol (ASX:ALD) share price is up 6% as its chair gets on board

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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 Ampol (ASX:ALD) share price is climbing appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC) share price has been a very strong performer on Thursday.

In morning trade, the precision oncology company’s shares are up 10% to $3.38.

Why is the Race Oncology share price storming higher?

Investors have been buying the company’s shares following the release of a positive announcement this morning.

That announcement revealed details of a recent scientific publication in the prestigious journal Nature Communication.

According to the release, the publication confirms that its phase 2/3 cancer drug Bisantrene is a highly effective inhibitor of the Fat Mass and Obesity associated protein (FTO).

The release notes that the independent work was performed by a research team at the University of Chicago led by prominent Professors Chuan He and Yu-Ying He. It builds on the original identification of Bisantrene as a potent FTO inhibitor by Professor Chen and his team at the City of Hope Hospital in 2020.

In addition, the University of Chicago team has identified that FTO plays a critical role in the development of skin cancers caused by low-level arsenic exposure and that Bisantrene-targeted inhibition of FTO limits the growth of these skin cancers in both cell culture and mice.

Management commentary

Race Oncology’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Daniel Tillett, said: “The independent confirmation that Bisantrene is able to target FTO and treat skin cancer by such a distinguished team is of great importance. Many scientists and pharmaceutical companies are sceptical of potential cancer breakthroughs until they have been replicated by an independent group of researchers. This new paper repeating the earlier FTO work of the City of Hope Hospital is a major step forward for our clinical plans for Bisantrene.”

Following today’s gain, the Race Oncology share price is now up an impressive 73% since the start of the year. This extends its staggering 12-month gain to over 1,000%.

More reading

• Why Computershare, Macquarie, Race Oncology, & Webjet are tumbling lower
• Race (ASX:RAC) share price falters despite positive update
• Up 1,460% in a year, why the Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) share price is sliding today
• Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) share price slides on a new melanoma preclinical study

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) share price is rocketing 10% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3gbbS0J

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.

GameStop (NYSE: GME) ended 2020 with $216 million in long-term debt. But under an early redemption notice announced yesterday, the video game retailer said it will be retiring the notes at the end of the month.

That will leave GameStop debt-free and able to focus its resources on transforming into a primarily e-commerce driven retailer.

GameStop said it was voluntarily issuing an irrevocable notice of redemption on April 30 for $216.4 million of its 10% senior notes that were due in 2023. It will use its cash on hand to pay off the debt.

While GameStop’s fiscal 2020 year ended at the end of January with almost $509 million in cash and equivalents in the bank, earlier this month it increased the size of a share offering to 3.5 million shares at market prices. At its current stock price of $145 a share, the video game retailer would realize about $508 million.

The at-the-market (ATM) offering, though, is an expanded version of a $100 million ATM program it announced in December. At the time, GameStop stock was trading just under $17 a stub.

Of course, in January was the massive Reddit rally caused GameStop shares to surge, but the retailer failed to act on grabbing more cash from its elevated stock price. Considering shares remain inflated, the expanded offering gives it the chance to raise cash, pay off its debt, and still have plenty of money left over to finance its transformation.

Activist investor Ryan Cohen is firmly in charge of GameStop now. He was named chairman of the board, almost all serving directors will be stepping down, and the video game stock is looking for a new CEO. He’ll now be able to effect the change he seeks unencumbered by debt.

Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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

More reading

• Tesla and Palantir were some of the most popular US shares last week
• Better buy: Amazon vs. GameStop
• GameStop names activist investor Ryan Cohen as chairman of the board
• Will a retreating Reddit army trample the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price?
• Tesla and GameStop were some of the most popular US shares last week

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 GameStop looks to become debt-free with early debt retirement plan appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3g7TMwN

The Strike Energy Ltd (ASX: STX) share price has gone into a trading halt as the company undertakes an $80 million capital raising.

Management is capitalising on the high Strike Energy share price to get the cash injection to fund what it considers to be “transformational” outcomes in Western Australia.

The Strike Energy share price surged nearly 189% over the past year and last traded at 38 cents.

Strike Energy cap raise at big discount

But the new share sale is being priced at a relatively big 26.7% discount to the last traded price to tempt institutional investors to tip in $75 million into the capital raise via a placement.

The emerging gas producer is aiming to secure the balance via a share purchase plan that is also priced at 30 cents a pop.

Cap raise to draw first gas from West Erregulla

A chunk of the proceeds will be used to develop and deliver “first gas” from its West Erregulla project.

Phase 1 of the project is expected to produce 80 Terajoules a day. Final investment decision (FID) for West Erregulla, which is 50% owned by Strike Energy, is expected by middle of this calendar year.

If things go to plan, first gas from the project could come as soon as end of 2022, if not the first half of 2023.

Other uses for the funds

Management also plans to use the new cash to prove up the South Erregulla gas resource and to appraise the Perth Basin wet-gas Jurassic play at Walyering.

Those participating in the cap raise will also be helping Strike Energy reach its pre-FID milestones for Project Haber and to develop its geothermal projects.

Coincidentally, the federal government is looking to use gas to fire up Australian manufacturing, although the plan has attracted controversy.

More ASX shares raising capital

Strike Energy isn’t alone is tapping shareholders on the shoulder for cash. The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price fell 2.7% this morning to $9.35 after it raised $400 million via a “zero coupon” senior convertible note offering.

Zero coupon means Zip Co doesn’t pay any interest on the note. Investors who participated in the raise are banking on a further sharp rise in the Zip share price when they convert the notes to shares at a fixed price of $12.39 before the note matures in 2028.

Strike Energy and Zip Co won’t be the last to raise capital in this market. Investor appetite is strong and ASX shares remain very well supported despite worries about overstretched valuations.

As mentioned in a previous article, I am also expecting more miners to be passing the cup around, including Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY).

More reading

• Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price sinks lower after $400m notes offering
• Why the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price is up 15% this week
• Is the Klarna / Flybuys partnership the future for ASX BNPL providers?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 rises above 7,000, Resolute Mining soars, Galaxy jumps

Brendon Lau owns shares of Galaxy Resources Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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 Strike Energy (ASX:STX) goes into trading halt for $80m cap raise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3tm2Wt9

The Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) share price has returned from its trading halt and is crashing notably lower.

In early trade, the gold miner’s shares are down 17% to a 52-week low of $2.61.

Why was the Regis share price in a trading halt?

The Regis Resources share price was placed in a trading halt this week while it launched an equity raising.

The company launched the equity raising after signing a conditional binding agreement with IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) to acquire its 30% interest in the Tropicana Gold Project for A$903 million.

This morning Regis Resources announced the successful completion of its institutional placement and the institutional component of its fully underwritten entitlement offer.

According to the release, the placement and the institutional component of the entitlement offer raised a total of approximately A$494 million at $2.70 per new share. This represents a 14.8% discount to its last close price.

Regis Resources revealed that it received strong demand for its placement and the entitlement offer was well supported. The latter had a take-up rate from eligible institutional shareholders of approximately 86%.

Regis will now seek to raise approximately A$156 million from the fully underwritten retail component of the entitlement offer. This will be undertaken at the same price, which is actually higher than the current Regis share price.

“Transformational transaction”

Regis’ Managing Director and CEO, Jim Beyer, commented: “As noted in Regis’ ASX announcement on 13 April 2021, the proposed acquisition of a 30% in the Tropicana Gold Project is a transformational transaction for Regis, and we are very pleased with the strong demand and the support from new institutional investors and existing institutional shareholders which we see as reflecting the strong support for the transaction.”

The company notes that Tropicana is a low cost, high margin, top five producing Australian open-pit and underground gold mine located in the Albany-Fraser Orogeny in Western Australia.

It is one of the largest gold mines in Australia with gold production of 463koz in FY 2020 and guidance of 380koz – 430koz in FY 2021. It diversifies Regis’ existing production base and comes with a world class joint venture partner in AngloGold Ashanti.

However, judging by the performance of the Regis share price today, the market doesn’t appear convinced by the move.

More reading

• Top fundie picks this ASX 200 resource share for the EV revolution
• ASX 200 rises, Zip (ASX:Z1P) flies, bank ratings upgraded
• ASX 200 flat: Zip rockets, Cleanaway higher, Regis-IGO announce Tropicana deal
• Why IGO, Orocobre, Splitit, & Zip shares are charging higher
• Regis Resources (ASX:RRL) announces $900m Tropicana Gold Project acquisition

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Regis Resources (ASX:RRL) share price is crashing 17% lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) shares are edging higher in early trade following an update on the company’s business operations. At the time of writing, the Qantas share price is trading 0.58% higher at $5.24. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently down 0.29%.

Let’s take a look at the company’s update.

What’s boosting the Qantas share price?

Qantas shares are in the green on Thursday morning after the airline announced a number of updates in the ramp-up of its services.

Domestic travel

According to this morning’s release, Qantas’ domestic travel segment is on the road to recovery. This comes despite receiving setbacks throughout the Christmas and New Year period, and the Easter holidays. The first of these impacted FY21 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to the tune of $400 million. The latter, a much shorter domestic travel halt, cost the group $29 million in EBITDA for FY21.

Qantas highlighted that the federal government’s plan to incentivise domestic leisure travel is promising. Half-price fare offers and the return of a large portion of corporate and small-to-medium sized businesses have boosted domestic travel demand.

Qantas is estimating its domestic travel levels will reach 80% of pre-COVID capacity in Q4 FY21. Furthermore, provided there are no significant border closures, the company believes domestic levels could hit more than 90% by Q4.

Looking ahead, current forecasting models suggest that Jetstar can achieve 120% of domestic pre-COVID levels, with Qantas at 107% for FY22.

Fleet update

In further news boosting the Qantas share price, Jetstar will borrow six Airbus A320 aircraft from Jetstar Japan to cater for the sudden surge in Australian domestic travel. In addition, five Boeing 787-8 aircraft will be pulled from international routes to service the domestic market from mid-year.

The group is also in discussions with Alliance Airlines to operate three Embraer E190 aircraft from May. The planes will look after existing Qantas routes in northern and central Australia.

As a result of the sweeping changes, the company noted that by Q4 FY21, 90% of its fleet will be active. This compares to 25% of its aircraft during the height of the national lockdown in the middle of 2020.

Trans-Tasman bubble

Since the announcement of the trans-Tasman bubble, Qantas has recorded over 250,000 bookings in just two weeks. While flight bookings are expected to remain high for the initial period, demand is anticipated to reduce over the longer term. In response, the company stated that it will cut capacity to reflect ongoing demand patterns.

International travel reset

Preparations are underway for the reopening of international borders and the resumption of international flights in late October 2021. The group is reactivating long-haul aircraft and training employees.

Qantas revealed that it maintains the flexibility to align with the Australian Government’s international travel approach.

Accor lounge agreement

Lastly, Qantas welcomed a new 7-year deal with Accor to manage the Qantas lounges in Australia and abroad. The renewed agreement follows a 14-year partnership involving the management of food and beverage services and employee training at Qantas lounges by Accor.

Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce commented:

We’re now seeing really positive signs of sustained recovery.

This is the longest run of relative stability we’ve had with domestic borders for over a year and it’s reflected in the strong travel demand we saw over Easter and the forward bookings that are flowing in each week from all parts of the market.

The two-way bubble with New Zealand is great news for the tourism sector as a whole. It means we can bring other parts of our business out of hibernation, like our aircraft and First lounges in Australia.

It’s important to keep this uptick in perspective. We are still facing a massive financial loss this year, which will be the second one in a row. We’ve lost more than $11 billion in revenue since the pandemic started and that number will keep growing until international travel recovers.

Qantas share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Qantas share price has gained close to 50%. Year to date, Qantas shares have gained around 6%. The airliner has a market capitalisation of around  

More reading

• Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price falls despite border reopening hints
• Trashed COVID-19 vaccine targets hit ASX travel shares
• Why ASX travel share prices are slipping today
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• ASX 200 up 0.25%: EML surges on acquisition news, Westpac’s APRA update

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.

The post Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price edges higher on business update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3wTR6c1

The REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA) share price has bounced back strongly in April and is within ~5% of its previous all-time record high of $163.75.

Its shares have shrugged off previous concerns regarding rising bond yields and broader weakness in tech shares. 

Morgan Stanley bullish on the REA share price 

On Wednesday, Morgan Stanley released a note that suggested a potential “earnings super cycle” in 2021-22 driven by positive listings growth and additional houses for sale. The broker believes there is evidence that Australians are re-thinking where they want to live and searching for new homes.  

The broker rated the REA shares as overweight with a $175 target price. 

CoreLogic data sees housing data soar 

A bounce back in economic activity, record low interest rates and rising consumer sentiment has catapulted housing data metrics to new record highs. 

CoreLogic’s national home value index recorded a 2.8% increase in March, the fastest rate of appreciation since October 1988. The index is now 5.6% above the previous market peak in October 2017. 

Looking at auction volumes, CoreLogic reported 19,004 homes taken to auction across five combined capital cities over the three months to March 2021. This compares to 20,489 over the December quarter, and 18,902 for the prior corresponding period. 

Then comes clearance rates, which have reached 80.0% over the first quarter of 2021. Weekly auction clearance rates across capital cities have only been at or above 80% five times since 2008, reiterating the robust property market. 

Buyers outpacing sellers 

Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG) has described current property conditions as one where demand is outstripping supply. 

“I think we’re currently seeing a depletion of current stock in the market, where buyers are absorbing all the old listings as well as the new as there’s a real shortage of supply,” said Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell.

Powell made a comment that bodes well with Morgan Stanley’s narrative of a potential super cycle in 2021-22 saying:

With low listings, we’ve achieved good prices, but the momentum going forward we feel will encourage more people to put their properties on the market in the hope of getting 15, 20 or 25 per cent over what they might have got 12 months ago.

And, then, worst case scenario, they’ll just rent until more property comes on.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• 2 excellent ASX shares that could be strong buys
• 2 investing approaches to help get you started on the ASX
• Why the REA (ASX:REA) share price is surging in April
• 3 five-star ASX shares to buy in April

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.

The post Why the REA (ASX:REA) share price could be in for an ‘earnings super cycle’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3dY1qHm