The 4DS Memory Ltd (ASX: 4DS) share price is rising against the tide of today’s negative ASX market trend following its recent patent approval.

After flatlining all morning then surging 5.4% around midday, the memory storage provider’s shares are now swapping hands for 19 cents apiece, up 2.7% at the time of writing.

Patent update

After digesting the announcement, investors are gearing up momentum, pushing the 4DS Memory share price higher.

In today’s release, 4DS Memory advised that it has been granted an additional patent to add to its portfolio. Approved by the United States Patent & Trade Mark Office, this brings the company’s total number of granted patents within the US to 30.

The new patent is titled Resistive Memory Device Having An Oxide Barrier Layer (patent number 10,950,788).

The company noted that its patents and applications were all developed in-house and were wholly-owned. This gives 4DS peace of mind away from royalty and licencing commitments.

In addition, 4DS Memory has submitted two further patent applications to the US patent office. These patents protect the company’s intellectual property regarding Interface Switching ReRAM for Storage Class Memory near to DRAM.

What did the head of management say?

Commenting on the approval, 4DS Memory CEO and managing director Dr Guido Arnout said:

The granting of the 30th 4DS patent strengthens an already extensive portfolio of patents for Interface Switching ReRAM.

These patents and additional filed applications are strategically important for the commercialisation of 4DS technology going forward.

4DS Memory share price snapshot

The 4DS Memory share price has gained more than 350% in the past 12 months and over 50% year-to-date. The company’s shares hit a high of 28 cents in late January after investor hype grew over the results of its second non-platform lot.

4DS Memory commands a market capitalisation of around $250.5 million at today’s price, with roughly 1.3 billion shares on issue.

More reading

• The 4DS Memory (ASX:4DS) share price plummets 5% today. Here’s why

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras owns shares of 4DSMEMORY 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.

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The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price took a hit in afternoon trade after news broke that Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is launching its own buy now, pay later (BNPL) product.

Following the announcement, shares fell as much as 2.5% before staggering back. At the time of writing the Afterpay share price is up 0.4% to $112.20.

Afterpay’s fiercest Australian challenger yet?

This afternoon’s price movement comes after Commonwealth Bank revealed its new CommBank BNPL product, reported by The Australian Financial Review. The offering will enable its 4 million retail banking customers to pay in four instalments anywhere Mastercard is accepted.

The real crunch factor is merchants won’t need to pay any more than the traditional card fees on CBA’s BNPL product – a significantly lower cost than approximate 4% currently charged by competitors such as Afterpay and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P).

Commonwealth Bank’s offering will be available for purchasing a broad range of items, including household bills and groceries. At present, the service will accommodate payments between $100 to $1,000 across four fortnightly transactions.

Unlike Afterpay, CommBank will conduct credit checks on its customers. As Commonwealth Bank group executive for retail banking services, Angus Sullivan stated, “We are going to treat it like it is credit.” This is a classification that Afterpay and other buy now pay later providers refute.

Klarna and CBA, it’s complicated

Making everything a tad more complicated, the CommBank BNPL is a separate offering to Swedish-based BNPL, Klarna. In July last year, CommBank invested US$300 million into Klarna and built-in an onboarding for it directly into the Aussie banking app.

Despite growing rapidly in the United States, Klarna hasn’t been able to replicate quite the same success in Australia.

Afterpay share price boils down as competition heats up

The Afterpay share price has certainly felt the pinch from a recent push from competitors. Over the last month, Afterpay’s fall from grace has erased more than 25%. If the tech selloff in February wasn’t enough, the news of Paypal (NASDAQ: PYPL) bringing ‘pay in four’ to Aussie shores added further pressure.

However, to keep it all in context, Afterpay’s share price is still up more than 380% in 12 months. As a result, Afterpay’s market capitalisation has grown to one-fifth of Commonwealth Bank’s $153 billion size.

More reading

• How this week’s Fed meeting could impact ASX 200 shares
• Why Lake Resources, PainChek, Z Energy, & Zip shares are rising today
• ASX 200 jumps, Pointsbet reveals acquisition, Metcash drops
• ASX investors still can’t get enough of GameStop (NYSE:GME) shares
• Flight Centre and Zip were some of the most traded ASX shares last week

Mitchell Lawler owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $75 calls on PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended 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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QEM Ltd (ASX: QEM) shares are on fire again today after the vanadium and energy company released an investor presentation to the market this morning. At the time of writing, the QEM share price has surged 16.3% higher to 18 cents.

In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is currently down by 0.76%.

Let’s take a closer look at what might be affecting the QEM share price today.

QEM investor presentation

The company followed its market update of two days ago, which saw the QEM share price rocket by 119% in one day, with an investor presentation today.

In the presentation, the company provided investors with information regarding three key revenue sources. They are:

1. The Julia Creek vanadium and oil shale project
2. The hydrogen production strategy
3. Government funding

Julia Creek project

Located in the North West Minerals Province (NWMP) of Central Queensland, the Julia Creek site is both a vanadium and oil shale mine.

According to The Royal Society of Chemistry, vanadium is a silvery metal mainly used in steel production. It reinforces steel for strength, weather resistance, and increased fuel efficiency. The twenty-third element is also used in ceramic and dye production, and in renewable energy storage.

Elements essential to renewable energy technology, such as lithium and rhodium, have seen their prices boom in recent weeks.

The Australian Government considers vanadium to be a ‘critical mineral’. According to Geoscience Australia, a critical mineral is “…vital for the economic well-being of the world’s major and emerging economies, yet whose supply may be at risk due to geological scarcity, geopolitical issues, trade policy or other factors.”

The Julia Creek site is also home to a large oil shale reserve. Oil shale is sedimentary rock which contains organic matter. It has not yet undergone the process of converting into crude oil in underground wells. The company sees the emerging oil shale industry as an untapped market within Australia.

Hydrogen production strategy

Using solar power, QEM is exploring opportunities to produce ‘green’ hydrogen. The company separates hydrogen from water using a process known as electrolysis.

The hydrogen will be used to power the Julia Creek site, and any surplus electricity would be sold to the Queensland grid. As well, QEM will use the universe’s most abundant resource to hydrogenate raw oil, thus making it more sustainable.

Long term, the company wants to turn the Julia Creek site into a hydrogen hub for the entire NWMP.

Government funding

As a producer of critical materials, QEM advised it is targeting a range of government loans and grants through both state and federal funding agencies. One such agency is the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF).

NAIF is a commonwealth agency designated with boosting economic development in northern Australia through strategic private sector investment. In the last financial year, NAIF made $1.4 billion worth of investments.

Another government agency QEM believes it may be able to access is the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

ARENA supports research and development in renewable energy technology through strategic investments and sharing research with the private sector. Hydrogen production, storage, and use are all within ARENA’s scope.

At the state level, the Queensland Government has several initiatives to boost mineral extraction in the state. The most relevant ones include the NWMP Strategic Blueprint worth $39 million, the Hydrogen Industry Strategy worth $19 million, and the $100 million Resources Community Infrastructure Fund.

QEM share price snapshot

One year ago, the QEM share price was sitting at 7 cents. Since then, it has gained more than 150%. Almost all of these gains occurred over the last couple of days. Only last Friday, shares in the company were trading at 8.2 cents.

However, the QEM share price is still trading half a cent lower than its initial public offering (IPO) price of 18.5 cents.

QEM has a market capitalisation of around $15.5 million.

More reading

• The QEM (ASX:QEM) share price has rocketed 119% today. Here’s why

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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EarlyPay Ltd (ASX: EPY) shares are on the rise today after the company provided a business growth and facilities update. At the time of writing, the EarlyPay share price is trading 1.15% higher at 44 cents after earlier posting gains of 5%.

The company provides tailored financing solutions to both small and large businesses across Australia. Let’s take a look at what it reported.

What did EarlyPay report?

EarlyPay shares are moving higher today after the company reported the increase in its new business volumes were continuing during the first two months of the new financial quarter (Q3 FY21). EarlyPay had earlier reported the increase in new business volumes in its half-year financial report (H1 FY21) for the year ending 31 December. That release saw the share price surge 10% on the day.

The company reported that the third quarter tends to be a quieter business period due to holiday disruptions, but this was not the case this year. It reported being on track to increase the number of its Invoice Financing clients by 10% during Q3.

Additionally, Total Transaction Volume increased 10% year on year, which was before COVID-19 impacted the market.

The company credits its online strategy for the growth, reporting more than 90% of all new invoice financing clients used its online platform during Q3 so far, compared to 56% in Q2.

EarlyPay also provided an update on the facility it holds with Greensill, which is now under administration. It said this debt represents “less than 10% of Earlypay’s total loan portfolio and will be transitioned to an existing bank warehouse facility which has ample headroom”.

The company reaffirmed its full 2021 financial year guidance of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $21 million and net profit after tax and amortisation (NPATA) of $8.5 million. It intends to pay a full-year dividend in the range of 1.3 cents per share, fully franked.

EarlyPay share price snapshot

Over the past full year, EarlyPay shares are down by 12%. That compares to a gain of 32% on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Year to date, the EarlyPay share price is up 16%.

More reading

• Why the Earlypay (ASX:EPY) share price is going nuts

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 Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price has been a poor performer on Wednesday.

In fact, in afternoon trade, the corporate travel booker’s shares are the worst performers on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

At the time of writing, the company’s shares are down 6% to $20.90.

Why are Corporate Travel Management’s shares sinking today?

The Corporate Travel Management share price has come under pressure today after it announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Jamie Pherous, has offloaded a large number of shares.

According to the release, Mr Pherous disposed of 1.5 million of the company’s shares via an on-market trade on Tuesday.

The CEO was able to command an average of $21.00 per share sold, which equates to a total consideration of $31.5 million.

While no explanation was given for the sale, the company notes that Mr Pherous remains the company’s largest shareholder even after accounting for this transaction. He is left with a total of 19.24 million shares, which represents a 14.1% stake in the company.

Where next for the company’s shares?

According to recent notes out of several brokers, the Corporate Travel Management share price could be close to peaking.

For example, Credit Suisse has an outperform rating and $22.00 price target, Ord Minnett has a buy rating and $21.90 price target, and Morgans has an add rating and price target of $21.75.

Based on Credit Suisse’s price target of $22.00, there is potential upside of 5% for Corporate Travel Management’s shares over the next 12 months.

What about other travel shares?

Another travel share that was given a buy rating today is Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB). As I mentioned here earlier, Goldman Sachs has initiated coverage on the online travel agent with a buy rating and $7.36 price target.

Based on the latest Webjet share price, this price target implies potential upside of 19% for its shares over the next 12 months. Food for thought for investors.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.6%: Telstra upgraded, Webjet rated as a buy, Westpac update
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Why the Corporate Travel Management (ASX:CTD) share price just hit a 52-week high
• ASX 200 unmoved, Flight Centre soars, Afterpay keeps falling
• ASX 200 rises, Afterpay sinks, Vocus jumps

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited and Webjet 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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Lithium has been all the buzz in 2021, and on the ASX it’s been no different. With the popularity of electric vehicles rising and green energy solutions looking to be the future, many lithium mining companies seem to be riding a continuous wave.

So let’s take a look at which ASX lithium shares have been shooting it out of the park in 2021 year to date (YTD).

The 5 top-performing ASX lithium stocks of the year so far

Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE) ­– up 338% YTD

2021 has been a great year for the Lake Resources share price, which, at the time of writing, is up 337.5% year to date. Having started out the year at just 8 cents, the company’s shares are currently trading at 35 cents. Lake Resources shares also boast an impressive 52-week return of 1,067%.

Lake Resources has four lithium projects currently underway and the largest lithium lease holding in Argentina, covering 2,000 square kilometres. The company states its operations take place in what is known as the Lithium Triangle – where 40% of the world’s lithium is produced at low cost.

Its flagship Kachi Project has shown potential to become a long-life operation with an annual production target of 25,500 tonnes of battery grade lithium carbonate.  

The company has a market capitalisation of around $355 million with approximately 1 billion shares outstanding.

Hawkstone Mining Ltd (ASX: HWK) – up 260% YTD

The Hawkstone Mining share price has rocketed through 2021. Having started the year at 1 cent, the company’s shares are now trading for 3.6 cents, leaving Hawkstone’s share price with a year to date gain of 260%. Further, it has risen by 620% over the last 12 months.

Hawkstone Mining’s major lithium project is its flagship Big Sandy Project located in Arizona. The company also operates the Lordsburg Project in New Mexico. Hawkstone made the news earlier this month after reporting its Big Sandy project has produced battery-grade lithium.

Aside from Hawkstone’s two lithium two projects, the company also holds gold and copper mines in Idaho and Utah.

Hawkstone Mining has a market capitalisation of around $60 million with approximately 1.6 billion shares outstanding.

Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX: PLL) – up 173% YTD 

After starting out the year at 37 cents, the Piedmont share price is trading at $1.01 at the time of writing — a year-to-date increase of 172.97%. The company also boasts a massive 1,343% increase in its share price over the last 12 months.

Piedmont Lithium has only one project on its books but, according to the company, it’s a good one. The Piedmont Lithium Project is in North Carolina, situated near two lithium processing facilities with plenty of nearby power and gas infrastructure. The Project is a source of battery-grade lithium and the company plans to supply it to the electric vehicle and battery storage markets. Piedmont shares rose by more than 80% on one day in September last year after the company announced signing a new deal with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA).

Piedmont Lithium has a market capitalisation of $1.48 billion with approximately 1.3 billion shares outstanding.

Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) – up 200% YTD

The Sayona Mining share price started 2021 trading for 1.1 cents and is now trading for 3.3 cents, leaving it up 200% year to date. It is also up 371% over the last 12 months.

A self-professed emerging lithium miner, Sayona has mines in Quebec, Canada and Western Australia. In January, the company partnered with Piedmont Lithium so the companies could support each other’s growth in North America. Sayona has since announced a 44% growth of claims at its Quebec project.

Sayona Mining has a market capitalisation of around $117 million with approximately 3.7 billion shares outstanding.

Anson Resources (ASX: ASN) – up 160% YTD

The Anson Resources Ltd share price has a year to date gain of 160%. It started this year trading at 3 cents and has since risen to trade at 7.8 cents at the time of writing. It’s also up by 290% over the last 12 months.

Anson Resources’ crown jewel is its flagship Paradox Basin Brine Project in Utah. The company is developing an industrial scale in-field pilot plant to produce lithium for lithium-ion battery manufactures to use for qualification testing. The company also has claims for a vanadium and uranium mine, also in Utah, as well as a graphite project and a nickel-cobalt laterite project in Western Australia.

Anson Resources has a market capitalisation of around $71 million with approximately 893 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Why Lake Resources, PainChek, Z Energy, & Zip shares are rising today
• Why the Lake Resources (ASX:LKE) share price is shooting 10% higher today
• Why the Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL) share price is zooming 9% higher today
• Why Afterpay, Piedmont Lithium, ResApp, & Santos are charging higher
• Here’s why the Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL) share price is jumping 11% today

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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 Tesla. 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 PainChek Ltd (ASX: PCK) share price is soaring today after the company announced it has received approvals for its latest pain monitoring app update.

At the time of writing, the mobile medical app developer’s shares are up 13% to 7.8 cents per share.

What did Painchek announce?

The Painchek share price is moving after it provided an update this morning noting the company had received CE Mark and Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) clearance for its expanded Universal Pain Assessment Solution, or ‘Universal’ application.

According to the release, these clearances will allow the app to be marketed and sold across Europe, the UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, and New Zealand.

The new ‘Universal’ Painchek app builds upon the company’s existing pain monitoring technology to now allow all patients to be assessed. Previously the app was specifically for people with dementia.

With the latest approval, the company’s market will substantially broaden. The total market for pain monitoring is far larger than the niche market solely serving people with dementia.

What the Universal app adds

Painchek’s Universal app implements the widely established self-reporting standard known as the numeric rating scale (NRS). The company’s existing technology caters to carers for assessing and managing pain levels for patients who cannot verbalise it. However, with the addition of NSR, carers will now also be able to better support those who can self-report.

Painchek CEO Philip Daffas commented on the approval:

Historically, PainChek and NRS have been separate pain assessment processes in terms of function and documentation, as we initially developed PainChek to be used in situations where patients could not reliably verbalise their pain.

We have now improved the process by incorporating the NRS into the PainChek app, combining the benefits of the two pain scales into one universal pain assessment and management solution.

The initial rollout of the Universal app is slated for Australia and the United Kingdom from April. After which, it will continue to be distributed to mainland Europe and other international markets.

Painchek share price checkup

Considering the 52-week range on the Painchek share price, it has been a wild year for Painchek shareholders. Before today, the share had been floating around its 52-week low of 6.2 cents. Whereas, in May last year, the share price hit a high of 18 cents. 

Despite the increased volatility, the shares have returned a meagre 4% to holders over the past 12 months. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has notched up a 28% gain before dividends. 

More reading

• Why Lake Resources, PainChek, Z Energy, & Zip shares are rising today
• Why the Painchek (ASX:PCK) share price is edging higher today

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 Veem Ltd (ASX: VEE) share price is climbing in early-afternoon trade after the company provided a gyro sales update.

At the time of writing, the marine technology company’s shares are up 5.8% to $1.08. This puts its shares within a whisker of its all-time high of $1.15 reached earlier this month.

Sales update

The Veem share price is racing higher as investors appear pleased with the company’s presence in the Italian superyacht construction market.

According to its release, Veem advised that it has received orders for its gyro stabilisers from two Italian clients, Rossinavi and Overmarine. This marks the first time the company has added these two prestigious superyacht builders to its books.

Overmarine, a designer and builder of superyachts for more than 30 years, produces luxury and long-range yachts branded Mangusta. The Italian boat maker ordered 2 Veem gyros for its new Mangusta 165.

Rossinavi, on the other hand, an Italian manufacturer of custom steel and aluminium superyachts. The luxury yacht builder is seeking to purchase one Veem gyro for its new superyacht design.

While Veem did not reveal the value of the orders, it stated that its order book stands at $5 million. Around $3.5 million of the gyros is expected to be included in sales during the current half.

Addressable market opportunity

Veem highlighted the “huge” market opportunity for its gyros, referring to a report published by Super Yacht Times. The article noted 710 vessels were in the global superyacht construction order book on 1 January 2021. This represents an addressable market of more than $260 million in sales for Veem gyros.

In addition, the company said that there is a total of 9,233 vessels around the world that are considered superyachts. Over the past year, this number grew by 1.7%. Veem hopes to capture this market through retrofitting its gyros on the existing fleet of superyachts.

What did the managing director say?

Veem managing director Mark Miocevic commented:

We expect orders to continue once customers have experienced the benefits of the significantly greater stabilisation and demand VEEM Gyros as part of their new builds.

Having orders in hand already to deliver $3.5m of sales this half gives us confidence that the trend of significant sales increases year on year will continue.

Mr Miocevic said the superyacht fleet represented a huge market for VEEM Gyros, both in the new constructions underway and the retrofit potential.

Our current sales, while growing rapidly, are only a small portion of the potential within the superyacht, commercial and defence addressable markets.

About the Veem share price

The Veem share price has gained more than 130% in the past 12 months and around 30% year-to-date.

Based on the current share price, Veem commands a market capitalisation of $140.4 million, with 130 million shares on issue.

More reading

• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price lower despite Consumer and Business changes
• ASX 200 down 0.6%: Telstra upgraded, Webjet rated as a buy, Westpac update
• Leading brokers just upgraded these ASX shares to “buy” today
• Bell Potter thinks the PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price could go 40% higher
• How this week’s Fed meeting could impact ASX 200 shares

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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The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is trading lower on Wednesday despite the release of a positive announcement.

In afternoon trade the banking giant’s shares are down 0.25% to $24.67.

What did Westpac announce?

Late this morning, Westpac announced a further initiative which aims to simplify its business.

According to the release, the bank is combining its Consumer and Business divisions into a new Consumer & Business Banking division. This change will happen from the start of next week on 22 March.

Leading the new division will be Chris de Bruin. He is currently the Chief Executive of the Westpac Consumer division.

One person that won’t be sticking around, though, is Guil Lima. The current Chief Executive of the Business division will be leaving Westpac following the changes.

Why are the changes being made?

Westpac’s CEO, Peter King, explained that the bank’s new lines of business operating model had enabled it to consolidate divisional management and simplify the business.

He said: “Our new lines of business operating model has given us a solid foundation for this change, with greater clarity on accountability and a common management approach across each of the six business lines.”

Mr King expects the changes to simplify things and also help reduce costs.

The CEO added: “The combined division will drive simplification of banking and help to reduce cost, including by consolidating support functions. The change will enable more efficient utilisation of common assets such as branches and call centres, and better capitalise on the work underway to improve our capabilities, particularly in service, digital and data.”

Positively, the chief executive believes the division is in safe hands with Chris de Bruin.

“Mr de Bruin has significant experience running both consumer and business banking functions at a large multinational bank, as well as a strong background in fintech and digital banking, which will be particularly valuable as we better support customers’ needs,” said Mr King.

The Westpac share price is up almost 26% year to date.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.6%: Telstra upgraded, Webjet rated as a buy, Westpac update
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Calm restored to the ASX 200
• 2 blue chip ASX dividend shares in the buy zone
• ASX share market on watch: Goldman Sachs shares thoughts on inflation and interest rates
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX dividend shares to buy

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. 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 Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is giving back the majority of yesterday’s gains. The benchmark index is down 0.6% to 6,784 points at the time of writing.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Telstra shares upgraded

The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is rising today after being the subject of a positive broker note. According to a note out of Ord Minnett, its analysts have upgraded the telco giant’s shares to a buy rating with a with an improved price target of $4.05. The broker believes Telstra’s key post-paid mobile business is well-placed to benefit from the 5G rollout.

Webjet given buy rating

The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is flat on Wednesday despite analysts at Goldman Sachs initiating coverage on the company with a buy rating and $7.36 price target. The broker believes Webjet is well-placed for growth when the travel recovery comes. It also sees opportunities for the company to make earnings accretive acquisitions and feels that its valuation is undemanding on a normalised basis.

Westpac update

This morning Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) announced that it is combining its Consumer and Business divisions into a new Consumer & Business Banking division. The new division will be led by the current Chief Executive, Consumer, Chris de Bruin. Guil Lima, the current Chief Executive, Business, will be leaving. The banking giant expects the combined division to drive the simplification of banking and help to reduce costs.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CDI (ASX: URW) share price with a gain of almost 5%. This follows a similarly strong gain by the shopping centre operator’s European listed shares overnight. The worst performer has been the Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price with a 6% decline after its CEO sold a large number of shares.

More reading

• Leading brokers just upgraded these ASX shares to “buy” today
• Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price rises on bullish broker note
• 2 ASX 200 shares that keep growing the dividend every year
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Sneaky way ASX company can boost share price by 7%

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited, Telstra Limited, and Webjet 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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