I’m a big fan of buy and hold investing and believe it is the best way to generate wealth. And there’s a very good reason for this.

For example, according to data out of Fidelity, as of the end of 2020, the Australian share market had provided an average total return of 8.55% per annum over the last 30 years. That’s even after taking into account market meltdowns during the GFC and pandemic.

This means that a single $10,000 investment three decades ago and earning the market return would now be worth just under $120,000.

What about if you beat the market?

If you invest wisely in companies with strong business models and equally strong growth prospects, you could potentially beat the market.

For this example, let’s say you were able to earn a return of 10% per annum over the period. That would turn your single $10,000 investment into $175,000 in 30 years. Not bad for a single investment! 

And if you were able to add to your investment over the years, you would be generating even more wealth as it compounds.

Overall, this demonstrates just how rewarding investing with a long term view can be.

Which shares would be good buy and hold investments?

The good news for investors is that there are a number of quality options on the Australian share market that have the potential to generate market-beating returns over the next decade and beyond.

One such share is biotechnology giant CSL Limited (ASX: CSL). It appears well-placed once the pandemic passes due to its in demand plasma-therapies and its lucrative research and development pipeline. Underpinning the latter is an almost US$1 billion annual investment in these activities. A sharp pullback in its share price in recent months arguably makes it even more attractive.

Another top buy and hold option could be Altium Limited (ASX: ALU). This electronic design software provider could have a very bright future due to its industry-leading software and the growing demand for it due to the proliferation of electronic devices globally. The latter is being driven by the artificial intelligence and internet of things booms, which show no signs of slowing.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX sees 7,000 points once more
• Is the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price too cheap to ignore?
• CSL (ASX:CSL) share price dips on latest AstraZeneca news
• 6 reasons CSL (ASX:CSL) shares are struggling
• 2 of the best ASX growth shares to buy now

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 CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Altium. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Altium. 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 Atomo Diagnostics Limited (ASX: AT1) share price is down 16% since this time last month. With no news from the company, what’s been driving its share price lower lately?

At the time of writing, the Atomo share price is 24 cents, just 1 cent above its all-time lowest closing price.

Let’s look at what’s been going on with the company’s share price over the last few months.

What does Atomo Diagnostics do?

Atomo Diagnostics is an Australian medical device company that supplies the global market with blood-based rapid diagnostic test (RDT) devices.

It aims to provide technology that simplifies and improves the accuracy of the blood testing process. 

The company offers products for both medical professionals and people who need to perform self-testing.

Recently, Atomo has secured the Therapeutic Good Administration’s approval for its RDTs, one of which works to detect HIV and the other to detect COVID-19 immunity. 

What’s been moving the Atomo Diagnostics share price lately?

The last time we heard from Atomo Diagnostics was when the company was removed from the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) on 12 March.

Prior to that, the company posted its quarterly earnings in late February. While many of its half-year metrics were positive, with a revenue increase of 389% and gross profit lifting by 278%, its share price dropped.

It’s possible the drop in the company’s share price is the result of its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of around $2.12 million, although Atomo still held $24.69 million in cash and no debt.

It also announced a number of positive updates from its HIV and COVID-19 immunity RTDs between October and December 2020, but none since. 

Atomo share price snapshot

Atomo Diagnostics is still a relatively new company on the ASX. It was first floated this time last year.

The company’s share price got off to a slow start. On the close of its first day on the ASX, its shares were trading at 39 cents apiece. Two trading days later, it reached its highest closing price so far, finishing the day at 54 cents.

It’s been trending downwards ever since, having dropped 39.74% since its debut and 24.19% in 2021.

Atomo Diagnostics has a market capitalisation of around $95 million, with approximately 408 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• How you can become rich buying and holding ASX shares
• Here’s why SEEK (ASX:SEK) and these ASX shares are at 52-week highs
• Can the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price break above $90?
• Why the Platinum (ASX:PTM) share price is falling today
• Clinuvel (ASX:CUV) share price drops on strategic update

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 Why is the Atomo (ASX:AT1) share price trending downwards? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Although the share market is tumbling lower today, that hasn’t stopped a number of shares from pushing higher.

In fact, a few have even managed to climb to 52-week highs or better. Here’s why these ASX shares are scaling new heights today:

Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY)

The Galaxy share price climbed to a multi-year high of $3.30 this morning. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the lithium miner’s shares this year due to its increasingly positive outlook. This is being driven by the growing demand for lithium from the electric vehicle and renewable energy market. This has supported a massive rebound in lithium prices. Another positive has been Galaxy’s improving production rates. After reducing production when lithium prices hit rock bottom, the company has now achieved nameplate capacity at its Mt Cattlin operation.

SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK)

The SEEK share price hit a record high of $31.89 on Monday. The job listings giant’s shares have been strong performers this year after the Australian economy bounced back quickly from the pandemic. So much so, last week Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) reported that job advertisements hit a 12-year high during March. The bank’s data pointed to Australian job advertisements increasing by 7.4% month on month and 39.7% compared to the same period last year. This bodes well for SEEK given its domination of the local market.

Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI)

The Universal Store share price rose to a record high of $7.49 this morning. When the retailer’s shares hit that level, it meant they were up an impressive 97% from their November IPO price of $3.80. Investors have been scrambling to get hold of shares since its IPO due to its very strong performance in FY 2021. During the first half, Universal Store reported a 23.3% increase in sales to $118 million and a 63.6% increase in underlying net profit after tax to $21.1 million. Positively, the second half started even stronger, with like for like sales growing 28.2% during the first seven weeks of the half.

More reading

• Orocobre (ASX:ORE) share price rebounds from broker downgrade
• Why Anteotech, Credit Clear, Galaxy, & Mach7 shares are storming higher
• The Galaxy Resources (ASX:GXY) share price is on watch. Here’s why
• ASX lithium shares are surging across the board. Here’s why
• 2 outstanding ASX shares to buy and hold

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Galaxy Resources Limited and SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SEEK 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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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares surged some 27% between October 2020 and February 2021.

Since 2015, however, the CBA share price has typically struggled to make it over the $90 level, and more often than not, tended to trade in a sideways fashion. With the CBA share price currently fetching $86.60, what can investors expect from Australia’s biggest bank? 

Australia’s economic recovery well underway

Australia’s economic recovery is well underway and stronger than expected, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s April monetary policy decision. The statement from the RBA governor Dr Philip Lowe said: 

The unemployment rate fell to 5.8 per cent in February and the number of people with a job has returned to the pre-pandemic level. GDP increased by a strong 3.1 per cent in the December quarter, boosted by a further lift in household consumption as the health situation improved. The recovery is expected to continue, with above-trend growth this year and next. Household and business balance sheets are in good shape and should continue to support spending.

Looking over at the property market, he also commented: 

Housing markets have strengthened further, with prices rising in most markets. Housing credit growth to owner-occupiers has picked up, with strong demand from first-home buyers. In contrast, investor credit growth remains subdued. Given the environment of rising housing prices and low interest rates, the Bank will be monitoring trends in housing borrowing carefully and it is important that lending standards are maintained.

CBA’s half-year results presentation also brights light to a “relatively well-positioned” Australia and New Zealand economy, highlighting factors such as significant accumulated household savings, a strong recovery in the labour market, high consumer and business confidence and an improved outlook for housing. 

Arguably, the RBA’s relatively positive commentary should spell good news for CBA’s operations, particularly business and home lending. 

Earnings eyeing full recovery 

CBA’s half-year results highlighted a strong rebound in earnings with cash net profit after tax down 10.8% to $3,886 million compared to 1H20. If COVID-19 impacts and remediation costs were excluded, cash NPAT would have been broadly flat. 

The bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio has improved from 11.7% in 1H20 to 12.6% in 1H21. 

This year’s interim dividend is less, at $1.50 per share compared to the $2.00 per share in 1H20. 

Overall, the CBA share price is almost back to where it was before the pandemic, with the bank delivering similar profit levels and a higher CET1 ratio but paying a more reserved percentage of its earnings as a dividend. 

What do brokers think about the CBA share price? 

Two brokers have updated their ratings and target prices for the CBA share price in April. 

On 1 April, Credit Suisse retained a neutral rating with an $85 target price. Its commentary highlighted the reduction in loan repayment deferrals, noting that CBA had experienced a 76% reduction in total deferrals to $2.3 billion. Its deferrals are predominately mortgages with only $147 million of SME deferrals. 

On the same day, Morgan Stanley was underweight on CBA shares with a $79 target price. It noted that system housing loan growth had picked up to an annualised rate of around 5.1% in February. Meanwhile, further data led the broker to believe that the surge in deposits has ended. 

Morgan Stanley believes that the high levels of liquidity, ongoing deposit mix shift and lower cost of wholesale funding supports the near-term outlook for CBA shares.

Overall, broker target prices aren’t pointing to much upside for CBA shares. However, whether this means the CBA share price will not be able to break through the $90 barrier over the near term remains to be seen. 

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX sees 7,000 points once more
• The Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is up almost 20% this month
• 6 reasons CSL (ASX:CSL) shares are struggling
• This broker thinks the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price is a buy in April
• CommBank (ASX:CBA) cops massive fine for deceptive conduct

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 Can the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price break above $90? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM) share price is not having a great start to the week today. At the time of writing, Platinum shares are down 3.57% to $4.86 a share after closing at $5.04 on Friday afternoon. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently down just 0.5%.

It’s a rare 2021 pullback for Platinum, which has seen its share price rise more than 17% year to date so far. So why is the Platinum share price underperforming so convincingly today?

Ebbs and flows for Platinum shares

The Platinum share price is almost certainly reacting today to an ASX release the company made last week after market close on Friday. This announcement was a monthly funds under management (FUM) disclosure that the asset manager regularly reported to the market. This was was for the month of March. It reported that Platinum experienced an outflow of $206 million over the month of March. It started the month with $24.853 billion in funds under management, and ended the month with $24.5 billion in FUM. That’s a decrease of 1.42%. 

Platinum did note that $41 million of that outflow was from the  Platinum Trust Funds. It also noted that “$99 million of the total net outflow is related to one client rebalancing their portfolio”. That’s quite common for large or institutional investors to do at the end of a quarter. Even so, it’s arguably not exactly a good look for a fund manager like Platinum to lose this much in outflows over March when both the ASX 200 Index and the US S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP: .INX) both had strong months. 

Platinum, through its chief investment officer Andrew Clifford, has recently made headlines decrying the market “mania” of recent months. In a recent investment letter, Mr Clifford stated that “ever-lower bond yields further fuelled the speculative mania in growth and defensive stocks”. He went further in a recent investor presentation, stating “When you hear people say this is not like the 2000s tech bubble, I must say I agree. This is a much bigger bubble. The question is when does it end”.

An interesting sentiment (and some bold predictions) there. Mr Clifford might end up being proven right by history. But judging by the Platinum outflows, investors might not be on board just yet.

More reading

• Why Brickworks, Imugene, Platinum, & Synlait shares are dropping today
• Orocobre (ASX:ORE) share price rebounds from broker downgrade
• Fighting the Fed: The next choice for ASX investors
• ASX 200 energy shares outlook boosted by mega African oil project
• ASX 200 down 0.3%: Webjet completes note offering, Xero pushes higher

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

The post Why the Platinum (ASX:PTM) share price is falling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) shares are falling today despite, or possibly because of, the latest strategic update by the pharmaceutical company. At the time of writing, the Clinuvel share price is trading at $29.37 – down 2.49%. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.35% lower.

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

What is Clinuvel?

Clinuvel is a global biopharmaceutical company that develops drugs for the treatment of a range of skin disorders. The company’s signature medication is Scenesse.

The drug is for the treatment of erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). EPP is a rare metabolic disorder that causes burns after brief exposure to visible light, especially sunlight.

Clinuvel strategic update

The Clinuvel share price is slumping today despite the company providing investors with a second update on its expansion and growth plans. Clinuvel’s first update was in October 2020, and it plans to release a new update every six months.

Managing director Philippe Wolgen says the bi-annual updates are important for owners in the company.

“The Strategic Update series additionally aims to inform about the Company’s opportunities, and this new format allows us to be more detailed on technology and selected markets,” Mr Wolgen said in the statement.

Below is a summary of the updates provided by Clinuvel.

• 40 American skin specialty centres will now treat EPP patients with Scenesse.
• The company is looking to expand the use of Scenesse to “genetic, metabolic, and life-threatening disorders,” along with skin treatments.
• Clinuvel will begin treating “several untreated and unserved groups at the highest risk of photodamage and skin cancers,” using Scenesse, as soon as COVID restrictions allow.
• A trial for Arterial Ischaemic Stroke is underway, with 80 patients being screened in Melbourne.
• Four new products are in development, with scant detail provided.
• The communications and marketing teams are “80% recruited.”
• A new manufacturing division will focus on the development of “innovative, controlled-release systemic and topical formulations.

Investors seemingly are not impressed by these updates, with the Clinuvel share price haemorrhaging after their release.

Only three weeks ago, the company announced it would be expanding its DNA repair program. That announcement was also met with a stock sell-off.

Clinuvel share price snapshot

Despite today’s setback, the Clinuvel share price is still around 42% higher than this time last year. In fact, just in the past month, the company’s value has appreciated by around 16% with Clinuvel shares hitting a 52-week record of $30.61 last Friday.

Clinuvel has a market capitalisation of $1.5 billion.

More reading

• Clinuvel (ASX:CUV) share price falls despite positive update
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Inflation fears hold ASX down
• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Calm restored to the ASX 200
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week

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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Is the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price a COVID-19 recovery buy idea?

Well, it has already gone up a fair bit. Over the past year the NAB share price has risen by 62% and in the last six months it has increased by 41%.

Things have really turned around for NAB over the last 12 months

Just under a year ago, NAB revealed its FY20 half-year result which showed $1.4 billion of cash earnings – down 51.4%. Excluding large notable items of $1 billion, cash earnings were $2.47 billion, down 24.6%.

Credit impairment charges increased 158.6% to $1.16 billion with a $828 million increase of its collective provisions. At the time, NAB said it had approved more than 70,000 home loans and 34,000 business loans for deferral of repayments.

The most recent insight we’ve been given into NAB’s operations has been the FY21 first quarter result which showed $1.65 billion of cash earnings. That was 47% higher than the FY20 second half quarterly average, primarily driven by low credit impairment charges.

NAB said that at an underlying level, performance was sound in the current competitive, low interest environment. Cash earnings growth was 1% in the FY21 first quarter, compared to the first quarter of FY20.

The second half of FY20 saw credit impairment charges of $1.6 billion. But the FY21 first quarter saw just $15 million of credit impairment charges.

How is the loan book performing?

NAB said its asset quality remained broadly stable over the first quarter of FY21, with the ratio of 90+ days past due and gross impaired assets to gross loans and acceptances declining 2 basis points to 1.01%.

However, the ratio of 90+ days past due and gross impaired assets to gross loans and acceptances increased by 17 basis points to 1.18%, mainly due to missed payments relating to the large cohort of home loan customers exiting deferrals in October 2020.

As at 31 December 2020, Australian home loan deferral balances have declined to approximately $2 billion and Australian business loan deferrals have declined to approximately $1 billion. Those balances compare with peak deferral balances of $38 billion for home loans and approximately $19 billion for business loans.

NAB explained that current asset quality trends for customers exiting deferrals are worse for the total portfolio but better than expected at this stage. Most customers have resumed payments (more than 90% of balances), but a small cohort require additional assistance.

NAB’s balance sheet remains ‘unquestionably strong’, to use APRA’s benchmark, with a common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio of 11.7%.  

The CEO of NAB, Ross McEwan, said:

Improving economic and health outcomes in Australia and New Zealand are encouraging, as are the reductions we are seeing in deferral balances. However, there are still a number of uncertainties requiring further clarity. These include the impact on customers of ongoing health alerts and measures put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19 and the wind-down of deferral and jobkeeper programs.

Is the NAB share price a buy?

The broker Credit Suisse rates NAB shares as a buy, but with a price target of $27 – so that suggest little upside over the next 12 months. The improvement of the NAB loan deferral situation is a positive.

Credit Suisse thinks NAB is trading at 16x FY21’s estimated earnings with a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.8%.

Broker Morgan Stanley has a neutral rating on NAB shares, with a price target of $25.30. That suggests that the NAB share price is going to fall over the next year. Low growth of the loan book is something the broker is keeping an eye on.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX sees 7,000 points once more
• This broker expects great things from Bank of Queensland’s (ASX:BOQ) results next week
• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price and weekly news wrap
• ASX 200 dips, AGL to split in two, NAB’s neobank acquisition approved
• ASX 200 down 0.15%: AGL to split into two, NAB’s 86 400 acquisition receives ACCC approval

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 Is the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price a COVID recovery buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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In afternoon trade on Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a disappointing decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.35% to 6,970.7 points.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

The Brickworks share price is down 2.5% to $20.39. Today’s decline is partly attributable to the building products company’s shares going ex-dividend this morning for its interim dividend. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving Brickworks’ 21 cents per share fully franked dividend later this month on 28 April.

Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)

The Imugene share price has tumbled over 8% to 16.5 cents. This was despite the clinical stage immuno-oncology company announcing the presentation of its CF33 oncolytic virus program at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2021 Annual Meeting. This presentation demonstrated that 124I-based PET/CT imaging can be used to visualise SC and peritoneal tumours treated with Imugene’s CF33-hNIS-antiPDL1.

Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM)

The Platinum share price is down 4% to $4.84. This follows the release of its funds under management (FUM) update after the market close on Friday. That update revealed that Platinum recorded net outflows of approximately $206 million for the month of March. This left the fund manager with total FUM of $24.5 billion at the end of the period.

Synlait Milk Ltd (ASX: SM1)

The Synlait share price has continued its slide and is down 2% to $3.15. Investors have been selling the struggling dairy processor’s shares after it announced the surprise exit of its CEO, Leon Clement. Though, with the Synlait share price losing over 70% of its value during his tenure, shareholders may be hoping that a change of leader will get it heading in the right direction again. Last month Synlait warned that it expected a breakeven result in FY 2021.   

More reading

• Synlait (ASX:SM1) share price on watch after sudden CEO exit
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 3 ASX dividend shares to buy today
• Why Aurelia Metals, Brickworks, Greenland Minerals, & Resolute are tumbling lower
• Bullish ASX 200 shares breaking into 52-week highs 

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

The post Why Brickworks, Imugene, Platinum, & Synlait shares are dropping today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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At the start of each week I like to look at ASIC’s short position report to find out which shares are being targeted by short sellers.

This is because I believe it is well worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn’t quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) remains the most shorted ASX share after its short interest jumped week on week to 15.3%. It appears as though short sellers believe the travel market may take longer to recover than hoped.
• Tassal Group Limited (ASX: TGR) has seen its short interest remain flat at 9.9%. Weak salmon prices and Australia-China trade war fears are weighing on sentiment.
• Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has short interest of 8.8%, which is flat week on week. Short sellers appear to believe the travel agent’s shares are overvalued at the current level.
• Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING) has 8.3% of its shares held short, which is up week on week. Concerns over an unfavourable shift in its sales mix and the sudden exit of its CEO could be weighing on sentiment.
• Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) has seen its short interest rise week on week again to 8.2%. A disappointing full year result, weak guidance, and the termination of its Bibiani mining licence are weighing on this gold miner’s shares.
• Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) has seen its short interest remain flat at 7.3%. Valuation concerns, supermarket price war fears, and high capital expenditure plans could be behind this high level of short interest.
• InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC) has 6.3% of its shares held short, which is down slightly week on week. There are concerns that InvoCare could be losing market share to its funeral industry rivals.
• Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) has entered the top ten with short interest of 6.2%. This may be due to valuation concerns, especially given rising bond yields.
• Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) has seen its short interest rise to 6.1%. As with Megaport, this appears to be due to fears over the sky high multiples that its shares trade on.
• Alkane Resources Limited (ASX: ALK) is back in the top ten with short interest of 5.8%. Investors may be disappointed with the slow progress the company is making with its rare earths project. Investors were very excited about it last year, driving its shares notably higher.

More reading

• Why ASX travel share prices are slipping today
• ASX 200 down 0.3%: Webjet completes note offering, Xero pushes higher
• 2 stellar ASX growth shares that could be strong buys
• Is the Coles (ASX:COL) share price a buy today?
• Seaspiracy prompts a deep dive into ASX aquaculture sustainability

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 MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited, InvoCare Limited, MEGAPORT FPO, and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Peppermint Innovation Limited (ASX: PIL) share price has fallen 14.7% today, despite good news from the company. This morning, the financial technology company announced it has signed an agreement with the Philippines’ largest micro-financial services provider.  

The agreement will allow users of Peppermint’s Bizmoto product to withdraw and deposit money at 2,500 shops in the Philippines.

At the time of writing, the Peppermint share price is 2.9 cents, down from Friday’s closing price of 3.4 cents. Let’s look closer at why the Peppermint share price is falling today. 

Peppermint’s agreement with Cebuana Lhuillier

The agreement announced today will allow users of Peppermint’s Bizmoto platform to withdraw and deposit money in any one of Cebuana Lhullier’s 2,500 storefronts.

Bizmoto is a Philippines-based fintech product for micro-business owners and entrepreneurs. It allows users to receive and manage payments securely and easily.

According to Peppermint, Cebuana Lhuillier is the Philippines’ largest and leading micro-financial services provider.

Under the agreement, Cebuana Lhuillier will earn a fee when Bizmoto agents deposit money to the platform at one of its shops.

Peppermint also takes a fee when users perform transactions on the platform.

Today’s news from Peppermint comes just weeks after the company made a deal with the Bank of Philippines (BPI).

The agreement with BPI will see users able to transfer money from the bank onto the Bizmoto platform.

Commentary from management

Peppermint managing director and CEO Chris Kain said the latest agreement increased the platform’s convenience and accessibility.

It is yet another ‘brick in the road’ as we build out our bizmoto ecosystem, further integrating our bizmoto platform into the established Philippines’ payments industry as we seek interoperability across the digital payments landscape throughout the Philippines.

Peppermint aims to continue to align itself with strategic and established partners across the Philippines’ payments landscape to ensure the bizmoto platform and ecosystem of services is convenient and accessible to as many Filipino people as possible.

 Peppermint share price snapshot 

The Peppermint share price is currently in a unique position. Until late February of this year, the company’s shares had been frozen for nearly 18 months.

Peppermint has been listed on the ASX since 2008, with its highest closing price occurring in October 2009, when it closed at 37 cents. When it was frozen, the Peppermint Innovation share price was a comparatively measly 1 cent.

Since it started trading once more in February, Peppermint Innovation share price has risen and fallen a number of times. Though, it is currently right where it started a few months ago.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $54 million, with approximately 1.5 billion shares outstanding.

More reading

• Peppermint (ASX:PIL) share price surges 13% on ‘significant’ Asia deal

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 Why the Peppermint (ASX:PIL) share price is falling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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