The Medlab Clinical Ltd (ASX: MDC) share price is rising today after the European Patent Office announced its intention to grant the Australian company a patent for its Nanocelle technology.

The Medlab share price is up 8.33% today to 26 cents per share. 

Medlab is a medical research and development company that’s gained a lot of publicity for its innovative medical use of THC, one of the psychoactive compounds in cannabis.

It largely focuses on THC and other cannabinoid products as pain-relievers, but the company is also engaged in researching and formulating novel biotherapeutics or new therapeutic medicines derived from natural organisms.

Its products aim to improve health outcomes in early to moderate stage chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease, pre-diabetes, and obesity.

What is Medlab’s Nanocelle technology?

Medlab is currently focused on the development of Nanocelle technology that can increase the solubility of medicines. It does this through a sub-micron spray, which is administered to the membrane lining the inside of the mouth.

When sprayed, it provides faster and more effective absorption of active ingredients into the bloodstream, without the need for needles or pills.

Medlab considers Nanocelle “a commercially viable platform that offers unique opportunities for partnering with some of the biggest players in the pharma industry”. It was behind considerable Medlab share price rises in February this year.

When the European Union grants Medlab’s patent, it will be the second granted for Nanocelle, following receipt of an Australian patent in September 2020. Medlab has also filed patent applications in the United States, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada.

What Medlab management said

Medlab CEO Dr Sean Hall said the patent was the next step in Nanocelle’s expansion into worldwide markets.

Receiving notice of intent from the European Patent Office represents another important validation of our NanoCelle drug delivery platform, offering Nanocelle protection in one of the world’s largest markets.

The grant will not only bolster the competitive advantage of our pharmaceutical and nutraceutical portfolio, it will also support our robust research and development pipeline and commercial partnering focus. We are delighted with this recognition.

Medlab share price snapshot

The Medlab share price has been on a rocky road, rising from 15 cents in July 2020 to more than 36 cents in January this year. It’s gained 6% in 2021 so far but lost 8% over the past 12 months and is down 40% against the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

More reading

• BBX Minerals (ASX:BBX) share price plunges 17% on Brazilian COVID struggles
• Are ASX tech shares like Afterpay (ASX:APT) back to the races?
• Why the Imugene (ASX:IMU) share price just hit an all-time high
• ASX 200 up 0.25%: EML surges on acquisition news, Westpac’s APRA update
• Amazon just passed a major milestone in the digital advertising market

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

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The BBX Minerals Ltd (ASX: BBX) share price has fallen today after the company revealed Brazil’s ongoing struggle to contain its coronavirus outbreak has hampered its mining operations.

The BBX Minerals share price has fallen 17.65% to 21 cents per share at the time of writing.

BBX Minerals has a large amount of exposure to Brazilian workplace regulation through its current drilling activities and its metallurgical testing program at Tres Estados, in the nation’s Amazonas state, which is in the far north-west of the country. Its Tres Estados project is focused on gold mining.

BBX Minerals is engaged in the exploration and development of mining assets in Brazil and Australia, but Brazil contributes maximum revenue for the company. BBX is focused on gold exploration in Brazil and its current projects include Juma East, EMA Gold, and Tres Estados Gold.

BBX releases a dispiriting exploration update

Brazil’s struggles to contain the coronavirus spread have been well documented. The country has reported the second most cases and deaths globally due to COVID-19, and recently passed 4,000 deaths per day.

BBX Minerals CEO, Andre Douchane, began his company’s report by expressing his condolences to the Brazilian people throughout the crisis, saying “our hearts go out to the Brazilian people for their extraordinary struggle against COVID 19.”

The company has been limited in its ability to explore or test assays during the last month, as in order to further reinforce current lockdown measures, the São Paulo state government declared a 10-day public holiday from March 26 to April 4, during which time the company ceased many of its activities. 

Despite other regions where BBX operates implementing similar controls, BBX is currently able to continue limited-scale testing of its drilling assays at some test facilities.

However, COVID-19 is not the only factor leading to the BBX Minerals share price decline. The company has now completed drilling in 29 of the 30 holes at its Tres Estados project and hasn’t struck notable quantities of gold, platinum or palladium in its recent report. It discovered some copper deposits.

What BBX management said

Douchane said BBX was hamstrung by multiple factors in its ability to explore further.

In line with previous findings, fire assaying failed to show gold. There are several methods other than fire assays that do allow the quantification of the contained metals. Some using various acids such as the 5-acid method and others by using a smelting method that uses either nickel or copper as
a collector.

BBX employed a metallurgical testing method several years ago that used copper as a collector to determine contained metals. The IPT 5-acid method while repeatable is time consuming and exceedingly difficult to use based on the need for highly pure acids and specialised microwave equipment, hence BBX’s continued research for a simpler, less expensive method.

BBX Minerals share price snapshot

The BBX Minerals share price has been falling reasonably steadily since highs of 49 cents per share in September 2020 and has now lost 27% in 2021 so far.

Its share price has still posted gains of 110% over the past 12 months, and has beaten the basic materials sector by just over 70% in that timeframe.

More reading

• Are ASX tech shares like Afterpay (ASX:APT) back to the races?
• Why the Imugene (ASX:IMU) share price just hit an all-time high
• ASX 200 up 0.25%: EML surges on acquisition news, Westpac’s APRA update
• Amazon just passed a major milestone in the digital advertising market
• The Fiji Kava (ASX:FIJ) share price rocketed 26% this morning. Here’s why

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) seems to be on a chocolate high. Since the Easter long weekend, the ASX 200 has gotten a second wind, rising a healthy 1% since last Thursday at the time of writing. But one ASX sector seems to be enjoying the lion’s share of the goodwill on the share market. ASX tech shares have had an exceptional week. Since Thursday afternoon, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is up 5.7%. It’s also up 9.2% since 30 March, just a bit over a week ago.

ASX tech shares of all stripes are participating in these gains. Take Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT). Afterpay shares are up 3.4% today and are, at the time of writing, back above $120 a share. It was only last week that Afterpay had done the unthinkable and fell down to just over $101 after making a new all-time high of $160 a share in February. Other ASX tech shares are also bouncing back. Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) shares are up almost 16% since 30 March after falling close to 50% since 16 February at one point. It’s a similar story with Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), which is up more than 20% over the past month.

There has been a pretty enthusiastic bounce for ASX tech shares whichever way you look at it. Of course, that comes after what has been a horror month or two for tech. Between 10 February and 9 March, the All Technology Index fell 18%. Even after today’s moves, the index remains down more than 8% from its February high.

So what’s behind this move?

Bonds fall and push tech higher

Well, it’s not hard to find a possible answer if we look at what was holding ASX tech shares down in the first place. And that would be rising bond yields. As we’ve covered rather extensively over the past month or two, government bond yields have been on the rise lately. That’s both here and in the United States. Higher government bond yields result in many investors re-valuing tach shares. That’s because these companies are often priced on their future cash flows rather than what they make today.

But US government bond yields have actually been backtracking. As we reported last month, the US 10-year government bond yield hit a high of more than 1.77% on 31 March, its highest level since January 2020. But today, those same bonds have a yield of 1.67%.

This has sparked a surge in US tech shares. Since 30 March, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) index is up around 5%. It’s likely that the ASX tech sector is taking its queues from US tech shares this week. If US government bonds remain off the boil or even fall further, it could well be back to the races for tech shares, and on to new highs.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.25%: EML surges on acquisition news, Westpac’s APRA update
• 2 ASX 200 dividend shares with large yields
• Acquisitions and spin-offs put these 3 ASX shares on brokers’ “buy” list
• The Australian economy will recover from COVID-19 this year, says IMF
• Why Zip (ASX:Z1P) and this ASX growth share could be buys

Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Xero and 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.

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The Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) share price is through the roof today, breaking record highs.

At the time of writing, shares in the medical research and development company are up 11.5%, trading at a record high of 14.5 cents each. By comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is 0.58% higher.

Today’s positive price movement comes as the company made a major announcement on its latest medical treatment.

Let’s delve deeper and see how it’s affecting the Imugene share price.

What’s pushing the Imugene share price higher?

In today’s ASX statement, Imugene advised that Phase I trials of its lung cancer vaccine, PD1-Vaxx, would “proceed to the third and final highest dose cohort”.

The company said an independent expert committee found the vaccine safe for humans at the mid-level dosage of 50 micrograms. The trial will now proceed to the full dosage of 100 micrograms.

According to the company, the results showed that one patient’s tumour almost completely disappeared after 6 weeks, while three others stabilised. One patient’s disease, however, did further progress. After 85 days, the status of two patients was unchanged.

Imugene says these early results are promising signs of the vaccine’s efficacy. The company also advised that the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, had received approval to join the Phase 1 clinical trial of PD1-Vaxx in the United States.

Stakeholder commentary

Principal investigator, Professor Gary Richards of Cabrini Hospital, Melbourne, said

I am excited to hear the Cohort Review Committee recommended opening the third and final dose cohort based on the outstanding safety and tolerability of PD1-Vaxx reviewed to date.

Imugene managing director and CEO Leslie Chong added:

Phase 1 trials are generally designed to look for safety, tolerability and early response signals to determine the optimal dose for further development. I am encouraged that we are seeing positive signals at such an early stage of our PD1-Vaxx Phase I trial.

Imugene share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, the Imugene share price increased by 625% and is now at an all-time high. In fact, in the past 6 months, the company’s share price value has increased by 141%.

At its current share price, Imugene has a market capitalisation of $676.8 million.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.25%: EML surges on acquisition news, Westpac’s APRA update
• Amazon just passed a major milestone in the digital advertising market
• The Fiji Kava (ASX:FIJ) share price rocketed 26% this morning. Here’s why
• Why EML, NextDC, Qantas, & Recce shares are racing higher
• Why the MGC Pharma (ASX:MXC) share price is zooming 13% higher today

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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At lunch on Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to defy overnight weakness on Wall Street and record a decent gain. The benchmark index is currently up 0.25% to 6,903 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

EML makes major acquisition

The EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price surged to a record high this morning after announcing the acquisition of Sentenial Limited for up to 110 million euros (~A$170.7 million). According to the release, Sentenial is a leading European Open Banking and Account-to-Account (A2A) payments provider. It utilises a cloud-native, API-first, full stack enterprise grade payment platform. Among its customer base are 4 of the top 7 banks in the United Kingdom and some of the largest merchant acquirers in Europe. Management sees the acquisition as an opportunity to deepen customer relationships, enter new industry verticals, and diversify its revenue streams.

Westpac APRA update

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is broadly flat today following the release of an update on its dealings with APRA. According to the release, APRA has approved its Integrated Plan that was developed in response to the Enforceable Undertaking. The latter was put in place following an investigation by the financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC into alleged breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.

Qantas shares ascend again

The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is ascending again on Wednesday. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the airline operator’s shares since the announcement of an Australia-NZ travel bubble. One broker that believes this is a smart move by investors is Goldman Sachs. This morning the broker reiterated its buy rating and $6.38 price target on the company’s shares. Goldman notes that New Zealand accounted for ~13% of Qantas’ international passengers and ~5% of total passengers prior to COVID-19.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the EML Payments share price with a gain of almost 12%. This follows its acquisition announcement this morning. The worst performer has been the Adbri Ltd (ASX: ABC) share price with a 4.5% decline. This is partly due to the building materials company’s shares going ex-dividend this morning.

More reading

• Why EML, NextDC, Qantas, & Recce shares are racing higher
• 2 ASX 200 dividend shares with large yields
• Acquisitions and spin-offs put these 3 ASX shares on brokers’ “buy” list
• EML Payments (ASX:EML) share price jumps to record high on acquisition news
• The Australian economy will recover from COVID-19 this year, says IMF

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 EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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

Amazon‘s (NASDAQ: AMZN) share of the U.S. digital advertising market climbed to 10.3%, according to research from eMarketer cited in a report by The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. Amazon is currently the third-biggest digital ad player in the market, with Alphabet‘s Google division accounting for roughly 28.9% of sales last year and Facebook capturing 25.2% of the market. 

eMarketer’s data suggests that Amazon recorded roughly $15.73 billion in 2020, up roughly 52.5% annually. The company’s growth in the market is likely just getting started. 

Amazon’s leadership position in the broader e-commerce market looks pretty much unshakeable, and the company should be able to leverage this strength to continue driving growth for its digital advertising initiatives. Roughly 90% of the company’s ad revenue last year came from search ads, spots, and promotions featured on its namesake online retail platform, with the remainder coming from sources including its Fire TV streaming ecosystem and its Twitch live-streaming platform.

Digital advertising is one of Amazon’s biggest growth opportunities. With searches made through Amazon’s online retail platform driving a market-leading percentage of purchases, the e-commerce hub is a natural destination for sellers looking to boost their sales. The company’s market-leading position in the e-commerce space gives it a huge advantage, and it also has analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) resources thanks to its market-leading Amazon Web Services platform. A report from Cowen estimates that Amazon will be able to grow its digital ads revenue to $85.2 billion in 2026. 

A greater percentage of retail spending will take place through digital channels each year, and this will help continue to drive a greater percentage of advertising spending online as well. Both of these trends bode well for Amazon’s long-term prospects.

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

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• Amazon reportedly demands that delivery drivers submit to invasive biometric surveillance or be fired

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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The Fiji Kava Ltd (ASX: FIJ) share price was sent rocketing in early morning trade. This comes after the health and wellness company announced that its products will be ranged in Australia’s largest pharmacy retailer.

The Fiji Kava share price rose by as much as 26.9% earlier this morning before pulling back slightly to its current level of 15 cents, up 15.38%.

Expanded market presence

Investors appear excited about the company’s latest prospect, sending Fiji Kava shares higher.

According to its release, Fiji Kava advised its suite of Noble Kava products will be stocked in Chemist Warehouse stores. The agreement seeks to boost Fiji Kava’s market presence by offering more retail points of distribution and availability. Over 300 Chemist Warehouse stores across Australia and New Zealand will range the products throughout April and May.

The initial purchase order includes Noble Kava vegan extract capsules, as well as Noble Sleep, Noble Calm, and Noble Body.

Fiji Kava highlighted the pharmacy network as the single largest domestic channel for Australian consumers purchasing complementary and alternative medicines. A report published by Roy Morgan stated that 45% of people buy their vitamins, minerals and supplements through Chemist Warehouse.

Fiji Kava interim CEO, Nicholas Simms touched on the reputable relationship between consumers and pharmacies, saying:

Pharmacists are a key trusted source for people seeking remedies for sleep, mild anxiety other mind and body ailments. It’s therefore not surprising that pharmacies represent the most prominent route to market opportunity domestically for Fiji Kava’s natural Noble Kava products; with our research indicating that more than 40% of all sleep, mind and body health need purchases take place in this channel.

Simms went on to talk about the agreement, adding:

Securing ranging of Fiji Kava in Chemist Warehouse, the largest and most established pharmacy retailer in Australia, significantly expands our retail footprint in Australasia and enables us to reach more consumers of Kava and individuals seeking natural alternatives for issues such as sleep, anxiety and muscle relaxation.

About the Fiji Kava share price

The Fiji Kava share price has jumped more than 150% over the past 12 months, and is up 25% year-to-date. The company’s shares reached an all-time high of 31.5 cents in late October 2020, before treading lower.

More reading

• Why EML, NextDC, Qantas, & Recce shares are racing higher
• Why the MGC Pharma (ASX:MXC) share price is zooming 13% higher today
• 2 ASX 200 dividend shares with large yields
• What’s happening with the Ramelius (ASX:RMS) share price?
• Jayride (ASX:JAY) share price blasts up 47% on ‘global travel recovery’

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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In late morning trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another decent gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.5% to 6,919.6 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are racing higher:

EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

The EML share price is up almost 10% to $5.64 after announcing the acquisition of Sentenial Limited for up to 110 million euros (~A$170.7 million). Sentenial is a leading European Open Banking and Account-to-Account (A2A) payments provider, utilising a cloud-native, API-first, full stack enterprise grade payment platform. Its customers include 4 of the top 7 banks in the United Kingdom and some of the largest merchant acquirers in Europe.

NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

The NextDC share price has risen 2.5% to $11.30. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Goldman Sachs this morning. According to the note, the broker has added the data centre operator’s shares to its conviction buy list and lifted the price target on them to $15.00. The broker has been holding meetings with industry participants. These meetings have collectively reinforced its positive view on NextDC.

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)

The Qantas share price is up almost 4% to $5.46. As with NextDC, this gain appears to have been driven partly by a broker note out of Goldman Sachs. In response to the ANZ travel bubble news, Goldman reiterated its buy rating and $6.38 price target on the airline operator’s shares. The broker points out that New Zealand accounted for ~13% of Qantas’ international passengers prior to COVID-19.

Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE)

The Recce share price has jumped 6% to $1.04. This follows the release of an update on its sinusitis infection treatment. According to the release, Special Access Scheme notification has been made to the Therapeutic Goods Administration by a medical practitioner following the successful treatment of a patient with RECCE 327 (R327), via nasal passage, against multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) sinusitis infection.

More reading

• Here’s why the NextDC (ASX:NXT) share price is racing higher
• EML Payments (ASX:EML) share price jumps to record high on acquisition news
• Can the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price soar even higher?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• NZ-Australia bubble opens! Qantas (ASX:QAN) shares take off

James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended EML Payments. 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 MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: MXC) share price is off to the races today, up 13% at the time of writing.

The bio-pharma company produces and develops cannabis-derived medicines.

Let’s take a look at the ASX cannabis share’s latest product orders and revenue stream.

What did MGC Pharma report today?

The MGC Pharma share price is rocketing higher after the company reported it had completed the delivery of its first bulk order of ArtemiC Rescue in March to Swiss PharmaCan AG. The bulk order of its medicinal food supplement delivered approximately $425,000 in wholesale production revenue.

Swiss PharmaCan’s purchase helped drive MGC Pharma to record quarterly sales revenue from its “proprietary phytomedicine product line”. The ASX cannabis share reported it had generated roughly $880,000 of revenue during the March 2021 quarter.

The company also said March brought in its best single month’s sales revenue so far from its pharmaceutical-grade phytomedicine products, driven by sales of its MP product line in Australia.

Words from the management

Commenting on the results, MGC Pharma global chief sales officer Nicole Godresse said:

In recent months we have seen rapid sales growth of our medical cannabis products as a direct result of our strategy to broaden our core prescriber base, diversify and expand our revenue streams and build additional strategic alliances. It is pleasing to see these strategies starting to translate into positive commercial outcomes and we expect this strong growth momentum to continue in 2021 and beyond.

MGC Pharma managing director Roby Zomer added:

We are very pleased to complete our first batch purchase order for ArtemiC Rescue under our Swiss PharmaCan agreement. This, combined with sales growth of other pharma grade cannabinoid products in key markets, has helped to deliver the strongest month and quarter of revenue growth for the company to date.

MGC Pharma’s detailed March quarterly activity report is expected within the next few weeks.

MGC Pharma share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the MGC Pharma share price has gained 130%, handily outpacing the 35% gains posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) over that same period.

With today’s intraday gains factored in, the MGC Pharma share price is up 245% year-to-date.

More reading

• Why the MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MXC) share price is jumping 8%

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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There are a handful of S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares that offer investors fairly high dividend yields.

Not every business is going to pay a large dividend. But a combination of a high payout ratio and satisfactory valuation means the below ASX 200 dividend shares offer juicy yields:

Growthpoint Properties Australia Ltd (ASX: GOZ)

This real estate investment trust (REIT) invests in properties, namely in the industrial and office properties across Australia. Not only does the REIT look to meet tenant needs now and in the future, but it also looks to operate in a sustainable way whilst reducing the impact on the environment.

Growthpoint has a total property portfolio value of around $4.3 billion, with a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 6.2 years, which provides a relatively long-term outlook for rental income.

It’s currently rated as a buy by the broker Credit Suisse. The broker expects Growthpoint will pay a distribution of 20 cents per unit in FY21, which equates to a distribution yield of 5.7%. This is also what management have guided.

The ASX 200 dividend share has a weighted average capitalisation rate of 5.5%, with a portfolio occupancy of 95%.

Growthpoint managed to generate 0.8% funds from operation (FFO) – rental profit – per security growth to 12.7 cents, with an increase of the net tangible assets (NTA) per security of 4.7% to $3.82. That means the current share price is at an 8% discount to the NTA.

Its gearing reduced to 29.9% in the recent result, well below the target range of 35% to 45%.

In FY21, Growthpoint is expecting to generate FFO per security of between 25.2 cents to 25.5 cents.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

Magellan is a fund manager that’s currently rated as a buy by the broker Morgans, with a price target of $58.26.

The manager’s key equity strategy has been struggling and underperforming the global benchmark in recent months. However, that could reverse with the US tech share’s strength in recent days and weeks.

Despite those difficulties, Magellan managed to report a 9% increase in its half-year average funds under management (FUM) to $100.9 billion. This led to an 8% rise in profit before tax and performance fees of the funds management business to $256.2 million, whilst net profit after tax (NPAT) grew 3% to $202.3 million.

The ASX 200 dividend share declared a 5% increase of the interim dividend to 97.1 cents per share.

Magellan CEO Brett Cairns noted a number of things that the company has done:

Magellan had a busy first half with the completion of a number of important initiatives including the restructure of our global equities retail funds, the launch of the Magellan Sustainable Fund and the MFG Core Series and principal investments we made in Barrenjoey Capital Partners, FinClear Holdings Limited and Guzman y Gomez.

Morgans is expecting Magellan to pay a dividend of $2.06 per share in FY21, which equates to a partially franked dividend yield of 4.3%.

More reading

• Acquisitions and spin-offs put these 3 ASX shares on brokers’ “buy” list
• The Australian economy will recover from COVID-19 this year, says IMF
• 2 ASX sectors where dividend shares will go backwards this year
• 2 great ASX 200 blue chip shares for dividends
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Magellan Financial Group. 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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