The Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) price is rocketing, up 90% over the past 24 hours alone.

At the current 24 cents, Dogecoin now ranks as the 8th largest cryptocurrency in existence, with a market cap of US$23.4 billion (AU$30.4 billion).

That’s according to data from CoinMarketCap, which also tells me that, while Dogecoin doesn’t trade on the newly listed Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN), you can turn to crypto exchanges Binance, Huobi Global, OKEx, FTX, or CoinTiger, among others.

Why is the Dogecoin price heading for the moon?

Back on 1 January this year, you could have picked up a single Dogecoin for less than half a cent. Or 0.469 cents, to be precise.

At the time of writing – and it’s changing almost minute by minute – the Dogecoin price is 23.8 cents. That’s a gain of – wait for it – 4,996% since we awoke to celebrate the new year.

The Bitcoin price, by comparison, is up a more sedate 118% so far in 2021.

So, what’s driving the Dogecoin price to the moon?

Certainly, Dogecoin has benefited from the broader cryptocurrency bull run of late, which have driven Bitcoin and Ether (the number 2 crypto by market cap) to new record highs as well.

That bull run can be attributed to a wider involvement in cryptos by institutional investors, alongside growing investor unease that central bank and government stimulus efforts will see a surge in inflation in global fiat currencies.

On the institutional side, this week’s listing of crypto exchange Coinbase on the tech-heavy Nasdaq offered a boost for most of the leading digital assets.

The billionaires’ boost

And let’s not forget Elon Musk.

The Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) founder earlier this year was credited for aiding Bitcoin’s price rise when he announced that Tesla would accept Bitcoin for its vehicles. And that the company would hold onto those Bitcoin rather than exchanging them for dollars.

Musk is also credited with providing some strong tailwinds for the Dogecoin price.

On 1 April (yes, April Fool’s Day), the Tesla billionaire tweeted “Doge Barking at the Moon”, along with an image of just that. The implication was widely believed to mean that Musk expected the Dogecoin price to rocket.

As indeed it has.

Speaking of billionaires, let’s not forget Mark Cuban. He’s the owner of the US basketball team, the Dallas Mavericks. His NBA team began accepting Dogecoin for payments last month.

On Wednesday, 14 April, Cuban looks to have stirred the coals under the Dogecoin price when he tweeted:

FYI, the Mavs sales in dogecoin have increase 550pct over the past month. We have now sold more than 122k in Doge in merchandise! We will never sell 1 single Doge ever. So keep buying.

And if the Dogecoin price needed even more institutional support, it got it from Conagra Brands Inc‘s (NYSE: CAG), Slim Jim brand.

As CoinDesk reports:

Smoked meat stick vendor Slim Jim has an actual official dogecoin strategy…

The social media-savvy snack food saw its Twitter follower count increase 160% and tweet impressions soar to the moon (35 million impressions in 25 days) after it began engaging in Shiba Inu meme coin content last quarter, according to the CEO of parent company Conagra Brands.

“We’ve seen a marked uptick in audience interaction, including direct engagement and advocacy from the person [who] created dogecoin,” CEO Sean Connolly said on Conagra’s April 8 earnings call. 

A bit of history

Dogecoin was created by the US’ Billy Markus and Australia’s Jackson Palmer. The company emerged from (or was forked from, in crypto parlance) Litecoin in 2013. Based on a dog meme, they intended the altcoin to be a light-hearted version of the more serious cryptos, like Bitcoin.

Unlike Bitcoin, which is capped at a total final supply of 21 million once the last virtual coins have been mined, the Dogecoin supply is uncapped. That means potentially an unlimited amount of Dogecoin could be mined.

What that will mean for the Dogecoin price longer-term, remains to be seen.

More reading

• Do you think the Bitcoin price is a bubble? Read this
• Why Cryptocurrency stocks like Marathon Digital and Riot Blockchain crashed Today
• Cathie Wood ARK funds buy 750,000 Coinbase shares after IPO
• Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) shares pop and drop in debut
• The Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) IPO price has been announced

Bernd Struben 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 Bitcoin and 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.

The post Forget the Bitcoin price, the Dogecoin price is on fire! appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2QyaGtS

The Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU) share price opened 7% higher to 18 cents this morning, following an announcement about the company’s international expansion into Australia with its acquisition of Goodments Pty Ltd.

In early afternoon trade, the Douugh share price has pulled back slightly to be up by 6.06%.

What’s driving the Douugh share price?

Today, the Douugh share price opened higher after the company announced that its recent Goodments acquisition will re-launch its trading platform in Australia to drive customer and revenue growth in the short-term. The company will then consolidate the Goodments investing app into the Douugh app in partnership with its banking-as-a-service partner, RAB. 

Douugh plans to leverage the heightened level of interest in the share market from millennials and Gen-Z and offer the demographic a broader wealth management offering, which will include retirement, single stocks/exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and crypto investing.

Acquiring Goodments to fast-track investing offerings 

Founded in 2017, Goodments is an emerging playing in the responsible investing space, building customer-centric products that match sustainability-minded people with investments that align with their environment, social and ethical values. 

The company is a regulated Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) holder that has strong relationships with financial institutions, brokers and key plays in the investment industry.

The Goodments acquisition has allowed Douugh to accelerate a number of development pathways to drive customer growth and revenues in both the US and Australian markets. 

In terms of the US market, the acquisition will help fast-track the launch of the Douugh Wealth offering in the US, creating a launchpad to drive revenues through the introduction of a monthly subscription. 

Commentary from management 

Douugh’s Founder and CEO Andy Taylor commented on the acquisition: 

The acquisition of AFSL licensed Goodments and the recent award of our RIA licence in the US allows for the rollout of Wealth Jars. With this feature we can target customers in the investing space who are currently using platforms like Betterment, Acorns and Stash with a holistic solution for their money management, focused on growing automated long-term wealth. This should result in larger average deposit balances being received and ultimately a higher penetration of customers paying in their salaries, which is our north star metric. 

He added:

Goodments are currently offering their more than 13,000 customers access to a range of fractionalised US stocks like Tesla, Virgin Galactic, Nike, Square and Apple. As well as high performing ETFs from companies like Ark Invest, Vanguard and Blackrock. 

In the current climate, many millennials and Gen Z’s are gravitating in record numbers to the sharemarket to help them grow their savings and build wealth. 

More reading

• Zip (ASX:Z1P) eyes potential stock and crypto trading services
• Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price races 6% on performance update
• The Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price is up 12% this morning. Here’s why
• Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price dips on remedial action completion

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 Why the Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price is up 6% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

With the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) climbing dramatically this week to a new post-COVID high, it can be tempting to think these sorts of lucrative market conditions can last forever. Alas, this has never been, and will never be, the case. The markets are a volatile beast, and can both giveth and taketh away. While some investors embrace this inherent volatility as a useful way to buy shares on the cheap, it can be downright scary, and off-putting, for many others. That’s where defensive ASX shares can be useful.

There are defensive ASX shares out there that have the potential to increase the stability and decrease the volatility of one’s portfolio if that’s an important consideration for you. Here are two such ideas today:

iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF (ASX: IXI)

This exchange-traded fund (ETF) from iShares only invests in a basket of global companies in the consumer staples sector. Consumer staples is an investing term that describes all of the goods and services we all tend to need, rather than want. This includes food, drinks, household essentials like laundry powder, soap and dishwashing liquid, and vices like alcohol and tobacco.

The beauty of this sector is that it tends to be almost completely immune from economic conditions. We all need to eat, drink and run our houses in good times and bad. And that makes these companies extremely defensive investments. Some of this ETF’s largest holdings include Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO), Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE: PG), Unilever plc (LON: ULVR) and McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD). Even our own Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) feature. 

This ETF has returned an average of 12.11% per annum over the past 10 years. It charges a management fee of 0.46% per year.

Magellan Infrastructure Fund (ASX: MICH)

This listed fund is run by Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG). Magellan is one of the most popular fund managers in Australia. This fund focuses entirely on infrastructure. It invests in companies with large, stable infrastructure investments like toll roads, ports, airports, energy infrastructure and power generation and transmission. Like consumer staples, demand for these assets tends to be very consistent and inelastic. That means they tend to generate cash flows in good times and bad, making them very useful defensive investments.

Magellan Infrastructure Fund holds companies like Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO), Enbridge Inc (NYSE: ENB) and our own Transurban Group (ASX: TCL).

This defensive ASX share has returned an average of 5.81% per annum since its inception in 2016. It charges a management fee of 1.05% per year.

More reading

• Eagers Automotive (ASX:APE) share price edges higher on trading update
• ASX 200 down 0.2%: Origin sinks on earnings downgrade, gold miners charge higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• ASX 200 rises, Zip sinks, BOQ reports
• How pent-up demand could turbocharge ASX 200 energy shares

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and Procter & Gamble. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Unilever. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET, iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF, Transurban Group, and Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Magellan Infrastructure Fund. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Why you should buy these 2 defensive ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3x114Iv

The Anatara Lifesciences Ltd (ASX: ANR) share price is one of the best performers on the ASX today. This comes after the company announced it has secured an Australian patent for its animal health product, Detach and provided an update on its piglet challenge study.

At the time of writing, the life sciences company’s shares are swapping hands for 21.5 cents, up 19.4%.

New patent grant

Anatara shares are pushing higher after investors appear pleased with the company’s latest progress.

According to its release, Anatara advised it has been granted a patent to add to its portfolio. Approved by IP Australia, the patent will seek to protect Anatara’s intellectual property, and provide a pathway for future commercialisation.

The new patent is titled, ‘Anti-diarrhea formulation which avoids antimicrobial resistance’ (patent number AU2019204496).

Anatara stated that its product, Detach uses the patent as a non-antibiotic solution to assist in controlling diarrheal disease. The patent covers using bromelain, an extract from pineapple stems, as a way to treat and prevent diarrhea caused by pathogenic microbes. However, the company noted that the new formulation does not kill pathogenic microbes.

The AU2019204496 patent is wholly-owned by Anatara, and is set to expire on 24 August 2038.

Anatara CEO, Steven Lydeamore commented:

The granting of the patent secures our intellectual property position and is a significant milestone towards commercialising our Detach animal health product. Scour in piglets is an expensive, debilitating and in some cases, life-threatening condition, and having a product that is registered for use in Australia, we are well placed to leverage our patent as we work towards a commercial deal.

Piglet challenge study commences

In further news boosting Anatara shares, the company revealed that its BONIFF-SMEC (bromelain-based formulation) (semi-moist extruded creep) study has begun. The project aims to test the formulated feed additive on piglets under an enterotoxigenic E. coli model. Anatara will closely evaluate the efficacy of the modified additive on piglet health, welfare, and performance after weaning.

The study is being conducted in partnership with Ridley Corporation, and is expected to be completed in June 2021.

Lydeamore commented:

Having focused our efforts on research and development over a number of years, we have developed a strong animal health pipeline and I look forward to providing the market with an update on the commercial significance of both the pig and poultry challenge trials in the coming months.

Anatara share price review

Over the past 12 months, the Anatara share price has gained over 20%, with year-to-date jumping 26%. The company’s shares reached a 52-week high of 28 cents during the middle of last year, before treading lower.

More reading

• Why you should buy these 2 defensive ASX shares today
• Alumina (ASX:AWC) share price dips on latest Alcoa update
• Why the Queensland Pacific Metals (ASX:QPM) share price just soared 15%
• Netflix is losing market share, but this is the actual risk to shareholders
• Why Eagers Auto, Mayne Pharma, Monadelphous, & Newcrest are pushing higher

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

The post Why the Anatara (ASX:ANR) share price is rocketing 19% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC) share price is edging lower today. The negative price movement comes after the aluminium supplier provided an update on the FY21 Q3 of its Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals (AWAC) business partner, Alcoa Corp (NYSE: AA).

At the time of writing, Alumina shares are trading for $1.76 – down 1.12%. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently 0.26% lower.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news and why it could be affecting the Alumina share price.

What’s going on with the Alumina share price?

In a statement to the ASX, Alumina advised shareholders of the Alcoa earnings report. As well, it provided “select information” on the Alcoa Bauxite and Alumina Segments, AWAC joint venture and other market data.

As stated, AWAC is a joint venture between Alumina and Alcoa. Alumina is a minority shareholder in the company, with a 40% stake. Alcoa owns the remaining portion. AWAC is the largest alumina business in the western world with a production capacity of 14.1 million tonnes of alumina per year.

From the Alumina update, Alcoa’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) in its alumina segment increased 134% to $227 million between Q2 to Q3. Its bauxite segment, however, fell 50.8% to $59 million during the same period. The EBITDA margin in the alumina segment increased from 10.4% to 20.2% while in bauxite it decreased from 39.5% to 24.3%. These figures are not overly impressing investors, judging by today’s Alumina share price slump.

Bauxite is an ore that contains aluminium oxides. It is then refined into alumina, which is then itself refined into aluminium.

Alumina also revealed its cost of production in AWAC increased by $23 to $229 per tonne while its realised price of AWAC product also appreciated – up by $26 to $298 per tonne. The net margin, therefore, increasing by $3 per tonne. The business claims the increase in production costs are attributable to “the higher Australian dollar, impacts from the Western Australian crusher move and seasonal maintenance.”

Alumina received $62 million from AWAC during the quarter. This is up by $7.4 million from the previous quarter.

Its net debt position increased from the last quarter from $49.6 million to $77.6 million.

Management commentary

Alumina CEO Mike Ferraro said:

With a slightly higher margin than Q4 2020, AWAC continued to generate significant cash flow for the quarter, distributing a net $62m to Alumina Limited.

An abnormal spike in Handysize freight costs in February 2021 had a negative impact on the Chinese alumina import parity price, which has caused a decline in API in recent weeks. Since late March, the Handysize freight cost has begun to fall and we expect it to continue to decline over the course of 2021, which is likely to put upward pressure on the API. Freight costs of Capesize vessels, which are used to transport bauxite from Guinea to China, have been relatively stable over the same period.

Aluminium commodity price

Aluminium futures are currently trading on the commodities market for US$2,336.50 per tonne. It’s at its highest price since June 2018. Over the past year, the Aluminium price has increased by 57.13%. The website Trading Economics is attributing the rise to increasing global demand and decreasing supply out of China due to emission regulations. In economics, this is known as the law of supply and demand.

Trading Economics is also forecasting the price of aluminium to decrease over the next 12 months. It expects its price to sit around US$2,144 by then.

Alumina share price snapshot

Over the past year, the Alumina share price has increased by around 16%. It is, however, down by around 6% since the beginning of this year. Based on the current price, Alumina shares are paying a dividend yield of 4.29%.

Alumina has a market capitalisation of $5.1 billion.

More reading

• Why Alumina, Delorean, Next Science, & Pushpay shares are tumbling lower
• Why the South32 (ASX:S32) share price is outperforming today
• ASX 200 dips, Sydney Airport falls, AGL rises

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.

The post Alumina (ASX:AWC) share price dips on latest Alcoa update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The Queensland Pacific Metals Ltd (ASX: QPM) share price has rocketed by 15% this morning after news the company has produced battery specification nickel sulfate.

Tests were able to produce battery quality nickel sulfate from nickel-cobalt mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) produced at Queensland Pacific’s pilot plant operations.

Today, the Queensland Pacific Metals share price opened 5% higher than yesterday’s close. It has continued rising at currently sits at 12 cents a share, up 15%.

Let’s look closer at the news from Queensland Pacific.

Today’s news

In today’s release, Queensland Pacific shared it has defied even its own expectations of the quality of nickel sulfate produced by its pilot plants operations.

It recently engaged The Simulus Group to undertake bench scale test work to produce nickel sulfate.

Currently, MHP is the preferred product to refine nickel sulfate for batteries. The process is a conventional commercial flowsheet that is widely used in the industry.

The conventional industry flowsheet involves re-leach, solvent extraction, impurity removal and crystallization, which Simulus used to successfully produce nickel sulfate.

The result was better than the company’s targets. Queensland Pacific stated that, based on industry specifications, the results meet even the strictest of battery specifications.

It claimed the ability to produce nickel sulfate from its New Caledonian-sourced products is an important milestone for the company.

Queensland Pacific is now beginning pilot scale testwork to produce nickel sulfate from its remaining mixed hydroxide precipitate. It is also working with the CSIRO to find an alternative refining flowsheet to reduce the costs of processing nickel sulfate.

Commentary from management

QPM’s managing director Stephen Grocott commented on the findings. He said:

We have now completed the full process from a raw ore source to a final battery chemical product. The Australian Government is trying to develop the nation’s capability for advanced manufacturing and the TECH Project is the perfect example of a project that would fit this bill.

Queensland Pacific Metals share price snapshot

The Queensland Pacific Metals share price is having a roaring year so far on the ASX.

Currently, it’s up 162.5% year to date. It’s also up a whopping 950% over the last 12 months.

Queensland Pacific Metals has a market capitalisation of around $112 million, with approximately 1 billion shares outstanding.

More reading

• Netflix is losing market share, but this is the actual risk to shareholders
• Why Eagers Auto, Mayne Pharma, Monadelphous, & Newcrest are pushing higher
• Selfwealth (ASX:SWF) share price keeps tumbling
• Eagers Automotive (ASX:APE) share price edges higher on trading update
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price falls amid overseas expansion talks

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 Queensland Pacific Metals (ASX:QPM) share price just soared 15% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is losing market share to be sure — but consider the circumstances. It was the first company to make streaming video a mainstream phenomenon, and for years, it was the only serious name in the business. It’s only natural that the recent launches of big rival services such as Disney’s (NYSE: DIS) Disney+ and AT&T‘s (NYSE: T) HBO Max would chip away at Netflix’s share of the on-demand video space.

But there’s room for more than one winner in this business, and Netflix’s market-leading 204 million paid worldwide subscribers is still only a fraction of its total addressable market. Shareholders need not ramp up the anxiety levels just yet.

Stock-picking can be a funny business. Sometimes investors may use all the wrong reasons to mentally justify why a company deserves to be priced at a steep premium, but then quickly change their minds with little to no warning when circumstances shift.

It’s this phenomenon that should make the streaming market’s new entrants so concerning to Netflix shareholders. We’ve never actually seen Netflix forced to compete seriously until now. To the extent that its commanding market share and impressive growth rates are the reasons the stock’s price-to-earnings ratio has lingered above 60, current investors should at least be cautious.

Netflix is losing ground

Continued dominance of a market is never guaranteed. Just ask investors of Yahoo!, MySpace, or IBM. There was a time when shares of IBM and Yahoo! were priced as if those companies would never stop growing, while privately held MySpace fetched a price of $580 million when News Corp. acquired it back in 2005 — and was in 2007 valued at around $12 billion. Six years after News Corp. bought it, MySpace was sold again — for $35 million. Competitors stepped up to the plate, as they always do.

Netflix is no MySpace, to be clear, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that its best days are behind it. As tough as things have been competitively speaking over the course of the past year, they’re only going to get tougher as players like HBO Max, Disney+, and Hulu step up their streaming games.

Data from market intelligence outfit eMarketer lets us flesh out this trend with some numbers. It reports that Netflix secured 36.2% of the U.S. over-the-top television industry’s revenue in 2020, down from 44.4% in 2019. By 2022, its share is expected to be down to 28.4%, and almost even with Disney’s slice of the U.S. streaming market.

That math is roughly in line with similar research from Ampere Analysis suggesting Netflix lost 30% of its U.S. market share last year.

Its next customers won’t come cheap

In its defense, Netflix is winning a relatively smaller piece of a rapidly growing pie. Last year’s revenue of $25 billion was up 24% year over year, propelled by subscriber growth at a similar rate, and its profits grew at nearly twice that pace. While year-over-year revenue gains are projected to slow, earnings growth is forecast to remain robust through 2025. This may be why Netflix shares continue to trade at 91 times trailing earnings and 57 times forward earnings.

That’s a profit outlook, however, seemingly based on the assumption that per-subscriber marketing costs will remain suppressed. They won’t. They can’t.

See, players like AT&T and Disney are increasingly supporting their fledgling streaming platforms and gaining traction with their efforts. Whereas eMarketer forecasts that Disney and Netflix will be equals within the U.S. by 2022, Digital TV Research’s principal analyst Simon Murray predicts Disney+ will dethrone Netflix as the nation’s streaming leader sometime between 2024 and 2026. Disney itself says it’s expecting to have between 230 million and 260 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024, versus Netflix’s current headcount of 204 million. Netflix will be forced to respond, likely starting with more — not less — spending on marketing, or content, or both.

Indeed, after reining in its marketing spending early in the pandemic, in the fourth quarter, the company ramped it back up. The result was that marketing spending ate into last year’s surge in operating income … almost dollar-for-dollar. Yet Netflix only picked up a relatively modest 8.5 million subscribers for the fourth quarter, despite the boost to its marketing outlays.

The message? The streaming market’s cheap, the low-hanging fruit has been picked.

Bottom line

It’s clear that Netflix’s status as the bully on the block is in jeopardy. To what degree that matters remains to be seen. Just know that not much takes the wind out of a stock’s sails like seeing the underlying company lapped by a newcomer, or seeing its market share chipped away by a flock of new competitors. Just ask IBM, which was once the dominant name of the business computing industry, but was ultimately upended by a combination of Intel, HP, and the army of motherboard manufacturers they led away from IBM’s ecosystem.

NFLX data by YCharts.

Given all of this, it’s curious that Netflix shares have considerably underperformed the broad market over the course of the past six months — a period when the appeal of a host of new streaming competitors became clear. It may be a subtle, subconscious hint of the market’s brewing doubts about Netflix stock’s steep valuation. Perception isn’t everything, but it’s certainly a lot.

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

More reading

• Netflix just fixed its only disadvantage in streaming
• Love tech shares? This ASX ETF is a great buy today
• Netflix is crushing Disney in this fast-growing market
• Netflix is experimenting with releasing new episodes over a longer timeframe
• How much does password sharing cost Netflix?

James Brumley owns shares of AT&T. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Netflix and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Intel and recommends the following options: long January 2023 $57 calls on Intel and short January 2023 $57 puts on Intel. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Netflix and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Netflix is losing market share, but this is the actual risk to shareholders appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3mTb0PD

In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end a positive week on an underwhelming note. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.25% to 7,041.5 points.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are pushing higher:

Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE)

The Eagers Automotive share price is up 3% to $15.58 following the release of a first quarter update. According to the release, the auto retailer expects to report an underlying operating profit before tax of around $98 million for the quarter. This is more than double the underlying operating profit before tax of $40.3 million it recorded in the entire first half of FY 2020.

Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (ASX: MYX)

The Mayne Pharma share price has jumped 9% to 50.2 cents. Investors have been buying the pharmaceutical company’s shares after it announced US FDA approval for a new contraceptive pill. Mayne Pharma intends to launch the novel combined oral contraceptive in June. It estimates that it has a US$3.6 billion opportunity in the United States.

Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND)

The Monadelphous share price is up 5.5% to $11.38. This morning the mining services company announced a settlement with Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO). This relates to a fire incident which occurred at Rio Tinto’s iron ore processing facility at Cape Lambert, Western Australia, in January 2019. Positively, the settlement is being covered by its insurance.

Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM)

The Newcrest share price is up 3.5% to $27.78. This solid gain has been driven by a rise in the gold price and a positive broker note out of Goldman Sachs. In respect to the latter, Goldman Sachs has upgraded Newcrest’s shares from neutral to a buy rating with a $33.50 price target. It believes its shares are cheap compared to ASX 100 gold peers and North American gold majors.

More reading

• Eagers Automotive (ASX:APE) share price edges higher on trading update
• ASX 200 down 0.2%: Origin sinks on earnings downgrade, gold miners charge higher
• Why Newcrest (ASX:NCM) and Northern Star (NST) shares are flying high today
• Here’s why the Mayne Pharma (ASX:MYX) share price is shooting 28% higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

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

The post Why Eagers Auto, Mayne Pharma, Monadelphous, & Newcrest are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3dmz2zJ

Selfwealth Ltd (ASX: SWF) shares are continuing to tumble today. At the time of writing, the Selfwealth share price is trading 1.79% lower at 55 cents. Today’s falls have contributed to losses of more than 14% for the company’s shares over the past month.

Selfwealth is an Australian-based company, engaged in the provision of flat-fee online brokerage services.

The Selfwealth platform allows users to trade in various securities, including ordinary shares, Australian listed property shares, investment company shares, debt securities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

It offers various account types, including for individuals, companies, trusts, self-managed super funds, and joint accounts. The company derives its revenue from trading, membership subscriptions and interest income.

Selfwealth’s recent record

Selfwealth could be excused for feeling a little hard done by given its current share price losses are in the wake of a 178% increase in annual revenue, reported four days ago.

In its quarterly appendix, the company announced a record quarterly operating revenue of $5.78 million, a record quarterly increase of 18,645 active traders to 85,944 (up 166% year on year) and a positive quarterly cash flow from operating activities of $558,000.

It also recorded promising US results. The performance of its new US trading product throughout the GameStop trading frenzy was “particularly pleasing” according to the report, amidst platform issues and trading restrictions at competing trading platforms.

This led to record client acquisition for SelfWealth together with a “much larger than expected” 25% take-up of the US trading functionality.

The Selfwealth share price falls are possibly a slight market correction, given its share price has rocketed by more than 290% over the past 12 months. However, Selfwealth shares have declined each day since the release of the company’s quarterly update. 

Selfwealth share price snapshot

The Selfwealth share price has fallen 5.17% this week, meaning the company’s shares are now trading flat for the year so far.

It is up by around 235% against the broader financial services sector over the past year but is now a long way off its all-time high of 79 cents, reached in September last year.

More reading

• SelfWealth (ASX:SWF) share price on watch following trading update
• SelfWealth (ASX:SWF) share price flat despite new CEO

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.

The post Selfwealth (ASX:SWF) share price keeps tumbling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2QuPTax

The Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) share price is climbing in early morning trade following the release of a trading update. At the time of writing, the automotive retailer’s shares are swapping hands for $15.57, up 0.39%. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX:XJO) is flat at 7,055 points.

How did Eagers Automotive perform for the period?

Eagers Automotive shares are within sights of breaking new territory after the company delivered a strong result.

For the quarter ending 31 March 2021, Eagers Automotive expects to report an underlying operating profit before tax of around $98 million. On a statutory basis, the group anticipates net profit before tax from its operations to come at $105 million.

Management stated that the sound result is being driven by unusually strong market tailwinds. Demand is outstripping supply, and the company’s material cost-out program, completed within the last year, is also seeing ongoing benefits.

Eagers Automotive reiterated that it remains attentive on balancing the risk of changing market dynamics aligned with its growth plans. The company’s Next 100 strategy with managing its cost base efficiently is continuing to advance.

Furthermore, Eagers Automotive revealed that the robust result does not include the sale of the Daimler Truck operations and Milperra property. The transaction, valued at $108 million, is slated for completion sometime in the first-half of 2021.

Once the divestment is transferred to Velocity Vehicle Group, Eagers Automotive believes this will simplify its automotive retail businesses. An estimated net gain of before tax between $32 million and $36 million is estimated to be delivered.

Eagers Automotive share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Eagers Automotive share price has gained more than 280%, with year-to-date up around 14%. The company’s shares reached an all-time high of $15.89 on Wednesday and could break that feat again.

Based on the current share price, Eagers Automotive commands a market capitalisation of roughly $3.9 billion. In addition, the company has close to 257 million shares on issue.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.2%: Origin sinks on earnings downgrade, gold miners charge higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• ASX 200 rises, Zip sinks, BOQ reports
• How pent-up demand could turbocharge ASX 200 energy shares
• What’s going on with the Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price today?

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

The post Eagers Automotive (ASX:APE) share price edges higher on trading update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3agQLX7