Medical device manufacturer Uscom Ltd (ASX: UCM) has today announced a significant increase in its sales and profits for the first 5 months of FY21.

The Uscom share price lifted by 10% after the announcement, and is currently trading at 17.5 cents.

Strong first-half so far

The company’s un-audited accounts shows significant increase in total revenue, profit, and cash inflow compared with the first 6 months of FY20.

For the first 5 months of trading, Uscom says its sales revenue was $2.01 million, up by 196% from the previous corresponding period. Total revenue of $2.26 million, up by 135%.

Profit for the 5 months was $0.18 million, which was an improvement from a loss of $1.5 million.

Meanwhile operating cash inflow for the 5 months was $0.21 million, which increased from an outflow of $0.78 million after correcting for the capital raising of $1.05 million in November 2020.

Surge in unit orders 

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in February, Uscom received a material increase in demand for its USCOM 1A devices from China. As a result, unit orders for the first 5 weeks of 2020 were up 124% compared to the first 2 months of 2019.

Following those orders, the Uscom share price spiked to its 52-week high of 53 cents – a level it has yet to reach again since.

Recognition in China

Last week, Uscom announced that the Chinese government had listed its subsidiary in China, Uscom China, as a National High Technology Enterprise. 

The company said the listing recognised Uscom’s achievements in research and development, innovation, and significant findings in high-tech fields. 

Furthermore, the company said it expected 5  five new products to receive Chinese regulatory approval and enter the market over the next 12 months, with another 2 in the pipeline.

About the Uscom share price

The Uscom share price started the year at 12 cents, spiked to 53 cents in February and has since declined to its current level at around 18 cents. It commands a market cap of $25 million.

More reading

• The Archer (ASX:AXE) share price lifts on partnership deal
• What does the future hold for Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) after China’s tariff?
• Australia’s money supply rises 12%, but it’s only going to a few
• Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) share price higher on 555 Collins Street update
• Cluey (ASX:CLU) share price jumps 12% after IPO before fading

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto 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 Archer Materials Ltd (ASX: AXE) share price lifted today after the company announced a partnership agreement with Max Kelsen.

In early trade, the Archer share price reached an intraday high of 58.5 cents but has since retreated to 56 cents, up 3.7%, at the time of writing. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is also higher, up 0.6% to 6,964 points.

What’s driving the Archer share price forward?

The Archer share price is on the move today following its collaboration with global leading artificial intelligence (AI) company, Max Kelsen. Archer advised that it will work with Max Kelsen to develop quantum algorithms for its CQ quantum computing processor (chip).

Max Kelsen is an established leader in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning applications. The software business represents a number of Fortune 500 companies as well as Australia’s most iconic brands. Its core business model revolves around workflow automation and value extraction from data that provides accurate modelling for critical decisions.

As both companies are members of the global IBM Q Network, the partnership will seek to use IBM’s Qiskit and quantum computers for testing and validation. This in turn will forge a pathway for commercialisation of the CQ chip, which aims to provide high-value add in the finance and telecommunications sector.

Under the agreement, Archer staff will work directly with the quantum computing team at Max Kelsen. Quantum processors will be used to run quantum algorithms which will target to develop business use-cases of CQ chip technology.

What did the CEO say?

Commenting on the partnership, Archer CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair said:

As part of Archer’s forward-looking strategy, the partnership with Max Kelsen – a leading AI and quantum computing firm – is a key step forward in the commercialisation of our CQ chip technology.

It’s a great example of how two Australian IBM Q Network members are working together to realise the commercial potential of quantum computing.

We will use IBM’s Qiskit and quantum machines to validate our work, and once validated, Archer intends to apply the end-user cases, algorithms and Qiskit to CQ chip hardware, which demonstrates the increasing value our partnerships bring as we progress in our development.

About the share price

The Archer share price has risen strongly since the start of the year, thanks to the broard surge in investor hype within the tech industry.

The Archer share price is up more than 250% in the last 12 months, and reached a 52-week high of 81.5 cents in May.

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• S&P Global set to launch world’s first cryptocurrency index
• Why the MSM (ASX:MSM) share price has gone gangbusters again
• Real-time ASX price data becoming FREE for regular punters
• ASX shares looking awesome for next year: economist
• Why the Xtek (ASX:XTE) share price is edging higher 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.

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The proposal by Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) to spin off its Penfolds business was put on hold recently to allow the company to focus on responding to China’s trade tariffs and the ongoing anti-dumping probe by China into imports of Australian wine.

As tensions between Australia and China escalated, Treasury Wines responded to the tariffs at the end of November. The Treasury Wine share price then tumbled to a near 5-year low, trading at $8.40 as of 1 December.

Response to trade tariffs

 Treasury Wine’s response plan included the following key items:

• reallocation of Penfolds Bin and Icon range from China – which represent 25% of the company’s annual global Penfolds allocation volumes – to other key luxury growth markets including Asian markets outside of China, Australia, the US and the Europe.
• reallocation of luxury grape sourcing to other premium Australian portfolio brands, which have been significantly
  supply constrained over recent years.
• acceleration of its multi-country of origin portfolio growth strategy, with a focus on growing sourcing from its existing asset base in France and potentially from China.

In the week or so following the release of its response, the Treasury Wine share price has risen by 9.5% to $9.20.

International support from parliamentary leaders

More than 200 parliamentarians from 19 countries have formed an alliance called the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China Policy (IPAC). This is led by global legislators who are senior politicians aiming to maintain a free, open and rules-based international trade order.

The alliance recently launched a global support for the Australian wine movement in response to this wave of Australia–China trade tension, via a global campaign calling for people to drink Australian red wine in December.

Treasury to diversify away from China

A research report out of Bell Potter estimated that the tariffs from China will impact Treasury Wine’s earnings in the near term, and thus the broker lowered the company’s target share price to $8.20.

In response to the collapse in demand, Treasury CEO Tim Ford said “We are moving on with a plan…to build the markets outside of China, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

Bank of America analyst David Errington also noted that Treasury Wine will now be focusing on other markets, stating: “Treasury Wine will most likely divert about 1.5 million cases a year from China to other markets by 2023, and China’s earnings contribution to the company would almost halve by then.”

About the Treasury Wine share price

The Treasury Wine share price currently sits at $9.20 as of 9 December, up 9.4% from its 1 December low. Treasury Wine shares are down 43% in the year to date, leaving the company with a market capitalisation of $6.67 billion.

More reading

• Which ASX shares will China ‘punish’ next?
• Zip and Creso Pharma were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week
• Why Cashrewards, Doctor Care Anywhere, Kogan, & Treasury Wine are pushing higher
• 2 defensive ASX dividend shares for income
• What big brokers think of the Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) share price now

Motley Fool contributor MWUaus has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates 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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As we all know, 2020 has been a rather strange and unconventional year. The coronavirus pandemic is mostly to blame of course. It’s hard to imagine the sight of a mask in public being considered anything but ‘normal’ these days. But it wasn’t too long ago that it was a strange sight. And I’m not sure anyone had even heard the phrase ‘social distancing’ before the start of this year either. Yet it’s now part of our common lexicon.

But apart from these new ‘pandemic management’ norms, one of the largest changes we have seen across the economy (and society) has been the influx of government stimulus. The levels of money that the state and federal governments have injected into the economy over this year have been astronomical.

It had made the famous ‘$900 cheques’ of the global financial crisis-era seem like pocket change. Think about it. JobKeeper at $1,500 a fortnight (since reduced) for anyone who couldn’t work due to the pandemic, a doubling of ‘the dole’ (aka JobSeeker), rolling stimulus cheques to pensioners and other welfare recipients… all of this would have been inconceivable just last year.

And yet here we are.

Money: From the many to the few

But actions have consequences. And one of the consequences of this stimulus is a massive increase in money circulating through the economy. According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) yesterday, we can put a number on this extra money sloshing around. The AFR reports that the Australian money supply has increased by 12.3% in the 12 months to October 2020. That ‘supply’ is of ‘broad money’, which, according to the AFR,  includes ” just about every form of money in an economy, including currency, deposits, securities [shares] and bonds”.

In terms of just cold hard cash, the number is even higher – a 19% increase over the same period.

So we should all be feeling 12-20% richer, right?

Well, the AFR also reports that this massive increase in money is disproportionately flowing to a relatively small group of people. This problem was not caused by the pandemic, but it was exacerbated by it.

Labour vs capital

The AFR quotes Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) chief economist Richard Yetsenga on this matter:

A pre-COVID problem was not just the existence of historically slow economic growth in many economies but how that growth was distributed… Superstar firms, technology companies, some natural resource companies and even some of the super-rich have been winners from the global growth of the last 10–20 years.

But median wages in many economies have not increased the way we might have expected and certainly not in a way that was consistent with historical experience.

Here Mr Yetsenga is referring to the gap between the share of national income that labour (wage and salaries) receives compared to capital (invested money). This gap has reportedly been widening for decades.

According to the AFR, the ‘labour share’ was more than 60% of the national income in the early 1980s. Today, it is closer to 50%. Conversely, the ‘capital’ share of national income has gone from just over 20% to more than 35% over the same period. Boiled down, this essentially means wages have stayed flat in real terms, while ‘capital’, like shares and property, have gone up. Most people earn wages and salaries. Far fewer own shares and houses.

As discussed earlier, the AFR supposes this effect has been accelerated in 2020. This has no doubt been helped by stubbornly-high housing prices across the country (coming after a decade of massive growth). As well as surging stock markets, both here and abroad (especially in the United States). Record low interest rates, as well as new quantitative easing (QE) programs, have likely exacerbated this situation further.

Actions have consequences indeed.

More reading

• ANZ bank and execs face criminal charges
• Why the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price may be a buy
• ASX 200 up 0.3%: Premier Investments update, big four banks rise, gold miners tumble
• Here are the ASX bank shares rated as a buy today
• Cashrewards (ASX:CRW) share price lifts on successful IPO debut

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.

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The Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC) share price is pushing higher on Wednesday after providing an update on its flagship office fund CPOF.

In afternoon trade the property company’s shares are up slightly to $14.28.

This leaves the Charter Hall share price trading within sight of its record high of $14.79.

What did Charter Hall announce?

This afternoon Charter Hall announced that CPOF has agreed a pre-lease from a leading global technology company as the anchor tenant customer for its new $750 million 555 Collins Street office development.

It also revealed that construction will now commence having completed the demolition process during 2020. Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC) has been named as the project’s construction partner.

What is the 555 project?

According to the release, the 555 project initially includes 48,000sqm of premium grade office space and over 2,300sqm of retail amenity.

The company notes that the project secured planning approval from the Victorian State Government under its Building Recovery Taskforce earlier in the year.

Management advised that it will accommodate up to 7,500 workers and provide a future-proofed workplace that will empower tenants and their staff to work in their own authentic way, supported with world-leading tech-enabled environments and health and wellness facilities.

Charter Hall’s Managing Director and Group CEO, David Harrison, commented: “This major pre-commitment provides the momentum for CPOF to proceed with construction and advance further leasing interest during the development phase, as we did on the Wesley project, which was 100% pre committed 12 months before practical completion.”

“555 Collins Street is a visionary commercial precinct that will create a new benchmark for office development in Australia. We expect a flight to high quality modern office buildings as tenant customers refine their workplace to meet the changing appetite for modern, technology and health/hygiene driven accommodation requirements” added Mr Harrison.

More reading

• Why are ASX property shares on the rise today?
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• ASX 200 rises again on Tuesday
• Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) share price lower despite Bunnings acquisitions

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.

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The Cluey Ltd (ASX: CLU) share price has landed on the Australian share market on Wednesday following the completion of its initial public offering (IPO).

In morning trade the education technology company’s shares were up as much as 12.5% to $1.35.

Since then the Cluey share price has given back these gains and is trading roughly flat at $1.21.

The Cluey IPO.

This morning Cluey became the latest company to complete its IPO when it raised $30 million at an offer price of $1.20 per share. This gives it a market capitalisation of approximately $143.5 million.

Management advised that its IPO was well supported by reinvestment from existing shareholders and a range of new institutional and retail investors. This led to applications exceeding the offer size multiple times.

According to the release, the company intends to use the proceeds to fund its growth strategy. This involves growing its student enrolments as well as exploring further product, channel, market growth opportunities and potential strategic acquisitions.

What is Cluey?

Cluey describes itself as an innovative edtech company. It integrates personal tutoring with its scalable technology platforms and utilises data and learning analytics to support the delivery of quality learning to thousands of Australian students.

Since launching in July 2018, the company has delivered over 192,000 learning sessions and is growing strongly. It delivered 52,700 sessions in the first quarter of FY 2021, up 338% on the same quarter in FY 2020 and up 41% compared to the prior quarter.

In addition, its strong growth has continued in October and November with 38,000 sessions, up 261% compared to the same period last year.

Cluey’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Rohald, commented: “Our listing is a significant milestone for our company. We’re excited about delivering our next phase of growth and we welcome our new investors on this journey.”

“We continue to see strong growth in the demand for our services and are accelerating the recruitment of additional customer acquisition personnel ahead of the start of the new academic year in Q3 FY2021, our peak enrolment period.”

“A range of new initiatives are on track to be delivered in Q3 FY2021, including small group tutoring for secondary school students, and we remain confident of achieving the FY2021 financial forecasts set out in our prospectus,” he concluded.

Cluey is aiming to deliver a 218% increase in revenue to ~$15.5 million in FY 2021. However, it is also forecasting a sizeable $32.9 million net loss, which is more than double FY 2020’s loss of $16.1 million.

More reading

• Citigroup downgrades these ASX mining stocks after a big rally
• The Esports Mogul (ASX:ESH) share price down 5% on mobile update
• ASX 200 up 0.7%: CBA update, IGO enters lithium market, Healius jumps
• Morgans picks the best ASX stocks to buy for 2021
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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.

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Many of Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a large number of broker notes this week.

Three broker buy ratings that have caught my eye are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have retained their overweight rating and $120.00 price target on this payments company’s shares. The broker notes that the RBA has indicated that it will allow the company to prevent retailers imposing a surcharge when shoppers use its service. This, together with the prospects of lower debit card fees, is being seen as a big positive for Afterpay. The Afterpay share price is trading at $98.01 on Tuesday.

Estia Health Ltd (ASX: EHE)

A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have upgraded this aged care operator’s shares to an outperform rating with a $1.95 price target. While Macquarie expects near term trading conditions to remain uncertain, it notes that government funding could give the sector a boost. In addition to this, the broker likes the company due to its solid balance sheet and robust earnings. The Estia Health share price is fetching $1.75 this afternoon.

Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS)

Analysts at Citi have retained their buy rating and lifted the price target on this wholesale distributor’s shares to $4.00. This follows the release of a stronger than expected first half result earlier this week. Looking ahead, the broker believes that its Hardware business can drive growth over the medium term. And while it expects Food sales to moderate, this hasn’t stopped the broker from upgrading its earnings forecasts for the next couple of years. The Metcash share price is trading at $3.46 today.

More reading

• Why Afterpay, Creso Pharma, Healius, & Resonance Health shares are storming higher
• What’s wrong with the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price?
• Metcash (ASX:MTS) share price down 2.5% despite broker upgrade
• Which shares will benefit from trillions of dollars in new global stimulus?
• Why G8 Education, Metcash, Woodside, & Zip shares are dropping lower

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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Tinybeans Group Ltd (ASX: TNY) shares are soaring higher today following the company’s release of a positive trading update. At the time of writing, the Tinybeans share price is up 13.1% to $1.38. In earlier trade, Tinybeans shares reached as high as $1.43 before retracing slightly.

What’s driving the Tinybeans share price higher?

Investors are today driving the Tinybeans share prive higher after the company updated the market with a forecast record performance for the second quarter of FY21.

According to the release, Tinybeans advised it saw strong trading conditions in October and November, with December remaining favourable.

Revenue for the end of the second quarter is projected to be around $3 million. This represents a 146% increase on FY20’s second quarter revenue and a 24% rise above the prior quarter.

The company said premium revenue will reach $280,000, which will reflect a 10% gain on the second quarter of FY20. Total paid subscriptions are expected to reach 23,000.

Reaching over 4.6 million people, monthly active users are forecast to rise a massive 260% over the prior corresponding period, and 15% on the FY21 first quarter result.

Complimenting the robust result, Tinybeans highlighted its advertising wins from both new and existing customers. These include contracts from major retailers Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL).

Further strengthening the company’s balance sheet, Tinybeans anticipates receiving $3 million in cash receipts for the second quarter. This represents a 40% lift on the previous period. The company estimates its cash balance will be around $4.2 million at the end of the quarter, which includes a cash burn of $400,000.

What did the CEO say?

Tinybeans CEO Mr Eddie Geller was excited to deliver the strong results. He said:

After a successful Q1-FY21, we are absolutely thrilled to have such a strong follow up by delivering another record quarter.

Metrics are up across all key business drivers. From monthly active users, to revenues to cash. The Company is forging ahead in executing the strategy to build the number one digital parenting platform and drive multiple complementary revenue streams.

This is a testament to the team and the value proposition to parents and brands. This has set us up for an even better 2021 given the exciting product roadmap ahead.

About the Tinybeans share price

The Tinybeans share price has been climbing higher since the middle of August. Shareholders who bought the company’s share at that time would now be sitting on gains of around 80% over just a few months.

Tinybeans shares reached a 52-week high of $2.90 in January and a 52-week low of 51 cents in March.

More reading

• Tinybeans (ASX: TNY) share price leaps 9% after record month

Aaron Teboneras 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 Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Tinybeans Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple and Tinybeans 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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Analysts may be revising up their valuations for ASX miners but the sector’s big recent run prompted Citigroup to cut its recommendation on some stocks.

The commodity that has been leading the charge higher is iron ore as the Chinese economy rebounds solidly from the COVID‐19 mayhem.

Other metals have also performed well as confidence about global growth got a boost with positive vaccine news.

Good news priced in

Analysts are left scrambling to upgrade their valuations for ASX miners, but this may not be enough to keep some ASX stocks in the good books.

Citigroup increased its price targets across the board for ASX miners. But it doesn’t believe there’s significant upside from current prices for most hard commodities, including copper, iron ore, aluminium and gold.

“Global Mining is up 30% in USD terms in the last month given a supportive macro backdrop and equity rotation into value,” said Citi.

“So, on DCF [discounted cash flow] it’s harder to find value using Citi LT [long-term] prices. For the large cap miners dominated by iron ore, FCF [free cash flow] generation is strong so dividends remain a key theme for us.”

Fortescue share price downgraded after hitting record

But with the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price racing to a record high, its strong FCF yield wasn’t enough to save it from a downgrade.

Citi cut its rating on the stock to “neutral” from “buy” even as it lifted its price target to $21 from $18.50 a share.

Other ASX miners that got downgraded

Fortescue isn’t the only one that got a chop. The broker also downgraded the Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) share price to “sell” from “neutral” with a new target price of $4.40 a share, up from $3.35.

But the downgrades couldn’t cool investors’ enthusiasm for iron ore miners. The Fortescue share price jumped 1% to $21.67, while the Champion Iron share price gained 1.6% to $5.16 during lunch time trade.

Outside of iron ore, the Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) share price got lowered by Citi to “neutral” from “buy” as the nickel miner is trading too close to the broker’s price target of $2.65 a share.

Top ASX mining stocks to buy for 2021

On the flipside, Citi’s top picks in the mining sector include the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price.

Other ASX mining stocks that Citi favours are the South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price and Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC) share price.

More reading

• ASX mining shares boosted today after broker upgrades
• The Esports Mogul (ASX:ESH) share price down 5% on mobile update
• ASX 200 up 0.7%: CBA update, IGO enters lithium market, Healius jumps
• Morgans picks the best ASX stocks to buy for 2021
• S&P Global set to launch world’s first cryptocurrency index

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Rio Tinto Ltd. and South32 Ltd. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

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 Australian Primary Hemp Ltd (ASX: APH) share price had an incredible start to the trading day this morning.

The company’s shares closed at 38 cents a share yesterday afternoon, and opened at the same price this morning. However, the Primary Hemp share price took off soon after, rising as high as 52 cents a share just before 11 am. That rise represents a gain of 40% on the opening price.

Primary Hemp shares have cooled off somewhat since, and are trading at 39 cents a share at the time of writing, up a still-respectable 4%. The current share price puts Australian Primary Hemp shares close to 130% up year to date.

So what is this seemingly volatile company? And why are the shares going gangbusters today?

What is Australian Primary Hemp?

As you might have imagined, Australian Primary Hemp is one of Australia’s largest producers of home-grown hemp. If you aren’t familiar with hemp, it is a plant in the cannabis genus. However (before you call the police on this company), note that hemp does not meaningfully produce the psychoactive chemicals as its illicit botanical cousins do. As such, hemp plants have been legalised in Australia for commercial purposes since 2017.

The Hemp plant produces fibres in a similar vein to cotton plants, which make it a good source of clothing materials and similar applications, such as rope making.

But Australian Primary Hemp instead focuses on the nutritional benefits of hemp, of which there are apparently many. The company tells us that hemp is a plentiful source of protein, dietary fibre, amino acids, omega 3 and 6 and magnesium, amongst other nutrients.

Australian Primary Hemp is especially focused on the use of the hemp seed, stating that, “this super seed contains the essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals for human function and has long been recognised for its nutritious value as one of China’s five ancient grains”.

The company sells a range of hemp-derived products under the Australian Primary Hemp brand. These include hemp oil, hemp protein powder, hemp flour, and unprocessed hemp seeds. It even sells hemp-based hand sanitiser. It also markets these products, as well as a range of snack bars, under a premium ‘Mt. Elephant’ brand.

Why is the share price blazing new highs today?

The cause of today’s wild share market performance on the Australian Primary Hemp share price is not immediately obvious. There have been no price-sensitive announcements made to the ASX in December at all so far, with the last update coming out almost 3 weeks ago on 20 November.

It is worth noting that this announcement outlined a very positive development for the company. It discussed how Mt. Elephant products are soon to be stocked in 7-11 convenience stores around the country, which was announced a few days earlier.

However, if we dig a little deeper on today’s market moves, something interesting comes to light. ASX data shows that this company’s average trading volume is 12,831 shares per day. However, on this particular day, 586,712 shares have changed hands. And that’s with some hours left as well.

ASX data shows that a significant chunk of the company’s shares (around 40,000) were bought this morning just after open, and an even bigger chunk (close to 60,000) were offloaded soon after. The data also shows significant selling dominating over the rest of the day so far.

Small-cap shares like this one can be vulnerable to large buy or sell orders in terms of volatility. Could this be behind the massive swings we have seen in the Australia Primary Hemp share price today?

More reading

• ASX mining shares boosted today after broker upgrades
• Why Abacus, Emerge Gaming, Jumbo, & Woodside shares are dropping lower
• Why the Resonance Health (ASX:RHT) share price is shooting 39% higher today
• About to invest in Tesla? Consider this battery stock instead
• Why the Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH) share price is rocketing 96% higher today

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.

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