• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

    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:

    BWX Ltd (ASX: BWX)

    According to a note out of Citi, its analysts have retained their buy rating and $5.35 price target on this personal care products company’s shares. The broker notes that Chinese authorities have now removed the animal testing requirement for imported cosmetics. Citi sees this as a big positive for BWX and its Sukin brand as it was previously unable to sell its products in retail stores on mainland China. In addition to this, it is positive on the company due to its sizeable opportunities in existing markets. The BWX share price is fetching $4.76 this afternoon.

    Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR)

    A note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that its analysts have retained their overweight rating and $23.00 price target on this auto listings company’s shares. According to the note, industry data shows that new car sales volumes have now turned positive. Morgan Stanley feels this bodes well for the company’s online display advertising business and expects it to boost its revenue in the second half and beyond. The Carsales share price is trading at $18.39 on Wednesday.

    CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

    Another note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have upgraded this biotherapeutics company’s shares to a buy rating with a $310.00 price target. The broker made the move largely on valuation grounds after a significant pullback in the CSL share price over the last few months. In addition to this, Citi is optimistic that plasma collection headwinds will now ease following the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. The CSL share price is trading at $254.89 this afternoon.

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    James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BWX Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended carsales.com 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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  • Why the Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price is among the worst performers today

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    As the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) creeps back into the realm of negatives this afternoon, it’s worth taking a look at which shares are pulling it down the most. Upon inspection, we can see that both the Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) share price and the Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price are in the bottom three of the top 200. Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF) is currently sitting squarely in the middle to complete the red trifecta.

    Given there’s no news out from Nufarm, potentially shareholders are taking some profits after the recent run-up. In contrast, there’s plenty to talk about from Rio and Fortescue.

    So, why are these shares hit the hardest today?

    Iron ore raining on the parade

    For the Rio Tinto and Fortescue share price, last night’s sudden iron ore price drop would be the culprit. The steel-producing commodity’s price began to dwindle early yesterday morning. However, around 5 pm AEDT futures sank like a dead weight, tumbling by nearly 8% in less than an hour.

    Iron ore futures have recovered somewhat, but the commodity price remains roughly 8% below its price 2 days ago.

    Fate loves irony, as Elon Musk would say

    Ironically, this jolt came just hours after Fortescue CEO, Elizabeth Gaines, discussed the industry landscape at the AFR’s Business Summit. When Gaines was pressed on whether iron ore was resistant to China’s tactics, she responded, “We’ve never been complacent. We actually work very hard to maintain strong relationships, but it isn’t as simple as saying Australian companies should just diversify.”

    Gaines noted that there is more room for political diplomacy in order to foster working relationships between Australia and China.

    At the time of writing, the Rio Tinto share price is down 3.6% to $116.81. Meanwhile, Fortescue has sunk 6.3% to $20.79.

    Recent events for the Rio Tinto share price

    The pullback in the Rio Tinto share price comes 6 days after the mining giant went ex-dividend. Some shareholders wanting to grab their last dividends may still be making a dash for the exit today.

    Rio will pay a final dividend of $5.171 to eligible shareholders.

    Another ironic factor, Macquarie recently upgraded its price target on Rio Tinto. The broker expects improved copper prices should assist Rio to hit its new price target of $142 per share.

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    Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group 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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  • Why the Legacy Iron Ore (ASX:LCY) share price jumped 29% this morning

    man jumps up a chart, indicating share price going up on the ASX bank dividend

    The Legacy Iron Ore Ltd (ASX: LCY) share price is up 7% in early afternoon trade, having posted gains of 29% earlier in the day.

    While its name may imply the Western Australian-based company solely explores for and mines iron, Legacy Iron is also focused on gold, tungsten and other mineral discoveries.

    Below, we take a look at the ASX mineral explorer’s latest gold results.

    What gold results did Legacy Iron report?

    Legacy Iron’s share price is gaining today after the company reported promising results following the completion of a metallurgical testing program at its Mt. Celia Gold Project.

    Those results include high gravity gold recovery averaging 47.5% across all the tests, with Legacy Iron adding there is “potential for increased gold recovery at finer grind size”.

    The newly completed testwork follows on from the initial results the company reported to market on 8 December. According to Legacy Iron the testing of the 3 new composite samples includes “diagnostic leach testing, ore sorting sighter testing and tailings geochemistry assessment.”

    The company will use the final results to move the Mt. Celia Gold Project to a prefeasibility level of study.

    Commenting on the results, Legacy Iron’s CEO Rakesh Gupta said:

    Our results in December 2020 showed high recoveries of gold. These follow up metallurgical testwork results continue to confirm gold recoveries are high, with plenty of gravity recoverable gold and overall gold recovery in the mid-nineties.

    The outcome of the results shows that this material could be processed at any conventional gold processing facility in the area or through a toll treatment agreement with local operators. These results also support the further development of our project and a pathway to production with all processing options being investigated.

    Legacy Iron Ore share price snapshot

    Legacy Iron first listed on the ASX in 2008.

    Over the past 6 months, Legacy Iron shares are up 50%. That compares to a 15% gain on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

    Things haven’t gone as well for shareholders in 2021. Year-to-date the Legacy Iron Ore share price is down 70%.

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    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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  • Lower for longer? RBA dismisses rising bond yields

    A hand moves a building block from green arrow to red, indicating negative interest rates

    Rising bond yields have been the talk of the ASX town over the past few weeks. Government bond yields have spent most of 2021 rising from the historical lows that we saw last year. That has triggered some incredible share market volatility, particularly in the ASX tech space. Yesterday, we discussed how ASX tech shares were on the brink of a bear market, given the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) was approaching a 20% difference between its most recent high and its current level.

    Well, today, those fears have been somewhat allayed. The All Technology Index is today up an impressive 3.65% at the time of writing.

    ASX tech investors probably have the RBA to thank.

    According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) this morning, RBA governor Dr Philip Lowehas come out and told investors that wages growth would need to be “materially higher” for the Bank even to consider raising interest rates. The RBA has previously indicated that the record low cash rate of 0.1% would remain until 2024.

    However, the bond market had other ideas.

    Inflation first, rate hikes second for RBA

    The AFR tells us that Dr Lowe noted that the bond market has been pricing in an interest rate hike as early as next year and another in 2023. He went on to say that “this was not an expectation that we share”. For this to come to pass, Dr Lowe stated that inflation would need to be sustainable above 2-3%, and wages growth would need to be “sustainably” above 3%. It doesn’t;t sound like he thinks this will happen soon:

    The evidence strongly suggests that this will not occur quickly and that it will require a tight labour market to be sustained for some time. Predicting how long it will take is inherently difficult, so there is room for different views. But our judgment is that we are unlikely to see wages growth consistent with the inflation target before 2024.

    According to Dr Lowe, wages growth is currently running at around 1.4% (the lowest on record) and was low even before the coronavirus pandemic’s onset.

    The 10-year Australian government bond yield has been falling a little this week but has yet to show that it has taken Dr Lowe’s comments to heart. On Sunday, it was sitting at roughly 1.83% but is currently (at the time of writing) at 1.78%.

    For the RBA governor to provide such specific commentary of market bond pricing and yields is rather rare. It could indicate that the RBA is starting to consider rising bond yields a risk to the Australian economy by pushing up our exchange rate.

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  • Ecograf (ASX:EGR) share price powers up on government approval news

    three building blocks with smiley faces, indicating a rise in the ASX share price

    The Ecograf Ltd (ASX: EGR) share price is on the move today. The company announced government approval progress relating to its Epanko Graphite Mine before the stock shot up.

    At the time of writing, the Ecograf share price is up 4.76% to 67 cents a share.

    Epanko Graphite Mine financing progresses

    Ecograf announced that the company has progressed the debt financing approval of US$60 million for its Tanzania-based Epanko Graphite Mine.

    The Ecograf share price reacted positively to this news considering that the business has already invested $20 million over the past 7 years in Epanko.

    Progress made to date includes completion of the feasibility study, obtainment of environmental approvals, and execution of an independent engineer’s review.

    The business has also put capital toward arranging sales contracts for the export of graphite products to Europe and Asia.

    In today’s announcement, Ecograf also attached a summary of the Epanko Bankable Feasibility study. In the summary, Ecograf forecasts that the Epanko Graphite Mine will generate earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$80 million per annum.

    Ecograf intends to offer an electric vehicle battery graphite option that “provides a high quality, cost competitive alternative to existing battery graphite produced using toxic hydrofluoric acid.”

    The report further notes that the metallurgical test work has shown the mine’s potential to produce 99% carbon concentrate from fresh ore.

    High quality carbon helps cut purification costs connected with battery graphite production. Ecograf estimates that the average graphite concentrate production of the Epanko mine will be 60,000 tonnes per annum.

    Ecograf share price snapshot

    The Ecograf share price exploded 1,045% higher over the previous year and has soared 668% over the past six months.

    The company has a market capitalisation of approximately $307.1 million and there are 455 million shares outstanding.

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    Motley Fool contributor Gretchen Kennedy 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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  • Here’s why the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price could be great value

    retail shares wesfarmers

    The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price has been a market beater over the last 12 months.

    Since this time last year, the conglomerate’s shares have rallied an impressive 28% higher.

    Can the Wesfarmers share price go even higher?

    Don’t worry if you missed out on the strong gain by the Wesfarmers share price over the last 12 months because one leading broker believes it can still go higher.

    According to a recent note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have reaffirmed their buy rating and $59.70 price target.

    Based on the latest Wesfarmers share price of $49.99, this price target implies potential upside of over 19%.

    In addition to this, Goldman is forecasting a $1.88 per share fully franked dividend in FY 2021. This represents an attractive yield of 3.75% and stretches its total potential return to approximately 23%.

    What does Goldman like about Wesfarmers?

    There are three key reasons the broker is bullish and believes the Wesfarmers share price can go higher.

    These are its exposure to the housing market, a turnaround in the department store segment, and potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or capital management.

    Housing market exposure

    In respect to the housing market, Goldman said:

    “Earnings momentum in Bunnings benefits from a strong property cycle due to its exposure to DIY and Trade home improvement categories. Housing indicators appear to be more positive in the recent updates and industry expectations remain positive for the short term. We believe this is likely to impact Bunnings positively while it cycles through the strong COVID driven sales in the past year, resulting in strong short- /medium-term earnings momentum.”

    Department store turnaround

    This growth is expected to be complemented by a turnaround in its department stores division. It said:

    “The department stores division is currently undergoing a restructuring. While the viability of the Target business model in the longer term was a key question previously, we believe that the pandemic driven demand has resulted in the Target offer being refined to meet consumer demand, with e-commerce playing a key role within the business. We no longer expect this business to be an earnings drag to WES but believe that Target will remain a low growth, low margin sustainable engine complementing the successful Kmart business model.”

    M&A or capital management opportunities

    Finally, with Wesfarmers sitting on a mountain of cash, Goldman suspects that M&A or capital management initiatives might not be far away. The broker explained:

    “Wesfarmers maintains a very strong balance sheet (Net cash position of A$870mn as of Dec 2020). In our estimates, the group’s leverage position offers headroom of >A$8bn for capital management or M&A before it would risk breaching the range for the A-/A3 credit rating that the group maintains. While we believe management is unlikely to return capital while macro uncertainties remain, we note WES holds strong firepower to take advantage of any long term return accretive M&A opportunities in the short term and offers potential for capital management in the medium term.”

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    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers 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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  • What’s happening with the Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price?

    asx share price bounce represented by investor being bumped along volatile price chart

    There is something freaky going on with Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) shares. Despite being a rare winner during COVID-19 lockdowns, the Kogan share price has nearly halved after hitting all-time highs in late 2020.

    Since late January, Kogan shares have fallen by more than 38% after sinking 22% in February. At the time of writing, the Kogan share price is trading 1.9% higher for the day as the overall market bounces.  

    Let’s take a look at what’s been moving the Kogan share price.

    What’s been impacting the Kogan share price?

    The initial catalyst that sparked a sell-off in Kogan shares can be traced to late January.

    On 29 January, the online retailer released a business update for the first half of FY21. For the six months ending 31 December, Kogan reported a 96% increase in gross sales over the prior corresponding period.

    Kogan also reported a 120% increase in gross profit and a 140% surge in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) on the prior corresponding period. In addition, the company boasted a strong balance sheet with a cash balance of $78.9 million.

    Despite the impressive improvements, investors were quick to sell their Kogan shares.

    How did Kogan perform for the first half of FY21?

    The Kogan share price took another tumble after the company released its results for the first half of FY21 in late February.

    For the first half, Kogan reported a 97% increase in gross sales of $638 million. In addition, the online retailer reported an 88.6% jump in revenue of $414 million. Despite record spending on marketing, Kogan also reported a 165% increase in net profit of $23.6 million.

    Kogan noted a 77% year-on-year increase in active customers to 3 million. In addition, the company more than doubled its interim dividend to 16 cents per share.  

    However, investors were disappointed with growth figures for January. Adjusted EBITDA for January increased 90% for the month. In comparison, Kogan reported a 269% increase in EBITDA in the first 4 months of the financial year. Kogan’s management attributed the slower growth to warehouse capacity issues.

    What is the outlook for Kogan?

    Kogan was one of the major winners during COVID-19 lockdowns as consumers flocked to online retailers.

    For the second half, Kogan noted plans to further expand its exclusive brands and develop Kogan Marketplace. The company did not provide earnings guidance for the full year, rather opting to provide regular business updates.

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    Nikhil Gangaram has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com 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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  • Why the Dimerix (ASX:DXB) share price is up today

    medical research

    The Dimerix Ltd (ASX: DXB) share price is rising today after the biopharmaceutical company announced its involvement in a trial on COVID-19 therapies.

    Dimerix will be involved in the trial, named CLARITY 2.0, which has received approval from the Central Independent Ethical Review Board in India. It is expected to begin in April.

    At the time of writing, the Dimerix share price has risen by 4% to 25 cents.

    Dimerix’s involvement in the CLARITY 2.0 trial

    Dimerix’s lead drug candidate, DMX-200, will be included in the CLARITY 2.0 trial, which will study treatment options for COVID-19.

    CLARITY 2.0 will be running in India, where it will combine doses of DMX-200 with blood pressure medication to treat the respiratory symptoms associated with COVID-19.

    The trial will involve 600 patients infected with COVID-19, who will be treated for 28 days and supervised for 26 weeks.

    CLARITY 2.0 will be led by the University of Sydney’s Professor Meg Jardine from the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre. It will be run in collaboration with the George Institute for Global Health India.

    Professor Meg Jardine spoke to BiotechDispatch:

    The SARS-CoV-2 virus downregulates and suppresses certain anti-inflammatory effects and that may tip the local lung environment towards inflammation and fibrosis and might be why the virus has such a devastating effect on lung tissue.

    We generally see that people with chronic health conditions that include inflammatory drivers… are more vulnerable to respiratory complications if they contract the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Some of those inflammatory drivers interact with the blood pressure system which is why some common blood pressure medications may improve outcomes in COVID-19 disease.

    Early results suggest that DMX-200 may have stronger anti-inflammatory effects when used in combination with these blood pressure medications.

    It is the second clinical trial that involves using DMX-200 to treat the respiratory symptoms brought on by COVID-19.

    About DMX-200

    Dimerix’s DMX-200 was originally intended to treat forms of kidney disease, with which it had positive results.

    The drug is a CCR2-inhibitor, aimed at reducing the damage caused by inflammatory immune cells. Thus, the company highlights that DMX-200 may also support the long-term outcomes of COVID-19 patients.

    Dimerix share price snapshot

    At the time of writing, the Dimerix share price is up by 4% to 25 cents. It has a year to date return of 6% and is up 70% over the last 12 months.

    Dimerix has a market capitalisation of approximately $48 million, with 198 million shares outstanding.

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  • Here are some of the best performing ASX tech shares today

    party of asx shares represented by happy orange balloon floating above sad grey balloons

    What a difference a day makes! Yesterday, we reported on how the ASX tech sector, specifically, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX), was on the brink of a bear market. A bear market is when an index falls by more than 20% from its most recent high. And yesterday, ASX tech shares were indeed knocking on that door.

    But today, the sun has come out, so to speak. A the time of writing, the All Technology Index is up a healthy 3.3%, putting a floor (at least for now) under the losses of the past month or so.

    So let’s look at some of the best performing tech shares today.

    4 top-performing ASX tech shares

    Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

    Afterpay is, at the time of writing, one of the top performers on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) today with a 7.8% rise to $115.85 a share. It’s a remarkable comeback from earlier in the week, which saw Afterpay shares lose more than 12% of their value at one point.

    As my Fool colleague reported this morning, Afterpay has also announced today that its European expansion plans are on track with the now-completed acquisition of Pagantis, which seems to have helped sentiment as well.

    Even after this move, the Aferpay share price still remains down almost 27% from where it was a month ago.

    Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB)

    Hub24 is another company that is performing well today, with its shares up 4.14% at the time of writing to $21.46. The Hub24 share price has had a brutal month, falling close to 25% from around $25.80 a month ago to yesterday’s closing level.

    However, today’s upwards move has cut that fall to around 16%. That’s despite the bumper earnings that Hub24 delivered a couple of weeks ago, which included a 39% surge in net profits.

    Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

    The online furniture retailer is having a pretty joyous day today as well, with Temple & Webster shares rising 5.14% at the time of writing to $8.70 apiece. However, like Hub24 and Afterpay, this disguises what has also been a rough month for the company.

    Even after today’s moves, the Temple & Webster share price remains down around 27% from the highs we were seeing in mid-February. It also remains around 8.7% lower than where it was just last Thursday.

    Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

    The Xero share price is another top-performing tech share today. At the time of writing, Xero shares are up a healthy 3.1% to $111.68 a share. That’s still down around 16.5% from where they were a month ago, and almost 25% lower than where this ASX tech share started the year.

    Even so, the company’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio still stands at a relatively lofty 470 at today’s prices, and the Xero share price remains up by nearly 50% over the past 12 months.

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    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 AFTERPAY T FPO, Hub24 Ltd, and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Hub24 Ltd and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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  • Warrego Energy (ASX:WGO) share price rises despite losses increasing

    Energy shares higher

    The Warrego Energy Ltd (ASX: WGO) share price is higher today after the company released its half-year report for FY21.

    At the time of writing, shares in the company were swapping hands for 24 cents – up 4.35% on yesterday’s close. In comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 0.25%.

    Let’s take a closer look at what the company announced.

    Warrego’s half-year report

    For the 6 months ending 31 December 2020, Warrego declared a net loss of $3.3 million. That’s up 31.9% on the prior corresponding period (pcp). The company did not make any operational income for the period. This was also the case in the pcp.

    While wages were down 63.7% to total $483,000, professional service fees were up 276.7% to total $966,000. Similarly, the company introduced share-based payments for the period, which totalled $630,000. Finance expenses fell 80.7% on the pcp to equal $26,400.

    Earnings per share (EPS) came in at a 0.09 cent loss – greater than the 0.07 cent loss of the pcp.

    In good news, cash on hand more than doubled to $33.7 million. Net assets swelled 90.7%, totalling $64.9 million. The positive cash flow came as a result of a capital-raising initiative.

    The West Erregulla gas field

    Warrego claims the gas field, located off the coast of Western Australia, is its “primary near-term goal.” It is a 50/50 venture with Strike Energy Ltd (ASX: STX) and is estimated to contain 1.6 trillion cubic feet of gas.

    Speaking about the project, Warrego Managing Director and CEO Dennis Donald said:

    West Erregulla is a world-class asset, and we are working hard to ensure we achieve the optimal long-term outcome for our shareholders and customers.

    We have assembled a first-rate team in Perth, who have done a lot of the heavy lifting in the past 6-12 months under the direction of our Australian CEO David Biggs, and we will continue to build out our technical and commercial capabilities.

    Our successful ‘ground up’ strategy is centred on creating sustainable, long-term value in a market that is likely to be short of gas over the medium term, and we remain committed to progressing West Erregulla in a focused and logical manner to ensure the project is positioned as a supplier of choice in the WA domestic gas market.

    The company also announced it held 100% of the rights to explore 2.2 million more acres in the Perth Basin.

    Warrego share price snapshot

    This time last year, the Warrego share price was at 11.5 cents. At today’s price, shares have increased in value by 104.35%. Warrego reached the 52-week low of 7.5 cents at the height of COVID-19. Shares ascended to the 52-week high of 27.5 cents at the end of September last year.

    Warrego has a market capitalisation of $232.2 million.

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    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 Warrego Energy (ASX:WGO) share price rises despite losses increasing appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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