The Vocus Group Ltd (ASX: VOC) share price will be one to watch on Tuesday.

This follows the release of an update on its takeover approach by a consortium owned by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and Aware Super.

What did Vocus announce?

This morning the specialist fibre and network solutions provider announced that it has entered into a Scheme Implementation Deed with the consortium.

According to the release, the agreement will see the consortium acquire 100% of the share capital of Vocus for $5.50 cash per share.

This represents a 10% premium to the latest Vocus share price. It is also a 25.6% premium to Vocus’ closing price of $4.38 per share on 5 February 2021. This was the day before the offer was first made.

Why is Vocus accepting the offer?

Vocus’ Chairman, Bob Mansfield, believes that the offer is in the best interests of shareholders.

He commented: “The Vocus Board is unanimous in our view that this offer is in the best interests of Vocus shareholders. In making this assessment, the Board considered a range of alternatives, including the execution of our existing strategy under which the proceeds of an IPO of Vocus New Zealand would reduce debt and be invested in our core business.”

“Feedback from shareholders in recent weeks on the indicative offer of $5.50 originally received from MIRA has been overwhelmingly positive and there is a broad recognition that this is a very fair value for Vocus shareholders,” he added.

What now?

The Vocus Board has agreed to unanimously recommend that Vocus shareholders vote in favour of the Scheme. This is in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an Independent Expert concluding that the Scheme is in their best interests.

Subject to these qualifications, each Vocus director has confirmed that they intend to vote any shares that they hold or control in favour of the Scheme.

Shareholders will be given the opportunity to vote on the takeover at a scheme meeting, which is currently expected to be held in June. After which, if shareholders vote in favour of the scheme, its implementation would occur in July.

More reading

• Here’s why the Vocus (ASX:VOC) share price is pushing higher today
• Vocus (ASX:VOC) share price rises after takeover update
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX cools on earnings reality check
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price rises as brokers pass judgement on its profit result

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 Australian share market may have been pushing higher recently, but not all shares have fared so well.

Two ASX shares that have just hit 52-week lows are listed below. Here’s why they are down in the dumps:

Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY) 

The Adore Beauty share price dropped to a 52-week low of $4.59 on Tuesday. This means the online beauty retailer’s shares are now down 32% from their IPO price of $6.75.

Investors have been heading to the exits despite Adore Beauty smashing expectations during the first half of FY 2021. For the six months ended 31 December, the company delivered revenue of $96.2 million and EBITDA of $5.2 million. This was up 85% and 188%, respectively, over the prior corresponding period. It was also ahead of its prospectus guidance for revenue of $89 million and EBITDA of $3.3 million.

The catalyst for the selling has been rising bond yields, which has put significant pressure on growth shares. This is because as the risk-free rate rises, the premium that investors are prepared to pay for shares reduces. Though, one broker that sees this share price weakness as a buying opportunity is UBS. Late last month it upgraded Adore Beauty’s shares to a buy rating with a $6.20 price target.

Nuix Limited (ASX: NXL)

The Nuix share price hit a 52-week low of $4.63 on Monday. This means the leading investigative analytics and intelligence software provider’s shares have now fallen 61% from their 52-week high and are trading below their IPO price of $5.31 per share.

Investors have been selling Nuix shares following the release of its disappointing half year results last month. The company fell short of expectations during the half, despite listing on the market just a few weeks before the end of it on 4 December. And while management has just defended its performance and reaffirmed its guidance for the full year, this hasn’t been enough to stop the Nuix share price from continuing its slide.

Morgan Stanley remains positive on the company and has an overweight rating and $10.75 price target on its shares.

More reading

• One person earned $250,000 on Airtasker last year. Now it’s listing
• Here’s why the Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price is storming 5% higher today
• Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price hits all-time low: Time to buy?
• The Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price has a lot of ground to make up in FY21
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nuix Pty 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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A familiar name on the smartphones of many younger generations will be floating on the ASX next week.

Airtasker Limited (ASX: ART) will start trading on Monday 22 March after an initial public offering of 65 cents per share. That’ll give it a market capitalisation of $255.4 million.

Airtasker allows users to post mainly domestic jobs, with “taskers” replying to complete the chore for a fee. 

Like many modern tech firms, there is a founder story behind the business. 

Co-founder and chief executive Tim Fung declined to speak to The Motley Fool, but he told smh.com.au that in 2011 he had to move house and asked for help from a friend who had a van.

He thought surely he wasn’t the only one in that situation.

“Why do we ask friends and family to do all these kinds of jobs when there’s so many people out there who are looking for work and opportunities?” he asked.

“We thought of the huge opportunities that we could unlock if we could make it really simple to be able to buy local services… About nine months after that, we launched.”

Recent tech IPOs not inspiring confidence

Airtasker’s name value may help it drive up initial demand for its shares.

But it’s been tough times for many of the other tech companies that have floated in the past few months.

The biggest example is Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL), which listed in early December amid huge hype and some analysts calling it the IPO of the year.

The shares for the data analytics provider hit as high as $11.86 in January. But they tanked after the half-year results at the end of last month. The stock now goes for $4.93, which is 7% lower than the IPO price of $5.31.

Fintech Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU) boasted the highest 2020 return of any IPO that year, but has since nosedived due to regulatory and performance concerns.

Online retailer MyDeal.com.au Limited (ASX: MYD) floated for $1 in October then immediately thrilled the market, trading for as high as $2.20. As of Monday, it has dipped back below its IPO price, trading at 98 cents.

Value per task increasing

A typical Airtasker scenario is a person who just bought flat-pack furniture wanting to get someone else to assemble it for them.

But the average dollar value per task is increasing. 

It went from $97 in the company’s early days to $159 last financial year. The prospectus forecasts $189 by the end of the current year.

“What we’ve observed from that is that it’s actually the types of work that people are requesting through Airtasker that are increasing in complexity and sophistication.”

So there are now more professional tasks exchanged on the platform, such as legal or accounting work.

The highest earning tasker in 2020 earned about $250,000 through the platform.

Cynics have pointed out the ASX listing may be more of an exit ploy by long-time investors, rather than a genuine capital raise. For example, Seven West Media Ltd (ASX: SWM)’s investment arm is selling off its entire $46 million stake.

Airtasker copped a pro forma net loss after tax of $5.2 million for the 2020 financial year. It estimates losing $6.2 million for the current year.

More reading

• Here’s why the Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price is storming 5% higher today
• Why the Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price is jumping 12% today
• Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price hits all-time low: Time to buy?
• 2 buy-rated small cap ASX shares with strong growth potential
• The Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price has a lot of ground to make up in FY21

Tony Yoo owns shares of Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nuix Pty 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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Is the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price a buy for a dividend yield that could be 6.3%, grossed-up, in FY21?

What is the projected 6.3% dividend yield based on?

We’ll get to broker thoughts later, but the headline yield comes from a prediction based on Commsec numbers that Westpac will pay a fully franked dividend of $1.09 per share in FY21. This would be a sizeable increase from the dividend paid in FY20 of just $0.31 per share.

What’s driving the Westpac share price right now?

A month ago the big four ASX bank announced that its FY21 first quarter statutory net profit was $1.7 billion, up from the quarterly average of the second half of FY20 of $550 million.

It also said that FY21 first quarter cash earnings of $1.97 billion was much higher than the FY20 second half quarterly average of $808 million, up 54% excluding notable items.

Westpac said that it was boosted by a $501 million impairment benefit from improved credit quality, the stronger economic outcomes that the bank is seeing and a better economic outlook.

The Westpac share price is up around 10% since the release of this update.

The big bank said that its stressed assets and delinquencies declined. Stressed assets to the bank’s total committed exposure fell 15 basis points, with almost all industry segments improving. Consumer delinquencies of over 90 days were lower over the quarter, which included Australian mortgage delinquencies of over 90 days down 16 basis points to 146 basis points.

It reported a net interest margin (NIM) of 2.06%, up 3 basis points from the second half of FY20. This was up 2 basis points excluding notable items.

The big four ASX bank said that core earnings were up 28%, or up 3% excluding notable items.

In terms of the balance sheet, Westpac said that its common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 11.9% at 31 December 2020, up 74 basis points over the quarter and up 111 basis points year on year. This is above APRA’s ‘unquestionably strong’ benchmark.

At the time of the update, Westpac said that the number of COVID-19 deferrals was continuing to decline. At 31 January 2021, $11 billion Australian mortgages were being deferred, with significant roll-off expected in February and March. The big bank also said that $400 million of small business loans were being deferred at 31 January 2021, which represented less than 1% of the small business portfolio.

Is the Westpac share price a buy?

Broker Morgans has a share price target of $27.50 for Westpac and actually thinks that the big four bank could pay a dividend of $1.32 per share in FY21. That translates to a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.6% at today’s share price. Morgans rates Westpac shares as a buy.

However, not every broker is so bullish about the bank.

Whilst Ord Minnett thinks that Westpac could pay a dividend of $1.20 per share in FY21, it only has a share price target of $24.50 for the big four ASX bank. Ord Minnett thinks that the Westpac share price is a hold.

More reading

• Why the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price just hit a 52-week high
• ANZ (ASX:ANZ) hits 3 year high. Can we thank dividends?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes higher, despite tech selloff
• Beat low interest rates with this outstanding ASX dividend share
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now

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

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Are you fed up with the low interest rates on savings accounts? You’re not the only one, if you are.

The good news is that the ASX is home to a large number of shares with attractive dividend yields. Two to consider are as follows:

National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR)

National Storage is one of the region’s largest self-storage operators with over 190 locations.

It recently released its half year results and revealed underlying earnings of $39.2 million. This was an increase of 14% over the prior corresponding period.

This was driven by a solid increase in its occupancy rate to 85.4% and the acquisition and development of new centres.

Looking ahead, management has lifted its full year guidance for underlying earnings in the range of 8.1 to 8.5 cents per share. From this, it plans to payout 90% to 100% to shareholders as distributions.

Based on the latest National Storage share price, this will mean a distribution yield of ~4.2%.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Rural Funds is a real estate investment trust which owns a diverse portfolio of high quality Australian agricultural assets. These assets are leased to highly experienced operators, such as Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE), on very long leases.

In fact, when it released its half year results, management revealed that its weighted average lease expiry (WALE) metric had increased from 10.9 years to 11.1 years.

Another positive was that management reaffirmed its FY 2021 distribution guidance of 11.28 cents per share. Based on the current Rural Funds share price, this will mean a 4.9% yield.

In addition to this, the company revealed its FY 2022 distribution guidance for the first time. It plans to pay shareholders 11.73 cents per share next year, which represents a 5% yield. This is in line with management’s aim of growing its distribution by 4% per annum.

More reading

• 2 ASX dividend shares with yields above 5%
• 2 top ASX dividend shares to buy in March
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares to buy this week
• 3 ASX shares that keep growing the dividend every year
• Did you miss the Rural Funds (ASX:RFF) 94% profit growth in HY21?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED and 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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On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gave back the majority of its morning gains but still finished higher for the day. The benchmark index rose 0.45% to 6,739.6 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set to push higher again on Tuesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 56 points or 0.8% higher this morning. This follows a strong start to the week on Wall Street, which in late trade sees the Dow Jones up 1.6% and the S&P 500 up 0.4%. However, the Nasdaq index is missing out on the gains and is down 1.3%.

Tech shares on watch

Tech shares such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) could come under pressure again after US tech shares tumbled overnight. In late trade the Nasdaq index is down 1.3%. Investors are continuing to dump high-flying tech stocks amid rising rates. Both Apple and Tesla dropped more than 3% at one stage.

Oil prices soften

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could come under pressure today after oil prices pulled back. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 1.8% to US$64.92 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has fallen 1.8% to US$68.14 a barrel. This appears to have been driven by profit taking from traders after some strong gains.

Gold price drops

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could trade lower today after the gold price dropped again. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down a further 1.1% to US$1,679.20 an ounce. Rising bond yields and a stronger US dollar are weighing on the price of the precious metal.

Shares going ex-dividend

A number of shares are going ex-dividend this morning and could trade lower. One of those is Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL), which is trading without the rights to its partially franked 36 cents per share dividend. This will then be paid to eligible investors later this month on 24 March.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, TWE jumps, Zip sinks
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• How the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price weakness exposes its dividend strength
• What’s up with the Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) share price?
• Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price surges as it finds a sweet spot

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 AFTERPAY T FPO and Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sonic Healthcare 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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The Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX: COB) share price is making strong gains today as the company announced the start of its pilot trial. Shares in the exploration company are currently trading 3.8% higher to 41 cents. 

What Cobalt Blue does

Cobalt Blue is primarily involved in exploration, however, it also undertakes project development. On this front, the company is working towards its Broken Hill project in New South Wales.

It sees itself as a green company thanks to its interest in cobalt generation. It is a strategic metal with strong demand used in batteries, gaining traction as the demand for electric vehicles rises. However, as outlined by the company its “ambitious goals are subject to funding availability”.

The small cap currently boasts a market capitalisation of $104 million.

What Happened

Today, Cobalt Blue announced that its pilot plant commissioning plant is well underway. With the first cobalt samples expected shortly.

Following the first samples there will be an independent assay, and then shipments starting in late March.

Moreover, the company outlined that is has secured over 30 partners from around the world. These partners include the company’s from Europe, India, the US, China, and Australia. Notably, there is one partner that is requesting a particularly large sample so that they are able to test if the product is worthy of being an approved supplier. However, these qualifications will take at the very least 12 months to be verified.

Management Comments

Speaking about the program Cobalt Blue’s CEO Joe Kaderavek, said:

With commissioning underway then kicking off our expanded global Cobalt Sample Program later this month, Cobalt Blue is making tremendous strides towards technical and commercial milestones.

About the Cobalt Blue share price

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, TWE jumps, Zip sinks
• Legal action against ex Qantas (ASX:QAN) executive leaves share price on watch
• Why the Vital Metals (ASX:VML) share price just hit a 5 year high
• Where next for the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price?
• Here’s why you should think twice about chasing the next hot ASX trend

Motley Fool contributor Daniel Ewing 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 Cobalt Blue (ASX:COB) share price is rocketing 6% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by 0.4% today to 6,740 points.

There were a number of movers today in the ASX 200, including the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price which fell 6.7%.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

The Treasury Wine share price rise more than 6% today on rumours that it’s the potential target of a takeover.

According to reporting by This is Money, there is talk that the large French business Pernod Ricard is thinking about launching a takeover offer for Treasury Wine Estates.

Pernod Ricard could want to buy some, or all, of Treasury Wine Estates.

Reportedly, there is an offer $15.67 per share, though the reporting couldn’t say if the offer was from the French business or a US private equity group.

Treasury Wine Estates may already have said no to Pernod Ricard, which may decide to buy up to a third of the ASX 200 share.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

The Santos share price went down 2.5% after news that its biggest shareholder had decided to sell a large portion of shares. 

ENN Group told Santos that it has sold around 107 million shares, meaning just over 5% of the business, at $7.33 per share.

Santos said that the sale process was oversubscribed and received strong support from existing and new institutional shareholders.

ENN said that it’s still completely supportive of Santos’ strategy and future direction and is excited to remain Santos’ largest individual shareholder.

It will no longer have board representation of the ASX 200 share.

ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ)

The testing and certification business gave a trading update today and announced an acquisition.

The ALS share price ended the day higher by 0.6%.

ALS said that the group continued to trade resiliently in its third and fourth quarters, despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects.

Management remain committed to matching the cost base to client demand, whilst managing capex and maintaining a focus on key growth opportunities.

The company said that life science volumes have been stable with laboratories providing their essential services to clients in major markets.

ALS revealed that the commodities division is starting to benefit from the improving cycle. Geochemistry sample flows increased by 13% in the third quarter of FY21, with that momentum carrying on into the fourth quarter. Major miners as well as junior and intermediate miners have contributed to this growth, although it’s proportionally unchanged from late in the second quarter of FY21.

In the industrial division, tribology has seen an improvement in the third quarter of FY21, whilst the trading environment for asset care remains challenging.

The ASX 200 company said it has more than A$600 million of liquidity.

ALS’ acquisition is called Investiga, which it is buying for 11x adjusted FY20 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) on a deferred basis, paid from existing debt facilities with no shareholder approval needed. Key management will remain with the business.

Investiga is a pharmaceutical testing business with operations in Brazil and the USA. It was founded in 1993 and it generated A$20 million of revenue in FY20. Investiga specialises in the cosmetic and personal care market, providing services to a range of major global clients.

It will be integrated in the existing ALS life sciences network, with a particular focus on growing in the US, which represents over a quarter of the global market.

Managing director and CEO Raj Naran said:

Growing the life sciences division is a key part of the ALS strategy and Investiga significantly increases our presence in the pharmaceutical market.

We have a strong track record of integrating acquisitions into our existing life sciences network and Investiga provides us with the platform to grow our cosmetic and personal care offering, particularly in the USA.  

More reading

• Here’s why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down 8% today
• Treasury Wine (ASX: TWE) share price shoots over 8% higher on takeover talks
• How the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price weakness exposes its dividend strength
• Why Audio Pixels, Nick Scali, Smartgroup, & Zip are tumbling lower
• Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price surges as it finds a sweet spot

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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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The Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) share price is slightly down today. This comes after news surfaced that the airline operator is taking former Jetstar Japan head, Nick Rohrlach, to court.

At the time of writing, the Qantas share price is down 1.6% to $5.02.

Rewards program secrets worth keeping

Reportedly, the issue swirls around the potential of Mr. Rohrlach utilising confidential information from Qantas that could be implemented into Virgin’s own Velocity loyalty program.

The trade secrets were allegedly shared by Qantas to Mr. Rohrlach after he had agreed to take up a senior position within Qantas’ own loyalty business.

Mr. Rohrlach was selected as chief executive of Virgin’s Velocity program in mid-January.

Qantas is making a bid for Mr. Rohrlach’s commencement to be delayed to September from May.

Where to from here?

Qantas officially submitted documents for the legal case to the NSW Supreme Court last week. The case will hold a direction hearing tomorrow.

More details will proceed following this initial hearing.

It’s been a bumpy ride for Qantas and its share price

The past 12 months have been fraught with devastation as a result of COVID-19 for Qantas and other airlines. However, domestic travel has greatly improved with it now generating positive cash flows once more.

Additionally, the company is proceeding with its goal of saving a minimum of $1 billion in annual savings from FY23 and beyond.

Despite its plans, the continuation of international border closures remains to weigh on the Aussie airline. As such, Qantas certainly doesn’t want to lose its edge in its loyalty program now.

The airline’s share price has eked out a positive 8% return for shareholders in the last year. Bringing the company’s shares reasonably in line with the 8.5% return from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Ironically, we covered the UBS’ rating of Qantas yesterday. The broker currently has a buy rating on the airline with a price target of $6.20. This would represent a 23% upside to the current $5.02 share price.

More reading

• Is it time to buy these 2 ASX travel shares?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• Why analysts are backing these 2 ASX travel shares
• Is the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price a buy?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Friday carnage ruins last week of ASX earnings

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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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Vital Metals Limited (ASX: VML) share price was up 24.6% today – hitting a 5-year record of 8.6 cents in morning trade. The rise coming after the company announced the production of a rare earth carbonate.

As of writing, shares had slightly retreated to sit at 7.1 cents each. This is still nearly 16% above yesterday’s close of 6.9 cents per share. In comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index is up only 0.6%.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s affecting the company’s share price.

What did Vital Metals announce and how is it affecting its share price?

In a statement released to the ASX, Vital Metals declared it had produced a “12kg sample of rare earth carbonate…”. Vital Metals produced the sample at its Nechalacho project in Canada. The company expects rare earth mineral production at the site to begin in Q4 of FY21.

Construction at the Nechalacho project should begin by the end of March.

Vital Metals also announced rare earth expert, George Bauk, who was only recently appointed as an advisor, would be leaving the company. Bauk stated that:

It is with great disappointment that due to unforeseen circumstances I am no longer able to fulfil the role of Strategic Advisor to Vital. During my short time working with the Vital team, I have been extremely impressed by the quality of the Nechalacho project, the management and Board of Vital.

He added:

My time with the team has left me in no doubt that Vital are well on track to successfully bringing the Nechalacho project into production in 2021 to become Canada’s first rare earth operation.

What are rare earth elements?

According to Geoscience Australia, rare earth elements (RRE) is a collective term for 15 different elements. Despite the name, they are not particularly rare. They are called rare because the elements are usually concentrated in specific parts of the earth’s crust. RRE is used in a range of products, including magnets, batteries, and fibre optic cables.

Neodymium, an RRE found at the Nechalacho Project, is trading at USD 885,000 a tonne – up 24.7% on last month.

Vital Metals share price snapshot

This time last year, shares in Vital Metals were trading at 0.8 cents each. An investor would be sitting on a generous 690% return on investment if they bought into the company 12 months ago.

The market capitalisation of Vital Metals is $197.9 million.

More reading

• Where next for the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price?
• Here’s why should think twice about chasing the next hot ASX trend
• Why the TNG (ASX:TNG) share price is up 7% today
• Why the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price just hit a 52-week high
• 3 small cap ASX shares that powered higher in February 2021

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

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