Investing in other geographic markets has become a popular way to diversify a portfolio. The risks associated with being exposed to significant events in one location can be lessened by holding investments in countries outside our own.

The United States (US) offers some of the biggest companies in the world, with a strong technology presence. So you may be wondering, how do you buy US shares from Australia? We’ll cover some of the options available and some other important information.

How to buy US shares from Australia

Brokers with US shares available in Australia

The first thing you’ll need is a broker. Many of the big-name brokers in Australia offer international share trading.

Brokers like National Australia Bank Ltd’s (ASX: NAB) Nabtrade, Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (ASX: CBA) CommSec, and more recently Selfwealth Ltd’s (ASX: SWF) self-titled platform.

In addition to these, there are brokers like Stake, which solely offer US equities. Although if you try to sign up to Stake at the moment, you may have run into a roadblock. According to The Australian Financial Review Stake has reported that it is still experiencing some functionality issues for a portion of its users. 

Each broker is different and as such, you should take a little time to assess which works best for you. Evaluate what suits your needs including aspects like fee structure, which shares are available, and price data options.

US shares in a simple packaged form

Once you’re set up with a broker it’s a case of researching and picking which US shares you would like to buy. But if the recent volatility in individual US shares like GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) has you looking for more diversified alternatives, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are also available.

US-focused ETFs cast a wide net and package together a grouping of US shares into one tradable product. Examples of such ETFs available for trading on the ASX include BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ), VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT), and iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV).

What to watch out for

When buying US shares from Australia there are some things that are worth keeping an eye out for.

Firstly, hidden fees can add up, be sure to read all the product disclosures and individual costs when placing a trade. It is easy for a broker to market $0 brokerage fees these days, but there are other fees likely replacing that. Fees you may not notice include account funding fees, currency conversion fees, and membership fees for access to price data.

Some of these fees might be a couple of cents on the dollar, but this can quickly add up. For example, if you were to execute a trade to buy $5000 of a US share, paying 2 cents on the dollar in fees, that’s $100 in fees.

More reading

• GameStop chaos: Real reason Robinhood cut off retail investors
• GameStop frenzy: 3 shorted ASX shares that could shoot up
• 2 excellent ETFs for ASX investors in February
• GameStop (NYSE:GME) stock insanity: Here are 4 things you need to know
• ASX 200 up 0.6%: ResMed Q2 update, Kogan sinks, NAB acquires 86 400

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. 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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Sun Cable is a private Australian solar energy infrastructure developer. The company’s ambitious flagship $22 billion solar farm project plans to supply Darwin and up to 20% of Singapore’s electricity demand, as reported by the ABC.

The Australia-ASEAN Power Link (AAPL) project is slated to be one of the world’s largest solar farms in the world.

Signed deal with the Northern Territory

The latest news for the company is the signing of a development agreement with the Northern Territory Government. This agreement was described by Sun Cable’s CEO David Griffin as a roadmap to the “financial close” portion of the project.

The AAPL project is still 3 years away from its deadline for financial close before the commencement of construction in late 2023. Following construction, the supply of power is expected for Darwin by 2026 and to Singapore in 2027.

Sun Cable is currently working with Singapore to reach a signed agreement, however, there are reportedly several non-negotiables on supply reliability that the company is working through.

As quoted by the ABC, Mr Griffin commented on the importance of electricity reliability to Singapore: “We have to ensure that our supply is at least equal to the level of reliability that they currently enjoy. We’re up to the challenge on that.”

In order to deliver power to Singapore, Sun Cable will need to lay 3,750 kilometres of undersea cable from the Darwin Harbour to Singapore.

Renewables demand set to increase

The new US President Joe Biden has already re-joined the Paris Climate Agreement and has a long list of planned initiatives for propelling the renewable energy front in the US. This focus on renewables is not an anomaly. Countries all around the world are seeking ways of becoming less reliant on traditional energy sources, whether for altruistic reasons or for more self-interested factors.

Only a couple of weeks ago we saw the meteoric rise of Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) with its plans to deliver a net-zero carbon emission method for mining lithium. 

New Zealand based Meridian Energy Ltd (ASX: MEZ) is another company riding the renewable trend. Meridian is the largest electricity producer in New Zealand, and all of its supply is generated by renewable sources. The company’s shares are up 31% in the last year. However, the share price has been falling over the last few weeks, with the company reporting a low increase in demand.

More reading

• What’s with the Vulcan (ASX:VUL) share price today?
• Here’s why the Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ) share price slumped 8% today
• The Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL) share price just rocketed 32% to a record high
• Zip and Vulcan were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Why Booktopia, Nitro, Reliance, & Vulcan shares are charging higher

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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The GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) frenzy this week was controversial enough, but $0 brokerage trading app Robinhood poured petrol on the fire overnight.

The platform cut off retail investors from trading in GameStop shares and other short squeeze targets on Thursday night Australian time, citing excessive volatility and “risk management”.

The move immediately drew criticism, with politicians on absolute opposite ends of the spectrum blasting Robinhood.

“This is unacceptable. We now need to know more about Robinhood’s decision to block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit,” said prominent leftist Democrat senator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

In response, far-right Republican senator Ted Cruz simply replied: “Fully agree.”

Fully agree. 👇 https://t.co/rW38zfLYGh

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 28, 2021

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Later in the day Robinhood backed down, announcing “limited buys” would be allowed from Friday’s session.

“We’ll continue to monitor the situation and may make adjustments as needed.”

But the damage was already done. 

According to RMIT university senior lecturer Angel Zhong, legal action has started against the platform.

“Robinhood users have filed a class action, as the trading app ‘purposefully, willfully and knowingly removed the stock, GME, from its trading platform in the midst of an unprecedented stock price’, thereby depriving retail investors of the ability to invest in, and manipulate, the open-market.”

Why did Robinhood block retail investors?

Robinhood, true to its name, made its fortune by making the share market accessible to the masses. 

But the overnight ban seemed to run completely the opposite of that spirit.

So why did it block retail investors from the biggest market event this year?

Zhong, who is an expert in investor behaviour, said it all had to do with the relationships Robinhood has with other companies in the background.

In return for revenue, the app passes on trades to big companies called ‘market makers’. They then pocket a small difference in the share price charged to the end user and the actual wholesale transaction cost.

“While Robinhood is fee-free, it makes money by providing liquidity to hedge funds such as Melvin Capital, and Citadel Securities – the trading platform’s largest customers.”

“More importantly, Citadel bailed out Melvin Capital, which shorted GameStop heavily and suffered a huge loss.”

If a service is provided for free, then you’re not the customer – you are the commodity.

“The lesson seems to be there is no free lunch,” said Zhong.

More reading

• GameStop frenzy: 3 shorted ASX shares that could shoot up
• GameStop (NYSE:GME) stock insanity: Here are 4 things you need to know
• The Reddit-GameStop-Robinhood saga is heating up
• 53% share price jump lands GME Resources (ASX: GME) in trading halt
• What Is a Gamma Squeeze?

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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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It’s not yet a full year since COVID-19 smashed its way across the globe. Yet in that short time the pandemic has changed countless aspects of our lives. Even in Australia, where we’ve done an exceptional job keeping the virus at bay.

Twelve months ago, the idea of social distancing and strict lockdowns in the free world was almost unimaginable. Not to mention the massive shift to working, socialising, and shopping from home.

Now, with the vaccine rollout commencing in much of the world and about to kick off Down Under, you might think this year will see a return to ‘normal’. But that’s unlikely to be the case.

With a bit of luck, we could see many of 2020’s restrictions eased or even lifted over the coming months. But many trends set over the past year are likely to persist — including the accelerated shift to online shopping.

Here’s an excerpt from online trading and investment specialist Saxo Bank’s first quarter 2021 Quarterly Outlook for global markets (published Wednesday 27 January):

The pandemic… has transformed consumer spending habits for good. Only digital companies or those able to levy digitalisation were able to protect or, in some cases, even increase their revenue stream. All of this is unlikely to change when stores open their doors again, exacerbating the infrastructure investment gap.

Tapping into the infrastructure investment gap

The infrastructure investment gap Saxo refers to centres on logistics spaces (warehouses) and transport (international and domestic).

Steen Jakobsen, chief economist and CIO at Saxo Bank says the business world “has been so busy getting digital and virtual that they forgot the real physical world. You can have the world’s best product online and sell millions of units, but if you cannot produce, ship and deliver it, good luck making a return.”

Sam Tamblyn, the founder and managing director of Urban Property Australia, has homed in on this trend. Writing in the Australian Financial Review about investing in Australia in 2021, Tamblyn says:

In my view, the industrial property market is tipped to be the best-performing commercial property asset class, driven by the increased consumer take up of e-commerce and infrastructure investment.

Travis Erridge, managing director of logistics consultancy TM Insight, is also bullish on logistics assets, driven by the booming e-commerce sector. According to Erridge (quoted by the AFR):

This means a greater industrial footprint and increasing demand for warehousing in capital cities and in the inner city areas. Gone are the days of overly lean supply chains and instead flexibility is key. Businesses need an agile supply chain that can cope with new demands of the consumer.

Online sales to keep on growing

Colliers International estimates that we need some 85,000 square metres of warehouse space for every $1 billion spent shopping online. And Colliers forecasts continued strong growth in e-commerce in the year ahead.

According to Malcom Tyson, managing director of industrial at Colliers International (quoted by the AFR):

We are forecasting online sales to grow by $12.8 billion in 2021, which would result in demand of about one million square metres of warehouse demand from e-commerce alone in 2021.

Tyson estimates there is around $26 billion of capital – both institutional and private – keen to invest in the logistics sector (as at December).

“Given this, additional assets from corporate groups are expected to be brought to market in 2021 as groups look to capitalise on the continued strength of the industrial and logistics market.” 

Christopher Dembik, head of macro analysis for Saxo Bank adds:

If we accept that digitalisation will drive everything and online platforms will become dominant, we need to understand that we have reached the point where the lack of investment in infrastructure to source and build, and in logistics to deliver the products that these successful platforms sell, is becoming a serious constraint that is about to drive cost inflation higher.

3 ASX logistics shares

If the e-commerce boom continues, as highlighted above, ASX logistics shares could be among the big beneficiaries.

We’ll take a look at 3 of those here.

First up, APN Industria REIT (ASX: ADI). The Australian real estate investment trust (REIT) owns a portfolio of industrial and business park assets in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. APN has a market cap of $614 million and pays an annual dividend yield of 5.8%. Shares are up 1% so far in 2021, and down 6% over the past full year.

Next up, Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP), Australia’s largest domestic pure play industrial REIT. Centuria’s warehouses are located across Australia’s capital cities. Centuria has a market cap of $1.7 billion. It pays an annual dividend yield of 5.9%. The Centuria Industrial REIT share price is flat so far in 2021 and down 15% since 29 January 2020.

Last up, Goodman Group (ASX: GMG), which has logistics operations that span Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, the United Kingdom, North America and Brazil. Goodman has a market cap of $32.7 billion. It pays an annual dividend yield of 1.7%. Goodman’s share price is down 9% in 2021, but still up 18% over the past full year.

More reading

• The Centuria (ASX:CIP) share price climbs on acquisition news
• 2 of the best blue chip ASX shares to buy
• 2 outstanding blue chip ASX shares to buy right now
• 2 of the best blue chip ASX shares to buy today
• How this ASX REIT finished 2020 in positive territory

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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The NRW Holdings Limited (ASX: NWH) share price flew higher today after the company released two major announcements to the ASX market.

In early afternoon trade, the diversified service provider’s shares reached an intraday high of $3.02. The NRW share price has since retreated, closing at $2.86, up 3.25% at the end of trade.

Upgrade road works

In today’s release, NRW advised that its H2H joint venture has been selected as a preferred proponent for the Mitchell Freeway Southbound Upgrade. NRW is a 50% partner in the joint venture.

Located in Perth, the Mitchell Freeway Southbound Upgrade will provide motorists a safer and more efficient road system. The project will be used to support population growth and promote development across the northern suburbs.

Under the agreement, the joint venture will provide services such as lane widening, installation of ramp signals, safety barriers, lighting, drainage, and other upgrades.

NRW revealed that its H2H joint venture has entered into negotiations with Main Roads Western Australia. It’s expected discussions will be completed within the coming weeks.

The project is valued at $140 million, with the H2H joint venture comprising of $90 million. The infrastructure works program is anticipated to be completed within a 2-year time frame.

NRW CEO and managing director Jules Pemberton welcomed the contract award, saying:

I am delighted that the H2H Joint Venture has been named as the preferred proponent for the Mitchell Freeway Southbound Upgrade – Hodges Drive to Hepburn Avenue project.

Being named as preferred proponent further underlines the importance of the BGC Contracting acquisition completed in late 2019 which positioned the business to address the fast-growing infrastructure sector particularly in Western Australia.

Mining contract

In the second release today, NRW advised it has been awarded a mining contract from Nathan River Resources.

The agreement will see NRW deliver stage 1 operations at the Rope Bar Iron Ore Project. This will include services such as drill and blast, load and haul, clearing and grubbing, soil removal and rehandling of ore stockpiles.

The deal is worth around $123 depending on the number of works completed. The duration of the contract will run for a total of 33 months.

The Roper Bar Iron Ore Project, located in the gulf region of the Northern Territory, exported its first iron ore shipment in November. The site is expected to produce around 1.5 million tonnes of ore within the first year of operation. Eventually, this will increase to 3 million tonnes by the third year.

Mr Pemberton had this to say about the deal:

NRW is pleased to be involved in the recommencement of the Nathan River Minesite and looks forward to its successful execution.

About the NRW share price

The NRW share price has been on an upwards trajectory for the past 10 months after crashing to a multi-year low of $1.00 in March last year. 

Based on the current share price, NRW has a market capitalisation of roughly $1.2 billion.

More reading

• 7 ASX shares to buy for 2021

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 Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL) share price closed just over 15% higher today, finishing off the week at $1.57 per share after the company released an announcement on its carbon capture project earlier today.

Calix is dedicated to developing patented technology that can address global sustainability challenges by providing industrial solutions. The company is active on four continents.

Calix’s technology is currently being used to develop environmentally friendly solutions for areas such as crop protection, wastewater and carbon reduction.

Let’s take a look at today’s announcement to see what’s happening at Calix.

European approval

Calix leads the Low Emissions Intensity Lime & Cement (LEILAC) project. The objective of the project is to dramatically reduce Europe’s CO2 emissions without using too much energy or spending too much money.

To achieve this, Calix teamed up with industrial heavyweights including HeidelbergCement, Cemex, Lhoist and Tarmac during the LEILAC-1 Project.

Today’s announcement revealed that, following the success of the LEILAC-1 project, the European Commission has now officially approved Cemex to join the LEILAC-2 project.

The LEILAC-2 Project is focused on using the HeidelbergCement’s Hannover cement plant to further progress Calix’s CO2 mitigation technology. This follows the successful piloting of the technology in Belgium via the LEILAC-1 Project.

The LEILAC-2 Project is currently undergoing basis-of-design work, which is scheduled for completion by the end of June 2021. If successfully met, this work will be followed by full front-end engineering design.

Some words from Cemex

Commenting on joining forces with Calix once again for the LEILAC-2 project, Global R&D Head of Cemex Davide Zampini said:

We are very enthusiastic about our continued participation in the LEILAC-2 project. Amongst the different technologies that we are pursuing, it is one of the most promising technologies to mitigate CO2 emissions in clinker production. We look forward to supporting Calix and the LEILAC team and contribute to key developments in the pilot project. Above all, key members of the industry are collaborating to accelerate the possibility of adopting the technology.

The Calix share price rocketed on today’s news and now sits up 93.83% on this time last year. 

More reading

• Brace for an IPO resurgence as new floats beat the ASX 200 by ~50%
• 2 ASX growth shares to buy
• Zoono (ASX:ZNO) share price tanks 17% on quarterly report
• GameStop frenzy: 3 shorted ASX shares that could shoot up
• What’s happening with the Freedom Foods (ASX:FNP) share price?

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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New ASX stocks are beating the old in 2020 and some experts are predicting that this will trigger an IPO revival this year.

Initial public offering (IPO) platform OnMarket found that year-end IPOs outperformed the  S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) by more than 48%, reported the Australian Financial Review.

The average return for all newly minted ASX stocks in 2020 was 46.9% compared with the 1.5% drop in the top 200 stock benchmark.

Best ASX IPOs of 2020

The Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) share price, 4DMedical Ltd (ASX: 4DX) share price and Aroa Biosurgery Ltd (ASX: ARX) share price are some examples of stocks that surged on the first day of trade.

The IPOs that delivered the best returns last year are the Tesoro Resources Ltd (ASX: TSO) share price, Cosol Ltd (ASX: COS) share price and 4DX share price.

The TSO share price surged over 800% in the period, while the COS share price and 4DX share price gained over 200% each.

Capital raisings crowded out IPOs in 2020

Nearly 70% of the newbies listed in the fourth quarter as capital raisings by established ASX stocks sucked all the oxygen in the earlier part of the year.

The turmoil caused by COVID-19 prompted many ASX companies to go cap in hand to shareholders to shore up their balance sheets.

If investors can buy discounted shares in a capital raising from established stocks, they would typically shun new unproven companies.

Number of new ASX listings expected to rebound

So, while OnMarket claimed that the December quarter proved to be the best quarter for ASX floats in at least five years, the number of IPOs in 2020 are still lower than most years.

But OnMarket managing director Nick Motteram told the AFR that the momentum in the closing months of 2020 is expected to continue into this year.

“It’ll continue to be strong until there’s an event where market confidence goes out the window or there are some big ones that don’t do well,” The AFR quoted Motteram as saying.

“The difficulty with any IPO is picking a winner and what’s come out of this report is that getting access to as many as possible, putting in a consistent amount and holding for a consistent period is a winning strategy.”

ASX gold stocks to lead IPO recovery

While tech is a hot space and could very well continue to be in demand by IPO investors, the sector that could dominate new ASX listings are gold explorers and miners.

Professional services group HLB Mann Judd was also quoted in the report as saying that it expected gold IPOs to feature heavily.

This is despite the recent pullback in the gold price from record highs of over US$2,000 an ounce. Given that economic uncertainty is likely to remain a big feature in 2021, you can’t write-off the safe haven asset just yet.

More reading

• The latest ASX stocks to be hit by broker downgrades
• ASX 200 up 0.6%: ResMed Q2 update, Kogan sinks, NAB acquires 86 400
• Why the Novonix (ASX:NVX) share price is down 10% today
• The BlueScope (ASX:BSL) share price surges on a profit upgrade today
• Here’s why the Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) share price is climbing today

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

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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Are you a fan of growth shares? If you are, you may want to take a look at the two listed below.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The first growth share to look at is Altium. It is an electronic design software provider which has been growing strongly over the last few years. And while the pandemic is stifling its performance this year, management remains confident that it still has a long runway for growth.

This is thanks to its exposure to the growing Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence markets, which are underpinning solid demand for subscriptions. So much so, Altium is aiming to almost double its subscriber numbers to 100,000 and its revenue by ~150% to US$500 million by 2025/26.

Analysts at Credit Suisse remain positive on its outlook despite its current headwinds. They have recently put an outperform rating and $35.00 price target on its shares.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Megaport is a provider of elastic interconnection services across data centres globally. Its clever service allows its users to increase and decrease their available bandwidth in response to their own demand requirements.

This is proving to be a popular alternative to fixed service levels on long-term and expensive contracts. So much so, Megaport has been growing its monthly recurring revenue (MRR) at a strong rate over the last few years.

This has continued in FY 2021, with Megaport recording a 10% increase in second quarter growth underlying MRR to $6.3 million.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs were pleased with its update and have just upgraded its shares to a buy rating with a $15.00 price target. Goldman believes Megaport will benefit from growing demand for public cloud infrastructure and the broadening of its product suite. Its analysts also have increased confidence on its path to generating positive free cash flow.

More reading

• The Megaport (ASX:MP1) share price is down 25% since August
• These ASX 200 shares have been smashed in 2021
• 2 ASX 200 growth shares to buy
• 3 extraordinary ASX shares to buy right now
• Why Aussie Broadband, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Lynas, & Megaport are charging higher

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Altium. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Altium. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Zoono Group Ltd (ASX:ZNO) share price has tanked more than 17% today after the company released its report for the second quarter of FY21. The fall brings the Zoono share price below the $1.0 mark.

How has Zoono performed?

Zoono’s quarterly report highlighted continued sales momentum. For the second quarter ending 31 December 2020, the biotech company reported invoiced sales of NZ$14.1 million.

Unaudited inventories of NZ$14.4 million continue to meet current demand. The company noted that stock was being held in several global locations in order to enable timely delivery.

In addition, the company reported a bank balance of NZ$9.1 million, which included NZ$1.8 million in positive net receivables/payables. For the six months to date, Zoono also reported total cash receipts from customers of NZ$20.5 million.

The company also highlighted the launch of its triple layer, re-usable face mask in Australia and New Zealand during the quarter.

What does Zoono do?

Zoono is a biotechnology company that develops, manufactures and distributes various antimicrobial solutions. The company’s products are based on the ‘zoono molecule’ which is a unique antimicrobial molecule used to combat a variety of pathogens.

Various regulatory agencies have already approved Zoono’s products for distribution. In a recent update, Zoono announced that the company had entered into a supply agreement in the United Arab Emirates.

What is Zoono focussing on?

In providing the market with an overview of its operations around the world, Zoono noted that the company continues to aggressively pursue new businesses globally. As a result, the company is confident on delivering an improved year-end revenue result for FY21.

The company highlighted that the B2B markets in the UK/EU, China, the Middle East and Africa will be the main focus moving forward given their large volume requirements. In addition, Zoono acknowledged the importance of its home markets in Australia and New Zealand.

Zoono also highlighted animal health as being a significant segment that the company will continue to pursue.

About the Zoono share price

The Zoono share price opened today’s trading session at $1.18 and then headed south in early afternoon trade. At the time of writing, shares in Zoono are trading 17.2% lower at 98 cents.

More reading

• Here’s why the Calix (ASX:CXL) share price shot 15% higher today
• Brace for an IPO resurgence as new floats beat the ASX 200 by ~50%
• 2 ASX growth shares to buy
• GameStop frenzy: 3 shorted ASX shares that could shoot up
• What’s happening with the Freedom Foods (ASX:FNP) share price?

Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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 GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) share market chaos seen in the US could spill over to the ASX in a serious way, according to one investor behaviour academic.

Finance headlines this week have been dominated by the phenomenal rise in the price of GameStop stocks. The surge was triggered with a coordinated buying effort from activist retail investors to send institutional short sellers broke.

The electronic games retailer started the year at US$17.25 but shot up to as high as US$483 before moderating last night Australian time. It’s still sitting at US$193.60.

There is much debate in the United States as to whether this is legitimate activism against Wall Street shorting, immoral market manipulation, amateurs playing with fire, or all of the above.

Discussions about the short squeeze were reportedly had on Reddit then much of it was executed on popular trading app Robinhood, which provides $0 brokerage trading.

GameStop implications for Australia and ASX

The most direct impact of the GameStop frenzy has been on the share price of GME Resources Limited (ASX: GME).

Sharing the same ticker code as the US retailer has meant it was the accidental beneficiary of some confused investors. The mining company was forced to put its stocks in a trading halt on Friday after it shot up 53% in less than 48 hours.

But aside from hilarious ticker confusion, RMIT University senior lecturer Angel Zhong reckons there could be serious downstream impacts in Australia.

Similar to Robinhood, low-cost gamified trading platforms like Superhero and eToro are now available for local investors.

“Copy trading is offered by some of the platforms, which is a form of social trading, and similar to the way Reddit traders have bought up GameStop this time,” she said.

“In Australia, ASIC is concerned about social trading and has warned retail investors to be cautious about copy trading offered by low-cost trading platforms.”

Social and copy trading could prompt a short squeeze attack in Australia similar to what’s happened in America this week, warned Zhong.

“The GameStop Saga has also alarmed the short-sellers in Australia who may face a battle from retail investors,” she said. 

“There could be a price surge in the most-shorted Australian stocks such as Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB), A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M), and Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT).”

How did it come to this?

Zhong said that the fact that this is even possible points to the rise of a uniquely modern phenomenon in the investment world.

“It… reflects the power of social trading, which refers to unmoderated investment advice provided via social platforms — such as the Reddit army in this case, investment channels on YouTube, share trading groups on Facebook, and influencers offering financial advice via TikTok.”

“What are the hottest stocks among social traders in Australia as seen on Reddit and HotCopper? The buy now, pay later stocks are definitely among the hottest and the large surge in their price is partly related to retail trading.”

ASIC scrutiny has somewhat scared off the local version of the US Reddit group that prompted the GameStop surge.

A moderator on r/ASX_Bets posted the following message on Thursday, according to the Australian Financial Review:

“As I’m sure you’re all aware, there has been some minor business going on in the big daddy sub r/wallstreetbets… They were clearly incensed by a hedge fund… then it escalated. Then it escalated again. Now it’s something else entirely,” the admin wrote.

“A lot of people have decided to make posts here indicating they want to arrange a short squeeze … any post or comment attempting to co-ordinate or organize any type of ‘market play’ via the sub will be deleted and the user subject to a three-month ban.”

More reading

• GameStop (NYSE:GME) stock insanity: Here are 4 things you need to know
• The Reddit-GameStop-Robinhood saga is heating up
• 53% share price jump lands GME Resources (ASX: GME) in trading halt
• What Is a Gamma Squeeze?
• Short squeezes: Everything you need to know about the recent investing movement

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of A2 Milk and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended A2 Milk and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel 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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