The Freedom Foods Group Ltd (ASX: FNP) share price has been suspended for over seven months but could soon be returning to the ASX boards.

This morning the embattled food company released an update on its recapitalisation.

What did Freedom Foods announce?

According to the release, Freedom Foods has reached an in-principle agreement with its majority shareholder, Arrovest, for a recapitalisation of the business. This will involve the issue of secured convertible notes.

Arrovest, which is owned by the Perich family, has stepped in after advanced talks between another new investor collapsed.

In addition to this, the company advised that the in-principle agreement with Arrovest has the non-binding indicative, in-principle support of the company’s senior lenders, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and HSBC.

Management notes that the funding from the recapitalisation will enable the company to materially repay its senior term and revolving secured debt. It will also provide Freedom Foods with sufficient working capital and a stable capital structure to enable it to continue its financial and operational turnaround.

Under the terms of the new in-principle agreement, Arrovest has agreed to invest up to $200 million, with the company having the capacity to raise further capital. Though, it will not be a condition for it to do so for the transaction to complete.

Interim Chief Executive Officer Michael Perich said: “Despite the challenges of the past 10 months, there remains a fundamentally strong business at the heart of Freedom Foods – a market-leading dairy and plantbased beverages and nutritionals business. With the ongoing support of Arrovest, our banks and other shareholders, we have the opportunity to rebuild the business and enable it to meet its full potential.”

Tony Perich AM said: “We have been committed supporters of Freedom Foods for 15 years and, despite the difficulties of the past year, we continue to believe in its potential to be one of Australia’s great food and beverages companies.”

Freedom Foods’ shares will remain in voluntary suspension pending further details of the recapitalisation.

More reading

• What’s with the Vulcan (ASX:VUL) share price today?
• Renergen (ASX:RLT) share price explodes 71% today
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now
• Chamath Palihapitiya defends WallStreetBets GameStop short squeeze
• European Lithium (ASX:EUR) share price drops despite positive update

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Freedom Foods 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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The Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) share price is falling in afternoon trading, down 3.78% to $7.89 despite a flying start out of the blocks this morning.

The ASX miner announced its quarterly activities and cash flow report for the period ending 31 December 2020 to the ASX market today. Let’s take a closer look.

What is in the report?

In today’s release, Vulcan advised that its first zero carbon lithium pre-feasibility study demonstrated strong potential. The combined renewable energy and lithium hydroxide project, in the centre of Europe, has a positive net present value of €2.25 billion (AUD$3.56 billion). As such it is projected to be one of the cheapest lithium producers globally.

Vulcan also announced upgrades to a number of its resource estimations during the quarter. The company upgraded its estimation at its Taro site from 0.83 Mega tonnes (Mt) of lithium carbonate to 1.44 Mt.

More spectacularly, the company updated its resource estimation at its Ortenau resource in North Germany from 2.06 Mt to 15.85 Mt. This places it as the largest lithium resource in Europe. The project has since been integrated into the zero carbon lithium project mentioned above.

What’s more, Vulcan claims proposed new regulations by the EU on carbon footprint rules and responsibly sourced materials may be poised to help the company.

About the Vulcan share price

The Vulcan share price has gained an astounding 4,344% in the last year alone. It shares tore up the charts last week on the back of its announcement on plans to become the world’s first zero carbon lithium producer. 

To do this, Vulcan will use its unique lithium process to produce both renewable geothermal energy, and lithium hydroxide, from the same source. In doing so, the company aims to address EU market requirements by reducing the high carbon and water footprint of production. At the same time it creates a wider global marketplace for lithium with less reliance on imports from China.

The small cap ASX miner was among was among the most traded shares on the ASX last week as a result. The Vulcan share price is currently trading 1.95% higher.

More reading

• 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
• Why the Vulcan (ASX:VUL) share price is storming 12% higher today
• 5 lithium shares that are fast-charging up in 2021

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.

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Renergen CDI (ASX: RLT) shares are on fire today. At the time of writing, the Renergen share price is trading at $2.62, up by 71%.

Renergen is an alternative and renewable energy business concentrating on helium and LNG. The company invests in early stage projects across Africa and emerging markets.

The company’s key focus, the Virginia Gas Project, is located in Free State, South Africa and contains one of the richest helium concentrations recorded in the world.

Let’s take a look at what the company has been up to recently and try to piece together the path that led to the Renergen share price soaring today.

Phase 2 of the Virginia Gas Project

This is the second time in the past two days that the Renergen share price has blasted off. On Wednesday, we were talking about Renergen shooting 24% higher following an announcement pertaining to phase 2 of the Virginia Gas Project.

The announcement revealed Renergen had contracted three companies to support the engineering studies of the project.

Saipem SpA is now responsible for the front-end engineering design (FEED) contract to develop the liquid natural gas and liquid helium processing facilities. EPCM Holdings will develop the phase 2 gas gathering pipeline, and Sproule will evaluate and certify the reserves.

The appointment of these three contracts will finalise the feasibility studies for the phase 2 development of the Virginia Gas Project.

With no new announcement today and the three new contract appointments having only come to light two days back, it looks like investors are still processing the news.

As mentioned in Renergen’s latest announcement, under the guidance of the three appointed companies Renergen expects the Virginia Gas Project feasibility studies to be completed “on or around” the second quarter or 2021.

After this is complete, the Renergen board will present its final investment decision.

What has the Renergen share price done over the past 12 months?

The Renergen share price has a 52-week range of 84 cents to $2.90, a touch away from where it’s trading today

Similar to many other companies, Renergen took a hit from the coronavirus and operations came to a dramatic halt, which sent the share price for a nose dive.

From 3 March to 24 March 2020, Renergen shares tumbled 88.5%, falling from $1.64 to 87 cents.

All in all, the Renergen share price has climbed around 140% over the previous 12-month period.

More reading

• The Renergen (ASX:RLT) share price is soaring 24% higher today. Here’s why

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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Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their estimates and recommendations again, leading to the release of a number of broker notes.

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:

Booktopia Group Ltd (ASX: BKG)

According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts have retained their add rating and lifted the price target on this online book retailer’s shares to $3.48. This follows the release of a first half trading update earlier this week. Morgans was pleased with Booktopia’s update and notes that it delivered very strong growth during the half. It also feels that management’s guidance is conservative and the company can outperform it. Looking ahead, Morgans believes the company is well-placed for growth thanks to market share gains and the growing online book market. The Booktopia share price is trading at $2.86.

ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO)

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have retained their overweight rating and $9.70 price target on this cloud-based HR and payroll company’s shares following its second quarter update. ELMO delivered a result in line with the broker’s expectations and notes that management has reaffirmed its guidance for FY 2021. It appears confident the company will achieve its guidance and remains positive on the investment opportunity. The ELMO share price is trading at $6.79 today.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

A note out of UBS reveals that its analysts have upgraded this enterprise software company’s shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $9.15. According to the note, the broker believes recent weakness in the TechnologyOne share price is a buying opportunity for investors. Especially given the potential for a quicker than expected conversion of its revenues to software-as-a-service revenue. Overall, it believes its shares offer a lot of value in comparison to its tech peers. The TechnologyOne share price is trading at $8.68 this afternoon.

More reading

• Here’s why the ELMO (ASX:ELO) share price is sinking lower today
• ASX 200 falls 0.6%
• 2 exciting mid cap ASX shares to buy and hold
• Why Booktopia, Nitro, Reliance, & Vulcan shares are charging higher
• Why the Booktopia (ASX:BKG) share price is rocketing 15% to a record high

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Elmo Software. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Elmo Software. 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) saga has brought the world’s attention to the ethics of hedge funds and their ability to short businesses into oblivion. On the other hand, it has also awoken Wall Street to the immense power communities like WallStreetBets on Reddit can wield. The debate continues to heat up over whether retail investors or hedge funds are in the wrong.

Don’t hate the player, hate the game

Hedge funds, Melvin Capital Management, and Citron Research have experienced substantial losses over the last few days as they covered their losing Gamestop short bets. As reported in Business Insider, Melvin Capital required an injection of capital from other hedge funds, totalling US$2.75 billion, to bail out the fund. Melvin will now have an obligation to share its future revenue with those that have supported it.

Some people are infuriated that a small community of ‘inexperienced investors’ could be allowed to conduct this level of price manipulation. However, there are many that have the polar opposite opinion – and instead, see this as hedge funds getting a taste of their own medicine.

Successful venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya appeared in an interview on CNBC this week. Host, Scott Wapner suggested that companies should exist based on their earnings. Chamath seemed to be in disbelief of this ‘right price’ notion, commenting:

Who says that? Do you want to make the same argument for Tesla? It’s gone 10X in a few months. You don’t know what it’s worth, let’s be honest. I have my own model for the company – I’m allowed to underwrite however I want to own it.

Chamath continued to outline the hypocrisy between the case being made for Wall Street hedge funds versus retail investors:

Everyone who bought that stock is also underwriting how they want to own it – and the point is, just because you’re wrong, doesn’t mean you get to change the rules. Especially when you [hedge funds] were wrong, you got bailed out the last time. That’s not fair.

Don’t discount GameStop retail investors

There has been this notion that people in the WallStreetBets community, and retail investors in general for that matter, are unequipped to make sound investing decisions. Chamath wanted to dismantle this idea after Mr Wapner made this statement:

It will be a retail investor who gets screwed because they think that this is the way this game works – that this is the new Wall Street. They’re new to this game, maybe they haven’t been in the game that long.

Chamath rebutted this, cautioning not to discount how smart a lot of these people are. The case being made is that the stock market is a free market. The rules are defined, and retail investors citing an opportunity in an over-leveraged short position and playing against that in no way lessens the professionalism of the strategy.

Could the free market become not so free?

This whole situation has become a contentious topic, amplified by a couple of significant recent developments. The first being brokers, including Robinhood and Interactive brokers, have imposed restrictions on trading some of these short-squeezed shares. The stipulation only allows positions to be exited.

Secondly, Discord, a chat platform used by WallStreetBets, temporarily removed the group; effectively eliminating the community’s ability to coordinate.

Since these actions, the GameStop share price has sunk 59%, from $469 to $193 in one day. This begs the question, could this be market manipulation in itself? It is worth noting that the brokerage fee-free Robinhood makes revenue from selling its customers’ order flows to hedge funds like Citadel (which funded Melvin Capital).

More reading

• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now
• European Lithium (ASX:EUR) share price drops despite positive update
• 2 excellent ETFs for ASX investors in February
• What to expect from the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) first half result
• Here’s why the Sezzle (ASX:SZL) share price is dropping lower

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

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The European Lithium Ltd (ASX: EUR) share price is dropping today, despite releasing a positive update to the market.

During early trade, the lithium miner’s shares were in positive territory, reaching an intraday high of 8.4 cents. However, the European Lithium share price has since fallen to 7.2 cents at the time of writing, down 6.9%.

What did European Lithium announce?

The European Lithium share price is seesawing today after providing a progress update of its flagship asset.

In its release, European Lithium advised it’s on track with the definitive feasibility study of its Wolfsberg Lithium Project.

Dorfner, selected to undertake metallurgical test-work at the mine, received samples from the company’s 1500 tonne bulk sample stockpile. Currently, the raw materials are being carefully analysed, with leading engineering group DRA Global overseeing the process.

European Lithium it would receive a full and final report oN the metallurgical results within the coming months. Together, along with other works completed by the company, the report will be used for a final definitive feasibility study.

European Lithium highlighted that completing the metallurgical test-work will allow it to optimise the design for its hydrometallurgical production facility. In turn, this will save significant costs and time in fine-tuning the plant to maximise efficiency for future production lines.

Quick take on the Wolfsberg Project

Located 270km south of Vienna in Austria, the Wolfsberg Project aims to become first local lithium supplier for European batteries. The company believes that its late-stage project is well placed to target the largest lithium import markets in the European Union.

Most notably, the European automobile industry is rapidly transitioning to electric vehicles, thus requiring lithium to power its batteries. With an existing mining permit, and strategically placed in the heart of Europe, the company is poised to take advantage of the growing market. It expects that the Wolfsberg Project mine will be in production in 2023.

Management commentary

European Lithium chair Tony Sage highlighted the company’s assets to move into production, saying:

European Lithium has the major advantage of an existing permitted working mine in central Europe, to provide Dorfner with the tonnage needed to build a pilot plant and produce samples for met testing.

Successful metallurgical testwork progresses our strategy toward the DFS that will see the company advance towards becoming a near term, high quality battery-grade lithium hydroxide (LiOH) producer.

About the European Lithium share price

The European Lithium share price has gone on a rollercoaster ride over the past 12 months. Its shares fell heavily in March after reaching highs of around 8.6 cents the month before. During May, the company’s share rocketed to 9 cents, and again nosedived to COVID-19 lows.

Since hitting a 52-week low of 3.5 cents in October, the European Lithium share price accelerated to 13 cents this month. Currently, its shares are swapping hands for 7.3 cents.

More reading

• Why the European Lithium (ASX:EUR) share price is rocketing 50% today

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

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If you’re looking for an easy way to invest in international shares for diversification, then exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be just what you need.

But which ETFs should you look at? Here are two popular ETFs that have generated strong returns for investors:

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

The first ETF to look at is the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. As its name implies, it gives investors exposure to a number of the biggest and brightest tech shares in the Asia market. Among the fund’s holdings you will find the likes of Samsung, Alibaba, JD.com, Meituan Dianping, Tencent, Baidu, and Pinduoduo.

In respect to the latter, Pinduoduo is an e-commerce platform that offers a wide range of products from daily groceries to home appliances. Its platform connects distributors with consumers directly through an interactive shopping experience, allowing shoppers to team up to buy items at lower prices. At the end of September, it was serving 731 million active buyers.

Another company you’ll be owning a slice of is Meituan Dianping. Its apps connect consumers with local businesses for food deliveries (think UberEats), hotel bookings, and movie tickets, among many other services. During the second quarter of FY 2020, the company was making 24.5 million food deliveries per day. Meituan had 476.5 million users at the end of September.

Over the last 12 months, the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF generated a return of 68% for investors.

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

Another ETF to look at is the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF. This ETF aims to track the performance of the famous NASDAQ 100.

This index comprises 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on Wall Street’s famous exchange. This means you’ll be buying a slice of tech shares such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, and Google parent, Alphabet, as well as non-tech companies including Gilead Sciences, Lululemon, Moderna, and Starbucks.

As with the Asia Technology Tigers ETF, its units have provided investors with strong returns over the last 12 months. Since this time last year, the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF is up 23.5%.

More reading

• 3 explosive ASX growth shares that could be strong buys
• Got cash to invest? Here are 3 ASX shares to buy
• 2 tech ETFs delivering rapid growth
• Here’s a fantastic ETF that ASX investors need to know about
• Afterpay and BrainChip were some of the most traded ASX shares last week

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS and BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers 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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With earnings season on the horizon, I have been looking at what is expected from some of Australia’s most popular companies.

On this occasion, I’m going to take a look at conglomerate Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).

What is expected from Wesfarmers in the first half of FY 2021?

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it is expecting a strong half year result from Wesfarmers next month.

Goldman is forecasting underlying revenue of $17,616.2 million for the six months ended 31 December. This is up 15.5% on the prior corresponding period. It is also 2.6% higher than the consensus estimate of $17,171 million.

This is expected to be driven by growth across almost the entirety of the business. Though, the biggest driver will be the key Bunnings business, which Goldman is expecting to deliver a 22.3% increase in revenue to $8,899.4 million.

This is expected to be supported by an 8.4% jump in Department Stores revenue to $5,406.7 million and a 25.6% increase in Officeworks revenue to $1,546.1 million.

And thanks to margin expansion of 120 basis points, offset slightly by a lower property earnings contribution, Goldman estimates that the company will report a 12.5% increase in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to $1,831.8 million.

Finally, underlying net profit after tax is forecast to grow 12.7% to $1,269.8 million, allowing the Wesfarmers board to declare an interim dividend of 84.1 cents per share. This will be up 12.2% on last year’s interim dividend.

Though, it is worth noting that in respect to its dividend, Goldman does see upside risk. It commented: “However, we note that there is risk to the upside through a special dividend given the strong balance sheet position and the guidance for c. 85% of payout ratio (which we forecast on a full year basis).”

Is the Wesfarmers share price in the buy zone?

At present, Goldman feels Wesfarmers’ shares are fully valued and has reaffirmed its neutral rating and lifted its price target to $48.30.

This compares to the latest Wesfarmers share price of $55.27.

More reading

• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price climbs to new record high
• These blue chip ASX shares just hit multi-year highs
• Why ASX travel shares like Webjet (ASX:WEB) fell lower on Monday
• 3 top ASX blue chip shares to buy
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Change in America spurs ASX 200 higher

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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The Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price is trading lower on Friday following the release of its fourth quarter update.

In afternoon trade, the buy now pay later provider’s shares are down 2% to $8.12.

How did Sezzle perform in the fourth quarter?

For the three months ended 31 December, Sezzle reported a 205.4% increase in underlying merchant sales (UMS) to US$320.8 million ($419.8 million). This was also a 40.6% quarter on quarter increase.

This meant that at the end of the period, Sezzle’s annualised run rate UMS reached US$1.36 billion.

According to the release, this strong growth was driven by an increase in active customers, merchants, and repeat usage.

In respect to customer numbers, Sezzle’s customers broke through the 2 million mark for the first time and stood at 2.2 million at the end of the period. This was up 143.9% over the 12 months.

As for merchant numbers, they increased 166.6% to 26,690. Management notes that its move up the merchant enterprise spectrum toward large enterprise is gaining traction. In addition to GameStop, Sezzle is now available at a number of mid-size merchants such as UNTUCKit, Thursday Boots, Galls, Guidefitter, and Pure Hockey.

And finally, repeat usage improved for the 24th consecutive month. Active Consumer repeat usage grew to 89.8% and supported lower loss rates.

At the end of the period, the company had total cash on hand of US$89.1 million, consisting of US$84.3 million of cash and cash equivalents and US$4.8 million of restricted cash.

Sezzle’s Executive Chairman and CEO, Charlie Youakim, was pleased with the quarter and particularly the company’s performance in December.

He commented: “We are very excited about our momentum as December’s UMS outpaced November’s for the first time in the Company’s history. Further, each month throughout 4Q20 represented new records for UMS, Active Consumers, Active Merchants, and Repeat Usage.”

“Our efforts toward large enterprise merchants is paying dividends, as evidenced by our recent addition of GameStop and a number of mid-sized merchants such as UNTUCKit, Thursday Boots, Galls, Guidefitter, and Pure Hockey,” he concluded.

More reading

• What’s in store for the ASX tech sector in 2021?
• ASX 200 rises 0.4%
• Could this be why Afterpay (ASX:APT) and other BNPL shares are soaring today?
• Why Afterpay, Australian Ethical, Pro Medicus, & Sezzle shares are charging higher
• 2 small cap ASX shares to buy that are growing quickly

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Sezzle Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sezzle Inc. 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 Wisr Ltd (ASX: WZR) share price is climbing today as the company announced a positive quarterly report for the period ending 31 December 2020. Shares in the neo lender are currently trading 2.7% higher at a price of 19 cents.

Wisr is a small cap Australian fintech company that operates in the marketplace lending industry. The company’s app aims to help people pay down debt and enables users to compare credit scores. It also has recently launched a vehicle lending product. 

Why the Wisr share price is flying higher

In today’s release, the company advised its Wisr Warehouse funding model continued to drive growth for the company. As such, Wisr saw strong 43% growth on last quarter as revenue increased to $5.9 million. This means that revenue is now up an impressive 350% since this time last year.

New loan originations also grew, up 35% on the previous quarter at a record of $83.3 million. Total loan originations now stand at $390.5 million.

Wisr remains strongly funded with $29 million in cash and liquid loan assets.

Management comments

Wisr CEO Anthony Nantes welcomed the results, saying:

With all the foundations now firmly in place, our very strong exit run rate and continued improvements in all key metrics has us well placed to deliver a highly profitable business as we scale towards our medium-term target of a $1B loan book.

Wisr continues to attract Australia’s most creditworthy customers with our purpose-led business model, headlined by rates lower than a big bank, with no monthly or early repayment fees and the only app in Australia to help customers pay their loan down faster.

About the Wisr share price

The Wisr share price has underperformed the market in recent times, dropping 22% in the last six months. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has more than 14% over the same period.

More reading

• The Next Science (ASX:NXS) share price is up 8% today. Here’s why
• Here’s why the Volpara (ASX:VHT) share price is edging higher
• Why the 4DMedical (ASX:4DS) share price is soaring higher
• Here’s why the Coventry Group (ASX:CYG) share price is soaring 9% today
• Here’s why the Rhythm (ASX:RHY) share price hit an all-time high today

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.

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