This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

With so much momentum in both Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)‘s stock price and its underlying business, is it a good time for the automaker to consider splitting its stock again?

Believe it or not, it’s only been six months since Tesla surprised investors with a 5-for-1 stock split announcement. Despite the stock splitting in fifths, its price has already appreciated to more than half of its pre-split value last August. In addition, it’s not just the stock that has seen momentum since last summer: The electric-car maker’s sales have surged, and profitability now looks like it’s here to stay. These may be signs that the growth stock could see another split this year.

Before we get into it, let’s tackle some basics.

What’s a stock split?

First, it’s worth explaining exactly what a stock split is. The most important thing to know about a stock split is that it technically doesn’t make investors any wealthier and doesn’t give the company whose shares are being split any incremental capital. A stock split is simply a division of one share into multiple new shares with a value totaling the original share.

Still don’t get it? Try this analogy: Assume you owned one share of Tesla. Now visualize this share as one full pizza. Next, someone walks up and slices the pizza into quarters. While you now have a sliced pizza, the total amount of food remains the same. The same is true for the total value of a shareholder’s ownership in a company before and after a 4-for-1 stock split.

The critical takeaway here is that a stock split doesn’t create shareholder value. Sure, Tesla stock has risen sharply since its recent stock split — but this doesn’t always happen following a stock split. Tesla stock’s rise is due to business performance, including strong sales growth and improving profitability. In addition, the company has simply grown on analysts and Wall Street and has become a stock market darling.

Why a Tesla stock split in 2021 is possible

Companies don’t usually consider a follow-up stock split unless several things happen. First, the stock should be trading significantly higher than its previous stock split. After all, one of the primary reasons companies split their stock is to make shares more affordable to retail investors. This makes the company’s shares more liquid and accessible to more investors.

Tesla certainly meets this criterion. Since the company announced a stock split last August, shares have risen almost 200% on a split-adjusted basis. Today, the stock is trading at a lofty price of more than $800 — well beyond the average share price of most companies.

Also making a good case for another stock split is Tesla’s strong business progress recently. If the stock’s rise was based solely on hot air, there’s no telling how long shares could stay at their elevated levels. And if shares had a good chance of losing all of their recent gains, why split shares again?

Fortunately, Tesla’s underlying business seems to be firing on all cylinders. Trailing-12-month vehicle deliveries at the time of Tesla’s stock split announcement were about 388,000. Today, that figure is at 500,000. Further, management has guided for deliveries in 2021 to exceed 750,000, showing how the company still seems to be early in its growth story.

Finally, Tesla’s quarterly free cash flow and cash on hand have risen from $418 million and $8.6 billion in the second quarter of 2020 to $1.9 billion and $19.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, respectively, giving the company much healthier financials today.

Of course, Tesla investors shouldn’t count on a stock split in 2021. There’s simply no telling when the auto and green energy company might split its stock again — if ever. Further, there’s no reason to get excited about a potential stock split, as it doesn’t create any shareholder value. Nevertheless, there does seem to be a growing case for another stock split.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

More reading

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• Nasdaq at record high! Here’s what it means for the ASX 200
• These 3 ASX shares invested in Bitcoin before Tesla (NASDAQ:TSL)
• Here’s what low interest rates really means for your cash
• Tesla invests $2b in Bitcoin. Has crypto finally arrived?

Daniel Sparks has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. His clients may own shares of the companies mentioned. 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price will be one to watch on Tuesday.

This morning the banking giant released its first quarter update.

How is NAB performing in FY 2021?

For the three months ended 31 December, NAB reported an unaudited statutory net profit of $1.7 billion and cash earnings of $1.65 billion. The latter was a 1% increase on the prior corresponding period.

NAB also provided the market with a comparison to the average quarterly performance of the bank during the second half of FY 2020. Based on this, the bank’s revenue fell 3% over the period. This reflects lower Markets & Treasury income mainly due to the non-repeat of mark-to-market loss reversal. Excluding this, revenue would have grown 1% thanks to higher fees and commissions income.

Cash earnings excluding large notable items improved 47% on the quarterly average it achieved during the second half of FY 2020. Whereas cash earnings before tax and credit impairment charges fell 5%.

The bank’s net interest margin declined but was stable excluding the impact of Markets & Treasury segment. Management advised that competition and low interest rates were offset by home loan repricing and lower funding and deposit costs.

One positive that might bode well for the NAB share price was its cost control. NAB’s expenses fell 1% thanks to productivity benefits and lower restructuring related costs. Management advised that it continues to target FY 2021 expense growth of between 0% to 2%.

At the end of the period, NAB had a CET1 ratio of 11.7%. This is well-ahead of APRA’s unquestionably strong benchmark.

Asset quality

Another positive that may go down well with investors and support the NAB share price was its update on asset quality.

The releases advises that credit impairment charges fell 98% compared with the quarterly second-half average of FY 2020. Furthermore, the number of 90+ days past due and gross impaired assets to gross loans and acceptances declined 2 basis points to 1.01%.

Though, it does note that there has been a 17 basis points increase in January due to missed payments relating to a large cohort of home loan customers exiting deferrals in October.

Speaking of which, Australian home loan deferral balances have reduced to $2 billion and Australian business loan deferral balances have fallen to $1 billion. This compares to peak deferral balances of ~$38 billion and ~$19 billion, respectively.

And while current asset quality trends for customers exiting deferrals are worse than for the total portfolio, management advised that they are better than expected. Furthermore, as of 3 February, the bulk of customers exiting deferrals have resumed repayments (over 90% of balances) and just a small cohort require further assistance.

Management commentary

NAB’s CEO, Ross McEwan, was cautiously optimistic on the future of the bank.

He said: “Implementation of our strategy is proceeding well as we invest for the long term and focus on initiatives that make a real difference to our customers and colleagues. While there is still much to do, it is pleasing to see momentum building in our core businesses as we simplify and streamline our processes and policies and enhance our digital offerings.”

The NAB share price is up 10% so far in 2021. Investors will no doubt be hoping this update helps drive its shares even higher today.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX cools on earnings reality check
• How big will the ASX bank dividends be in 2021 and beyond?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: RBA unleashes ASX’s inner animal
• CBA (ASX:CBA) share price rises as bank cuts savings rate

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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I’m a big fan of small cap shares so feel quite fortunate to have such a large number of them on the Australian share market.

Two small cap ASX shares that could have bright futures are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Doctor Care Anywhere Ltd (ASX: DOC)

The first small cap ASX share to watch is Doctor Care Anywhere. It is a growing UK-based telehealth company aiming to deliver high-quality, effective, and efficient care to its patients, whilst reducing the overall cost of providing clinical services.

Its shares landed on the Australian share market late last year after completing an IPO which raised $102 million. Management advised that the majority of the funds raised will be used to execute the company’s growth strategy. This strategy is focused on its investment in marketing and engagement capabilities, new services to drive growth in existing markets, and building international business development capabilities to pursue growth in new markets.

Given the growing popularity of telehealth, it will come as no surprise to learn that the company is growing quickly. Last month it released a fourth quarter update and revealed a 151% increase in revenue to 3.8 million pounds. This led to the company’s unaudited full year revenue increasing 102% year on year to 11.6 million pounds.

Pointerra Ltd (ASX: 3DP)

Another small cap ASX share to watch is Pointerra. It is a growing technology company with a focus on the commercialisation of 3D geospatial data. The company’s software solution allows users to manage, visualise, and share extremely large digital 3D datasets. It can also extract vital information from the data quickly that would otherwise take many hours to do.

Pointerra has been growing very strongly over the last 12 months. Positively, this strong growth continued during the second quarter and into the third. As of 29 January, the company’s Annual Contract Value (ACV) stood at US$6.88 million. This is an increase of US$1.06 million or 18% since its last update on 25 November. It is also up 262% since this time last year.

Management advised that this was driven partly by new customers in the US energy utilities and the US and Australian mapping sectors.

The good news is that its current ACV is still only a tiny portion of its overall market opportunity. Management estimates that its global market opportunity is currently worth a massive $500 billion annually.

More reading

• Why is the Pointerra (ASX:3DP) share price up 75% so far this year?
• Here’s why the Doctor Care Anywhere (ASX:DOC) share price gained 57% in two months
• Here are 3 ASX IPOs this fund manager was buying
• Here’s why the Pointerra (ASX:3DP) share price is storming higher
• Why the Doctor Care Anywhere (ASX:DOC) share price is shooting 6% 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 Pointerra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC and Pointerra 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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Are you looking for some dividend options for your portfolio in February? Then check out the two ASX shares listed below.

Here’s why these ASX dividend shares have been tipped to as buys this month:

Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE)

Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT is a real estate investment trust that invests in social infrastructure properties. 

At present the company owns a total of 396 properties across the ANZ region worth $1.36 billion and has a sky high 99.7% occupancy rate. These properties include childcare centres and government buildings such as bus terminals, emergency services command centres, and council properties. Management believes that targeting these types of assets will result in high tenant retention rates over the long term and ongoing capital growth.

Last week the company released its half year results and delivered a 14.1% increase in operating earnings to $29.1 million. It also revealed that its weighted average lease expiry (WALE) had increased by 1.3 years to a lengthy 14 years.

Another positive was that management upgraded its full year distribution guidance to 15.7 cents per share. Based on the current Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT share price, this represents a 5% yield.

One broker that is a fan of the company is Goldman Sachs. It has a conviction buy rating and $3.45 price target on its shares.

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

If you don’t mind investing in the resources sector, then you might want to look at Rio Tinto. Thanks to strong copper and iron ore prices, this mining giant has been tipped to reward shareholders with huge dividends in FY 2021.

One broker that is tipping a particularly big payout for investors this year is Ord Minnett. It recently put a buy rating and $153.00 price target on the company’s shares and is forecasting a massive ~$11.30 per share fully franked dividend in FY 2021.

Based on the current Rio Tinto share price, this represents a fully franked 9.5% dividend yield.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX cools on earnings reality check
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 next week
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares to buy and hold
• 3 reasons why the Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price is up today
• Charter Hall Social Infrastructure (ASX:CQE) shares higher after upgrading dividend guidance

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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Is the JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) share price a buy after releasing its FY21 half-year result?

JB Hi-Fi shares rose 3% yesterday in reaction to the report.

One broker has already had their say on what they thought of the electronics retailer’s result.

Highlights from the JB Hi-Fi report

For the six months ending 31 December 2020, the retailer reported that its total sales went up 23.7% to $4.9 billion. A growing component of that is the online sales, which rose 161.7% to $678.8 million – this made up 13.7% of the overall sales.

Looking at each individual segment, The Good Guys grew revenue by 9.1% to $1.45 billion and online sales went up 86.1% to $148 million. Management said that there was continued elevated customer demand for home appliance and consumer electronics products. The Good Guys’ gross profit margin improved 167 basis points to 22.4% and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew 142.1% to $126.6 million, with the EBIT margin rising 417 basis points to 8.7%.

Next we’ll look at the key JB Hi-Fi Australia division, where total sales grew by 23.3% to $3.36 billion and online sales went up 201.9% to $515.6 million. There was also strong demand here for consumer electronics and home appliance products. The gross profit margin declined by 9 basis points to 22% as a result of the sales mix. EBIT rose 57.5% to $329.8 million and the EBIT margin improved 214 basis points to 9.8%.

The final division, JB Hi-Fi New Zealand, saw total sales growth of 9.1% to NZ$144.9 million. Online sales grew 69.2% to NZ$16.3 million. EBIT was NZ$6.9 million, whilst underlying EBIT rose 173% to NZ$4.1 million.

JB Hi-Fi’s total EBIT was up 76% to $462.8 million. This helped net profit after tax (NPAT) surge higher by 86.2% to $317.7 million. Earnings per share (EPS) went up by 86.2% to 276.5 cents.

As a result of the profit growth, the JB Hi-Fi board decided to declare an interim dividend of $1.80 per share, which was an increase of 81.8% from the prior corresponding period.

Commenting on capital management, the company said the board will continue to regularly review the group’s capital structure with a focus on maximising returns to shareholders and maintaining balance strength and flexibility.

Trading update

Whilst JB Hi-Fi said it wasn’t appropriate to give FY21 sales and earnings guidance due to the COVID-19 uncertainty, it was able to give a trading update for January 2021.

Total sales growth for JB Hi-Fi Australia was 17.3%, in New Zealand sales growth was 21.7% and at The Good Guys total sales went up 14.1%.

Is the JB Hi-Fi share price a buy?

Broker Citi has been one of the first to reveal its thoughts about the result.

The stronger gross profit margin and continuing strength of earnings were two highlights for the broker

Citi also pointed out that the EBIT growth of the Australian growth was good, it didn’t show the same operating leverage that The Good Guys did thanks to the stronger gross profit margin.

The broker is not expecting that JB Hi-Fi will be able to beat the second half performance of FY20 because of how strong consumer demand was during that period. Citi is expecting sales to be down slightly and profit to be down around 20%.

Citi thinks that the current dividend payout ratio of 65% and good levels of capital could mean an acquisition or capital return is on the cards for shareholders.

The JB Hi-Fi share price target remains $53, suggesting little capital upside over the next 12 months. JB Hi-Fi currently has a projected FY21 grossed-up dividend yield of 7.4% according to Citi.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, JB Hi-Fi profit soars, Altium drops
• Morgan Stanley: ASX earnings season is topping expectations
• What does the market look like when things go back to normal?
• How JB HiFi (ASX:JBH) shares became an ASX dividend powerhouse
• JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) share price on watch after bumper profit and dividend growth

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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On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week in fine form. The benchmark index jumped 0.9% to 6,868.9 points.

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

ASX futures pointing higher

The Australian share market looks set to climb again on Tuesday following a positive night of trade in Europe. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 24 points or 0.35% higher today. Wall Street was closed for President’s Day but Europe was open and saw the DAX rise 0.4% and the FTSE jump 2.5%.

NAB first quarter update

The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price will be one to watch this morning when it releases its first quarter update. All eyes will be on the banking giant’s bad debts and COVID loan deferrals. Elsewhere, mining giant BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) is scheduled to release its half year results this morning.

Oil prices rise again

Energy producers Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could push higher today after oil prices gained again. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.1% to US$60.12 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 1.3% to US$63.23 a barrel. Oil prices pushed higher amid concerns that a winter storm could impact production.

Estia Health settles class action

The Estia Health Ltd (ASX: EHE) share price could be on the move today after announcing the settlement of its class action. This shareholder class action related to market disclosures made between August 2015 and October 2016. The settlement of the shareholder class action, which is without admission of liability, is subject to Federal Court approval. Estia will contribute $11.7 million to the settlement amount. The remainder of the total settlement amount of $37.75 million, inclusive of interest and costs, is fully insured.

Gold price softened

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could come under pressure today after the gold price softened again. According to CNBC, the spot gold price dropped 0.25% to US$1,818.90 an ounce. The gold price dropped amid rising US treasury yields.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, JB Hi-Fi profit soars, Altium drops
• Up 2%: Is the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price a buy?
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• ASX 200 up 0.8%: Nearmap jumps, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank impresses
• A turbulent tale of 2 ASX biotech shares: Polynovo (ASX:PNV) and Pro Medicus (ASX:PME)

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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by 0.9% today to 6,869 points.

Reporting season is now entering one of the busiest weeks of the month. A number of businesses reported today. Some of them saw substantial share price movements. 

JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH)

The JB Hi-Fi share price went up by 3% today after reporting its half-year result for the six months to 31 December 2020.

The ASX 200 share revealed that total sales increased by 23.7% to $4.9 billion. Online sales jumped 161.7% to $678.8 million. Online sales represented 13.7% of total sales. JB Hi-Fi said that it has continued to invest in its online and digital offerings, including upgrades to its websites.

JB Hi-Fi said that its online offerings are supported and enhanced by its supply chain and logistical capabilities. Management are pleased with how its online and supply chain operations have scaled, and maintained a high level of customer service and on-time delivery, during a period of significantly increased volume.

JB Hi-Fi’s earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew 76% whilst net profit after tax (NPAT) went up 86.2% to $317.7 million.

The board decided to increase the interim dividend by 81.8% to $1.80 per share.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

The Nearmap share price was the best performer in the ASX 200 today, rising by around 19%.

As well as releasing the financial numbers in the FY21 half-year result, Nearmap also responded to the short seller report from last week published by J Capital Research, which it said was erroneous.

Nearmap has reviewed and rejected the report. It rejected each of the statements made, saying that report’s claim was false on each point. Some of the allegations included that Nearmap was failing in the US and that Nearmap was losing its edge.

In the actual result, Nearmap said that the group annual contract value (ACV) portfolio at 31 December 2020 was $112.2 million, or $116.7 million in constant currency terms, which represents growth of 21% compared to the prior corresponding period.

Nearmap said that incremental ACV growth of $10.3 million was driven by record growth of the North American portfolio.

The ASX 200 company reported statutory revenue growth of 18% to $54.7 million. The group customer retention rate increased to 93.9%, up from 88.5% in the prior corresponding period.

Global subscriptions increased by approximately 700 to 10,785, with group average revenue per subscription (ARPS) rising by 9% to $10,402.

Nearmap is expecting the group ACV portfolio to finish FY21 at the upper end of its guidance range between $120 million to $128 million.

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The Altium share price was the worst performer in the ASX 200, dropping by almost 5% in reaction to the company’s FY21 half-year result.

Altium said that its continuing profit after tax fell by 12% to US$16.6 million and continuing profit before income tax was down 23% to US$20.7 million. The ‘continuing’ measures exclude the TASKING business, which is being sold.

The tech company explained that the decline in the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin from 38.3% to 33.8% was due to lower revenue. Continuing revenue fell by 4% to US$80 million.

However, there were some gains within some segments of the business. Altium said there was strong adoption of Altium 365, with over 9,300 active monthly users and 4,400 monthly active accounts (up 83% and up 69% respectively since July 2020).

Management also said that Octopart grew revenue strongly by 19% to US$10.8 million as electronic manufacturing rebounded during the half.

The Altium subscription business grew 12% year on year to reach 52,157 subscribers.

Finally, looking at cashflow and the dividend, operating cashflow fell 10% to US$18.7 million and the Altium board decided to increase the dividend per share by 5% to AU$0.19.

More reading

• Morgan Stanley: ASX earnings season is topping expectations
• What does the market look like when things go back to normal?
• How JB HiFi (ASX:JBH) shares became an ASX dividend powerhouse
• Here’s why the Altium (ASX:ALU) share price is down 4%
• ASX 200 up 0.8%: Nearmap jumps, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank impresses

Tristan Harrison owns shares of Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Nearmap Ltd. 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 Nearmap 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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The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price has gone up 2% today, is it a buy?

What is BHP?

BHP describes itself as a world-leading resources company. It extracts and processes minerals, oil and gas with the help of over 80,000 employees and contractors around the world, predominately in Australia and the Americas. Its headquarters are based in Melbourne, Australia.

It has a number of different commodities that it deals with including iron ore, metallurgical coal, energy coal, copper, oil and gas.

The company can trace its history back to 1851. It was formed in a merger between BHP and Billiton. The Billiton name comes from a tin mine on an island in Indonesia, Billiton (Belitung) Island.

What has happened recently to BHP?

Since the end of October 2020, the BHP share price has risen by 35%.

A number of things have happened since then. The iron ore price has remained elevated, which is a core profit-making division of the big resource business.

At the end of December it announced that Samarco in Brazil had met the licensing requirements to restart operations at its Germano complex in Minas Gerais and its Ubu complex in Espirito Santo, Brazil, and has commenced iron ore pellet production. These operations were suspended after the failure of the Fundao dam in November 2015.

BHP’s most recent production update was the report for the six months to December 2020.

In the first half of FY21 it said that petroleum production was down 12% to 50.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe). Copper production was down 5% to 841kt, iron ore production was up 6% to 128.4Mt, metallurgical coal production was down 5% to 19.2Mt and energy coal production was down 30% to 8.2Mt.

As a result of the first half, production guidance for FY21 was unchanged for petroleum and metallurgical coal, but iron ore guidance went up to between 245Mt and 255Mt as a result of the restart of Samarco. Full year unit cost guidance was also unchanged for FY21.

BHP did disclose that the financial result for the first half of FY21 is expected to include an impairment charge of between US$1.15 billion and US$1.25 billion after tax.

Is the BHP share price a buy?

Brokers are generally more positive than negative about BHP shares at the moment.

Broker Ord Minnett has a buy rating on BHP, with a positive outlook on the iron ore price this year, raising its expectations for the price to be US$134 per tonne, which should mean higher profits for BHP than previously expected in FY21 and perhaps the first half of FY22.

Ord Minnett has a BHP share price target of $53 for the big resource business.

However, whilst Morgans thinks that BHP will benefit from the high copper and iron ore prices, the broker has a share price target of around $40.50 for the miner. But strong near-term earnings could see attractive dividends and even a share buyback from BHP.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX cools on earnings reality check
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 next week
• 2 excellent blue chip ASX 200 shares to buy
• 4 steps to pick winning ASX shares
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: RBA unleashes ASX’s inner animal

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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The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price rallied 12% in trade today even though the lithium producer posted no news itself. Looking more broadly across the lithium stocks, it appeared to be a relatively good day of trade for many lithium producers.

Let’s look at some of the recent news and events for Pilbara and lithium to grasp what could have had investors excited today.

Lithium prices remain elevated

After a prolonged period of depressed lithium prices due to oversupply, the demand has caught up in recent months. This has led to the lithium price increasing by 45% year-to-date, and inevitably reinvigorating investor interest in the lithium sector.

In January, we witnessed many lithium stocks skyrocket with this reignited interest, and Pilbara Minerals was one of the beneficiaries. From its 2021 starting price of 86.5 cents per share, Pilbara rallied 58% to a top of $1.365. Since roughly 21 January, most ASX listed lithium stocks have taken a spell and retreated. However, during this time lithium derivatives have continued to increase in price.

In addition, yesterday a handful of articles were floating around on plans proposed by researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in early February. The researchers have reportedly created a plan to use liquid lithium to manage the extreme temperatures inside tokamak fusion reactors. Investors may be speculating the potential for this research to develop into a new-found demand for lithium.

Scientists propose lithium to cope with high-risk condition in future fusion facilities #FusionEnergy #lithium #PlasmaPhysics #tokamak https://t.co/RWRMOOfnJF pic.twitter.com/oHzmqB2hbD

— PPPL (@PPPLab) February 2, 2021

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

What is Pilbara Minerals doing in the meantime?

In the company’s last report, the December quarterly, Pilbara Minerals noted its continued efforts to scale up operations. The lithium producer acquired a neighbouring lithium operation, Altura Mining Limited for $201 million in a bid to obtain synergies in its operations and added flexibility in its production capability.

In that same report, Pilbara stated it would be providing an update to the market on the Altura asset evaluation by the end of the March quarter, which is now fast approaching. Shareholders potentially are anticipating a good result buoyed by the sustained high lithium prices.

Pilbara Minerals share price snapshot

Over the last year, the Pilbara Minerals share price has returned a hefty 280%. Most of these gains were after November of last year, where the shares broke above 40 cents and continued to climb steadily. After today’s substantial performance, shares in the lithium producer are sitting at $1.08, which is still a 21% discount to its 52-week high.

The current market capitalisation is $2.08 billion, at the time of writing.

 

More reading

• Why Blackmores, Creso Pharma, Pilbara Minerals, & Zip shares are pushing higher
• Zip and Vulcan were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• 5 lithium shares that are fast-charging up in 2021
• Why the Ioneer (ASX:INR) share price is up 16% this week
• 3 ASX shares powering the electric car revolution

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.

The post Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price climbed 12% today, but why? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Pointerra Ltd (ASX:3DP) share price was trading strongly higher today despite no news out of the company.

Shares in the 3D data operator’s shares were trading up 8.33% at 91 cents at the close of trade today. This means the Pointerra share price has gained a massive 75% since the start of 2021.

Why is the Pointerra share price flying higher?

The release on 29 January of Pointerra’s quarterly report has proved to be a significant catalyst sending shares higher, with 82% gains recorded post announcement.

In the release, the company continued its strong run of growth with its annual contract value (ACV) standing at US$6.88 million as of 29 January. This means the company’s ACV increased by 18% between quarters and 262% since the same corresponding quarter last year.

Notably, the company also received cash receipts of $0.64 million from customers, including new US customer Eversource Energy, a $29 billion utility company. As part of its recent storm response efforts, it engaged Pointerra to provide an enterprise repository and analytics platform. Eversource will then extract actionable information from geospatial data allowing for better and informed decisions that will lead to faster response times. The company signed a 4-month initial contract of $150,000 a month.

Speeding ticket

On 10 February, due to Pointerra’s astronomical share price rise, the ASX asked the company to explain its increase. Pointerra confirmed that it was complying with the ASX listing rules and had disclosed all relevant information in its quarterly report. The company also noted that any individual material change in ACV would be reported separately as it was in its growth phase.

About the Pointerra share price

Pointerra is an Australian company aiming to take on the challenge of using and monetising 3D data sets. The company provides cloud-based solutions for utilising and distributing these data sets. It gathers data from 3D scanners such as drones or handheld scanners and converts it into useable data sets. The data is stored on the cloud so that users can access it instantly, on-demand, on any device.

The company boasts a range of customers in construction, utilities, entertainment, defence and search & rescue.

The Pointerra share price has gained an astounding 1,720% in the last 12 months. Share took off in July last year after tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery invested 2.5 million in the company via a placement of 50 million shares at 5¢ each.

More reading

• Here’s why the Pointerra (ASX:3DP) share price is storming higher
• 4 growing small cap ASX shares to watch

Daniel Ewing owns shares of Pointerra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Pointerra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointerra Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Why is the Pointerra (ASX:3DP) share price up 75% so far this year? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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