The Silver Mines Limited (ASX: SVL) share price is sinking today following an announcement that the miner has successfully completed a capital raise.

During mid-afternoon trade, shares in the silver-focused mineral exploration company are down 3.64% to 26 cents.

Successful capital raise

The Silver Mines share price hasn’t fared well today, despite the company updating investors about its latest placement.

According to its release, Silver Mines has successfully completed a capital raise of $30 million. Offered to institutional, professional and sophisticated investors, the company revealed that demand exceeded the funds needed to accelerate its growth strategy.

The placement was executed at an issue price of 22 cents per share, reflecting a 13.6% discount on the five-day volume-weighted average price. As a result, Silver Mines will place an extra 136,363,637 fully-paid ordinary shares to its registry. 

The funds received from the capital raise will be primarily used towards progress the company’s flagship Bowdens Silver Project. This includes pre-development expenses as well as funding exploration activities over the next 12 months. In addition, corporate and general working capital will also be financed.

Settlement of the placement is expected to occur this Friday 19 February. Quotation of the placement will follow through on Monday 22 February.

Quick take on Silver Mines

Silver Mines is Australia’s largest pure play silver company with expertise in exploration and development of quality silver projects. Its portfolio consists of the Conrad and Webbs projects, the Tuena Project and its recently acquired Bowdens Silver Project. The company’s Bowdens project is said to be one of the world’s largest undeveloped silver sites – a mineral resource of 275 million ounces of silver equivalent.

Silver Mines share price review

In the last 12 months, the Silver Mines share price has been trending upwards, gaining more than 160% on this time last year. The company’s shares hit a 52-week low of 5.2 cents in March 2020 before recovering.

On current prices, Silver Mines has a market capitalisation of around $276 million.

More reading

• Afterpay and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Why ASX silver shares like Silver Mines (ASX:SVL) are falling today
• Why these ASX silver shares are surging 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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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is soaring today despite no notable recent news from the company. Shares in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider have smashed the record yet again, this time posting a high of $12.39 this afternoon.

At the time of writing, the Zip share price is trading 13.16% higher at $12.26.

Why is the Zip share price flying?

With no new news today, could the Zip share price still be lifting off the momentum of the company’s most recent quarterly report? Since the report was released on January 21, the share price is up a whopping 66.4%.

And according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR), last week’s best-performing stock on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is also exciting investors over the prospect of a second listing on US markets.

Valuation push

In late January, Zip cofounder Peter Gray labelled its December quarter result “absolutely cracking” and questioned investors’ reluctance to value it on similar multiples to rivals Affirm Holdings Inc, Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL), as reported by the AFR.

Mr Gray told the AFR:

Our view would be on the revenue multiples, we’re significantly undervalued when directly compared to Afterpay and obviously Affirm.

To this point, Zip currently sits at a share price of $13.16, giving it a market capitalisation of $6.77 billion. In contrast, Afterpay sits at $154.49 with a market cap of $44.08 billion, almost 7 times that of its smaller counterpart.

However, in regards to its total transaction value, Afterpay boasts $4.1 billion against Zip’s $1.6 billion – a difference of 2.56 times.

About the Zip Share price

The Zip share price is currently trading strongly higher, continuing the company’s remarkable recent run. Shares in the company are now up 118% for the year, easily outpacing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

On that front, Zip is the 4th best performer on the index with a return of 215.72% for the past 12 months. Coming in behind Afterpay at 290.7%, Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) at 242.25%, and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) at 223.98%.

More reading

• 2 of the best ASX tech shares to buy this week
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX cools on earnings reality check
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Why this fund manager is a fan of Afterpay (ASX:APT) and these ASX growth shares
• These ASX shares are helping this fund manager smash the market

Daniel Ewing owns shares of Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd, Pointsbet Holdings Ltd, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Sezzle Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd, Pointsbet Holdings Ltd, and 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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Shares in the Malaysia-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider IOUpay Ltd (ASX: IOU) were placed into a temporary trading halt this morning. This came after the IOUpay share price skyrocketed nearly 98% to an intraday high of 85 cents in early trade.

In less than an hour of trading, IOUpay shares traded over $62 million worth of volume. This level of turnover is more than double the company’s monthly average volume. Consequently, the ASX’s figurative eyebrows were raised.

What’s the go with the IOUpay share price?

IOUpay shares were placed in a trading halt by the ASX due to the company’s abnormal share price rise this morning. The ASX issued a price query, colloquially known as a ‘speeding ticket’, to the company, which it promptly responded to. IOUpay advised it was not aware of any information that could explain today’s spike in its share price. 

The IOUpay share price has been on a tear since the company announced its partnership with EasyStore to provide BNPL services on 9 February. This means that IOUpay’s BNPL payment option will be integrated into EasyStore’s e-commerce platform.

For those who are unsure of what EasyStore is – it is a Shopify-esque offering operating in South-East Asia. The multi-channel online offering enables over 7,000 merchants to sell products through digital means. The business has been operational since 2013, now with established operations in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

In addition, EasyStore merchants racked up A$435 million of total transaction value in 2020.

The BNPL sector continues to attract plenty of excitement on the ASX. IOUpay is now operating among BNPL giants like Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P). In fact, IOUpay made reference to both these companies in its response to the ASX. As cited from the letter of response, IOUpay stated the following: 

This further expansion of the Company into the BNPL sector, further to its existing interests in the mobile and mobile payments sector, is likely to have been recognised by shareholders as being value accretive to IOUpay Limited shareholders by virtue of recent other BNPL market participants’ relative market performance. This has been demonstrated most recently by material price and value increases in companies such as Afterpay…and ZIP Co…

Mindblowing performance

Make sure you have your socks tightly on for this one… The IOUpay share price has returned a mindboggling 8,955% in the last 12 months. The company’s shares have now resumed trading and are currently fetching a price of 75 cents per share. This represents a more than three-fold increase from the 22 cent price tag on Wednesday last week.

IOUpay’s market capitalisation is now standing at around $198 million.

More reading

• Ioupay (ASX:IOU) share price rallies another 54% to new 52-week high
• Here’s why the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price is rocketing 30% higher
• Why the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price jumped 11% higher today

Mitchell Lawler owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Shopify. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T 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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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)’s CommSec platform is renowned as one of, if not the, most popular brokerage services in the country. It enables investors to buy and sell ASX shares, as well as shares traded on international stock markets.

Given the rise of newer, ‘cooler’ brokerage services like Superhero and Stake, which offer slick, millennial-friendly interfaces, one might be forgiven for thinking that CommSec is a little too ‘old-world’ for millennial investors.

Not so, if a new report is to be believed.

The ‘Robinhood effect’

According to a report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, the so-called ‘Robinhood effect’ in the US has spilled over into CommSec’s coffers. The Robinhood effect is the term used to describe the rapid increase in market participation from younger investors. It was first sparked by the popular (and free) US broker Robinhood, which is not available in Australia.

This effect has accelerated since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic for several reasons, including the rapidity of the market recovery last year (which is still going), after the sharpest market crash in history. Large stimulus programs in both Australia and the US probably helped as well.

Millennials and Gen Z flock to the ASX

According to the AFR, the number of first-time users of CommSec’s platform has surged by 125% since the onset of the pandemic. The number of CommSec customers with no previous share market experience more than doubled as well. The report tells us these traders went from making up 8% of CommSec’s total customer base in February 2020 to 18% by December.

Around 83% of those new customers were reportedly under 44, a 17% increase. Since the start of the pandemic, first-time traders accounted for roughly 10% of all trades on the platform. That’s up from around 4% prior to the pandemic.

The report confirms that CommSec is enjoying the spoils from a rising tide. Stake has also reported surging use, and 60% of its customer base is under 35.

This ‘Robinhood effect’ is certainly less controversial in Australia than in the US. Increased ASX millennial and Gen Z market participation hasn’t become associated with the kinds of unfettered and wild trading that we have seen coming out of the US. That was exemplified by the GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) saga from a few weeks ago. The millennial/Gen Z-dominated WallStreetBets Reddit group spearheaded the GameStop short-squeeze. According to the report, WallStreetBets now has over 8 million members following the saga.

It looks as though younger investors are a force that is here to stay.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX cools on earnings reality check
• Is the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price a buy?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Why I’m never selling my Square shares
• 4 steps to pick winning ASX shares

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Orthocell Ltd (ASX: OCC) share price has had a mixed day of trading so far after the company announced a new United States patent for its flagship product.

After tracking as high as 58 cents this morning, shares in the regenerative medicine company have since retreated. At the time of writing, the Orthocell share price is trading down 2.68% to 54.5 cents.

What did Orthocell announce?

In today’s release, Orthocell advised it has been granted a new US divisional patent for CelGro. The patent provides additional intellectual property (IP) to protect the platform for soft tissue regeneration and repair applications, and expires in June 2033.

Orthocell also revealed it had secured 11 patent families that protect its intellectual property. This includes 110 separate patents/applications, of which 75 have already been granted.

Manufactured in Western Australia, the company believes CelGro has numerous competitive advantages over existing synthetic and biologic tissue repair products. Orthocell said CelGro was known to be superior in cell biocompatibility, tensile strength and tissue repair. The medical device has shown positive results in repairing bone defects in the jaw, assisted in re-joining severed or damaged peripheral nerves, and enhanced restoration of the rotator cuff tendon (shoulder).

Branded as Striate+ in the United States, the CelGro Dental platform will be used for dental bone and tissue regenerations procedures. This includes dental bone repairs, growth around dental implants in extraction sockets, and tissue regeneration in intrabony defects.

Management commentary

Orthocell managing director Paul Anderson welcomed the recent patent approval, saying:

This is an important patent that further protects and strengthens our IP position for CelGro, providing greater layers of protection. This patent also complements the recent market approval of the first CelGro product, Striate+ for dental bone and soft tissue repair procedures approved in the US, EU and Australia.

Orthocell share price snapshot

The Orthocell share price is up almost 20% over the last 12 months. The company’s shares hit a low of 18 cents in last year’s COVID-19 market rout in March, before quickly rebounding. 

Based on the current share price, Orthocell has a market capitalisation of around $104 million.

More reading

• Why the Orthocell (ASX:OCC) share price is on the rise

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 Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU) share price is going gangbusters today. Douugh shares are up 14.58% at the time of writing to 27.5 cents a share. Douugh closed at just 24 cents a share last Friday, and actually opened even lower this morning at 23 cents. However, just after open, the Douugh share price went from a low of 22 cents all the way up to 37.5 cents before settling at its current level.

The current price represents the highest levels Douugh has been at since mid-November last year. That was just before the company’s shares were placed in a lengthy trading halt.

No major Douugh news

Normally, a 50% jump in a company’s share price is sparked by something substantial, such as a company announcement or a piece of significant news.

However, the reason the Douugh share price is spiking today is unclear. There are no official major announcements or noteworthy news to speak of out of the fintech company today.

The ASX has sent Douugh a ‘please explain’ following the price moves this morning. In its response, Douugh has told the ASX it is unaware of anything that could have sauced this share price spike. It referred the ASX to some recent announcements regarding its acquisition of Goodments, as well as last week’s revelation of a new product.

That latter announcement came on Tuesday, when Douugh announced it had launched a new product called ‘Autopilot’ within its financial wellbeing app. Autopilot contains a number of “self-driving” cash management features, such as Salary Sweeper. This helps users automatically allocate their cashflow to expense accounts and the like.

Of course, Douugh shares only resumed trading on 5 February after six weeks in a trading-halt purgatory. That trading halt was imposed after the ASX initiated an investigation into Douugh over some potentially improper share trading by the parents of director Bert Mondello. Douugh has since told investors that it will hold a general meeting to ask investors for permission to initiate a capital reduction to compensate for the issuance of the shares in question. The profits that Mr Mondello’s parents made from the sale of the shares will also be donated to charity.

More reading

• Why Douugh, Macquarie, Starpharma, & Suncorp shares are storming higher
• Why the Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price is charging 16% higher today
• Why Douugh, Janus Henderson, Northern Star, & Orocobre are dropping lower
• Why the Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price is crashing 18% lower

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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One area which has been tipped as a place to invest for the long term is the tech sector.

This is because this sector is filled with companies that have the potential to grow significantly in the future.

Two ASX tech shares to look at are listed below. Here’s why they might be long term buys:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The first ASX tech share to consider is Afterpay. It is a payments company that has been growing at a rapid rate over the last few years. This has been driven by the growing popularity of the buy now pay later payment method with consumers and retailers and its successful international expansion.

Pleasingly, this strong growth has accelerated in FY 2021 thanks to the shift to online shopping because of the pandemic. This appears to have positioned the company perfectly for another blockbuster result this year.

Looking ahead, Afterpay will soon release banking products such as transaction accounts. There is also speculation that it won’t stop there and could even expand into other products such as mortgages in the future. This has the potential to be a real threat to the banks and be another key driver of future growth.

Analysts at Bell Potter are confident on its future. According to a recent note, the broker has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target on Afterpay’s shares to $168.50.

Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8)

At the small end of the tech sector you will find Audinate. It is a digital audio-visual (AV) networking technologies provider which was delivering impressive sales growth over the last few years prior to the pandemic.

This was thanks to its Dante product, which replaces all audio connections with a computer network. It then effortlessly sends hundreds of channels of audio over slender ethernet cables with perfect digital fidelity.

Dante is the clear market leader. In fact, Dante has eight times as many enabled devices as its nearest rival. The company is now aiming to do the same with the visual side of the market and has a growing team of experts in the UK.

One broker that is positive on Audinate is Morgan Stanley. It is happy with its recovery since the height of the pandemic and notes that Audinate had a record-breaking second quarter. This was particularly pleasing given how many of its customers are still facing COVID headwinds. The broker has an overweight rating and $9.00 price target on the company’s shares.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX cools on earnings reality check
• Why this fund manager is a fan of Afterpay (ASX:APT) and these ASX growth shares
• These ASX shares are helping this fund manager smash the market
• Another day, another Zip (ASX: Z1P) share price record
• 4 steps to pick winning ASX shares

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AUDINATEGL FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T 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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After rocketing higher on Friday following its initial public offering (IPO), the Singular Health Group Ltd (ASX: SHG) share price is doing it again on Monday.

In afternoon trade the 3D medical imaging company’s shares are up a further 26% to 48 cents.

This means the Singular Health share price is now up a massive 140% from its listing price of 20 cents.

Why is the Singular Health share price surging higher?

Investors appear to have been buying Singular Health shares due to excitement around the company’s technology.

Singular Health is a technology-driven medical imaging company with the aim of developing technologies that provide patients and practitioners with access to personalised, enhanced, medical data to inform better health decisions.

Its key solution is the Volumetric Rendering Platform. This platform uses proprietary code and algorithms to accurately convert traditional 2D medical imagery into volumetric 3D models.

Once this imagery has been converted into 3D models, users are able to visualise, manipulate, modify, and review the model using a standard monitor or by utilising virtual reality.

Management notes that its platform has several distinct advantages. It expects these advantages to drive adoption in the areas of surgical planning, medical education, and patient education.

What’s next?

Singular Health raised $6 million from its IPO. The proceeds will be used to execute its growth strategy, fund research and development, working capital, and for the purchase of a titanium 3D printer.

In respect to its growth strategy, management appears positive on the future.

It commented: “Singular Health has already established a strategy for the vertical integration of the Company’s capabilities, in collaboration with key opinion leaders and joint ventures with established businesses, to develop an end-to-end solution for the visualisation, analysis and segmentation via artificial intelligence and production of bespoke solutions through additive manufacturing.”

However, it is still early days. Furthermore, a significant amount of future growth is already being priced into Singular Health’s shares.

Based on the current Singular Health share price and its 102.2 million shares outstanding, the company has a market capitalisation of $49 million. This compares to financial year to date revenue of just $22,000.

More reading

• Singular Health (ASX:SHG) share price rockets 100% higher following IPO
• Why Novonix, Recce, Singular Health, & Starpharma shares are storming higher
• Singular Health (ASX:SHG) shares arrive on the ASX

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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DigitalX Ltd (ASX: DCC) shares are soaring today following the release of an update on the company’s digital asset funds management business alongside developments in the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and digital asset market.

At the time of writing, the DigitalX share price is trading 17.57% higher at 8.7 cents. Let’s take a closer look.

What did DigitalX report?

The DigitalX share price is on a tear today after the company reported that it is continuing to increase its exposure to Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency. The company is also expanding its exposure to the wider digital asset market via increasing funds under management and corporate treasury.

DigitalX reported record monthly inflows in February, which it attributes to the activation of new funds management marketing strategies in January. The company is exploring the potential to evolve its Bitcoin Fund structure for greater accessibility and liquidity for both current and future investors.

DigitalX also revealed its direct Bitcoin and digital asset exposure is up 70% since 31 December.

The company forecast that 30% of the world’s population could own Bitcoin by 2024 if the historical rate of Bitcoin adoption continues apace. It also pointed to Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)’s decision to invest US$1.5 billion (AU$1.9 billion) into Bitcoin, and its willingness to accept Bitcoin as payment, as more evidence confidence in digital assets is growing.

DigitalX itself is no newcomer to Bitcoin. The company has held Bitcoin as part of its long-term corporate treasury position since 2017.

Australian institutions have been slower to adopt cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin than their United States counterparts.

Homing in on the Aussie market, Leigh Travers, executive director of DigitalX, said:

As more Australian investors become aware of this market opportunity, I am confident we will see a seismic shift in the investor interest in Australia. A multi-hundred billion dollar pool of capital is safeguarded in the Australian SMSF sector, and DigitalX is well placed to offer the secure and trusted provider for Bitcoin and digital asset investment.

DigitalX share price snapshot

With today’s intraday gains, the DigitalX share price is up 190% over the past 12 months.

For comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 1% over that same time. Based on the current share price, DigitalX has a market capitalisation of around $46 million.

More reading

• Why I’m never selling my Square shares
• These 3 ASX shares invested in Bitcoin before Tesla (NASDAQ:TSL)

Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks or cryptocurrencies 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 or cryptocurrencies 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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Things are just going from bad to worse at Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) as the fallout over the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA)’s inquiry into the gaming giant continues to spread.

Crown had a week to forget last week when the ILGA handed down its inquiry report, which found that Crown is “not suitable” to operate its new casino in Sydney’s Barangaroo precinct.

The commissioner of the inquiry, former Supreme Court justice Patricia Begin, said the following in the report:

Any applicant for a casino licence with the attributes of Crown’s stark realities of facilitating money laundering, exposing staff to the risk of detention in a foreign jurisdiction and pursuing commercial relationships with individuals with connections to Triads and organised crime groups would not be confident of a positive outcome… The Licensee is not suitable to continue to give effect to the Barangaroo Licence and that Crown is not suitable to be a close associate of the Licensee…

If Crown is to survive this turmoil and convert itself into a company that can be regarded as a suitable person and achieve the same for the Licensee, there is little doubt that it could achieve a fresh start and emerge a very much stronger and better organisation.

Crown shakes things up

It appears Crown has taken this damning report to heart. This morning, the company released an announcement to the ASX before market open in response. In this announcement, the company informed investors that its chief executive officer and managing director Ken Barton would be stepping down from his roles “with immediate effect”.

Fellow director Helen Coonan will be stepping up to the executive chair role. She will also lead the company as the board begins a search for Barton’s replacement.

Coonan stated the following on her new role, and what the future holds for Crown:

Assuming the role of Executive Chairman is a decision I have not taken lightly but the Board feels it provides leadership stability and certainty at this important time for the business. The Board is determined to maintain the momentum as Crown takes significant steps to improve our governance, compliance and culture.

The Crown share price has responded to this announcement with muted approval. Crown shares are up 0.51% at the time of writing to $9.94.

More reading

• ASX 200 falls, Melbourne lockdown bites, Baby Bunting drops
• ASX 200 down 0.3%: Crown CEO hasn’t resigned, Mirvac update, Nearmap remains halted
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• ASX 200 rises 0.5%, CBA reports, Crown deemed unsuitable for Sydney
• Why CIMIC, Crown, Domino’s, & Praemium shares are tumbling lower today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Crown Resorts 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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