Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) proved to be extremely popular investments in 2020. So popular in fact, that the all-time record for ETF inflows was broken twice last year. Take the month of October. It saw a record $2.3 billion flow into ASX ETFs, surpassing the $2.1 billion of the previous month.

But now that we’ve started a new year, which ETFs are primed for the challenges of 2021 and beyond? Here are 2 popular ETFs worthy of a closer look:

VanEck Vectors Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

MOAT is a rather unique ASX ETF as it only holds a select group of US-listed shares – 49 on the latest update, to be precise. Amongst MOAT’s holdings, you will find famous names like Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD), Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) and Kellogg Company (NYSE: K).

What do MOAT’s holdings all have in common? Well, as you might guess, a moat. This ETF only holds companies that Morningstar have identified as possessing a ‘wide economic moat’, which is another way of saying ‘intrinsic, sustainable competitive advantage’. That might be a powerful brand, like with Kellogg or McDonald’s, or being able to offer lower prices than competitors, as Amazon can.

These are the kinds of businesses that Warren Buffett famously loves, and for good reason. Over the past 5 years, MOAT has averaged a return of 16.58% per annum.

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

A second ETF to look at today is this fund from BetaShares. ASIA aims to hold 50 of the largest technological disrupters from Asia (excluding Japan). We’re all familiar with the big US tech companies like Amazon and the success they have shared with their investors. But, whilst these companies are dominant in many parts of the world, they are arguably not so big in Asia. China, for instance, doesn’t even allow many of these companies access to their market at all. And that’s where ASIA comes in.

Its largest holdings include giants like Tencent Holdings, Alibaba and Samsung Electronics. All of these companies are dominant in Asia, and many (like Samsung) have a global presence as well. As such, this ETF can be a way to diversify in the tech space beyond the FAANG stocks like Amazon.

ASIA has returned an average of 22.54% per annum since its inception in September 2018, including a 62.01% return for the past year alone.

More reading

• US decides against delisting Tencent and other Chinese giants
• 3 quality ETFs for ASX investors to buy today
• Got money to invest? Here are 3 ASX shares to buy
• 2 quality ETFs for ASX investors in January
• 3 great ASX tech shares to buy

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Boeing, Intel, Kellogg, McDonalds, and VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Intel and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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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:

Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8)

According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have retained their overweight rating and lifted their price target on this professional audio-visual media networking solutions provider’s shares to $9.00. The broker made the move following the release of Audinate’s second quarter update. It was pleased with its performance given the headwinds it is facing and believes it has a long runway for growth in the future. The Audinate share price is trading at $8.07 on Friday.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

Another note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on this banking giant’s shares to $26.00. Its analysts believe the banking sector’s outlook is improving and expect the market to begin to price in a recovery in earnings and dividends as the year progresses. It then suspects the banks could look at capital management initiatives in 2022 given the excess capital they built up during the pandemic. The broker is forecasting an 88 cents per share dividend in FY 2021 and a $1.06 per share dividend next year. NAB’s shares are changing hands for $24.26 this afternoon.

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

Analysts at Macquarie have retained their outperform rating and $127.00 price target on this mining giant’s shares. This follows news that Rio Tinto has secured a revised electricity agreement at the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter. Outside this, the broker sees upside risks to its short term earnings forecasts due to sky high spot iron ore prices. The Rio Tinto share price is trading at $120.69.

More reading

• This broker calls ANZ (ASX:ANZ) shares as the preferred bank pick
• This ASX 200 stock is tipped to lift dividends by 87% this year
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Why this broker likes ANZ (ASX:ANZ), NAB (ASX:NAB), and Westpac (ASX:WBC)
• Does Xinja’s downfall mean neobanks are dead?

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 AUDINATEGL FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended AUDINATEGL FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) share price has taken a slight knock and enters the red today. Shares are trading sideways after the company announced the upsizing of its share purchase plan, as a result of it being heavily oversubscribed.

Details of the upsizing

Chalice cited strong support from eligible shareholders in the share purchase plan (SPP). This has led to a substantially oversubscribed SPP. Reportedly, more than 2,300 applications were received to take part. The resulting value totals $47 million worth of shares at the issuant price of $3.75.

This comes after Chalice recently successfully completed the institutional portion of the placement on 8 December, raising $100 million.

The board of directors, under their discretion, decided to increase the SPP to approximately $15 million, up from the previously allotted $10 million.

The SPP increase will directly lead to an increase in shares issued, bringing the total to 4 million. With the increase in the SPP, the dilution of Chalice shares now will be close to 1.2%.

Due to the oversubscription, the company also will need to scale-back valid applications. This will result in eligible shareholders being allocated approximately 34% of the shares that they applied for.

Chalice Mining also specified that the SPP shares are anticipated to be issue on 21 January, with trading to become available on them from Friday, 22 January.

Chalice managing director Alex Dorsch commented:

In light of the strong response, the board made the decision to upsize the SPP by 50%, after taking into consideration our capital requirements. The combined proceeds of the recent placement and this SPP will ensure Chalice remains financially strong well into the future, with the ability to rapidly advance Julimar to the feasibility stage.

What are the proceeds for?

The funds raised from the placement will be going towards Chalice Mining’s Julimar discovery. Originally intersected on 23 March 2020, with the finding of high-grade nickel-copper-palladium sulphide, the discovery has continued to expand.

This new funding will enable Chalice to accelerate exploration and development activities, as well as provide general working capital.

In the letter of offer to eligible shareholders, Chalice specified that the placement would provide a 2-year runway to support the activities, including drill programs, scoping, and pre-feasibility studies.

Chalice share price recap

The Chalice Mining share price has returned a monster 1334% in the last year. For much early 2020, you could get shares in this mining company for less than 30 cents.

At the time of writing, the Chalice Mining share price is $4.29, giving it a market capitalisation of $1.47 billion.

More reading

• Here’s what 1 broker thinks about the Chalice (ASX:CHN) share price
• Which 2 ASX shares have rocketed up more than 200% in 6 months?
• Why the Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) share price is surging 11% higher today
• Here are the best All Ordinaries performers of 2020

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

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Our market continues to build on gains for 2021 and those looking for new buying opportunities will want to read on.

Brokers have initiated research coverage on two new ASX stocks that have recently hit the bourse.

The Ansarada Group Ltd (ASX: AND) share price is the latest “buy” rated stock from Moelis Australia. The investment bank started covering the governance platform provider following its reverse takeover of The Doc Yard Ltd (ASX: TDY).

The latest high-growth ASX IT stock to buy

The cloud-based platform allows companies to securely share sensitive documents, such as for board meetings, takeovers and audits.

This means the AND share price should benefit from the expected rebound in mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in 2021.

If you believe that high-growth tech stocks will keep delivering this year, then Ansarada might be a good one for your watchlist.

Multiple catalysts to drive the Ansarada share price

There are other reasons why Moelis likes the stock. This includes good subscription growth potential and expected positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) this financial year.

“Overall, we expect AND to benefit from the global trend of increased regulation on security and data management and exhibit strong growth over CY21 as M&A markets recover and revenue diversifies across new & enhanced platform use cases,” said Moelis.

Moelis’ 12-month price target on the stock is $1.83 a share.

Better than forecasts growth

Another new entry to the ASX that is worth watching is the Liberty Financial Group Pty Ltd (ASX: LFG) share price.

The analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) initiated coverage on the recently listed financial services group with an “outperform” recommendation.

“Better-than-expected margins, book growth and asset quality vs Prospectus assumptions should support earnings ~15% above Prospectus NPATA, in our view,” said the broker.

“Liberty is benefiting from wider-than-anticipated net interest margins, with BBSW (1mth) ~9bps below the RBA cash rate vs a long-term ~20bps premium.”

Winning by a big margin

A modest 10 basis point (0.1 percentage point) change in margins will have a 6.3 percentage point impact on net profit before amortisation of acquired intangible assets (NPATA).

“Liberty should remain a leader in the non-bank sector, with its industry position supported by well-developed capital management capability, high level of funding stability and cost efficiency,” added Macquarie.

“Interestingly, Liberty is the only Australian non-bank finance company with a public investment-grade issuer rating.”

The broker’s 12-month price target on the LFG share price is $8.27 a share.

More reading

• This ASX sector is facing a tough 2021
• Leading broker names the ASX bank shares to buy in 2021
• Bell Potter names the ASX shares to buy in 2021
• These are the latest 2021 ASX “buy” ideas from top brokers
• Why the Chesser (ASX:CHZ) share price is climbing higher today

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie 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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Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR) shares are dipping lower today, despite the company winning a new contract.

During early afternoon trade, the global engineering company’s shares are down 0.5% at $12.74. The Worley share price did reach positive territory earlier on, recording an intraday high of $12.98.

What did Worley announce?

The Worley share price has been see-sawing today after investors appear mixed on the company’s latest release.

In its announcement, Worley advised that it has been awarded a contract from Schering-Plough Animal Health Limited, also known as MSD Animal Health.

MSD Animal Health is a division within the 125-year-old global pharmaceutical company, MSD. The former which provides veterinary services and digital solutions such as identification and monitoring technologies.

Terms of the deal

Under the contract, Worley will deliver procurement and construction services to upgrade the animal vaccine plant in Upper Hutt, New Zealand.

The project is expected to be completed over a 4-year period, in which Worley’s New Zealand team will take charge.

No further details were provided by Worley in terms of revenue generation and any related provisions.

Words from the CEO

Worley CEO Chris Ashton, welcomed the partnership, saying:

As a global professional services company headquartered in Australia, we are excited to be involved in this project with MSD Animal Health in New Zealand. It is a natural extension to the diverse professional and field services we offer to complex chemical and processing industries around the world.

How has the Worley share price performed?

Since its March lows last year, the Worley share price has gradually gained traction to come within sights of its pre-COVID highs.

While this time last year, its shares were hovering around the $16 mark, Worley has been making gains. From November, the company’s shares have risen more than 30%, reflecting positive investor sentiment.

If the Worley share price can climb another 20%, its shares will be where they started in the beginning of 2020.

Based on the current share price, Worley commands a market capitalisation of $6.6 billion.

More reading

• Why the Worley (ASX:WOR) share price is edging higher
• ASX 200 drops 1.1%

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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Just over 2 weeks into the new year and we’ve already got ourselves some fresh IPOs, one of the first being the Singular Health IPO. The company opened its initial public offering on 4 January in an effort to raise $6 million at a price of 20 cents per share. The placement implies a market capitalisation of nearly $20.5 million, as detailed in the company’s prospectus. 

The offer has since closed early due to significant demand. Setting the stage for another ASX listed medical imaging technology company.

What is the Singular Health IPO bringing to the table?

2D, or not 2D, that is the question

Rather than the traditional 2D medical images that are still popular to this day (CT and MRI), Singular Health’s technology produces viewable 3D objects from its 2D counterparts. This is made possible by the group’s proprietary volumetric rendering platform.

The technology, enabled by the MedVR software, allows immersive viewing through the use of virtual reality. This software is currently a TGA IVD Medical Class 1 Software and is listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

MedVR has already been commercialised and is generating revenue, albeit $22,609 unaudited for the 2020/2021 financial year to date. The software is currently used by medical practitioners, medical students, hospitals, and universities; both locally and abroad.

Revenue is expected to be generated predominantly through a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model. For the VR related products, the company will also make one-off revenue through reselling and installing MedVR compatible virtual reality hardware.

The medical imaging landscape

With Singular Health gearing for official quotation to the ASX on 4 February, the microcap will be joining giants at its sides. Most notably, the long time listed healthcare imaging software provider, Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME). As well as, the not so long-listed, small-cap, XV Technology developer, 4DMedical Ltd (ASX: 4DX).

Firstly, the Pro Medicus share price has returned 43.1% in the last 12 months. The $3.3 billion company has built out a suite of cloud-based medical imaging software products. These cover the imaging organisation process, communication between radiographer and radiologist, and viewing of images even on mobile devices.

Pro Medicus has also recently benefitted from a slew of new contracts in recent months. The biggest being announced yesterday, a A$40 million, 7 year contract with Intermountain Healthcare to provide Pro Medicus’ Visage software across more than 200 clinics.

Singular Health’s offering is differentiated from Pro Medicus, given that the Visage software is focused on the handling of medical imaging, whatever form that may take. Whereas, Singular Health wants to produce 3D interactive scans that are distributed through its own software.

Secondly, the 4DMedical share price has returned 43.4% since listing just over 5 months ago. 4DMedical’s secret sauce is its proprietary XV Technology. This is used to convert sequences of X-ray images into ‘four-dimensional’ quantitative data. The company utilises this process to assess lung function by using existing clinic equipment through its cloud-based SaaS offering.

4DMedical successfully obtained TGA approval for its XV lung ventilation analysis software on 30 September 2020, reportedly 6 months ahead of schedule. Although, despite its $409.82 million market capitalisation, 4DMedical reported $1.23 million in sales revenue for FY20.

Foolish takeaway

Timely detection is crucial in most cases where medical imaging is employed. Appropriate imaging distribution, interaction, and presentation is critical. In that case, it is phenomenal that we have innovation in this space right on our doorstep.

With the addition of Singular Health, it appears we have the 2D, 3D, and 4D listed trio in medical imaging. Whether the Singular Health Group’s debut will resonate with the market, or not, is in the hands of the IPO gods.

Longer-term, it will be interesting to see if VR in the health space gains traction.

More reading

• Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) share price hits record high: Is it too late to invest?
• Why Afterpay, BHP, Objective, & Pro Medicus shares are charging higher
• ASX 200 rises 0.4%
• ASX 200 up 0.3%: Afterpay surges, Pro Medicus rockets on $40m contract, Whitehaven rises
• Why Afterpay, Australian Ethical, Pro Medicus, & Sezzle shares are charging higher

Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has dropped back from its highs but is still on course to record a gain. In afternoon trade the benchmark index is up 0.25% to 6,731.9 points.

Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping lower:

Advance Nanotek Ltd (ASX: ANO)

The Advance Nanotek share price is down 6% to $3.90 despite there being no news out of the advanced materials company. However, Advance Nanotek has been struggling in FY 2021 due to lower demand for its products because of COVID-19. This is expected to lead to a sharp drop in profits during the first half.

Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)

The PolyNovo share price has sunk a further 6% to $2.59. This medical device company’s shares have come under significant pressure this week after the release of a trading update. While PolyNovo delivered a 31% increase in first half sales, it would have been much stronger had its second quarter performance not fallen short of expectations. Bell Potter was disappointing, it commented: “Polynovo announced a relatively disappointing trading update, with 1H FY21 sales growth of 31% vs the pcp well below our forecasts, consensus and management expectations”.

Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)

The Resolute share price is down 8% to 70.5 cents after the release of a disappointing production update. Resolute achieved gold production of 89,888 ounces during the three months ended 31 December. This led to its calendar year production coming in at 395,136 ounces, which falls short of its downgraded guidance of 400,000 ounces. In 2021, management expects production to fall to between 350,000 to 375,000 ounces.

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

The Tyro share price crashed 12% lower to $2.32 before going into a trading halt. Investors were selling the payments company’s shares today after it was the subject of a short seller attack. Viceroy Research claims that its payment terminals problem is far greater than the company is admitting. It alleges that Tyro has “bricked” ~50% of its terminals across the country via a software patch.

More reading

• Tyro Payments (ASX:TYR) share price crashes 12% on short seller attack
• ASX 200 up 0.4%: Afterpay hits record high, bank shares rise, Resolute disappoints
• Here’s why the Resolute (ASX:RSG) share price is sinking lower
• Outage issues could weigh on growth for the Tyro (ASX:TYR) share price
• Why BrainChip, Pilbara Minerals, Premier Investments, & Tyro shares are dropping lower

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 Advance NanoTek Limited, POLYNOVO FPO, and Tyro Payments. 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 FBR Ltd (ASX: FBR) share price shot up 10% in early trade today after the robotics company announced a new pilot program agreement.

At the time of writing, the FBR share price has retreated slightly to 5.1 cents, up 6.25%.

What did FBR announce?

In today’s release, FBR advised that it has signed a pilot program contract with Xella Technologie- und Forschungsgesellschaft mbH (Xella).

Based in Germany, Xella specialises in developing, manufacturing and marketing building and insulation materials. The company is known to be one of the world’s leading suppliers of Ytong autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) and Silka calcium silicate blocks (CSU).

Under the agreement, Xella will supply AAC and CSU blocks to FBR in order to build two houses using its Hadrian X bricklaying robot. 

Building blocks

Ytong AACs are a lightweight, precast, foam concrete building material comprising of sand, water and air. Much larger than the traditional bricks, the masonry block is extremely versatile because of its load-bearing capacity.

Silka CSUs on the other hand are known to be environmentally friendly, sound absorbent, low compression, fire-resistant, weatherproof building blocks. The latter are already in use across the world in care homes, student accommodation, hotels, apartments, schools, and other structures.

Once the structures have been completed, both companies will review the work and see if any improvements can be made. This will include any changes to the blocks themselves, the adhesives used, or any potential Hadrian X modifications.

The partnership will be used to lay groundwork for a European pilot building program, in hopes to lead to commercialisation. FBR said both companies will seek to understand the capabilities of each other’s products and COVID-19 logistical constraints.

Management commentary

FBR managing director and CEO Mike Pivac welcomed the partnership, saying:

We are very pleased to be working with another high-quality block supplier with global reach as we continue to commercialise our automated bricklaying technology. Xella are known for their innovative products, and we are looking forward to working with them to progress the global scaling of the Hadrian X.

FBR share price snapshot

The FBR share price has had a rollercoaster run over the past 12 months.

The company’s shares hit a low of 1 cent in March, before reaching a high of 10.5 cents in August. However, the FBR share price has since fallen to level at the same point as this time last year.

More reading

• Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) share price hits record high: Is it too late to invest?
• Why the PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price is hitting record highs
• Insiders have been buying Appen (ASX:APX) and ASX share
• Resources & Energy Group (ASX:REZ) share price sinks 7%
• The Vulcan (ASX:VUL) share price is hitting new highs today. Here’s why.

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.

The post Why the FBR (ASX:FBR) share price surged 10% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price was an exceptionally strong performer on Thursday.

The leading health imaging company’s shares jumped 15% to $36.62.

The Pro Medicus share price has continued this positive form and hit a new record high of $39.62 on Friday.

This latest gain means its shares are up 57% over the last six months.

Why did the Pro Medicus share price jump to a record high?

Investors were fighting to get hold of the company’s shares on Thursday after it announced its fifth major new contract win in the space of six months. And as you might have guessed from the share price reaction, this was a big one.

According to the release, Pro Medicus has signed a seven-year contract worth $40 million with Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare. It is the largest health system in the State of Utah and also provides medical services in the states of Idaho and Nevada.

The contract, which is based on a transactional licensing model, will see Pro Medicus’ Visage 7 Viewer and Visage 7 Open Archive products implemented across all of Intermountain’s radiology and subspecialty imaging departments. The implementation will be fully deployed on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), leveraging Visage’s native, cloud-engineered enterprise imaging technology.

Pro Medicus’ CEO, Dr Sam Hupert, commented: “This is a very important deal for us, not only because of its size and scope, it will provide us with a material footprint in Intermountain West, previously an untapped region for us.”

Is it too late to invest?

According to analysts at UBS, the Pro Medicus share price may have topped out for the time being.

While the broker was impressed with its contract win and believes it is one of the highest quality companies on the Australian share market, it isn’t enough for it to change it rating.

UBS has retained its neutral rating and $32.00 price target on its shares. This price target is ~19% lower than where it shares trade today.

Elsewhere, Goldman Sachs currently has a neutral rating and a lower price target of $25.90 on its shares.

More reading

• Why Afterpay, BHP, Objective, & Pro Medicus shares are charging higher
• ASX 200 rises 0.4%
• ASX 200 up 0.3%: Afterpay surges, Pro Medicus rockets on $40m contract, Whitehaven rises
• Why Afterpay, Australian Ethical, Pro Medicus, & Sezzle shares are charging higher
• Why the Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) share price is racing 7% higher today

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus 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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Yesterday, the PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) share price finally hit a new all-time high closing price, finishing the day at $13.28 per share. This follows months of bouncing between the $10 to $13 level.

At the time of writing, the Pointsbet share price is up another 3.90% to $13.80 per share.

While the company has not made any major announcements since its annual general meeting in November 2020, a number of announcements from competing US sports betting companies and fresh US sports betting turnover data has helped set a bullish tone for the PointsBet share price in the new year. 

Record turnover for New Jersey sports betting 

New Jersey took in a record US$1 billion worth of sports bets in December 2020, the latest in a string of monthly records for US sports betting. 

With the NFL playoffs underway in a lead up to the Super Bowl, January 2021 is expected to set new records for the industry.  

Not only does New Jersey represent the biggest sports betting state in the US, but also the birthplace of PointsBet US. In FY20, PointsBet’s New Jersey FY20 turnover was $307.3 million, which generated a net revenue of $6.8 million. This makes up approximately 30% of the group’s FY20 turnover of $1.15 billion. This result represented an online turnover market share in New Jersey of approximately 6.25% in FY20. 

Competing bookmakers deliver significant growth 

DraftKings and FanDuel are currently the two biggest bookmakers in the US. 

DraftKings saw a 98% year-on-year revenue surge to US$132.8 million in the latest quarter, reported on 13 November 2020. In the quarter, it raised its full-year 2020 revenue range to US$540 million to US$560 million, which translates to 25%–30% annual revenue growth. 

The company also provided a 2021 revenue guidance of US$750 million to US$850 million, which equates to 45% year-over-year growth using the midpoints. 

“The resumption of major sports such as the NBA, MLB and the NHL in the third quarter, as well as the start of the NFL season, generated tremendous customer engagement,” said DraftKings CEO Jason Robins.

Foolish takeaway

The US sports betting market is still in its early days with a number of states still working towards legalisation. Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan are bullish on the sector, estimating the US sports betting and iGaming industry to be a US$12 billion opportunity by 2025.

Looking ahead for the PointsBet share price, the company has announced its intentions to launch its sportsbook and iGaming product in Michigan in the third quarter of FY21 and iGaming product in New Jersey in the second half of FY21.

More reading

• The Pointsbet (ASX:PBH) share price is up 10% this year
• Why PointsBet, Santos, Sayona, & Splitit shares are charging higher today
• Leading broker names the emerging ASX shares to buy in 2021
• Why the BetMakers (ASX:BET) share price is surging 12% higher today

Lina Lim has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointsbet Holdings 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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