The Cardiex Ltd (ASX: CDX) share price is up 3.9% to 5.3 cents in afternoon trading after the company released a positive update on its half year sales.

The rise comes as the wider All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is slipping, down 0.2% to 6884 points.

What’s driving the CardieX share price higher?

In its half year sales and corporate update, CardieX revealed it had achieved record sales for the first half of the 2021 financial year. This puts the health technology company in a position to post a 30% increase in sales compared to H1 FY2020. It’s also the strongest first half results the company has posted in 5 years.

The company attributed the strong sales growth to continuing strength in sales to the research market along with new clinical trial contracts with Bayer AG (announced on 20 August).

In a forward-looking statement, CardieX CEO Craig Cooper said:

I expect this strength to continue into next year given the current pipeline of research sales and new clinical trials in process. With widespread vaccine distribution about to commence, I also expect sales to our traditional clinician market to recover strongly as the US comes out of continuing lock-downs and stay-at-home orders.

In an update to the company’s previously announced share purchase plan (SPP), Cooper said:

We’re targeting to raise $1.0 million under the SPP, however we may decide in our absolute discretion to close the SPP early, scale back applications, or accept an amount above or below the $1.0 million target depending on the level of demand received. We’re expecting to close the SPP on Thursday, 31 December 2020.

CardieX also announced the appointment of Steven Kesten as its new chief medical officer and Mark Gorelick as its new chief product officer.

Company snapshot

CardieX is a global health technology company focused on vascular health issues. Its AtCor Medical division develops medical devices for measuring arterial stiffness and central blood pressure waveforms.

After falling for most of the previous 5 years, the CardieX share price has turned around in 2020. Despite dropping 66% during the wider COVID-19 market rout in February and March, CardieX shares are up 73% year-to-date. And up an impressive 420% from the 25 March lows.

More reading

• Why the Immuron (ASX:IMC) share price is rocketing up 10% today
• Here’s why the Zelira (ASX:ZLD) share price just rocketed to a new high
• Why the Botanix (ASX:BOT) share price is soaring up today
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 hits a 6! Thank iron ore
• Hydrix (ASX:HYD) share price falling despite positive AGM update

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

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Easton Investments Ltd (ASX: EAS) shares are charging higher today after the company reported an increase in its year-on-year profits. At the time of writing, the Easton share price has surged 7.89% higher to reach a new, 52-week high of $1.23.

Why has the Easton share price surged today?

The Easton share price is charging higher after the company announced its year-on-year profit has increased by 98% to $3.51 million, in the five months to 30 November. This figure is up from $1.77 million in the prior corresponding period.

Easton Investments, which owns GPS Wealth, Merit Wealth and The SMSF Expert, further reported that its Wealth Solutions division had seen a 55% rise in profits from $850,000 in 2019, to $1.31 million in the five months to 30 November this year.

Its Accounting Solutions division meanwhile, returned $2.12 million in profits for the five-month period, compared with $1.43 million at the same time last year

“Both of the company’s operating divisions, Accounting Solutions and Wealth Solutions, have reported strong revenue and earnings growth over the period, while corporate costs have remained flat,” the company said.

Cautious guidance

Despite the upbeat news, Easton remained cautious about providing a full, half-year forecast. The company advised that its final half-year results will be impacted by one-off costs associated with the proposed transaction with HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB). 

In October, HUB24 agreed to purchase new shares in Easton Investments, while divesting its subsidiary, Paragrem, and giving the ownership to Easton.

That agreement will effectively see HUB24 become a 40% shareholder in Easton, with the combined company set to become one of Australia’s leading providers of services to accountants and financial advisers.

Easton says it expects to be in a position over the coming days to provide an update on the HUB24 transaction.

The company has also today declared a special dividend of 5 cents per share, fully franked, to be paid on 21 January 2021.

About the Easton share price

The Easton share price has increased by over 40% since the HUB24 announcement was made in October. On a year-to-date basis, Easton shares have gained around 30%, today reaching a new 52-week high.

The company commands a market capitalisation of $39 million.

More reading

• IOOF (ASX:IFL) share price lifts after investor briefing
• 3 ASX shares growing the dividend rapidly
• HUB24 (ASX:HUB) share price edges lower following AGM update

Eddy Sunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Hub24 Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Hub24 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 Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price has continued its remarkable run on Tuesday.

In afternoon trade the cloud-based business and accounting software provider’s shares are up a sizeable 9% to a new record high of $156.72.

This latest gain means the Xero share price is now up a sizeable 30% since this time last month and an even more mouth-watering 96% since the start of the year.

Why is the Xero share price charging higher?

There have been a few catalysts for the rampant rise in the Xero share price this year.

This includes its strong performance during the pandemic, bullish broker notes, and its inclusion in exclusive indices.

In respect to the latter, on Friday afternoon S&P Dow Jones Indices announced its quarterly rebalance of the S&P/ASX Indices and revealed that Xero would be joining the ASX 50 index along with payments company Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT).

These two market darlings will be replacing energy producer Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) and retail property company Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX).

Given that some investment companies have strict mandates on the shares they can buy, this change has potentially brought Xero onto the radar of some fund managers.

In addition to this, it will also have led to index-tracking funds having to buy shares.

Can the Xero share price go higher?

As I mentioned above, the Xero share price was also given a boost from bullish broker notes over the last few months.

One of the most bullish notes came from Goldman Sachs earlier this month. It initiated coverage on the company with a buy rating and $157.00 price target.

At the time, this price target implied potential upside of 18% for its shares. However, with the Xero share price now fetching $156.72, the upside appears limited from here.

Goldman Sachs likes Xero due to the quality of its offering, its large and growing total addressable market (TAM), and its attractive unit economics.

The broker estimates that its TAM is already worth NZ$14 billion across its key markets but could grow by a further NZ$62 billion in the future. Goldman believes this would be possible if it broadens and monetises its app ecosystem and expands into new geographies.

More reading

• Why Amaysim, Orocobre, Pacific Smiles, & Xero shares are pushing higher
• Here’s why Bubs (ASX:BUB) and this ASX share are underperforming in 2020
• Why ASX oil stocks could replace the ASX tech boom in 2021
• Why the Webjet (ASX: WEB) share price is climbing higher
• Why the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price just hit a new record high

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and Xero. 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 Immuron Ltd (ASX: IMC) share price is surging today following a research agreement with Monash University for combating COVID-19. At the time of writing, the Immuron share price is up 10.42% to 26.5 cents.

Immuron is clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of a novel class of specifically targeted polyclonal antibodies. The company researches and develops hyperimmune products for markets in Australia, the United States and Canada.

Product sales comprise Travelan and Protectyn, which is used for the prevention of travellers’ diarrhoea.

What’s pushing the Immuron share price higher?

The Immuron share price has been a positive mover today compared to the broader All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) which is down 0.3% to 6.877 points.

According to today’s release, Immuron advised that its hyperimmune bovine colostrum, called ‘IMM-124E’ has shown antiviral activity against COVID-19 in a laboratory. The hyperimmune bovine colostrum is used currently in the company’s key products, Travelan and Protectyn.

To further support the promising results, Immuron has partnered with Monash University to undertake further research. The agreement will see Monash University examine and evaluate the efficacy of IMM-124E against the COVID-19 virus.

This follows the company’s previous efforts in engaging with domestic and international researchers to advance its work.

What is hyperimmune bovine colostrum?

Bovine colostrum is a milky fluid that comes from the udder of cows the first few days after giving birth.

This fluid contains proteins called antibodies that can fight bacteria and viruses that cause diseases. Antibody levels in bovine colostrum can be 100 times higher than levels in regular cow’s milk.

Researchers have created a special type of bovine colostrum called ‘hyperimmune bovine colostrum’. It’s produced by cows that have received vaccinations against specific disease-causing organisms and is high is specific kinds of antibodies.

Bovine colostrum is most commonly used to treat diarrhea and other infections.

What did the research team from Monash University say?

Microbiology Department deputy head, Professor Dena Lyras, said the university had been fortunate to obtain access to the SARS-CoV-2 recombinant proteins developed at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

Dr Melanie Hutton went on to talk about the research team’s plan, saying:

These reagents will be used to initiate the research work and to develop a suitable assay for evaluating the inhibitory efficacy of IMM-124E.

Furthermore, specific immune components will be purified from IMM-124E and will be used to evaluate their ability to inhibit the binding of an antibody positive human serum sample to specific COVID-19 proteins, such as the spike protein which is crucial for cell entry.

Immuron share price summary

Investors are likely to have a mixed response to the Immuron share price. Although its shares have risen more than 85% in the past 12 months, short-term charts show the Immuron share price on a gradual decline.

The company’s shares did see a sharp spike in July reaching 95 cents, following a market update to IMM-124E. However, the share price quickly came crashing down as investors pocketed the profit.

More reading

• Here’s why the Zelira (ASX:ZLD) share price just rocketed to a new high
• Why the Botanix (ASX:BOT) share price is soaring up today
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 hits a 6! Thank iron ore
• Hydrix (ASX:HYD) share price falling despite positive AGM update
• Vulcan (ASX:VUL) share price rises 20% and breaks new record. 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.

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Australia’s leading investment platform provider CommSec has released data on the most traded ASX shares on its platform from last week.

Once again, there were a few regulars but also a couple of lesser known shares making the cut.

Here’s the data:

Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH)

This cannabis company was far and away the most traded share on the CommSec platform last week. Creso Pharma’s shares accounted for a massive 6.6% of trades, with 62% coming from buyers. Fortunately for them, the Creso Pharma share price rocketed 155% higher last week after a series of announcements.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

This buy now pay later provider was popular with investors again last week. They were responsible for a total of 2.2% of trades on the platform. Approximately 59% of these trades came from the buy side. Investors may have been buying shares after Zip announced a deal with Facebook. However, the buying wasn’t strong enough to stop it from dropping lower for the week.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

This exchange traded fund (ETF) was in the top five for a second week in a row. It accounted for 1.6% of trades on the CommSec platform over the five days, with 85% of these trades coming from buyers. This ETF is particularly popular as it gives investors exposure to the likes of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Tesla.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

This leading travel agent’s shares were responsible for 1.4% of trades on the platform. And while 66% of these trades came from buyers, it wasn’t enough to stop the Flight Centre share price from recording its first weekly decline since October. Profit taking appears to have been behind this decline.

Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL)

This newly listed investigative analytics and intelligence software provider caught the eye of investors last week. It accounted for 1.3% of trades on CommSec, with a whopping 93% coming from buyers. The Nuix share price has been a strong performer since listing and is currently up 55% from its IPO price of $5.31.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.1%: APRA removes bank dividend restrictions, Fortescue slides, Zip higher
• Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price rises on Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN) partnership
• ASX 200 rises on Monday
• Why the Webjet (ASX: WEB) share price is climbing higher
• Why Emerge Gaming, Flight Centre, Medical Dev International, & 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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Most weeks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia‘s (ASX: CBA) CommSec brokering platform tells us the international shares (which are almost always US shares) that are the most popular with its customers, along with the most popular ASX shares.

CommSec is one of the largest online brokers in the country. As such, this data can be a nice gauge of general investing trends in our market. This week’s data covers 7-11 December.

So here are the top 10 United States shares CommSec customers were buying last week:

Most traded US shares on the ASX

1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 9% of total trades with a 77%/23% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) – representing 2.9% of total trades with an 80%/20% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. AirBnB Inc (NASDAQ: ABNB) – representing 2.4% of total trades with a 97%/3% buy-to-sell ratio.
4. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 2.3% of total trades with a 69%/31% buy-to-sell ratio.
5. Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE: PLTR) – representing 1.5% of total trades with an 83%/17% buy-to-sell ratio.

   The next five most traded shares were these:

6. Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE)
7. Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV)
8. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
9. Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA)
10. Zoom Video Communications Inc (NASDAQ: ZM)

What can we learn from these trades?

Well, a notable inclusion this week is AirBnB, which had a very publicised initial public offering (IPO) last week (meaning AirBnB launched on the share market for the first time). AirBnB shares rocketed as high as 142.6% at one point on IPO day, surging past the opening price of US$68. The following day, the shares climbed as high as US$165, but have since cooled somewhat and last traded for US$130 per share a the time of writing.

AirBnB is one of those ‘unicorn’ businesses, similar to Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER), that people right around the world have become familiar with long before they achieved ‘public company’ status. As such, these IPOs often attract a lot of attention. AirBnB was evidently no different, including for Aussie investors. We can see this on CommSec’s list, where it usurped the No.3 spot last week.

In other news, electric car/battery manufacturers Tesla and Nio seem to be unstoppable. These 2 companies have been swapping the top positions with each other for most of the year, with Tesla stealing back much of the interest last week. That might have had something to do with Tesla’s upcoming inclusion in the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX), or perhaps Tesla shares appreciating more than 56% in the past month alone. Tesla trades were almost as popular as those of the other top 5 stocks combined, which says something.

Notably, only one of the famous ‘FAANG’ stocks made the top ten at all – Apple. It seems ASX investors are losing their appetite for Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook, at least for now. And almost a third of Apple trades were ‘sells’ (far more than the others).

More reading

• Can Tesla Q4 production meet soaring demand?
• Amazon’s driverless electric vehicle is coming
• ASX 200 down 0.1%: APRA removes bank dividend restrictions, Fortescue slides, Zip higher
• APRA removes dividend restrictions for the banks
• How the 21st century actually started in 2020

Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Pfizer, Tesla, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Zoom Video Communications. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Palantir Technologies Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple and Zoom Video Communications. 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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DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) shares have today leapt 2.9% higher to 18 cents at the time of writing. In earlier trade, the DroneShield share price jumped by as much as 8.6% before pulling back to its current level.

This comes following a positive update released to the ASX this morning, and despite the wider All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) sliding down 0.4%.

What did DroneShield announce?

Investors are today driving the DroneShield share price up after the company reported it had received record new customer purchase orders of $2.8 million for the December quarter to date. Its customer cash receipts also leapt higher, hitting $1.6 million, up from $200,000 in the previous quarter.

In addition, the company revealed it has deployed its multi-sensor C-UAS DroneSentry system at Switzerland’s Altenrhein Airport. According to the release, its drone defence system is entirely passive, meaning it does not interfere with other electronic equipment, making it a good fit for airport environments.

DroneShield has deployed its system to Altenrhein Airport on a no revenue basis. But the company expects having DroneSentry in place at a working airport will lead to paid deployments at other airports and customer sites around the world.

Commenting on the airport deployment, Oleg Vornik, DroneShield’s CEO, said:

Airports have experienced a substantial degree of disruption due to UAS flights at their facilities. Small UAS present multiple well-documented dangers to the airliners, including critical engine damage risk in the event the UAS and its lithium batteries come into contact with it, or creating windshield cracks on impact.

Timo Nielsen, the Altenrhein Airport Safety & Compliance Manager, added:

We are pleased to partner with DroneShield, as the global leader in the C-UAS space, for the deployment at our airport, enabling us to receive actionable awareness of the UAS activity in our air space. Importantly, as a forward leaning airport, we welcome visits from other airports in Europe and elsewhere globally, to contact us or DroneShield, to learn more about the deployed system, and see it at a working airport facility.

DroneShield share price and company snapshot

DroneShield develops and sells hardware and software for the detection of drones. It has developed multilayered pre-eminent drone detection and disruption solutions to protect people, organisations and critical infrastructure from drone intrusions.

The DroneShield share price has been all over the map this year. From its 2020 highs in early January, shares tumbled 69% by mid-April. Since their 24 April lows, DroneShield shares have surged more than 100%.

More reading

• Can Tesla Q4 production meet soaring demand?
• Cannabis share Althea (ASX:AGH) sinks 11% on capital raising and Aphria selldown
• Liberty Financial (ASX:LFG) share price jumps 12% on IPO debut
• ASX healthcare shares could outperform in 2021: Fundie
• Why the Xtek (ASX:XTE) share price is rising today

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

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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.

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) is telegraphing that the company is experiencing strong demand for its vehicles in the fourth quarter, but the company will need to ramp up production in order to take advantage of the surge in orders. That’s according to an email to Tesla employees authored by CEO Elon Musk.

The enigmatic leader said the company was “fortunate to have the high-class problem of demand being quite a bit higher than production this quarter”. He went on to say that the company would “need to increase production for the remainder of the quarter as much as possible”. Musk also insisted he would only send this note “if it really mattered”. 

At the start of 2020, Tesla originally said that deliveries of its cars would easily surpass 500,000 this year, though the onset of the coronavirus pandemic just months later cast a pall over the company’s ambitious forecast.

Musk has steadfastly refused to abandon the company’s initial goal, even urging employees earlier this quarter to keep up the pace. “This all comes down to Q4. Please take whatever steps you can think of to improve output (while increasing quality),” Musk said in an email to employees in early October. 

Tesla delivered a record-setting 139,300 cars in the third quarter, smashing the previous record, which stood at 112,000. At the same time, the company said 145,036 vehicles rolled off the production line. Tesla has surpassed expectations for each quarter thus far in 2020. The company delivered 88,400 vehicles in the first quarter and another 90,650 in Q2. 

Tesla would need to achieve another personal best in order to top its original forecast. To hit its goal of 500,000 for 2020, the company will have to deliver 181,650 vehicles, a 30% increase from its record deliveries last quarter.

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

More reading

• How the 21st century actually started in 2020
• About to invest in Tesla? Consider this battery stock instead
• Tesla is nearly unstoppable following a $5 billion capital raise
• Why the Talga (ASX:TLG) share price surged by 5% today
• Cimic (ASX:CIM) share price inches up on $112 million contract wins

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

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The Althea Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AGH) share price has come under pressure on Tuesday after returning from its trading halt.

In morning trade the cannabis company’s shares were down as much as 11% to 43.5 cents.

The Althea share price has since recovered the majority of this decline and is now down just 2% to 48 cents at the time of writing.

Why is the Althea share price under pressure?

This morning Althea’s shares returned to trade following the completion of the institutional component of its capital raising.

According to the release, the company successfully raised $6 million via an institutional placement at a 10.2% discount of 44 cents per share.

Althea will now seek to raise a further $3 million via a share purchase plan at the same price.

Proceeds from the capital raising will be used to fund a range of growth initiatives across the Althea business. This includes sales and marketing, inventory, further development of the Althea Concierge platform, and product research and development.

Aphria selldown.

In addition to this capital raising, the company revealed that major shareholder Aphria engaged PAC Partners Securities to undertake an off-market share transfer of its remaining 12.25 million shares in the company. This represents the equivalent of 5.25% of Althea’s issued shares.

The release explains that the US$2.3 billion cannabis giant sold the shares for 41 cents per share, which was a discount of 16.3% to its last close price.

PAC Partners Securities has advised Althea that it has brokered the requested trade with several institutional investors, who also participated in the company’s recent placement.

Importantly, Althea’s commercial relationship with Aphria remains unchanged.

Management commentary.

Althea’s CEO, Josh Fegan, commented: “We have continued to foster strong growth across the Althea business as the expansion of the global medicinal cannabis industry rapidly accelerates. In line with the expansion of the industry, Althea is well positioned to further increase its significant market share.”

“This additional funding support delivered through both the Placement and the SPP allows us to accelerate our growth strategy across several key strategic initiatives, as we continue to capitalise on our position as one of the global leaders in the medicinal cannabis industry. We thank existing and new shareholders for their support and look forward to updating the market as the company continues to achieve significant growth milestones across all international territories and business units,” he concluded.

More reading

• Why Althea, Altium, Fortescue, & Retail Food Group are dropping lower
• Why cannabis company Althea (ASX:AGH) is storming higher today
• Althea (ASX:AGH) share price lifts 10% today. Here’s why
• Why the Althea (ASX:AGH) share price soared 6% today
• Why the Althea (ASX:AGH) share price is climbing higher today

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 Liberty Financial Group (ASX: LFG) share price has jumped up 12% after its shares made their official debut on the ASX today.

The non-bank lender has floated its shares through an initial public offer (IPO) pricing at $6 a share. At the time of writing, the Liberty Financial share price is trading up at $6.71.

More about the Liberty IPO

The company has secured $320.7 million at $6 a share through the IPO, valuing it at a market cap of $1.82 billion.

According to the prospectus pitched to investors during the book build, the group had $11.5 billion loan portfolio as at 30 June, and expects it to increase to $11.9 billion by June next year.

Liberty also forecast $838.2 million in revenue, and $153.9 million net profit in the 2021 financial year. As a comparison, the company made pre-tax profit of $70 million in FY18, and $76.1 million in FY19.  

The company was pitched to potential investors as Australia’s “10th biggest lender”, according to the prospectus.

Liberty said it decided to list on the ASX “to position it to pursue further growth opportunities in market segments in which Liberty has scale, as well as growth into emerging markets”.

Quick take on Liberty Financial

Founded in 1997 by Sherman Ma, Liberty was initially a pioneer in the sub-prime mortgage credit market, and was dubbed a “non-conforming” lender in those early years.

Since then, the company has gradually transformed itself into a leading diversified finance company in Australia and New Zealand. Its businesses now include residential and commercial mortgages, motor vehicle finance, personal loans and investments. 

Today’s IPO comes after years of failed attempts by founder Ma. The company was mentioned as an IPO candidate as far back as 2004, and again in 2005, 2006, and as recently as 2019.

After the float today, Mr Ma will maintain his 47.5% shareholding, and allows an exit for his co-founders.

More reading

• ASX healthcare shares could outperform in 2021: Fundie
• Why the Xtek (ASX:XTE) share price is rising today
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Will China’s trade war torpedo the Rio, Fortescue and BHP share prices?
• Magellan (ASX:MFG) launches new ETF offerings

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto 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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