If there is one chart that shows just how crazy it was to be an investor in 2020 it is the one below; the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (INDEXASX: XTX):

To truly appreciate how magnificent this chart is let’s keep in mind that the All Technology Index was only launched on 24 February this year.

The data can be back-dated further, which you can have a look at on the S&P Global website here, but it only officially started to track ASX technology-oriented companies in earnest this year.

Source: Google search. Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC, used with permission.

The index is designed to be a comprehensive measure of technology-oriented companies listed on the ASX, but its top five constituents have dominated with absolute blinding returns in 2020:

• Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) +89%
• Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) +313%
• SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) +21%
• REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) +37%

ASX tech shares had the ‘Fred Smith’ of comebacks in 2020

There are two things in particular that make this chart a wonder. The first is the degree to which markets have moved in such a short period.

After plunging by more than one third in February and March, the All Technology Index has made a phenomenal comeback. The pivot from a decline of -42% to a gain of +46% (at 17 December, 2020) represents a trough-to-peak bounce of almost +145%. It’s the Fred Smith of comebacks and something unthinkable just nine months ago.

The second remarkable point is the chasm that has formed between the tech index, which has exploded back, and the relatively ambling recovery of the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

It’s hard to be derogatory about a 48% recovery for the ASX200 index from its low point on 23 March this year. But the tech index fell deeper, and has recovered far stronger, than the broader index as investors swooned over tech companies.

One standout ASX share still floating high 

A true standout of the All Technology Index this year is Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL). Redbubble is a marketplace where people can sell prints of their art and graphic designs, but it’s worthy of a special mention because of it’s incredible 456% return in 2020.

In fact, the Redbubble share price fell as low as 40 cents per share in the COVID-19-led market meltdown, before roaring back with the growth in online shopping.

The company reported a juicy 36% increase in total revenue in the 2020 financial year and at least one analyst remains bullish on the company’s prospects going forward.

What can we learn from this 2020 tech explosion?

There is a lot of takeaway from this. First, investing is hard. It is unpredictable and surprising.

That is why an important part of investing is putting money to work for long periods. Long periods of time means we remain invested for the good times and have the resilience to ride out the bad times.

Secondly, we should recognise that the global response to COVID-19 has seen the acceleration of a trend that has been growing for the last decade; software is still eating the world. Lower interest rates and a wave of stimulus has no-doubt added fuel to that fire.

As we head into 2021, a lot of investors will now be watching to see whether this fire is brought quietly under control as vaccines get rolled out. As the chart shows however, we should be prepared for anything.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.4%: NIB jumps, a2 Milk rebounds, WiseTech sinks lower
• Here’s how rich Afterpay (ASX:APT) shares have made shareholders
• Why the Cimic Group (ASX:CIM) share price is on watch today
• Forecast double-digit surge in Aussie dollar could put brakes on ASX rally in 2021
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX hits new post-March high

Regan Pearson owns shares of Xero. You can follow him on Twitter @Regan_Invests.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group Limited and SEEK 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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Vmoto Ltd (ASX: VMT) shares were soaring in morning trade today. This comes after the company announced positive profit guidance for the 2020 financial year. In early trade, the Vmoto share price rocketed by 11.8% to 42.5 cents before partially retracing. At the time of writing, Vmoto shares are up 5.3% to 40 cents.

In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.3% to 6,900 points.

Quick take on Vmoto

Vmoto is a leading global scooter manufacturer and distribution group specialising in electric powered, two-wheel vehicles. According to the company, its products have chic European design and German engineering.

Vmoto is also involved in the manufacture and distribution of petrol scooters and four-wheel all-terrain vehicles.

During the year, Vmoto undertook an extensive strategic review of operations with the intention of simplifying the company’s structure. This allowed management to focus on international sales and marketing of its electric two-wheel vehicle products.

What’s driving the Vmoto share price?

The Vmoto share price is today surging higher after the company advised that, despite challenging market conditions, it has sped up execution of its international strategy. In light of this, Vmoto is projecting to record a net profit after tax between $3.2 million to $3.4 million. The forecast FY20 result will significantly eclipse FY19’s net profit after tax of $1.3 million.

Vmoto highlighted a number of milestone accomplishments throughout the year that will contribute to the underlying financial performance. These included:

• Receiving committed orders of 4,300 units from strategic ride-share customer, Go Sharing.
• Securing additional international distributors to a total of 50 international B2C distributors across 62 countries.
• Achieving strong growth across B2B operations, through the use of increased popularity in delivery and ride-sharing services.

Managing director commentary

Mr Charles Chen, Vmoto’s managing director, commented on the company’s financial performance, saying:

I am delighted to announce we will deliver a significant increase in NPAT for this financial year when compared to 2019. The COVID-19 outbreak has provided great uncertainty and disruption for businesses globally but we are agile and responded quickly by making small changes to our international strategy, which has proven to be incredibly fruitful.

We look forward to continuing this growth trajectory in 2021.

Vmoto share price summary

The Vmoto share price has fallen more than 40% since reaching its all-time high of 67 cents in September. Although when looking at the beginning of the year before COVID-19 struck, the company’s share price is up more than 66%.

Vmoto has a market capitalisation of $115.8 million and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 30.

More reading

• Why the Think Childcare (ASX:TNK) share price is up 2% today
• Here’s why the Electro Optic (ASX:EOS) share price is down 7% today
• Why Elixinol Global, Flight Centre, Mesoblast, & WiseTech shares are dropping lower
• iCandy (ASX:ICI) share price falls 4% despite positive update
• Why the Elixinol Global (ASX:EXL) share price is getting smoked 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 Think Childcare Ltd (ASX: TNK) share price is climbing today after a positive earnings update for the 2020 calendar year (CY20).

At the time of writing, the Think Childcare share price is trading 2.2% higher at $1.62.

Why is the Think Childcare share price higher today?

In this morning’s ASX release, Think Childcare upgraded its guidance for its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

The company had forecast underlying CY20 EBITDA of $22–23 million in its guidance provided on 2 November. This came as COVID restrictions eased and Victoria emerged from strict lockdown measures.

However, due to better than expected trading in November – driven by a strong recovery in headline revenue and continued roster management and cost controls – EBITDA for the year through 30 November came in ahead of expectations.

Think Childcare now expects that with the overall improvement in business conditions in December, underlying EBITDA for the full 2020 calendar year will come in at $24–25 million.

The company advised its cash position and facility headroom are strong, with a closing cash position as at 30 November of $22.1 million.

Think Care also provided an update on the 23 November buyout proposal from Busy Bees Early Learning Australia for an all cash consideration of $1.75 per share. (At time of writing the stock is trading for $1.62 per share.)

The company noted that Alceon Private Equity, which had proposed $1.35 per share on 16 November for its own buyout plan, hasn’t submitted a counter proposal and doesn’t intend to submit a binding proposal. Think Care is still in discussion with Busy Bees, but notes there is no certainty that the proposal will eventuate into a binding transaction.

Think Childcare share price and company snapshot

Think Childcare Group owns, operates, and manages childcare centres in Australia.

When much of Australia went into lockdown and some childcare centres were forced to close earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Think Childcare’s share price plummeted 54% from 27 February through to 25 March.

Shares reached a 12-month high of $1.66 on 27 November before retracing slightly to the current $1.62 per share.

Year-to-date the Think Childcare share price is up 14%. By comparison the broader All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 2% in 2020.

More reading

• The Pensana (ASX:PM8) share price shot up 14% higher today. Here’s why
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX hits new post-March high
• Why the CleanSpace (ASX:CSX) share price is climbing today
• Recent development sends the Antisense (ASX:ANP) share price soaring 45%
• With the Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price up 222% this year, what’s next?

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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Electro Optic Systems Holding Ltd (ASX: EOS) shares are falling lower today after the company announced short-term impacts will cause it to miss its previous FY20 earnings guidance. At the time of writing, the Electro Optic share price is down 6.79% to $5.90.

What’s pushing the Electro Optic share price lower?

In October, the defence, space, and communications company had announced that underlying earnings before tax (EBIT) for the full FY20 would come in the range of $20 to $30 million.

Today, the Electro Optic share price is plummeting lower after the company reported, on 18 December, it was advised around 12 days of December shipments would not be received by its foreign customer before 31 December 2020. This is the cut off date to enable Electro Optic to recognise the revenue in FY20.

The company says the specific causes of the disruption are international air freight bottlenecks, and a fall in import license activity in the offices of the customer’s foreign government.

Electro Optic says that in a normal year, this event would be unremarkable, but this year the December shipments exceeded any other month as delivery momentum increases.

The heavy skew of revenue and profits to quarter four, and specifically December, has made the outcome for the full year unusually dependent on activity in the final weeks of the year. 

The affected revenue, for which all costs have already been incurred in 2020, may exceed $20 million. This revenue will now be shifted into quarter one of 2021 along with associated profit.

However, the deferral of revenue recognition into FY21 will not affect any prior cash flow assumptions by the company.

The company also said that the recent strengthening of the Australian dollar to 76 cents, compared to 72 cents at the time of the last guidance update, meant there would be an impact to EBIT. This is because its manufacturing costs are largely Australian dollar denominated, versus revenue which is largely in US dollars. 

Recent activities

Last week, the company announced it was awarded a $34.4 million contract by the Commonwealth of Australia. The release said the government will use its C4 EDGE solution to provide combat radios, satellite terminals, cryptography, networking middleware, command applications, batteries, and power management into a coherent system.

In November, Electro Optic also advised it would build and operate a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellation, which it expected to launch and operate in 2024 – producing a positive operating cash flow. The company advised this satellite communications system will be optimised for defence and government customers.

About the Electro Optic share price

Electro Optic is a leading Australian technology company operating in the space and defence markets. Formed in 1983, it became a publicly-traded company on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2002.

The Electro Optic share price has lost around 20% in 2020, after dropping by as much as 60% in March. At the current level, the Electro Optic share price has a mountain to climb to reach its 52-week high of $10.80.

The company commands a market capitalisation of $947 million.

More reading

• Electro Optic Systems (ASX:EOS) share price climbs on government contract win
• Why the Electro Optic Systems (ASX:EOS) share price is shooting higher today

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 Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Electro Optic Systems Holdings 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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In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a disappointing decline. The benchmark index is down 0.55% to 6,638.5 points at the time of writing.

Four shares that have fallen more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping lower:

Elixinol Global Ltd (ASX: EXL)

The Elixinol Global share price is down 12% to 18.5 cents following the release of a business update. That update revealed that its agreement with Pet Releaf has been terminated. Elixinol and Pet Releaf have been in a manufacturing and supply arrangement since August 2019. However, with the agreement not making a material contribution to its operations, management decided to pull the plug.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

The Flight Centre share price is down 2.5% to $15.49. This appears to have been driven by concerns over the outbreak of COVID-19 in New South Wales. With border restrictions now being put in place, it has the potential to delay the recovery in the domestic travel market. This could extend the cash burn being experienced by travel companies.

Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB)

The Mesoblast share price is down a further 4% to $2.31. Investors were selling this biotech company’s shares last week after the release of a couple of disappointing updates. So much so, the Mesoblast share price crashed 47.5% lower over the period. Both its advanced chronic heart failure and COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome trials failed to achieve their primary endpoints.

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

The WiseTech share price has dropped 9% to $29.91. Investors have been selling the logistics solutions company’s shares after it hit back at a short seller attack. Viceroy Research claims that of the 37 acquisitions made by WiseTech over the past four years, many are from distressed sales or bankrupt companies with revenues falling post-acquisition. WiseTech has refuted these claims.

More reading

• Why the Elixinol Global (ASX:EXL) share price is getting smoked today
• ASX 200 down 0.4%: NIB jumps, a2 Milk rebounds, WiseTech sinks lower
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX hits new post-March high
• What’s going on with the Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price in 2020?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of WiseTech Global. 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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The iCandy Interactive Ltd (ASX: ICI) share price is falling today, on news of a partnership announcement to launch into China. At the time of writing, the iCandy share price is down 3.7% to 13 cents.

Strategic partnership

In today’s release, iCandy advised that it has entered a game publishing agreement with Ohayoo to localise, market and publish the Masketeers game.

Ohayoo is a Chinese leading game publisher that further develops international hits for the domestic market. In addition, the company runs effective marketing campaigns to capture consumer appeal. In the last 18 months, Ohayoo reached more than 500 million game downloads.

This makes the game publishing company one of the fastest growing mobile game platforms in China.

Terms of the deal

Under the agreement, iCandy will allow Ohayoo to localise, publish and market Masketeers in mainland China for 3 years. The game will be available on both iOS and Android platforms, as well as third party app stores in China.

As payment, iCandy will receive a portion of the revenue generated by the Masketeers game. The commercial arrangement stipulates that 15% to 35% of revenue will handed on to iCandy.

Just recently, Masketeers reached a record revenue of $1 million in 63 days, highlighting the popularity of the game.

Addressable market

In 2019 alone, China recorded over US$36.5 billion in gaming revenue. Since then, industry consensus is that China has eclipsed the United States as the world’s largest gaming market.

iCandy’s growth strategy is to win the Chinese mobile game market through its strategic partnership. Forecasts predict that by 2023, China’s mobile game segment is expected to reach 497 million users.

What did management say?

Commenting  on the partnership agreement, iCandy chair Kin W Lau said:

iCandy is entering an exciting growth phase. We are absolutely thrilled and honoured to partner with Ohayoo. The Chinese gaming market is a new strategic market for iCandy at our growth phase, as it is the world’s largest gaming market now.

This partnership with Ohayoo puts us in a very enviable position, on the fastest track possible to enter the gaming market of China, getting exposure to a large part of the Chinese online community almost immediately.

About the iCandy share price

The iCandy share price has fallen heavily since its meteoric rise back in early October, down 44% from its all-time high of 23.5 cents. However, the company’s shares reached a low of 1.1 cents in March, so that’s a 1082% increase even after today’s decline.

More reading

• Why the iCandy (ASX:ICI) share price is surging 7%

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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Elixinol Global Ltd (ASX: EXL) shares are plummeting today, going for just 18.5 cents a share at the time of writing, down 11.09%. The Elixinol share price closed at 21 cents on Friday and opened at 19 cents this morning before dropping to its current level.

At this share price, Elixinol is just 4 cents away from its all-time low of 14 cents a share, and a whopping 87% from its 52-week high. Since the start of 2020 alone, the company’s shares are down 63%.

So what’s going on here for the hemp products producer?

Why the Elixinol share price is going up in smoke

Today’s share price plunge appears to be connected to an ASX market announcement the company made this morning before market open. In this announcement, Elixinol told investors that an agreement it has with another company by the name of Pet Releaf has been terminated.

Elixinol and Pet Releaf have been in a manufacturing and supply arrangement since August 2019. Under this agreement, the two companies would be “long-term partners”.

But according to Elixinol:

The contributions from the Agreement have not been material to Elixinol Global’s operations and given the global COVID-19 pandemic has created challenging trading conditions for the industry, the parties agreed to formally terminate the Agreement on 18 December 2020 [US Pacific Standard Time] with a mutual release.

A contributing factor to this breakdown was also a shift in focus for Elixinol. The company stated that:

Elixinol entered into the Agreement with a strategic view at that time of Pet Releaf being a long-term partner of Elixinol. Since that time, Elixinol Global has revised its commercial strategy by focusing on the distribution of higher margin Elixinol-branded products, rather than supporting private labelled products to which the Agreement relates.

However, Elixinol assured investors it will continue to “focus on the strong relationship with Pet Releaf”. It notes that Elixinol still maintains a 25% equity interest in Pet Releaf. It stated, “the Company continues to look forward to supporting Pet Releaf’s strategic focus on increased product offerings and distribution of high quality hemp-derived CBD pet products in the market”.

Investors light up SPP

Elixinol has also made a separate announcement to the ASX today regarding its recent share purchase plan (SPP). Last week, Elixinol told investors its SPP had been heavily oversubscribed. Applications totalled $27.2 million, well over the initial $2 million expected. As a result, the company expanded the SPP size by an additional $12.3 million.

Today’s announcement confirms management’s belief that the company is well capitalised as a result of the SPP. But the “strong third quarter” the company has recently had will not be spilling over. Elixinol included some remarks from its chief executive officer Mark Horn on the matter:

The fourth quarter certainly is not the quarter that we expected to have… simply because COVID has had a significant impact on our businesses in the UK and Europe. We had more head winds than we expected, so I certainly see that the Q4 quarter is for us one of the more challenging ones compared to the previous quarter. But the reality is that we are really well positioned given that we are a wellness product with great distribution and new growth catalysts.

More reading

• 27 ASX companies just got an unwanted knock on the door
• Elixinol (ASX:EXL) share price tumbles on capital raising update
• Why the Elixinol (ASX:EXL) share price popped 43% today

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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At lunch on Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) looks set to start the shortened week with a disappointing decline. The benchmark index is currently down 0.4% to 6,648.9 points.

Here’s what has been happening on the market today:

Private health premium increases.

Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) and NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) shares are both pushing higher on Monday after the Federal Minister for Health approved health insurance premium increases for 2021. While Medibank has recorded its lowest increase in two decades, NIB has increased its premiums by a larger than normal amount. This reflects rising healthcare costs and its lower premium base compared to the industry average.

A2 Milk rebounds

The a2 Milk Company (ASX: A2M) share price is rebounding from Friday’s guidance downgrade-related selloff. One broker that sees this share price weakness as a buying opportunity is Morgans. This morning the broker retained its add rating but cut the price target on the company’s shares to $12.20.

Travel shares sink lower.

A number of travel shares such as Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) and Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) are dropping lower today and are weighing on the market. Investors appear to be selling them amid concerns over the outbreak of COVID-19 in New South Wales. If things are not brought under control, it has the potential to derail the recovery in the domestic travel market. This could extend the cash burn being experienced by these companies.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers.

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price with a 4% gain. This is despite there being no news out of the medical device company. The worst performer has been the WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price with a 10% decline. This appears to have been driven by a short seller attack which is questioning the company’s acquisitions.

More reading

• Why City Chic, Kogan, Next Science, & NIB shares are charging higher
• Here’s what is driving the NIB (ASX:NHF) share price higher today
• Why the Cimic Group (ASX:CIM) share price is on watch today
• Is the a2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price in the buy zone after last week’s 22% decline?
• Forecast double-digit surge in Aussie dollar could put brakes on ASX rally in 2021

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 POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended A2 Milk and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended NIB Holdings 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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One of the most stunning ASX shares to watch in 2020 has been Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT). Afterpay shares are today trading at $114.44 at the time of writing, up 2.83% for the day, despite the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dropping 0.38% today so far.

Afterpay shares blew off some steam last Friday, dropping 7.5% after making yet another record all-time high the previous day. Afterpay’s high watermark now stands at an incredible $123.40 a share. Even though the company has cooled off significantly since last week when it made those new highs, Afterpay still commands a market capitalisation of around $32 billion on today’s prices.

That places it almost in the middle of Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) in sheer size. That would have been unthinkable at the start of the year. Reflecting this new heft, today actually marks the first day that Afterpay has officially joined both the ASX 50 and ASX 20 Indexes as part of S&P Global‘s quarterly rebalancing.

So just how rich has this buy now, pay later (BNPL) shooting star made its shareholders in recent months and years? Let’s have a look

The never ending afterparty for Afterpay shareholders

So let’s get this statistic out of the way first. Afterpay in its current form first debuted on the ASX back in June 2017 after Afterpay and Touchcorp merged to create Afterpay Touch. The earliest recorded Afterpay share price post-merger was $2.95. Any shareholders who bought in back then would be sitting very happily on a gain of 3,844% on today’s prices.

But, although a few lucky investors may have executed that particular trade, the reality is that, back then, very few ASX investors would have even been aware of Afterpay shares, let alone the company’s concept of its flagship BNPL product.

We’ll also get this one out of the way. The Afterpay share price started 2020 at $30.63, meaning the company’s shares are up around 270% year to date. That comes after the approximate 100% gain we saw in 2018, as well as a rough 150% gain in 2019.

Afterpay share price rollercoaster

But the Afterpay share price has had a wild year in 2020. Back in March, Afterpay shares fell as low as $8.01, which was the lowest the company had traded at since mid-2018. If any investor was lucky enough to buy Afterpay shares at that particular price on 23 March (a very narrow window of opportunity), the gain they would be looking at on today’s prices would be 1,335%. Not a bad return for 9 months. As an indication, if an investor bought 1,000 shares at that price on that day, it would have set them back $8,010. Those 1,000 shares would today we worth $114,440. Enough said.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX hits new post-March high
• How useful is the P/E ratio in assessing ASX shares?
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Here’s how ASX buy now, pay later (BNPL) shares have performed in 2020
• Why Afterpay (ASX:APT) and these ASX shares just hit 52-week highs or better

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and COLESGROUP DEF SET. 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 Pensana Rare Earths PLC (ASX: PM8) share price is soaring this morning, up 11.2% at $1.34 after shooting up 14% in early trade.

This follows the company reporting positive results from its rare earths Coola Project in Angola.

What’s sending the Pensana share price flying?

In today’s ASX announcement, Pensana reported that soils from its first sampling programs at its Coola Project contained high grade rare earths. The 7,500sq km project is located just 16km north of the company’s flagship Longonjo Project.

Pensana’s assay results from soil sampling over the Coola carbonatite identified a high tenor soil anomaly up to 4.7% rare earth elements (REO), which extend over a 1.3km by 1.4km area.

Further assay results from additional soil sampling are expected shortly. The company intends to drill test the defined targets in 2021.

Commenting on the results, Pensana COO Dave Hammond said:

These high grade rare earth assays are a great start, from what is only the first of several exploration targets for critical technology metals identified within the new Coola Project.

Results confirm a rare earth mineralised carbonatite at Coola that is now sufficiently well-defined for drill testings. Drilling will also determine if rare earth mineralised carbonatite lies beneath the soil cover in the central part of the 1-kilometre diameter volcanic pipe.

Pensana also revealed that it has appointed economic geologist Grant Haywood as the exploration manager.

“It is great to have Grant join us and lead the team going forward with his extensive experience in the evaluation of rare earth deposits and a whole range of other commodities,” Hammond said.

Addressing the company’s flagship project, he added, “The drilling program at Longonjo was efficiently and successfully executed under Grant’s supervision and 100 tonnes of the mineralisation is now on its way to Perth.”

Pensana share price and company snapshot

Pensana Rare Earths is an active Angolan-focused mineral exploration and development company. Its projects include the Longonjo and Coola sites.

2020 has proven a stellar year for Pensana shareholders. At least those that held their nerve earlier this year, when the Pensana share price crashed 68% from 5 March through to 23 March.

Despite that crash, share are up 661% year-to-date, compared to 2% gain on the broader All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

As for the Pensana share price gains since 23 March? Up 1,270%.

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The post The Pensana (ASX:PM8) share price shot up 14% higher today. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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