A new month is here, so what better time to look to see if there are any additions you could make to your portfolio to take it to the next level.

If you’re interested in the tech sector, then you might want to take a look at the shares listed below.

Here’s why they have been rated as buys:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

Bigtincan is a provider of sales enablement software which provides businesses with the information, content, and tools to sell more effectively. Demand for its platform has been growing strongly in recent years and even during the pandemic. This led to it recording strong recurring revenue growth in FY 2020 and guiding to more of the same in FY 2021.

In fact, the new financial year has started strongly and led to management recently reiterating its annualised recurring revenue (ARR) guidance. It is expecting ARR in the range of $49 million to $53 million in FY 2021, which represents a 37% to 48% increase year on year.

One broker that has been pleased with its positive start to the financial year is Canaccord Genuity. It was pleased with its update and put a buy rating and $1.40 price target on its shares.

Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH)

Pushpay is a donor management and community engagement provider to the church market. Thanks to the quality of its platform, its leadership position, and the shift to a cashless society, it has been growing at a very strong rate. For example, last month the company released its half year results and revealed a 53% increase in operating revenue to US$85.6 million and an even more impressive 177% jump in EBITDAF to US$26.7 million.

Management appears confident its growth can continue thanks to positive tailwinds it is experiencing. This should be boosted by the recent launch of ChurchStaq. It is the combination of its Pushpay and Church Community Builder software, bringing together digital giving, donor development, church apps, and ChMS to deliver a fully integrated engagement platform.

Pushpay’s strong form has caught the eye of analysts at Goldman Sachs. They have a conviction buy rating and $10.35 price target (now $2.59 after its 4-1 share split). This compares to the current Pushpay share price of $1.81.

More reading

• 4 ASX growth shares to buy in December
• 2 rapidly-growing small cap ASX shares to buy
• 10 fantastic ASX shares to buy in December
• 4 great ASX growth shares to buy
• 2 ASX shares delivering explosive growth in FY 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 and recommends BIGTINCAN FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post 2 rapidly growing ASX tech shares to buy appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/39BqrHJ

On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bounced back strongly and recorded an impressive gain. The benchmark index rose 1.1% to 6,588.5 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to storm higher.

The Australian share market looks set to storm higher on Wednesday after a positive night on global markets. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 48 points or 0.75% higher this morning. In late trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones is up 0.95%, the S&P 500 is up 1.45%, and the Nasdaq has jumped 1.6%.

Tech shares on watch.

It looks set to be a good day for tech shares such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) on Wednesday. They have a tendency to follow the lead of their U.S. counterparts, which are surging higher on the tech-focused Nasdaq index at the time of writing.

Gold price jumps.

It could also be a very good day for gold miners including Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST). This follows an exceptionally strong night of trade for the precious metal. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 2.1% to US$1,818.50 an ounce. This was driven by U.S. dollar weakness caused by the announcement of a COVID stimulus package.

Oil prices sink lower.

Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a tough day after oil prices sank lower. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 1.9% to US$44.48 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has dropped 1.1% to US$47.35 a barrel. News that OPEC is delaying production cut talks is weighing on prices.

Westpac rated as a buy.

Goldman Sachs has retained its buy rating on the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price following its update on APRA’s investigation into its risk governance. The broker notes that its price target of $20.34 takes into account regulatory uncertainty, hence no changes are being made today. Goldman is also forecasting a 4.8% dividend yield in FY 2021.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises on Tuesday
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price gaining ground despite slap by regulator
• CBA (ASX:CBA) and the ASX banks just had an amazing month
• Why healthcare, tech and consumer staples shares underperformed the ASX 200 in November
• Why the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price and these ASX stocks could get a boost next week

James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3qkatYj

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.

In a press release Saturday, Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP) announced that merchants using its e-commerce platform achieved record global sales of $2.4 billion on Black Friday alone. This represented an increase of 75% over 2019. 

More than 1 million merchants in 175 countries helped boost the digital sales watermark, with the festivities beginning in New Zealand and continuing around the world. By 8 a.m. EST on Friday, Shopify had already achieved $1 billion in sales.

Shopify also released other metrics to illustrate the early success of its holiday shopping season. The average Black Friday shopping cart totaled $90.70, an increase of 11% compared to the year-ago period. With more people shopping from home due to the pandemic, mobile sales edged lower to 67%, down from 69% in the prior-year period. At the same time, desktop sales climbed to 33%, up from 31%.

This underpins other data that suggested more consumers have pivoted to shopping online in the face of the pandemic. A report from Adobe Inc (NASDAQ: ADBE) Analytics found that online spending during Black Friday jumped nearly 22%, according to a report by CNBC. 

At the same time, preliminary figures showed that retail-store traffic dropped to abysmal levels, down roughly 52% compared to 2019, according to data released by Sensormatic Solutions. The report found that traffic levels were also down for the period beginning on Sunday, Nov. 22, and ending on Black Friday, sliding 45%. The report suggested that fewer in-store doorbuster sales and store closures on Thanksgiving, as well as the increasing adoption of e-commerce, contributed to the decline.

In 2019, Shopify reported sales of $2.9 billion on its platform between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, an increase of 61% over the prior-year period. Investors should stay tuned as Shopify appears poised to demolish the sales records it set just last year. 

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

More reading

• Forget eBay, Shopify is a better e-commerce stock

Danny Vena owns shares of Adobe Systems and Shopify. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Adobe Systems and Shopify. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adobe Systems. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Shopify reports record-setting Black Friday sales appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/36tQC1j

Joe Biden’s US presidential election victory has brought renewable energy back into the spotlight. Biden has pledged that on his first day in office he will bring the US back into the Paris Climate Agreement and restore a number of environment protections that the Trump administration has revoked. His energy plan proposes an investment of US$1.7 trillion over 10 years to promote a portfolio of clean energy technologies. 

There isn’t much of a selection when it comes to large cap ASX renewable energy stocks. The large ASX energy producers like Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) and AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL) utilise both ‘dirty’ and renewable sources to produce power. 

However, the smaller end of town contains ASX renewable energy stocks that are much more aligned with creating sustainable, clean energy. 

New Energy Solar Ltd (ASX: NEW)

New Energy Solar focuses on solar power generation with a number of assets across Australia and the US. Its shares have slumped 37% year-to-date to just 86 cents with a market capitalisation of $320 million. 

The company intends on selling its Australian assets to provide investors with pure exposure to the strong US growth market. 

The company’s website hints at its future intentions, stating it also intends to “invest in other renewable energy assets including wind, geothermal, hydro-electricity, hybrid solutions and associated investments such as battery and other storage, smart metering and other potential future technologies.” 

Genex Power Ltd (ASX: GNX) 

Genex owns two operational solar projects in Queensland with a number of assets under development. The company is currently developing an abandoned Queensland gold mine as a hydro renewable energy generating and storage project. 

The Genex share price currently sits at 18 cents, down more than 17% year-to-date. The company has yet to turn a profit but in FY20 generated $12.3 million revenue. 

ClearVue Technologies Ltd (ASX: CPV)

ClearVue’s patented technology allows visible light to pass through a pane of glass, while the invisible wavelengths of light are deflected to the edges of the glass where they are converted into electricity. 

Its technology has broad applications ranging from commercial buildings through to greenhouses. ClearVue has achieved a number of commercial and showcase projects. This includes the construction of a greenhouse Murdoch University in Western Australia and the installation of its glass at a villa for Jinmao Green Building Technology Co Ltd. The company has commenced negotiations with Jinmao Green Building for a formal agreement to be put in place following a letter of intent. 

In a recent investor presentation, the company indicated it anticipates that regulatory support across multiple jurisdictions and the change in government in the US will positively impact its growth. 

More reading

• The New Energy Solar (ASX:NEW) share price jumped 12% higher this week

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post 3 small cap ASX renewable energy shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3fZWAKf

The Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX: SOR) share price rocketed today, closing the day 9% higher at 18 cents per share. This comes following the company’s announcement of a successful scale up of its self-charging battery technology.

Today’s gains see Strategic Element’s share price up 125% year-to-date, and up 500% from the post-COVID sell-off lows on 24 March.

By comparison the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 0.2% for the year, and up 43% since 24 March.

What does Strategic Elements do?

Strategic Elements is involved in numerous innovative projects, including the self-charging battery technology that led to today’s share price leap. The company operates as a venture builder, generating projects by combining teams of leading scientists or innovators in the technology and resources sectors.

Strategic Elements operates as a registered Pooled Development Fund (PDF). Notably, investors in Strategic Elements do not pay capital gains taxes, as a compensation for the added risk of investing in small and medium sized companies under the Federal Government PDF program.

What moved the Strategic Elements share price today?

This morning Strategic Elements announced its self-charging battery technology project had achieved a critical milestone.

The company revealed it had manufactured a 1 litre batch size of Battery Ink – enough to produce 2,000 battery cells. The results reveal the potential to scale up the technology, with capacity having rapidly increased 10-fold from the previous 200 battery cells.

Strategic Elements reported 5 Battery Ink cells were fabricated from the scaled-up ink. Those cells successfully harvested energy from humidity in the air to generate at least 0.8 volts for a 2-hour testing period. Recharging time was just 3 minutes, and the battery cells were only 1 centimetre in size and thinner than a human hair. Additionally, the performance matched that of the smaller 200 millilitre batch size ink.

The battery technology is a liquid ink based on graphene oxide. It can generate energy from the humidity in the air or from your skin to self-charge. The technology is being developed together with the University of New South Wales and CSIRO.

Looking ahead, the company stated the next key milestone for the technology will be to fabricate a prototype battery pack with multiple connected Battery Ink cells producing 3.7 volts. It expects that stage to be complete in January 2021.

When those results are released, the Strategic Elements’ share price will again be on watch.

More reading

• Why the Althea (ASX:AGH) share price soared 6% today
• ASX 200 rises on Tuesday
• ASX stock of the day: Sensen Networks (ASX:SNS) rockets 27%
• Why the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price zoomed 20% higher in November
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price gaining ground despite slap by regulator

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. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Why the Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) share price rocketed 9% higher today appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2JtjLR9

The Althea Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AGH) share price stormed higher today after the company announced it will be manufacturing US Cannabis brand Tinley’s products in Canada. Shares in the small cap closed today’s trade 6.19% higher at a price of 52 cents.

The news continues what has been a strong year for the company, which has seen its share price rise by more than 32%. For comparison, in the same period the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has risen by 0.29%.

What Althea does

Althea is an Australian licensed supplier and exporter of pharmaceutical grade, medicinal cannabis. The company offers a range of products, education, and other services to support patients and healthcare professionals in navigating medicinal cannabis treatment pathways.

The group currently operates within select, highly regulated medicinal cannabis markets, which include Australia and the United Kingdom. However the company has plans to expand into Europe and emerging markets throughout Asia.

What happened

Althea announced a deal for one of its subsidiaries, Peak, to be used as the exclusive manufacturer of Tinley’s.

Tinley’s is a leading cannabis beverage brand in the United States and the company itself is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

Under the agreement, Peak holds exclusivity for the manufacture and distribution of three Tinley’s products in Canada until Tinley’s meets minimum quantities. An initial order representing more than CA$100,000 in revenue for Peak is planned for delivery in the first quarter of 2021. The agreement is for an initial 3-year period.

What now

Shareholders were clearly pleased with the deal as the Althea share price stormed higher today.

This sentiment was shared by Althea’s CEO Joshua Fegan,  who said:

The agreement with Tinley’s is yet another key milestone for Peak and immediately follows the Company announcing an increase in its forecasted revenue of up to CAD$4.65M, over the next 12 months. With Peak having successfully obtained its Standard Processing Licence from Health Canada in only September 2020, the team has been quick to further ramp up business development. The addition of the Tinley’s Agreement to Peak’s growing list of contracts increases our 12 months expected revenue yet again and keeps the Company well on track to deliver on our revenue objectives in the short, medium and long term.

More reading

• Why the Althea (ASX:AGH) share price is climbing higher today
• Why Althea, BWX, Damstra, & GrainCorp shares are charging higher
• Althea (ASX:AGH) share price on watch following 2 new agreements
• ASX stock of the day: Elixinol Global (ASX:EXL) shares blaze new highs

Motley Fool contributor Daniel Ewing has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Why the Althea (ASX:AGH) share price soared 6% today appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/37pt6BA

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up 1.1% today to 6,589 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF) FY21 half-year result

The fast food business boasted of generating strong earnings growth in FY20 despite COVID-19 impacts.

Collins Foods revenue grew 11.3% to almost $500 million. KFC Australia was the star performer with revenue growth of 15.6% to $415.5 million and same store sale growth of 12.4%.

The company decided to close its nine remaining Sizzler restaurants in Australia, which were shut by 15 November 2020 following a brand review.

Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 10.5% to $63.7 million – ‘underlying’ means before AASB 16.

Underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) went up by 15.1% to $27.5 million and net operating cash flow, before AASB 16, rose by $23.6 million to $57.3 million.

Net debt was down to $170.7 million from $217.3 million. Collins Foods decided to declare an interim dividend of 10.5 cents per share, which was an increase of 10.5%.

Collins Foods Drew O’Malley said: “Despite the challenges imposed by COVID-19, the business is in a strong position financially and operationally. Net debt and leverage levels have significantly reduced due to the strength of our operating cashflows, and the challenges brought on by the pandemic have allowed us to make significant improvements to digital and delivery platforms, which continue to perform well.”

The Collins Foods share price went up around 11% in reaction to this result.

Humm Group Limited (ASX: HUM) and Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU)

These two businesses announced a joint venture today to expand into the US.

Humm, which used to be called FlexiGroup, announced that neobank Douugh will offer a Douugh ‘powered by humm’ branded buy now pay anywhere solution for the US market in the first half of 2022.

Douugh will utilise humm’s technology platform to manage a line of credit up to US$1,000 to eligible customers through a ‘credit jar’ on Douugh’s platform and virtual Mastercard. This is going to be an interest-free option which will be paid back over six weekly instalments.

This is first proposed joint venture generated by humm ventures, an initiative to explore new and innovative ways to expand the global reach and distribution of humm.

Humm CEO Rebecca James said: “Through our proposed joint venture with Douugh, we are taking our first steps into the United States as a company. At the same time, we are demonstrating how humm ventures can create innovative and novel ways to take humm’s world class technology and capabilities to expand its relevance and distribution.”

Humm is also going invest $2.5 million into Douugh’s capital raising at an issue price of $0.22 per share.

The humm share price went up 1.2% and the Douugh share price went up 9.4%. 

Aussie house prices

CoreLogic’s latest monthly update showed that Australian house prices went up by 0.8% across the country in November 2020.

Sydney prices rose 0.4%, Melbourne prices grew 0.7%, Brisbane prices went up 0.6% and every other city went up more than 1% with Canberra and Darwin both going up almost 2%.

As you may be able to guess, the big four ASX banks responded by going higher. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price went up 1.5% and the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price rose 0.75%.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

The oil and gas giant upgraded its 2020 guidance today. It said that its 2020 production guidance is now going to be in a range of 87 million to 89 million barrels of oil equivalent. This was an increase from previous guidance of 83 million to 88 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Santos also lowered its production cost guidance to $8 to $8.05 per barrel of oil equivalent.

The Santos share price rose 0.8% today. 

More reading

• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price gaining ground despite slap by regulator
• CBA (ASX:CBA) and the ASX banks just had an amazing month
• Why the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price and these ASX stocks could get a boost next week
• Why the Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price is rocketing 15% higher today
• How this ASX share is riding the rapid growth of ESG investing

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post ASX 200 rises on Tuesday appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3qoftvp

The Sensen Networks Ltd (ASX: SNS) share price rocketed today, rising 27.27% to close today’s trade at 14 cents a share. Sensen shares closed at 11 cents a share yesterday and opened at the same price this morning, before shooting up to their current level this afternoon.

Today’s open at 11 cents a share is actually the same price as Sensen shares were going for back in January, meaning the share price is now flat for the year. Even so, this company dipped as low as 5.2 cents a share back in March, so any lucky investor who picked up shares then is sitting tight on a gain of more than 100% on today’s prices.

So who is Sensen? And why did this company’s share price spike so dramatically today?

Sen-who?

Sensen is a business with that most sought-after moniker attached to its name – an AI (artificial intelligence) company. More specifically, Sensen calls itself a “world-leading, data-fusion enterprise” that applies “ingenuity to develop AI-powered products and solutions that address the needs of our increasingly urbanising society.”

It states:

We work with councils and the private sector to reduce road accidents, ease traffic congestion and automate monotonous, laborious tasks. In doing this, we strengthen local economies and simplify city administration, empowering those managing our urban livelihoods.

Sensen builds its business model on a platform called SenDISA. This platform takes raw input data from sources like cameras, smartphones, LIDARs and other sensors and interprets it for use in a wide variety of applications, which are divided into ‘Roads and Parking’ and Buildings and Spaces’.

‘Roads and Parking’ includes applications like road safety, parking, traffic analysis and tolling. ‘Buildings and Spaces’ includes applications like measuring traffic through ‘buildings and spaces’ like retail shops, shopping centres and casinos.

The SenDISA platform can also be altered for specific purposes, including SenFORCE (used for law enforcement operations) and SenGAME (real-time intelligence for games and the gaming industry).

SenDISA has been in the making for over 10 years, and according to the company it has “multiple patents awarded and pending”. It also works in conjunction with technology from some of the world’s best tech companies, including NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA).

Why are Sensen shares racing ahead today?

Sensen’s rocketing share price today can most likely be put down to an announcement the company made today. That came just after 2 pm and detailed the company’s acquisition of Snap Network Surveillance. Snap is a private company, founded in 2009 and based in Adelaide

Sensen describes Snap as a “world-leader in AI-powered multi-camera tracking software” which allows it to use “surveillance camera operators to efficiently track persons of interest over large-scale video surveillance environments”.

Sensen notes that the company has been making inroads into the casino market, especially in the United States, which is an area Sensen is targeting for growth. The company told investors that it plans on integrating Snap’s technology into its SenDISA platform. 

The takeover will involve Sensen acquiring all intellectual property including patents, trademarks and know-how from Snap, for a price of $1 million. The acquisition will be made via the issuance of 9,881,423 new shares, priced at 10.12 cents a share.

It appears investors have given this acquisition their blessing, judging by today’s share price performance.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises on Tuesday
• Why the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price zoomed 20% higher in November
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price gaining ground despite slap by regulator
• Why are ASX property shares on the rise today?
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell 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. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post ASX stock of the day: Sensen Networks (ASX:SNS) rockets 27% appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3moXTEU