• Tesserent share price jumps 12% on quarterly update

    Young female cybersecurity technician in data centre

    The Tesserent Ltd (ASX: TNT) share price is currently trading 12.82% higher following the release of a strong quarterly report for the period ending June 2020. The company is Australia’s largest ASX-listed cybersecurity provider. 

    The report follows the strategic acquisition of Melbourne and Canberra-based cybersecurity consultancy Seer Security, which sent the Tesserent share price flying last week

    Quarterly report

    According to the report, Tesserent’s revenue in Q4 2020 of $10.96 million was 32% higher than Q3.  Additionally, the per annum revenue run rate as at 30 June 2020 was $43.8 million.

    Pleasingly, Tesserent achieved positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in Q4 and positive cash flow from operations in June. The company reported that cash receipts of $12.3 million in Q4 were up 73% compared to Q3, and it had $4.34 million in available cash at the end of Q4.

    The company has signed an agreement with Pure Asset Management for a new debt facility of $15 million. This replaces the existing $5 million dollar facility on an improved interest rate of 8.9% per annum, compared to the prior rate of 11.5%. The funds will be used to support further acquisitions. 

    Tesserent has indicated that strategic acquisitions are a cornerstone of its growth strategy to drive earnings.  

    Seer acquisition

    The Seer Security acquisition strengthens the relationship between Tesserent and the federal government, given Seer’s many long-term contracts with a number of government departments and agencies.

    In FY20, Seer reported revenue in excess of $7.6 million and $2.2 million in sustainable earnings. The forecast for earnings in FY21 is expected to be strong.

    The Seer acquisition is fully funded through Tesserent’s debt funding facility with Pure Asset Management. The consideration will be $5 million in cash and shares in Tesserent.

    In the acquisition announcement, Tesserent’s co-chief executive officer Julian Challingsworth commented, “current market conditions continue to present tremendous consolidation opportunities in the short to medium term, and we fully expect to take advantage of this with additional acquisitions currently under consideration”

    About the Tesserent share price

    The most recent Seer acquisition follows other acquisitions in 2019. Last year, Tesserent also acquired Rivium, Pure Security and Canberra-based North. As a result, the bolt-on acquisitions deliver a wide range of cybersecurity services to help drive Tesserent’s earnings higher.

    At time of writing, Tesserent shares are trading at 22 cents which represents a gain of 12.82% in today’s trade. Additionally, over the past year the Tesserent share price has increased 315.09%.

    5 stocks under $5

    We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Altium or Afterpay when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true.

    And while Altium and Afterpay have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $5 a share!

    *Extreme Opportunities returns as of June 5th 2020

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    Motley Fool contributor Matthew Donald 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.

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  • The Euro’s Ascent Won’t Knock the Dollar Off Its Perch

    The Euro’s Ascent Won’t Knock the Dollar Off Its Perch(Bloomberg Opinion) — With the euro surging to its highest level for six years, based on the European Central Bank’s trade-weighted index, the doom-mongers predicting the dollar’s demise as the world’s reserve currency of choice have started chorusing once more. As usual, they will be proved wrong.Traders who’ve been speculating that the common currency would benefit from the euro zone’s superior pandemic response, at least when compared with the U.S., have been rewarded for their faith. The euro is up by 4.3% against the dollar this year, and is at its strongest since 2014 versus a basket of the currencies of the bloc’s 19 biggest trading partners.Moreover, those bets continue to accumulate. Figures compiled by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show net positions designed to profit from euro strength have risen steadily since flipping positive in March, and are at their most bullish since April 2018.On a two-way trade in the midst of a pandemic, the data on both infection rates and deaths from the coronavirus suggest it makes sense to back the euro versus the dollar, given the U.S. administration’s woeful performance in curbing its spread. Add in the U.S.’s worsening relationship with China and the prospect of political turmoil around the November presidential election, and it’s easy to see why the greenback is down to its weakest position against 10 major peers since September 2018.But weighing the likely speeds at which countries will emerge from lockdown and assaying the latest tit-for-tat embassy closures tells us nothing about the long-term likelihood of the dollar losing its status as the world’s preferred currency. Global central banks have about $11 trillion of reserves, according to the International Monetary Fund. More than 60% is in dollars, amounting to $6.8 trillion, compared with about 20% in euros, 6% in yen and less than 5% in pounds. Moreover, a survey of more than 50 central banks published last week by Invesco Ltd. showed increasing dollar appetite in the coming year.In the survey, Invesco explicitly asked whether central banks expected the dollar’s position, as the principal store of value for the world’s foreign exchange reserves, to weaken in the next five years. The result was overwhelmingly in favor of the status quo.The euro may well continue to gain while the pandemic persists, though mostly as a result of dollar weakness. But as Invesco said in its report, “it would appear that discussion of the U.S. dollar’s demise as the world reserve currency has been greatly exaggerated.” For now, at least, the dollar’s reign will continue.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Mark Gilbert is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering asset management. He previously was the London bureau chief for Bloomberg News. He is also the author of "Complicit: How Greed and Collusion Made the Credit Crisis Unstoppable."For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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  • Pfizer, BioNTech Rise As Phase 2/3 Covid-19 Vaccine Trial Kicks Off

    Pfizer, BioNTech Rise As Phase 2/3 Covid-19 Vaccine Trial Kicks OffPfizer (PFE) and BioNTech SE (BNTX) have announced the start of a global (except for China) Phase 2/3 safety and efficacy clinical study to evaluate a single nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (modRNA) candidate from their BNT162 mRNA-based vaccine program against SARS-CoV-2.Shares in Pfizer rose 2% in Monday’s after-hours trading, while BioNTech was up 6%.After reviewing clinical data and consulting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other global regulators, the two companies have now chosen to continue their BNT162b2 vaccine candidate into the Phase 2/3 study, at a 30 µg dose level in a 2 dose regimen.BNT162b2, which recently received FDA Fast Track designation, encodes an optimized SARS-CoV-2 full length spike glycoprotein (S), which is the target of virus neutralizing antibodies.“Today, we are starting our late-stage global study, which will include up to 30,000 participants. We selected BNT162b2 as our lead candidate for this Phase 2/3 trial upon diligent evaluation of the totality of the data generated so far. said Ugur Sahin, CEO and Co-Founder of BioNTech.“This decision reflects our primary goal to bring a well-tolerated, highly effective vaccine to the market as quickly as possible, while we will continue to evaluate our other vaccine candidates as part of a differentiated COVID-19 vaccine portfolio,” he added.In the preclinical studies, BNT162b1 and BNT162b2 candidates induced favorable viral antigen specific CD4+ and CD8+T cell responses, high levels of neutralizing antibody in various animal species, and beneficial protective effects in a primate SARS-CoV-2 challenge model.Preliminary clinical Phase 1/2 data from nearly 120 patients demonstrated a favorable overall tolerability profile for BNT162b2, as compared to BNT162b1, with generally mild to moderate and transient (1-2 days) systemic events, such as fever, fatigue and chills and no serious adverse events.The companies are continuing to collect data from the Phase 1/2 trials for all four vaccine candidates and expect to submit data on BNT162b2 for peer review and potential publication in the near future.The Phase 2/3 study is an event driven trial that is planned to enroll up to 30,000 participants between 18 and 85 years of age. The companies plan to enroll a diverse population, including participants in areas where there is significant expected SARS-CoV-2 transmission.By the end of the trial, the Phase 2/3 study is expected to be active at approximately 120 clinical investigational sites around the world, including 39 states across the United States and countries including Argentina, Brazil, and Germany.BNT162b2 remains under clinical study and is not currently approved for distribution. If the Phase 2/3 trial is successful, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to seek regulatory approval in October 2020- with an ultimate goal of supplying globally up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.Shares in Pfizer are down 4% year-to-date, while BioNTech has exploded over 150%. Looking forward, analysts take a cautiously optimistic Moderate Buy consensus on both stocks. (See Pfizer stock analysis on TipRanks)Related News: AstraZeneca To Pay Up To $6B For Daiichi Cancer Drug Deal Novartis Unveils €150M Antibiotics Investment For Europe TCR2 Therapeutics Releases Positive Solid Tumor Data More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Facebook Delays 2Q Results As Zuckerberg To Provide Congress Testimony * Aurora Cannabis (ACB): Beneficial Canadian Cannabis Consolidation Ahead * Beyond Meat Releases New High-Protein, Low-Fat Burger * Microsoft Plans To Become Carbon Neutral By 2030

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  • Where to invest $500 into ASX shares immediately

    growth ASX shares, small caps

    If you’re new to investing and are wanting to invest $500 into the share market, I believe you should be thinking long term.

    This is because brokerage costs (which are usually around ~$10 a trade) will eat into your profits if you are constantly buying and selling shares.

    Also, if you invest with a long term view, you can benefit from the power of compounding.

    With that in mind, here are two top ASX shares which I think could be great options for a $500 investment:

    a2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

    I think a2 Milk Company could be a good place to invest $500. It is one of the ANZ region’s leading dairy companies and sells fresh milk, infant formula, and milk powder. Over the last few years a2 Milk Company has been growing its earnings at a rapid rate. The good news is that I believe it is well-positioned to continue this positive form for some time to come.

    This is thanks to the strong demand it continues to experience for its infant formula products in China, its expanding fresh milk footprint in North America, and its growing fresh milk market share in Australia. In addition to this, there is speculation that a2 Milk Company could be looking to put its sizeable cash balance to work with acquisitions or new product launches. This could give its growth a boost in the coming years.

    Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

    Another ASX share to consider investing $500 into is Nearmap. It is one of the leading aerial imagery technology and location data companies. At present the company has operations in the ANZ and North American markets and is generating sizeable recurring revenues from both regions.

    And while its performance has been a bit shaky over the last 12 months due to customer churn (not competition related), I remain very confident in its long term growth prospects. This is due to the quality of its product suite and its strong position in a fragmented market worth an estimated $2.9 billion per year. Another positive is that Nearmap has the option to increase its addressable market by expanding into other territories, such as the UK, in the future.

    5 stocks under $5

    We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Altium or Afterpay when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true.

    And while Altium and Afterpay have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $5 a share!

    *Extreme Opportunities returns as of June 5th 2020

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    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 Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd. 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.

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  • Top broker warns earnings expectations for the ASX reporting season are too high

    Share price falling

    The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) is giving up all of its morning gains as investors took profits and moved to the sideline ahead of the reporting season.

    The top 200 stock benchmark is up by only 0.1% in after lunch trade after jumping by more than 1% this morning.

    If you are feeling nervous about the profit reporting season, you may have good reason to be as Citigroup is warning that expectations may be set too high.

    Risk of earnings misses

    Analysts have been paring their FY20 profit forecast for ASX stocks in light of the COVID-19 crisis with consensus expectations tipping around a 15% hit to earnings and no growth for FY21.

    But Citi’s base case is for company bottom lines to fall by 20% for the last financial year and that’s not the end of the bad news.

    $27 billion dividend hole

    “Citi forecast of aggregate FY20e dividends in the Citi universe has fallen 37% from $72bn to $45bn,” said the broker.

    “Banks contributed the most to this decline with all September-reporting banks having reduced or cut their interim dividends.”

    These banks include National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ).

    Will CBA pay a dividend?

    Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is the only big bank that will hand in its earnings report card in August and Citi doesn’t think it will pay a final dividend for FY20.

    This is likely to cause the stock to tumble as I believe the market is expecting a CBA to cut its dividend but still pay one.

    4 other things to watch in the reporting season

    There are four other things that Citi is telling investors to watch for. Firstly, it’s balance sheet strength as the new COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria and growing clusters in New South Wales reminds investors that rolling lockdowns will be a feature for some time yet.

    Secondly, investors shouldn’t be holding their breath when it comes to earnings guidance. In this fast changing COVID-19 environment, most boards will be reluctant to stick their neck out.

    “A far greater importance will be placed on any trading updates provided and whether the trajectory of sales or earnings has changed,” explained Citi.

    “We think investors need to be careful in interpreting the COVID-19 disruptions called out by companies, given there has been impacts on both revenue and costs that may not be clearly disclosed.”

    The third expectation is for our big ASX miners, like Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), to deliver strong results. This is thanks to the gravity-defying iron ore price.

    One of the trickiest sectors to navigate

    Lastly, be wary of listed ASX retailers. Their sales may have been bolstered by government stimulus, but this is being steadily withdrawn.

    “Trading updates for the reporting season are expected to be positive given government support and the superannuation withdrawal,” added Citi.

    “This may prove misleading as there will be a step down in stimulus come the December quarter, which is likely to result in weaker retail sales growth.”

    5 stocks under $5

    We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Altium or Afterpay when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true.

    And while Altium and Afterpay have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $5 a share!

    *Extreme Opportunities returns as of June 5th 2020

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    Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited, BHP Billiton Limited, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank Limited, Rio Tinto Ltd., and Westpac Banking. 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.

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  • Credit Corp share price jumps 13%, should you invest?

    3 piggy banks increasing in size, asx shares financials, growth, asx portfolio

    The share price of Australia’s largest debt-collector, Credit Corp Group Limited (ASX: CCP) has surged by 13.4% today prior to being sold down to a more modest gain of 9.4%. The Credit Corp share price rallied as high as $19.10 before falling back to $18.43 at the time of writing. The surge came following the company’s announcement of its FY20 results. 

    Credit Corp has clawed its way back from a $6.25 low in March this year, yet still faces an uphill battle returning to its 52-week high price of almost $38 seen in February. This may present an opportunity too good to miss for prospective investors wishing to take advantage of this 51% discount to the company’s share price highs.

    So why were this morning’s results so well received and is now the time to dive in and invest in the Credit Corp share price?

    Credit Corp FY20 results  

    The business model of a debt corporation like Credit Corp has been one of the beneficiaries of COVID-19 as liquidity in the marketplace has dried up and many businesses have struggled in the repayment of debts. This company is commonly outsourced to recover debts on behalf of banks, telecommunications providers and utility companies at a discount.

    In its announcement to the market this morning, Credit Corp reported a 13% improvement in Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) before adjustments of $79.6 million. In addition, the company’s total revenues for the period were marginally lower at $313 million compared to FY19 sales of $324 million. In accounting for these lower revenues, the company cited that COVID-19 economic uncertainty had meant customers were less willing to agree to longer-term debt repayment plans from March onwards.

    Yet, this trend was somewhat offset by an improvement in one-off customer payments in May and June, possibly spurred by government benefits such as JobKeeper and people paying off debts with their FY20 tax returns.

    The federal government’s announcement last week that it would be extending coronavirus-related fiscal stimulus through to March 2021 is a potential tailwind for Credit Corp. Further cash in people’s pockets will enable them to prioritise debt repayments.  

    Overall, therefore, Credit Corp remains optimistic that it can achieve further profitability in FY21 and provided guidance of between $60 and $75 million for NPAT, an earnings per share (EPS) range of 89-112 cents, and a dividend range of 45-55 cents per share. If achieved, this could yield a 2.7% fully-franked return to shareholders over FY21. This represents a relatively sizeable payout in the current economic environment.

    The company has also appeared to strengthen its balance sheet over the second-half of FY20, aided by an equity raising of $152 million and over $400 million in cash. In a twist of irony, the company’s announcement also highlighted that Credit Corp itself is effectively now ‘debt-free’, a feat the company believes will enable it to ‘facilitate continued purchasing and lending over an extended period of uncertainty and prepare for opportunity’.

    Should you invest?

    Looking forward to the coming 12 months, I think Credit Corp will profoundly benefit from lingering liquidity issues in Australian businesses and broader commerce. The fact that Australia technically entered a recession (2 quarters of negative GDP growth) in June this year, coupled with a second-wave of COVID-19 rapidly advancing across our borders, spells trouble for businesses.

    Recessions are generally associated with businesses defaulting on loans and closing their doors, and experts agree it is going to take an avalanche of continued government stimulus to keep small businesses on life support in perpetuity.

    Whilst this is obviously not good news for business and the economy overall, I do see a lot of potential for Credit Corp’s debt book to grow over the next year. Particularly as clients like the big four banks are forced to outsource debt to third parties. The company has bolstered its balance sheet and has done extraordinarily well to maintain a profit over FY20 considering the circumstances. Keep an eye on the Credit Corp share price to continue performing strongly in the coming months, particularly if domestic economic conditions remain as volatile as they are now.  

    5 stocks under $5

    We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Altium or Afterpay when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true.

    And while Altium and Afterpay have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $5 a share!

    *Extreme Opportunities returns as of June 5th 2020

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    Motley Fool contributor Toby Thomas does not hold shares in Credit Corp Group Limited. 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.

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  • Afterpay and Immuron were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week

    Buy stocks

    Investment platform provider CommSec has just released data on the five most traded ASX shares on its platform from last week.

    Once again, the buy now pay later sector was popular with investors and accounted for three of the top five shares.

    They were joined by two healthcare shares – one industry giant and one name that many investors will not have come across before.

    Here’s the data:

    Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

    For a second week in a row, Zip shares were the most traded on the ASX by CommSec customers. The buy now pay later company’s shares accounted for 3.2% of total trades made on the CommSec platform. Although the buying and selling was relatively even over the period, it didn’t stop the Zip share price from pushing 8.1% higher.

    Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

    The Afterpay share price was popular with investors again. Its shares accounted for 2.2% of all CommSec trades last week. Approximately 53% of these trades were sell orders, possibly due to concerns over Shopify’s buy now pay later launch. However, despite this, the Afterpay share price was able to carve out a 3.6% gain last week.

    CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

    CommSec customers were buying this biotherapeutics company’s shares last week by the boatload. CSL accounted for 2% of all trades by CommSec customers last week, with almost 80% of these trades reported as buy orders. Though, this couldn’t stop the company’s shares from recording a decline of 4% over the period. Investors appear divided on whether its FY 2021 earnings will be impacted materially by lower plasma collections.

    Immuron Limited (ASX: IMC)

    This biotech company’s shares were on fire last week and more than doubled in value after its study indicated that IMM-124E therapy had neutralising activity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2. This is the virus that causes COVID-19. Immuron’s shares accounted for 2% of all trades on the CommSec platform.

    Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY)

    Finally, junior buy now pay later provider Openpay made the list again. It was responsible for 1.7% of total trades on the CommSec platform last week. This was despite there being no news out of the company. However, a week earlier it reported a 98.2% increase in total transaction value to $192.8 million for FY 2020. The Openpay share price recorded a 5.3% gain for the week

    Legendary stock picker names 5 cheap stocks to buy right now

    Motley Fool resident tech stock expert Dr. Anirban Mahanti has stumbled upon five stocks he believes could be some of the greatest discoveries of his investing career.

    These little-known ASX stocks are growing like gangbusters, yet you can buy them today for less than $5 a share. Click here to learn more.

    See these 5 cheap stocks

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    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 CSL Ltd. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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.

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  • Iluka share price rises after quarterly review

    shares higher, growth shares

    This morning, the Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) share price rose 1.24% to $9.42 following the release of the company’s quarterly review. The Iluka share price has since retreated slightly to sit at $9.35 per share at the time of writing, up 0.54% on yesterday’s close

    What was in the announcement?

    Illuka reported total zircon, rutile and synthetic rutile production of 135,000 tonnes in the quarter ended June 2020. Iluka’s Zircon production was down 16% compared to the first quarter of the year, as the company intentionally reduced production due to economic uncertainty.

    The company’s rutile production was down 29% compared to the first quarter of the year, due to lower run time and throughput at the company’s Sierra rutile asset. Synthetic rutile production was up 10%, which the company attributed to higher ilmenite quality and plant upgrades.

    Iluka sold 242,000 tonnes of zircon, rutile and synthetic rutile during the first half of 2020, a reduction of 19.87% compared to the first half of 2019 when the company sold 302,000 tonnes of the same materials.

    The company sold 53,000 tonnes of zircon in the second quarter of 2020 compared to 25,000 tonnes in the first quarter of the year, however, sales were affected by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on Chinese and European markets. 

    Iluka sold 66,000 tonnes of titanium in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 98,000 tonnes in the first quarter. The company announced that rutile prices were up 7% since the first half of 2019. It also announced that Zircon prices fell 6% in the first half of 2020.

    Iluka also announced that it had completed commissioning of its Eneabba operation during the quarter, with 9,000 tonnes of monazite-zircon concentrate material shipped ahead of schedule.

    The company had net cash of $62 million at 30 June 2020. It had free cash flow of $46 million in the first half of 2020, and invested $50 million into capital expenditure. 

    Iluka also announced that all mining and processing sites were operational in the current environment.

    About the Iluka share price

    Iluka is an Australian-based resources company that explores and develops mineral sands assets. The company is the world’s largest producer of zircon, titanium-based rutile and synthetic rutile.

    In June, Iluka announced that one of its customers had defaulted on its obligation to take and pay for 20,000 tonnes of synthetic rutile. Proceedings have since been made by Iluka in the Supreme Court in the state of New York.

    The Iluka share price is up 63.46% since its 52-week low of $5.72. It has risen 1.52% since the beginning of the year. The Iluka share price is down 1.3% since this time last year.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of June 30th

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    Motley Fool contributor Chris Chitty 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.

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  • Why PolyNovo and these ASX healthcare shares could be long term market beaters

    Health technology shares

    I think the healthcare sector is a great place to invest with a long term view due to the favourable tailwinds that it is experiencing.

    These include ageing populations around the globe, increased chronic disease burden, and better technologies. But with so many options for investors to choose from, which ones should you be buying?

    Below are three ASX healthcare shares I believe could provide stellar returns for investors over the long term:

    Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

    The first healthcare share to consider buying is Nanosonics. It is an infection prevention specialist best known for its trophon EPR disinfection system for ultrasound probes. It is also the first high level disinfection system for ultrasound probes that is effective against high-risk, cancer causing strains of Human Papilloma Virus. This has gone down very well with healthcare institutions, leading to its installed base growing at a rapid rate over the last few years. The good news is that there’s still a large addressable market for it to grow into in the coming years. This should be supported by the launch of new products targeting unmet needs which have similar market opportunities. If they are anywhere near as successful, Nanosonics will have a very bright future ahead of it.

    PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)

    Another healthcare share which I think could have a bright future ahead of it is PolyNovo. It is the medical device company behind the NovoSorb Biodegradable Temporising Matrix (BTM) product. This synthetic polymer was developed at CSIRO and is used by clinicians to treat serious burn and skin trauma patients. It can be used in surgical procedures and will eventually biodegrade safely and be excreted by the body. The company’s current target market has a sizeable $1.5 billion addressable opportunity. However, management is looking to expand BTM’s use into the hernia and breast treatment markets. This would lift its addressable market to a total of $7.5 billion if successful.

    Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)

    A final healthcare share to look at is Ramsay Health Care. This global private hospital operator currently has 480 facilities across 11 countries. Although the near future is not going to be easy for Ramsay due to both the pandemic and general tough trading conditions in the private hospital space, I believe its long term outlook is very positive. This could make it worth considering a long term and patient investment in its shares. Especially given the aforementioned tailwinds that the sector is experiencing. This is likely to lead to a strong increase in demand for its services over the next decade and beyond.

    5 stocks under $5

    We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Altium or Afterpay when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true.

    And while Altium and Afterpay have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $5 a share!

    *Extreme Opportunities returns as of June 5th 2020

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    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 Nanosonics Limited and POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nanosonics Limited and Ramsay Health Care 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 Why PolyNovo and these ASX healthcare shares could be long term market beaters appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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  • Pushpay and 1 other 5-star ASX share to buy right now

    hands holding 5 stars

    If you are looking for some ASX share suggestions,  I believe that the following 2 companies are well worth considering.

    Both Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) and Macquarie Telecom Group Ltd (ASX: MAQ) have seen very strong share price gains over the last 6 months, driven by their impressive recent financial performances.

    Macquarie Telecom

    Macquarie Telecom has continued to grow at a rate well ahead of some of its larger telco rivals such as Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS).

    For the 6 months ended 31 December, Macquarie delivered a 9% rise in revenue on the prior corresponding period. The telco’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew even more strongly, by 24% in the first half. The main driver of this growth was the company’s hosting business, which offers cloud computing-related services including data centre services. This division reported an 18% increase in revenue to $62.7 million. 

    This strong revenue growth is reflected in Macquarie Telecom’s recent share price growth. The Macquarie Telecom share price has risen from $23.21 at the beginning of 2020 to now be trading at $46.25.

    Macquarie Telecom has also indicated it will continue to invest in and drive growth from 3 key megatrends: data centres, cloud computing and cyber security. These 3 market segments are now driving growth in IT markets worldwide.

    The local Australian telco is particularly focused on capturing the growing demand for data centre services through the expansion of its data centre portfolio. Earlier this year, the company commenced construction of its IC3 East data centre at the Macquarie Park Data Centre Campus. This expansion will help to meet the growing demand from its corporate, wholesale, and government customers.

    Pushpay

    Pushpay offers a donor management platform provider for the faith, not-for-profit, and education sectors. The company operates in the large-to-medium church sector of the massive US market.

    After trending sideways since the beginning of 2018, the Pushpay share price has been on fire in recent months. The company’s share price has risen from $2.94 in late March to now be trading at $7.54. That’s a gain of 156%. Its share price did reach as high as $8.90 in late June, but has since lost some of those gains in recent weeks.

    This share price growth comes on the back of strong recent expansion in its customer base. Pushpay achieved an impressive 39% increase in its total processing volume to US$5 billion for the 12 months to 31 March 2020.

    I believe that Pushpay is well positioned for continued growth, driven by the growing demand for its donor management platform in the large (and mainly untapped) US market.

    Foolish takeaway

    Both Macquarie Telecom and Pushpay operate in two very different markets. However, both are quality companies and I am confident that both have strong growth prospects over the next few years.

    5 stocks under $5

    We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Altium or Afterpay when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true.

    And while Altium and Afterpay have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $5 a share!

    *Extreme Opportunities returns as of June 5th 2020

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    Phil Harpur has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended 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 Pushpay and 1 other 5-star ASX share to buy right now appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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