California officials canceled fireworks and closed beaches in some counties this Fourth of July weekend, as the state faced an explosion of new coronavirus cases. California’s early success battling the virus has turned into a crisis. Photo: Getty Images
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Jul.06 — Freddie Lait, chief investment officer at Latitude Investment Management, discusses the current state of markets and where he sees them heading. He speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: European Open.”
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Jul.06 — France already has a new prime minister, but the rest of the government is expected to be announced today, according to AFP citing the presidency. Bloomberg’s Caroline Connan reports on “Bloomberg Markets: European Open.”
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Rains triggered floods and landslides in a part of southern Japan that hasn’t had many reported coronavirus cases. WSJ’s Peter Landers describes how authorities are working to make sure the rescue effort doesn’t accidentally spread the virus. Photo: Koji Harada/Kyodo News/Associated Press
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The Biotron Limited (ASX: BIT) share price soared by 30% today, after the biotechnology company released new data regarding the effectiveness of its lead antiviral drug BIT225, used for fighting HIV-1 infections.
The Biotron share price is on a tear this year, up more than 140% since January to 13 cents.
This morning, Biotron released data on its HIV-1 drug, BIT225. The data demonstrates how BIT225 enhances the immune response to HIV. Biotron commented that the drug is unique in that it not only inhibits the virus but also augments the immune responses against it.
“The latest results provide key information on how BIT225 directly modifies immune responses to HIV-1 infection. It helps explain the immune changes that we saw in the Phase 2 clinical trial and gives us even more confidence in our product,” said Dr Michelle Miller, Biotron’s managing director.
According to the report, specific cell markers that usually don’t signal the immune system to attack the virus are instead returned to normal. Furthermore, the drug also increases functionality of the immune response by enabling T cells to more around the body and restore immune function.
These results, coupled with those from the Phase 2 clinical trial, further support the continued clinical study of the potential anti-viral and immunological benefits of BIT225 therapy in combination with standard anti-HIV drugs.
It has been an exciting year for Biotron, which announced in March that its HIV-1 drug was able to restore immune function in HIV-1 infections. Furthermore, on 6 February Biotron announced plans to test its compounds against coronavirus, observing at the time it had over 30 compounds with good activity against a range of coronaviruses. Some of these compounds were stated to reduce the levels of coronavirus by 90–100% in infected cell cultures.
Biotron’s expertise lies in the design and development of drugs that target virus-encoded proteins known as viroporins. The company’s scientists were the first to identify and publish data showing that the E protein of the coronavirus is viroporin and a good target for antiviral drugs.
The Biotron share price is down on its 52-week high of almost 19 cents (reached in early February), but at its current price of 13 cents a share is up by 73.33% on this time last year.
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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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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Do you have $10,000 to invest? I’d pick the ASX shares I’m going to reveal in this article.
Choosing where to put your hard-earned money can be a difficult task. Particularly with how volatile the share market has been in recent months due to COVID-19.
Here are my picks:
This ASX share is a listed investment company (LIC) which focuses on overseas shares. I think there’s merit in finding LICs which are trading at large discounts to their net tangible assets (NTA) per share but have a relatively large dividend yield.
I think PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund is good value because it’s probably trading at around a 20% discount to the NTA at the end of last week. The weekly NTA update will be released tomorrow. This is a large discount in the LIC sector.
Some of the LIC’s current holdings are: Cairn Homes, Bank of America, Visa, MGM China, KKR & Co, Siemens and Freeport-McMoRan Copper.
The ASX share has been steadily increasing the dividend over the past few years. Since 2017 the annual dividend has grown annually by 0.2 cents per share. In FY20 the annual dividend seems set to increase to 4 cents per share, up from 3.8 cents per share in FY19. At the current PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund share price it has a projected FY20 grossed-up dividend yield of 6.2%.
Bubs is one of my main ASX growth share ideas at the moment. The goat milk product business is seeing large demand for its infant formula range.
The business has been growing quarterly revenue at a very good rate for a while now. But the quarter to 31 March 2020 was truly impressive. Bubs’ quarterly revenue of $19.7 million was a 67% increase year on year and a 36% increase compared to the previous quarter. Bubs’ infant formula revenue jumped 137% and Chinese revenue rose by 104%.
I really like what Bubs has achieved over the past couple of years, particularly with securing its supply chain and expanding its distribution footprint.
Good news continues to flow from the ASX share. It recently announced its (cow-based) grass fed infant formula will be sold in 482 Coles Group Limited (ASX: COL) supermarkets. In that same announcement it said that Baby Bunting Group Limited (ASX: BBN) would start selling Bubs’ range of products in 52 stores from May 2020.
I think Bubs is definitely one to watch over the next five years. I’d be happy to buy shares at the current Bubs share price.
Many of the best shares in the world are not listed on the ASX. Indeed, the ASX only makes up 2% of the global share market. I think it could be a mistake to miss out on the other 98% of the world.
ASX share WCM Global Growth is another LIC which also targets global shares. It looks for shares with an expanding economic moat, measured by a rising return on invested capital (ROIC). Businesses with a large but static (or declining) moat won’t make the cut.
WCM, a Californian based asset management firm, also looks for a good corporate culture that will enable that share’s economic moat to keep growing.
The ASX share’s investment portfolio has been a strong performer. Over the past two years, after management fees and performance fees, WCM’s portfolio has returned an average of 23.1% per annum, outperforming its global benchmark by 13.5% per annum.
Some of its top holdings at the end of May 2020 include Shopify, Stryker Corp, MercadoLibre, Visa and Crown Castle International.
A useful bonus is that the ASX share recently started paying a dividend. At the current WCM Global Growth share price it offers a dividend yield of 3.1%. It’s currently trading at a 10% discount to the NTA at 26 June 2020.
I think all three of these ASX shares could outperform the local market over the short-term and particularly the long-term. I believe Bubs has great growth potential. The two global LICs are invested in good shares and are valued at attractive discounts to their NTAs.
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 Tristan Harrison owns shares of PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BUBS AUST FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET. 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 Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has been garnering a lot of attention lately. It could be because this share climbed to yet another new record high last week of $70. It could be because this company’s share price has appreciated more than 700% since its March lows. Or it just could be that Afterpay, with its ‘new way to pay’, is a natural to the spotlight.
But now Afterpay has conquered a $70 price tag, an ~$18 billion market capitalisation and (as it looks likely) membership of the ASX 20 club, some investors are wondering ‘where to from here?’ Or perhaps more opportunistically, ‘how high can Afterpay shares climb?’
As Afterpay is a relatively new company with a relatively new product idea in buy now, pay later (BNPL), it is the sort of company that can be difficult to value and chart a growth trajectory for. But I want to start at the finish line by looking at the largest payments company in the world: Visa Inc. (NYSE: V).
You probably know Visa from its almost universal presence on the credit and debit cards that most people have in their wallet or on their phone.
But don’t let Visa’s tiny logo on your card fool you. This is a gargantuan company with a truly global reach. It’s currently valued at US$416.5 billion (A$598 billion), which is more than 4½ times the size of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). Visa makes money by clipping the ticket of every transaction that goes through its payment network. Think about how many people are tapping their Visa cards every day in Australia alone, take it to the world stage, and you get some idea of this company’s dominance.
So is this Afterpay’s endgame? To rival Visa, Mastercard and American Express in terms of global presence and market dominance? I’m sure Afterpay would like to think so. But is the runway there for this company?
Well, it’s hard to say. If Afterpay can get to the point where every shop in the world asks you ‘how would you like to pay, cash, card or Afterpay?’, then it will have made it. But how far off is this?
In Australia, not far in my view. Yes, it does have to contend locally with rivals like Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) and Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY). But I think retailers in this country are at a point where they almost have to offer customers an option to ‘Afterpay it’. And signs are looking good for the US and UK markets too. In fact, Afterpay recently announced that it now has more than a million UK-based active users. And that’s after just a year in the market. Things are even better in the US, where Afterpay is enjoying widespread enthusiasm and more than 5 million active customers.
I still think there is at least a little froth in the current Afterpay share price, and I don’t think things are as rosy as the market is assuming for this company. Remember, Afterpay has yet to turn a profit. But if the company continues to grow on its current trajectory, paying $18 billion for the ‘next Visa’ would seem pretty cheap.
I’m not investing in Afterpay at these levels, but in not doing so, I acknowledge that I might be on the wrong side of history here.
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.
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Sebastian Bowen owns shares of American Express, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Mastercard and Visa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Mastercard. 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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