Tag: Motley Fool

What can stop the Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price?

That might be the question on many investors’ lips today. The Pilbara share price continues to rip higher into record territory. The ASX 200 lithium share has hit yet another all-time high this Tuesday, the latest in what is becoming a long line.

Today, Pilbara shares are presently trading for $4.78 each, up a very robust 4.7% at present. That is right on the company’s new high watermark. If we backtrack just a month, we’ll find the Pilbara share price at a far lower $3.23.

This means the company has gained a rather extraordinary 48% over just the past month alone. Pilbara shares are now up 36% year to date and a whopping 117.5% over the past 12 months.

Runaway train could be an apt description.

So what’s going on here?

Why does the Pilbara share price keep shooting the lights out with new record highs?

Well, it appears this move reflects what has become a very optimistic trend amongst ASX investors on the future of lithium.

On the weekend, my Fool colleague James covered a sunny outlook on Pilbara shares from broker Macquarie. Macquarie has an outperform rating on Pilbara shares right now, with a 12-month share price target of $5.60. 

Just yesterday, we also looked at another broker’s optimism regarding the lithium price itself. Barranjoey reckons the price of lithium could surge by up to 86% over the next two years, thanks to tight supplies of the future-facing metal.

The broker has reportedly raised its earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Pilbara by up to 44% for FY23 and up to 120% for FY24. 

Perhaps there’s a bit of good old-fashioned ‘fear of missing out’ going on with the Pilbara share price as well, judging by the steep rise in the company’s shares over such a short space of time.

Whatever the reasons, it has certainly been a month to remember for Pilbara shares–  and investors.

At the current Pilbara Minerals share price, this ASX 200 lithium share has a market capitalisation of $14.23 billion.

The post Runaway train? Pilbara Minerals share price leaps to yet another all-time high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• With most investors thinking the next big move in the stock market is down, Warren Buffett says times like these are your friend
• ASX lithium stocks are ‘the buy now, pay later of 2022’: expert
• Here’s the lithium price forecast through to 2024
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Top broker tips lithium price to surge 86% over next 2 years

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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

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

What happened 

The crypto market was up sharply on Monday morning as investors turned bullish once again on riskier assets. The S&P 500 is up about 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite is up 1% as of this writing, which often correlates with rising crypto prices. 

At 11:30 a.m. ET, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was up 3.4% in the last 24 hours, Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) was up 7.9%, and Near Protocol (CRYPTO: NEAR) jumped 6.3% today. On the flip side, TerraClassicUSD (CRYPTO: USTC) is down 13.8% following a big jump last week.  

So what 

A rising stock market certainly helps cryptocurrency values. Investors are currently bidding up stocks on speculation that August inflation data won’t be as bad as feared. Inflation and high energy prices have both hurt the economy and caused the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates over the past year. If that trend reverses, it could be bullish for stocks and cryptocurrencies.

Founder Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy said today it would sell as much as $500 million in stock to buy more Bitcoin. Saylor continues to be the most consistent Bitcoin bull in the market and seems to be willing to risk the company’s future on the cryptocurrency. But for Bitcoin itself, the buying would be incrementally positive for the market. 

TerraClassicUSD is the other big mover, but it’s moving lower. The legacy “stablecoin” from the Terra ecosystem saw speculative buying last week, but that rally is fading. With very little fundamental reason to keep the cryptocurrency moving higher, this isn’t one I would be taking any position in because it’s just a trading mechanism at this point.

Now what 

If inflation is indeed coming under control that would be a good thing for all riskier assets, whether you’re looking at growth stocks or crypto. The risk was that high inflation would force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates dramatically, which could hurt cryptocurrencies because they would be competing against higher yields for low-risk bonds from the U.S. government. And higher interest rates would likely hurt economic growth and investment in start-ups, which is why crypto investors aren’t fond of higher rates. 

As much as macro factors are playing into the crypto market right now, what I think investors need to keep in mind is the innovation happening right now. A blockchain like Solana is seeing rapid innovation in everything from decentralized finance to non-fungible tokens and software-as-a-service business models. As these products become more usable, they’re gaining adoption across the business world. 

I’m still bullish on crypto long-term, but think investors should focus on cryptocurrencies like Solana and Near Protocol that have a path toward innovative utility in the digital world. They’re likely to be the places where developers create the next phase of disruptive technology and that’s why I’m excited about the industry. 

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

The post Why Bitcoin and Solana jumped on Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Can the Bitcoin price reach US$1 million?
• Why the Bitcoin price is not having a ‘whale of a time’ lately
• Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana were up Thursday morning
• The Ethereum price just dropped 8% despite Merge progression
• The Bitcoin price just fell below US$19,000 What’s happening?

Travis Hoium has positions in Solana. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin and Solana. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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

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The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is red this afternoon, despite gains observed in the broader market.

Shares of the coal producer are currently down 2.5% at $2.385 apiece. Meantime, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is 1.49% higher at the time of writing while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.59%.

Similarly, other ASX coal shares are outperforming the Whitehaven Coal share price so far today.

Shares in New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) are up 0.55% while Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) is trading 2.54% higher.

There are no announcements from the company today to make sense of the selloff in Whitehaven’s share price, but some developments have unfolded for the energy market in general. Let’s cover those highlights.

Share prices fall amid energy crisis

Reuters reported this morning that energy companies in the EU, such as coal producers, could be required to make ‘a solidarity contribution’ to help offset the effects of the continent’s ongoing energy crisis.

Under the proposal, companies would be required to pay out part of their taxable profits made in FY22. These funds would then be used to help subsidise rising energy costs and, ultimately, help Europe to be less dependent on Russia for its energy supply.

As reported by Bloomberg this morning, the energy market is also being hit from another angle as the price of natural gas falls to lower levels. Natural gas futures were said to have fallen 9.3% amid the challenges in the EU.

The price of coal is also down today with coal trading 2.94% lower, according to Markets Insider. The current price is $US330 per tonne.

Whitehaven Coal share price snapshot

Despite today’s drop, the Whitehaven Coal share price has gained an incredible 222% so far this year.

It far outstrips the ASX 200’s 6% loss over the same period.

The company’s current market capitalisation is around $8 billion.

The post Why is the Whitehaven share price lagging behind the ASX 200 on Tuesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Whitehaven share price lagging the ASX 200 on Monday?
• Here’s why ASX 200 energy shares are diving lower today
• Why Karoon Energy, Pilbara Minerals, PointsBet, and Whitehaven Coal are rising
• How are ASX 200 energy stocks performing on Tuesday?
• Whitehaven share price surges to yet another all-time high, here’s why

Motley Fool contributor Matthew Farley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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As the old saying goes, the stock market climbs a wall of worry.

Overnight, the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) extended last week’s rally, bringing up its biggest four-day gain since June. The Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) share price gained almost 4% on positive pre-order data for the new iPhone 14. Not bad for a company already valued at US$2.63 trillion.

Here in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has also had a nice little run, re-taking the 7,000 level in early Tuesday trading, also on track for its fourth day of gains in a row. 

Mining stocks like Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) have been notable gainers as lithium stocks show no signs of losing their popularity, while busted tech stocks Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) and Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) have caught a bid too.

Yet, investor wariness remains, according to a new survey from Deutsche Bank.  

As reported on MarketWatch, when asked what the S&P 500’s next move would be, 74% of respondents said 3,300 – a roughly 18% drop from Friday’s close of 4,067.

In addition, fewer than 10% of those surveyed believe the stock market has bottomed, with 33% saying the market will hit its lows for this cycle before the end of 2022.

What does all this tell us?

1. Four up days for the market neither signifies the start of a new bull market, nor is it in any way meaningful over the only investing term that matters – at least five years, and ideally decades.
2. Investors extrapolate the recent past into the future, both on the downside, and the upside. 

We’ve recently been through an almighty bubble in a number of asset classes, including buy now, pay later stocks, unprofitable tech stocks, NFTs and crypto. In hindsight, it’s now obvious. At the time, it’s easy to assume the party never ends. 

Now, having lived through a brutal stock market correction, caused by an inflation shock and rapidly rising interest rates, we assume there’s more pain ahead.

Today, traders are on tenterhooks awaiting the latest US inflation print, released at 10:30pm AEST tonight.

Expectations are for US inflation to have come down from the 8.5% print in July, with economists predicting the August reading to be 8%.

At this stage, it’s a guessing game, both as to what the inflation number might be and how the stock market might react.

Scenario #1: Lower inflation than expected, and the market rips higher because the Federal Reserve won’t have to raise interest rates as rapidly as it has in the recent past.

Scenario #2: Higher inflation than expected, and US markets fall out of bed, with the ASX 200 to follow suit tomorrow morning.

Scenario #3: After an initial rise or fall based on the August inflation numbers, the market settles back down and focuses on the likely medium-term economic outcome, that being a mild US recession.

What should investors do now?

Keep buying stocks. Keep regularly putting money to work, ideally each month, like clockwork. Invest more money into your favourite holdings, and/or into a broad-based ETF, like my favourite, the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS). 

Aussie fund manager reports are trickling out for August, with most saying the recent reporting season was generally better than many had anticipated.

The team at 1851 Emerging Companies Fund said last month it conducted over 200 meetings with listed companies, where many cited no evidence of a slowdown within their respective businesses. 

The Eley Griffiths Group Emerging Companies Fund said management outlook statements suggested that the consumer is still spending with no sign of slowdown yet.

Amid all the angst caused by rising interest rates and the ASX 200 index having fallen 8% from its recent peak, it’s worth remembering that at 3.5%, the Australian unemployment rate is at its lowest in almost 50 years. It’s hardly the stuff of recession.

That said, labour shortages have the effect of pushing up wages, which in turn further fuels inflation, which means the RBA will have to keep hiking interest rates. And if we’ve learnt anything in the past 12 months, it’s that the market, and particularly highly-rated growth stocks, hates even higher interest rates.

Throw all the above into a blender and you get uncertainty, in the short term. It’s why investor wariness remains. 

In the words of investing legend Warren Buffett, “you pay a very high price in the stock market for a cheery consensus. Uncertainty actually is the friend of the buyer of long-term values.”

Befriend the stock market and its volatility. Keep buying. Keep holding, for the long-term, the only term that matters for investors.

The post With most investors thinking the next big move in the stock market is down, Warren Buffett says times like these are your friend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX lithium stocks are ‘the buy now, pay later of 2022’: expert
• Here’s the lithium price forecast through to 2024
• Lithium spin-off? UBS tips 80% upside for Mineral Resources share price
• Why Apple stock popped on Monday
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday

Motley Fool contributor Bruce Jackson has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple, Life360, Inc., MEGAPORT FPO, and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple, MEGAPORT FPO, and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. 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 Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price is on form again on Tuesday.

Earlier today, the lithium miner’s shares were up 3% to a new record high of $16.02.

This means the Allkem share price is now up 42% in 2022.

Why is the Allkem share price rising again?

The catalyst for the rise in the Allkem share price today appears to be a bullish broker note out of Bell Potter.

According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target on the company’s shares to $20.04.

Based on where its shares trade at today, this implies potential upside of 25% for investors over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Bell Potter has lifted its lithium price estimates for the coming years, as covered here.

This has ultimately underpinned a 20% increase in the broker’s earnings estimates for Allkem in both FY 2023 and FY 2024. It is now expecting a net profit after tax of US$904 million in FY 2023 and then US$1.1 billion in FY 2024.

Bell Potter commented:

We have updated our EV-led lithium demand model with no change to our bullish outlook; LCE demand to grow from around 0.5Mtpa in 2021 to over 1.1Mtpa in 2025 and around 3.0Mtpa in 2030. Supply analysis shows that over the next five years, Australian hard rock projects will at best meet only one third of this demand growth. We expect alternative sources of supply to remain relatively constrained and high-risk.

We expect AKE’s cash generation to lift substantially into 2023 with ongoing strength in lithium demand, commodity prices and production growth. AKE is aiming to maintain 10% share of supply in a global lithium market experiencing unprecedented growth; it has a portfolio of growth projects, balance sheet strength and cash flow from existing projects to achieve this. AKE’s portfolio is also diversified across lithium commodity, mode of production, asset location and end-user country.

The post Top broker tips 25% upside for Allkem share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX lithium stocks are ‘the buy now, pay later of 2022’: expert
• Here’s the lithium price forecast through to 2024
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• 2 ASX lithium shares leaping more than 9% on Monday
• Brokers name 3 ASX lithium shares to buy

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Allkem Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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The Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) share price has exited its short-lived trading halt on news ongoing takeover talks have hit a major hurdle.

The company rejected an alternative proposal put forward by its suitor, a consortium led by KKR, last month. Ramsay said it refused to engage with the “meaningfully inferior” offer but left the door open for KKR to post an improved bid.

The consortium dashed such hopes last night. However, it said it would work quickly to discuss acceptable terms if the company was to reset its valuation expectations.

In today’s release, the Ramsay said:

As stated [late last month], the Ramsay board considered the alternative proposal and determined not to engage further with the consortium … on these terms.

The Ramsay share price is $62.58 right now, 10.86% lower than its previous close.

The tumble also leaves the stock 29% lower than KKR’s original $88 per share bid.

Let’s take a closer look at the latest from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) private healthcare provider.

Ramsay share price falls as bidder refuses to budge

The Ramsay share price is deep in the red on Tuesday. It follows news the KKR-led consortium has refused to improve the terms of its recently revised takeover bid.

The consortium was granted due diligence after it posted an $88 per share all-cash bid for Ramsay in April.

However, that offer was withdrawn last month due to difficulties completing due diligence on the company’s subsidiary Ramsay Generale De Santé SA (EPA: GDS).

It was replaced with a proposal that would see the consortium paying $88 per share cash for an investor’s first 5,000 securities and $78.20 and 0.22 Ramsay Santé shares for each share thereafter.

The Ramsay board refused the revised bid – said to value Ramsay’s shares at $84.93 apiece – instead leaving the door open for a better offer.

But hopes of a higher bid came crashing down in an announcement to the ASX this morning.

Ramsay said the consortium penned a disappointing letter to its board on Monday evening ruling out the possibility of an improved proposal. The company’s release continued:

[T]he consortium recognises that further engagement and access to further due diligence may provide some positive visibility, the information provided in the FY22 results implies that there is meaningful downward pressure on the valuation proposed under the alternative proposal.

[S]hould the Ramsay board be willing to reset valuation expectations and consider a new proposal, the consortium would move quickly to discuss mutually acceptable terms.

The company’s board hasn’t yet considered the latest communication from the consortium. It noted there’s no certainty of any additional proposals or that any bid will result in a transaction.

Today’s tumble sees the Ramsay share price 13% lower than it was at the start of 2022. For comparison, the ASX 200 has dumped 8% so far this year.

The post Ramsay share price tumbles 11% as suitor refuses to improve takeover offer appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• No deal? Here’s why the Ramsay share price is on ice
• Why A2 Milk, Life360, Nine, and Ramsay shares are dropping
• 3 ASX 300 healthcare share winners on Wednesday
• 2 healthcare ASX shares ready to go off like a cracker: experts
• These ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend on Monday

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ramsay Health Care Limited. 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 Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) share price has come out of a trading halt today.

This comes after the clinical stage immuno-oncology company provided an update in regards to its latest capital raise.

At the time of writing, Imugene shares are down 4.44% to 21.5 cents apiece.

In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 0.59% following strong gains on Wall Street overnight.

Imugene hails successful placement

In a statement to the ASX, Imugene advised it has successfully completed its $80 million institutional placement.

The company received firm commitments from two leading institutional investors with significant healthcare and biotechnology expertise.

The placement will see a total of 400 million new ordinary shares issued at a price of 20 cents each. This represents an 11.1% discount on the last closing price on 9 September and a 12% discount on the 5-day volume-weighted average price.

In addition, for every two new shares subscribed, Imugene intends to issue one free attaching new option.

A total of 200 million new options will be offered to placement participants with an exercise price of 33 cents per option. This will expire on 31 March 2026 and can be exercisable at any time up to and including the expiry date.

The funds acquired from the placement will boost the company’s pro-forma cash position of around $175 million. This will be used to progress the multiple clinical trials that are aimed at treating a variety of cancers.

The shares are expected to be allotted and issued on 19 September 2022.

Commenting on the institutional placements, Imugene founder and executive chair Paul Hopper said:

This capital raising ensures a long runway for the existing programmes while also providing flexibility to add complementary assets should attractive opportunities present.

The ability to introduce two high calibre institutional investors onto the share register following what has been a volatile period across biotechnology indices speaks to the quality of the company’s unique clinical platforms.

With minimal dilution to existing shareholders of only 6.8%, and with such a definitive statement of investment support for Imugene by two prominent funds, the board believes we have a significant opportunity to maximise value for all Imugene shareholders.

About the Imugene share price

Since this time last year, the Imugene share price has fallen 46%.

These losses have mostly come from the first few months of 2022.

Based on today’s price, Imugene presides a market capitalisation of roughly $1.32 billion with 5.87 billion shares on issue.

The post Imugene share price sinks on $80 million cap raise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Imugene share price on ice today?
• Imugene share price leaps 5% on trial news
• What’s going on with the Imugene share price on Thursday?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Net loss doubles in FY22, so what’s with the Imugene share price today?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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ASX lithium shares have continued their ascent to stardom in 2022, with many names securing double and even triple-digit gains in the past year.

Lithium itself has been equally impressive. Despite a large selloff across broad commodity sectors, lithium has just ticked back to its highest levels on record – up 80% this year to date.

Trends are cyclical, experts say

Despite the recent strengths in lithium carbonate and spodumene pricing, it’s still important to consider that commodity markets move in cycles, based on global patterns of supply and demand.

That point is front of mind when considering the tidy gains some lithium purveyors have locked in this year.

Equity markets also move in cycles, based on similar drivers. Chief to the lengthy upside lithium stocks have enjoyed has been the surging demand for electric vehicles.

Such is the demand that, even in the midst of one of the deepest market drawdowns on record, investors continue to pile in, with some likening it to other frothy market trends of days gone by.

“It’s the buy now, pay later of 2022 — the one that everyone wants a piece of when the market is not that exciting,” Nabtrade’s Gemma Dale said, reported by The Age.

Anyone familiar with buy now, pay later (BNPL) shares will know the hypergrowth (and, arguably, equally as hyper fall from grace) that the sector experienced following its revolutionary debut in Australia.

Nevertheless, lithium stocks continue catching bids in H1 FY23.

This is seen in names such as Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS), Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO), and Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) to name but a few, up 110%, 354% and 72.5% over the past 12 months of trade respectively.

What’s next for lithium?

As for the price of lithium, and where it heads next, all expectations are that it will remain top-heavy for some time to come.

“Data from the Shanghai Metals Markets pointed to a 108% surge in [lithium] carbonate imports in China, as the rebound in economic activity renewed demand for new energy vehicles,” Trading Economics said.

“In the US, demand for electric vehicles is set to increase as the newly passed ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ extends tax breaks for new electric vehicle purchases,” it added.

Meanwhile, an energy crisis in China stemming from “record-setting heat waves” has led numerous lithium producers in the country to suspend their operations for the time being, Trading Economics concluded.

The post ASX lithium stocks are ‘the buy now, pay later of 2022’: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here’s the lithium price forecast through to 2024
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• The Core Lithium share price has soared 150% in 2022, but is the company actually producing?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Top broker tips lithium price to surge 86% over next 2 years

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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

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

What happened

Shares of e-commerce giant Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) jumped 2.39% on Monday, the stock’s fourth straight day of price gains. The big news today:

Amazon is diving deeper into robotics.

So what

Warehouse robotics, to be precise. As the company announced on its AboutAmazon.com blog on Friday, Amazon has just signed a deal to acquire Belgian “mechatronics solutions” company Cloostermans.

Amazon noted on its blog that it has been using Cloostermans technology “to help move and stack heavy pallets and totes or package products together for customer delivery” since 2019 already. Now Amazon is bringing the entire company (and its 200 workers) in-house, integrating it into Amazon’s Global Robotics subdivision.

Now what

Well, not “now” exactly. Amazon did note in its announcement that the deal to acquire Cloostermans “is subject to closing conditions” — presumably including regulatory approval. But Cloostermans itself is on board with the deal, with Frederik Berckmoes-Joos, the CEO of the privately owned company, saying he’s “thrilled to be joining the Amazon family”.

In contrast, Amazon did not say how much it is spending to acquire its new subsidiary — but even that absence of information is instructive. Presumably, if the price of acquiring Cloostermans were “material”, Amazon would have been required by SEC regulations to disclose it — so if they didn’t, it wasn’t.

Conclusion: Amazon just increased its lead over rivals in the field of money-saving warehouse automation technology, and didn’t pay a whole lot to do it. To my mind, that’s a good reason for Amazon stock to be going up today.

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

The post Why Amazon stock popped today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Better buy: Shopify vs. Amazon stock
• Why Amazon stock stumbled today
• If you like Amazon, you’ll love these 3 stocks
• Is Alphabet stock a buy after Q2 earnings?
• Why the Amazon share price slumped on Tuesday

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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

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While the market has been having a turbulent time in 2022, the same cannot be said for ASX lithium shares.

A good number of these shares have delivered mouth-watering returns for their investors since the turn of the year.

This has been driven by booming lithium prices and the growing number of analysts bumping their forecasts higher to reflect the insatiable demand for the white metal.

Where are lithium prices heading?

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have lifted their lithium price forecasts through to 2024.

Though, it is worth noting that the broker does expect lithium prices to peak this year. So, lithium developers such as Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) may not benefit from the high prices that are being commanded today unlike actual producers Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS).

Here are the forecasts:

Spodumene concentrate per tonne

• 2021A US$1,102
• Spot US$6,750
• 2022E US$5,353
• 2023E US$4,735
• 2024E US$1,775
• Long-TermE US$1,300

Lithium carbonate per tonne

• 2021A US$16,155
• Spot US$73,500
• 2022E US$67,920
• 2023E US$55,000
• 2024E US$32,500
• Long-TermE US$25,000

Lithium hydroxide per tonne

• 2021A US$17,221
• Spot US$77,000
• 2022E US$69,605
• 2023E US$57,750
• 2024E US$37,000
• Long-TermE US$29,000

Bell Potter expects these prices to be underpinned by strong demand and slower than expected supply increases. It commented:

Around half of the world’s lithium is supplied by Australia’s hard rock mines. Expansions at existing operations and greenfield mine developments are likely to be the first responding and lowest risk projects in meeting the growth in lithium demand. Our outlook for Australian supply compiles recent company announcements. In the current inflationary and logistically constrained economic environment, we see this collective outlook as aspirational. Over the next five years, growth in Australian supply will at best meet only one third of total growth in lithium demand. New supply will also come from new and expanding brine projects. However, prolonged ramp-up, technical challenges and sovereign risks are likely to constrain these riskier developments

The post Here’s the lithium price forecast through to 2024 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Vulcan Energy share price up 5% on lithium project update
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why Chorus, MA Financial, Tyro, and Vulcan Energy shares are dropping
• Top broker tips lithium price to surge 86% over next 2 years

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Allkem Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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