Tag: Motley Fool

The Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) share price has defied the market weakness today and is pushing higher.

In afternoon trade, the appliance manufacturer’s shares are up 2% to $18.40.

This compares favourably to the ASX 200 and its 0.75% decline.

Why is the Breville share price rising?

The catalyst for the rise in the Breville share price on Friday has been the release of an update on an acquisition and the company’s guidance for FY 2022.

According to the release, Breville’s acquisition of Italian-based prosumer coffee group LELIT is progressing well. It was expected to complete in early July following an internal reorganisation.

Breville has now confirmed that the reorganisation is going to plan and the transaction is expected to complete on July 1 2022. This means the business will be part of Breville in time for the start of FY 2023.

As for FY 2022, Breville revealed that it expects to release its full-year results on 23 August. And, pleasingly, it has reiterated that its FY 2022 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) should be in line with its previous guidance and the market consensus.

Breville is expecting to report EBIT of ~$156 million for the 12 months. This will be a year on year increase of 14.4% from $136.4 million in FY 2021. Which is all the more impressive when you consider that FY 2021’s EBIT was up 40% on FY 2020’s numbers.

Despite this strong form, the Breville share price is still significantly underperforming the market in 2022. Since the start of the year, the company’s shares are down a disappointing 43%.

Analysts at Macquarie are likely to see this as a buying opportunity. This morning the broker retained its outperform rating with a $23.80 price target.

The post Here’s why the Breville share price is smashing the ASX 200 on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Belt tightening? 5 ASX 200 consumer shares slipping to new 52-week lows today
• The Breville share price has at least 50% upside: top brokers
• Why these 2 ASX 200 shares are undervalued opportunities: WAM
• 2 top growth shares experts are tipping as buys in June
• Potential buys from experts: 2 compelling ASX shares

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Macquarie Group 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 Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price is down 6.9% in late morning trade.

Block shares closed yesterday at $116.29 and are currently trading for $108.30.

Below we look at why the dual-listed global payment provider, which acquired Afterpay in January, again finds itself under pressure.

Why are investors hitting the sell button today?

There’s plenty of interest in Block shares today, with more than 5,400 trades already placed at the time of writing for a total value of some $10.9 million.

Those trades are bidding down the Block share price after the BNPL company’s NYSE listed stock plummeted 9.7% yesterday (overnight Aussie time). This came as the broader US tech sector also took another beating, with the Nasdaq closing the day down 2.8%.

Investors are keeping a close eye on US GDP numbers, with a slowdown in the economy having some analysts tipping that a recession may be nigh.

Investors are also on edge as they await the latest inflation figures (CPI) due out of the United States today (tonight Aussie time). If inflation in the world’s top economy surprises to the upside it will likely mean investors can expect more aggressive interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve.

Atop the much watched Fed, the European Central Bank (ECB) also flagged a series of rate rises ahead. While the ECB held fire yesterday, it indicated rates will rise by 0.25% next month, with more hikes ahead to tame inflation in the eurozone, currently running at 8%.

Higher rates tend to drag on equities, particularly growth shares like Block that are priced with higher future earnings in mind. According to CommSec, Block trades on a price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 105 times.

According to Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab & Co (quoted by Bloomberg), “There’s a bit more chatter, call it whisper numbers, for the CPI being a little north of expectations. You add in a more hawkish stance by the ECB and you have another weaker day.”

Block share price snapshot

Block shares began trading on the ASX on 20 January.

Since then, the Block share price is down 39%. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 5% over that same time.

The post The Block share price is down 7% on Friday. What’s going on? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How are ASX 200 tech shares performing following the RBA rate hike?
• Why is Audinate outperforming other ASX tech shares today?
• Why did ASX 200 tech shares fall today?
• Why is the Block share price tanking 5% on Monday?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. 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 Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price is currently going through one of its roughest patches in years.

Shares of this ASX 200 retail conglomerate last peaked in August of 2021. That was when Wesfarmers hit its current 52-week and all-time high of $67.20 a share. But today, the company is going for just $44.56 at the time of writing, down 0.51% for the day so far.

That puts Wesfarmers shares down a nasty 25.76% year to date in 2022 so far. The company is also down more than 32% from its all-time high that we saw last year, a fall comparable to the drops seen during the COVID-19 crash of 2020.

So now that we’ve established how painful the past few months have been for the Wesfarmers share price, let’s talk about the elephant in the room – are Wesfarmers shares currently a bargain buying opportunity?

Is the Wesfarmers share price a buy today?

Well, at least one broker thinks it is.

As my Fool colleague James covered earlier this week, Morgans is currently bullish on Wesfarmers shares at their current level. Morgans is currently rating Wesfarmers as an “add”, with a 12-month share price target of $58.40. If that came to pass, it would equate to a potential gain of more than 31% off of the current share price.

Morgans noted that Wesfarmers’ recent strategy update provided “insights into the growth opportunities available for each business division and the strategy going forward”.

All in all, the broker concluded the following for Wesfarmers shares right now:

We continue to see WES as a long-term, core portfolio holding with a strong mix of businesses, highly regarded management team and a healthy balance sheet.

But Morgans isn’t the only professional investor optimistic over Wesfarmers at the moment. My Fool colleague Tony chatted to Adam Dawes of Shaw and Partners last month.

Dawes noted how Wesfarmers shares have fallen over the past few months and stated that “there’s some definite value there” when it comes to the current Wesfarmers share price. He was also excited over the future prospects of Wesfarmers’ lithium battery business.

So that’s how two professional investors view Wesfarmers at the moment. Both clearly reckon the Wesfarmers share price is heading up, and not down, over the upcoming 21 months. So it will be interesting to see if these predictions play out.

At the current Wesfarmers share price, this ASX 200 conglomerate has a market capitalisation of $50.46 billion, with a dividend yield of 3.82%.

The post How much further could the Wesfarmers share price fall? Here’s what the experts reckon appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Experts name 2 ASX dividend shares for income investors to buy now
• The Wesfarmers share price is trading at 2-year lows. Time to plough in?
• Belt tightening? 5 ASX 200 consumer shares slipping to new 52-week lows today
• ASX retail shares tumble following RBA rate rise
• Why this top broker is tipping the Wesfarmers share price to rise 24%

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 positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers 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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At lunch on Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week with another day in the red. The benchmark index is currently down 0.75% to 6,967.3 points.

Here’s what is happening on the ASX 200 today:

Atlas Arteria takeover update

The Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX) share price is trading largely flat on Friday. This is despite the toll road operator denying potential suitor IFM access to non-public information to support a takeover proposal. It has instead offered the investment company the chance to meet with management. IFM acquired a 15% stake in Atlas Arteria earlier this week.

Xero shares rise despite tech selloff

The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is rising despite weakness in the tech sector. This follows a positive response from analysts to the cloud accounting platform company’s price increases. Goldman Sachs, for example, has retained its buy rating and $118.00 price target. It is “confident Xero will be able to execute on these increases while preserving its existing subscriber base.” The S&P/ASX All Technology Index is down 1.1% at lunch.

Bank shares rebound

After a couple of terrible trading sessions, Australia’s big four banks are rebounding on Friday despite the market weakness. The best performer in the group has been the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price with a 1.5% gain. Investors appear to believe the big four banks have been oversold since the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate on Tuesday. A note today reveals that analysts at Macquarie have have suggested the recent bank selloff is a buying opportunity.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Friday has been the Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) share price with a 3% gain on no news. Going the other way, the Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price is the worst performer with a 7.5% decline amid weakness in the resources sector. The S&P/ASX 200 Resources index is down 2.3% at lunch.

The post ASX 200 midday update: Big four banks rebound, Atlas Arteria’s takeover update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why are ASX 200 bank shares rebounding on Friday?
• Here’s the ANZ dividend forecast through to 2024
• Atlas Arteria share price falls on takeover update
• Could this help boost the Xero share price in 2022?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. 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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Embattled ASX 200 bank shares are getting a much-needed reprieve today. The rebound comes as a top broker said the sell-off is a tactical buying opportunity.

Broker Macquarie believes the banks are likely to deliver positive earnings surprises despite the growing macro headwinds buffeting the sector.

ASX 200 bank shares on the rebound

In welcome news for ASX bank shareholders, all the big four banks are gaining today. The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is currently up 1.23%, and the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) is climbing 1.38%.

Their peers, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), are also up 0.58% and 1.88%, respectively.

Their outperformance stands in contrast to the 0.73% drop in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Earnings surprise on tap

One reason for Macquarie’s upbeat take on ASX banks is their ability to profit from “lazy” money. The broker explained:

While competition for ‘hot’ term deposits (TDs) is intensifying, banks’ ‘lazy’ customers (who are not chasing ‘special rates’ offered by banks) contribute to margin upside. We estimate that ‘lazy’ term deposits are currently one of the more profitable bank segments and should provide [approximately] 4-9bps [basis points] tailwind over the next twelve months.

Profit margin tailwinds

Don’t forget, margins of ASX 200 bank shares are also benefitting from rising interest rates. The upward sloping bond yield curve is another tailwind.

The curve technically allows banks to borrow more cheaply in the near term and lend at higher rates for longer-term loans.

ASX 200 bank shares on a dead-cat bounce?

But to put today’s ASX 200 bank shares rebound in context, they are still nursing heavy losses. The S&P/ASX 200 Banks Index (ASX: XBK) is down around 9% over the past month despite today’s rally.

With the positive note from the analysts at Macquarie, and the fact that the sector is looking very oversold, one might have expected a stronger bounce.

What likely triggered the sell-off was the aggressive interest rate stance taken by our central bankers. They are forecasting more and faster rate hikes, which can put a big dent in the stalling property market.

Dark clouds still hanging over the sector

Banks have started to become more selective on who they lend to, while would-be borrowers have become more wary of taking on debt. This means slowing home loan growth, which is the engine room of growth for our banks.

Further, Bell Potter’s high-profile trader Richard Coppleson believes institutional investors have been dumping ASX 200 bank shares on fears that the lenders will be stuck with a growing book of delinquencies.

Falling property values and a high level of household indebtedness are increasing the risks of bad debts.

The confluence of positive margin drivers and macroeconomic risks will likely make for a volatile period for bank shares over the coming months.

Hang on to your hats, fellow Fools!

The post Why are ASX 200 bank shares rebounding on Friday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: Big four banks rebound, Atlas Arteria’s takeover update
• Here’s the ANZ dividend forecast through to 2024
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• The CBA share price has sunk a brutal 10% so far this week. What gives?
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has positions in Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Macquarie Group Limited, National Australia Bank Limited, and Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Macquarie Group Limited and Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is tumbling lower on Friday.

In morning trade, the iron ore giant’s shares are down over 4% to $20.63.

Will the Fortescue share price rebound?

Unfortunately for shareholders, one leading broker believes this could be the start of greater declines.

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs this morning, its analysts have reiterated their sell rating and cut their price target down to $13.50.

Based on the current Fortescue share price, this implies potential downside of over 34% for investors over the next 12 months.

Why is Goldman bearish?

The main reason for Goldman’s bearish view on the Fortescue share price is its valuation.

It highlights that the company’s shares are trading at a significant premium to rivals BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO).

For example, the broker estimates that Fortescue’s shares are trading at 1.71x forward net asset value (NAV). Whereas BHP is trading at 1.1x and Rio Tinto is trading at 0.9x.

It’s a similar story for its EV/EBITDA multiple. Goldman estimates that the Fortescue share price currently trades at 6.7x forward EV/EBITDA, whereas BHP is 4.5x and Rio Tinto is 3.9x.

Anything else?

Outside its valuation, the broker has concerns over the “widening of low grade 58% Fe product realisations over the medium to long term due to high coking coal prices and high steel mill margins.”

It also sees “execution and ramp-up risks on the Iron Bridge project and “uncertainties around Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) diversification and Pilbara decarbonisation.”

All in all, the broker believes investors would be better off buying BHP and Rio Tinto shares instead of Fortescue. It has buy ratings on both with price targets of $50.80 and $131.00, respectively.

The post Fortescue share price sinks: Broker warns that it could fall a further 34% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here’s why the Fortescue share price is 8% higher so far in June
• Is now the time to load up on Fortescue shares?
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Why Altium, Fortescue, PeopleIn, and REA shares are storming higher
• Why are the ASX 200 iron ore giants outperforming on Friday?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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One of the ASX’s most renowned COVID-19 victims might be getting ready to launch back onto the market, flagging an upcoming initial public offering (IPO).

Virgin Australia deserted shareholders after it fell into the hands of administrators in 2020. It was ultimately snapped up by Bain Capital. Now, CEO Jayne Hrdlicka has told The Australian the airline has scrambled out of its despair to perform “at least as well” as Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)’s domestic business in 2022.

Let’s take a closer look at the latest insight into the previously battered Australian airline.

Virgin Australia hints at upcoming ASX IPO

Wounded former Virgin shareholders could have another chance with the airline in the near future. Its CEO has hinted Virgin could undergo an IPO as soon as 2023.

Speaking on the potential of an upcoming IPO and ASX float, the airline’s boss told The Australian:

It’s not outside the realm of possibility.

It’s a lot faster than we thought it would be and we are flattered that this soon after becoming a new company and starting from scratch we’re in a position where we’re having these conversations, because it’s extraordinary.

Virgin Australia returned from administration in November 2020 with a 22% share in Australia’s domestic passenger market. In the years since, the airline has worked to regain its strength.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s latest report on airline competition found Virgin held between 31% and 35% of the market between December 2021 and April 2022.

Meanwhile, Qantas and its budget brand Jetstar respectively had 37% and 28% of the market in April.

Virgin also held the largest market share – 36% – on routes between larger cities in that time.

Hrdlicka reportedly believes Virgin’s domestic routes’ profitability is “doing at least as well” as Qantas’ now.

Though, she told the publication the airline still carries $1.8 billion of debt. “The debt portfolio needs reviewing and we need to be able to fund growth,” Hrdlicka said, courtesy of The Australian.

The post Virgin Australia eyes upcoming ASX IPO: ‘Doing at least as well’ as Qantas appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ‘We need your help’: What’s dragging on the Qantas share price today?
• Qantas share price lifts amid ACCC decision
• Could a lack of pricing power drag on Qantas shares in 2022?
• Top broker tips 20% upside for Qantas share price
• What’s happening to the Qantas share price this week?

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 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.

While the recent downturn in the crypto market has weighed heavily on the fortunes of Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), it still has one of the brightest long-term outlooks of any of the smaller cryptos attempting to challenge the two market heavyweights: Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH).

By market capitalization, Solana now ranks number nine among all cryptos and could be one of the few coins capable of surviving a prolonged “crypto winter”.

Solana’s primary claim to fame is that it has developed a leading position in the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, building up a robust ecosystem of investors, developers, artists, and designers committed to its long-term future.

It is now the number two blockchain for buying and selling NFTs, trailing only Ethereum. At the same time, Solana continues to showcase innovative new use cases for the Solana blockchain, ranging from blockchain gaming (GameFi) to decentralized finance (DeFi).

Solana’s leading role in the NFT market

The case for investing in Solana all starts with SOL’s rising prominence in the NFT space, which remains one of the most promising sectors of the crypto world.

At one time, Ethereum stood alone as the dominant player in the NFT world. All of the biggest NFT projects — including Bored Apes and CryptoKitties — were minted on the Ethereum blockchain and Ethereum dominated NFT sales on popular marketplaces like OpenSea.

But something happened in April that seemed to break Ethereum’s stranglehold on the NFT marketplace: OpenSea began listing NFTs minted on the Solana blockchain.

Since OpenSea is one of the largest, most influential, and most popular NFT marketplaces, this opened up the market for Solana NFTs to a wider group of buyers and sellers, who previously relied on smaller, lesser-known marketplaces like Magic Eden to find new Solana NFTs.

Simply put, the decision by OpenSea to list Solana NFTs brought more attention to the Solana blockchain than ever before and also gave Solana an implicit seal of approval.

Near the end of May, Solana hit an important milestone: It finally passed Ethereum in terms of overall NFT sales volume during a single 24-hour period with the launch of the highly anticipated Trippin’ Ape Tribe NFT collection.

Ethereum still does nearly 10 times the daily NFT sales volume of Solana on an average day, but it’s possible to envision the wide-open potential of Solana if it continues to dedicate resources to its rapidly expanding NFT ecosystem. It just needs more Trippin’ Apes to compete with Ethereum’s Bored Apes.

What’s new under the sun for Solana?

Solana is hardly a one-trick pony. Solana developers are constantly coming up with new, innovative use cases for NFTs.

One great example is STEPN, a lifestyle game/app built on the Solana blockchain that popularized the whole “move-to-earn” craze. Basically, you earn crypto by going for walks or runs each day. In order to do this, however, you have to buy a “sneaker NFT” on the Solana blockchain.

This really expands the idea of what an NFT can be: You can get paid to get into shape, all by investing in a pair of digital running shoes. Mind blown. As long as Solana developers keep coming up with ideas like this, SOL is a very interesting long-term crypto play.

Add in the fact that Solana is committing serious money to new projects, and the case for investing in Solana becomes even stronger. For example, Solana announced in June that it was committing $100 million to invest in South Korean metaverse, gaming, NFT and DeFi projects.

Sunny skies ahead for Solana

Solana first launched to the public back in 2020. Within months, it was already being touted as a potential Ethereum-killer, not just by Crypto Twitter, but also by the likes of CNBC and Bloomberg.

Since Solana offered much faster processing speeds, as well as much lower transaction fees, than Ethereum, analysts predicted that users and developers would eventually abandon Ethereum and move over to Solana. If this migration happened fast enough, then Ethereum would largely become irrelevant as all the most exciting and innovative blockchain projects would be built on top of the Solana blockchain.

Solana has largely lived up to the hype surrounding it, with a few brief network outages in recent months the only real blemish on its record.

While Solana may not have yet displaced Ethereum as the top blockchain for NFTs, it has established a solid foundation for a promising future involving NFTs, gaming apps, and other decentralized applications running on its super-fast, super-inexpensive blockchain.

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

The post What crypto winter? It’s always sunny with Solana appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Is Bitcoin still worth buying to diversify your ASX share portfolio?
• ‘No crazy bug’: Here’s the latest on the Ethereum merge
• How has the ASX-listed Betashares CRYP ETF been performing?
• ‘Wherever there’s smoke there’s probably crypto,’ warns Dogecoin founder
• Why are Bitcoin miners selling their holdings?

Fool contributor Dominic Basulto owns Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin, Ethereum, 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 AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL) share price is falling today along with the broader ASX market.

At the time of writing, the Australian energy giant’s shares are down 1.48% to $8.63.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is shedding 0.95% to 6,953.3 points following heavy losses on Wall Street overnight.

What did AGL announce?

Investors are reacting to the company’s latest update, sending the AGL share price in the red.

According to its release, AGL advised that it has completed a technical review of its Loy Yang A Unit 2.

During mid-April, the Loy Yang A Unit 2 went offline following an electrical fault with the generator.

The team ran a number of tests and found that the generator rotor had failed.

Since then, a number of engineers and suppliers have worked with AGL to initiate a plan on conducting repairs.

Previously, management had expected that the unit would return to service at the beginning of August.

However, the date has now been pushed back until the second half of September. The delayed repairs are due to “global supply chain issues and the availability of specialised materials.”

AGL stated it will provide an update in the new financial year regarding the financial impact following the extended outage.

Furthermore, it does not anticipate FY23 earnings guidance will be issued before the review of the company’s strategic direction. This is assumed to be completed sometime in September.

AGL share price snapshot

Despite falling today, the AGL share price has zipped 40% higher in 2022.

A boom in energy prices is being driven by the Russian war in Ukraine as well as inflationary movements.

Although, when looking at the past 12 months, the company’s shares are down 7%.

Based on today’s price, AGL presides a market capitalisation of approximately $5.96 billion.

The post Why is the AGL share price heading south on Friday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

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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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The Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB) share price is in the green on the final day of trade this week.

Building on what has already been a monumental month for Bubs, shares in the infant formula company are trading 3.36% higher to 62 cents. Although, the share price reached 64 cents moments after the morning bell. The gain means the Bubs share price is now up by more than 60% over the past month.

In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.75%, taking it below 7,000 points once again.

What’s sending the Bubs share price higher?

As my colleague James covered late last month, a deal with the United States government for 1.25 million tins of baby formula gave the Bubs share price a considerable growth spurt.

Today brings another helping of positive news with the latest development regarding the US deal.

According to the release, the Aussie company has secured supply agreements with two major US retailers. This news has been received well by the market, with the Bubs share price rallying this morning.

In a major expansion for the brand, Bubs will be sold through Kroger Co and Albertsons Companies. As a result, the company’s products will have a presence in more than 4,000 stores across 35 states.

Commenting on the news, Bubs founder and CEO Kristy Carr said:

It is certainly a milestone achievement of which Bubs Family can all be proud. We have been working around the clock to ensure we get these critical supplies of infant formula to retail shelves in the USA. I thank all our team in Australia and the USA, our freight and logistics partners, and the U.S. and Australian Government officials, who have all collaborated to bring this much-needed relief to American families.

Additionally, it is expected that six lines of various formula products will hit shelves from 20 June 2022. For shareholders, this means the Bubs brand will take a prominent position in nearly all of Kroger’s retail banners — visited by around 11 million customers per day.

Furthermore, Albertsons Companies is recognised as one of the largest food and drug retailers in the US. Supplying Albertsons will give Bubs a spot on the shelves of around 2,200 stores. Albertsons’ brands include names such as Safeway, Vons, and Randall’s.

What else?

Importantly, Carr noted the demand from the US was not impacting its ability to fulfil other markets. This includes local Australian orders. This was a point stressed by the CEO upon the announcement of the US deal.

The Bubs share price is well outperforming the benchmark index so far this year, thanks to the US boost. Shares are now up 29% year-to-date, compared to the negative 8.4% netted by the broader market.

The post Bubs share price lifts as the brand readies for debut on 4,000 US shelves appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Why Bubs, IGO, Strike Energy, and Woodside shares are pushing higher
• Bubs share price jumps on first US shipments
• Why Bubs, PolyNovo, Suncorp, and Zip shares are dropping
• Bubs share price tumbles 5% amid broker downgrade

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 BUBS AUST FPO. 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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