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ASX 200 travel shares are climbing today after US travel shares rallied overnight.

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) is up 2.53% at the time of writing, while Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) is 2.41% in the green. Meanwhile, the Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is 0.74% higher.

Let’s take a look at what could be impacting ASX travel shares today.

US travel shares rebound

ASX 200 travel shares are following in the footsteps of their US counterparts today. The Delta Air Lines, Inc (NSE: DAL) share price climbed 2.16%, American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ: AAL) surged 5.66% while United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: UAL) jumped 4.5% in the US on Tuesday.

These shares surged after a Florida court struck down the mask mandate on planes. Airlines were quick to respond to the ruling, although it is still subject to a possible appeal from the US government.

Falling oil prices may also have impacted both ASX 200 and US travel shares. Fuel is a major operating cost for airlines. WTI crude oil prices dropped 5.2% overnight and Brent crude oil dropped 5.1%.

However, oil prices are now recovering, with Brent Crude up 1.04% to US$108.37 a barrel while WTI crude oil is 0.92% higher to US$103.50 a barrel.

Closer to home, travel rules have recently been relaxed for overseas arrivals. As of Monday 18 April, international arrivals into Australia are no longer required to undertake a COVID-19 test before their departures. Cruise ships are also now able to arrive in Australia.

An Easter holiday travel boom saw the Gold Coast at its busiest since 2019, the ABC reported.

Gold Coast holiday apartment manager Marion Simon told the publication:

It’s got that vibe again — the restaurants are full, the people are happy, the guests have been absolutely amazing. We are literally 100 per cent full.

New Zealand opened its borders to Australian travellers last week, providing another boost for ASX 200 travel companies.

ASX travel share recap

Flight Centre shares have surged 24% in the past year, while Webjet shares have jumped 15%. In the last year, Qantas shares have also risen 8%.

In comparison, the benchmark  S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has climbed about 8% in a year.

The post Why are ASX 200 travel shares taking off on Wednesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why are Webjet shares still among the most shorted on the ASX
• Qantas share price slides following Easter travel woes
• Here are the 5 best performing ASX travel shares of 2022 so far
• The Webjet share price has dropped 9% in six months. Is now the time to pounce?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares

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 Flight Centre Travel Group Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price has continued to move in circles since the start of 2022.

This follows the company’s relatively quiet period with its last price-sensitive announcement reporting its half year results.

While the online travel agent’s company’s shares have risen 14% year to date, it’s still down from November 2021 levels.

At the time of writing, Webjet shares are up 1.55% to $5.90.

Webjet shares in top 10 open ASX short positions

The negative investor sentiment on the Webjet share price can be attributed to the sluggish recovery of the travel market. This has ultimately attracted a large number of short-sellers to the company’s registry.

Short-selling is a common trading strategy that aims to profit from the fall in the price of a security. The goal is for an investor to borrow shares and sell the shares, and then buy them back at a lower price for a profit.

On 11 April, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) released its short position report revealing the level of short interest within companies.

As such, Webjet remained in the top 10 list with 10.54% of its shares being heavily shorted by investors.

In comparison, the government body had a short interest of 7.87% in Webjet at the start of the calendar year.

Given the large increase in short positions being taken up, it appears investors believe the company’s performance could be underwhelming.

Webjet is scheduled to release its FY22 full year results within the next five weeks.

What do the brokers think?

A couple of brokers have rated the company’s share price with varying price points over the last week.

The team at Citi raised its view on the company’s outlook to “buy” from “neutral” on Webjet shares. It also lifted its 12-month price target by 0.6% to $6.50. This implies a potential upside of 10% for investors.

On the other hand, analysts at Macquarie put out a more bearish tone, slashing its rating by 4.9% to $5.80. It seems the broker considers that the company’s shares are overvalued for the time being. Based on the current Webjet share price, this implies a downside of around 2%.

Webjet share price summary

Over the past 12 months, the Webjet share price has risen by about 14%.

In comparison, the Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price has gained 22% across the same time frame.

Webjet presides a market capitalisation of about $2.24 billion and has approximately 380.51 million shares outstanding.

The post Why are Webjet shares still among the most shorted on the ASX appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 5 best performing ASX travel shares of 2022 so far
• The Webjet share price has dropped 9% in six months. Is now the time to pounce?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• ASX 200 travel shares had a super day. What’s happening?

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 recommended Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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It’s been a rather pleasant day of trading for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a pleasing 0.34% or so at just under 7,600 points. But that sentiment is seemingly not filtering through to the Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL), or Soul Patts, share price.

Soul Patts shares are currently well in the red today, despite the green of the broader market. At the present time, this ASX 200 conglomerate is trading at $28.55 each, a good 0.87% down from the $28.82 price the company closed at yesterday.

Soul Patts share price falls as company trades ex-dividend

So why are Soul Patts shares underperforming the market so convincingly today? Well, the answer is simpler and more pleasant than one might think. Today marks the occasion of Soul Patts’ latest ex-dividend date. Yes, the company has just traded ex-dividend for its upcoming interim shareholder payment.

This means that from today, no new Soul Patts investors are eligible to receive the company’s latest dividend. Because this payment is now effectively lost for new investors, its value has left the Soul Patts share price. That is almost certainly why we are seeing the company’s shares seemingly bucking the markets today.

Any investor who bought into Soul Patts before today’s trading though can look forward to the company’s latest interim dividend, which will be paid out on 13 May. This dividend will be worth 29 cents a share, fully franked.

This represents a healthy 11.5% rise on last year’s interim dividend of 26 cents per share. But this might not come as a surprise to any long-term investor in Soul Patts. This company is famous for its two-decade-long streak of giving investors an annual dividend pay rise. Indeed, Soul Patts has been increasing its annual dividend like clockwork every year since 2000.

At the current Soul Patts share price, this ASX 200 share has a dividend yield of 2.28%.

The post Here’s why the Soul Patts share price is getting whacked today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Keen to bag the Washington H Soul Pattinson dividend? Read this
• 2 defensive ASX dividend shares for long-term income
• Top ASX dividend shares to buy in April 2022
• Why has the Washington H. Soul Pattinson share price leapt 13% in 3 weeks?
• These are 2 of the most diversified ASX 200 shares

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The lights are low on the AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) share price today after news of an outage at the Loy Yang power station.

Following the announcement this morning, shares are down the most of any company in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). In specific terms, the AGL share price is down 6.2% to $8.25 as we head into the afternoon.

Outage creates a headache for more than just shareholders

Prior to the market opening this morning, one of Australia’s largest energy retailers announced that a problem had occurred at the Loy Yang A power station in Victoria. This is a coal-fired power station responsible for supplying around 30% of the south-eastern state’s electricity.

According to the release, one of the generators at Loy Yang has been taken out of service due to an electrical fault. The details surrounding the cause of the fault are currently under investigation by the company.

At this stage, AGL is uncertain of how long the generator may be out of action. However, the utility giant has made the Australian Energy Market Operator aware that it could be until 1 August 2022. Although, a caveat was given that this estimate is subject to change as the situation develops.

While the immediate pain is being felt by shareholders, with the AGL share price falling today, the fault could create an issue for Victoria’s electricity supply.

Losing the generator means the Loy Yang power station is down a quarter of its typical capacity. With the winter peak period just around the corner, mitigating the shortfall in electricity supply could present its own challenge.

What else could be hurting the AGL share price?

Recently, AGL Energy completed a seven-year-long endeavour to upgrade the systems at Loy Yang A. This undertaking required $60 million to ensure the power station is equipped to see out the rest of its tenure.

In February, the company made its intentions clear that it wants to close Loy Yang A earlier than previously guided. In turn, the coal-powered plant is now slated for shutdown no later than 2045. Yet, that date remains more than 20 years into the future.

Ultimately, today’s electrical fault could have shareholders nervous about the capital needed to keep Loy Yang A operational in future years. As such, market participants are going cold on the AGL share price today.

Lastly, the company stated it will provide an update with any financial impact once more is known.

The post Faults and financials: Why is the AGL share price getting zapped 6% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: Ramsay rockets and Rio Tinto disappoints
• Why is the AGL share price having such a stellar start to the week?
• AGL share price in the green amid ‘virtual battery’ deal
• What was the highest ever AGL Energy share price?
• Rain or sunshine for ASX renewable shares in the March quarter?

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 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Petratherm Ltd (ASX: PTR) share price is storming ahead today on a major discovery.

The ASX miner’s shares are currently swapping hands at 16 cents, a 146% gain. In earlier trade, the company’s shares shot 192% higher to 19 cents. In contrast, the  S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.34% at the time of writing.

Let’s take a look at what this company discovered.

Rare earth discovery

Drilling at Petratherm’s Comet Project led to a “major high value rare earth discovery”.

The project is located on a 1,885km landholding at the Northern Gawler Craton in South Australia.

The company uncovered “significant rare earth element (REE) mineralised clay intersections” from drilling at 44 holes. Petratherm said the REE intercepts in clays can be compared to similar rare earth deposits in China.

Out of these 44 holes, 23 returned Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) of more than 1,000 parts per million (ppm).

Petratherm said a further 111 drill holes contain evidence of elevated REEs. These are now undergoing further analysis.

Commenting on the results, exploration manager Peter Reid said:

The results provide strong evidence that the Northern Gawler Craton of South Australia is fertile for ionic clay hosted rare earth mineralisation.

The company is planning a 10,000-metre rotary air blast (RAB) drilling program in three weeks to test for the extent of mineralisation. Within six months, the company hopes to define the JORC resource.

Co-funding from a South Australian government Accelerated Discovery Initiative grant helped support this project.

Petratherm snapshot

The Petratherm share price has ascended 83% in the past 12 months and is up 263% this year to date.

In contrast, the benchmark ASX index has returned about 8% in the past year.

This ASX miner has a market capitalisation of about $31.8 million.

The post This ASX miner just made a major rare earths discovery, and its share price is surging 146% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Zip share price underperforming today?
• The APA share price just powered to a 52-week high
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• Nearmap share price falters following record quarter

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 Bruce Jackson.

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After posting a small gain yesterday, the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is back in negative territory.

This follows eight consecutive market days in the red from 5 April to 14 April, shedding around 21%.

At the time of writing, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company’s shares are trading at $1.22, down 2.8%.

Below, we look at what could be weighing down the company’s share price.

What’s going on with the Zip share price?

Zip shares have been in the spotlight in recent times as pressure continues to mount on the BNPL market.

Despite the company recording impressive figures across its global operations, investors have focused on its bottom line.

In its half-year results, Zip registered a loss of $153.6 million compared to the $139.8 million in H1 FY21.

The company acknowledged a shift in the external environment, arguably quicker and more severe than first forecasted. In response, management refined its strategy but it is still too early to tell if this will pay off.

Not helping matters is the fall of the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX), which has sunk 17% year to date.

However, today’s delisting of BNPL rival Zebit Inc (ASX: ZBT) could be the reason why investors are offloading Zip shares.

With Zebit falling victim to the overcrowded BNPL market on the ASX, it appears investors may be concerned about Zip.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of Australia signalled two rate hikes this year to slow down the rising price of goods.

What this means is that consumers are less likely to spend on discretionary items when interest rates are picking up.

The cost of debt – such as credit cards and personal loans – will require extra payments, affecting consumer spending habits.

What are the brokers saying?

After reporting its financial scorecard, a couple of brokers rated the company with varying price points.

Analysts at UBS downgraded Zip shares to a sell rating, and cut its 12-month price target by a massive 81% to $1. Based on the broker’s assessment, this implies a downside of around 20%.

Following suit, the team at Ord Minnett also reduced its stance on Zip shares by 33%, but with a price target of $4. Regardless of the diminished outlook, this implies a potential upside of 220% from where it trades today.

About the Zip share price

Over the past 12 months, the Zip share price is down 86%. Year to date Zip shares are down more than 70%.

It’s worth noting that the company’s shares reached an all-time high of $14.53 in mid-February 2021, before plummeting to multi-year low levels.

Based on the current Zip share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $856.57 million.

The post Why is the Zip share price underperforming today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Is there more bad news in store for BNPL shares like Zip, with Macquarie analysts ‘becoming more cautious’?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Why has the Zip share price sunk to new multi-year lows every day this week?
• Why Bank of Queensland, Iluka, New Hope, and Zip shares are falling 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. owns and has recommended ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The APA Group (ASX: APA) share price has been climbing to reach another 52-week high. It’s currently up 1%.

Over the last month, the APA share price has risen by more than 10%. In the last six months, the business has gone up by 33%.

APA says that it has 15,000 kilometres of natural gas pipelines that connect sources of supply and markets across mainland Australia. It operates and maintains networks connecting 1.4 million Australian homes and businesses to natural gas. The business owns or has interests in, gas storage facilities, gas-fired power stations and renewable energy generation (wind and solar farms).

What has happened recently with APA?

Earlier this week, APA and Cooper Energy Ltd. (ASX: COE) announced that a transition agreement in relation to the Orbost gas processing plant has been extended to 30 June 2022. The two businesses are advancing discussions regarding long-term commercial arrangements.

A couple of months ago, APA said that it achieved “solid” financial results in the first half of FY22, with revenue up 4.3%. Every operating segment contributed to this growth. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 4.5% and free cash flow went up 22.6%.

The first half distribution was increased by 4.2% to 25 cents per security. The FY22 distribution guidance of 53 cents per security has been retained – this will represent a 3.9% increase on FY21.

APA pointed to a positive outlook. It notes that it’s favourably exposed to rising inflation with almost 100% of contracted revenue linked to inflation indices. This could be helpful for the APA share price. It is being widely reported that inflation is rising in Australia.

The post The APA share price just powered to a 52-week high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 ASX 200 shares hopping to new 52-week highs today
• Does APA Group have a dividend reinvestment plan?
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• Why did the APA (ASX:APA) share price just ink a new 52-week high?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 owns and has recommended APA Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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At lunch on Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another decent gain. The benchmark index is currently up 0.35% to 7,591.5 points.

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

Ramsay Health Care shares rocket on takeover offer

The Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) share price is rocketing higher today after the private hospital operator received a takeover approach. A consortium led by KKR has tabled a non-binding $88 cash per share offer to acquire the company. This will be reduced by any dividends paid. Ramsay has granted the consortium with due diligence.

Rio Tinto Q1 update disappoints

The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price is trading lower today after the mining giant’s first quarter update disappointed. Rio Tinto reported production declines across the majority of its operations. Nevertheless, management is confident that things will improve and has reiterated its full year production and cost guidance.

Santos buyback

The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is in the red today after falling oil prices offset the release of a positive announcement. The latter reveals that the energy giant will be buying back up to US$250 million (A$330 million) through an on-market buyback. The company also unveiled its updated capital framework.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 today by some distance has been the Ramsay share price with a gain of 25%. This follows the aforementioned receipt of a takeover offer from the KKR consortium. The worst performer has been the AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) share price with a 6% decline after revealing that it has suffered from a generator fault.

The post ASX 200 midday update: Ramsay rockets and Rio Tinto disappoints appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Ramsay Health Care Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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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.

Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) investors have been hit with big losses over the last six months. While the meme token is still up 45,000,000% since hitting a low in November 2020, it has fallen 70% from its high in October 2021. Despite that setback, Shiba Inu still boasts over a million holders, and many investors are hoping that burn projects and other catalysts can reenergize its price.

While anything is possible, the meme token currently lacks a competitive edge, and burning some of the tokens to make the remaining tokens more valuable is not an indefinite solution or a good investment thesis. For that reason, I think crypto investors should consider other assets.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is a great place to start. Here’s why.

The investment thesis

The bull case for Bitcoin is straightforward: It was the first widely adopted cryptocurrency, and it remains the most popular by a wide margin. In fact, with a market cap of $765 billion, Bitcoin accounts for 41% of the value of all cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Bitcoin is limited to 21 million tokens, and any economics textbook will tell you that scarcity makes an asset valuable. More to the point, when demand for a scarce asset rises, the price of that asset will rise as well.

So how high could Bitcoin’s price go? That depends entirely on demand. But Ark Invest believes Bitcoin will achieve a market cap of $28.5 trillion by 2030. If that happens, each individual Bitcoin would be worth about $1.36 million, implying 33-fold gains from its current price of $41,000.

A $1 million price target

In a detailed report, Ark explains the driving forces behind that $1 million price target. Specifically, by 2030, the firm believes Bitcoin will represent 5% of the balance sheet cash of S&P 500 companies, 2.5% of institutional assets, and 1% of total nation-state reserves. While those specific numbers are subject to guesswork, the underlying trends are already in progress.

A recent study from Fidelity suggests that 71% of institutional investors plan to diversify into crypto in the future, up from 59% last year. Better yet, 37% already own Bitcoin, making it the most popular cryptocurrency among institutions. Similarly, Tesla and MicroStrategy have billions of dollars in Bitcoin on their balance sheets, and a handful of countries have already invested in Bitcoin too.

However, those aren’t the only catalysts at work. By 2030, Ark believes that high-net-worth individuals and other retail traders will invest nearly $10 trillion in Bitcoin, and that more emerging markets will adopt Bitcoin as a currency, allowing it to take market share in global settlement and remittance volumes. Again, a lot of guesswork goes into the specific figures, but the underlying trends are already in progress.

A growing number of fintech companies offer digital wallets with support for Bitcoin trading, including PayPal, Block, and MercadoLibre. Additionally, several crypto exchanges offer debit cards that allow investors to spend cryptocurrency in stores and online. The Visa-backed Coinbase card is a great example. Collectively, those tools make it easy for people to invest in (and fund purchases with) Bitcoin. In turn, Bitcoin settlement volume totalled $13.1 trillion in 2021, surpassing the $10.9 trillion in payment volume powered by Visa, the world’s largest payments network.

The big picture

There is always some level of risk when investing money in any asset, and that’s especially true with cryptocurrencies. The crypto market has been very volatile since its inception, and it has fallen by more than 50% on several occasions in the last few years.

However, Bitcoin is probably the safest cryptocurrency out there. Its first-mover’s status and tremendous popularity give it an edge over other digital assets. And Ark Invest has laid out a compelling case for why demand will rise in the future. From that perspective, Bitcoin looks like a smart long-term investment for any risk-tolerant investor.

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

The post Missed out on Shiba Inu? This crypto could hit $1 million by 2030 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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Trevor Jennewine owns Block, Inc., MercadoLibre, PayPal Holdings, Tesla, and Visa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Bitcoin, Block, Inc., Coinbase Global, Inc., MercadoLibre, PayPal Holdings, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended MicroStrategy. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price is slipping after revealing record results in the third quarter.

In the early hours of trading, shares in the aerial imagery technology company are down 0.72% to $1.38. As a result, the Nearmap share price is now 29% above its 52-week low of $1.065.

North America provides strong growth

Today’s announcement is giving shareholders of the mapping company something to rave about. According to the release, the third quarter of FY22 has proven to be lucrative for Nearmap — specifically, the North America government sector.

In dollar terms, Nearmap generated US$2 million in incremental annual contract value (ACV) from the North America government sector. This was spread across customers located in 31 US states and two provinces in Canada, indicating a widespread base.

Furthermore, the ASX-listed company informed shareholders that its technology is now being used in 42 of the 50 US states where it is offered. However, the Nearmap share price has failed to gain traction today amid the news.

Importantly, the record quarter builds upon previous milestones in the North America region. In December 2021, Nearmap announced that its ACV in the US had hurtled past US$50 million. This marked the eclipse of Australian and New Zealand ACV for the first time.

Management commentary

Accompanying the update were comments from managing director and CEO Dr Rob Newman:

Nearmap is attracting new business in North America at a record pace. With momentum already strong across our core verticals, the ability to exceed our target for the government sector in Q3 FY22 by adding more than $2 million in incremental annual contract value shows the underlying strength of our business and proposition.

Positively, the company has also reaffirmed its expectation for ACV to be towards the upper bound of $150 million to $160 million by the end of FY22. This would be in comparison to Nearmap’s $128.2 million in ACV at the end of FY21.

Nearmap share price snapshot

Firstly, the technology sector as a whole has performed poorly from the outset of 2022. For instance, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is down nearly 20% year to date.

Fortunately, the pain is not as severe for the Nearmap share price. Since the beginning of the year, shares in the company have fallen nearly 10%.

Currently, the aerial imaging business is valued at approximately 5.5 times price-to-sales. ASX-listed Nearmap remains unprofitable on the bottom line.

The post Nearmap share price falters following record quarter appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns and has recommended Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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