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The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is heading south on Tuesday after the company provided an operational update.

At the time of writing, the lithium miner’s shares are travelling 5.19% lower at $2.92 apiece.

Pilgangoora achieves March quarter production guidance

In a statement to the ASX, Pilbara Minerals announced progress at its Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project in Western Australia.

Operations at Pilgangoora led the company to achieve production of 81,431 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of spodumene concentrate in the March quarter. Notably, this is in line with management’s previous guidance of 75,000 to 90,000 dmt.

Pilbara Minerals stated that production had been impacted by the rising instance of community transmission of COVID-19 in WA. In turn, this has led to a reduction in availability of staff and contractors.

While COVID-19 is expected to continue affecting operations through the June quarter, the company remains uncertain regarding production forecasts. This is because if the outbreak gets out of hand, it can cause operational delays, including staff shortages.

Despite the short-term impacts, Pilbara Minerals maintains an annualised FY22 guidance of 340,000 to 380,000 dmt. However, this could be at the lower end of the target range if COVID-19 persists.

Shipments for the March quarter totalled 58,383 dmt compared to the December quarter of 78,679 dmt. The reason for the shortfall was due to a port delay whereby 20,000 dmt had been scheduled for late March. Subsequently, the shipment sailed on 7 April and is on route to its destination.

In addition, the company achieved an average realised sales price of roughly US$2,650/dmt. This is within the previous guidance of US$2,600-3000/dmt, inclusive of a December quarter sale that was shipped in the March quarter.

Pilbara Minerals is targeting its next BMX auction at the end of the month, with 5,000 dmt planned for delivery during June 2022.

Pilbara Minerals share price summary

Over the past 12 months, the Pilbara Minerals share price has surged 153% higher.

However, when glancing at the year to date, its shares are down by 8.5%.

The company’s share price reached an all-time high of $3.89 on 18 January before treading lower.

Pilbara Minerals presides a market capitalisation of roughly $8.78 billion, and has approximately 2.98 billion shares on its books.

The post What’s dragging the Pilbara Minerals share price 5% lower today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• All that glitters isn’t gold: Here are the worst performing ASX mining shares of the quarter
• How did ASX lithium shares perform today?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why A2 Milk, Ionic Rare Earths, Pilbara Minerals, and Tyro shares are dropping
• ASX 200 midday update: IGO increases Western Areas offer, BlueScope makes US acquisition

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 Bruce Jackson.

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Shares in Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) are slipping today and now trade 4% lower at $1.24 apiece.

Investors were quick to unload Core Lithium shares early on Tuesday with prices faltering immediately from the open.

Despite the calamity, the Core Lithium share price is still well aloft the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

What’s up with the Core Lithium share price lately?

Despite today’s backward step the company’s share price still gained 79% in March, especially after announcing a binding agreement with Tesla.

Core Lithium will supply up to 110,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate to Tesla as part of the agreement from its Finniss Lithium Project near Darwin. The contract is set for 4 years.

As lithium carbonate continues to defy odds and scream to new heights in 2022, Core Lithium has been riding the wave into shore.

It also announced recently the planned acquisition of the Shoobridge project by the world’s largest gold miner, Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM).

The project is set to “provide synergies and complementary lithium growth opportunities” according to management at the time.

Core Lithium is the first company to explore the site at Shoobridge, in the hopes of uncovering lithium deposits on the land.

The company’s Finniss Project is set to produce its first lithium concentrate in the last period of 2022, according to prior language from Core Lithium.

Since the new year began, Core Lithium has tracked the metals and mining index in remarkable fashion (seen below), which is something worth thinking about.

In the last 12 months, the Core Lithium share price has soared over 406% and is up another 110% this year to date.

The post Core Lithium share price clips gains today but remains up 110% for the year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Core Lithium share price is in the green on Monday
• These were the best performing ASX lithium stocks in March
• The Core Lithium share price is tumbling again. What’s going on?
• Why is the Core Lithium share price sinking 7% today?
• These are the best ASX lithium stocks so far in 2022

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 Bruce Jackson.

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Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in ASX shares.

It’s one of the biggest ETFs on the ASX. At the end of February 2022, the ETF was around $10 billion in size.

How much diversification does the VAS ETF have?

The business tracks the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO).

That means it should have 300 holdings. This is more than an ETF focused on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), such as BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (ASX: A200). However, there are fewer holdings than an investment like iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV).

Yet, there are two sectors that get most of VAS’s portfolio allocation. At the end of February 2022, 27.7% of the portfolio was invested in financial shares and 25% was invested in materials.

Looking at the other allocations, 9.4% was in healthcare, 7.3% was in real estate, 7.2% was in consumer discretionary, 5.8% was in industrials, 4.9% was in consumer staples, 4% was in communication services, 3.8% was in energy, 3.6% was in IT, and 1.3% was in utilities.

VAS ETF’s biggest holdings

While there are 300 holdings in the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF portfolio, some positions are much larger than others.

There are only approximately 20 positions that had a weighting of more than 1%.

On 28 February 2022, these were the ten biggest positions in the portfolio:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) with a 11% allocation.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) with a 7.4% allocation.

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) with a 5.8% allocation.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) with a 4.4% allocation.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) with a 3.7% allocation.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) with a 3.4% allocation.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) with a 3% allocation.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) with a 2.5% allocation.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) with a 2.2% allocation.

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) with a 2% weighting.

There are five large financial institutions in the top ten holdings of the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF. Resources also feature with a large weighting, particularly with BHP’s significant position.

But at the other end of the portfolio are names like Ardent Leisure Group Ltd (ASX: ALG), Siteminder Ltd (ASX: SDR), Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL), and Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB).

Dividend yield and management fee

Vanguard aims to make its management as low as possible for investors. It has an annual management fee of 0.10%.

According to Vanguard, the VAS ETF has a dividend yield of 4.2%.

The post How diversified is the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF rose 7% in March
• Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (ASX:VAS) plummets! What’s going on?
• Hoping to bag the next Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX:VAS) dividend? Read this
• What kind of dividends does the Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (ASX:VAS) pay?
• VAS is the ASX’s most popular ETF. But where are the tech shares?

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. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited and Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited, Westpac Banking Corporation, and iShares Trust – iShares Core S&P 500 ETF. 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 Australian Foundation Investment Co Ltd (ASX: AFI), or AFIC for short, is one of the oldest companies on the ASX. It was founded way back in 1928 as a listed investment company (LIC) and has been doing pretty much the same thing ever since. That would be investing in a portfolio of (mostly) ASX shares on behalf of its investors.

But given this style of passive investing is today dominated by the index exchange-traded fund (ETF), how does AFIC differ? What is the point of investing in a LIC over a simple market ETF?

Well, unlike an ETF, which is duty-bound to exactly mirror the index it tracks, AFIC has portfolio managers that construct the company’s investment portfolio as they see fit. This means that AFIC can pick and choose winners from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) just like any individual investor. In contrast, an index ETF has to hold all 200 shares of the ASX 200 in the exact same proportions as the index.

This gives AFIC scope to outperform (or underperform) the ASX 200 over time.

How does AFIC’s share portfolio compare to an ASX 200 ETF?

Let’s check out the data to see this in action. So as it currently stands (as of 8 April anyway), the top five holdings of the iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ) and their weightings are as follows:

1. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) with an index weighting of 11.8%
2. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) with a weighting of 8.07%
3. CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) with a weighting of 5.71%
4. National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) with a weighting of 4.72%
5. Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) with a weighting of 3.79%

So let’s compare these to AFIC’s portfolio. Here are AFIC’s current (as of 31 March) top five holdings and their portfolio weightings:

1. Commonwealth Bank of Australia with a portfolio weighting of 9.2%
2. BHP with a weighting of 8%
3. CSL with a weighting of 7%
4. Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) with a weighting of 5%
5. Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) with a weighting of 4.3%

So even with just those five shares, you can tell these two investments have quite a different composition (albeit with some overlap). That probably explains why AFIC shares have returned an average of 13.2% over the past decade (including dividends and franking). The ASX 200 Index has returned an average of 11.7% (also including divided and franking) over the same period.

Thus, an investment in AFIC is not the same as an investment in an ASX 200 ETF like IOZ. In this case, AFIC investors seem to have done better than index investors over the past decade.

At the current AFIC share price, this ASX LIC has a market capitalisation of $10.16 billion, with a dividend yield of 2.92%.

The post How is AFIC different from an ASX 200 ETF? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: Pendal rejects takeover offer, Mineral Resources rises on broker upgrade
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Here are the best and worst performing ASX sectors of the quarter

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns National Australia Bank Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a disappointing decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.5% to 7,449.9 points.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

The A2 Milk share price has continued its slide and is down a further 3% to $4.62. Investors have been selling the embattled infant formula company’s shares in recent sessions after it copped two broker downgrades. Analysts are concerned over lockdowns in China and weakening reseller prices on Chinese ecommerce platforms. The A2 Milk share price hit a multi-year low at one stage today.

G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM)

The G8 Education share price is down 2% to $1.06. This morning the childcare centre operator provided a trading update. It advised that the high volume of omicron cases in all markets materially impacted revenue, occupancy performance, and employment costs in January and February and continued to flow into the early weeks of March.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

The Nearmap share price is down 3.5% to $1.34. This appears to have been driven by weakness in the tech sector and a broker note out of Macquarie. In respect to the latter, its analysts have downgraded the aerial imagery technology company’s shares to a neutral rating with a $1.40 price target. The broker believes Nearmap may be too late to the party to win the North American claims insurance market.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price has continued to slide and is down almost 6% to a new two-year low of $1.32. This follows weakness in the tech sector and the release of Afterpay’s financials prior to its acquisition. The latter revealed that the Afterpay business recorded a loss of $345.5 million for the six months ended 31 December.

The post Why A2 Milk, G8 Education, Nearmap, and Zip shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Zip shares hit new multi-year low. What’s going on?
• The Zip share price is a buy with 180% upside: broker
• These were the worst 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares to hold during the March quarter
• Why A2 Milk, Ionic Rare Earths, Pilbara Minerals, and Tyro shares are dropping
• These are the 10 most shorted 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. owns and has recommended Nearmap Ltd. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk. 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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Financial year 2022 has been rough for Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) so far – its share price slipped 4% on the back of its first half results – but the company’s future CEO is “really excited” for the coming years.

Telstra’s longstanding CEO, Andy Penn, announced his retirement last month. The company’s current chief financial officer, Vicki Brady, is to take over the top job.

Today, Brady spoke at ASX CEO Connect. There, she detailed her outlook for the company’s growth over the coming years.

Let’s take a look at what she’s expecting for the telco over the coming years.

At the time of writing, the Telstra share price is $4.01, 0.5% lower than its previous close.

Though, that’s a better performance than that of the broader market on Tuesday. Right now, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.66% and the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has fallen 0.7%.

Own Telstra shares? Here are the company’s ambitions

Owners of Telstra shares, hold on to your hats. The next few years are set to be big for the ASX 200 telco.

“I do think this next decade, there’s just profound opportunities for Telstra … [and] T25 – top of my list in terms of agenda,” said Brady.

She’s set to take the reins in September, just months after the company jumps into the growth-focused strategy.

For now, Telstra is focusing on “finishing the job on T22”, said Brady. And it looks set to achieve 80% of the strategy’s scorecard metrics.

Over the last 3 years, the company has “radically simplified” its business.

It has ditched numerous fees, signed 4 million customers to its loyalty program, and monetised $2 billion of assets to strengthen its balance sheet.

And, after a challenging period, the future is looking bright.

For the first half of this financial year, the telco reported a 14.8% drop in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), coming to $3.5 billion, and a 4.4% fall in revenue, which reached $10.5 billion.

However, its underlying earnings demonstrate “clear financial momentum”, said the CFO. She continued:

In the half, we saw our underlying business continue to grow. We saw the benefits of our T22 strategy flowing through for our customers for customers and our shareholders. And we announced the transition to T25 – our new strategy for growth.

We achieved these results because we stayed disciplined and focused on achieving what we said we would. Our T22 Strategy has been a clear success.

We are now a vastly different company, and we are determined to finish the job …

We have confidence this momentum will continue, driven by product growth, delivery of productivity and diversifying our growth, including in infrastructure, health, energy, and through the Digicel acquisition.

Such growth would undoubtedly be good for the Telstra share price.

The company has ambitions (but hasn’t solidified them into guidance) to report between $7.5 billion and $8 billion of EBITDA for financial year 2023.

It’s also aiming to report a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the mid-single digits for underlying EBITDA and a CAGR in the high-teens for its earnings per share (EPS).

That will hopefully see it boosting its fully franked dividends over the coming year.

The post ‘Our hard work is paying off’: Here’s why the future Telstra CEO is excited about the ASX share’s ambitions appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Analysts name 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy now
• Is the Telstra share price a buy for dividends and growth?
• Here’s how the Telstra share price performed last quarter
• Could April be a good month for the Telstra share price?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday

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 owns and has recommended Telstra Corporation 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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As an ASX dividend share, APA Group (ASX: APA) has some fine credentials under its belt. Firstly, this gas pipeline operator was one of the relatively few dividend shares not to give its investors a pay cut during the pandemic. Yes, APA increased its 2020 dividend from 2019 levels, and then increased it again in 2021. Many ASX blue-chip shares, including all of the big four banks, can’t say the same.

Indeed, the company’s latest dividend, its interim payment doled out last month, came in at 25 cents per share. That was another increase on the previous interim dividend of 24 cents per share.

But not just that, APA has now built up a 10-year streak of consecutive annual dividend increases. That’s actually a rather rare feat on the ASX. Only a handful of other ASX shares, such as Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL), can beat it.

So with APA’s dividend credentials established, many investors might wonder if they can take advantage of this history and participate in a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) with their APA shares.

A DRIP is an offering made by some companies to their investors. It allows said investors to receive additional shares in the company instead of receiving their dividends in cash. The company buys additional shares on the behalf of the investor at an amount equal to what they would have received in cash. This is usually done with no brokerage costs and allows investors to roll dividends back into new shares to potentially enhance the effects of compounding.

Does the APA dividend offer a reinvestment plan?

Many ASX shares, especially blue-chip shares, offer DRIPs to their investors. Some even offer a discount to those investors who want to use the DRIP.

So let’s take a look and see if APA is one of those companies.

Unfortunately for DRIP fans, APA does not currently operate a dividend reinvestment plan for its investors. The company has done so in the past but ceased its DRIP in mid-2013.

This means that APA investors today have no option other than receiving their dividends in cash. Perhaps APA will resume its DRIP sometime in the future. But for now, it’s cash that is king when it comes to APA’s dividends.

At the latest APA share price, this ASX 200 blue chip has a dividend yield of 4.12%.

The post Does APA Group have a dividend reinvestment plan? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s what happened to the APA share price in March
• 2 defensive ASX dividend shares offering reliable income
• Why did the APA (ASX:APA) share price just ink a new 52-week high?
• The APA (ASX:APA) share price is up $1 in 7 years. Have the dividends been worth it?
• Are analyst upgrades on the way for APA (ASX:APA) 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 APA Group and 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 Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: PAR) share price is rocketing today, up 21.55% in early afternoon trading.

Paradigm shares closed yesterday at $1.16 and are currently trading for $1.41. However, they climbed as high as $1.60 earlier in the day — a 38% gain on yesterday’s close.

The drug development company is focused on developing and commercialising Pentosan Polysulfate Sodium (PPS) to treat pain associated with a range of musculoskeletal disorders.

Below we look at this morning’s announcement that’s seeing the Paradigm share price surge.

What clinical trial news was announced?

Paradigm’s share price is rocketing after the company reported that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track Designation for its phase 3 program testing the efficacy of PPS, trademarked Zilosul, to treat osteoarthritis (OA).

OA affects some 16% of the population in the developed world, with more than 72 million people in the US, EU, Canada, and Australia suffering from the affliction.

Paradigm said the FDA’s Fast Track program would help expedite its phase 3 program, providing the company with greater opportunities to interact and collaborate with the FDA.

It added that the Fast Track designation indicates the FDA acknowledges that preliminary data indicates Zilosul has the potential to address the unmet medical needs of people suffering from OA.

Commenting on the FDA’s decision, Paradigm’s interim CEO Donna Skerrett said:

This is welcome news from the US FDA as the company continues to gain momentum in site activation and participant screening across the 56 selected sites in the US. Given the need to improve therapeutic options for patients suffering from pain and loss of functionality associated with OA, we are excited to have this Fast Track Designation granted for Zilosul and the regulatory support it provides in expediting the phase 3 development program to advance this promising treatment to patients sooner.

Paradigm share price snapshot

Despite the big intraday boost today, the Paradigm share price remains down 27% so far this year. That compares to a year-to-date loss of 3% posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

The post The Paradigm share price is rocketing 22% today. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Iress, Krakatoa Resources, Paradigm, and SE Advanced Materials are pushing higher

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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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 

Cryptocurrencies had a rough start to the week, continuing a decline over the last few weeks. All major cryptocurrencies are down double digits over the last month and today has made the losses even worse. 

As of 2:15 p.m. ET, Polkadot (CRYPTO: DOT) had fallen as much as 12.2% in the last 24 hours, Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) had lost up to 11.7% of its value, and Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) had dropped 11.6%. 

So what 

The general fear in the market is that inflation data will show another increase in prices when the consumer price index is released tomorrow. Cryptocurrencies were supposed to be a hedge against inflation, but that thesis hasn’t played out as expected over the last six months and as inflation has gone up cryptocurrencies have fallen, just like highly volatile growth stocks. 

Speaking of growth stocks, investors are selling shares of tech and growth stocks today as well, which is often correlated to a move in cryptocurrencies. That’s holding today and it looks like a classic “risk-off” trade as investors worry about the likelihood of increased interest rates on the horizon. 

The other elephant in the room is U.S. taxes being due later this week. Investors who made a lot of money in cryptocurrencies in 2021 may have been hit by a surprise bill, causing a liquidation of cryptocurrency positions in order to pay it. 

Now what 

While there are some small explanations for today’s move in cryptocurrencies it’s important to keep in mind that this is still a volatile space. Investors should be focused on the long term and what’s being built on the blockchain and how that may impact cryptocurrency values, not the daily price movements of crypto. 

This also looks like a broad market move to sell riskier assets in favor of assets that are deemed safer. That’s not unusual in an environment where interest rates are rising, but it can be jarring nonetheless. Just remember that the market has been expecting rising rates in 2022 for months and unless there are big surprises a lot of the rate changes should be priced into the market. 

I actually think days like this are a good buying opportunity for long-term investors. The building the developers and blockchain organizations are doing doesn’t stop when the market is down and there are billions of dollars flowing into these projects right now. 

Long-term, Solana, Polkadot, and Cardano are all built to bring utility to the blockchain, disrupting the way we think about digital assets. That should be a good position to be in, even if the ride is volatile along the way. 

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

The post Why Polkadot, Cardano, and Solana all dropped today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Solana makes another leap
• How these top cryptos stacked up against Bitcoin and Ethereum in March
• Why Solana, Polkadot, and Cardano are down big today
• Why Solana jumped again today
• Why Solana Stock jumped 10% today

Travis Hoium owns Solana. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Solana. 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.

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

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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price hit a fresh multi-year low during early morning trade.

From reaching an all-time high of $14.53 in February 2021, its shares bottomed out to a low of $1.34 today. This represents a decline of more than 90% in a period of around 14 months.

The buy-now pay-later (BNPL) company’s shares have struggled to gain composure since the start of 2021.

At the time of writing, the Zip share price is swapping hands for $1.35, down 3.57%.

What dragging Zip shares down lately?

Investors have continued to sell off Zip shares following negative sentiment across the tech industry.

A selloff in bonds caused the 10-year treasury yield to hit its highest level since 2018. This is being driven by high inflation, a tightening monetary policy and the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

In the past week, the heavily-tech focused Nasdaq has lost about 7.3% in value. When looking since the beginning of the year, the index is down 15%.

This has had an adverse effect on the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX), down 5.19% in a week, and 20% for 2022.

Inflationary issues have not helped the cause, with the United States experiencing the biggest rise in 40 years.

Australia has been experiencing its own inflation problems, rising 3.5% in the last quarter of 2021 alone. This was being blamed on high levels of building construction activity combined with shortages of materials and labour, as well as record automotive fuel prices.

The Reserve Bank of Australia signalled two rate hikes for 2022 in an effort 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 as well as personal loans will require extra payments, affecting consumer spending habits.

Unfortunately for Zip, this is the heart of its business model, in the BNPL sector.

Zip share price summary

Over the past twelve months, the Zip share price has fallen by more than 80%, with year to date down almost 70%.

Based on the current Zip share price, the company has a market capitalisation of approximately $921.68 million.

The post Zip shares hit new multi-year low. What’s going on? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Zip share price is a buy with 180% upside: broker
• These were the worst 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares to hold during the March quarter
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
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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. 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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