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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?

One of the more popular cryptocurrencies that’s taking the market by storm today is Waves (CRYPTO: WAVES). This cryptocurrency has rocketed 30.3% higher as of 1pm ET, over the past 24 hours. This sort of move, even in the crypto world, raises eyebrows. That’s partly because today’s move is simply a continuation of an impressive trend over the past month, with this token appreciating 325% over this timeframe.

There are a number of reasons for investor enthusiasm in Waves over the past month. Notably, Waves’ founder, Sasha Ivanov, is a native of Ukraine. Accordingly, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfolded approximately one month ago, investors appear to have flocked to this Ukrainian project.

However, today’s move appears to be related to the highly anticipated launch of Waves Labs, as well as the announcement that this project’s team is intending to move its headquarters to Miami.

So what?

Waves has gained a lot of attention of late due to its impressive transformation plan announced in February. Today’s announcement signifies some of the first steps Waves is making in transforming its project into one with a dynamic team, but also a highly decentralized model. Among the key features Waves intends to launch in the coming year are a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) structure, Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) support, and various cross-chain bridges. This team will be busy.

Today’s announcement is a big deal for Waves, as this move to the US includes the formation of an ecosystem fund as well as an “aggressive hiring and marketing plan”. For investors seeking growth in the crypto world, there’s a lot to like about the direction Waves appears to be headed right now.

Now what?

The launch of Waves Labs is a move many investors appear to be viewing favorably, as this project seeks global expansion. The cryptocurrency space is highly competitive, with thousands of projects vying for market share in a sector that’s growing at lightning-fast speed. Accordingly, investors are rightly cheering the aggressive expansion plans put forward by Waves Labs, as well as the focus on on-shoring talent to the US.

Given the voracity of the move Waves has seen of late, investors betting on a continued momentum-fueled rally ought to be considerate of the potential for some mean reversion in the near term. That said, there’s a reason why this token is moving aggressively higher over the past month. Personally, I think this will be an interesting token to keep on the watch list right now.

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

The post This cryptocurrency just exploded 30% higher, overnight appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Ethereum price outpaces Bitcoin as crypto investors eye ‘The Merge’
• Why this lesser-known crypto left Bitcoin in the dust this week
• Investing in cryptos? Here’s what you need to know come tax time: expert
• Why Ethereum, Solana, and Dogecoin are surging higher today
• Can Ethereum reach $4,000?

Chris MacDonald owns Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Ethereum. 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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March has been a month to forget for Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) shareholders.

As we approach the final day of the month, the Zip share price is down 25% so far in March.

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) services provider kicked off the month at $2.07 per share and, at the time of writing, the Zip share price is currently up 0.65% at $1.55.

That’s another painful month.

But with a new month ahead, could the Zip share price turn over a new leaf in April?

Sezzle acquisition benefits questioned

As you’re likely aware, on 28 February, Zip announced that it had entered into a definitive merger agreement with Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL). Zip reported it will acquire Sezzle for a consideration of 0.98 Zip shares for every Sezzle share.

Sezzle has a substantial footprint in the huge BNPL market in the United States.

The Zip share price has fallen 25% since the merger was reported, while Sezzle shares have dropped 26%.

Which brings us back to the question, can Zip turn around in April?

For some insight into that, we turn to the team at Citi.

Citi analysts currently have a neutral rating on the company. However, Citi’s target for the Zip share price is $2.15.

That’s almost 36% higher than the current price.

Citi recently commented:

While we get the strategic merit in the Sezzle acquisition and see the cost synergies (opex and COGS) [operating expenses and cost of goods sold] as achievable, we do not think the acquisition changes Zip’s competitive position in a meaningful way in the US and also see execution risks (e.g. churn) as part of the integration process.

The more immediate concern is higher than expected bad debt and slowing growth due to adjustments to risk settings and slowing e-commerce. However, with the balance sheet repaired we remain Neutral.

Zip share price snapshot

March wasn’t the only month of hardship for Zip shareholders.

Over the past 12 months, the Zip share price has tumbled 78%. For some context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 11% over the full year.

The post Could the Zip share price turn over a new leaf in April? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) share price is edging higher again on Wednesday morning.

At the time of writing, the shipbuilder’s shares are up 0.5% to $1.91.

This means the Austal share price is now up by almost 8% since this time last week.

Why is the Austal share price rising this week?

The catalyst for the rise in the Austal share price this week appears to be news that Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has been building a position in the shipbuilder.

According to a substantial shareholder notice, Twiggy’s investment vehicle, Tattarang Ventures, has become a major Austal shareholder this week.

The release advises that Tattarang acquired an economic interest in 17,731,049 shares (the equivalent of 4.9% of Austal’s shares on issue) pursuant to a cash-settled equity swap transaction. This was at an average price of $1.905 per share, which equates to a total consideration of approximately $33.8 million.

In addition, through a series of on-market purchases of Austal shares up to Monday 28 March, Tattarang acquired a further 11,495,771 shares for a total consideration of approximately $20.7 million or an average of $1.801 per share.

All in all, this gives Twiggy’s investment vehicle an 8.1% interest in the shipbuilder.

Why is Twiggy buying Austal shares?

With the Austal share price losing over half of its value since peaking around $4.50 in September 2019, Tattarang appears to have seen this as an opportunity to snap up a major interest in a company it described as a “leading example of Australian ingenuity.”

Courtesy of the AFR, Tattarang’s chief investment officer John Hartman said: “Austal is a leading example of Australian ingenuity and Tattarang is pleased to join the Perth-based company’s register as a long-term investor.”

Time will tell if Twiggy has made the right call, but you’d be brave to bet against him.

The post Twiggy has been quietly buying up 8% of this ASX-listed company. Why? 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. owns and has recommended Austal Limited. 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 Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) share price is on the move on Wednesday.

In morning trade, the lithium developer’s shares are up 5% to 99.5 cents.

This means the Piedmont Lithium share price is now up 29% since the start of the year.

Why is the Piedmont Lithium share price charging higher?

Investors have been bidding the Piedmont Lithium share price higher today following the release of a positive announcement out of the lithium developer.

According to the release, the company’s partner, Atlantic Lithium, has announced the completion of a mineral resource estimate update for the Ewoyaa Project in Cape Coast, Ghana.

That update reveals that Atlantic Lithium’s new mineral resource estimate is a total of 30.1 million metric tonnes at 1.26% Li2O. This represents a sizeable 42% increase on its previous estimate.

This is good news for Piedmont Lithium, as it has the right to earn-in a 50% interest in Ewoyaa and all Atlantic Lithium’s Ghanaian projects. This is on top of the 10% equity interest that the company holds in the lithium explorer.

Management commentary

Piedmont Lithium’s chief operating officer, Patrick Brindle, was very pleased with the news. He said:

“We’re very pleased with the reported increase in mineral resources for the Ewoyaa Project, notably the increase in mineral resources in the indicated category.”

The Ewoyaa Project is one of the best located spodumene projects in Africa, and its development is fundamental to our growth strategy as an important source of spodumene concentrate for our LHP-2 Project. We look forward to Atlantic Lithium’s completion of a prefeasibility study for the Ewoyaa Project, which will both increase the level of engineering definition for the Project as well as provide important data needed to advance regulatory approvals for the Project.”

The post Why is the Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL) share price storming higher today? 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 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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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has headed upwards in a hurry this month, and it’s not done yet.

That’s according to DeVere Group chief executive Nigel Green, who cited how on Monday the cryptocurrency hit its highest level since 2 January.

“Bitcoin is up nearly 25% in the last 10 days, smashing through the US$35,000 to US$45,000 band where it has been lodged since January,” he said.

“It’s now edging nearer to the important US$50,000 level.”

As of Tuesday morning Australian time, Bitcoin traded at US$47,257.80 ($62,829.86).

FOMO is driving the latest bull run

According to Green, if Bitcoin can now smash through the psychological US$50,000 barrier, anything can happen as FOMO (fear of missing out) is triggered. 

“Should it… surge through this key price marker, we expect the current bull run would become supercharged as crypto FOMO would kick in – as it typically does when Bitcoin prices shoot up.”

This is because such a resurgence would again remind investors who are not in the game that crypto is the “future of money”.

“As such, prices are set to skyrocket over the long-term – and both institutional and retail investors will not want to miss out on the ‘early advantage’ edge,” Green said.

“Watching others make decent returns during a good rally may make you feel obligated to join in and get in on the gains.”

Even though Green has always been a crypto bull, he said that FOMO alone is not a good enough reason for investors to dive in.

“Even though the desire to get on the bandwagon can be strong, it is typically not a sound way to make investment decisions and is usually ill-advised.”

Professional investors are getting into Bitcoin

Green observed that the mainstream finance industry is finally recognising that digital currencies are inevitably the future.

“This is now becoming clear even to institutional investors — including credit unions, banks, large funds such as mutual or hedge funds, venture capital funds, insurance companies, and pension funds — as well as governments and multinational corporations.”

The “inherent value” of Bitcoin and similar currencies for instant borderless transfer of money simply can’t be ignored, he added.

The war in Ukraine has brought home such use-cases for a “decentralised, permissionless, censorship-resistant and unconfiscatable” way to move funds.

“The fundamentals of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency’s intrinsic characteristics are, indeed, sound,” Green said.

“The world is racing towards a digital revolution and as investors increasingly pay attention to this, the long-term trajectory for Bitcoin, surely, has to be upward.”

The post Bitcoin is up 25% in 10 days. Here’s what it’ll do now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Bitcoin. 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 ASX 200 may be pushing higher, but the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price isn’t going anywhere in early trade.

At the time of writing, the mining giant’s shares are paused.

Why is the Fortescue share price paused?

The Fortescue share price has been paused this morning ahead of the release of an announcement.

A market release explains: “Trading in the securities of the entity will be temporarily paused pending a further announcement.”

What is the announcement?

It remains unclear whether the announcement will simply be a trading halt request ahead of the release of a further announcement tomorrow or will be related to its Fortescue Future Industries business.

In respect to the latter, according to the Financial Times, the business has signed a memorandum of understanding with German energy group E.ON aiming to build enough renewable energy capacity to power a country roughly the size of the UK.

In addition, the company has pledged to produce and export enough green hydrogen to Germany to replace about a third of the country’s gas imports from Russia.

However, this will require a huge investment. Fortescue’s chair, Andrew Forrest, advised that the plan would require a US$50 billion investment.

More to come.

The post Why is the Fortescue share price paused? 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 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 Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price has gone backwards over the past four years.

During January 2022, the insurance giant’s shares reached a multi-year low of $4.17 before moving in circles thereafter. While the company’s shares have ever so slightly recovered, they are still a long way off their pre-COVID levels.

Below, we calculate how much you would have made if you invested $10,000 in IAG shares four years ago.

What was the IAG share price in March 2018?

If you had invested $10,000 in IAG shares on this date in 2018, you would have bought them for $7.45 each. This would have given you around 1,342 shares, without making additional investments along the way.

Fast-forward to today and the current IAG share price is $4.44. This means that those 1,342 shares would be worth $5,958.48. When looking at percentage terms, this implies a loss of around 40%.

If you wanted to recoup the initial investment, IAG would have to climb 67% from here to reach $7.45 again.

What about the dividends?

IAG has made a sum of nine dividend payments including a special dividend from 2018 to 2022.

Adding those nine dividends payments gives us an amount of $1.215 per share. Calculating the number of shares owned against the total dividend payment gives us a figure of $1,630.53.

When putting both the initial investment gains and dividend distribution, an investor would have roughly $7,589.01.

In comparison, investing the same amount in the ASX 200 would have netted you a total figure of $12,960.20.

As you can see, investing in IAG would have still amounted to a loss of almost 25% when factoring in the dividends. While on the other hand, the benchmark index would have put you ahead by close to 30% over the four years.

Placing your money in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) is considered to be a much safer alternative. Investing in companies can reap great rewards but also lead to severe losses if not closely monitored.

It is crucial to assess and rebalance your portfolio each month to avoid negative returns.

The post Have IAG shares been a good investment? Here’s what $10,000 invested 4 years ago looks like now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 owns and has recommended Insurance Australia Group 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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Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) chief executive officer Andy Penn is retiring, with current chief financial officer Vicki Brady taking over on 1 September.

Penn joined the telco in 2012 as chief financial officer, and was promoted to the top job in May 2015. 

He led the company through a tumultuous time of restructuring and staffing cuts, a strategy it labelled “T22”, plus the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Penn himself did not comment, chair Mullen paid tribute to the outgoing chief.

“Delivery of the T22 strategy has seen Telstra return to underlying growth, achieve significant customer experience improvements, reduce costs by over $2.5 billion and reach high performing employee engagement levels with over 17,000 people now working in agile teams across Telstra,” he said.

“There is no doubt the strategy has delivered beyond expectations and has laid the foundations for Telstra’s recently announced T25 strategy and a renewed focus on growth and innovation.”

What’s new Telstra chief Vicki Brady about?

Brady came to Telstra in 2016 and held the positions of consumer group managing director, sales and service group managing director and consumer and small business group executive. She then became CFO in July 2019.

With the CEO role, she lands a fixed annual salary of $2.39 million plus incentive payments that could end up 200% to 300% of that amount.

Mullen credited Penn with developing a strong enough leadership team around him that an internal candidate like Brady could step in as chief.

“She has made a significant contribution to Telstra including her work in developing our new go to market plans as part of the T22 strategy,” he said.

“She has played a key leadership role in the development of Telstra’s T25 strategy and is well placed to lead the company through its next phase.”

Before Telstra, Brady worked for rival Optus, its parent company Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SGX: Z74) and KPMG.

She holds a bachelor of commerce from the Australian National University and a master of science in management from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Brady is a member of Chartered Accountants ANZ and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Telstra shares have lost 6.87% for the year so far, but are up 14.6% over the past 12 months.

The company currently pays out a dividend yield of 2.84%, with 9 of 14 analysts surveyed on CMC Markets rating the stock as a buy.

The stock closed Tuesday at $3.93.

The post What you need to know about the new Telstra CEO appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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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Some ASX growth shares have been sold off significantly since the start of 2022.

With the ongoing growth that some of these businesses are generating, could there be some hidden innovations within these names?

Here are two contenders to consider.

Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC (ASX: DOC)

Since the start of 2022, the Doctor Care Anywhere share price has fallen 56%. It is down around 75% since the middle of April 2021.

Doctor Care Anywhere describes itself as a United Kingdom-based telehealth company that is committed to delivering the best possible patient experience and clinical care through digitally-enabled, evidence-based pathways on its platform. It uses relationships with health insurers, healthcare providers and corporate customers to connect with patients to deliver telehealth services.

The company recently announced its result for the 12 months to 31 December 2021. It said that it beat FY21 revenue guidance. Total revenue grew by 114.7% to £25 million. There was a 105% increase in consultations to a total of 440,000.

In FY22, the ASX share expects revenue to be between £35 million to £38 million. This represents growth of between 40% to 50%.

By the end of the first half of FY23, the company aims to achieve an annualised run-rate profitability of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). It aims for an annualised run rate of revenue of between £45 million to £55 million.

Supporting the above expectations are three key development areas.

The first is continued organic revenue and consultation growth.

The second development is renegotiating key customer contracts, enhancing revenue and margins.

The final development is the launch of the company’s new operating model, enhancing productivity and margins.

Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH)

The Pushpay share price has fallen almost 20% since the start of the year.

This ASX share provides church management and donation tools for churches in the United States.

It processes billions of dollars of donations every year. In the first six months of Pushpay’s 2022 interim result, it announced that it had achieved a total processing volume of US$3.5 billion (which was 9% higher year on year).

The company says that it expects to see continued revenue growth as it executes its growth strategy and gains further market share in the US faith sector.

Despite the impacts of COVID-19 and subsequent reopening, Pushpay has not seen any material change in digital giving, reverting to non-digital means. This indicates to management that its customers in the US faith sector may have undergone “a fundamental technological shift as a result of the current environment.”

The ASX share is expecting further growth in the future. The company says it will enact strategies that will “allow the company to realise its considerable potential over the long term, while maintaining prudent financial discipline.” That involves expanding its existing suite of solutions, providing bundled product offerings to existing customers, growing its products utilised by customers, attracting new customers and expanding into new segments.

Pushpay recently gave an update that its total processing volume for the 11 months to February 2022 was up 10% year on year. It’s using its “strong” operating cash flow to pay down its debt.

The post Is it time to buy these 2 beaten-up ASX shares in April 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC. 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 Australia’s largest supermarket chain, bringing in nearly $32 billion of sales last half, but do Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares pay dividends?

Indeed, it does. In fact, Woolworths is due to pay out its financial year 2022 interim dividend next month.

As of Monday’s close, the Woolworths share price is $36.86.

That gives the company a trailing dividend yield (considering its not-yet-paid an interim dividend and its full year dividend) of 2.55%.

Let’s take a closer look at Woolworths’ payouts and its upcoming interim dividend.

All the details on Woolworths’ upcoming dividend

Woolworths is set to hand investors its 39-cent fully franked interim dividend on 14 April.

Unfortunately, market watchers have missed their chance to buy into the upcoming Woolies dividend.

The company traded ex-dividend earlier this month. That means the interim dividend will be going to whoever held Woolworths shares as of 3 March.

While investors are likely looking forward to the payout now, they might have been disappointed when first hearing of it last month.

That’s because the 39-cent dividend is 26.4% lower than the company’s financial year 2021 interim dividend of 53 cents per share.

Though, eagle eyed market watchers might have seen the writing on the wall prior to the company announcing the smaller payout.

Dividends made to shareholders are normally made up of part of a company’s profits for a given period. Woolworths flagged it was facing financial challenges during the first half of financial year 2022 back in December.

For the first half, the supermarket giant forked out an additional $239 million of costs born from the COVID-19 pandemic.

That, in turn, drove its net profit after tax to $795 million – 6.5% less than it reported for the first half of financial year 2021. In turn, that saw the company drop its dividend.

Its upcoming payout is also the smallest dividend the supermarket has given shareholders since 2017.

Though, many probably still consider Woolworths to be a strong dividend share. It has consistently paid out dividends since 1993.

The post Do Woolworths shares pay dividends? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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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 Bruce Jackson.

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