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Shares in regenerative medicine group Avita Medical Inc (ASX: AVH) are in the red today, down 2.78% to $3.50. This means the Avita share price is now down 22.08% over the past month.

Today’s falling share price comes amid an announcement from Avita Medical that it was forced to adjourn its annual general meeting (AGM) this morning.

The company was unable to conduct any business at the AGM because it did not achieve the required quorum.

The announcement was deemed non-price sensitive, however the contents are important for investors. Here are the details.

Why did Avita adjourn its AGM?

The required quorum for the AGM was a simple majority (i.e. 50%) of Avita’s common stock being represented at the meeting, either in person or via proxies.

In its announcement, Avita said the proxies it had received represented approximately 49% of its shares outstanding, including CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs).

As such, the company adjourned its AGM to Thursday, 23 December at 8am AEDT.

The adjournment gives shareholders additional time to vote on the proposals set forth in Avita’s definitive proxy statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the ASX.

During the adjournment period, Avita will continue to solicit votes from its stakeholders.

Avita Medical investors on the company record as of 26 October are entitled to vote. The voting deadline is now 21 December, which is 2 days before the rescheduled AGM is due to take place. Valid proxies and CDI voting instruction forms that were submitted in time for today’s meeting will still be used at the next meeting unless properly revoked.

If Avita fails to reach a quorum for the second time, it will adjourn the AGM again at an additional cost.

What does Avita do?

Avita Medical uses technology to create advanced treatments for patients with burns and chronic wounds.

Avita’s first US product, the RECELL System, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018. It uses a small amount of a patient’s own skin to create spray-on skin cells. This drastically reduces the need for donor skin and autografts.

Avita Medical share price summary

In the past 12 months, the Avita Medical share price has plunged 23% into the red.

Investors have lost 6% in value over the past 5 trading days.

The post Down 22% in a month: Why is the Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) share price sliding again today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why has the Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) share price just hit a 2-year low?

The author has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Avita Medical Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Avita Medical 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 ASX is home to more exchange-traded funds (ETFs) than you can poke a stick at. Far from the handful of index funds that were available just a few years ago, today there is an ASX ETF for almost everything you can conjure up in your mind’s eye. But ASX ETFs that have returned 30% or more to their investors in 2021 so far? They number far fewer. The VanEck MSCI International Quality ETF (ASX: QUAL) is one.

Yes, in 2021 so far, QUAL units have appreciated by a very healthy 31.2%, rising from $33.46 each at the start of the year to the $43.92 they are commanding at the time of writing. If we include the 38 cents per share dividend distribution that was doled out in July, we can add another percentage point or so to that return.

Considering the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has ‘only’ given investors a gain of 9.9% or so in 2021 so far, this outperformance is hard to ignore. It even bets out the US S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX), which has returned just over 25% in 2021 to date.

So how has the QUAL ETF pulled off a 31% return in 2021?

QUAL ETF knocks out 30%-plus gains in 2021 so far

Well, let’s see how it invests. QUAL can be classed as an ‘active ETF’. That’s because it doesn’t track an entire index. It instead pulls 300 individual companies out of the broad MSCI World ex Australia Index, based on “three key fundamental factors”. Those are, according to VanEck, high return on equity, stable year-on-year earnings growth, and low financial leverage.

At 72.6%, nearly three-quarters of its current portfolio hails from the United States. However, it still has exposure to Switzerland, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada and Europe.

QUAL’s current top 10 holdings are as follows:

1. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
2. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL)
3. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)
4. Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: FB)
5. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL)
6. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
7. UnitedHeath Group Inc (NYSE: UNH)
8. Adobe Inc (NASDAQ: ABDE)
9. ASML Holding NV
10. Visa Inc (NYSE: V)

So as you can see, the big US tech names are dominant in the QUAL ETF. Take Microsoft alone, its shares are up more than 50% in 2021 so far. Apple is up almost 35%, while NVIDIA is up more than 116%. No wonder QUAL units have had such a fantastic year of appreciation.

So what does 2022 hold for QUAL? Well, we don’t yet know of course. But if you own or are interested in this ETF, it’s probably a good idea to keep an eye on its top holdings like Apple, Microsoft and NVIDIA next year. Wherever QUAL’s top holdings go, the ETF will likely follow.

The VanEck MSCI International Quality ETF charges an annual management fee of 0.4%.

The post How has the VanEck MSCI International Quality ETF (ASX:QUAL) returned 30% in 2021? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Down 35% in 2 months: What’s going on with the Rumble Resources (ASX:RTR) share price?
• Why is the Cettire (ASX:CTT) share price sinking 10% today?
• Here’s what’s boosting the Santos (ASX:STO) share price today
• Broker gives its verdict on the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price after 8% decline
• 3 reasons this crypto veteran thinks Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) is positive for the environment

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns Alphabet (A shares), Johnson & Johnson, Meta Platforms, Inc., and Visa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Meta Platforms, Inc., and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adobe Inc., Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Apple, Meta Platforms, Inc., and Nvidia. 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 base and precious metals player Rumble Resources Ltd (ASX: RTR) are stepping lower today and are now trading around 3% in the red at 36.5 cents.

Today’s decline extends a 2-month long downside move for the Rumble share price, having come off a high of 56.5 cents in October to now trade at half-yearly lows. As such, shareholders have endured a 35% loss on their investment in that time.

The trend has continued this week, even after the company provided a set of positive updates on its Earaheedy project.

Investors haven’t responded positively to this company announcement on Monday where Rumble advised it had intersected a new zinc-lead-silver (Zn-Pb-Ag) discovery at the Earaheedy site. Here are the details.

What’s up with the Rumble Resources share price?

Rumble advised that the ongoing scoping drill program at the Earaheedy Project has led to a new Zn-Pb-Ag discovery named “Tonka”. The site is located only 8km southeast of the Chinook Discovery, per the release.

As a result of this discovery, the 2021 drilling program has now been expanded to over 50,000 metres in order to define the limits of the new zone at Tonka.

Rumble says that the mineralised footprint is 1.7km (strike) by 1km (dip length) and is open in all directions. Assay results have already been received and compiled for the first 17 drill holes.

With respect to the drill results, an intercept of 22 metres at 4.27% Zn+Pb, 5.40g/t Ag from 110 metres was reported in one hole, whilst drilling 1200m to the northwest of the main section intersected 16m at 1.38% Zn+Pb, 6.39 g/t Ag from 49 metres.

Further, a large fault system heading from north to south has been interpreted to occur along the southwest portion of Tonka, Rumble says.

Broad and “significant low-grade Zn – Pb mineralisation” was intersected and is associated with “extensive fracturing of a purple siltstone and shale unit that underlies a clastic sedimentary unit made up of siltstones and shales, sandstone and marl”. The company terms this unit the Navajoh Unconformity Unit or NUU for short.

This new style of Zn-Pb mineralization with elevated copper is associated with wide zones of “small pervasive sulphidic veinlets” within the purple siltstone and shale, the release notes.

The large fracture zone of this Zn-Pb mineralization hosted in the Purple Shale/Siltstone represents “a very significant target with the potential for large-scale structural positions”.

Management commentary

Speaking on the announcement, Rumble Resources managing director, Shane Sikora said:

As predicted, our expanding broad spaced regional scoping drilling is uncovering further mineralisation and potential new large-scale Zn-Pb deposits within this very fertile district. Like the Chinook Discovery, the exciting new Tonka Discovery has the potential to significantly increase in size from its current 1.7km x 1km footprint, due to its open shallow flat lying orientation, association with a regionally extensive unconformity and is open in all directions.

Sikora added:

The ongoing regional scoping drilling success has emphasized the potential for more discoveries in multiple host
units throughout the 45km’s of strike, highlighting we have only started to scratch the surface of unlocking the world class potential of the Earaheedy Project. We look forward to announcing further assay results from the drilling program as they are received over the coming weeks.

Despite the short-term downside, the Rumble Resources share price is still up more than 204% in the last 12 months, after rallying another 217% this year to date.

The post Down 35% in 2 months: What’s going on with the Rumble Resources (ASX:RTR) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why is the Cettire (ASX:CTT) share price sinking 10% today?
• Here’s what’s boosting the Santos (ASX:STO) share price today
• Broker gives its verdict on the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price after 8% decline
• 3 reasons this crypto veteran thinks Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) is positive for the environment
• Why Blackmores, Mesoblast, Vulcan, and Zip shares are sinking

The author has no positions 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 Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT) share price is backing up a strong day’s performance with a poor one.

Cettire’s shares surged 10.4% yesterday for no obvious reason but today they’re handing back those gains.

At the time of writing, the Cettire share price is $3.505, 10.13% lower than it was at yesterday’s close.

That’s 0.4% lower than it was at the end of Monday’s session.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell 0.2% yesterday and is currently down another 0.54%.  

So, what could be weighing on the online luxury goods retailer’s shares on Wednesday? Let’s take a look.

Cettire share price plummets on Wednesday

The Cettire share price has been volatile in December. Of the 11 market sessions so far this month, the company’s stock has risen or fallen by more than 5% in 6 of them.

Interestingly, the movements haven’t been spurred by news from the retailer. In fact, it hasn’t uttered a word to the ASX since it hosted its annual general meeting in late November.

However, some of today’s drop could be explained by the broader market.

Right now, the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) has tumbled 1.11%. That makes it one of the ASX 200’s worst-performing sectors on Wednesday.

While the company doesn’t call the index home, many of its peers do, making it a good gauge of the broader market’s sentiment.

The sector is being weighed down by some of Cettire’s online retail peers, including Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN). Its share price is sporting a 1.23% fall today.

Luckily, despite today’s tumble, the Cettire share price is still in the long-term green, despite only debuting on the ASX in December 2020.

Right now, its stock is trading at 603% more than its prospectus’ offer price of 50 cents. However, it has fallen 20% over the last 30 days.

The post Why is the Cettire (ASX:CTT) share price sinking 10% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns and has recommended Cettire Limited and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cettire 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 Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is edging higher on Wednesday. This comes after the energy giant received an investment-grade credit rating from Moody’s Investors Service.

At the time of writing, Santos shares are swapping hands for $6.56, up 0.46%.

Moody’s assigns rating to Santos

Investors are showing little regard to the company’s latest news, sending the Santos share price almost nowhere today.

According to its release, Santos advised that Moody’s assigned a Baa3 credit rating with a stable outlook.

This follows other agencies, such as Fitch Ratings, slapping on a BBB credit rating with a stable outlook on Santos. In addition, S&P Global Ratings graded a BBB- credit rating with a stable outlook.

Bond rating agencies are firms that evaluate the creditworthiness of both the debt securities and the issuing company. These agencies provide ratings, commentary and research on businesses. Investment professionals then use the ratings to determine the likelihood of the debt being repaid.

Bond ratings range from an investment grade of ‘AAA’, meaning a very strong capacity to meet financial commitments and minimal credit risk. The speculative grade of ‘C’ or ‘D’ indicates likely payment default on financial commitments and bankruptcy.

It’s worth noting that the B ratings are in the mid-range of the bond credit ratings, meaning “adequate capacity to meet financial commitments, moderate credit risk”.

The investment credit grade was issued based on Santos’ merger with peer Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH). The scale of operations is expected to accelerate, particularly in key markets. This includes geographic presence across Australian hydrocarbon basins and increased exposure to low-cost liquefied natural gas (LNG) production.

Santos managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher commented:

Santos’ investment grade credit ratings provide access to a broad range of liquid global debt capital markets and this new Moody’s rating is further evidence of the stronger balance sheet created by the merger.

Our disciplined operating model is focussed on maintaining a strong balance sheet and generating free cash flow through improvements in productivity and maintaining discipline in capital expenditure through the cycle.

About the Santos share price

In the past 12 months, the Santos share price has struggled as COVID-19 put the global economy at a standstill. The company’s shares are up 2.66% from this time last year, and up almost 5% year to date.

Based on today’s price, Santos presides a market capitalisation of roughly $13.66 billion, with approximately 2.08 billion shares on issue.

The post Here’s what’s boosting the Santos (ASX:STO) share price today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• What will happen to Oil Search (ASX:OSH) shares following the Santos merger?

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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The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price has come under significant selling pressure this week.

Since the start of the week, the retail conglomerate’s shares are down 8.5% to $37.32.

Why is the Woolworths share price sinking this week?

Investors have been selling down the Woolworths share price this week following the release of a trading update.

That update revealed that the company’s earnings have been impacted by significant costs relating to COVID-19.

Investors may now be wondering whether the pullback in the Woolworths share price is a buying opportunity? Well, one leading broker has given its verdict.

What did the broker say?

According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts don’t believe the Woolworths share price has fallen enough to make it a buy.

This morning the broker has retained its hold rating and trimmed its price target on the company’s shares to $36.65. This is almost 2% lower than where its shares are trading at present.

Morgans commented: “Woolworths’ trading update overall was disappointing, with slightly better than expected Australian Food sales growth in 1H22 more than offset by significantly higher COVID costs, which had a negative impact on margins and earnings.”

“On the back of the trading update we decrease FY22F EBIT by 7% to A$2,693m . Our FY23 and FY24 earnings forecasts remain broadly unchanged assuming a return to more normal operating conditions. The key unknown remains further widespread COVID disruptions.”

“Our target price falls to $36.65 and we maintain our Hold rating. We think the 7.7% fall in the share price today reflects the disappointing trading update and WOW’s elevated trading multiples, notwithstanding long term fundamentals remaining sound,” it concluded.

All in all, the broker appears to believe investors ought to wait for further weakness in the Woolworths share price before considering an investment.

The post Broker gives its verdict on the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price after 8% decline appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Afterpay takeover vote, Woolworths crashes
• Why is the Coles (ASX:COL) share price sinking 4% today?

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 world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), might actually be a force for good in solving climate change. At least, that is the case being made by a veteran of the industry.

Bitcoin has received a bad reputation for its high energy usage in recent years. Most of us have seen the headlines comparing the cryptocurrency’s network energy usage to entire countries. The bleak comparisons have enraged many climate activists at a time when emission reductions are paramount.

However, crypto veteran Ryan Selkis who is the founder of crypto research firm Messari, takes a polar opposite perspective.

Running the numbers

In his annual Crypto Theses for 2022 report, Selkis discusses how Bitcoin has become the centre of political and climate debate. The level of negative sentiment driven towards the cryptocurrency based on its perceived environmental costs was “as if Bitcoin were a bona fide toxin”, as Selkis described.

In contrast, the long-time crypto investor produced several reasons why Bitcoin has an important role to play in our clean energy future. These include:

• Bitcoin’s environmental impact should scale sub-linearly to its economic impact
• Bitcoin recycles energy
• Green energy stimulus

The first touches on the elephant in the room, which is how much energy Bitcoin might consume as it scales. The cryptocurrency’s Proof of Work (PoW) consensus model requires energy to be expended during the consensus process.

As Selkis points out, the Bitcoin network could consume up to 1% of the world’s energy if it were to grow to a $20 trillion asset. While this might seem diabolical, the opportunity is for crypto to automate the global financial services industry — which by Selkis’ figures amounts to 3% of global emissions.

Champions of recycling

Another way it could be considered a positive for the environment is the incentive structure for cheap (often wasted) energy.

Selkis says that Bitcoin miners are often attracted to stranded energy sources that otherwise go unused. Highlighting this, the Messari founder quoted research from Lyn Alden:

The University of Cambridge estimated that global flare gas recovery potential is 8x larger than the bitcoin network’s energy usage in 2021. In other words, virtually the entire Bitcoin network in its peak 2021 form could hypothetically be run off of stranded natural gas in the US, let alone the rest of the world.

Lyn Alden, Lyn Alden Investment Strategy

Bitcoin brings green future forward

Finally, the report drives home how the cryptocurrency could be used to “power clean energy investments”. Importantly, Bitcoin miners’ bottom line is predominantly an outcome of one variable — the cost of energy on a KWh basis.

For this reason, the network could be used to balance the demand for early-stage renewable developments. Conversely, Bitcoin miners could subsidize capital expenditure for renewable developments in low-income areas in exchange for energy rights.

In summary, Selkis suggests that perhaps Bitcoin is more of a hero than a zero in the fight against climate change. At the time of writing, the price of the original cryptocurrency is A$67,526.

The post 3 reasons this crypto veteran thinks Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) is positive for the environment appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• After hitting new record highs in 2021, what’s next for Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) in 2022?
• Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) and Ethereum fall hard again. What’s going on?
• After a wild 2021, what can crypto investors expect in 2022?
• What is the better buy: Bitcoin vs. Ethereum

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a disappointing decline. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is down 0.45% to 7,344.2 points.

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

Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL)

The Blackmores share price is down 3% to $90.76. This follows the surprise news that the health supplements company’s Chief Financial Officer has resigned. According to the release, Gunther Burghardt is leaving the post after less than two years to pursue personal interests. Mr Burghardt will leave in late February 2022 following the release of Blackmores’ half year results.

Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB)

The Mesoblast share price has continued its slide and is down a further 6% to a 52-week low of $1.31. Investors have been selling the allogeneic cellular medicines developer’s shares this week after Novartis terminated an agreement that could have been worth ~US$1.2 billion. The two parties were looking at Mesoblasts’ remestemcel-L as a treatment for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID-19.

Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL)

The Vulcan share price is down 7% to $11.28. This follows broad weakness in the lithium sector following a poor night of trade on Wall Street. In addition, prior to today the Vulcan share price was up 32% in just over a week. This could mean some investors are taking a bit of profit off the table today.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price is down 5% to $4.52. The tech sector is a sea of red on Wednesday following a particularly poor night of trade on the tech focused Nasdaq index. This has led to the S&P/ASX All Technology Index losing approximately 2.6% of its value during Wednesday’s trade.

The post Why Blackmores, Mesoblast, Vulcan, and Zip shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Afterpay takeover vote, Woolworths crashes
• Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price crashes 21% after Novartis terminates agreement
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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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Blackmores 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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It’s a rough day on the market for the Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price despite silence from the company.

In fact, the market hasn’t heard any news from the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company for nearly a fortnight.

Yet its stock is slumping today. At the time of writing, the Sezzle share price is $3.345, 7.34% lower than its previous close.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slid 0.54% today.

Let’s take a look at what might be weighing on the BNPL provider’s shares on Wednesday.

Sezzle share price slumps on Wednesday

The Sezzle share price is being dragged lower today, but at least it’s not alone.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.14% overnight.

Today, the BNPL sector is adding to the grief of its technology counterparts.

The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is slumping 2.6% at the time of writing.

The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) isn’t doing much better. It’s fallen 2.42% today.

While Sezzle isn’t a part of either index, its BNPL peer Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) exists in both.

Right now, the Afterpay share price is experiencing a 3.64% plunge. Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) is also in the red, its shares sliding 5.03% at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, the Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) share price is defying the trend to edge 0.68% into the green in afternoon trade.

Today’s drop sees the Sezzle share price record a whopping 16% fall so far this month.

Making the dip more interesting is the fact the only news out of the BNPL company in December seemed to be positive.

On 2 December, Sezzle reported its underlying merchant sales for the month of November were 83% higher than they were during November 2020.

Additionally, the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend saw its underlying merchant sales rise 53% on those of the 2020 retail event.

Right now, the Sezzle share price is 46% lower than it was at the start of 2021.

The post Why is the Sezzle (ASX:SZL) share price tumbling 7% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why did ASX BNPL shares get hammered today?
• Sezzle (ASX:SZL) share price fizzles 5% despite upbeat growth figures

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. owns and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Humm 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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The Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is down 0.3% in early afternoon trading, currently at $22.17 per share.

The broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is under pressure today too, down 0.6% at this same time.

Below we look at 2 factors ASX investors may be considering when weighing up the Woodside share price.

New management plucked from BHP

First, in a late morning release to the ASX yesterday, Woodside announced the appointment of Graham Tiver as its new chief financial officer (CFO) and executive vice president.

Tiver comes to Woodside from BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), where he spent 28 years, most recently overseeing the mining giant’s global accounting. He’s replacing Sherry Duhe, who stepped down from Woodside in November.

Commenting on Tiver’s appointment as CFO, Woodside’s CEO Meg O’Neill said:

Graham’s demonstrated technical and financial capability, strong operational background and leadership skills will make an important contribution to Woodside and delivering ongoing value to shareholders.

Woodside expects Tiver will commence as CFO in February.

What else is impacting the Woodside share price today?

The Woodside share price will be facing some headwinds today amid slipping crude oil prices.

International benchmark Brent crude oil is down 0.84% overnight, currently trading for US$73.08 (AU$102.89) per barrel. As recently as 25 November, that same barrel was fetching US$82.22.

And the outlook for oil prices in 2022 looks lower. Which will be good news when you’re filling up your car, but will pose more headwinds for the Woodside share price.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global oil markets will see an oversupply next year as demand is forecast to slip some amid the resurgent Omicron COVID variant.

According to the IEA’s monthly report (quoted by Bloomberg):

Much-needed relief for tight markets is on the way, with world oil supply set to overtake demand starting this month. The steady rise in supply, combined with easing demand, has considerably loosened our balances.

As for Omicron’s impact on demand?

“The surge in new COVID-19 cases is expected to temporarily slow, but not upend, the recovery in oil demand that is under way,” the IEA said.

With OPEC+ gradually increasing its restricted outputs, and major oil producing nations outside the cartel – think the United States, Brazil and Canada – ramping up their output, the IEA forecast that global crude inventories could grow by 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in the early months of 2022.

US production is already well into the upswing, increasing by 340,000 bpd last month.

And shale oil production from the oil rich Permian Basin in the US is forecast to hit new all-time highs next month. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts crude output from the Permian alone will exceed 5 million bpd as early as January, exceeding that of very OPEC nation save Saudi Arabia.

Woodside share price snapshot

The Woodside share price is down 4% in 2021, compared to a year-to-date gain of 10% posted by the ASX 200.

Over the past month Woodside shares have slipped just over 1%.

The post What’s impacting the Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• What ASX 200 energy shareholders should know about the Permian Basin 2022
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Could 2022 be a bumper year for the Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price?
• 4 ASX shares tipped for buybacks in 2022: expert

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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