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The Payright Ltd (ASX: PYR) share price is taking off today after the company released a trading update for the first quarter of financial year 2022.

Within the update, the company announced its fifth consecutive quarter of growth, as well as an improvement to its credit quality. As a result, the market is sending the company’s stock higher.

At the time of writing, the Payright share price is 39 cents, 13.62% higher than its previous close. It was as high as 45 cents — up 30% — in early trade before partially retreating.

Let’s take a closer look at the first quarter of FY22 for the merchant-focused buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider.

The quarter just been for Payright

The Payright share price is surging higher after the company reported its gross merchandise value for the September quarter was 72% more than that of the prior comparable period (pcp). Payright’s gross merchandise value reached $27.6 million for the 3 months just been.

Payright also saw its income from fees boom in the 3 months ended 30 September, coming to $3.8 million. That represents a 14% increase on that of the previous quarter and 45% more than the pcp.

Such strong performance came despite ongoing lockdowns in Australia and New Zealand.

The company also onboarded 5,800 new customers over the September quarter, bringing its total number of customers to 59,300. That’s 58% more customers than it had at the end of financial year 2021’s first quarter.

Finally, Payright’s overall credit quality improved notably over the 3-month period. As of 30 September, the company had arrears of just 3.18%, down 18 basis points on that of the prior quarter.

Commentary from management

Co-CEO Piers Redward commented on the results boosting the Payright share price today, saying:

Our robust internal underwriting measures and collections practices have helped us navigate the balance between maintaining and protecting the quality of the loan book and accommodating COVID impacted customer hardship.

Fellow co-CEO Myles Redward added:

We are consistently attracting new customers in key target verticals with higher transaction values and the recent launch of our app has further increased usability and accessibility of our product, contributing to the 58% increase in total customer numbers…

With many states and territories now emerging from lockdown, we expect to see an uptick across our key metrics leading into November, December, and January.

Payright share price snapshot

Despite today’s gain, the Payright share price is still deep in the red on the ASX.

It has fallen 59% since the start of 2021. It is also 61% lower than it was this time last year.

The post Payright (ASX:PYR) share price surges 13% on trading update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Credit Suisse says the Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price has major upside
• These ASX 200 banks just made a decision that will affect 76,000 workers
• Here’s why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is lifting 4% on Friday
• Digital Wine (ASX:DW8) share price plunges on acquisition and cap raise
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Rio Tinto cuts guidance, Treasury Wine disappoints

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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Friday is off to a good start for ASX 200 bank shares, as the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rides on the coattails of a strong US market overnight. Additionally, this comes after Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) introduced mandatory COVID-19 vaccines for all staff.

Out of the big four Aussie banks, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price is faring the best on Friday. However, to the delight of investors, all of the big four are firmly in the green this morning.

Let’s take a closer look at the details of the recent vaccine development.

Banking on mandatory jabs

Much like many other industries in Australia and around the world, the banks have endured COVID-19 induced disruptions over the past 18 months. In fact, Westpac CEO Peter King mentioned the bank was forced to close and re-open more than 280 branches, in addition to 3,800 employees requiring isolation.

According to the release, the ASX 200 bank will expect all employees attending a Westpac workplace across New South Wales, Victoria, and the ACT to be fully vaccinated by 1 December 2021. From there, the bank will give employees in other states until 1 February 2022 to be fully vaccinated.

In its reasoning, Westpac cited the need to provide a safe work environment. Commenting on this, CEO Peter King stated:

Like other essential services, banking has remained open during the pandemic to support customers through COVID and with their banking needs. With a large workforce, it is important that we have the safest possible work environment.

Meanwhile, CBA has also commenced consultation with its staff over its own compulsory vaccine campaign. According to ABC News, Australia’s biggest bank plans to require all its employees to be fully vaccinated at some stage. However, an official policy has not yet been made public.

At this stage, CBA has set deadline dates to be fully vaccinated on a state-by-state basis. These include 26 November for Victoria; 1 December for NSW and ACT; 24 December for the Northern Territory; and February next year for the remaining states.

In total, the plan for mandatory vaccines across the two ASX 200 banks will affect approximately 76,000 employees.

What about other ASX 200 banks?

Currently, Australia’s banks are in two minds on making vaccines mandatory for staff. Joining Westpac and CBA, the Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ) also revealed on Thursday it will be ensuring its employees are vaccinated. According to the bank, more than 90% are already vaccinated or have plans to do so.

On the other hand, National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) and ANZ are taking a more passive approach. While both banks have not specified that the jab will be mandatory, they are following state-based health advice. For Victoria, that means employees must be vaccinated if entering the workplace.

This follows earlier decisions from other ASX 200 companies on the jab. For example, Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) opted for mandatory vaccinations for its more than 2 million staff in September.

The post These ASX 200 banks just made a decision that will affect 76,000 workers appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia. 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 Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is up around 4% amid the latest changes to borders and quarantine that have been announced by the New South Wales government.

What has NSW announced about borders and quarantine?

The NSW government has announced that the hotel quarantine program is going to end on 1 November 2021 according to reporting by various media, such as The Guardian.

Premier Dom Perrottet said:

From November 1st, those people returning Australians and tourists who want to come back, who want to visit Australia and coming to Sydney, hotel quarantine will be a thing of the past.

We will require, working with the Commonwealth government, that people coming into here, you’ll need to do a PCR test before you board the flight stop, you will need to show proof of your double vaccination.

For double vaccinated people around the world, Sydney, New South Wales is open for business.

We want people back. We are leading the nation out of the pandemic. Hotel quarantine, home quarantine is a thing of the past. We are opening Sydney and NSW to the world.

There will be no home quarantine either for those double vaccinated people who want to come to Australia.

However, there were questions raised about some of the journalists regarding what the federal government has agreed to because it’s the federal officials that control the international border.

Investors be weighing up their thoughts on the Webjet share price with another border that opened:

Victoria and NSW border to open

On 20 October (or 19 October at almost midnight), fully vaccinated NSW residents will be able to travel to Victoria without quarantine.

But, those people must test negative before crossing the border, then isolate and test again negative again.

So whilst there’s still a bit of a process, there won’t be the 2-week quarantine rule that has been in place.

However, the unvaccinated people that want to travel from NSW to Victoria must still test negative before arriving and quarantine for two weeks.

People coming from ‘orange zones’ won’t need to get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result. But they need to hold a valid permit.

How could more travel affect the Webjet share price and profit?

Investors seem happy to send Webjet shares higher.

Webjet itself said a couple of months ago that its online travel agency (OTA) business was profitable in April to July, and Online Republic was profitable in April and May, but the lockdowns stopped that profitability. Management said they were confident that both businesses would return to profitability as soon as the domestic Australian and New Zealand markets reopen. International borders opening could also help things.

Relating to WedBeds, Webjet said this business was profitable in July and August and was on track to be profitable in September. It has seen strong demand as travel restrictions ease in North America and Europe, “suggesting significant upside as more international markets reopen.”

The business has been working on reducing its costs by at least 20% for when the company can get back to scale. The ASX travel share believes it will have a higher market share, lower costs and greater profitability.

The post Here’s why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is lifting 4% on Friday 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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Digital Wine Ventures Ltd (ASX: DW8) share price is sliding into the red today. Shares are currently changing hands at 6.25 cents apiece, a fall of 5.3%.

It comes after the company shed further light on its previously announced acquisition and capital raise.

Here are the details.

Digital Wine’s new acquisition and cap raise

Digital Wine announced today it had “accelerate(d) its penetration of the $17 billion Australian wholesale liquor market” via the acquisition of wholesale beverage marketplace Kaddy Australia Pty Ltd.

Kaddy is “Australia’s leading B2B (business-to-business) beverage marketplace enabling discovery, ordering and payments”, according to Digital Wine.

The venture capital specialist closed the transaction on a $6.75 million cash consideration and approximately 484.9 million of its own shares.

It believes the transaction is a “transformational opportunity to bring together two high-growth technology businesses to create the market-leading online marketplace” servicing the wholesale liquor market in Australia.

Digital Wine also ran through an extensive list of reasonings and justifications as to the key drivers of the acquisition.

Most of these are centred around synergies the two businesses lend each other. This will enable a mix of diversification and competitive advantages for each.

For instance, Kaddy does not have a logistics platform in situ and is reliant on third-party fulfilment by its suppliers.

Digital Wine’s WINEDEPOT asset solves this issue. It brings together its “tech-enabled logistics solution and Kaddy’s market-leading technology platform…to unlock significant value for its users and support the rapid scale of the merged businesses”.

In addition to the acquisition, Digital Wine is set to provide expansion capital to Kaddy. This will help the company grow its operations.

Digital Wine has therefore initiated a $14.75 million capital raising round to finance the expansion of Kaddy’s growth engine. It has received commitments of $12.75 million already via a share placement. All eligible shareholders are able to participate on the same terms.

What did management say?

Commenting on the news, Digital Wine CEO Dean Taylor said:

The combination of a world class B2B marketplace with a tech-enabled national logistics platform will create an unrivaled value proposition that’s relevant to every liquor licence holder in the country. Kaddy strongly complements our technology ecosystem and fast-tracks our ability to develop a stronghold in Australia’s $17 billion wholesale liquor market.

Digital Wine share price snapshot

The Digital Wine share price has gained 46% this year to date. It has climbed 5% during the past 12 months.

That’s well behind the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s gain of around 19% in that time.

The post Digital Wine (ASX:DW8) share price plunges on acquisition and cap raise appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The author Zach Bristow 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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At lunch on Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of US markets and is pushing higher. The benchmark index is currently up 0.3% to 7,334.6 points.

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

Rio Tinto quarterly update

The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price is trading lower today following the release of its third quarter update. That update reveals that the mining giant had a mixed quarter. As a result, management has downgraded its iron ore shipments and copper production guidance. In respect to the former, Pilbara iron ore shipments are now expected to be in the range of 320Mt to 325Mt. This compares to its previous guidance of 325Mt to 340Mt.

Treasury Wine update

The Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price is tumbling lower on Friday following the release of a first quarter trading update at its annual general meeting. That update reveals that Treasury Wine’s performance during the quarter was softer than expected. Management commented: “As we exit the first quarter of fiscal 22, the recovery of key luxury channels impacted by the pandemic are slightly behind the expectations we had at the beginning of the year.”

IAG taken to court by ASIC

Also heading lower today is the Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price. This follows news that ASIC has launched civil proceedings against the insurance giant in the Federal Court. The corporate watchdog alleges Insurance Australia misled customers by applying discounts while simultaneously upping premiums. It is alleged NRMA customers missed out on more than $60 million worth of discounts.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Friday has been the ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARB) share price with a 6% gain. This morning Citi upgraded the auto parts company’s shares to a buy rating with a $55.45 price target. This was in response to its AGM update. The worst performer has been the Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL) share price with a 10% decline following its funds under management update.

The post ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Rio Tinto cuts guidance, Treasury Wine disappoints appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Insurance Australia Group Limited and Treasury Wine Estates Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ARB 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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The Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price is selling off on Friday following the company’s first quarter trading update.

At the time of writing, the Treasury Wine share price is down 5.78% to $11.58.

What triggered the selloff?

Treasury Wine flagged that operating channel conditions across Asia, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand were slightly below its recovery expectations.

Management was reserved with their commentary, citing that “as we exit the first quarter of fiscal 22, the recovery of key luxury channels impacted by the pandemic are slightly behind the expectations we had at the beginning of the year.”

“This is particularly the case in the US where re-openings continued at a gradual pace, but with on-premise depletions growth slower than we had anticipated, and in Australia, where extended lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne have resulted in the closure of the onpremise channel, delaying our execution plans outside of the large retailers, particularly for Penfolds,” said Treasury Wine CEO, Tim Ford.

“In Asia, significant disruptions to key luxury sales channels continue across large parts of the region,” he added.

Another factor weighing on the Treasury Wine share price could be the cycling of elevated sales.

Ford said that while the company’s retail and e-commerce channels continue to perform strongly, growth rates were moderating compared to the prior year where there were “significant shifts in consumer purchasing behaviour”.

The concept of moderating and cycling of elevated sales from FY20 has weighed on many ASX 200 shares in the retail space including heavyweights Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV).

Treasury Wine share price selling off on heavy volume

Almost 2 million shares have traded hands within the first two hours of trade.

To add some perspective, Treasury Wine’s 10-day average volume sits at around 1.45 million.

The Treasury Wine share price has largely been range bound since early June, struggling to hold above $13 but finding plenty of buying support as it approaches the mid $11 level.

The post Why the Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) share price is tumbling 6% on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Rio Tinto cuts guidance, Treasury Wine disappoints
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• Why is the Treasury Wine (ASX:TWE) share price in the green today?
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Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates Limited and Wesfarmers 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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How do you know whether an ASX share is expensive, cheap or otherwise?

A regularly used tool is to calculate the valuation multiple. This is seeing how a specific financial metric compares to the share price.

The traditional one is the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio. But there are also price-to-sales, enterprise-value-to-sales and enterprise-value-to-earnings, among a whole bunch of others.

According to Montaka Global Investments senior research analyst Amit Nath, valuation multiples are “probably the most enduring pieces of investment analysis of all time”.

“‘That company is expensive because its valuation multiple is high’ — this is one of the most used and repeated phrases of market commentary,” he wrote on a Montaka blog.

“Unfortunately, they are often completely useless.”

If you only have a hammer, everything has to be a nail

Nath speculated that for many investors, valuation multiples are the only metric they have to judge a stock.

“The law of the instrument, or ‘Maslow’s hammer’, is a cognitive bias where people rely too much on a familiar tool,” he said.

“For many market commentators and armchair enthusiasts, valuation multiples are their Maslow’s hammer, and they apply it indiscriminately.”

According to Nath, valuation multiples are a “simplified, abbreviated and short-cut” way of analysing a business’ worth.

“They don’t tell the whole story or give a complete picture of underlying value and are prone to sizable error when applied in isolation,” he said.

“And, sadly, multiples have never been less useful than they are today.”

Abraham Maslow, the psychologist behind the eponymous hammer, explained it the best.

“It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.”

The trouble is that the world is full of high-growth ventures that are revolutionising their industries or even creating new ones.

“For traditional valuation multiples to be effective, a company needs stable and predictable cash-flows, which are generally found in mature industries like utilities, real-estate and infrastructure,” said Nath.

“Multiples provide an inadequate view when companies have high and relatively sustained growth rates, particularly for the world’s best software-driven ecosystems like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Amazon Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN).”

Humans are terrible at exponential thinking

Nath explained that humans naturally prefer to use “a simplifying linear concept”, and this simply doesn’t represent non-linear phenomena like high-growth businesses.

“Google’s world-renowned futurist and Director of Engineering, Raymond Kurzweil, believes humans are linear thinkers by nature, whereas technology, biology and our environment are often exponential,” he said. 

“That, he says, creates enormous blind spots when we pursue higher-order thinking and seek to solve increasingly complex problems.”

Kurzweil cited a simple thought experiment to demonstrate.

“It takes 7 doublings to go from 0.01% to 1%, and then 7 more doublings to go from 1% to 100%,” said Nath.

“So within 14 time periods an emerging system has gone from being completely invisible in the linear world (0.01%), to entirely encompassing it (100%).”

The COVID-19 pandemic recently demonstrated in real life the power of exponential growth, but our brains simply can’t handle the concept.

So what do we use instead of valuation multiples?

If valuation multiples are so flawed, what measure should investors use to judge whether a stock is expensive or a bargain?

“The truth is, there are no short-cuts in valuing a business,” said Nath.

“It is a hard, detailed, and rigorous exercise that takes considerable time and insight to get right.”

He revealed that Montaka conducts considerable research on the industry landscape and how the business might fare in 5 to 10 years.

It also puts together metrics like discounted cash flow (DCF) and total addressable market (TAM) for a full picture of the stock’s potential.

Nath put up Amazon to demonstrate how useless it is to base one’s stock-buying decisions purely on valuation multiples.

In 2006, Amazon shares were trading at an enterprise-value-to-EBITDA ratio of 26 times, while the US market generally was at 10.

Since then, the stock price has returned 115 times over.

“You could have paid double the share price for Amazon in 2006 and still made nearly 60 times your money today.”

The post Why valuation multiples are a terrible way to judge ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. 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. Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Alphabet (A shares), Amazon, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $1,920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1,940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Amazon. 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 Essential Metals Ltd (ASX: ESS) share price is rocketing, up 29% at the time of writing. It had earlier been up by more than 40%.

Below, we take a look at the ASX resource explorer’s latest lithium results that look to be driving investor interest.

What lithium results were reported?

The Essential Metals share price is surging after the company reported positive assay results at its 100% owned Pioneer Dome Lithium Project, in Western Australia.

According to the release, 4 reverse circulation (RC) holes returned “excellent lithium assays and widths” from the Cade Deposit. Essential Metals said the high lithium tenor encountered in the drilling indicates there likely has been minimal depletion of lithium near the surface.

Results from the 4 holes included:

• 21m @ 1.08% Li2O from surface
• 24m @ 1.29% Li2O from surface
• 15m @ 1.06% Li2O from 47m
• 26m @ 1.46% Li2O from 51m

Commenting on the results driving the Essential Metals share price, managing director Tim Spencer said:

These assay results once again reinforce that the Dome North area hosts a high quality resource with the potential to be mined with minimal overburden. We now need to undertake further drilling and metallurgical test work to advance the project towards development in parallel with more exploration. We will announce the program details as soon as we can finalise the various practicalities and contractors.

The company said it intends to release the results of all the assays from its drilling program towards the end of October.

Essential Metals is planning to start a diamond drill campaign in November to increase its understanding of the area, providing metallurgical test work samples for its Davy and Cade Deposits.

The company is also working on securing a mining lease and conducting the required environmental and hydrology studies to get the project “development ready”.

Essential Metals share price snapshot

With today’s intraday gains factored in, the Essential Metals share price is up an impressive 150% so far in 2021. That compares to a year-to-date gain of 10% posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Over the past month, Essential Metals shares are down around 20%.

The post Essential Metals (ASX:ESS) share price rockets 29% on lithium update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Essential Metals (ASX:ESS) share price tumbles 20% on lithium update

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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AM Diagnostics has been on the radar of many ASX-watchers recently.

Particularly, after at-home COVID-19 antigen rapid tests, supplied by the Perth-based Australian company, received approval from the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) this week.  

Australians might be able to choose between one of three at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen tests from 1 November. All three are supplied by AM Diagnostics and provide results within 15 minutes.

AM Diagnostics leads Australian at-home testing

According to reporting by The Australian, the TGA’s thumbs-up means Australians might soon be able to buy rapid COVID-19 tests at supermarkets, pharmacies, and other easy-to-access locations.

Two of the approved tests provide results from oral fluid, requiring a user to spit into a tube to learn their COVID-19 status. The other provides results using a nasal swab.

The tests state they are accurate 97% to 98% of the time.

Can you invest in AM Diagnostics on the ASX?

Understandably, many ASX investors are currently wondering how to get a piece of AM Diagnostics into their portfolio.

Unfortunately, there isn’t good news for those looking to invest in the manufacture and distributor of medical and diagnostic equipment.  

AM Diagnostics is registered as a private company with the Australian Government. Thus, investors can’t buy shares in AM Diagnostics on the ASX.

However, there are several companies that might peak the interest of would-be-AM Diagnostics investors.

Atomo Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: AT1), for instance, is the developer of the CareStart EZ COVID-19 rapid antibody test.

The company’s at-home test has been authorised by the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use.

Another ASX-listed share involved in the COVID-19 home testing market is AnteoTech Ltd (ASX: ADO).

AnteoTech has partnered with unlisted Brisbane-based company, Ellume, to provide its AnteoBind technology for Ellume’s at-home COVID-19 tests.

The post Is AM Diagnostics listed on the ASX? 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. 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 Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is pushing higher on Friday.

In morning trade, the mining giant’s shares are up 1.5% to $14.52.

Why is the Fortescue share price pushing higher?

There have been a couple of potential catalysts for the rise in the Fortescue share price this morning.

The first is a rebound in iron ore prices overnight. According to CommSec, the spot benchmark iron ore price rose by US$2.40 or 1.9% to US$126 a tonne during Thursday night trade.

Also potentially giving the Fortescue share price a boost was the release of an announcement relating to its Fortescue Future Industries business.

What did Fortescue announce?

This morning Fortescue announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Plug Power for a 50-50 joint venture to build a Gigafactory in Queensland, Australia.

Plug Power is a Nasdaq listed leading provider of turnkey hydrogen solutions for the global green hydrogen economy.

If the agreement goes ahead, the two companies will build a two gigawatt factory to produce large-scale proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers. It will also have the ability to expand into fuel cell systems and other hydrogen-related refuelling and storage infrastructure in the future.

The release advises that Plug Power will supply the electrolyser and fuel cell technology and the Fortescue Future Industries business will contribute advanced manufacturing capabilities.

Fortescue Future Industries will also be the primary customer of the products manufactured by the joint venture, enabling its ambitions in decarbonising its operations with stationary power and mobility applications running on green hydrogen.

Fortescue Future Industries’ CEO, Julie Shuttleworth, commented: “We need solar panels, wind towers, and electrolyzers in such scale that we need to produce them where we use them – including in Australia. We have enough solar and wind in Australia to power many countries of the world. Working together with Plug Power, we can create this future.”

The post Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price rises amid Gigafactory plans with Plug Power 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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