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Looking for investment ideas this month? Below are three options to consider in October.

Here’s what you need to know about these highly rated shares:

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

The first ASX share to look at is document productivity software company. It has been growing at a strong rate in recent years and more of the same is expected in the years to come. Particularly given a recent acquisition, increased remote working, and its investment in sales staff. These are all supporting demand for its high quality software. The team at Bell Potter are positive on the company. In fact, Nitro is currently the broker’s number one pick in the tech sector. It has a buy rating and $4.00 price target on Nitro’s shares.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

Another ASX share to look at is REA Group. It is the dominant player in real estate listings in the Australian market and has a number of other complementary businesses. REA looks well-placed for growth in the coming years thanks to the booming housing market, cost cutting, price increases, its international operations, and new revenue streams. The latter includes from recent acquisitions such as Mortgage Choice. These acquisitions have strengthened its offering, particularly in mortgage broking. Macquarie currently has an outperform rating and $185.00 price target on the company’s shares.

VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF (ASX: ESPO)

A final ASX share to look at is the VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF. This popular ETF provides investors with exposure to companies involved in the growing video gaming market. Among the shares included in the fund are hardware giant Nvidia and game developers Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Roblox, and Take-Two. VanEck notes that these companies are in a position to benefit from the increasing popularity of video games and eSports. This could make it a great place to invest with a long term view.

The post 3 ASX shares to buy this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nitro Software Limited, REA Group Limited, and VanEck Vectors ETF Trust – VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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These 2 ASX shares in this article may be compelling ideas to think about in October 2021.

Businesses with global growth aspirations give themselves a larger potential growth runway because of the larger addressable market that they have.

Companies that have growing profit margins could also be ones to look at because of their ability to grow profit at a faster pace than revenue. The profit is often what investors like to consider when it comes to the valuation of a business.

Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)

Lovisa is a business that looks to sell affordable jewellery to consumers. COVID-19 caused a lot of disruption to the company which forced store closures across its network.

The company saw Victorian stores closed in the first quarter of FY21, as well as some of its international stores at various times.

The company got back to delivering profit growth in FY21, it demonstrated operating leverage across the business. Whilst revenue increased 18.9% to $288 million, pre-AASB16 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 34.6% to $60.2 million, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) went up 39.4% to $42.7 million and net profit after tax (NPAT) rose 43.3% to $27.7 million.

Management attributed part of the ASX share’s profit growth with store wages being well managed and the tightening of support structures implemented during FY20 helping to offset increased logistics costs.

The Beeline acquisition added 87 new stores and six new European markets to the business, which significantly accelerated its European expansion. More than 70% of its stores are outside Australia now.

Lovisa said that trading in the first eight weeks of FY22 was strong for stores in regions were COVID restrictions were low and stores were able to trade. Analysts think there is a lot of demand in the market for the company’s products.

It’s currently rated as a buy by the broker Morgan Stanley, with a price target of $21. The broker thinks that the Lovisa share price is valued at 32x FY23’s estimated earnings.

BWX Ltd (ASX: BWX)

BWX is one of the world’s largest natural beauty companies with a number of different businesses including Sukin, Andalou Naturals, Mineral Fusion, Nourished Life and Flora & Fauna. It recently announced the acquisition of 50.1% of Go-To-Skincare, which offers a range of products within the “masstige” segment of the broader premium skincare category.

Whilst the beauty market is seeing a steady growth in revenue, the natural beauty segment is growing even quicker, with consumers wanting products that are reportedly better for themselves and the planet.

Profitability has been increasing across the business. In FY21, BWX’s gross profit margin went up 134 basis points to 59.3%, EBTIDA increased 11.5% to $34.5 million (beating guidance) and statutory net profit rose 60.9% to $23.7 million.

Connecting directly with consumers is a key focus of the ASX share by building and scaling this part of the business. Management see this segment becoming a more significant growth engine. Combining Flora & Fauna with Nourished Life can create a leading online retail platform and an opportunity to bring more consumers to the natural category, according to management. The business is going to leverage more consumer data to support better decision making. In FY23, it expects to grow direct-to-consumer revenue to 38% of total revenue, up from 29% in FY21.

It’s currently rated as a buy by the broker Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), with a price target of $5.40. The broker is attracted by the Flora and Fauna acquisition.

According to Macquarie, the BWX share price is valued at 32x FY22’s estimated earnings.

The post 2 compelling ASX shares that could be buys in October 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• These were the best performing ASX bank shares in September
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• The ASX 200 banks may be in danger as half of mortgage-stressed households have “borrowed to the hilt”
• Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and Coles (ASX:COL) could face a margin shock

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 BWX Limited and Macquarie 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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Are you looking to add some dividend shares to your portfolio in the near future? Then take a look at the ones listed below.

While the shares below don’t have the biggest yields, they have the potential to grow strongly in the future. Here’s why they could be top long term options for income investors:

Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Bapcor. It is the Asia Pacific’s leading provider of vehicle parts, accessories, equipment, service and solutions. It is also the name behind a number of retail brands such as Autobarn, Burson Auto Parts and Midas.

Bapcor was on form again in FY 2021 thanks to strong demand for used cars. This resulted in elevated sales across all its brands and underpinned strong sales and profit growth.

Positively, the company looks well-placed to continue its growth in the future. This is thanks to its strong market position and its expansion plans. The latter is being driven both domestically and in the Asia market.

According to a note out of Citi, its analysts are expecting Bapcor to grow its fully franked dividend to 23 cents per share in FY 2022 and then 25 cents per share in FY 2023. Based on the current Bapcor share price of $7.44, this will mean yields of 3.1% and 3.35%, respectively.

Citi has a buy rating and $8.25 price target on the company’s shares.

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

Another growing ASX dividend share to look at is Collins Foods. It is a leading quick service restaurant operator with a focus on KFC restaurants in Australia and Europe.

As with Bapcor, Collins Foods didn’t let the pandemic hold it back and delivered another strong result in FY 2021. The company reported a 12.4% increase in revenue to $1.07 billion and an 18.2% lift in underlying net profit after tax to $56.9 million. A key driver of this growth was its KFC Australia business, which reported a same store sales increase of 12.9%.

Macquarie is positive on its future and late last month upgraded its shares to an outperform rating with a $12.50 price target.

The broker has also pencilled in fully franked dividends per share of 23.3 cents in FY 2022 and then 26.5 cents in FY 2023. Based on the latest Collins Foods share price of $11.99, this will mean yields of 2% and 2.2%, respectively.

The post 2 growing ASX dividend shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 reasons why the Bapcor (ASX:BAP) share price could be a buy
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• Why Beach, Collins Foods, Origin, & Tuas shares are racing higher
• Why the Collins Foods (ASX:CKF) share price is surging higher today
• 2 highly rated ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) shares to buy right now

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Collins Foods Limited. 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 Bapcor. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods 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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On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week on a very positive note. The benchmark index rose 1.3% to 7,278.5 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to fall

The Australian share market looks set to give back the majority of yesterday’s gains on Tuesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 75 points or 1.05% lower this morning. This follows a bad start to the week on Wall Street. In late trade, the Dow Jones has dropped 1%, the S&P 500 has fallen 1.3%, and the Nasdaq is tumbling 2.1%.

Xero shares rated as a buy

The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price continues to be in the buy zone according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating and $165.00 price target on the cloud accounting company’s shares. This follows an investor day event from rival Intuit.

Oil prices storms higher

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could push higher after oil prices stormed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.4% to US$77.69 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 2.6% to US$81.33 a barrel. News that OPEC plans to stick to gradual supply increases sent oil prices hurtling higher.

Gold price rises

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch after the gold price pushed higher. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.4% to US$1,765.6 an ounce. The safe haven asset rose amid further market volatility.

Dividends being paid

It is pay day for the shareholders of a number of ASX 200 shares. Among the companies paying dividends on Tuesday are Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX), Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY), NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) and SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK).

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Brokers just upgraded these underperforming ASX shares to ‘buy’
• What’s the latest news on the Evergrande share price?
• Here’s why the Northern Star (ASX:NST) share price is having a good start to the week
• Why the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price has lagged the ASX 200
• Why ASX 200 travel shares are having a bumper day

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended NIB Holdings Limited and SEEK 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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Two ASX shares that have been sold-off recently may have caught a break as brokers just upgraded them to “buy”.

The upgrade comes the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) jumped over 1% as it bounced from a four-month low.

One of these upgraders is the Uniti Group Ltd (ASX: UWL) share price, which tumbled 10% over the past two weeks.

ASX shares with “buy” upgrade catalysts

The sell-off comes after one of its directors, Vaughan Bowen, was charged with insider trading. He denies the charges.

Regardless of the outcome, Bell Potter does not see this as having a material impact on Uniti.

“In our view the potential positive catalysts for Uniti over the next several months far outweigh the potential negatives from the charging of Vaughan Bowen,” said the broker.

“The potential catalysts include a strong trading update at the AGM in November, an announcement on capital management, a strong 1HFY22 result in February and perhaps even a takeover offer (given we believe Uniti is a target).”

Uniti share price could get an extra boost

Bell Potter upgraded the Uniti share price to “buy” from “hold”. It also reiterated its 12-month price target of $4.50 a share.

Importantly, the broker’s upside prediction does not include any capital management initiatives or dividends. This is despite management signalling that this is under consideration.

ASX shares upgraded to “buy” after big fall

Another ASX shares to get upgraded is the Codan Limited (ASX: CDA) share price. The communications and mining equipment supplier has shed more than 30% of its value since its full-year result.

The de-rating in the Codan share price comes even as the company delivered earnings that were 3% ahead of consensus.

Investors may have dumped the shares on its conservative FY22 outlook and news that its well-regarded CEO Donald McGurks is retiring, noted Moelis Australia.

Outlook could surprise on upside

“In our view, management’s commentary at the Aug’21 result suggested a broadly flat organic growth outlook for FY22 (which we believe the market is now pricing in),” said the broker.

“However, we note that CDA has a 5-year track record of overachieving conservative outlooks.

“We estimate at least $5m of organic EBITDA growth is achievable in FY22e largely based on incremental sales from the new GPX6000 gold detector.”

With the Codan share price trading at around a FY22 price-earnings (P/E) multiple of 19 times, compared with 27 times before the results, Moelis believes now is the time to buy Codan shares.

As such, Moelis upgraded the Codan share price to “buy” from “hold”. Its 12-month price target is $17.12 a share.

The post Brokers just upgraded these underperforming ASX shares to “buy” appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What’s the latest news on the Evergrande share price?
• Why the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price has lagged the ASX 200
• Why ASX 200 travel shares are having a bumper day
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• Is the ASX open and trading today?

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Uniti 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 Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price has edged higher in trade on Monday, closing at $4.94 apiece.

That’s an 8.5% decrease in the last month for the insurance giant, on the back of a choppy year to date.

With this in mind, it’s worthwhile checking the rearview mirror to see what have been the best periods of performance for the IAG share price.

What was the best day for IAG shares?

To check which day was the best for IAG’s share price, we don’t have to look back very far.

It was only in mid 2019 when IAG shares were changing hands at almost $9 a piece.

Alas, the best day for the IAG share price was on 25 July 2019, where it hit a high of $8.72, a whopping 76% premium to its current market price. However, it did hit an intraday high of $8.89 on 26 June 2018.

There was one period where IAG showed similar strengths, with its share price climbing to around the same level in July of 2018.

However, it wasn’t strong enough to break past this barrier in both 2018 and 2019. Combined with the findings of IAG’s misconduct from the Royal Commission into Banking and Finance, the IAG share price has plummeted to all-time lows as of this year.

This marks a difficult journey for long-term IAG shareholders, particularly those who’ve held since the company’s initial public offering (IPO) around the year 2000.

Stepping back and looking at its share price chart over this time, there is a series of large price swings both up and down, with the IAG share price now hovering around its 2004 levels.

Depending on timing, however, it still may be a more suitable return for longer-term holders. For instance, if one bought in the lows of around $3 per share in 2012, this would still equal a sizeable 60%+ return in this time.

Nonetheless, IAG shares are well off their highs of almost $9 achieved back in 2018 and then once again in 2019, with their best day occurring in June 2019.

IAG share price snapshot

The picture doesn’t change too much when honing in on a single-year view of the IAG share price.

After a period of high volatility, where its share price chart looks like a 9.0 earthquake Richter scale drawing, it has gained a paltry 43 cents per share in the last 12 months.

This is despite reaching highs of $5.45 three times on separate occasions this past year.

The post When was the best ever day on the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price chart? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why this broker thinks the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price is a bargain
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• The IAG (ASX:IAG) share price is down 10% so far in September. What’s next?
• How has the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price been performing since reporting results?
• Why Adbri, AusNet, IAG, & Premier Investments shares are falling

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 owns shares of 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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The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is rolling over right after its rally to all-time highs of $2.53 a month ago.

At market close, Pilbara Minerals is down 2.32% to $1.895. Earlier during trade, Pilbara was down 2.84% to a 2-month low of $1.885.

What’s driving the Pilbara Minerals share price lower?

Lithium prices finish September near record highs

Lithium prices continued to accelerate in the first two weeks of September, underpinned by an uplift in demand and tight supply according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

The pricing agency reported that technical and battery grade lithium carbonate prices in China have increased over 20% in the first half of September, and are up 188.9% and 215% respectively.

This is broadly in line with the Pilbara Minerals share price surging to an all-time high of $2.53 on 15 September.

More recently, Fastmarkets reported a slight pause in Chinese lithium prices in the week to Thursday 30 September, following the country’s week long National Day public holiday.

Its report flagged “sentiment turning slightly more cautious owing to power restrictions being implemented in some battery materials production hubs.”

Market sources said that certain production hubs of battery and cathode materials were hit with 30-70% production curbs.

Lithium and battery ETF retreats from highs

The Global X Lithium and Battery Tech Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) retreated on Friday night, down 0.77% to US$81.33. The Lithium ETF is down about 6.5% from September 15 highs of US$87.02.

The Lithium ETF invests in the full lithium cycle, from mining and refining the metal, to battery production and electric vehicles.

Its main holdings include heavyweight producers such as Albemarle Corp and Ganfeng Lithium, but it also has smaller allocations in ASX-listed companies such as Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN), Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) and Pilbara Minerals.

The ETF’s recent pullback might mean that the Pilbara Minerals share price isn’t falling in isolation, but rather, that broader selling is taking place across the lithium supply chain.

Pilbara Minerals share price breaks below $2

The Pilbara Minerals share price previously bounced strongly off of $2 on multiple occasions.

It plunged 5.6% on 20 August, closing at session lows of $2.02. This was then followed by a sharp rally to highs of $2.35 in the next two days.

Pilbara Minerals hit $2 again on 27 August and 9 September but rallied strongly in the following sessions.

On this occasion, the Pilbara Minerals share price is breaking towards the downside amidst a weak S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

The post Why is the Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price down 10% in a week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most active ASX 200 shares this Friday
• Why CBA, Mount Gibson, Pilbara Minerals, & Virgin Money shares are dropping
• Here are 3 ASX 200 shares topping the volume charts so far today
• Why are Pilbara (ASX:PLS) shares getting so much attention lately?
• ASX lithium shares slide as increasing supply pushes prices down in China

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 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 Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price spent today in the green despite no news released by the company.

However, awareness of the company’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects increased today.

On Friday, the Australian Government announced the Emissions Reduction Fund would provide carbon credits for CCS projects. Carbon credits can be used to offset an entities emissions or sold on the private market.

Santos welcomed the decision. It will now begin working to register its Moomba CCS Project with the Clean Energy Regulator.  

As a result of CCS’s recognition as a viable method of reducing emissions, Santos’ up and coming project is back in headlines today. The extra attention might have boosted the company’s share price higher.

The Santos share price finished Monday’s session trading at $7.08, 1.72% higher than its closing price on Friday.

That’s a slightly better performance than that of the broader market. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was up 1.1% while the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) gained 1%.

Let’s take a closer look at the latest news around the energy producer.

Santos to receive carbon credits for Moomba

The Santos share price was up on Monday amid more attention on its upcoming CCS project.

The Moomba CCS Project is a disused gas reservoir that will soon store 1.7 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year.   

Under the Emission Reduction Fund, CCS projects like Moomba will now be eligible to receive carbon credits.

For every tonne of carbon stored in a Santos’ CCS project, the company can receive one carbon credit. Carbon credits can be used to offset companies’ emission outputs. They can also be sold for profit.

Right now, the spot price of an Australian carbon credit is around $26.

Despite the government’s announcement and Santos’ acknowledgement of the changes, the Santos share price fell 2.2% amid the broader market sell-off on Friday.

However, it picked up again today.

Commentary from management

Santos CEO and managing director Kevin Gallagher welcomed the news, saying:

The Australian Government’s focus on CCS and other low-emission technologies sets Australia up to capitalise on our natural assets and become a carbon storage superpower, building on the position we have established as an energy superpower over more than half a century.

With the new CCS method now approved, Santos will seek to have the Moomba CCS Project registered and generate ACCUs through the Emissions Reduction Fund. Once the project has been registered, we will be in a position to make a final investment decision to proceed.

Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor also spoke of the changes to the fund:

[T]he new Emissions Reduction Fund method will incentive emissions reductions from a range of energy-intensive sectors including LNG production, which currently accounts for around 10 per cent of Australia’s emissions…

This high-integrity method will position Australia to scale up clean LNG production and make use of our abundant geological storage potential.

Santos share price snapshot

Today’s gains included, the Santos share price is 10% higher than it was at the start of 2021.

It has also gained 44% since this time last year.

The post Why did the Santos (STO) share price lift on Monday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Here are the 3 most active ASX 200 shares this Friday
• Santos (ASX:STO) share price sinks after investor sells $403m stake
• Guess which sector September’s top performing ASX 200 shares all came from
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

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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Shares in embattled Chinese real estate giant China Evergrande Group have been suspended today alongside those of its subsidiary, Evergrande Property Services Group Ltd.

The world’s most indebted company announced it had entered a trading halt at around 11am AEST, sending jitters through global stock markets amid rumours the company is gearing up for a big announcement.

With $400 billion in debt, could the Hong Kong-listed Evergrande be about to deliver more worrying news?

The Evergrande share price was trading at around 52 cents ($2.95 Hong Kong dollars) when the company went into the freezer.

Let’s take a look at what we know so far.

Evergrande share price halted on Monday

The Evergrande share price has been frozen without explanation today, sending waves through global markets concerned about the company’s possible collapse and the resulting fallout.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has fallen 0.4% while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index is down around 1.2%. Meanwhile, all US futures are in the red.

The ASX appears to be unscathed by the Chinese property giant’s troubles. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) are both up around 1%.

It’s unclear why Evergrande’s shares have been halted today. It’s even unclear as to who is responsible for the halt.

What we do know, however, is that the property giant missed an interest payment on Wednesday. That was the second payment Evergrande missed in as many weeks, according to ABC News.

What else is happening?

Interestingly, shares in another Chinese property giant, Hobson Development Holdings Limited, were also frozen this morning.

Hobson stated its trading halt was to do with “a major transaction” that would see it purchasing the shares of another Hong Kong-listed company.

However, as Reuters has reported, there’s nothing beyond a synchronised trading halt tying the two together.

According to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Hobson Development has a market capitalisation of around $10.67 billion. Whereas, Evergrande has a market capitalisation of around $6.91 billion.

Eagle-eyed market watchers will undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on both Evergrande and Hobson, as well as their share prices, over the coming days.

The post What’s the latest news on the Evergrande share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price has lagged the ASX 200
• Why ASX 200 travel shares are having a bumper day
• A budget blowout and a volatile ASX 200. Scott Phillips on Weekend Sunrise
• Is the ASX open and trading today?
• If you invested $1,000 in Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) shares a decade ago, here’s what it would be worth now

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 Atomo Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: AT1) share price has stepped into the green today.

Atomo shares are currently in a requested trading halt, however, just prior to this announcement, were trading 1.5% higher on the day at 34 cents apiece.

Read on for more details.

Why is the Atomo Diagnostics share price halted?

Atomo advised just after lunchtime that trading of its shares is halted “pending a market update announcement (from the company) regarding its commercial arrangements with Access Bio Inc”.

The trading halt will remain in effect until 6 October, unless Atomo decides to make the announcement prior to this.

Access Bio is a manufacturer of test-tube diagnostic tests, with specialties in rapid diagnostic tests for malaria and pregnancy.

Recall that Atomo had announced agreements with Access Bio last year to commercialise its rapid antigen COVID-19 tests in the Australian and North American markets.

It has since received regulatory approval in Australia and the US, using Atomo’s Galileo platform to produce a test called CareStart EZ Covid-19 IgM/IgG.

In Q1 of this year, Atomo entered a partnership with Access for the company’s rapid diagnostic COVID-19 tests in the North American Market, with the first product to be delivered in Q3 FY21.

So far the company has sold 1.1 million testing units to Access Bio and other partners for both the European and North American markets under this arrangement.

With the demand for rapid antibody testing for COVID-19 increasing markedly in the last few months, the company is positioned on the supply side in order to match this surge.

As it stands, more than 50 countries are using Atomo’s antigen tests across a broad range of public and private sectors, according to the company.

There is yet to be any word on when Atomo will make its announcement, if or when before the 6 October.

Atomo Diagnostics share price snapshot

The Atomo Diagnostics share price has had a choppy year to date, posting a return of 11.5% since January 1.

It’s rallied 58% this past month and is up a further 17% in the last week.

Despite this, Atomo shares are 9% in the red over the past 12 months, well behind the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s climb of about 25% in this time.

The post Why is the Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) share price halted? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the 5 top performing ASX shares in September
• Why the Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) share price has rallied 15% today
• Why the Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) share price has soared 30% in a week

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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