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The Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: PAR) share price has strongly rebounded after hitting a 52-week low of $1.76 last week. This comes as the biopharmaceutical company released two positive announcements in the past few days.

At the time of writing, Paradigm shares are up 11.88% to $2.26 apiece. It’s worth noting that this means its share price is also up almost 25% since last Tuesday.

What’s driving Paradigm shares higher?

Investors appear to have found the bottom of the Paradigm share price following its recent surge.

During market trade on Friday, the company released a positive update.

Paradigm stated that it received an Australian ethics approval for its pivotal phase 3 clinical trial, PARA_OA_002. The study is aiming to assess treatment of pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS) against placebo on participants with Knee Osteoarthritis Pain.

Patient recruitment and screening are yet to commence until later this year. The company has identified several sites to conduct the Australian arm of its clinical study.

The other announcement came yesterday, with Paradigm revealing that there has been a response from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This is in relation to its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to begin the United States arm of the study.

According to the notice, the FDA posed just one question about the adrenal gland function. A preclinical finding in the adrenal gland had been indicated in rats only but not in dogs. Paradigm noted that it has not seen a malfunction of the adrenal gland by itself or bene pharmaChem.

As such, the FDA has requested modifications to the company’s adrenal screening and mitigation plan.

Paradigm plans to amend its clinical trial protocol, and respond to the FDA within the next week.

The company’s CEO, Paul Rennie said that he’s confident that the FDA and Paradigm have attained a pathway to commence a phase 3 clinical trial in the United States.

About the Paradigm share price

It has been a whirlwind 12 months for Paradigm shares, reaching highs of $3 late last year, before treading lower. Since September 2020, its shares have fallen around 6%, with year-to-date down 11%.

Based on today’s price, Paradigm presides a market capitalisation of roughly $513.5 million and has approximately 227 million shares outstanding.

The post The Paradigm (ASX:PAR) share price is up 11% on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Limeade, Paradigm, Sandfire, & Vita shares are falling
• Paradigm (ASX:PAR) share price sinks 8% on FDA update
• Why the Paradigm (ASX:PAR) share price is lifting today

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 Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price is under pressure today. Magellan shares are currently trading at $36.89 each, down 2.25% for the day so far. That’s a little worse than the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which is presently down 1.2% so far this Tuesday to 7,296 points.

So why is Magellan, one of the largest fund managers on the ASX, down again today?

Well, one possible reason has emerged. According to a report in today’s Australian Financial Review (AFR), Magellan is facing some pushback from one of its own investors. According to the report, the United Kingdom-based wealth manager St James’s Place represents around “one quarter of Magellan’s institutional funds under management [FUM]” and around 18% of its total FUM.

That’s according to research from broker Jarden. Jarden has revealed that St James’s Place has downgraded Magellan to “amber” under its ‘traffic light system’.

Jarden found that a St James review of Magellan’s mandate reported an “unfavourable concentration risk” with its current position. The report states that this is unlikely to result in St James pulling funds out of Magellan’s management. However, the amber light does reportedly prompt a concern of “specific areas for closer ongoing monitoring”.

It’s perhaps no surprise some investors may have gotten some cold feet with this news. Institutional funds are an essential component of Magellan’s business model. Earlier this month, we broke down Magellan’s most recent FUM figures, which showed that out of the $117.96 billion of FUM the company has, $86.44 billion (or 73.3%) came from institutional investors.

About the Magellan share price

Magellan used to be an ASX share with a growth reputation. As an example, the Magellan share price rose by roughly 150% between January 2019 and January 2020.

However, that reputation has suffered more recently. The company is down approximately 30% year to date in 2021 alone, and is also down by ~35% over the past 12 months. It also remains down by almost 50% from its early 2020 all-time high of roughly $74 a share.

At Magellan’s current share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $6.82 billion. It also has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 25.65, and a dividend yield of 5.7%.

The post Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price falls 2% after investor warning appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX 200 blue chip shares that might be the best to buy
• The Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price just hit another 52-week low, down 17% in a month
• What’s going wrong for the Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price lately?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• The Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price hit a 52-week low this week. Do brokers think it’s a buy?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) share price has slipped into the red during afternoon trade today and currently trades at $155.59.

Domino’s shares are on the move after the company announced a key update regarding its executive appointments and growth vision.

Here’s what we know.

What did Domino’s announce today?

The company announced it had appointed its experienced senior executives to lead its next phase of significant growth. It projects Domino’s will grow to double its current size over the next ten years.

Current Japan CEO and president Josh Kilmnick has been appointed as CEO of Asia-Pacific. 

Kilmnick will work alongside Europe CEO Andre ten Walde, with additional appointments in both regions supporting the growth vision.

The pizza giant advised that its restructure would “align with a twin-region structure, focused on opportunities in Europe and Asia-Pacific”. 

This approach will see a continued focus on global strategies and systems, such as the company’s OneDigital platform which has propelled online ordering to a record 78.2% growth, according to the announcement.

Domino’s said its European and Asia-Pacific regions each have a population base of around 180 million people.

With its new focus, it intends to maximise these opportunities into 2030 and beyond.

The announcement also notes Domino’s anticipates it will grow much larger businesses in both regions, each forecast to be bigger than the entire Domino’s Pizza enterprise of today. 

It intends to scale up its localised marketing and store rollouts strategy on a regional level.

The announcement claims it has taken this approach in the past, for instance when using its Australian marketing resources to support New Zealand, which has proven the benefits of the model.

Yet investors don’t appear impressed by the update and have sold Domino’s shares on the news.

Currently, the Domino’s share price is down around 2% from the market open.

Domino’s pizza share price snapshot

After a difficult start to the year, the Domino’s pizza share price has made a swift recovery and posted a return of 79% this year to date.

This extends its return over the past 12 months to 92%.

Both of these results are well ahead of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 25% in this time.

The post Domino’s (ASX:DMP) share price slips amid management restructure appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Collins Foods (ASX:CKF) share price is surging higher today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: APA makes AusNet bid, New Hope results impress
• Why this broker downgraded the Domino’s (ASX:DMP) share price
• The Domino’s (ASX:DMP) share price has hit another new 52-week high
• Another day, another Dominos (ASX:DMP) share price all-time high

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 recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises 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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Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX: NVA) share price has stepped well into the red during afternoon trade today and now trades at 11.8 cents each.

Nova Minerals shares are on the move after the company successfully completed a capital raise to fund its growth vision in Alaska.

Here’s what we know.

What did Nova Minerals announce?

Nova successfully raised $12 million to finance developments across its Estelle gold district in Alaska.

It raised the funds through the issue of 109 million ordinary shares at a price of 11 cents each.

The company has released a flurry of market sensitive announcements over the last week regarding this site, and also released its annual report today as well. 

In its results, the company outlined its financial development for the year, where it ended FY21 with just over $15 million in cash.

The $12 million raised today is therefore a welcome addition to provide working capital and additional cash for the Estelle project.

Now it will put the funds to work to accelerate the development and growth of this site, hoping to potentially unlock further gold resources.

Primarily it will fund drilling projects at the site to identify more gold targets.

Nova will also use some of the funds to complete a pre-feasibility study for the project, whilst beefing up infrastructure there to make things more efficient.

Today’s equity raise follows a previous $21 million that was drawn in for investors in November of last year to finance the Estelle project.

Investors certainly aren’t impressed by the news and have sold Nova minerals shares in droves this afternoon. Perhaps they are seeking more juice for the squeeze out of Estelle.

The Nova minerals share price now trains 19% lower from the market open, extending its loss over the past week to 16%.

Nova minerals share price snapshot

The Nova minerals share price has had an incredibly bumpy year to date and has posted a loss of 27% since January 1.

Despite this, it is 7% in the green over the past 12 months.

Nonetheless, this is not enough to get ahead of the S&P ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 25% this last year.

The post Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) share price tanks 18% on cap raise news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) share price jumps on gold discovery
• Here’s why the Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) share price is up 13% on Friday

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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The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is down almost 2% on the day that shareholders are being urged to reject the resource giant’s climate action plan.

Glass Lewis is a large proxy adviser. It aims to help institutional investors and publicly listed companies to make sustainable decisions based on research and data. It covers more than 30,000 meetings each year, across approximately 100 global markets.

BHP is currently under the microscope according to reporting by the Australian Financial Review.

What is BHP’s climate change plan?

A couple of weeks ago, the resources business announced its climate transition action plan.

BHP acknowledged that the world faces a critical challenge to respond effectively to the risks of climate change, and that the business world needs to play its role. BHP said it must play its part.

It has a plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero within its operations by 2050 and to work with customers and suppliers to support their own emissions reductions. BHP has an ambition of reaching net zero in its value chain.

The company currently has a target reducing its operational emissions by FY30 by at least 30% compared to FY20.

BHP says its portfolio is already well positioned to support the transition to a lower carbon world aligned with the Paris Agreement goals, while also creating value for shareholders and broader stakeholders.

It points out that its steelmaking materials (iron ore and metallurgical coal) and future facing commodities (including copper, nickel and potash) can provide the building blocks for renewable energy and other decarbonisation infrastructure.

Scope 1 emissions are from sources that are owned or controlled by BHP, such as emissions from materials haulage. Scope 2 emissions predominately relate to the generation of purchased electricity used by operations. The Scope 3 emissions includes all other emissions outside of BHP’s operated assets, resulting from the activities of suppliers, logistics, customers and so on. Scope 3 emissions account for 96% of BHP’s total reported emissions. The most significant of the Scope 3 emissions comes from steelmaking.

As part of its plan, BHP announced an enhanced Scope 3 position. It said it’s pursuing the long-term goal of net zero Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Within that, it’s targeting net zero for the operational emissions of its direct suppliers and the emissions from maritime transport of its products.

However, BHP said it couldn’t set a target for its customers processing its products, but it will continue to partner with them to accelerate the transition towards carbon neutral steelmaking.

Why doesn’t Glass Lewis like the plan?

The proxy adviser, according to the AFR, said that external assessments of BHP’s climate goals “showed they were not aligned with the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Accord” which aims to keep global temperature rises below 2C.

It was also reported that Glass Lewis said the Scope 3 goals were somewhat limited and BHP should give more details about its plans, stating:

We believe that more specificity, particularly with regard to its goal regarding steelmaking (which comprises approximately three-fourths of its Scope 3 emissions) could allow shareholders a better understanding of how the company intends to address this issue.

BHP shareholders will get an opportunity in the coming weeks to vote on this, though the vote will reportedly not be binding.

The post BHP (ASX:BHP) shareholders urged to reject climate action plan appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Fortescue jumps, Wesfarmers dealt takeover blow
• How can you fully invest and not sell, then buy during market corrections?
• Broker tips BHP (ASX:BHP) and this dividend share to provide huge yields
• After falling 16% in a month, is the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price now a buy?

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 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 Archer Materials Ltd (ASX: AXE) share price has struggled to get into the green today.

Shares in the high-tech materials company have tumbled more than 5% in today’s session.

Let’s take a closer look at why the Archer Materials share price is struggling today.   

What’s weighing down the Archer Materials share price?

Archer Materials has not released any price-sensitive news that could explain today’s bearish price action.

As a result, it can be assumed that multiple factors are weighing down shares in the high-tech material company.

In addition to general weakness in the broader market, investors could also be locking in profits.

The Archer Materials share price has had a solid month thus far, spurred by its recent patent grant in the US.

The company hit a commercialisation milestone last week after securing a patent in the US for its CQ quantum computing chip.

According to Archer, the patent will provide the company with protection of the related intellectual property rights in the US.

Archer regards the US as a critical strategic jurisdiction to help protect and potentially commercialise its products.

Shares in Archer Materials rocketed more than 29% on the day of the announcement.

As a result, many investors could be looking to lock in their profits.

More on the Archer Materials share price

Archer Materials operates within the semiconductor industry and has a vast pipeline of devices that are in various developmental and commercialisation stages.

In addition to a strong month, the Archer share price has also had a stellar year thus far.

Shares in the high-tech material company have soared more than 232% since the start of 2021.

The company’s share price surged to a record high of $3.08 last month, following another patent update.

However, the company’s share price came under pressure following media speculations regarding its patent application in Australia.

The company rejected the accusations made against its CQ quantum computer chip patent.

At the time of writing, the Archer share price is down more than 4% for the day.

Shares in the tech company were down more than 5% earlier, after hitting an intra-day low of $1.78.

The post The Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price is down 5% on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price soars 29% on US patent
• The Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price is flying 7% higher today

Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is in the red today as the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) weighs on the market.

At the time of writing, the ASX 200 index is down a notable 0.96% from its previous closing price.

Meanwhile, the healthcare sector has fallen 3% today as some of its biggest members struggle.

The Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price is leading the sector’s losses, falling 5%. Stock in CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) is down 3%. As is that of Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) and Resmed CDI (ASX: RMD).

So, why is the ASX 200 healthcare sector struggling through Tuesday’s session? Let’s take a look.

Healthcare sector weighs on ASX 200

The healthcare sector is dragging the ASX 200 lower today, likely spurred by movements in US markets.

Overnight, the US’s S&P 500 index fell 0.28% and its own healthcare sector was branded as one of its worst performers.

As most Australians slept last night, the S&P 500 Health Care Sector fell a whopping 1.43% on Monday (Tuesday AEST).

The Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) share price was one of its biggest fallers. It fell 4.95% to US$408.84.

As my Foolish US colleague reported, Moderna’s dip might have been spurred by its CEO’s comments. The company’s boss recently told media that the COVID-19 pandemic could be over within a year.

Of course, Moderna is the maker of one of the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines and an end to the pandemic will likely mean less demand for inoculation.

Finally, the healthcare sector isn’t the only area impacted by the US market today.

The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) and S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) are both down around 2% today after the S&P 500 tech index and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1% and 0.5% respectively overnight.

The post The healthcare sector is weighing on the ASX 200 on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Technology shares are dragging the ASX 200 down on Tuesday
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Beach shares jump, a2 Milk rises
• 2 high-yielding ASX 200 dividend shares
• Why the Collins Foods (ASX:CKF) share price is surging higher today
• 3 blue chip ASX 200 shares to buy

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 shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Moderna Inc. and ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. and Sonic Healthcare 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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ASX 200 energy shares continue to gather momentum following a bullish outlook for oil prices.

Brent oil has rallied almost 10% in September, currently trading at 23-month highs of US$79.05 a barrel.

The S&P/ASX Energy (INDEXASX: XEJ) index has rallied for 6 consecutive sessions, adding 13.8% to a 3-month high.

ASX 200 heavyweights including Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX: WPL), Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) are posting solid gains across the board, up 4.13%, 4.9% and 5.35% respectively on Tuesday.

Goldman forecasts oil to reach US$90/b by year end

Goldman Sachs raised its forecast for oil from US$80/lb to US$90/lb, according to Reuters.

In a note from 26 September, Goldman said:

While we have long held a bullish oil view, the current global supply-demand deficit is larger than we expected, with the recovery in global demand from the Delta impact even faster than our above-consensus forecast and with global supply remaining short of our below consensus forecasts.

From a supply perspective, the broker pointed to Hurricane Ida as a major blow to global supply with its impact “more than offset[ing] OPEC+’s production ramp-up since July.”

In terms of demand, Goldman said that risks were “squarely skewed to the upside in the winter, as a global gas shortage will increase oil-fired power generation”.

This also comes at a time where oil sentiment could receive a further boost as the United States has its eyes set on relaxing air travel restrictions for vaccinated foreign passengers in November.

Goldman acknowledged the Delta variant could pose a risk to demand and that an “aggressively faster ramp-up in OPEC+ production” could soften its projected deficit.

As a result, Goldman lowered its 2022 forecasts for the second and fourth quarter from US$85/b to US$80/b.

What does this mean for ASX 200 energy shares?

ASX 200 energy shares have been quick to re-rate with many charts going vertical in the past two weeks.

Despite benchmark oil prices trading at almost 2-year highs, most ASX 200 energy shares have lagged, trading well below pre-COVID levels.

For shareholders, the commentary from Goldman Sachs is encouraging and could continue to support the comeback narrative taking place for the energy industry.

The post ASX 200 energy shares are surging, crude oil to hit US$90/b by year end: analyst appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Which ASX shares are the top movers in the ASX 300 today?
• Why the Oil Search (ASX:OSH) share price is surging 5% on Tuesday
• Why this broker sees the Santos (ASX:STO) share price jumping 20%
• Here’s what’s driving support for ASX 200 energy shares
• Why the Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price is up 4% today

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 S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) is sliding on Tuesday, rubbing out yesterday’s 0.54% gain.

During early-afternoon trade, the ASX 300 is down 0.90% to 7,319.6 points. This means that the index has dropped around 2.3% in the past month.

Let’s take a look at which ASX companies are the strong performers today.

Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)

The Beach Energy share price is on fire again today, adding another 8.10% to $1.335. This means that over the past week; the energy producer’s shares are up almost 30%.

The company provided investors with a positive update on Monday after market close relating to a supply agreement with BP.

In addition, the price of oil improved overnight further fuelling the company’s share price ascent.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

The Whitehaven Coal share price is pushing higher with a 6.19% gain to $3.26.

The Australian-based coal miner has experienced a significant rise in coking coal prices. At current, the steel making ingredient is fetching for a record US$204.75 a tonne.

Investors are indeed buying up Whitehaven shares as the company will be producing bumper profits for the time being.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

Also flying higher is the Santos share price, up 5.34% to $7.10 apiece.

The oil and gas company hasn’t released any news in the past few weeks. However, the price of oil lifting will further boost its revenues for Santos.

Just last week, Swiss investment firm, UBS raised its price target on Santos shares by 2.4% to $8.65. Based on the current share price, this implies an upside of around 22%.

Now, let’s take a look at the weaker ASX 300 companies.

Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR)

Falling today is the Liontown share price, down 6.54% to $1.43, with no new market announcements from the company.

Investors have sold off the emerging lithium producer’s shares after they reached an all-time high of $1.655 last week. Since January 2021, its shares have accelerated by more than 320% and 670% in the last year.

Liontown Resources is focusing on developing its wholly-owned world-class Kathleen Valley Lithium Project. The asset is considered a tier-1 battery metals site with excellent grade and scale in one of Western Australia’s best mining districts.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Another company’s shares being weighed down by investors today is the Megaport share price, down 6.45% to $16.10.

The elasticity connectivity and network services interconnection provider did not release any announcements. It appears investors believe in JPMorgans’ assessment last month, downgrading Megaport’s rating to “underweight” from previously being “neutral”. The broker cut its outlook by 3.2% to $15 per share.

The post Which ASX shares are the top movers in the ASX 300 today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Beach, Collins Foods, Origin, & Tuas shares are racing higher
• Technology shares are dragging the ASX 200 down on Tuesday
• Why this broker sees the Santos (ASX:STO) share price jumping 20%
• Here’s what’s driving support for ASX 200 energy shares
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Beach shares jump, a2 Milk rises

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO. 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 WAM Capital Limited (ASX: WAM) share price is having a happy day indeed today so far. WAM shares are trading up 0.42% to $2.37 apiece. That’s a new 52-week high for WAM Capital, one of the ASX’s largest Listed Investment Companies (LICs).

So what’s pushed WAM Capital up to this new high watermark?

Well, there has been some news out this morning that may be contributing to the optimism today.
WAM Capital announced that it is intending to place a bid to acquire its fellow LIC PM Capital Asian Opportunities Fund (ASX: PAF). WAM has put up an offer of 1 WAM share for every 1.99 PAF shares owned.

This offer ups the ante for shareholders in the Asian Opportunities Fund, who have already received a takeover bid from another interested party.

Earlier this month, the Asian Opportunities Fund announced it had entered into a scheme of arrangement with the PM Capital Global Opportunities Fund (ASX: PGF). The Global Opportunities Fund is a far larger LIC from the same family.

This offer constituted an offer representing the value of “PAF’s after-tax net tangible assets (before deferred tax assets) per share divided by PGF’s after-tax net tangible assets (before deferred tax assets) per share”.

WAM Capital to add another LIC to the stable?

However, according to WAM, its new offer represents a “premium to the implied value of PAF shareholders under the [alternative] Scheme”

If the Asian Opportunities Fund ditches a “break fee” that was included in the previous scheme, WAM has offered an increased bid of 1 WAM share for every 1.975 PAF shares owned.

Here’s some of what WAM chairman Geoff Wilson said on the offer this morning:

WAM Capitals’ Offer is clearly superior to the proposed Scheme and we look forward to PAF’s Board Committee recommending our offer to all PAF shareholders.

It is our view that the PAF board of directors have not explored all avenues to extract maximum value for PAF shareholders. The Break Fee payable by PAF shareholders, in the event the proposed Scheme does not proceed, is illogical and uncommercial…

The PM Capital Asian Opportunities Fund share price has reacted very positively today so far as well. PAF shares are currently up 5.26% to $1.10 a share.

The Asian Opportunities Fund is an LIC that primarily looks, unsurprisingly, at companies listed in Asia. It typically invests in a “concentrated portfolio of 15-35 within Asia ex-Japan”. Some of its most recent disclosed holdings include iCar Asia, Sinopec Kantons and China Mobile.

At WAM Capital’s current share price, this LIC has a market capitalisation of $2.08 billion with a dividend yield of 6.54%.

The post WAM Capital (ASX:WAM) share price hits new high on proposed takeover bid appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Own WAM (ASX:WAM) Capital shares? Here’s what you’re invested in
• Wilson Asset Management (WAM) thinks these 2 top ASX shares are a buy
• The WAM Capital (ASX:WAM) share price is up 6% in a month. What’s next?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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