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At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a strong gain. The benchmark index is currently up 1.1% to 7,375.6 points.

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

Transurban returns and falls

The Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) share price is trading lower today after completing the institutional component of its equity raising. This morning the toll road operator revealed that it has raised $2.9 billion at an 8.3% discount of $13.00 per share. Management advised that the offer attracted strong demand from institutional shareholders, with approximately 93% of eligible entitlements taken up. Transurban is raising funds to acquire the remaining stake in WestConnex.

Premier Investments results

The Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) share price is storming higher today following the release of its full year results. This morning the retail conglomerate reported an 18.7% increase in retail sales to $1,443.2 million and a 97% jump in statutory net profit after tax to $271.8 million. The Peter Alexander brand was a particularly positive performer, reporting stellar sales growth over the 12 months.

Brickworks results

The Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) share price is pushing higher after the release of its full year results. The building products company reported a 6% decline in revenue to $890 million but a 95% jump in underlying net profit after tax to $285 million. The key driver of this result was the company’s joint venture property trust with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG).

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the News Corp (ASX: NWS) share price with a 9% gain. This morning Goldman Sachs reiterated its conviction buy rating and $44.50 price target on its shares. The worst performer has been the Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) share price with a 2.5% decline. Risk-on sentiment is weighing on gold miners today.

The post ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Transurban falls, Premier Investments jumps appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 shares jump as Fed flags bond tapering
• Brickworks (ASX:BKW) share price jumps as net profit soars by 95%
• Premier Investments (ASX:PMV) share price surges on FY21 results, NPAT up 97%
• Why the Transurban (ASX:TCL) share price is falling today
• 2 top ASX growth shares that could be buys

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Premier Investments 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 Predictive Discovery Ltd (ASX: PDI) share price is screaming higher this morning after the company announced a key gold drilling update.

Shortly after the market open, the Predictive Discovery share price hit 17 cents, which is 21% higher than yesterday’s close.

At the timing of writing, the price has settled back to 16 cents, representing a 10.34% gain.

Let’s take a closer look at the drilling update.

What did Predictive Discovery announce?

Predictive announced that its high impact air-core (AC) drill results “returned excellent initial results”, following up from a series of “regional gold auger anomalies” near its NE Bankan gold deposit in Guinea’s Siguiri Basin.

The company said its extensive AC drilling program is just beginning, with the results of 16 drill holes reported in its announcement.

As a result, Predictive is testing “multiple promising targets” that were identified by previous examinations of the area.

The company says the drill results are further evidence that it is “just at the beginning of the Bankan discovery story”.

It anticipates finding a lot more gold across the full project area.

Investors have bought on the news, and are pushing the Predictive Discovery share price higher in early trade.

The greenfields Bankan Project is Predictive’s flagship project. It was discovered in April 2020. NE Bankan is the second gold discovery at the site and is just 3km from the first discovery.

What did management say?

Predictive Discovery managing director, Paul Roberts said:

These shallow, high-grade results are a great start to our regional AC program and confirm the potential for discovering new zones of gold mineralisation very close to NE Bankan.

Expanding on the drill results, Roberts added:

Importantly, some of the new AC drill results also suggest that transported material may have been too deep
in places for the auger to drill through it, opening up the possibility that some of the new mineralised zones
reported here may extend significantly along strike in follow-up AC drilling.

Predictive Discovery share price snapshot

Predictive Discovery has been a major ASX performer this year, with its share price rising 166% since 1 January.

Over the past 12 months, the Predictive Discovery share price has gained 128%. This is well ahead of the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) which is up about 24% over the past year.

The post Predictive Discovery (ASX:PDI) share price zooms 21% on drill results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Predictive Discovery (ASX:PDI) share price is rocketing 9%

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 Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) share price has plummeted today after the company announced news of its prostate cancer imaging investigational product, Illuccix.

Illuccix is currently in the midst of the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval process. However, Telix has announced the FDA has extended the product’s review period by 3 months.   

The Telix share price has fallen 6.3% on the back of the news. Shares in the company are currently trading for $6.37 a piece.

Though, earlier today they hit a low of $5.66, representing a drop of 16%.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news from the biotechnology company.

Illuccix’s FDA approvals process extended

The Telix share price is tumbling today after the company announced the FDA has extended its review process for Illuccix.

The date for the process to be finalised has now been pushed back to 23 December 2021.

The extra time will allow the FDA to further review and consider information to do with the product’s manufacturing, as well as conclude its label review.

According to Telix, 3 months is the FDA’s standard review extension period.

Telix noted that it had met with the FDA in June. Then, the FDA stated it wasn’t aware of any manufacturing or clinical review issues with Telix’s Illuccix.

However, Telix’s pre-authorisation inspection (PAI) fell after the review meeting and raised a set of manufacturing-related observations.

Illuccix is also under review by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration and the company’s working towards marketing authorisation applications for Illuccix in Europe and Canada.

Telix share price snapshot

Despite today’s dip, the Telix share price has been performing well lately.

Right now, it is 58% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It has also gained 261% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $1.9 billion.

The post Telix (ASX:TLX) share price sinks 6% on FDA update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Telix (ASX:TLX) share price is rocketing 6% today
• Why the Telix (ASX:TLX) share price is charging higher today

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 Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is looking bullish in September, up 11% to 10-month highs of $5.68. At the time of writing, it is up 3.66% on the day to $5.67.

This follows an optimistic FY21 full-year results announcement and news the United States might reopen its international borders as soon as November.

Good news for travellers

The United States will reopen its borders in November to fully vaccinated travellers from 33 countries, the White House reported on Monday.

According to Reuters, this marks a sudden shift from the Biden administration which last week said that “it was not the right time to lift any restrictions amid rising COVID-19 cases”.

The United States will welcome air travellers from 26 European countries, as well as the UK, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran, and Brazil.

The news has sparked a jump for both the Qantas share price and the broader ASX-listed travel sector this week.

ASX-travel shares rejoice

ASX-travel shares have bounced higher this week even after a sharp selloff for the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) on Monday.

Airlines including Qantas, Air New Zealand Limited (ASX: AIZ) and Regional Express Holdings Ltd (ASX: REX) are up a respective 2.3%, 2.3% and 3.7% this week.

Travel management companies like Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) and Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) have rebounded strongly after Monday’s correction, up 9.1% and 3.3% respectively.

Qantas expects international travel to pick up in 1H21

Qantas’ FY21 full-year results expected international flying in 1H22 to be at approximately 15 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

The company said once Australia’s borders begin to reopen, the group’s international capacity is expected to pick up by 30 to 40 per cent by Q3 and 50 to 70 per cent by Q4, compared to pre-COVID levels.

Qantas share price tests 10-month high

The Qantas share price has been had highs of $5.80 and lows of $4 since November last year.

Qantas is trading towards the upper level, currently fetching $5.67.

The post Why the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price is rallying 3% on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How has the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price performed since reporting results?
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• Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price gains amid $20 flights resting on domestic reopening
• How have these 3 ASX 200 travel shares performed since reporting results?
• Is it too late to buy Qantas (ASX:QAN) and other ASX travel shares?

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 Corporate Travel Management Limited and 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is currently up around 1% to 7,371 points as the US Federal Reserve revealed its plans for bond tapering.

What did the Federal Reserve say?

The world’s most followed central bank noted that the US has made progress on vaccinations and there is strong policy support, whilst economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen.

Sectors that have been hurt most by impacts of COVID-19 have improved in recent months, though the rise in COVID-19 cases have slowed their recovery.

It was noted by the central bank that inflation is elevated, but it put that down largely to transition factors.

The Fed said that the path of the economy continues to depend on the course of the virus, though ongoing vaccinations will help reduce the impacts of the public health crisis on the economy. However, the central bank believes there are still risks to the economic outlook.

Inflation and employment targets

The Fed committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2% over the longer run. Considering inflation has been high for some time, the Fed is going to aim for inflation to be “moderately above” 2% for some time. It expects to maintain an accommodative stance of monetary policy until these outcomes are achieved.

It’s going to keep the interest rate target rate at 0% to 0.25% and expects to keep it at this level until the job market has reached “maximum employment” and inflation targets are also on track.

Reduction of bond buying

Central bank bond buying can have a supporting impact on the ASX 200.

The current bond buying situation is that the Fed has been increasing its holdings of Treasury securities by at least $80 billion per month and of agency mortgage‑backed securities by at least $40 billion per month. It was doing this until substantial further progress had been made toward its maximum employment and price stability goals.

If the economy keeps recovering as it is, then the Fed believes it would be warranted to slow down the pace of asset purchases.

According to reporting by the Australian Financial Review, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank could reduce asset purchases as soon as November and complete the process by the middle of 2022. Mr Powell also said:

The timing and pace of the coming reduction in asset purchases will not be intended to carry a direct signal regarding the timing of interest rate lift-off.

What has the ASX 200 done?

As mentioned, the ASX 200 is up around 1%, but within that there are different movers.

Looking at some of the biggest businesses, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is up 1.3%, the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price has increased 2.5%, the Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price is up 2% and the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has risen over 4%.

Looking at the overall ASX 200, there are a few other ASX shares that have performed even stronger. The Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP) share price is up more than 6%, the AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL) share price is up over 5% and the Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price is currently up 4.6%.

The post ASX 200 shares jump as Fed flags bond tapering appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Expert gives 7 tips for investors in ASX shares during a market correction
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Worried about a looming ASX 200 crash? Read this…
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Wednesday
• Own Telstra (ASX:TLS) shares? Then you’re helping develop flying cars

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Fortescue Metals Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Bapcor, Corporate Travel Management 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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The Kingsgate Consolidated Limited (ASX: KCN) share price has surged 45% higher on Thursday morning after an important update from the Aussie resources group.

Why the Kingsgate share price is surging 45% higher

Shares in the Aussie gold exploration and production company have been on fire this morning. The company’s market capitalisation has swelled to over $250 million at the time of writing. The significant share price upswing comes after an update on its ongoing talks with the Government of Thailand.

The Kingsgate announced negotiations with the Royal Thai Government are now entering the final stages. This update comes on the back of the company’s 18 February 2021 update on operating licences and permits.

Kingsgate has been negotiating with the south-east Asian government to settle on a number of actionable steps. Some of those steps outlined in today’s release include:

• The grant of all operating licences and permit applications required to re-start and operate the Chatree Gold Mine;
• The renewal/approval of key exploration licence applications to enable access to previously unavailable but highly prospective areas;
• Establishing improved processes around expediting approvals of mining leases and mine plans; and
• Support from the Thai Government for the potential listing of Akara Resources on the Thai Stock Exchange.

There were a number of other items noted by the company in today’s update which has sent the Kingsgate share price soaring on Thursday.

The company noted “there can be no guarantee that a negotiated settlement will be reached” but Kingsgate is “comforted by its recent engagement with the Thai Government, and Kingsgate maintains it has excellent prospects of a successful arbitral outcome if these negotiations do not successfully conclude”.

The news has kicked the Kingsgate share price higher this morning. After an up and down start to the year, shares in the Aussie miner are now up 19.4% year to date following today’s surge.

Foolish takeaway

The Kingsgate share price is rocketing higher on Thursday morning. It comes after a promising update on negotiations with the Thai Government to restart and operate the company’s Chatree Gold Mine in the company.

The post Kingsgate (ASX:KCN) share price rockets 45% on Thailand update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• AMP Capital’s chief economist on the future of Bitcoin and altcoins
• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price falls as Chinese lithium prices hit new high
• Bapcor (ASX:BAP) share price zooms 7% higher on broker upgrade
• Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price jumps 4%, iron ore back above US$100 a tonne
• Brickworks (ASX:BKW) share price jumps as net profit soars by 95%

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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 AnteoTech Ltd (ASX: ADO) share price is rocketing today. This comes after news the company has submitted its SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid diagnostic test for Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval.

According to the company, its rapid diagnostic test is able to detect COVID-19 in 97.3% of cases and can provide results in 1 minute.  

At the time of writing, the AnteoTech share price is 29.5 cents, 7.27% higher than its previous close.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news from the biotechnology company.

Rapid COVID-19 test submitted for TGA approval

The AnteoTech share price is soaring after the company announced it has submitted its COVID-19 rapid diagnostic test for TGA approval.

AnteoTech’s test uses a nasal swap to test for COVID-19 infections in 1 minute. AnteoTech is also working on creating a saliva-based sampling method.

The test has been submitted for TGA approval alongside AnteoTech’s Eugeni Reader Platform – a transportable device needed to read AnteoTech’s rapid COVID-19 tests.

If the products receive TGA approval, AnteoTech will begin marketing, selling, and using the tests in Australia.

AnteoTech is already working with Australian distributor, Abacus dx, in the hope the rapid testing products will be approved.

Abacus has a strong pipeline of potential customers for the test across the healthcare and screening markets. AnteoTech believes the test’s first sales will happen shortly after it’s listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods.

The AnteoTech share price soared 14% last week when the company announced a distribution agreement to sell the rapid tests in Greece and Cyprus.

Additionally, if the TGA grants approval for the rapid test, it will create a benchmark for its efficacy and quality.

Currently, numerous COVID-19 rapid diagnostic tests are approved for use in Australia.

However, the TGA advises rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19 shouldn’t be relied upon. The body says the prevalence of COVID-19 in Australia is lower than the number of false positives or false negatives that would likely result from rapid testing.

AnteoTech share price snapshot

Today’s gains included, the AnteoTech share price is 168% higher than it was at the start of 2021.

It has also gained 268% since this time last year.

The post AnteoTech (ASX:ADO) share price soars 7% on news of rapid COVID-19 test appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Afterpay, AnteoTech, Cettire, & Vulcan shares are storming higher
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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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Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) has shaken off its 5-day losing streak to post a 7% gain over the past 24 hours.

One Bitcoin is currently worth US$43,592 (AU$60,544). That’s still down 10% from 1 week ago, though.

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is having an even stronger run, up 10% in 24 hours to US$3,062. Ether also remains down 15% over the full week.

But it’s not just Bitcoin and Ether gaining today.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, every single one of the top 100 cryptos by market cap has gained (or is at worst flat) over the past 24 hours.

This once again highlights the strong link between cryptocurrency markets and global share markets. Share markets also posted strong gains yesterday, with more expected today.

Which brings us to a question posed to Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital.

Oliver, presenting at AMP Capital’s webinar yesterday, was asked whether investors should regard Bitcoin and the wider world of altcoins as an asset class?

(If you’re not familiar, an altcoin is really any digital token that’s not Bitcoin.)

Should investors regard Bitcoin as an asset class?

Oliver expressed some potential optimism on certain altcoins, including Ethereum.

But he was less than enthusiastic on the longer-term outlook for Bitcoin:

I’m a little bit sceptical. It’s hard to see Bitcoin becoming digital cash. It’s very expensive per transaction, about $30 per transaction. It’s very slow. And it’s extremely volatile.

Bitcoin bounces around all over the place in the short term, so I don’t quite know what it’s going to be worth at any point in time. Whereas the money sitting in my bank account, I know what it’s going to be worth.

Bitcoin is indeed extremely volatile. Remember that back in mid-April, the token was worth somewhat north of US$64,200. And on 20 July, it tumbled below US$29,650.

Oliver also pointed out that Bitcoin wasn’t a capital asset that generated rents or profits, making it impossible to value. That left it as “just something to speculate on”.

Then there’s the massive energy use required to run the oodles of computers used to verify blockchain transactions and mine new Bitcoins.

Describing the energy use as “comparable to the entire nation of Argentina”, Oliver said that wasn’t a good setup in today’s environmentally oriented world.

While he did see a future for digital money, Oliver said, “I think ultimately government will do it itself.” Like the essentially digital cash he already had on his phone, he said, which was easy and free to use.

What about Ethereum and other altcoins?

Oliver was moderately more optimistic on the outlook for Ether and other altcoins, and blockchain technology as a whole.

He said Ether and altcoins that could underpin global government moves to digital currencies and support decentralised finance might have a brighter future if they could be part of the DeFi revolution.

But not Bitcoin. Not even if the price went far higher than today, Oliver said, admitting he might take some flak from the token’s supporters for throwing out the term “Ponzi scheme”.

“I don’t see Bitcoin being the one going forward,” he said. “Just because Bitcoin goes up in price doesn’t prove it has a long-term future. But, of course, it could still go up a long way from here.”

The post AMP Capital’s chief economist on the future of Bitcoin and altcoins appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. 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 Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is trading slightly lower on Thursday. It was up in early trade but at the time of writing is down 0.47% to $2.14.

Shares in the largest ASX-listed lithium player have been trading sideways since early August, likely stalled by profit-taking and broader market volatility.

After all, the Pilbara Minerals share price is up 150% year-to-date and up more than 580% in the past 12 months.

While Pilbara Minerals might continue to consolidate around the low $2 level, lithium spot prices have continued to climb.

Chinese lithium prices mark fresh record highs

China’s lithium carbonate prices continued to trend higher as buyers returned from the country’s national two-day Mid-Autumn Festival holidays.

S&P Global Platts assessed battery-grade lithium carbonate prices were up 7% since Tuesday to 182,000 yuan per metric tonne on Wednesday.

Market participants said there was “limited trading liquidity, with produces prioritising negotiating their term contracts with existing customers for October delivery”, according to S&P Global.

A modest pullback for the Pilbara Minerals share price

Pilbara Minerals is down about 15% from its all-time high of $2.53 on 15 September. That said, its shares have found plenty of buying support around the $2 level.

The Pilbara Minerals share price is likely buoyed by robust lithium prices, with its latest auction results reiterating the bullish narrative.

Last week, Pilbara Minerals announced the results of its second lithium spodumene digital auction. The highest bid came in at US$2,240/dry metric tonne (dmt) for 5.5% spodumene concentrate.

It was just two months ago that its inaugural auction received bids from US$700/dry metric tonne (dmt) to US$1,250/dmt.

S&P pointed out that tight supply conditions have led to higher prices, with some market participants buying “available September delivery cargoes to stockpile ahead of production”.

“Some suppliers were asking for Yuan 180,000/mt for October-delivery battery-grade lithium in their term negotiations, which — if accepted by buyers — will likely drive spot prices to Yuan 190,000/mt or above.”

The post Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price falls as Chinese lithium prices hit new high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• These 3 ASX 200 shares are the most heavily traded so far this Thursday

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 Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP) share price has been a very strong performer on Thursday morning.

At the time of writing, the auto parts company’s shares are up almost 7% to $7.71.

Why is the Bapcor share price zooming higher?

Investors have been bidding Bapcor’s shares higher today after it was the subject of a bullish broker note.

According to the note out of Citi, its analysts have upgraded the company’s shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $8.25.

Based on the current Bapcor share price, this implies potential upside of 7% over the next 12 months even after today’s strong gain.

Citi is also forecasting a 23 cents per share fully franked dividend in FY 2022. This represents a 3% yield at the current share price.

Why did the broker upgrade its shares?

The note reveals that Citi made the move largely on valuation grounds. This follows a significant pullback by the Bapcor share price since August.

In addition, the broker is positive on the company’s medium term outlook. This is thanks to its growth plans and the upcoming reopening of New South Wales and Victoria from lockdowns.

Citi commented: “We upgrade to Buy as we see the risk/reward tradeoff to be more favourable following the -14% share price decline since the August 2021 peak. We see the company well placed to benefit from the reopening of NSW and Victoria, which is expected start from October 2021.”

“Bapcor’s medium term growth strategies of rollout, private label penetration and supply chain optimisation remains intact. Further, our analysis of the proposed FY22 CEO LTI scheme suggests FactSet consensus medium term earnings expectations could be conservative,” it added.

Today’s gain means the Bapcor share price is trading broadly flat in 2021 but up 12% on a 12-month basis.

The post Bapcor (ASX:BAP) share price zooms 7% higher on broker upgrade 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 Bapcor. 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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