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The Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) share price is deep in the red today.

Shares in the mining exploration company plunged more than 6% in today’s session to an intraday low of $1.41. At the time of writing, they have clawed back some ground to be down 3.16% at $1.47 apiece.

Let’s take a look at why the Liontown share price is struggling.

What’s weighing down the Liontown share price?

The Liontown share price has been under pressure today despite the company not releasing any price-sensitive news.

However, there are multiple factors that could be weighing down its shares.

The first consideration is weakness in the broader market. In addition, sliding lithium spot prices could also be having an effect.

Another consideration is the company’s recent performance.

Since the start of September, shares in the mining exploration company have soared more than 57%.

As a result, many investors may be looking to lock in profits given the uncertainty in the broader market.

What’s Liontown been up to?

Shares in Liontown have had a miraculous run this month.

Investors have been bidding shares in the mining explorer higher as anticipation builds for the Initial Public Offering of its spinoff.

Last month, Liontown announced that it will be spinning off its non-lithium assets into Minerals 260 Limited.

In return, current Liontown shareholders will receive 1 share in Minerals 260 for every 11.91 Liontown shares they hold.

As part of the demerger, Minerals 260 will own the Moora Gold-Nickel-Copper-PGE Project.

In addition, the new company will also have an option interest in the Koojan Gold-Nickel-Copper-PGE Project and the Dingo Rocks Project.

Minerals 260 is poised to float on the ASX on 11 October.

In addition, the Liontown share price has also received a boost after the company was added to the ASX 300 Index as part of S&P Dow Jones Indices’ quarterly rebalance.

Snapshot of the Liontown share price

Liontown shares have been the beneficiary of increased mining exploration expenditure and a commodity price boom in 2021.

Liontown is best known for its Kathleen Valley Lithium project in Western Australia.

Since the start of the year, shares in the mining explorer have soared more than 338%. They are up more than 684% over the last 12 months.

The post Why is the Liontown (ASX:LTR) share price sinking 6% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX lithium shares are rallying across the board today. Here’s why.
• Which ASX 300 shares are the biggest winners and losers today?
• The Liontown (ASX:LTR) share price is leaping 18% to a new all-time high today
• Which ASX shares are the top movers in the ASX 300 today?
• Which ASX 300 shares are leading the way as the top movers on Friday?

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 Widgie Nickel Ltd (ASX: WIN) share price is having a fantastic debut on the ASX boards.

This afternoon the nickel explorer’s shares reached a high of 29 cents.

When the Widgie Nickel share price reached that level, it was up 45% from its listing price.

Widgie Nickel share price rises following IPO

Investors have been bidding the Widgie Nickel share price higher today following the successful completion of its initial public offering (IPO).

That IPO saw the company raise a total of $24 million before costs at an issue price of 20 cents per new share. This gave the company a market capitalisation of $50 million at listing.

Though, with the Widgie Nickel share price rising to 29 cents, its market capitalisation has now ballooned to $72 million.

What is Widgie Nickel?

Widgie Nickel is exploring the Mt Edwards Nickel Project in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

According to the company, the Mt Edwards Nickel Project is a unique consolidation of a vast ~240 square kilometre package of highly prospective nickel and new economy metal prospects. It has a large nickel sulphide resource base of 10.2Mt at 1.6% Ni for 162.6kt of contained nickel, in a globally significant nickel district.

In addition, the company notes that the Mt Edwards Nickel Project possesses exploration upside potential to underpin long-term shareholder value creation. It has material exploration campaigns planned for the post listing period.

Widgie Nickel’s Managing Director, Steve Norregaard, appears positive on the future.

He commented: “The successful entitlement offer has ideally positioned Widgie to methodically work towards unlocking the significant latent potential the Mt Edwards Nickel Project possesses, which was evidenced by the promising drilling results at Munda we released to the market today.”

“Widgie intends to commence an ongoing drilling campaign within the next month to continue to unlock this value,” Mr Norregaard concluded.

The post Widgie Nickel (ASX:WIN) share price jumps 45% after IPO appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Evergrande news boosts market, Zip’s Indian investment
• 3 beaten-up ASX shares that are exciting us: experts
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• How does the AFIC (ASX:AFI) share price compare to its net tangible assets?
• Here are the ASX 200’s most active shares this Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was off to a weak start on Wednesday, sliding 0.78% to a 3-month low of 7,241.8.

But the broader market suddenly picked up before noon, rallying more than 1.2% from intraday lows to 7,330 at the time of writing.

The uptick is likely in response to some positive news out of China’s embattled Evergrande Group.

ASX 200 jumps on Evergrande repayment announcement

According to Reuters, Evergrande Group’s main unit, Hengda Real Estate Group Co Ltd, said that it will make a bond interest repayment on Thursday, 23 September.

The coupon payment is said to be worth US$83 million with an initial issue size of around US$2 billion, according to CNBC.

Despite the small win, Evergrande will continue to face stress tests with another 7-year dollar bond due next Wednesday, 29 September.

The real estate conglomerate has seen its liabilities balloon to over US$300 billion and has already fallen behind in payments to stakeholders including banks, building suppliers and holders of investment products.

On 7 September, Fitch Ratings downgraded Evergrande’s credit rating from ‘CCC+’ to ‘CC’, suggesting “a default of some kind as probable.”

Energy and materials bounce back

ASX 200 energy and materials shares were the most hard hit when Evergrande headlines sparked panic across global equity markets at the beginning of the week.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials (INDEXASX: XMJ) and S&P/ASX Energy (INDEXASX: XEJ) index tumbled 3.74% and 2.99% respectively on Monday.

Both sectors are bouncing back strongly on Wednesday, up around 2.5%.

The energy sector is largely green across the board, led by gains from heavyweights Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL), Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH).

ASX 200 iron ore miners are finally welcoming some buying activity after iron ore prices slumped below US$100 a tonne for the first time in 14 months on Monday.

The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX: FMG) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share prices are up between 2.58% and 5.63%.

The post ASX 200 jumps as Evergrande confirms it will meet next interest repayment appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price rallies 3% as oil weighs in on Evergrande collapse
• Iron ore price may fall further as experts warn of China trade risk
• September has been a terrible month so far for the Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• What the Evergrande crisis could mean for ASX 200 iron ore 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 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 Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price has slipped into the red during afternoon trade on Wednesday, in line with the broader insurance sector.

IAG’s decline has led to a fall in the broader ASX insurance sector, with the S&P/ASX 200 Insurance Index also sliding 1.3% across the day.

Conversely, the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) has climbed 0.7% into the green today.

What’s up with the IAG share price today?

IAG shares are on the move after the insurance giant braces for an influx of claims from the magnitude 6.0 earthquake that hit the southeast coast of Australia this morning.

The earthquake struck major metropolitan areas in Victoria, NSW, Tasmania and the ACT, and even reached regional areas in Victoria and NSW.

One resident from the regional town of Griffith, NSW said “to be honest, it (the earthquake) was a bit scary. My son didn’t feel it as he was on the massage chair”. Griffith is around 400km north of Melbourne, and 600km south-east of Sydney.

Now IAG is gearing up for a wave of insurance claims to flow in from these regions, as most insurance policies place a 2–7 day window on which a “damage from earthquake” claim can be lodged.

This is to prevent a lengthy tail of even potentially fraudulent claims to be made after the actual earthquake itself.

And it appears that earthquake-related repairs can rumble the bank accounts of insurance companies too.

According to a report from today’s The Australian, a previous earthquake in 1989 that rocked Newcastle and measured 5.8 in magnitude cost insurers $3.2 billion. In today’s values, that figure amounts to over $7 billion.

That kind of widespread damage would ultimately hit the pockets of Australian insurers, especially given the current inflation of manufacturing as well as raw materials’ pricing.

Most analysis points to a strong data backed conclusion that the damage could enter into the billions from today’s event.

Investors appear to be pricing this risk into the IAG share price today, as it sits in negative territory from yesterday’s close.

There will no doubt be more to come from this saga as more data about the extent of the damage is revealed.

IAG share price snapshot

The IAG share price has had an incredibly difficult year to date, marred by controversy and headwinds. It now trades 5% in the green since January 1.

Despite this, it is still up 11% over the past year but has lagged the broad index’s return of around 25% in this time.

The post IAG (ASX:IAG) share price slumps 2% amid earthquake payout concerns appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• IAG (ASX:IAG) share price gains after Chief Risk Officer resignation
• Here’s what has been moving the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price in September 2021
• Why this broker sees the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price gaining 12%
• The next ASX 200 shares that could undertake a big capital return

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 Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price is in the green today amid reports it’s a top contender for VicRoads’ registration, licensing, and custom plates services.

Expressions of interest for the registry segment of VicRoads – part of Victoria’s Department of Transport – opened last week and, rumour has it, Macquarie has put its hat in the ring.

Right now, the Macquarie share price is $172.56, 0.37% higher than its previous close.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news of the banking, advisory, and investment management company.

Is Macquarie bidding for VicRoads?

The Victorian Government announced its plans to integrate a joint venture model into VicRoads in March.

The joint venture would see a private company taking over the body’s registration, licensing, and custom plates services.

The Macquarie share price is gaining as reports swirl that it has a good chance of winning VicRoads’ registry segment.

According to the Victorian Government, the privatisation of the registry segment would provide a more user-friendly and cost-effective service. It will also allow the government to continue to control prices, road access, and safety without affecting jobs at VicRoads.

The state’s government will also keep ownership of motorists’ data and protect their privacy. It noted it is looking for a joint venture partner that is “an established, mature and trusted provider”.

On that end, The Australian has reported some circles expect Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets to win the bid.

Macquarie’s major competitor for the contract is said to be asset manager Morrison & Co.

The publication also claims VicRoad’s new partner will be paying $2 billion for the privilege and the successful bidder won’t be decided upon until 2022.

Expressions of interest for VicRoad’s registry division will close on 18 October. The sale is being overseen by Morgan Stanley.

Macquarie share price snapshot

The Macquarie share price has gained 23% year to date.

It is also 44% higher than it was this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $63.4 billion.

The post Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price lifts amid reports bidding for Vicroads heats up appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s what 3 brokers think of the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price
• Is the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price heading down to $130?
• The BHP (ASX:BHP) share price is worth $55 according to Macquarie
• Why the St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) share price is outperforming today
• Is worst over for ASX gold shares as Macquarie upgrades sector?

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 owns shares of and has recommended 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 Pepinnini Minerals Ltd (ASX: PNN) share price has soared 40% into the green during this morning’s trade and now trades at 40 cents a share.

Pepinnini shares are on the move after the battery metals and gold company announced a key update from its operations in Chile.

At one point following the update this morning, Pepinnini shares were changing hands at 46.5 cents apiece. This is about the midpoint of its 52-week range.

Let’s take a look.

What did Pepinnini announce?

In what has transferred to gains for the Pepinnini share price, the battery metals miner announced “very strong interim results” from its “lithium brine blending study” in Chile.

The study used “salar brine” from the company’s leases in Argentinian salt flats, which are thought to contain enormous deposits of lithium beneath them.

In fact, the nearby Salar de Uyuni salt flat in Bolivia is estimated to contain the world’s largest lithium resource. So claim that it holds half or more of the world’s resource.

The process was to take 2,000 litres of “brine collected from each salar” then transport it to testing facilities in Chile.

Then it was allowed to “evaporate and concentrate,” where three brine tests were conducted on the compound.

Results showed that the “blended brine” test produced a lithium ion concentrate of 8,500mg/kg. This is a “level 14 times” and “seven times” that of the other two tests, respectively.

Pepinnini made comparisons to Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE), which produces 7,000mg/kg at its Olaroz project, as per the release.

Testing has another month to complete, but preliminary results “suggest that the brine blending process is viable and highly effective.”

The main advantage, according to Pepinnini, is that the brine blending process “avoids the precipitation of lithium sulphate and reduces the calcium content.”

As such, it understands this process can “obtain a higher concentration of lithium in the brine at a lower cost.”

Investors are buying the news and continue sending Pepinnini shares higher today.

Pepininni Minerals share price snapshot

The Pepinnini Minerals share price has been on a bumpy ride this year to date. However, it is still up around 10% since 1 January.

Despite this, Pepinnini shares are almost 200% in the green over the past 12 months. That’s well ahead of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gain of around 25% over the last year.

The post Pepinnini Minerals (ASX:PNN) share price rockets 40% on lithium update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) share price up 7% but could still go 28% higher
• 2 top quality ASX dividend shares offering reliable income growth
• Expert reveals top pandemic ETF play – up 58% in 12 months
• Here’s why the New Hope (ASX:NHC) share price is climbing 7% today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Evergrande news boosts market, Zip’s Indian investment

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 Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) share price has been a strong performer on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, the iron ore producer’s shares are up 7% to $5.00.

Why is the Champion Iron share price rising?

There have been a couple of catalysts for the rise in the Champion Iron share price today.

One has been news that embattled Chinese property giant Evergrande will live to fight another day after revealing that it will make a bond repayment tomorrow.

This has given the whole market, but particularly iron ore miners, a big boost.

For example, the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is up 3% and the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is up 5.5% at the time of writing.

What else is lifting its shares?

Also giving the Champion Iron share price a lift is a broker note out of Citi this morning.

According to the note, the broker has upgraded the company’s shares to a buy rating with a price target of $6.40.

Based on the current Champion Iron share price, this implies potential upside of 28% over the next 12 months before dividends. This increases to ~34% if you include the 29 cents per share dividend Citi is forecasting in FY 2022.

What did the broker say?

Citi made the move on valuation grounds following a sharp pullback in the Champion Iron share price.

It explained: “While we acknowledge significant near-term risk to iron ore price forecasts, CY22/23 iron ore at $125/$80 per tonne provides a much greater level of confidence for earnings forecasts, particularly as China lead indicators stabilise.”

“Further, longer dated market concerns re large-scale iron ore exports from Guinea now look much less certain. Iron ore may hold at +$100 levels for longer than the market expects. We revisit our depreciation assumptions for CIA and expect $/t depreciation to increase from current $4.5/t to $6/t by CIA FY23 (March YE) on the back of Bloom Lake Phase II expansion.”

“We also roll our valuation year to FY24 (at 4.5x multiples) when we expect normalised US$80/t benchmark iron ore pricing plus expanded production. While this reduces our target price to A$6.4/shr, recent share underperformance presents enough upside to upgrade CIA to Buy from Neutral,” the broker concluded.

The post Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) share price up 7% but could still go 28% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Evergrande news boosts market, Zip’s Indian investment
• Which ASX 300 shares are the biggest winners and losers on Tuesday?
• ASX 200 rebounds into positive territory led by energy and materials shares
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: APA makes AusNet bid, New Hope results impress
• Which ASX 300 shares are leading the way on Monday?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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ASX dividend shares could be the right place to search for options that may be able to deliver reliable income growth.

Just because a business pays a dividend doesn’t mean that it’s targeting growth of the dividend over time.

But there are a few businesses out there that have grown the dividend for a number of years in a row:

Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW)

This is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns a diversified property portfolio. A key focus of the business is to find quality tenants and lease those buildings on long-term leases.

At the end of FY21, its portfolio had a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 13.2 years, which the business says provides long-term income security. At the time, around half of the leases were triple net leases, where tenants are responsible for all outgoings, maintenance and capital expenditure.

Over the year, its net tangible assets (NTA) increased 16.8% to $5.22, whilst the distributions increased 3.2% to 29.2 cents per unit. At the time of the FY21 report release, it said it was expecting the FY22 operating earnings per security (EPS) to rise by at least 4.5%.

The ASX dividend share recently announced that it was part of a consortium looking to buy ALE Property Group (ASX: LEP). The properties have an annual rental escalation linked to CPI. After the transaction, it would bring the WALE to 12.6 years.

It also announced it had acquired two industrial properties in Sydney and Brisbane with WALEs of 16.8 years and 7.9 years respectively, for a total cost of $67 million.

Charter Hall Long WALE REIT is still expecting to grow its operating EPS by at least 4.5% in FY22. The ASX dividend share usually pays out 100% of its operating earnings. That suggests a distribution yield of at least 6% in FY22.

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)

Soul Patts holds the record for the longest streak of consecutive years of dividend increases. The investment conglomerate has grown its dividend every year since 2000.

It has managed to achieve this by holding a portfolio of defensive and largely uncorrelated businesses and assets.

Soul Patts has a portfolio of unlisted businesses and listed ASX shares. Most of them pay dividend and distribution income to Soul Patts each year, providing cashflow for the ASX dividend share to pay a growing dividend and re-invest the rest.

Some names in the portfolio includes TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI), Pengana Capital Group Ltd (ASX: PCG) and Pengana International Equities Ltd (ASX: PIA).

Unlisted holdings include agriculture, swimming schools, resources (Round Oak) and financial services.

The ASX dividend share is regularly looking to add to its portfolio. For example, it’s going through the process of acquiring Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT) which will allow it to invest materially into other assets including international shares.

Soul Patts recently announced that it’s expecting to report regular profit growth from Round Oak, Brickworks and New Hope.

At the current Soul Patts share price it has a grossed-up dividend yield of 2.4%.

The post 2 top quality ASX dividend shares offering reliable income growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the ALE Property (ASX:LEP) share price is rocketing 21% today
• The Soul Patts (ASX:SOL) share price is down 3% on Friday
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Telstra unveils T25 strategy, Wesfarmers’ API offer
• These were the best performing ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) shares last week
• Soul Patts (ASX:SOL) share price hits record high amid copper spin-off rumours

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Pengana International Equities Limited and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. 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 and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended TPG Telecom 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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Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are hardly new. Or at least the wider concept isn’t.

Depending on how narrowly you define ETFs, they’ve been around for either 13 some years, or well over 20.

But one thing is clear.

As ever more retail investors have entered the market in recent years, ETFs have exploded in popularity. That’s because, with a single investment, they can offer you exposure to a large selection of shares, helping diversify your portfolio without having to extensively research every holding yourself.

Below we look at a COVID-19 vaccine exchange traded fund that Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas says “has a lot of potential“.

But first…

The pandemic’s silver bullet?

As it stands, the world’s leading COVID-19 vaccines rely on something called messenger RNA. You’ve likely heard that referred to as mRNA.

In a nutshell, mRNA acts as a kind of targeted delivery system that enables your own immune system to better squelch a virus, or potentially other types of disease.

Atop the current success in tackling the coronavirus, mRNA vaccines could potentially treat cancers, the flu, malaria…the list goes on.

While biotech companies have been working on mRNA since the first officially labelled ETFs came out 13 years ago, the global pandemic has turbocharged their development. And we could be hearing a lot more about this cutting-edge biotech in the years ahead.

According to John Bowler, manager of the Schroder Global Healthcare Fund (quoted by Bloomberg):

The beauty of mRNA technology is the speed, in that once you have the genetic sequence, you can identify exactly what you need to put in the code of your vaccine, and you are giving instructions to the target that the immune system can respond to. It really changes the whole dynamic on infectious diseases.

One ETF holds dozens of vaccine developers

Two of the most successful names in the COVID vaccine race are Moderna INC (NASDAQ: MRNA) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX).

Moderna was founded in 2010 in the US state of Massachusetts. The company is a forerunner in mRNA research to treat a range of diseases. And when the COVID pandemic hit, Moderna’s boffins went to work overtime.

Since 21 February 2020, when the most of the share market began to tank on early pandemic fears, Moderna’s share price has soared 2,280%. In the past 12 months alone, it’s gained 531%.

German biotechnology company BioNTech has also had huge success in combatting COVID together with its partner Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE). BioNTech was founded in 2008 and, before the pandemic, largely focused on using mRNA biotech to treat cancer.

The BioNTech share price is up 410% over the past 12 months.

But there’s a lot more to the mRNA and the wider vaccine sector than Moderna and BioNTech. There are dozens of listed biotech companies working on improved COVID vaccines and other cutting edge treatments. We may not have heard of them yet but that may not be the case next year.

With that in mind we turn to ETFMG Treatments Testing and Advancements ETF (NYSEARCA: GERM). (Gotta love the ticker!)

Some 90% of the ETF’s holdings are based in the United States and Germany.

Moderna, at 11.6%, is its top holding. BioNTech, at 8.8%, is number 2. It also holds more than 30 smaller, lesser-known (for now) companies. You can find a complete list of GERM’s holdings here.

Commenting on GERM, Bloomberg’s Balchunas said, “You’re getting almost completely original exposure and there are some very small companies in here that could be future Modernas with the next big thing. That gives GERM a lot of potential M&A [mergers and acquisitions] pop.”

The post Expert reveals top pandemic ETF play – up 58% in 12 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX investors were buying Alibaba, Pfizer shares last week

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Moderna Inc. 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 New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) share price is rallying on Wednesday, up 7.44% to $2.31.

Sell off? What sell off?

China’s Evergrande crisis rattled the global equity markets on Monday, dragging the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) 2.10% lower to a 3 month low of 7,248.2.

New Hope also took the brunt of the selling, sliding 8.04% to $2.06.

Encouragingly, its shares have displayed a V-shaped recovery, surging 12.1% since its $2.06 close on Monday.

What’s driving the New Hope share price?

Coal prices have boomed to all-time highs of US$179 per metric tonne, supported by surging demand for electricity and power across China and India.

In the case of China, policymakers have been tightening environmental controls for the coal industry since March, according to S&P Global. The strict monitoring of its domestic coal operations has slowed down output capacity, driving a sharp decline in supply.

In addition, officials in China’s Shandong province are planning to shut down 27 coal mines with under 300,000 metric tonnes a year of output capacity between 2021 to 2022, further squeezing domestic supply.

In a separate report, S&P Global cited the tightening supply of coal was taking place on a global level, resulting in “lower spot transaction volumes, pushing the coking coal market higher”.

“Ex-China spot demand for seaborne coking coal increased by about 280% on the year in [the] first half of 2021.”

Another factor that could be driving the New Hope share price is the release of its FY21 full-year results on Monday.

The company delivered a major turnaround with a net profit after tax of $79 million compared to a $157 million loss in FY20.

New Hope CEO Reinhold Schmidt was pleased with the company’s performance and outlook for coal.

The Newcastle 6000 Index hit 10 year highs by financial year end, rapidly recovering from the depressed market conditions experienced at the start of the financial year.

The Company achieved an average realised price of $101.36/t in 2021. At 31 July 2021, the Newcastle 6000 Index had almost doubled from January 2021 levels, to USD$150 per tonne, and has continued to trend upwards.

The post Here’s why the New Hope (ASX:NHC) share price is climbing 7% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia 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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