Tag: Motley Fool

The Bitcoin (CRYTO:BTC) price is up 3% over the past 24 hours.

One Bitcoin is currently worth US$48,391 (AU$66,288).

The world’s biggest crypto by market cap has enjoyed a strong rebound since tumbling from recent highs of US$52,633 on 7 September. That tumble went on for 6 days (though not in any kind of straight line), seeing the token fall to US$43,770 on Monday, 13 August.

The rapid 17% fall is par for the course in the highly volatile crypto markets.

In fact, investors may have seen it as a buying opportunity. Bitcoin has now gained more than 10% since Monday.

10-fold increase in Bitcoin price “doesn’t make sense”

Cryptocurrencies are well-known for their potentially huge and rapid price gains…and losses.

Last year at this time, Bitcoin was trading around US$11,000. Meaning its currently up more than 4-fold (some 336%) over 12 months. Though still well down from its mid-April record highs of US$64,889.

With the token receiving greater attention from institutional investors – and market movers like Elon Musk – some fans have suggested it could run far higher.

Like Cathie Wood, the founder of Ark Investment Management. Wood has forecast that Bitcoin will see its value increase 1,100% (10-fold) in 5 years.

But not everyone agrees with that bullish assessment.

Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, doesn’t buy it.

Speaking at the SALT conference in New York, Dalio said that kind of price gain “doesn’t make sense to me”.

Cash is trash

In other Bitcoin related advice, Dalio told CNBC yesterday (overnight Aussie time), “First, know cash is trash, so don’t keep it in cash.”

As Bloomberg reported Dalio, “[S]aid he has some money invested in Bitcoin, but it’s a small percentage of his investment in gold, which in turn is a small percentage of his other assets.”

Dalio cautioned that while governments appear intent on squashing cryptos if they look like they’ll be successful, investors should still diversify their holdings.

“At the end of the day if it’s really successful, they’ll kill it. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a place,” he said.

The post A 10-fold spike in the Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) price? Not so fast! appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Cryptocurrencies are making their way into more retiree portfolios
• Why this expert thinks gold is a better investment than Bitcoin
• Survey reveals big shift in Australians investing in Bitcoin and Ethereum
• Bitcoin just crashed 11%. Here’s why…
• Bitcoin cracks above US$50,000 as more altcoins soar… now what?

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin. 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 Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has been a very strong performer this year.

Since the start of 2021, Australia’s oldest bank has seen its shares rise 31%.

Is the Westpac share price still in the buy zone?

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts aren’t in a rush to invest after this strong gain.

This morning, the broker reiterated its hold rating and $27.50 price target on the bank’s shares.

Based on the latest Westpac share price of $26.03, this implies potential upside of 5.5% over the next 12 months before dividends. This increases to approximately 10% if you include the $1.24 per share fully franked dividend the broker is forecasting in FY 2022.

What did the broker say?

Bell Potter notes that the sale of the bank’s 89.9% stake in Westpac Bank PNG Limited has been blocked by the Papua New Guinea Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC).

The sale of its Pacific businesses is part of its plan to simplify operations and focus on consumer, business, and institutional banking only in the Australasian area.

Bell Potter commented: “This [denial of authorisation] is based on the ICCC not currently being satisfied that the acquisition “will not, or will not likely, have the effect of substantially lessening competition in the relevant markets identified”. While disappointing, this is only a minor dent in the whole strategy in any case – being not more than 6bp expected CET1 benefit. WBC will continue to run these businesses but review its sale process in the meantime.”

The main issue that Bell Potter has with the Westpac share price is its valuation. The broker feels that its shares are fully valued at the current level and sees better value elsewhere.

Though, it is worth noting that not everyone agrees with this view. For example, the team at Citi currently have a buy rating and $30.00 price target on its shares.

Time will tell which broker makes the right call.

The post What this broker thinks of the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Could liar loans crash the housing market?
• How these 4 ASX 200 bank shares have performed since reporting results
• Why this broker sees the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price hitting $30
• 2 high quality ASX dividend shares to buy
• ASX 200 rises, Zip falls, Brambles sinks

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 having a pretty decent day on the markets this Thursday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is up a healthy 0.74% to 7,472 points so far.

But let’s dig a little deeper into the ASX 200 shares that are topping the charts so far today in terms of trading volume. So here they are, according to investing.com.

The 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares so far today

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

ASX 200 lithium producer Pilbara is our first share to check out today. More often than not, Pilbara tops this list, but today, it’s coming in at third place so far with a hefty 20.95 million shares bought and sold. There is no major news or announcements out of Pilbara so far this Thursday.

However, the Pilbara share price is having a pretty awful day. It’s down a nasty 4.49% so far to $2.34 a share. This is probably the reason why this company has seen so many of its shares find new owners.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

ASX 200 telco Telstra is another company that is being heavily traded today, with a sizeable 37.53 shares swapping hands so far at the time of writing. This follows a big announcement from Telstra this morning, outlining a new ‘T25’ cost-cutting program.

The Telstra share price has responded positively, hitting a new 52-week high earlier this morning. It’s this move that is likely behind the large trading volumes we are seeing with this telco. Presently, Telstra is still up 1.02% to $3.97 a share.

Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR)

Our final and most traded ASX 200 share today is engineering company, Worley. Worley is topping the charts today with a staggering 57.93 million of its shares finding a new home so far this Thursday. There are no major developments with this company today, and Worley shares are currently down by 2.1% today to $9.81 a share.

However, it might be the news that a major shareholder has unloaded a large parcel of shares that may be responsible for Worley’s pole position at the time of writing. 

The company released an ASX notice this morning that Jacobs Engineering Group Inc has “entered into a block trade agreement with Citigroup Global Markets Australia Pty Limited to sell all Jacobs’ shares (being 9.85%) in Worley via an underwritten block trade”.

This is probably why we are seeing so many Worley shares on the ASX boards right now.

The post These 3 ASX 200 shares are the most heavily traded so far this Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Don’t bet on a big reopening rebound for ASX 200 retail landlords: Macquarie
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Telstra unveils T25 strategy, Wesfarmers’ API offer
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price rises on T25, dividend growth goal
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price on watch after unveiling its T25 strategy
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is currently underperforming compared to the other big four ASX banks. NAB shares are currently up just 0.2%.

That compares to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price being up 0.9%, the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price being up 0.7% and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price being up 0.8%.

NAB changes interest rates

According to reporting by a few organisations, including RateCity, NAB has decided to increase some of its fixed rates.

This is apparently the second time that NAB has increased its fixed rates in recent months.

The 3-year rate was reportedly increased by 0.1 percentage point to 2.18%. Next, the four-year rate was hiked by 0.25 percentage points to 2.49% and the 5-year rate was increased by 0.30 percentage points to 2.79%.

RateCity.com.au research director, Sally Tindall, noted:

Governor Lowe has made it clear rates will not rise until at least 2024. As a result, many banks are still hiking rates of three years and over, however, cuts to two-year rates have slowed.

NAB has been careful to keep its two-year fixed rate under 2 per cent. Without this rate the bank could struggle to keep new customers coming in the door in what remains an ultra-competitive market.

These fixed rate hikes won’t impact how much someone can borrow, as banks base serviceability tests on the revert rate. However, they do serve as a reminder these rates aren’t going to stick around forever.

‘Liar loans’ in focus

Loan applications are also in focus this week after it emerged in UBS’ annual survey that there was a record number of so-called liar loans over the last 12 months. The survey showed that 41% of those applications “were not completely factually accurate”.

Time will tell whether this has any bearing on profit or the NAB share price.

The things that people were not truthful about included not disclosing all of their living costs, not giving the bank a full picture of their liabilities and overestimating their income.

Commenting on the higher levels of debt that people were taking on compared to their income, UBS wrote:

Amid home prices booming 18.3 per cent year-on-year (highest since 1989), we think borrowers are ‘chasing the market’ and stretching towards their capacity limit to be able to qualify.

NAB share price valuation snapshot

Over the last 12 months the NAB share price has risen by almost 65%.

At the current NAB market capitalisation and using the estimated on Commsec, the bank is priced at around 15x FY22’s estimated earnings.

The major bank is projected to pay an annual dividend of $1.32 per share in FY22, which would translate to a grossed-up dividend yield of 6.7%.

Broker Credit Suisse currently rates NAB shares as a hold, with a price target of $28.50. Credit Suisse believes that its improved performance is reflected in the current valuation.

The post The NAB (ASX:NAB) share price is underperforming its big four peers so far today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Could liar loans crash the housing market?
• How has the NAB share price performed since reporting results
• How these 4 ASX 200 bank shares have performed since reporting results
• ASX 200 midday update: Pilbara Minerals jumps, bank shares fall
• The CBA (ASX:CBA) share price is underperforming its big four peers today

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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) is on course to finish in the green and is up 0.5% to 7,455.9 points.

At the same time, the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care index (XHJ) is also up 0.7% from the open.

Yet, these 3 ASX healthcare shares are well ahead of the broad indices today and have each climbed over 10%. Here’s why they are racing higher today.

Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API)

Australian Pharmaceuticals’ share price is on the move today after the company received a revised offer from Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) to acquire the company, on an all cash deal of $1.55 per share.

API shares have gained 16.5% since the open following this announcement.

Its board has unanimously recommended the decision, after rejecting the original $1.38 per share proposal back in July. The revised offer represents a 4.8% premium to API’s current share price of $1.48.

Wesfarmers has until 16 October to conduct its due diligence, after which it will be all systems go to get the deal done, so it appears.

Healthia Ltd (ASX: HLA)

The Healthia share price is surging on Thursday after the company announced another acquisition to its list.

Healthia shares are soaring 10% after the company advised it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Rothwell Physiotherapy.

Rothwell is a Brisbane based Physiotherapy clinic, which services the Moreton Bay area. Its services include musculoskeletal and spinal physiotherapy, alongside injury rehabilitation.

Healthia completed the transaction on an all cash payment of $1.3 million. A provision of $320,000 is baked into the deal if stipulated earnings targets are hit. The acquisition is expected to finalise on or before 30 November.

Investors have bought the news, and the Healthia share price is now exchanging hands at $1.98 a piece, up from yesterday’s close of $1.80.

Anteotech Ltd (ASX: ADO)

The Anteotech share price is charging higher today and is currently up 7% to 22.5 cents. At one point today, it was trading at 24 cents apiece, a 14% jump from the previous close.

Anteotech shares are lifting after the company announced it had signed a distribution agreement with Ramma Dental. Ramma is to become the exclusive distributor of the company’s EuGeni reader platform and COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test in both Greece and Cyprus.

EuGeni is Anteotech’s “rapid diagnostic platform” that is integrated to perform a rapid SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) antigen test using a nasal swab.

Ramma Dental has “a strong network of customers across public and private sectors”, as per Anteotech’s announcement.

As a result of the agreement, Anteotech has now secured distribution agreements for EuGeni in 13 markets, having signed a similar distribution contract in Turkey last week.

These three ASX healthcare shares have each outpaced the benchmarks today.

The post These 3 ASX Healthcare shares have surged over 10% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the AnteoTech (ASX:ADO) share price is advancing 9% today
• Why Anteotech, API, Myer, & Whitehaven Coal shares are charging higher
• API (ASX:API) share price rockets 16% as Wesfarmers boosts offer
• Why the Healthia (ASX:HLA) share price is rocketing 10% today
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price edges higher on sweetened API bid

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 HEALTHIA 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 Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is making a comeback this week. This comes after it hit a 10-month low of $19.20 last week.

At the time of writing, the Woodside share price is trading 2.63% higher to $21.07.

Woodside share price rises on bullish OPEC outlook

Woodside and the broader energy sector jumped on Tuesday following an upbeat monthly oil market report from OPEC.

OPEC was positive on the outlook for the global economy. It retained its global economic growth forecasts for both 2021 and 2022 at 5.6% and 4.2% respectively.

It said oil demand in the third quarter has proven to be resilient and supported by increasing mobility and travelling activities. However, it flagged increased risks in the near term due to the Delta variant of COVID-19.

As a result, OPEC adjusted its 2H21 oil demand slightly lower and delayed its positive outlook into 1H22.

Looking ahead, OPEC’s report said:

In 2022, oil demand is expected to robustly grow by around 4.2 mb/d [million barrels per day], some 0.9 mb/d higher compared to last month’s assessment. Revisions were driven by both the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] and non-OECD, as the recovery in various fuels is expected to be stronger than anticipated and further supported by a steady economic outlook in all regions. Oil demand in 2022 is now projected to reach 100.8 mb/d, exceeding prepandemic levels.

The Woodside share price finished Tuesday’s session 6.23% higher at $20.81.

Oil prices continue to gather momentum

Oil prices have pushed another 3% higher since the OPEC report to a 6-week high of approximately US$72.5/barrel.

But oil prices could continue to surprise to the upside.

In an article featured on S&P Global, OANDA senior market analyst Ed Moya was bullish on the upside risk for crude oil, saying:

Oil’s rally is nowhere near over as both demand and supply drivers are still mostly bullish: further delays in making progress with the Iran nuclear deal, a cold winter, and further production disruptions from a very active hurricane season.

TD Securities head of commodity strategy Bart Melek also commented:

Given the larger-than-expected reduction in US and global production estimates and the upgrade of demand projections by agencies such as the IEA, the crude market will likely continue to get support from enthusiastic bullish money managers.

Woodside share price playing catch up

The Woodside share price is down more than 8% year-to-date despite oil prices trading at almost 2-year highs. However, it is up around 14% over the past 12 months.

The post Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price up 7% this week amid bullish oil outlook appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Why the Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price is leaping 6% today
• Which ASX 300 shares are the biggest winners and losers today?
• ASX 200 energy shares are leading the market on Tuesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

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 Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price has been gaining momentum this week, as has its business according to the company’s investor presentation.

Flight Centre’s co-founder and managing director Graham Turner presented Bell Potter with a positive picture of the world’s return to travel and towards the travel agency’s services this week.

He also noted the complexities that will be involved with travelling internationally post-COVID-19. However, he said such complexities will “play to [Flight Centre’s] strengths”.

Right now, the Flight Centre share price is $18.34, 0.7% higher than its previous close.

Let’s take a closer look at the travel agency’s outlook for financial year 2022 (FY22).

“Light at the end of the lockdown tunnel”

The Flight Centre share price is in the ASX green so far this week, during which it released its investor presentation.

Turner gave the investor presentation to Bell Potter on Tuesday. He told the financial advisory firm the company’s looking forward to recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and international travel’s resumption.

International flights from Australia are expected to take off in November and land in Fiji. Flight Centre expects that even more international travel to and from Australia will begin ramping up late in the first half of FY22.

That’s in line with Qantas Airways Limited‘s (ASX: QAN) plan to restart international flights in December.

The ASX 200 company also noted that the complexity that will come from navigating governmental policies, vaccine requirements, and additional paperwork will likely reinforce the value of Flight Centre’s travel agents.

Further, according to Flight Centre, if South Australia’s trial of at-home quarantine is rolled out across the country, it will remove one of the major impediments Australians face when travelling: Hotel quarantine.

However, the company is predicting sporadic lockdowns will continue to affect domestic travel over the current financial year.

Australia is on track to have 80% of those aged 16 and over fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by mid-late November.

On top of Australia’s growing vaccination rate, more than 60% of people in Flight Centre’s key markets are fully vaccinated.

Staying overseas, various travel bubbles between the US, UK, Canada, Europe, Singapore, and Brunei are opening this month. The company also experienced a rapid recovery in travel within the US towards the end of FY21.

All-in-all, Flight Centre believes it has found the “light at the end of the lockdown tunnel”. Like many Australians, the company’s looking forward to getting back to normal.

Flight Centre share price snapshot

The Flight Centre share price has been performing well on the ASX this year.

It is currently 14% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It has also gained 38% since this time last year.

The post Recovery gaining momentum: Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) boss appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price is up 20% in a month
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• It’s been a great week so far for the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price
• How have ASX travel shares performed during the August 2021 earnings season?
• Why A2 Milk, Flight Centre, Medibank, & St Barbara shares are dropping

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 recommended Flight Centre Travel 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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While the Australian tech sector is home to some high quality companies, as I highlighted here earlier, it still pales in comparison to the US tech sector.

So, if you are wanting to gain exposure to the US tech sector, then exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be an easy way to achieve this. These allow you to invest in groups of shares through just a single investment.

But which ETFs would be top options right now? Two ETFs that provide investors with access to some of the highest quality tech shares on Wall Street are listed below.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

The first ETF to consider is the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF. This fund gives investors exposure to a total of 39 cybersecurity companies. This includes industry giants and emerging players in the rapidly growing sector.

Among the companies you’ll be owning a slice of are Accenture, Cisco, Cloudflare, Crowdstrike, Fortinet, Okta, Proofpoint, Splunk, and Zscaler.

These companies look well-positioned for growth over the next decade. This is thanks to the increasing demand for cybersecurity services due to the shift to the cloud and the growing threat of cyberattacks.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

Another ETF for tech investors to consider buying is the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF. This popular ETF gives investors access to the 100 largest non-financial companies on Wall Street’s famous Nasdaq stock exchange.

Among the companies you’ll be owning a slice of are tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, and Google parent Alphabet.

Given how these companies are at the forefront of the new economy, they appear well-placed to continue growing for a long time to come. This could potentially mean the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF continues to generate market-beating returns long into the future.

The post 2 top ASX ETFs that give investors access to Wall Street’s best tech shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 highly rated ETFs for ASX investors in September
• 2 popular ETFs for ASX investors to buy
• 3 top quality ETFs for ASX investors
• 3 ASX tech shares to buy
• 2 excellent tech ETFs for ASX investors

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 BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Atomo Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: AT1) share price has soared into the green during afternoon trade on Thursday.

Atomo shares are now changing hands at 33 cents apiece, a 15.79% jump from the open. This comes despite no market-sensitive news today.

Let’s dive in to see what’s fuelling the Atomo Diagnostics share price.

A quick refresher on Atomo Diagnostics’ position

Atomo is a medical devices company that supplies rapid antigen tests (RATs) to the clinical diagnostics market.

Atomo has been supplying its own RAT for COVID-19 to Australian businesses in order to gain traction. However, it has received little support from the Australian government, which prefers the PCR pathology test.

Just a side note – Atomo’s RAT isn’t trying to replace laboratory tests, like the PCR version. But experts say RATs lend a better speed and rate of testing the masses than the current state-backed testing regime.

This is especially true as the Delta outbreak has quashed Australia’s dreams of reaching a zero-COVID utopia. Instead, the complexity of lockdowns, lengthy pathology test result times, and vaccine rollouts have plugged the speed of Australia’s COVID-19 recovery.

In comes the demand for rapid antigen testing

Various sources have voiced their concern about the turnaround times of pathology testing for COVID-19.

However, the federal government is concerned about the accuracy of RATs, versus the conventional PCR test regime that can take several days to turn around results. For comparison, Atomo’s RATs can deliver results in 10 minutes.

Considering where Australia now stands with its “road to recovery” plan from COVID-19, it starts to make sense why Atomo’s rapid testing protocol is an attractive proposition for businesses.

And given it is one of the only ASX-listed companies with a track record of producing rapid antigen testing for COVID-19, it starts to make sense why the Atomo Diagnostics share price could benefit from a surge in testing demand.

One roadblock to the full adoption of rapid testing is that the government fully subsidises PCR testing, but not rapid testing. Some say this creates a cost issue.

Although, Atomo has already supplied its CareStart EZ COVID-19 test to a number of agencies, such as the Olympic team and aged care facilities, and even for free in some instances.

What next for Atomo Diagnostics?

Currently, the company is manufacturing inventory in the US, after its COVID-19 rapid tests received regulatory approval there.

In fact, Atomo can “bring in up to a million tests a week” to Australia if the demand is there, the company’s CEO John Kelly told The Australian yesterday.

“It depends on how extensive the rollout is and what government policies now start to appear on deployments outside corporates,” Kelly said.

“We are about to roll out a program to offer testing to smaller businesses that want to reopen…They can register and get trained onsite and then set up their own staff testing protocols under telehealth supervision.”

The Atomo Diagnostics share price has climbed 47% over the last week. This coincides with the NSW Government’s pandemic rollback and “freedoms” announcements.

Logically, demand for COVID-19 tests will no doubt be high over the entire “reopening” as risk mitigation.

Atomo Diagnostics share price snapshot

The Atomo Diagnostics share price has posted a return of around 6% since January 1. Aside from this, Atomo Diagnostics’ shares are down 11% over the past 12 months.

Both of these results have lagged the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s gain of around 25% over the past year.

The post Why the Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) share price has rallied 15% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) share price has soared 30% in a week
• Atomo Diagnostics (ASX:AT1) share price sinks 8% on FY21 results

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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) will be brought before the Federal Court to face criminal charges of misleading customers.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) revealed Thursday that 30 charges have been filed against the big bank after an investigation.

The matters relate to CBA’s promotion and sales of add-on insurance products CreditCard Plus and Loan Protection.

ASIC and the Commonwealth Director of Prosecutions will allege that over 5 years the bank made “false or misleading representations” to customers that those insurance policies had some use to them.

This is despite, they allege, part or all of the benefits not being available to those clients.

The Motley Fool has contacted Commonwealth Bank for comment.

The maximum penalty per offence is $1.7 million.

CBA’s behaviour was mentioned at the Royal Commission

A corporation facing a criminal, rather than a civil, case from an ASIC investigation is rare.

However, 2 criminal cases have been filed this year. They include this one, and charges against Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ)-owned ME Bank back in May.

The corporate regulator also started a civil case against Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) in April.

Commonwealth Bank’s alleged behaviour was mentioned in the finance industry Royal Commission back in 2018.

ASIC noted Thursday that CBA had cooperated with its investigations so far. The date for the first mention in the Federal Court has yet to be set.

CBA shares were up 0.73% on Thursday afternoon, trading for $102.17. They have risen almost 22% this year.

The post Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) faces 30 criminal charges appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How has the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price performed since reporting results?
• Could liar loans crash the housing market?
• How these 4 ASX 200 bank shares have performed since reporting results
• CBA (ASX:CBA) share price slides amid upbeat $2b loan scheme
• CBA (ASX:CBA) share price edging higher as bank supports green loans

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