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The Aurumin Ltd (ASX: AUN) share price has struck proverbial gold. That’s after the company announced the striking of literal gold at its mine in Western Australia.

At the time of writing, shares in the company are trading for 23.5 cents each – up 42.42%. That comes despite the ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) being 0.16% lower.

Let’s take a closer look.

Aurumin share price rockets on drilling results

In a statement to the ASX, Aurumin released the results from “high-grade” drilling at its 100% owned Mt Dimer Project in WA. Drilling occurred at 7 different sites in the mine. Highlights include:

• a 4.0m wide ore at 48.7g of gold per tonne.
• a 5.0m wide ore at 19.3g of gold per tonne.
• an 8.0m wide ore at 5.70g of gold per tonne.
• a 4.0m wide ore at 2.76g of gold per tonne.

The company says future drilling “will aim to continue extending” the deposits at the mine. Investors are clearly excited by the company’s prospects, judging by the rising Aurumin share price.

Management commentary

Aurumin Managing Director Brad Valiukas said:

This is a tremendous intercept at the historically high-grade Mt Dimer production centre. These latest results both extend known mineralisation and progress T12 towards being declared a new deposit, further supporting our view of Mt Dimer having potential for multiple high-grade open pits.

We are continuing to improve our understanding of the Project and these results support our revised interpretation of lithology, fluid pathways and prospective areas. Drilling is planned to recommence at Mt Dimer next month as we look to follow up these high-grade intercepts and increase the value of the Project.

Gold spot price history

Gold is currently trading for US $1,814.05 per troy ounce on the commodities market. It’s up 1.3% this week but down 4.35% since the beginning of the year.

According to the website Trading Economics, the gold price is forecast to fall to about US $1,790 per troy ounce by the end of the quarter. The website excepts the price of gold to sink to an even lower $1,720 in 12 months’ time.

Aurumin share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Aurumin share price has fallen 20.7%. Year-to-date, it’s depreciated 16.7%.

The company has a market capitalisation of $14.3 million.

The post Why the Aurumin (ASX:AUN) share price is exploding 42% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Oz Minerals (ASX:OZL) share price is up 7% this week
• Why the EcoGraf (ASX:EGR) share price leapt 16% in August
• Auroch (ASX:AOU) share price soars 19% following project update
• The Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down 20% since early July. What’s next?
• ASX 200 company bosses lobby for reopening plan

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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 Ecograf Ltd (ASX: EGR) share price enjoyed strong gains last month following a series of positive announcements from the graphite producer.

However, the share price is falling slightly this afternoon and is trading at 84 cents, down 1.18%.

What happened in August for EcoGraf?

The first update came in early August regarding the company evaluating an industrial site in Sweden to build a battery anode materials facility.

EcoGraf advised that the Skelleftea location benefits from ample clean and renewable energy and it has the lowest industrial power costs in Europe.

A detailed evaluation is currently underway for the 65,000 sqm industrial site.

The second update came in the middle of the month, announcing the completion of EcoGraf’s Engineering Scoping Study.

The concept design looked at a modular recycling pilot plant to recover carbon battery anode materials. Building such a facility would cost an estimated $5.8 million.

The company is developing work programs with potential partners to support the construction of the plant.

In late August, EcoGraf also updated the market on its progress with key sustainability activities. This is in relation to its new Australian Battery Anode Material facility. As such, this includes:

• Zero-waste operating strategy with the aim of using 100% of feedstock through product innovation and development
• Engineered water processing solutions to treat and recycle Kwinana-Rockingham wastewater and achieve a 75% reduction in water usage
• Adoption of renewable energy content within the Kwinana-Rockingham Industrial zone
• Lowering the carbon emissions footprint through the development of Life Cycle Assessment models.

The battery anode material facility in Western Australia will be the first of its kind to be built outside China. The plant will provide the supply of purified spherical graphite for the lithium-ion battery market.

EcoGraf share price summary

Over the past 12 months, the EcoGraf share price has soared 827% higher, with year-to-date growth of 391%.

The EcoGraf share price reached a 52-week high of $1.10 in February before profit-takers swooped in.

EcoGraf has a market capitalisation of $375.6 million, with approximately 450 million shares on its registry.

The post Why the EcoGraf (ASX:EGR) share price leapt 16% in August appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What do the best performing ASX shares this year have in common?
• Why the EcoGraf (ASX:EGR) share price has soared 50% in a month
• Why the EcoGraf (ASX:EGR) share price is up 11% on Wednesday
• EcoGraf (ASX:EGR) share price powers 10% ahead on industrial site news

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

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The Auroch Minerals Ltd (ASX: AOU) share price is soaring after news on the company’s Saints and Nepean projects.

The company announced it’s begun scoping studies at the Western Australian nickel projects to access potential mining scenarios.

Right now, the Auroch share price is 19 cents, 19.35% higher than its previous close.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news from the mineral explorer.

Scoping studies begin

The Auroch share price is surging as the company begins studies to assess the potential for an open-pit mine at Nepean and underground mines at Nepean and Saints.

The company hopes the studies will help it build its offtake agreement for Saints with BHP Group Ltd‘s (ASX: BHP) Nickel West. The company also expects the studies will help it potentially produce nickel sulphite soon.

Auroch believes Nepean’s shallow nickel sulphate deposits could bring cash flow for the company in the medium term.  

Additionally, Auroch updated the market that its high-impact diamond drill programme at the Nepean Deeps target is continuing schedule. The first drill hole is currently 400 metres into its planned 1,200 metre depth.

Commentary from management

Auroch’s managing director, Aidan Platel, commented on the news driving the company’s share price today, saying:

With the nickel price consistently around US$ 19,000/t and forecast to increase, we believe there is great potential to take both projects forward to production and hence generate significant cash flow for the company in the medium term, and so we are eager to evaluate the economic viability for several different mining scenarios at these two projects.

We have developed a good relationship with the processing team at BHP and have an existing off-take with them for Saints, so we are keen to develop this further and to potentially build a solid business case to provide high-grade nickel sulphide feed for their processing facilities to produce Class 1 nickel products required for batteries for the fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) market.

Parallel to these studies, we continue with our aggressive exploration for a new nickel sulphide discovery across all three of our WA nickel projects.

Auroch share price snapshot

The Auroch share price has gained 23% year to date. It is also 131% higher than it was this time last year.

The post Auroch (ASX:AOU) share price soars 19% following project update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down 20% since early July. What’s next?
• ASX 200 company bosses lobby for reopening plan
• Why the Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) share price is outperforming today
• Why Blackmores, BWX, Fortescue, & Wesfarmers shares are dropping
• What’s this leading broker saying about the Qantas share price?

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 last two months have been a great time to have been invested in ASX shares. As we covered here on the Fool earlier today, the ASX 200 enjoyed a healthy gain of 2.04% over the month of August and a gain of around 1.1% in July before that.

But one ASX 200 share hasn’t been joining in the celebrations. That would be the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P).

The Zip Co share price has not had a good month, or a good two months to be precise. Since hitting $8.78 a share back on 7 July, it has been a slow but steady decline for Zip shares ever since. Today, Zip is trading at $6.89 a share at the time of writing. That’s up 0.88% for today, but is also a good 21% down from where Zip was at on 7 July.

So what’s gone wrong for Zip over the past two months?

Well, for one, Zip’s FY21 earnings report, which the company released a week ago, didn’t exactly impress investors. Although Zip reported some arguably strong numbers, including a revenue jump of 150% to $403.2 million and a 247.5% increase in active customers, investors seem to have been expecting a bit more. On the day the report came out, the Zip share price fell 2.6%. And it continued falling for most of last week.

Another factor that might have been an anchor on Zip shares was the blockbuster acquisition of Zip’s BNPL arch-rival Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) by the US payments giant Square Inc (NYSE: SQ).

Now Zip shares actually spiked by almost 10% when this news became public on 2 August. This was presumably due to increased hype over BNPL shares in general, as well as potential hopes that Zip itself would find a rose-laden suitor on its own doorstep. But this optimism seems to have faded in the weeks since.

What’s next for the Zip share price?

So what’s next for Zip shares? Well, as my Fool colleague James covered yesterday, broker Morgans thinks the current pricing might be a buying opportunity for Zip shares. Morgans reportedly has an ‘add’ rating on Zip shares, with a newly revised 12 month share price target of $8.87.

That implies a potential upside of almost 28% going forward. Morgans sees “longer term upside if Z1P can execute on its ambitions of becoming a global payments player”.

At the current Zip Co share price, the BNPL company has a market capitalisation of $3.9 billion.

The post The Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down 20% since early July. What’s next? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price has been volatile in August
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Why Zip (ASX:Z1P) and this fantastic ASX growth share could be buys
• Own Zip (ASX:Z1P) shares? Here’s what to look out for in FY22.
• How does Afterpay (ASX:APT) earnings result compare to Zip?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Square. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Square, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T 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 leaders of several S&P/ASX 200 Index companies are worried enough about the COVID-19 political discourse that they have penned an open letter.

The chief executives of 80 companies that employ nearly one million workers sent the letter to major newspapers calling on state premiers to stick to the national reopening plan, reported the Australian Financial Review.

The fear is that the haphazard reopening of Australia will deepen the expected contraction in GDP in the September quarter.

Top ASX 200 companies backing COVID reopening plan

The letter was signed off by the bosses of some of the largest ASX 200 shares. These include mining giant BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and leading retailers like Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL).

Other ASX large cap shares that put their name to the letter include Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) – just to name a few.  

No premiers were singled out, but we are all looking at you Western Australia! Its leader Mark McGowan has been most vocal about keeping his state boarder shut even if 80% of the population was vaccinated.

Balancing growth with COVID protection

That goes against the national plan that’s based on research by the Peter Doherty Institute. The national plan, which was supposedly agreed to by the federal and all state governments, would make lockdowns largely a thing of the past once four-in-five Aussies have been fully vaccinated against COVID.

At that point, all state borders should be reopened and businesses would be allowed to operate under COVID-safe rules.

ASX 200 leaders urging premiers to stick with Doherty

The open letter is backing the reopening plan and the leaders of these ASX 200 companies believe the Doherty Institute struck the right balance in protecting Aussies and our economy.

“We ask governments to work together to implement the National Plan and chart a path out of the current lockdowns,” The AFR quoted the letter as saying.

“Providing a light at the end of the tunnel will encourage more Australians to get vaccinated. We need to give people something to hope for, something to look forward to, something to plan around, and to be confident about their futures.”

Dodging the dreaded “R” word

Economists expect Australia’s September quarter GDP to shrink between 2% and 4.5%. This is the period when the lockdowns in Victoria and New South Wales will be most acutely felt.

It was good fortune that Australia’s economy didn’t go backward in the June quarter. The GDP data released today showed a stronger than expected 0.7% increase.

Foolish takeaway

If the economy went backwards in the June quarter, Australia would almost certainly have fallen into a recession. The technical definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP readings.

Now our political leaders only need to ensure we get a nice rebound in economic activity in the December quarter while managing the pandemic.

Not an easy tightrope to walk, but that’s why they get paid the big bucks.

The post ASX 200 company bosses lobby for reopening plan appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Blackmores, BWX, Fortescue, & Wesfarmers shares are dropping
• What’s this leading broker saying about the Qantas share price?
• Woodside (ASX: WPL) share price leads ASX 200 energy sector giants on Wednesday
• Top broker picks best ASX 200 bank shares to buy coming out of reporting season
• Why the Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price is down 17% in a month

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of BHP Billiton Limited and 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 COLESGROUP DEF SET, Telstra Corporation Limited, and Wesfarmers 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 Avita Medical Inc (ASX: AVH) share price is well into the green during afternoon trading on Wednesday.

Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has stepped 0.29% into the red from the market open, Avita shares are 1.85% up on the day.

A quick recap on Avita Medical

Avita Medical is a medical technology company that specialises in regenerative medicine.

The company’s flagship product, the RECELL system, is used in the treatment of burns and has been dubbed a revolutionary new process.

At the time of writing, Avita Medical has a market capitalisation of $671 million.

What’s up with the Avita Medical share price today?

There has been no market-sensitive information released by the company today. However, Avita did release an announcement that explained its management will “participate” in the Lake Street 2021 BIG 5 Conference. The conference is available for virtual attendance on Tuesday 14 September.

The Best Ideas Growth Conference, shortened as the “BIG 5” Conference, is “an invitation-only event, featuring over 100 dynamic, small-cap companies interacting with top institutional investors”.

Avita joins an extensive list of small-cap companies listed on various exchanges. Each name will be either attending and/or participating in the event, sharing their technology or innovative differences.

The companies range across several sectors, including life sciences, semiconductors, 3D printing, and consumer discretionary to name a few.

It is unclear what Avita will be presenting at the event although it may showcase its “point of care autologous skin restoration” technology, known as RECELL. The RECELL technology regenerates damaged skin by using a person’s own skin cells to do so.

Investors seem to have favoured the news and are pushing the Avita Medical share price higher on the day.

Avita Medical share price snapshot

The Avita Medical share price has had a choppy year to date, posting a gain of just 11% since January 1. Over the last month, Avita shares have climbed around 8% into the green.

Despite this, Avita shares have sunk 18% in the red over the past 12 months. These results have lagged the broad index’s return of around 25% over the past year.

The post Why the Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) share price is outperforming today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) share price up 7% following FY21 earnings
• Avita Medical (ASX:AVH) share price jumps on FDA approval
• 5 ASX shares to hold for 5 years
• 3 small cap ASX shares to watch

The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Avita Medical Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Avita Medical 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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the month with a decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.3% to 7,512.5 points.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL)

The Blackmores share price is down almost 7% to $93.13. This is despite there being no news out of the health supplements company today. However, with its shares rising strongly in August, some investors could be taking a bit of profit off the table today.

BWX Ltd (ASX: BWX)

The BWX share price has fallen 4% to $4.90. Investors have been selling the personal care products company’s shares following the release of a broker note out of Citi this morning. According to the note, the broker has downgraded BWX’s shares to a neutral rating with a $5.63 price target. The broker made the move largely on valuation grounds following a strong share price gain in 2021.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price has tumbled 3.5% to $20.25. Investors have been selling the mining giant’s shares following another pullback in iron ore prices. According to CommSec, the spot iron ore price dropped by US$5.15 a tonne or 3.3% to US$152.60 a tonne overnight. A number of other miners with exposure to iron ore are dropping today as well.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

The Wesfarmers share price has dropped 3.5% to $57.89. A good portion of this decline can be attributed to the conglomerate’s shares trading ex-dividend this morning for its final dividend. Last month the company declared a fully franked final dividend of 90 cents per share. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving this dividend on 7 October. The same month they will be invited to vote on a proposed $2.00 per share capital return to be paid in December.

The post Why Blackmores, BWX, Fortescue, & Wesfarmers shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 company bosses lobby for reopening plan
• Which shares on the ASX 300 are on the move today?
• ASX 200 midday update: Metcash update, Wesfarmers goes ex-div
• Here’s why the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price is sinking today
• The Blackmores (ASX:BKL) share price surged 35% in August to a 52-week high. Here’s why.

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 BWX Limited, Blackmores Limited, and Wesfarmers 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 Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) share price has walked through today’s session in the green, currently 3.05% up on the day.

This continues a solid gain over the past week, where Qantas shares have climbed 13.6% higher in this time.

What’s behind the Qantas share price lately?

There have been several tailwinds behind the Qantas share price over the last week or so.

Despite reporting a $2.3 billion pre-tax loss in its FY21 results, investors seem confident that the company will recover strongly as the restrictions on domestic and international air travel are gradually lifted. The Qantas share price is up over 13% since reporting its FY21 earnings despite the mixed results.

Adding fuel to the engine, Qantas recently outlined a plan to potentially restart international flight routes from as early as December.

The company is confident the 80% vaccination target will be met in that month and is basing its decision on the target being reached.

Travellers could then fly to other low-risk COVID-19 countries, such as Singapore and the United Kingdom.

What are analysts saying?

One leading broker, JP Morgan, believes in the recovery of Qantas and is bullish on Qantas shares.

According to a note, the broker was happy with Australia’s vaccine uptake fuelling a recovery in the Qantas share price. It has reiterated its overweight rating on Qantas shares and increased its price target by 10 cents to $5.80.

This implies a potential upside of around 11% from the current market price of $5.24.

What else did the broker say?

Analysts at the investment bank believe Qantas is well-positioned to weather the storm caused by the pandemic. Speaking on what measures Qantas has taken, JP Morgan said the company had “taken material costs out of its business, around $1.1 billion of which are likely to be ongoing savings from FY23”.

It also added that it favoured Qantas’ “high proportion of earnings from domestic and loyalty at 70–75% of earnings, its strong relative balance sheet positioning and more favourable competitive position – both domestically and internationally”.

In light of this commentary, the broker has updated its modelling to reflect current market conditions. It now assumes “domestic capacity is at 77% in FY22 and back to above 2019 levels in FY23”. This forecast is also in line with Qantas’ guidance.

On the international side, the broker estimates that FY22 capacity will reach 25% of 2019 levels, and then rapidly increase to 70% by FY23. It believes international capacity will “approach pre-COVID-19 levels by FY24”.

Bringing it all together, JP Morgan believes this could be a buying opportunity for investors moving forwards.

The post What’s this leading broker saying about the Qantas share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price has beaten the ASX 200 in the last year
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Planes flying by Christmas? And worrying signs from retailers. Scott Phillips on Weekend Sunrise
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: A mixed bag of earnings dominates ASX
• It has been a great week for the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price

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 All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) was on form again in August, recording its 11th consecutive monthly gain.

While a large number of ASX All Ordinaries shares were on form over the period, some recorded particularly strong gains.

Which were the best performing ASX All Ordinaries shares in August?

The best performer on the ASX All Ordinaries last month by some distance was the Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) share price with a gain of 75%. This was driven by news that US energy giant Phillips 66 has entered into an agreement to acquire a 16% stake in Novonix. Phillips 66 notes that the investment will expand its presence in the battery supply chain. It will also help advance Novonix’s production of synthetic graphite for high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

The next best performing ASX All Ordinaries share was WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) with a 57% gain. The logistics solutions company’s shares surged higher after reporting an 18% increase in revenue to $507.5 million and a 63% jump in EBITDA to $206.7 million in FY 2021. The latter was well ahead of its EBITDA guidance of $165 million to $190 million. Looking ahead, management is expecting further strong growth in FY 2022. It has provided guidance for EBITDA growth of 26% to 38%.

Which other shares performed strongly?

Another ASX All Ordinaries share that caught the eye in August was Ardent Leisure Group Ltd (ASX: ALG). Its shares rose 52.5% over the month, with the majority of this gain coming following the release of its full year results. The Dreamworld and Main Event operator reported a 165.6% increase in EBITDA to $67.3 million for FY 2021 thanks to a strong second half. Pleasingly, management advised that it is optimistic that this positive momentum will continue into FY 2022.

Finally, the PPK Group Limited (ASX: PPK) share price was another highlight on the All Ordinaries with a gain of 49.9% in August. This was despite the investment company experiencing delays in its plans to spin off lithium-sulphur chemistry battery creator Li-S Energy via an IPO. Li-S Energy is expected to list at 85 cents per share, giving it a market capitalisation of around $544 million.

The post These were the best ASX All Ordinaries performers in August appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Which shares on the ASX 300 are on the move today?
• Guess which sector August’s top performing ASX shares all came from
• Here’s what a top broker thinks of the Ardent Leisure Group (ASX:ALG) share price
• This ASX 200 share delivered the highest share price gains this earnings season
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in August

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 WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended WiseTech Global. 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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August was a bumper month for ASX 200 healthcare shares with broad based buying across the sector.

The S&P/ASX 200 Health Care (INDEXASX: XHJ) index rallied 6.8% last month to an 18-month high and less than 3% away from all-time highs.

The solid performance was headlined by these top performing players.

Top performing ASX 200 healthcare shares in August

Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

The Nanosonics share price rallied 23.5% in August to a 7-month high of $6.62.

Nanosonics delivered its FY21 results on Tuesday, 24 August when its share price surged 21.9% to $7.18.

The company delivered a relatively flat financial performance with revenues up 3% to $103.1 million while net profit after tax declined 15% to $8.6 million.

Encouragingly, management said the company experienced a “significant recovery” in the second half of FY21, with revenues bouncing 16.3% compared to 2H20 figures.

Management believes this momentum is likely to continue, expecting double-digit revenue growth figures in FY22.

Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

Pro Medicus is another ASX 200 healthcare share that surged after the release of its FY21 results.

The Pro Medicus share price rallied 15.6% to $65.35 on Wednesday, 18 August after the company reported a 19.5% increase in FY21 revenue to $67.9 million and a 33.7% lift in net profit after tax to $30.9 million.

Management hailed the year as “our biggest year in terms of both sales and implementations, laying the foundations for a further step-up in exam volumes in FY22”.

Despite the strong rally on the day of its results announcement, its gains would fade to 8.78% for the month of August.

Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)

The Sonic Healthcare share price rallied 8.45% in August.

In contrast to the other top performing ASX 200 healthcare shares, the Sonic Healthcare share price fell almost 3% on the day of its FY21 results.

At face value, the company delivered an upbeat financial performance with revenue up 28% to $8.8 billion and net profit surging 149% to $1.3 billion.

However, the company flagged that its growth has been enhanced by COVID-19 testing revenue from its ~60 laboratories around the world.

Sonic Healthcare reported that COVID-19 PCR volumes were lower in the second half of the year versus the first half. However, volumes have been increasing again with the spread of the Delta variant.

The post Top performing ASX 200 healthcare shares in August appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) share price struggles despite COVID passport positioning
• 3 top ASX results from week four of reporting season
• Here’s why the Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) share price is up 78% this year
• Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) share price hits record high at $43.43
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Nanosonics Limited and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Nanosonics Limited and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sonic Healthcare Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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