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The Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price is up 1.9% in late afternoon trading to $2.13 per share.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), meanwhile, is struggling to hold on to its earlier gains, though currently still up 0.2%.

Polynovo is under the microscope today as the ASX medical device developer gets set to deliver its full year 2021 financial results (FY21) tomorrow.

With investors keenly awaiting Thursday’s results, we look back to how the Polynovo share price moved following the release of its FY20 results.

What did Polynovo report in FY20?

The Polynovo share price fell 6.5% on 26 August 2020, the day the company reported its FY20 results.

The fall came despite a 104% increase in sales revenue reported over the year, to $19.1 million. Revenue grew across the company’s markets, with particularly strong growth in the United States.

Likely contributing to Polynovo shares falling after last year’s results was the 28.8% year-on-year increase in operating expenses which reached $22.6 million. The company reported an operating loss of $1.1 million and a net loss after tax of $4.2 million.

Polynovo finished off FY20 with a cash balance of $11.6 million.

No guidance was offered for FY21. However, management said at the time they planned to reinvest funds back into the business for new product development and to expand into new markets.

Polynovo share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Polynovo’s share price is down 10%. By comparison the ASX 200 is up 22% since this time last year.

Year-to-date, the Polynovo has yet to recover from the sharp falls it suffered in January. Its shares are down 45% in 2021.

The post How did the Polynovo (ASX:PNV) share price respond last earnings season? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended POLYNOVO FPO. 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 Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has been storming higher on Wednesday. Shares in the Aussie tech company are up more than 8% following yesterday’s surge.

With the Aussie data company set to release earnings tomorrow, let’s take a look at how the company’s share price reacted last time it reported.

Why the Appen share price slumped 7% last time it reported

Appen reported its full-year earnings back on 24 February 2021. Shares in the Aussie data company sank 7% following the update despite reporting a 12% jump in revenue to $599.9 million.

The “WAAAX” company reported underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 8% to $108.6 million while underlying net profit edged 1% lower to $64.6 million.

Appen even announced a 50% franked dividend of 5.5 cents per share as part of the full-year update. However, investors were not impressed with the Appen share price sinking 7% lower throughout the day.

It was a similar story back following Appen’s half-year 2020 earnings as well. Shares in the Aussie data company fell 11.1% lower on 27 August 2020 despite a 25% increase in revenue to $306.2 million.

Appen reported underlying EBITDA up 6% to $49.1 million with a 3% decline in underlying net profit after tax to $28.9 million. The company announced a 4.5 cents per share and 50% franked interim dividend up 12.5% from the previous year.

Once again, however, the Appen share price sank lower. Investors will be hoping that tomorrow’s half-year results update is the one that reverses the recent trend for the Aussie data company.

If the recent market moves are anything to go by, investors have high hopes for Thursday’s update. The Appen share price has surged more than 8% higher on Wednesday and is now up more than 18% in the last 5 days.

The post The Appen (ASX:APX) share price slumped 7% last time it reported appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is taking off today as the company reminds Australians they could be flying again soon.

While the airline’s latest ad has some Australians feeling a bit down, it seems to have had the opposite effect on the Qantas share price. The airline’s shares are up 5.3% today, swapping hands for $4.87 apiece.

Let’s take a closer look at the advert that’s got Australia bawling.

Qantas tugs on Australians’ heartstrings

The Qantas share price is in the green while Aussies are feeling a bit blue.  

Locked down Australians have flocked to Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) to share that Qantas’ heartfelt ad had them sobbing as they imagined a future where international travel is once again the norm.

The advert is set to an exclusive rendition of Tones And I’s single Fly Away and shows images of Australians travelling overseas to see loved ones, go to Disney Land, and even get married.

By this point, I shouldn’t need to warn you to get the tissues ready before having a squizz at the marketing move that might be boosting Qantas’ share price today:

And it seems Australians are suckers for punishment. The ad is currently at the #3 spot on YouTube’s trending list.

The ad is part of Qantas’ Be Rewarded campaign. The campaign is aiming to encourage Australians to get a COVID-19 jab. In return for rolling up their sleeves, Qantas is offering Australians loyalty points and flight vouchers. Additionally, 10 vaccinated Australians will win free travel for a year.

The campaign follows Qantas’ decision to mandate that its employees must receive a COVID-19 vaccine unless they have a medical exemption.

Qantas share price snapshot

Today’s gains aren’t quite enough to get the Qantas share price back into the green.

Right now, Qantas’ shares are trading for just 0.9% less than they were at the start of 2021. However, they have gained 26% since this time last year.

The post Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price lifts 5% as ad campaign hits home appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Twitter. 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 enjoying a decent day of trading this Wednesday. The ASX 200 is currently up 0.16% to 7,515 points at the time of writing. However, in what might be some trepidation about it’s earnings report tomorrow, the Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) share price is not enjoying the same treatment. Ramsay shares are currently trading at the rather unfortunate share price of  $66.66, down 0.48% for the day.

So as I just mentioned, Ramsay is scheduled to report its full-year earnings for FY2021 tomorrow morning. But while we wait with bated breath for these numbers, let’s check out what the Ramsay Health Care share price did last time the company had an appointment with its investors.

So Ramsay reported its half-year earnings back in February of this year, 25 February to be precise.

Here’s a summary of what the company reported at the time:

• Revenues of $5.9 billion, a 6.6% fall over the previous corresponding period (pcp).
• Statutory net profit of $226 million, a 12.5% drop over the pcp.
• Diluted earnings per share (EPS) came in at 96.9 cents, a decline of 21.1% over the pcp
• Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $583.8 million, a 4.2% slump.
• An interim dividend of 48.5 cents per share, fully franked, 21.1% lower than Ramsay’s previous interim payout.

How did the Ramsay Health Care share price respond?

Despite these numbers showing a significant hit from the coronavirus outbreak, investors responded enthusiastically to these earnings back in February. As we covered at the time, investors sent Ramsay shares up around 8% in the first few hours of trading following this release. As it stands today, Ramsay shares are around 5.5% higher than the day before this report became public 6 months ago.

At the current Ramsay share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $15.32 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 62.96 and a dividend yield of 0.72%.

This company is up 6.88% year to date in 2021 so far, but is only up 1.07% over the past 12 months. Disappointingly for its investors, the Ramsay share price is also down close to 12% over the past 5 years.

The post The Ramsay (ASX:RHC) share price lifted 8% last time the company reported appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Ramsay Health Care 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 has recommended Ramsay Health Care 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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All eyes are on Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) shares on Wednesday following the release of the company’s highly anticipated FY21 results.

Afterpay released some classic growth figures, including a 90% jump in underlying sales to $21.1 billion, a 62% uplift in active customers to 16.2 million, and a 77% increase in active merchants to 98,200.

From a financial perspective, the company’s revenue increased 78% to $924.7 million, while its loss after tax widened to $159.4 million compared to a loss of $22.9 million in FY20.

With FY21 said and done, let’s take a look at what might drive the Afterpay business in FY22.

Cross-border shopping

Cross-border shopping has become an emerging growth driver for the Afterpay business. This allows Afterpay customers access to Afterpay merchants internationally with accompanying foreign exchange conversions.

The company’s FY21 results highlighted cross-border trade sales increasing ~120% during FY21 as more merchants and customers access the offering. That’s in addition to a ~350% increase in merchant uptake on cross-border features against the prior corresponding period.

Cross-border trade delivers pleasing benefits to merchants, with Afterpay saying that cross-border shoppers transact ~24% more frequently than domestic-only and with up to a ~13% increase in sales.

It will be interesting to see how cross-border trade will influence its future growth, especially as the feature is now available across all operating regions.

Driving growth across North America

For the first time, North America exceeded Asia-Pacific as the company’s largest region as measured by underlying sales.

The company said that expansion within North America, the world’s largest retail region, continues at an impressive rate. That’s despite growing off a larger base.

US developments include the launch of Afterpay’s in-store card. This delivered an underlying sales run rate of ~$400 million based on July 2021 trading.

In addition, Afterpay launched its Canada operations in August 2020, with a current sales run rate of ~$211 million.

Successful launch in Europe

Afterpay successfully launched in Italy, Spain and France in March this year with a reported ~450 brands now live.

The company said that Germany is a “priority region for a retail-led expansion”.

Something brewing in Asia?

Afterpay’s commentary for its growth plans in Asia has largely remained the same for the past 12 months.

This includes establishing an in-region team in Singapore and “exploring opportunities to leverage Tencent Holdings‘ network and relationships”.

The company’s FY21 results reiterate its position in Asia, citing a “strategic foothold in Singapore”.

What might be surprising was its point about an “expanding Shanghai office”.

Afterpay share price snapshot

The Afterpay share price has displayed whipsaw-like action for most of 2021, up 13.5% year to date.

Investors might have to say goodbye to their Afterpay shares, with the Square (NYSE: SQ) takeover offer on track to be finalised in Q1 of calendar year 2022.

The post Got Afterpay (ASX:APT) shares? Here’s what to look out for in FY22 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. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Square. 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 Ridley Corporation Ltd (ASX: RIC) share price is soaring after the company released its earnings for the financial year 2021 (FY21).

Right now, the Ridley share price is $1.23, 7.89% higher than its previous close.

Ridley share price jumps on 2 cent dividend

Here’s how the stock feed producer performed through FY21:

• $927.7 million in revenue, 4.1% less than the prior corresponding period.
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 16.1% to $69.1 million
• After tax profit of $24.8 million, up from a $10.8 million loss in FY20
• Resumed paying dividends with a 2 cent final dividend

Over FY21, Ridley reported $79 million of gross profit, up 18% on those of FY20. It also saw its operating cash flow increase 107% to $82.4 million.

Ridley’s bulk stockfeed segment reported EBITDA before significant items of $32.4 million, down 5% from FY20. However, FY20 saw the segment’s income bolstered by ‘drought feeding’.

The company’s packaged feeds and ingredients segment has EBITDA before significant items of $46.5 million. That represents a 32% increase on the prior corresponding period.

Additionally, the company’s inventory is back to pre-COVID-19 levels.

Ridley ended the period with $39.9 million of cash and $83.1 million of debt.

What happened in FY21?

It’s been a quiet run in FY21 for Ridley and its share price. Although, it did sell some assets.

The company sold surplus land at Lara and Moolap for a pre-tax profit of $3.7 million.

In April, it also sold its wholly owned, non-operating, and Singapore-incorporated subsidiary Novacq International Pte Ltd for no profit or loss.

Ridley also announced it was to sell its Tasmanian extrusion facility in May. However, the sale was finalised after the financial year ended.

What’s next for Ridley?

Here’s what might drive the Ridley share price in FY22:

Ridley’s FY21 included several sales that have occurred since the end of the financial year just been and will be added to its FY22 results.

First off, the company sold its Tasmania-based Westbury extrusion plant for $54.85 million earlier this month. A $7 million profit from the sale will be noted in Ridley’s FY22 results.

Additionally, a $2.2 million contract for the sale of its former feedmill at Bendigo was signed on 27 July. Another sale contract, this time for its former feed mill at Mooroopna worth $1.65 million, was completed on 13 August.

The sales will generate a pre-tax gain on sale of around $2.6 million in FY22.

Ridley also outlined its growth plan in its FY21 results.

The company plans to undergo a $4 million plant commissioning in the first half of FY22. The plant will produce land animal protein concentrates.

Ridley will also launch Food for Dogs in speciality pet stores in April, and its Cobber range into rural grocery from the first half of FY22. Additionally, it plans to supply grocery house brands in FY22. It expects to launch a Novacq prawn feed, developed by CSIRO, in FY22.

The company will also increase its asset utilisation and expand its Narangba facility.

Finally, it plans to launch its Ridley Direct, which will see an ingredients sales desk selling to livestock producers who mix feed on farm.

Additionally, Ridley plans to spend $15 million over FY22 and FY23 on a series of small projects to extend its product offerings, de-bottleneck its capacity, and reduce costs.

The post Ridley Corp (ASX:RIC) share price soars 8% on resumed dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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The Reece Ltd (ASX: REH) share price is down around 12%. Yesterday, the business reported its FY21 result.

What was in the Reece FY21 result?

Reece reported that its sales revenue increased 4% to $6.27 billion. In Australia and New Zealand, revenue increased by 9% to $3.15 billion, while in the US, revenue went up 11% to US$2.33 billion on a constant currency basis.

The plumbing business revealed that normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which excludes acquisition costs, rose 11% to $720 million. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew 20% to $493 million.

The Australian division saw the EBITDA margin expand by 100 basis points to 15.7%. Management explained this happened because of a combination of sales volume and operational discipline.

Net profit after tax (NPAT) increased by 25% to $286 million, although earnings per share (EPS) rose by 10% to 44 cents.

Reece decided to double the final dividend per share to 12 cents per share. That sent the total dividend per share up by 50% to 18 cents per share. At the current Reece share price, that translates to a grossed-up dividend yield of 1.2%.

Leadership commentary

The Reece CEO and managing director Peter Wilson said:

FY21 presented many challenges. The evolving environment due to the pandemic, the Texas freeze and the Australian bushfires tested us. But it’s also shown how resilient our business is.

This year, we cemented our 2030 vision – to be the trade’s most valuable partner, helping them succeed in a digital world. We’ll do this by being brilliant at the fundamentals of our operations, being both strategic and opportunistic to grow the business and fostering a culture of innovation. This approach, coupled with construction activity being at an all-time high, and our customers being busier than ever, has led to record results for the group.

What do brokers think of the Reece share price?

Brokers seem to be fairly negative on the business’ valuation.

For example, Morgan Stanley has a price target on Reece of $16. That suggests the broker thinks the Reece share price will fall almost 30% over the next 12 months.

Morgan Stanley notes that Reece is doing well, but it is priced too expensively, in the broker’s opinion.

Based on the broker’s projection, Reece is valued at 35x FY23’s estimated earnings.

Citi also rates the Reece share price as a sell, with a price target of $13.50. That suggests that Reece shares could fall as much as 40% over the next 12 months, if the broker is right.

The post The Reece (ASX:REH) share price is down 12% after yesterday’s FY21 earnings appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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The Impedimed Limited (ASX: IPD) share price is appreciating after the company released its full-year results for FY21.

At the time of writing, shares in the healthcare company are trading for 13 cents each – up 4%. For context, the ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is 0.25% higher.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s announcement.

Impedimed share price lifts with reduction in losses

• Revenue of $8.4 million – up 46.5% on the prior corresponding period (pcp). This includes a 64% growth in revenue from its SOZO software, which totalled $7.6 million.
• Loss from ordinary activities of $20.7 million, which is down 3% on the pcp.
• Net operating cash outflows for the period of $13.3 million. This is down from the $19.2 million outflow in the pcp.
• Nil dividend paid for the year, which is the same as FY20.

What happened in FY21 for Impedimed?

The Impedimed share price rocketed 13% in November when AstraZeneca plc (LSE: AZN) announced it was using SOZO for phase II clinical trials. The product was used for measuring fluid volumes in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Besides SOZO, Impedimed also announced news in relation to its ‘Prevent’ treatment and ‘HF-Dex’ system.

What did management say?

Impedimed CEO and Managing Director, Richard Carreon, said

Our transition to a connected digital health platform put the Company in a strong position to thrive during a very turbulent year. We have built a strong and resilient business, with quarter-over-quarter record results. Throughout the past year, our Company continued to prove its resilience, as we signed SOZO contracts in excess of $12.0 million, had a churn rate of just 1%, and a contract renewal rate of 100% throughout the entire financial year.

What’s next for Impedimed?

Just in the last 2 days, Impedimed released 2 statements that were material to the Impedimed share price.

The first relates to designation of a product in the US and the second on an R&D tax rebate.

On the first matter, SOZO received “Breakthrough Device Designation” from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in renal patients. The product will be used to measure fluids in patients undergoing dialysis. The company says the designation is the “perfect forum” to ultimately get FDA clearance.

On the second, the company received a $1.8 million research and development (R&D) from the Australian government. Last year the company received a $2.6 million refund.

Impedimed share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Impedimed share price has increased 62.5%. Year-to-date, however, it is only up 8.33%. This is below the All Ords Index. Impedimed has a market capitalisation of about $187 million.

The post Impedimed (ASX:IPD) share price rises with 46% lift in revenues appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price catapulted higher this morning after releasing its FY21 full-year results.

At one point, shares in the cloud-based logistics software company were up ~58% to a new all-time high. This was driven by an impressive performance in FY21. For starters, net profit doubled to $105.8 million on revenue of $507.5 million.

However, the party was temporarily brought to a standstill around lunchtime after WiseTech entered a trading halt. Since then, the WAAAX constituent has responded to an ASX price query and resumed trading.

This leaves us to discuss what WiseTech has in store for FY22.

What’s next on the WiseTech share price?

While WiseTech clearly has been busy over the past year, it is important to remain forward-looking as investors. For that reason, let’s recap some of the details that concern the road ahead for Wisetech.

According to its results, the logistics software company remains focused on its long-term strategy. This is grounded in the “3P’s” which are product, penetration, and profitability.

WiseTech has been known for its “growth through acquisition” approach in the past — with 39 acquisitions since its initial public offering (IPO) in 2016. However, the company noted that it intends to slow its near-term acquisition activity down and be more intentional with expanding its CargoWise ecosystem.

This could be a positive for the WiseTech share price, depending on which way you look at it. The company might be able to redirect those funds to either further product development, marketing, or simply increasing profitability.

Furthermore, the pipeline of new global customers is said to be strong. These potential customers are being actively pursued. Additional customer wins are key to WiseTech achieving its target of being among the top 25 global freight forwarders and top 200 global logistics providers.

In regards to profitability, an organisation-wide efficiency and acquisition synergy extraction program will continue into FY22. The program has already delivered a $13.8 million net benefit, exceeding its $10 million target

In fact, Wisetech expects it is on track to achieve a cost reduction run-rate of ~$40 million for FY22. This would eclipse its previous $20 to $30 million.

Guidance for FY22

Despite ongoing supply chain disruptions, WiseTech anticipates another solid year of growth in FY22. According to its provided guidance, revenue is expected to increase 18% to 25% in FY22. Meanwhile, things look even more appealing for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), expected to rise 26% to 38%.

Commenting on the drivers for further growth ahead, WiseTech Founder and CEO Richard White said:

We are benefitting from the acceleration of the longer-term structural changes that they are driving. In particular, we are seeing consolidation within the sector and increased investment in replacing legacy systems with integrated global technology, such as CargoWise, that drives productivity and facilitates planning, visualisation and control of global operations.

Based on the WiseTech share price, the company now commands a market capitalisation of $14.86 billion.

The post WiseTech (ASX:WTC) share price rose 58% before being halted, what’s next? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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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The Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) share price has dipped into the red during Wednesday’s session.

Oil Search shares are now exchanging hands at $3.80 apiece, slightly down from the opening price of $3.86.

The company faced a series of questions regarding its proposed merger with Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) on its FY21 earnings call on Tuesday.

Let’s investigate further.

What did Oil Search say?

Oil Search revealed during its FY21 earnings call that Macquarie Bank, Goldman Sachs and Allens were each advising the company regarding the Santos merger proposal.

Recall that the company agreed to Santos’ revised merger proposal on 2 August. This would see each Oil Search shareholder receive 0.6275 Santos shares for each Oil Search share held.

The revised offer was bumped up from 0.589 Santos shares. This would see Oil Search shareholders retain 38.5% of the newly formed group.

Oil Search is prohibited from engaging with other parties to solicit a rival bid. This is part of the due diligence process.

On the call, Oil Search interim CEO Peter Fredricson was pushed on whether management had sought alternative options to the merger. For instance, Credit Suisse analyst Saul Kavonic queried the potential sales of the company’s Alaska and Papua New Guinea LNG interest.

Fredricson explained that it hadn’t. Rather, it had focused on “running the business in a way that delivers value to our shareholders.”

What else happened?

Oil Search’s top executive was grilled further on the particulars of the deal. Especially related to Santos’ involvement in discussions on Oil Search’s operations with third parties.

Pushing back, Fredricson stated that Santos has had zero “direct communication with anybody in respect of what (Oil Search does)”.

However, the call left some unimpressed. Allan Gray analyst Simon Mawhinney was present on the call. He told yesterday’s Australian Financial Review that, at “every turn shareholders have been let down”.

Additionally, Saul Kavonic told the AFR that many Oil Search investors would be wondering why the company “hasn’t even tried to pursue other options,” instead of just taking the “first suitor to turn up”.

Despite this sentiment, Peter Fredricson told participants on the call that Oil Search had originally rejected the Santos deal “as solely unacceptable in the context of value”.

Oil Search share price snapshot

The Oil Search share price has had a choppy year to date, posting a return of just 2.4% since 1 January.

Despite this, Oil Search shares have climbed 26% into the green over the last 12 months.

This has outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) return of about 25% over the past year.

The post Oil Search (ASX:OSH) share price falls amid Santos merger skepticism appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Energy sector leading the ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
• Oil Search (ASX:OSH) dividend reinstated following strong first-half results
• Oil Search (ASX:OSH) share price rises on $139m profit for first-half
• What happened to the Oil Search (ASX:OSH) share price last earnings season?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

Zach Bristow 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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