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The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price lifted to another record following its full-year results on Wednesday.

Part of the excitement stemmed from Australia’s biggest bank increasing its full-year dividend by 17% compared to the previous year. An investing expert expects similar cash splashes from other banks in the ASX 200.

Speaking of the benchmark, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has also been ascending to new heights in the past week. On Wednesday, the Aussie index cemented a record level of 7,614.2 points. The continued strength in the CBA share price has certainly helped to achieve this.

Money shower for bank investors

Earlier in the week, CBA announced its FY21 results which came along with an extra big dividend payday. The bank had plenty of excess capital to reward shareholders, with net profits burgeoning to $8,843 million.

Indeed, shareholders are not complaining after CBA revealed a 17% increase in its dividend. This takes the full-year payment to $3.50 per share. In addition to the dividend splurge, investors will be treated to a $6 billion off-market share buy-back.

Over the past year, the ASX-listed bank share has been flushed with cash. This was the result of monetary policies and government stimulus propping the economy up throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, strong growth across business lending, home lending, and household deposits occurred.

Portfolio Manager of Ausbil Active Dividend Income Fund, Michael Price, suggested investors can expect to see others follow CBA.

We have been expecting a big dividend from CBA – and we expect similar announcements from the other majors, and have been positioned accordingly.

According to Ausbil’s June fact sheet for the income fund, the fund manager’s top holding is CBA. Furthermore, Ausbil is overweight on bank shares including CBA, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Westpac Bank Corp (ASX: WBC), and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG).

We see a multi-year growth path for bank dividends as they unwind the excess COVID capital they are holding, and as the economy grows.

Michael Price, Ausbil

When are ASX 200 bank shares reporting?

Well, as you would know by the end of this article CBA has already released its full-year results. At the time of writing, there are still some notable ASX 200 bank shares left to release their financials this reporting season.

Monday (16 August) will see Bendigo and Adelaide Ltd (ASX: BEN) dish out its full-year result to investors. Following that, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) will report the next day, and ANZ on 18 August. A complete list of ASX companies reporting, including the ASX 200 bank shares, can be found on our ASX reporting season calendar.

The post ASX 200 bank shares to follow suit after CBA dividend hike: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How to make the most of the CBA (ASX:CBA) share buyback
• CBA’s bumper profit, IAG’s loss and Telstra expectations. Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News
• Why AGL, Appen, CBA, & Rio Tinto shares are tumbling lower
• Brokers give their verdict on the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Macquarie Group 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 Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Duratec Ltd (ASX: DUR) share price has jumped out of the starting blocks in early trade, landing firmly in the green.

Duratec shares are on the move in this morning’s session as the company announced it had secured another key contract win in its defence portfolio.

Let’s investigate futher.

A quick recap on Duratec

Duratec is an investment holding company that has exposure to defence, mining, industrial, and building (among other segments) in its portfolio.

The company has a wide service offering, spanning from asset protection to spatial integration.

As a result of its efforts thus far, Duratec has a market capitalisation of $102 million at the time of writing.

What did Duratec announce?

In a positive for the Duratec share price, the company advised it has been awarded “a $53 million design and construction wharf project”, under its joint venture with Ertech Group.

In addition, Durtec confirmed “initial works” have started, while the project is “due for completion in September 2023”.

Duratec has now secured $32 million in defence contracts in recent months. Consequently, the company’s “defence-focussed order book” now comes in at $110 million, whereas its total order book now sits at $230 million.

Duratec’s exposure to defence “continues to be a strategic focus” for the company. For instance, it now has a “presence” on 37 of 75 defence bases delivering “whole-of-life projects” in Australia.

Moreover, the company now has $200 million in defence tenders “submitted and awaiting decision”, with a further $1 billion in “tangible opportunities”.

As a result of this fundamental momentum, Duratec is “confident of ongoing growth” in each of its key sectors, another positive for the Duratec share price.

Further, with $635 million in “tendered works” and an additional $2.2 billion in “pipeline opportunities” visible, this may not an unreasonable expectation.

Investors seem to have enjoyed the announcement and are pushing up the Duratec share price today.

Duratec shares are now exchanging hands at 49 cents apiece, a 13.95% jump from yesterday’s closing price.

Duratec share price snapshot

The Duratec share price has faced headwinds this year to date, posting a loss of 17% since January 1. It has also fallen 19% in the past 12 months.

These results have lagged the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 25% over the past year.

Despite the downward pressure this year, Duratec shares are up 18% in the last month, and have climbed 14% into the green over the last week.

The post Duratec (ASX:DUR) share price rockets 14% on new contract appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 bank shares to follow suit after CBA dividend hike: expert
• Why the Province Resources (ASX:PRL) share price is up 9% on Friday
• Why the Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT) share price is powering 10% ahead today
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share of Digicel acquisition must be a minority — CEO
• Evolution (ASX:EVN) share price higher on major funding announcement

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 Province Resources Ltd (ASX: PRL) share price is surging on Friday after a company announcement.

The announcement contained a number of updates for its HyEnergy Zero Carbon Hydrogen Project.

Province Resources is aiming to become Australia’s first truly zero-carbon green hydrogen project.

At the time of writing, the Province Resources share price is up 9.37% to 18 cents.

What did Province Resources announce?

Province Resources advised that its scoping study data collection is proceeding as anticipated. It expects heritage, ecological, environmental and geotechnical studies to commence shortly.

In addition, the company has been undertaking advanced modelling of expected green hydrogen prices and the cost of production to optimise an initial Phase 1 development.

The green hydrogen industry is in its infancy. Province Resources is actively working with and assisting multiple state government departments to develop a comprehensive legislative regime.

The company hopes to secure a lead agency status to help advance the project’s environmental and other permitting requirements.

Province Resources highlighted that at the local government level, it secured the support of the Shire of Carnarvon. It has entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to investigate the use of 12.3 hectares north of the Carnarvon township.

The company will explore whether the area is suitable to develop infrastructure for the HyEnergy Zero Carbon Hydrogen Project.

Province Resources has also commenced discussions with a number of potential domestic offtake partners in the transport and utility sectors. It will expand these discussions to include potential international offtakers, too.

Management commentary

Province Resources’ CEO David Frances commented on the recent theme of hydrogen.

Globally we have seen more and more hydrogen projects being announced. Key market pricing predictions and technology developments at all stages of the value chain indicate this transition to green energy is happening even more rapidly than we anticipated.

Frances also shed light on the risks of operating in a relatively new sector.

As with any pioneering industry, there are of course risks facing the HyEnergy Partners, in particular the current absence of certainty of land tenure for green hydrogen projects or a comprehensive legislative regime to govern the industry.

But what is clear to us is that all stakeholders want the green hydrogen industry to succeed, that solutions will be found in a collaborative manner to the current obstacles to the development of the industry and that there is a recognition that the HyEnergy Partners are a key participant in the industry.

About the Province Resources share price

The Province Resources share price has surged an eye-watering 1,620% year to date.

The sharp surge was driven by the company’s acquisition of Ozexco Pty Ltd. This gave it access to a number of exploration licence applications in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.

The company’s shares surged 458% from 2.5 cents to 14.5 cents on the day of the announcement.

The post Why the Province Resources (ASX:PRL) share price is up 9% on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Province Resources (ASX:PRL) share price is up 7%

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 Lithium Australia NL (ASX: LIT) share price is starting Friday morning with a bang following a positive announcement from the lithium company.

At the time of writing, Lithium Australia shares are up 10.34% to 16 cents apiece. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 0.3% to 7,882 points.

What did Lithium Australia announce?

Investors appear to be excited about the company’s latest developments, sending Lithium Australia shares to a new 8-month high.

According to its release, Lithium revealed it has filed two new international patent applications to the Australia Patent Office.

Submitted under the Patent Corporation Treaty, the applications related to Lithium Australia’s 90% owned subsidiary, Envirostream Australia’s technology. The patent refers to the company’s recycling process for lithium-ion batteries and the recovery of electrode materials.

The first patent titled, “Process for recovering values from batteries”, describes the selective separation process for recovering electrode material from lithium-ion batteries. This includes mixed metal dust that comprises both cathode and anode powders.

The next patent, titled “Process for recovering values from process liquors” explains the process for selective recovery of mixed metal sulphates. This is performed when the leaching of mixed metal material is recovered from lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium Australia managing director, Adrian Griffin commented:

The Lithium Australia group is acutely aware of its environmental footprint and that of the society within which we live and operate. We can no longer afford to discard any products to landfill, let alone those that have a high embedded energy footprint, contain critical materials, or – in the case of lithium-ion batteries – both.

We have developed unique processes to deal with battery waste and invite like-minded industry participants to work with us in improving the sustainability of our consumer-based society.

Lithium Australia share price summary

Over the last 12 months, Lithium Australia shares have accelerated by more than 170%, with year-to-date gains above 140%. The company’s share price reached a 52-week high of 21 cents in January 2021.

Based on today’s price, Lithium Australia has a market capitalisation of roughly $153.9 million, with 961 million shares on issue.

The post Why the Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT) share price is powering 10% ahead today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT) share price powers 6% on new membership

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is on the radar once more due to its potential Digicel Pacific acquisition.

In early trading today, Telstra shares are swapping hands for $4 apiece, a gain of 0.88%.

Building on previous announcements, Telstra CEO Andy Penn added colour on the “incomplete” discussions in the telco giant’s FY21 results yesterday.

Let’s investigate further.

Bit of a refresher on the Digicel acquisition

The Australian federal government originally approached Telstra on 19 July, on the basis Telstra would “provide technical advice” on the acquisition of Digicel.

Telstra views the Pacific telco company, owned by an Irish billionaire, as “an attractive asset”.

As a result, speculative reports hint at a deal between the pair of approximately $2 billion to complete the transaction. The government’s portion is rumoured to be around $1.5 billion of that total.

Penn has stated in the past Telstra would only participate “as a minor portion of the transaction”, and that the government “has its own interests” in Digicel.

Digicel itself is a telecommunications company that owns the majority of 3G and 4G mobile networks across the Pacific.

The government seeks to purchase Digicel to compete with Chinese telecommunications infrastructure, which already has a strong presence in the region.

What’s the latest in the Digicel saga?

Penn has weighed in on the debate again, adding additional flavour on the transaction in Telstra’s FY21 earnings report.

According to Penn, the transaction will be contingent on “meet(ing) certain financial parameters”, in particular, Telstra’s stake “being the minor economic portion” in the deal.

Moreover, Penn stated ongoing discussions are still “incomplete” and there is doubt on the transaction going ahead in the first place.

Furthermore, the company “would own Digicel Pacific”, albeit maintaining a low-risk exposure “with appropriate risk projections”.

Should the deal close, Telstra would consolidate Digicel in its own financial results, as per the release.

Telstra will only go ahead with the acquisition “if it is in the best interests of (its) shareholders”, a point reinstated by both the CEO and chair.

In addition, the government is seeking to purchase Digicel to “block any Chinese transaction”, with “speculation the government has concerns over Chinese interests gaining a dominant position in pacific telco markets”, according to The Australian yesterday.

However, this posture has “led to concerns the government could overpay for the asset, as a result of a faux bidding war with China”, The Australian reports.

Telstra share price snapshot

The Telstra share price has posted a year-to-date return of 34%, extending the previous 12 month’s gain of 28%.

These results have outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s climb of around 25% over the past year.

The post Telstra (ASX:TLS) share of Digicel acquisition must be a minority — CEO appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top brokers give their verdict on the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• ASX 200 edges higher, Telstra climbs, NAB up
• The ASX reporting wrap-up: Telstra, AGL Energy, Downer
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Thursday

The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended 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 Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price is edging higher in early trade, up 0.3%.

Below we take a look at the ASX 200 gold miner’s major funding announcement.

What did Evolution announce?

Evolution’s share price is gaining after the company reported it had successfully priced a US$550 million (AU$753 million) maiden debt private placement in the United States.

The gold miner said it received an investment grade rating, and the placement was “strongly supported” by investors and oversubscribed.

The placement consists of 2 tranches. The first US$200 million matures in November 2028 with a fixed rate coupon of 2.83%. The second US$350 million matures in November 2031 with a fixed rate coupon of 3.17%.

Evolution reported it has hedged against US dollar exposure via cross currency swaps.

Commenting on the funding arrangement, Evolution’s chief financial officer, Lawrie Conway said:

The placement announced today is consistent with our approach of maintaining a strong balance sheet to fund our strategy and enable the business to prosper through the cycle. This transaction also ensures that our debt profile better matches our asset portfolio of long life, high quality operations.

The completion of the placement will further optimise our balance sheet, repay the existing Red Lake Term Loan Facility and provide us with additional capacity to fund existing and future growth initiatives and maintain flexibility around our dividends.

The Red Lake Term Loan Facility is associated with Evolution’s AU$450 million acquisition of Red Lake.

The transaction remains subject to standard closing conditions.

Once those are met, Evolution expects to draw the proceeds in November. The new funding will extend Evolution’s debt maturity profile from 2.7 years to 7.1 years

Evolution share price snapshot

Like almost every ASX 200 gold miner, Evolution’s share price has come under pressure amid a sliding gold price, with the yellow metal down some 12% since this time last year.

Over the past 12 months, Evolution’s shares are down 31%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 25% over that same time.

Year-to-date the Evolution share price has continued to struggle, down 26%.

The post Evolution (ASX:EVN) share price higher on major funding announcement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• What’s up with ASX 200 gold shares on Tuesday?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

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 Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has continued its positive run on Friday

In early trade, the telco giant’s shares are up 1% to a new 52-week high of $4.02.

Why is the Telstra share price rising?

The Telstra share price was given a boost today after brokers responded positively to the company’s full year results.

For example, analysts at Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, and Morgans have all retained the equivalent of buy ratings and lifted their price targets this morning.

Credit Suisse has retained its outperform rating and increased its price target to $4.25. Whereas Goldman has a buy rating and new $4.30 price target and Morgans has an add rating and new price target of $4.34.

All three price targets imply that the Telstra share price still has room to climb in the future.

What did Goldman Sachs say?

According to the note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts were pleased with its full year results and guidance for FY 2022.

The broker commented: “Telstra reported a mixed FY21 with EBITDA/NPAT -1%/+3% vs. GSe, with a strong mobile and cash performance, offset by a weaker fixed result (particularly NAS).”

“FY22 Guidance for underlying EBITDA of $7.0 to $7.3bn was consistent with GSe prior ($7.2bn), when adjusting for the $50mn cost of retail in-sourcing (timing related, will normalize), while FCF [free cash flow] was well ahead (we had assumed a WC [working capital] drag).”

Goldman notes that Telstra is guiding to solid operating earnings growth in FY 2022 despite still facing a sizeable NBN headwind.

It explained: “The mid-point of underlying earnings implies a return to strong full year growth in FY22E of +7%, despite facing the final $350mn NBN headwind. This will be driven by accelerating mobile growth and fixed margin expansion (which will require solid execution).”

Positively, the broker expects this solid form to continue in FY 2023, particularly given how the NBN headwind will have ended.

“In FY23E, with the NBN headwinds finished, the improving mobile revenues and fixed margin expansion drive our +8% EBITDA growth to $7.7bn (vs. $7.5-$8.5bn target) implying 8.1% ROIC,” it added.

Based on the current Telstra share price, Goldman’s price target implies potential upside of 7% before dividends. This stretches to approximately 11% including them.

The post Top brokers give their verdict on the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• ASX 200 edges higher, Telstra climbs, NAB up
• The ASX reporting wrap-up: Telstra, AGL Energy, Downer
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Thursday
• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares lifting to 52-week highs

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 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 Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) share price is pushing higher on Friday.

In morning trade, the fund manager’s shares are up 1% to $39.82.

Why is the Perpetual share price rising on Friday?

Investors have been bidding the Perpetual share price higher today following the release of an update on its significant items.

Late last month, the company released its fourth quarter update and revealed that it expects to report significant items of $48 million.

This comprises $45.6 million of transaction and integration costs, and non-cash amortisation of acquired intangibles, and $2.1 million of fair value movements associated with the Barrow Hanley accrued incentive compensation liability.

In addition, it provided guidance of unrealised gains of $11.3 million (before tax), resulting in total significant items of $39.8 million.

What’s the latest?

According to today’s release, Perpetual’s transaction and integration costs and non-cash amortisation of acquired intangibles components remain in line with its original guidance. However, the methodology used in the calculation of the Barrow Hanley accrued incentive compensation liability has been amended to align with the treatment of similar schemes within Perpetual.

This change effectively brings forward fair value movements associated with the vesting of incentives that would otherwise have come through significant items in the FY 2022 and FY 2023 financial years.

As a result, the associated fair value movement is now $10.2 million after tax, an $8.1 million increase from the $2.1 million figure previously provided. Furthermore, the unrealised gains on financial assets are now lower at $6.7 million after tax. This compares to previous guidance of $7.9 million after tax ($11.3 million before tax).

This means that its total significant items for FY 2021 will be $49.2 million, up 23.6% on its previous guidance of $39.8 million. And while this looks bad initially on paper, it is worth noting that it has only pulled forward items that would have been recorded in future periods. As a result, valuation models are unlikely to have been impacted by the change.

The Perpetual share price is up 14% year to date.

The post Why the Perpetual (ASX:PPT) share price is pushing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Perpetual (ASX:PPT) share price struggles despite ‘strong performance’

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

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood seems to have taken the investing world by storm. In 2020, Wood’s flagship ARK Innovation ETF (NYSEMKT: ARKK) outperformed the greater market by nearly 9x — 149% versus 16% — and earned her Bloomberg News designation as best stock picker that year.

With a focus on disruptive technology, it makes sense that ARK’s exchange-traded funds would embrace crypto, but the strong conviction ARK’s investments are showing to the sector is still a bit shocking. Last year, Wood assigned a $500,000 per coin price target for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), one of the most ambitious predictions on Wall Street! Unsurprisingly, ARK is well on its way to creating a Bitcoin-focused ETF.

With the crypto bear market starting to show a rebound, you don’t have to wait for ARK’s new ETF to get in on the positive returns. Here are three growth stocks Wood owns that are active in crypto’s adoption and stand to benefit.

1. Robinhood: Derided as a meme stock, but it has a bright crypto future

Despite being on the public markets for only a short time, upstart online brokerage Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) has made a splash. The first week saw whiplash-inducing volatility, with a disappointing debut, a massive rally that saw share prices more than double in a few trading days, and a correction-level price drop after the company announced a massive follow-on share offering. The app that contributed heavily to the meme-stock trend appears to be a meme stock itself.

Robinhood’s envious user growth has partly been due to its tremendous success among younger traders. At one point, the company disclosed that nearly 80% of its user base was under age 35, a highly coveted demographic for financial services firms as these investors have most of their earning and investing lives ahead of them.

In addition to zero-commission trading, Robinhood’s crypto capabilities helped the company win this demographic. Robinhood is in high-growth mode. The company disclosed that 2020 full-year revenue grew 245% over the prior year to $960 million. A significant portion of that growth was connected to cryptocurrency trading. The company followed that up with a massive first quarter that saw revenue increase 309% from the prior period to $522 million.

Although Robinhood’s opportunity is vast, there are increasing risks in its primary stock trading business. A series of high-profile operational failures — including trading outages during the GameStop frenzy and data breaches — have placed the brokerage in the crosshairs of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Additionally, its primary monetization model of payment for order flow is now being copied by incumbent brokers with larger asset bases, educational materials, and customer support. Robinhood’s embrace of cryptocurrency functionality is quickly becoming the true differentiator versus traditional stock brokerage firms, and the company is wise to focus on building out its crypto functionality.

2. Square: Using Bitcoin to improve its flywheel

The ARK Innovation ETF stock has sold off from recent highs, but you can’t blame its stake in Square (NYSE: SQ). Shares of the digital payments company have advanced nearly 90% in the last year.

Traditional banking continues to avoid cryptocurrency, which has created an opportunity for financial technology, aka fintech, companies. Square has been aggressive on this front, adding the ability to buy and sell Bitcoin in 2018 through its peer-to-peer financial network Cash App. Bitcoin has been instrumental is helping Cash App’s flywheel effect, in which added services increase user engagement.

In the short run, however, it could be Square’s other business that powers the company higher. Last year Square’s seller ecosystem was decimated by COVID-19. The company’s host of card readers and POS systems are popular with smaller business owners like restaurants, coffee shops, nail salons, and bars, which bore the brunt of pandemic lockdowns.

Despite that, Square was able to help its vendors quickly build out their online presence and grow card-not-present transactions. At year-end, seller gross payment volume (GPV) was flat despite significant headwinds. In the most recent quarter, GPV jumped 86% over the prior year, helping to power total revenue growth of 87% (minus Bitcoin).

However, CEO Jack Dorsey has high expectations for Bitcoin, proclaiming it would be the world’s “single currency” within 10 years in 2018. He continues to lead by helping to form the Crypto Council for Innovation with Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) and Fidelity. Square will be instrumental in increasing Bitcoin adoption.

3. Coinbase: Looking to further institutional Bitcoin adoption

Out of the three companies, Coinbase is more tethered to the underlying price of crypto. Coinbase operates multiple crypto-based currency exchanges, so it indirectly benefits from rising crypto prices, as it serves as a form of marketing for new users looking to trade. Directly, Coinbase uses percentage-based transaction fees, which benefit from higher revenue per transaction when crypto prices are higher.

While crypto has been in a bear market lately, that isn’t always a bad thing. As a broker, Coinbase also benefits from crypto crashes (at least short-term). Exchanges tend to do well whenever volatility is high, because fast-moving markets are the biggest driver of transactions. Although prices might be lower, transactions and engagement will increase from people looking to buy dips and “paper-hands” looking to lock in profits or prevent deeper losses.

However, Coinbase is leading efforts to expand the cryptocurrency ecosystem and create more revenue sources than retail trading by increasing institutional adoption. Coinbase recently acquired Bison Trails, now known as Coinbase Cloud. The IaaS platform allows institutions to quickly integrate blockchain infrastructure into their operations. As of the first quarter, Coinbase had more than 8,000 institutions on its platform that conducted 64% of its total trading volume.

With that deep (and still growing) institutional userbase, it’s likely Coinbase will be on the vanguard of Bitcoin adoption.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Cathie Wood loves these 3 crypto stocks appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Bitcoin to US$100,000 in 2021? Why these crypto bulls are digging in
• ASX investors were buying Robinhood, Square shares last week
• Could this company have a $1 trillion market cap one day?
• Why we just sold all our Afterpay (ASX:APT) shares
• Bitcoin is now up 40% in just 3 weeks. What’s going on?

Jamal Carnette, CFA owns shares of Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin and Square. 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.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) share price is racing higher on Friday morning.

At the time of writing, the sports betting company’s shares are up 4% to $11.58.

Why is the PointsBet share price racing higher?

The catalyst for the rise in the PointsBet share price on Friday has been the release of a positive announcement relating to its US operations.

According to the release, PointsBet has received regulatory approval from the West Virginia Lottery Commission and has now launched online sports betting operations in West Virginia.

The release explains that the launch in West Virginia marks the seventh operational state for PointsBet’s premium sports betting product. This follows successful launches in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and New Jersey. PointsBet also currently operates iGaming in New Jersey and Michigan.

In addition, PointsBet advised that it plans to launch its proprietary online casino product in West Virginia by the end of calendar year 2021. This is subject to necessary licensure.

“Another tremendous opportunity”

PointsBet USA’s CEO, Johnny Aitken, commented: “Launching in West Virginia represents further progress for PointsBet and presents another tremendous opportunity we are excited to attack. As always, PointsBet will provide this passionate, sports-loving community with a fast and reliable online sports betting product across every customer touchpoint.”

“We are thrilled to now introduce West Virginian sports bettors to the competitive advantages PointsBet possesses in owning our technology end-to-end, such as our speed and ease of use as well as a deep slate of betting options for every NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, and PGA TOUR contest.”

New appointment

The company has also announced the appointment of Aonghus Mulvihill as Vice President of Global Sportsbook Trading. Mulvihill will oversee PointsBet’s global team of sports analysts, devising and implementing the company’s trading risk management strategy and trading product development.

Mr Mulvihill joins PointsBet from Betfair International Sports (part of Flutter Group, the parent of FanDuel) where he was Commercial Director.

The PointsBet share price is up more than 100% over the last 12 months.

The post Here’s why the PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price is racing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointsbet Holdings 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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