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ASX 200 investors aren’t used to the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price doing anything except rising in recent months. Wesfarmers has been one of the ASX 200’s best performing blue chips in 2021 so far, and indeed over the past few years.

The Wesfarmers share price is currently up more than 23% year to date, including almost 2.5% in the past week (almost worth the same as Wesfarmers’ current annual dividend yield).

It’s also up more than 35% over the past year, and a very healthy 108% over the past 5 years.

And today is no different it seems. After shaking off some midday wobbles and blues, Wesfarmers shares are currently up 0.58% to $63.73. That’s just a whisker away from the company’s all-time high of $63.95 that we saw just yesterday.

So what’s behind all of these new highs?

Well, a number of things have been attracting investors’ attention to this industrial conglomerate. Most notable was Wesfarmers’ $687 million bid for the pharmaceutical company Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API) that was made public last month.

Wesfarmers owns coal mines, chemical plants and a clothing line. This is in addition to its most famous assets in Bunnings Warehouse, OfficeWorks, Kmart and Target. But it doesn’t yet have significant exposure to pharmacies. If this deal eventually goes ahead, that would obviously change.

But we did get some other news today that might be influencing the Wesfarmers share price.

Wesfarmers share price rises, new digital push to thank?

According to a report in The Australian today, Wesfarmers has poached Australia Post’s head of consumer and community Nicole Sheffield. Ms Sheffield will join Wesfarmers in November. She will reportedly be filling a “newly created digital data role reporting directly to [Wesfarmers CEO] Rob Scott”.

This role represents an expansion of Wesfarmers’ digital data strategy, with Ms Sheffield set to oversee retail data across Bunnings, Kmart and Target.

The report quotes a Wesfarmers spokesperson as stating the following on this development:

This is a new role for Wesfarmers, reflecting the strategic importance and growth potential of our data and digital strategies, and Nicole will work in close partnerships with the divisions.

We might find out more about Wesfarmers’ new digital data push when the company reports its FY21 earnings on 27 August.

At the current Wesfarmers share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $72 billion. It also has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 38.3, and a trailing dividend yield of 2.6%.

The post Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price rises amid latest digital push appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• These 10 ASX 200 shares hit new 52-week highs this Monday
• Pricing-power shares like Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) help fight inflation: expert
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price slips amid green hydrogen agreement
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Blockbuster Afterpay deal turbocharges ASX to new record highs
• 2 ASX 200 shares lifting to record highs before full-year results

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 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 Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is slipping today amid the release of a report on climate change the United Nations secretary-general António Guterres described as “a code red for humanity” and a “death knell for… fossil fuels”.

The report is by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It found the globe is already 1.1 degrees warmer than it was during industrialisation. Australia has warmed 1.4 degrees in that time.

The Santos share price has spent nearly all of today in the red. It is currently $6.33, 1.48% lower than its previous close.

The drop comes amid calls from the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility​ (ACCR) for ASX investors to demand their investments shift away from fossil fuel expansion.

Let’s take a closer look.

Climate change is already here – IPCC

The Santos share price is firmly in the red today.

Meanwhile, fossil fuel producers and the governments supporting them are being urged to stop after the IPCC found the earth will likely warm to 1.5 degrees higher than pre-industrial times within 10 years.

The IPCC found Australia is already experiencing extreme weather events as a result of climate change.

Australia’s fire season is getting longer and more catastrophic – and will continue to worsen. Declining rainfall is affecting southern Australia, meaning droughts will be more common. Meanwhile, cyclones in Australia’s north will become less common but more disastrous.

Extreme cold snaps will also worsen, as will flood events. Snow cover and depth have already fallen and will continue to do so.  

Additionally, our beaches are already washing away thanks to rising sea levels.

In response to the IPCC’s report, ACCR director of climate and environment Dan Gocher called out Santos for continuing to invest in fossil fuel projects. He said:

It’s time to vote against the re-election of obstructive directors, link remuneration to emissions targets, and end the greenwashing…

None of which would be good for the Santos share price.

Gocher has previously described Santos’ (and Oil Search‘s) ESG measures as “climate vandalism and greenwashing of the highest order”, saying:

Santos is supposed to be targeting net zero emissions by 2040, yet it is now taking on Oil Search’s significant expansion plans through Papua LNG in Papua New Guinea and the Pikka oil field in Alaska.

Santos intends to rely almost exclusively on unproven carbon capture and storage at Moomba to deliver its 2040 net zero target. But Santos has refused to set targets for its Scope 3 emissions which are by far the largest proportion of its carbon footprint.

While the report is likely not affecting the Santos share price right now, the effects of climate change may do so in the not-so-distant future.

What about the federal government?

UN secretary-general António Guterres also stated the Australian government needs to work towards lowering carbon emissions urgently. He commented:

All nations, especially the G20 and other major emitters, need to join the net-zero emissions coalition and reinforce their commitments with credible, concrete and enhanced nationally determined contributions and policies before the [UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties] in Glasgow… Countries should also end all new fossil fuel exploration and production, and shift fossil-fuel subsidies into renewable energy…

COVID-19 recovery spending must be aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement. 

The federal government’s Gas-Fired Recovery plan is an attempt to financially recover from COVID-19.

However, The Australia Institute found the plan is “plagued by a lack of transparency” and will increase Australia’s emissions. It also found the plan is unlikely to work.

Santos share price snapshot

Today’s poor performance compounds the woes of Santos shares this year.

They’ve now fallen 1.6% year to date. However, the Santos share price is 9.4% higher than it was this time last year.

The post Santos (ASX:STO) share price slides as UN calls “death knell” on fossil fuels appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Santos (ASX:STO) share price lower amid fresh revelations
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 43% surge: ASX 200 shares that could rake it in this year
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Oil Search (ASX:OSH) share price sliding amid fresh merger concerns

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 S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) is relatively flat today, despite some companies charging strongly on Tuesday.

At the time of writing, the ASX 300 is up 0.22% to 7,549 points. However, the index reached another record high at 7,568 points during market open.

Let’s take a look at which top ASX 300 shares are some of the biggest movers today.

Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX)

First up, Novonix is taking up the number 1 spot on the ASX 300, surging 18.54% higher to $3.58. That means that the company’s share price is up almost 60% in just 1 month.

Novonix shares came out of a trading halt today following an important market announcement. The company advised that United States energy giant, Phillips 66 has agreed to a strategic investment. As such, the Phillip 66 will acquire a 16% interest in Novonix.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Next up, Pilbara Minerals has also moved higher, accelerating 11.43% to a record high of $2.34.

With no news out of the company, a possible catalyst for its strong share price rise is soaring lithium prices. The battery-making ingredient is up 1.6% week-on-week to a month to date average price of 94,000 yuan per tonne (A$19,807).

In addition, JPMorgan put an overweight rating on Pilbara Minerals, raising its price by 56% to $2.50 per share. Based on the current share price, this implies an upside of roughly 7%.

Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY)

Another lithium company, Galaxy Resources is pushing 9.63% higher to $5.35, also an all-time high for the company. Again, the company has not released any news to the market, but its shares are hopping on the back of strong lithium prices.

What about the ASX 300 fallers?

Heading the other way, Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) is down 5.28% to $1.525 following weakness in the spot price of gold. This has also affected St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) which is shedding 4.67% to $1.635 and Silver Lake Resources Limited. (ASX: SLR), down 3.85% to $1.375.

The post Which shares are leading the ASX 300 on Tuesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why ASX lithium shares are surging to new highs today
• Why BlueBet, James Hardie, Megaport, & Novonix shares are racing higher
• Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) share price up 9% to all-time high
• ASX 200 midday update: James Hardie hits record high, Pilbara Minerals rockets
• VAS share price history: What caused the biggest ups and downs?

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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In late afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a solid gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.3% to 7,559.6 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping:

Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ)

The Aurizon share price is down 3.5% to $3.99. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Morgan Stanley. According to the note, the broker has downgraded the rail freight operator’s shares to an underweight rating and lowered their price target on them to $3.92. The broker made the move on the belief that its exposure to fossil fuels will impact investor appeal.

Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

The Brainchip share price has dropped 4% to 52.5 cents. This is despite there being no news out of the artificial intelligence technology company. However, its shares inexplicably rocketed higher yesterday, so today’s decline could be due to profit taking from some investors.

Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS)

The Ramelius share price has tumbled 6% to $1.51. Investors have been selling the gold miner’s shares following another pullback in the spot gold price overnight. Traders have been selling the precious metal amid concerns that strong US economic data will see the Federal Reserve taper sooner than expected. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is down 1.6% today.

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

The Transurban share price is down almost 3% to $13.64. This may have been driven by a mixed broker note out of Citi. Although Transurban delivered a result in line with expectations, the recent lockdowns have impacted the company more than Citi was anticipating. This led to the broker lowering its estimates, holding firm with its neutral rating, and cutting its price target to $13.85.

The post Why Aurizon, Brainchip, Ramelius, & Transurban shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• BrainChip (ASX:BRN) share price slides despite AI summit invitation
• ASX 200 midday update: James Hardie hits record high, Pilbara Minerals rockets
• Suncorp share price surges. Transurban falls. Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News
• The ASX reporting wrap-up: Suncorp, Transurban, ELMO
• Why the BrainChip (ASX:BRN) share price soared 14% today

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 recommended Aurizon Holdings 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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At the time of writing, the Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price is struggling after news of a $2 billion investment in the UK.

What has Macquarie done?

The investment bank announced that Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Southern Water Services in the UK.

The Southern Water Services plan

Macquarie outlined that this business provides water services to 2.6 million and wastewater services to 4.7 million customers in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

MAM will invest, on behalf of its long-term investors including pension funds and insurance companies, over £1 billion in new equity (almost $2 billion) to recapitalise the business and implement a more sustainable financing strategy for Southern Water.

This money will allow Southern Water to invest “significantly” to upgrade its network. Over the next four years of the current regulatory period, Southern Water will invest £2 billion to fix pipes, pump stations and sewers. These infrastructure items are reportedly “underperforming” and are causing harm to the local environment.

MAM outlined the size of the investment, saying it equated to £1,000 for each property in Southern Water’s catchment area. The capital will allow the business to improve its operational performance for stakeholders and increase the financial performance and resilience for shareholders.

Macquarie makes commitments

MAM has had long discussions with Ofwat, which is the regulator of water and wastewater services in England and Wales.

The investment bank noted that Southern Water has one of the worst track records in the UK water sector. It aims to reduce pollution incidents by more than 50% over the next four years. It is committed to significantly improving Southern Water’s environmental track record with a zero-tolerance mindset.

Another part of the plan is to reduce leaks through the significant investment programme.

The next commitment was ensuring affordable customer bills. The commitment was that, in total, average water and wastewater customer bills don’t rise by more than inflation. That’s in addition to honouring an existing £123 million customer rebate due to historical incidents.

Finally, Southern Water wants to offer better customer service by fixing the issues that customers are complaining about, and increasing the capacity to handle complaints.

Macquarie commentary

Leigh Harrison, the boss of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, said:

Southern Water needs significant investment to improve its operational and environmental performance, and financial health. Without it, the business will be unable to fulfil the expectations of the millions of customers that rely on its services each day or reduce its negative impact on the local environment.

This major £1 billion equity investment by one of our long-term infrastructure funds will help put Southern Water back on a stable footing and enable an ambitious multi-year transformation plan to make essential water and wastewater services in the South East of England more sustainable and resilient.

While we expect Southern Water will have made substantial progress in addressing its issues by the end of 2025, we acknowledge the business’ transformation will take time and that is why we intend to own our stake in Southern Water over multiple regulatory periods.

Macquarie share price snapshot

Whilst Macquarie shares haven’t done much today, it’s up 8% over the last six months and up more than 25% in the last year.

The post Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price struggles following $2b UK investment news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Orocobre (ASX:ORE) share price is up 9% to an all-time record high on Tuesday
• Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price struggles amid climate ‘code red’
• Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) share price rockets 20% higher
• ASX investors were buying Robinhood, Square shares last week
• Why ASX lithium shares are surging to new highs today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of MFF Capital Investments Limited and WCM Global Growth 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 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 Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) share price is up a staggering 10.84% on Tuesday to record highs of $9.51.

Its stellar performance comes off the back of a surging lithium sector with ASX 200 heavyweights Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) surging 11.07% and 10.84% respectively.

Broker slaps buy ratings on all its lithium stocks

JPMorgan has five ASX-listed lithium players under its coverage including Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN), IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO), Galaxy Resources, Pilbara Minerals and of course, Orocobre.

This morning, the broker was overweight on all five lithium players, according to the Australian Financial Review.

This renewed bullishness was underpinned by the view that “there will be 19 per cent a year increase in demand for lithium over the coming 10 years, on a compound annual growth rate basis, based on demand for electric vehicles and batteries.”, according to JPMorgan analysts.

“That means supply will struggle to keep up, and the analysts said they would see a deficit beyond 2030.”

The conviction from JPMorgan analysts seems to have resonated strongly with the record setting Orocobre share price on Tuesday.

Mega merger on the horizon

On 6 August, Galaxy Resources shareholders voted in favour of the merger with Orocobre.

The next step for Galaxy is to receive approval from the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

If all goes to plan, the implementation scheme is expected to be complete on Thursday, 26 August.

The merged entity will rebrand under a new name, which will be announced in due course.

The merger will position the combined group as a top 5 global lithium chemicals company, with a highly complementary portfolio of assets across Argentina, Australia, Canada and Japan.

Orocobre share price snapshot

With today’s 10% jump, the Orocobre share price has now doubled in 2021.

The company’s market capitalisation has ballooned to just shy of $3 billion.

Post-merger, the combined entity would have a valuation of about ~$5.6 billion.

Not far off Pilbara Minerals’ $6 billion.

The post Why the Orocobre (ASX:ORE) share price is up 9% to an all-time record high on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why ASX lithium shares are surging to new highs today
• Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) share price up 9% to all-time high
• Galaxy (ASX:GXY) shareholders vote in favour of Orocobre (ASX:ORE) merger
• Why ASX 200 lithium shares are charging higher on Friday
• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price rallies 14% in just four days

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 Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price is in the red as the UN declares a “code red” for humanity and climate change.

At the time of writing, shares in the oil and gas producer are trading for $21.82 – down 0.55%. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), meanwhile, is 0.24% higher.

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

“The evidence is irrefutable”

These were the words of United Nations General Secretary, Antonio Guterres, when he handed down the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC is “the world’s most authoritative body on climate science”, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

“Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk,” Mr Guterres said.

The report found humanity is only 10 years away from average global temperatures rising by 1.5°C compared with pre-industrial age temperatures. Beyond this mark, the Earth is susceptible to increasing and more severe fires, droughts, floods, and cyclones.

Motley Fool Australia previously reported on this phenomena. Climate economist Nikki Hutley told this reporter that it was inevitable we would hit this dreaded threshold but it was possible to avoid an even larger increase.

The UN report released last night says much the same, and put the Woodside share price in focus, along with other energy shares.

Global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades.

It adds it will take sustained and intensive effort across the globe to limit the effects of climate change.

From a physical science perspective, limiting human-induced global warming to a specific level requires limiting cumulative CO2 emissions, reaching at least net zero CO2 emissions, along with strong reductions in other greenhouse gas emissions.

General Secretary Guterres called the dire report a “death knell” for fossil fuels.

“The viability of our societies depends on leaders from government, business and civil society uniting behind policies, actions and investments that will limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

What does this mean for the Woodside share price?

While there are always a variety of factors that affect the share price of any company – including the Woodside share price – today’s report may be worrying investors.

As Australia’s largest oil and gas producer by market capitalisation, and the 35th largest in the world, this report is surely unwelcome news for Woodside management and shareholders.

In a presentation at the Credit Suisse Energy Conference of June this year, Woodside outlined its plans to transition to a low carbon future.

In it, the company committed to a 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, a 30% reduction by 2030, and an “aspiration” for net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

It should be noted these targets and aspirations fall short of what the IPCC says is necessary to avoid any further increase in global average temperatures.

The company is also diversifying its energy portfolio, according to the presentation, towards hydrogen, ammonia, and a solar import facility. As well, Woodside says it is investing in carbon capture and storage technology and will vote to include climate reporting at its 2022 AGM.

It remains to be seen what any of this could mean for the Woodside share price.

Woodside share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months,Woodside shares have increased by 7.5%. The ASX 200 Index has, in the same time, increased by 23.6%.

Year-to-date, Woodside shares have depreciated by 5.4%.

The post Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price struggles amid climate ‘code red’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price edges higher despite falling oil price
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Blockbuster Afterpay deal turbocharges ASX to new record highs
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Here’s why the Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price is down 11% in the last 2 months

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 Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX: SOR) share price is soaring 20% higher in today’s trading session.

At the time of writing, shares in the company are trading at their intra-day high of 33 cents.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s behind the movement.

What’s fueling the Strategic Elements share price?

The Strategic Elements share price is strongly in the green today on strong volume.

However, the company hasn’t released any price-sensitive news that could explain today’s bullish price action.

In fact, the last time Strategic Elements made headlines was in early July.

The company notified investors that its subsidiary Stealth Technologies was in the process of designing and delivering an autonomous drone-carrying vehicle.

In late July, Strategic Elements further notified shareholders that its subsidiary had accomplished several key development milestones.

In particular, the company highlighted improvements in the hardware and software of its sophisticated weed detection technology. Weed infestation continues to be a significant issue affecting global crop yields.

Also at the end of July, Strategic Elements released an update for the fourth quarter of FY21, noting the company held $7.9 million in cash.

More on the Strategic Elements

Strategic Elements is listed as a Pooled Development Fund (PDF).

Essentially, the company invests in various small and medium-sized businesses, assisting in their development and expansion.

The subsidiaries owned by Strategic Elements engage in various industries, including robotics, automation, defence, agriculture, security and transport.

The Strategic Elements share price started 2021 with a bang, bolting more than 350% higher by late January.

Investors flocked to buy shares in the company after Strategic Elements reported positive developments on its printable Nanocube Memory technology.

Since hitting lofty highs earlier this year, the company’s share price has been progressively sold down.

Including today’s bullish price action, shares in Strategic Elements are trading 66% higher year-to-date.

The post Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) share price rockets 20% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX investors were buying Robinhood, Square shares last week
• Why ASX lithium shares are surging to new highs today
• Afterpay and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Los Cerros (ASX:LCL) share price soars 14% after poor start to the week
• a2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price rises on bullish broker note

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

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Most weeks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)’s brokerage platform CommSec tells us the most traded international shares (usually just US shares) that its Aussie customer base have been buying and selling the previous week.

CommSec is one of the most popular brokers in Australia. Because of this, CommSec’s trading data gives us a useful insight into the US shares that ASX investors are finding interesting right now. 

So here are the top 10 international shares that CommSec-ers were trading last week. This week’s data covers 2-6 August.

Robinhood and Square make their presence known to ASX investors

1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 3.7% of total trades with a 60%/40% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) – representing 2.9% of total trades with a 93%/7% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) – representing 2.5% of total trades with an 86%/14% buy-to-sell ratio.
4. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 2.4% of total trades with a 65%/35% buy-to-sell ratio.
5. Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ: HOOD) – representing 1.9% of total trades with a 72%/28% buy-to-sell ratio.
6. Square Inc (NYSE: SQ)
7. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC)
   
8. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD)
9. Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA)
10. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA)

What can we learn from these trades?

We see some interesting movements in this week’s list. Firstly, it’s worth noting that the perenially popular shares of Tesla and GameStop remain at the top of this pile, cementing a trend we have pretty much seen all year. Investors remain super-bullish on these two companies as well, in particular with GameStop. A staggering 93% of all GameStop trades on CommSec last week were on the buy side, despite the fact that this original ‘meme stock’ has slid around 15% over the past month or so.

Tesla also remains popular, albeit less so than GameStop. Tesla shares are up roughly 10% since the start of the month, which may be influencing trading activity here.

But turning to other news, and it was interesting to see e-commerce giant Amazon climb into the top 5 shares this week. Amazon is a regular feature on this list, but usually occupies a spot at the bottom of the table when it does turn up. Perhaps a rare share price pullback in Amazon shares (the company is down more than 10% over the month just passed) is to thank for this.

We also see a strong appetite for US share market newcomer Robinhood. Robinhood had an explosive IPO late last month, rising from around US$35 a share to US$85 by last Wednesday. The company is back down to the mid-US$50 range as it stands today.

And finally, it’s also worth noting the presence of Afterpay Ltd‘s (ASX: APT) potential new overlord Square. Like Amazon, Square is a company that has turned up at the bottom of this table before, but its new presence in the ASX investor’s mind looks to have boosted its profile. Square’s commitment to list on the ASX if its acquisition of Afterpay goes through may also be at play here.

The post ASX investors were buying Robinhood, Square shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Bubs (ASX:BUB) share price has fallen 17% in a month. Here’s why
• Why is this fund holding onto its Afterpay (ASX:APT) shares?
• The Digital Wine (ASX:DW8) share price storms 8% higher
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ASX lithium shares are dominating the leader board as several hit multi-year or record highs this afternoon.

The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price jumped 11.4% to its all-time peak of $2.34 in after lunch trade. This makes it the top performer on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO).

The Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) share price isn’t far behind as it too set a record. The shares surged 11% to $9.52 while its merger mate, the Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) rocketed by a similar amount to a decade high of $5.43 at the time of writing.

Upgrade for all ASX lithium shares

ASX lithium shares have been outperforming other miners recently. While iron ore and gold have been on the nose, several experts are predicting that the world is facing a supply shortfall of the battery-making ingredient.

A decision by JPMorgan today to upgrade the whole ASX lithium sector is also probably contributing to the bullish sentiment.

Higher rates of return

“We raise our long term-lithium spodumene price from $650/t to $850/t (+31%),” said JPMorgan.

“This is the price required to generate a 20% IRR for a notional hard rock mine with 1% Li2O grade, 10yr life, and capital intensity of US$1,075/t.

“We believe this is the style of project that is needed from the late 2020s to satisfy perpetual supply/demand gap.”

ASX lithium shares powering up on supply deficit

The broker also increased its long-term lithium hydroxide price by 12% to US$14,000 a tonne. This will also generate an impressive 20% internal rate of return (IRR) for a notional conversion plant.

JPMorgan’s bullish view stems from its belief that there isn’t enough lithium to meet demand for the foreseeable future. This is largely driven by the electrification revolution with households turning to electric vehicles and battery power storage.

Nearly half of all cars sold in 2030 will be electric

“We have rebuilt our [supply/demand] model which is still based off JPM’s global equity team assumptions for auto sales, EV roll out, and battery capacity,” explained the broker.

“The team expects total EV penetration of 45% in 2030, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) at 21%.

“BEVs account for the vast majority of lithium demand due to greater battery size when compared to plug in hybrid & hybrid vehicles.”

Best ASX lithium shares to buy now

This makes all lithium shares under JPMorgan’s coverage a buy even as the sector outperforms.

The broker upgraded its recommendation on the Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price and Pilbara Minerals share price to “overweight” from “neutral”.

But if it had to pick its favourite ASX lithium shares, this would be the IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price, Galaxy share price and Orocobre share price. All three shares are rated “overweight”.

The post Why ASX lithium shares are surging to new highs today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Galaxy Resources Limited, Independence Group NL, and Orocobre 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 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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