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The Tesoro Resources Ltd (ASX: TSO) share price is in the green today after the company revealed exceptional drilling results.

At the time of writing, Tesoro shares are travelling 1.74% higher to 11.7 cents. Earlier today, they hit an intraday high of 12.5 cents, up 8%.

What were the results?

In its release, Tesoro provided assay results from the Ternera Gold Deposit located at the El Zorro Gold Project, Chile.

The assays were collected from a total of 13 exploration diamond drilling holes, highlighting strong mineralisation.

In particular, 8 holes testing the western margin of Ternera, demonstrated the potential of mineral resource expansion. The results returned zones of gold mineralisation including a 67-metre intercept at 3.44 grams per tonne of gold.

At present, there are 6 drill rigs working around the clock, with 4 rigs at Ternera, and the remaining 2 rigs at Ternera East. The company is targeting a resource upgrade to the Indicated category before the end of the calendar year.

So far, Tesoro has completed 207 diamond drill holes at the El Zorro Gold Project, equating to 63,698 metres.

The company is waiting on assays from another 49 diamond drill holes.

Tesoro managing director, Zeff Reeves touched on the findings, saying:

These results confirm our firm belief that the Ternera Gold Deposit will rapidly grow beyond the recently released 660koz gold Mineral Resource already defined.

The 8 holes from along the western margin of the deposit are particularly encouraging as they all fall outside the existing Resource Model and define a new north south fault zone which is well mineralised, particularly to the south.

Infill drilling continues to inform the model as we rapidly move to a Mineral Resource upgrade during 2021, defining what we see as a large-scale open pit gold deposit.

About the Tesoro share price

Over the last 12 months, Tesoro shares have fallen around 36%, with year-to-date down more than 60%. The company’s share price hit a 52-week low of 9.6 cents in late July, before rebounding higher.

Tesoro has a market capitalisation of roughly $57.4 million, with close to 500 million shares outstanding.

The post Tesoro (ASX:TSO) share price shoots higher on drill results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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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.

What happened

Shares of Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) rose more than 2% as of 3:30 p.m. EDT. This increase comes even as the S&P 500 was down 0.3% as of this writing.

The stock is likely up primarily due to an overall bullish day for many growth stocks like Facebook.

So what

Explaining some of Facebook stock’s move higher, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 0.2% as of this writing. Many tech stocks were up on Wednesday and many growth tech stocks rose several percentage points or more.

Tech may be doing well for a number of reasons, including worries that the delta variant of the coronavirus will lead to more people staying at home and spending more time on the internet. Many tech stocks benefited from lockdowns in 2020.

But Facebook’s advertising-driven business performs better in a thriving economy, hence its second-quarter revenue growth rate of 56%. This was driven by higher advertiser demand. Its user base, however, did grow nicely during lockdowns.

The stock’s gain on Wednesday could also reflect a continuation of a generally bullish trend for Facebook stock over the last six months as demand for the stock rises.

Now what

Facebook warned in its second-quarter earnings release that growth will decelerate in the second half of 2021 as the company laps more difficult year-over-year comparisons. This, of course, is the case for most digital advertising companies.

Investors shouldn’t get too tied up in trying to justify a stock’s daily moves. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say there’s healthy demand for Facebook stock, with the company now commanding a market capitalization greater than $1 trillion.

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

The post Why Facebook stock moved higher on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Daniel Sparks has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. His clients may own shares of the companies mentioned. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Facebook. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Facebook. 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 Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price has been a positive performer on Thursday morning.

At the time of writing, the cloud accounting platform provider’s shares are up 2% to $148.70.

Why is the Xero share price pushing higher?

The catalyst for the rise in the Xero share price on Thursday appears to have been a positive broker note out of Goldman Sachs.

According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating and $165.00 price target on the company’s shares.

Based on the current Xero share price, this implies potential upside of 11% over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Goldman notes that Xero has launched the Xero App Store across the ANZ and UK markets. This is part of the company’s plan to streamline and simplify access to the ~1,000 apps currently available in its ecosystem.

Much like the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, this change has seen a 15% app store fee introduced for app subscriptions purchased through it store. This means that from today, new apps will incur these charges, while existing applications will be migrated onto the new terms over the next 12 months. App store partners that sell directly to Xero customers through other channels will not be required to pay the 15% app store fee.

A positive step

Goldman Sachs has previously stated that it is bullish on the Xero share price partly due to its belief that the monetisation of its app ecosystem has the potential to underpin very strong revenue growth over the next decade and beyond. As a result, the broker sees this move as a positive step.

It commented: “We see this as a positive step from Xero, which is increasingly focused on monetizing its strong market positions within the ANZ and UK markets, with the incremental revenues used to accelerate its ongoing global expansion.”

“We previously outlined our belief that a 10-15% app-store fee was possible for Xero, given this would provide consistency across the Xero app developers to incentivize continued investment, while being comparable to a number of digital marketplaces globally who have app fees ranging from 12% (Epic Games) to 30% (Apple, Google, Steam, etc).”

“Although the quantum of app attachment rates is uncertain, we estimated that a 15% app store fee could open up an incremental NZ$1.4bn of TAM, with these earnings likely to be 100% margin,” it added.

The post Xero (ASX:XRO) share price rises on app store news and broker note 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 Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Xero. 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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Immutep Ltd (ASX: IMM) shares are lifting on Thursday morning following an clinical trial update from the company. At the time of writing, the Immutep share price is trading 2% higher at 51 cents.

Below we take a look at the ASX healthcare company’s latest news.

What update did Immutep report?

The Immutep share price is gaining after the biotechnology company reported the first patient had been dosed in its clinical cancer fighting trial, INSIGHT-003.

The investigator-initiated trial is taking place at the Institute of Clinical Cancer Research IKF in Germany.

The first patient dosed has metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma. According to the release, they received “pembrolizumab plus doublet chemotherapy (carboplatin and pemetrexed) combined with Immutep’s lead product candidate eftilagimod alpha” (efti).

The company explains that efti is a soluble LAG-3 protein, which is being explored in cancer and infectious disease treatment.

Commenting on the commencement, chief medical officer Frédéric Triebel said:

INSIGHT-003 is the first time a triple combination therapy consisting of efti plus anti-PD-1 plus chemo is administered. We are evaluating how efti might boost an approved chemotherapy and anti-PD-1 combination therapy, looking at safety and initial activity. Dosing the first patient in this trial is a significant milestone and it sets the wheels in motion for reporting first data which are currently anticipated in 2022.

Immutep expects to recruit up to 20 patients with solid tumours for the trial. They’ll receive 30 mg subcutaneous doses of efti every 2 weeks atop standard of care chemotherapy and anti-PD-1 therapy.

Immutep share price snapshot

The Immutep share price has been a stellar performer over the past 12 months, up 165%. By comparison the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has gained 27% over that same time.

Year to date, the Immutep share price has continued to beat the benchmark, up by around 21% so far this calendar year.

Immutep reached multi-year highs on 4 June, hitting 67 cents per share.

The post Why the Immutep (ASX:IMM) share price is charging higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 elation for Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) investors is still fresh, yet Square’s (NYSE: SQ) plan to acquire the Australian buy now, pay later (BPNL) is already ruffling feathers. According to the AFR, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) is taking a moment for reflection on how the recent development may impact its relationship with its youthful payments peer.

At the time of writing, the Afterpay share price is off by 0.5% to $126 apiece. This follows a weakening in Square shares in overnight trade.

Let’s unpack the party-crashing at play here.

Encroaching on Westpac’s turf

Square’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of Afterpay has Westpac a little unsettled. In October last year, Australia’s oldest bank revealed a partnership with Afterpay which would see Westpac provide its banking-as-a-service platform to the BNPL contender.

The offering was expected to be symbiotic – Afterpay gets white-labelled bank accounts and Westpac extracts revenue from the payments shift. However, that was before US-based payments giant Square entered the scene.

Now Westpac has been unnerved by Afterpay shacking up with the competition. Square commands a larger market capitalisation than the Aussie bank, at US$121 billion. The company is making a conscious move to disrupt traditional banks with its business deposits and loans.

In an interview with AFR, a Westpac banker said:

We’re thinking through the strategic implications given Square’s interest in merchant acquiring and business loans.

Although, the banker also relayed that it was likely Westpac will continue its relationship through the October launch of Afterpay Money.

What’s next for Afterpay on the ASX

Finally, if the acquisition of Afterpay goes ahead, shareholders will be given the option of two choices. Firstly, investors can elect to receive full consideration in NYSE-listed Square stock. Alternatively, investors can opt to receive shares in Square via a secondary listing on the ASX.

The Afterpay share price has rallied 78% over the past year on the ASX. Meanwhile Square pulled an 82% return over the same period.

The post Square might crash the Afterpay (ASX:APT) and Westpac partnership appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 Swoop Holdings Ltd (ASX: SWP) share price is rocketing after the company announced a new $5 million deal.

Swoop has won the contract the provide National Broadband Network (NBN) services to Western Australia.

At the time of writing, the Swoop share price is trading at $1.49, 7.58% higher than its previous closing price.

Swoop is a newly listed telco. It provides ultra-reliable, high-throughput, flexible fixed internet and telecommunication services.

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

Swoop’s new contract

The Swoop share price is gaining today after it released news of a new 5-year NBN contract.

Swoop’s wholly-owned subsidiary NodeOne, alongside secure network provider Orro Group, has signed a contract worth more than $5 million.

Together, the two companies will provide NBN enterprise ethernet to users across Western Australia.

They will use NodeOne’s direct connectivity to connect more than 150 locations to all 14 of Western Australia’s NBN points of interconnects (POIs).

Swoop says the contract positions it as a ‘challenger telco’ that can offer multi-site solutions, competitive rates, and local support.

The company expects the contracted work to be finished by the end of the first half of the 2022 financial year.

Commentary from management

Swoop’s CEO Alex West commented on the news driving the company’s share price today. He said:

The team has been working closely with NBN and Orro Group for some time on this deal and it is an amazing achievement for all parties involved.

NodeOne are the only WA-based retail service provider with direct connectivity to all the NBN POIs, and when you combine this with the great relationship we have with NBN and Orro Group, our local support and account management teams, it really gave us a unique offering.

Swoop share price snapshot

The Swoop share price has gained 19.2% since its initial public offering (IPO) in late May.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $236 million, with approximately 170 million shares outstanding.

The post Here’s why the Swoop (ASX:SWP) share price is soaring 7% today 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 Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) share price is up this morning after the bank released a preview of its profits for the second half of the financial year just been.

Bendigo Bank stated its profits for the 6 months ended 30 June 2021 will include a net release of its collective provision.

Right now, the Bendigo Bank share price is trading at $10.51, 0.57% higher than yesterday’s close.

That’s especially good when compared to the broader market. Right now, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.06%, while the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has slipped 0.06%.

Let’s take a look at the latest news from Bendigo Bank.

Bendigo Bank releases provisions

The Bendigo Bank share price is gaining following news of an additional $19.4 million worth of half-year profits – sort of. The extra funds will come from its collective provisioning.

The bank also revealed its credit expenses for the 2021 financial year are $18 million. Prior to the release of the collective provision, they were $37.4 million.

For comparison, the bank’s credit expenses for the 2020 financial year were $40.9 million before it recognised the impacts of COVID-19.

A bank’s collective provisions are funds it keeps aside in case of poorly performing loans. The collective provisions are meant to cover the bank’s losses if unspecified loans turn bad unexpectedly.

Bendigo Bank set aside an extra $127.7 million when COVID-19 began to hit Australia in the pocket in May 2020. The bank also upped its other provisions to put away $148.3 million more in case the economy struggled to bounce back.

According to Bendigo Bank, the release of some of its collective provisions “reflects the improved economic outlook for the Australian economy”.

The bank said improved GDP, lower unemployment, and higher housing prices have partially offset the risks associated with Australia’s current lockdowns.

Finally, the next news that could impact the Bendigo Bank share price is only a matter of weeks away.

Bendigo Bank will release its full-year results for the 2021 financial year on 16 August.

Commentary from management

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank managing director Marnie Baker commented on today’s news, saying:

We remain fully committed to supporting our customers and their communities through this unique time in history… Our business continues to be well placed even with the unpredictable nature of this pandemic, through a proven strategy, purpose and values, alongside appropriate risk management, and a strong balance sheet and capital base which are all key to our long-term success and sustainability.

Bendigo Bank share price snapshot

The Bendigo Bank share price has been performing well lately.

It has gained around 11% since the start of 2021. It is also 58% higher than it was this time last year.

The bank has a market capitalisation of around $5.7 billion, with approximately 546 million shares outstanding.

The post The Bendigo Bank (ASX:BEN) share price is gaining. Here’s why 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 Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP) share price is certainly one to think about for the long-term.

Bapcor has seen a lot of volatility over the last several years, but it has continued to grow.

The 2020 calendar year was a year like no other for the auto parts business. COVID-19 had a huge impact on demand, both negatively at the start and positively as stimulus kicked in and Australia got on top of the outbreak.

But that may not be the end of the growth story for the Bapcor share price or its profit. Here are a few reasons to consider Bapcor:

Asia opportunity

The business calls itself Australasia’s leading auto parts business. The ASX share is now expanding into Asia in a major way.

It’s taking Burson, the business that supplies mechanics with parts, into Thailand (and perhaps beyond, eventually). At the last update, there were six Burson locations in the Asian country generating a total of $4 million revenue. In Australia it has around 200 trade locations.

Bapcor wants to grow the number of Bursons to more than 60 over the next five years. This is estimated to be a turnover target of around $100 million.

But the company also has a 25% stake of Tye Soon which it recently acquired. That’s a business which has operations in a number of Asia Pacific countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, Thailand and so on.

Tye Soon currently has turnover of around $200 million and management would like to see it expand turnover to around $400 million over the next five years.

Asia is a huge market for Bapcor to expand into beyond the small(ish) population centres of Australia and New Zealand.

Asian growth could be a big driver of the Bapcor share price in the years to come.

Expanding networks

Bapcor isn’t finished with growth in Australia and New Zealand though. When you look at the 5-year targets, it’s expecting to increase the size of its networks and revenue across all of its other segments.

It wants to grow its Australian trade store network from 200 to 260, adding 10 to 12 new stores each year. Bapcor wants to increase the New Zealand trade store numbers from 73 to over 90 too.

With its specialist wholesale division, it wants to grow total turnover from $515 million to $650 million.

With its commercial vehicle businesses (light and heavy), it wants to increase its combined store network from 49 to around 90. That could translate to growing revenue from $180 million to $340 million.

Bapcor’s goal for Autobarn is to grow the store number from 133 to 200.

The company has a very large goal for its Australian service division. It currently has 105 locations and wants to increase that to 500 outlets in Australia.

Strong demand leading to operating leverage

All of the above goals and targets are focused on growing the top line revenue.

But with scale can come stronger operating leverage, for good companies.

Bapcor is working on a number of areas to increase its margin including an efficient and optimised supply chain (with advanced distribution centres), selling a higher proportion of own brand products (with higher margins), improving its online offering, and the improved use of technology.

The Bapcor share price can benefit from the rising profit margins.

In the FY21 half-year result, whilst revenue grew by 25.8%, pro forma net profit increased by 54% to $70.2 million. The dividend continues to grow, funded by the growing profit.

The post 3 reasons why the Bapcor (ASX:BAP) share price could be a clever buy 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 owns shares of and has recommended Bapcor. 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.

Square (NYSE: SQ) recently agreed to buy Afterpay (OTC: AFTP.F), an Australian “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) service provider, for $29 billion in stock. The deal represents a premium of 21.9% over Afterpay’s ten-day weighted average share price, and values the company at 25 times this year’s sales.

Square’s stock rallied following the announcement, which accompanied a solid second-quarter report on Aug. 1 that beat analysts’ expectations. Meanwhile, shares of its rival PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), which had already been sliding following its mixed second-quarter report on July 28, fell even further after Square posted its earnings report and announced the Afterpay deal.

Square’s takeover of Afterpay counters PayPal’s “Pay in 4” BNPL service, which it launched last August. Both Afterpay and Pay in 4 let customers pay for goods in four interest-free payments, but Square plans to integrate Afterpay into both its Seller ecosystem and its rapidly growing Cash App, which already provides peer-to-peer payments, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) purchases, and stock trading services.

Should PayPal’s investors worry about Square’s latest move? Or is there enough room for both companies and their other rivals to thrive in the expanding BNPL market?

Why is Square paying a premium for Afterpay?

Square’s takeover of Afterpay, which will close in the first quarter of calendar 2022, initially seems pricey. It will pay nearly a quarter of its market cap — and significantly dilute its existing shares with an all-stock transaction — for a company that will likely only boost its 2022 revenue by about 5%.

Afterpay’s revenue rose 78% in fiscal 2021, which ended in June, but Square’s revenue surged 101% in 2020 and is expected to rise 102% this year. Therefore, Square seems to be paying a high premium and diluting its shares for a company that generates slower growth.

However, Square’s growth in 2020 and most of 2021 was largely driven by bitcoin trades during the pandemic. If we exclude those bitcoin sales, Square’s revenue only rose 17% in 2020, and analysts expect its total revenue to grow just 13% in 2022 as those cryptocurrency trades normalize.

However, they still expect Afterpay’s revenue to rise 66% in fiscal 2022 — so it could generate smoother growth than Square’s volatile core business. Afterpay would also expand Square’s overseas presence, since it only generates about half of its underlying sales in the United States.

Afterpay’s active customers grew 63% to 16.1 million in 2021, and it serves nearly 100,000 merchants worldwide. Square’s Cash App hit 40 million active customers in June, up from 36 million at the end of 2020. Merging those two high-growth platforms together — and adding Afterpay’s BNPL services to its platforms — could significantly expand Square’s ecosystem.

Should PayPal be concerned?

PayPal was already in a vulnerable position after its second-quarter revenue growth and third-quarter revenue forecast missed Wall Street’s expectations. It also warned that its loss of eBay to its Dutch rival Adyen — which concludes its three-year transition this year — will throttle its near-term revenue growth.

That slowdown raises doubts about PayPal’s ambitious plans to more than double its annual revenue by 2025, as well as concerns about its recent decision to hike its processing fees for U.S. merchants.

PayPal operates in over 200 markets worldwide, and its number of active accounts rose 16% year-over-year to 403 million in the second quarter. Its peer-to-peer payments app Venmo serves more than 50 million active users.

PayPal repeatedly cited its BNPL service as a growth engine during its latest conference call. Over seven million consumers have used its BNPL service for more than 20 million transactions so far. The service has processed more than $3.5 billion in TPV (total payment volume) since its launch, with $1.5 billion of that total processed in the second quarter alone.

That figure sounds impressive, but $1.5 billion only accounted for 0.5% of PayPal’s total TPV of $311 billion during the quarter. It also reveals its Pay in 4 platform is still much smaller than Afterpay — which generated $15.6 billion in underlying sales (comparable to PayPal’s TPV) in fiscal 2021.

PayPal previously offered “pay later” options with its revolving credit line and an Easy Payments feature, but “Pay in 4” marked its first step into the streamlined, interest-free BNPL market. But it arrived late to the party — Afterpay was founded in 2014, while its Australian rival Zip was founded in 2013.

The bottom line

On its own, Square’s takeover of Afterpay won’t derail PayPal’s long-term growth. Bank of America estimates the market for BNPL apps will expand 10-15 fold by 2025, so there could be plenty of room for Square and PayPal to expand without trampling each other.

However, Square’s massive acquisition of Afterpay, which instantly gives it a bigger share of the BNPL market than PayPal, highlights the key difference between the two fintech giants.

Square is consistently more daring — as seen with its early moves in bitcoin trades, stock trades, and the expansion of its seller services — while PayPal is more conservative. Therefore, investors should question why PayPal didn’t buy Afterpay first — and if it needs to get more aggressive to hit its lofty growth targets for 2025.

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

The post Should PayPal investors be worried about Square’s Afterpay takeover? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These 2 hot ASX shares take up 20% of our fund: manager
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Why Argosy Minerals, Genworth, Vulcan, & Zip shares are charging higher
• Square earnings, what it means for the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price?
• The Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is zooming higher once more

Leo Sun owns shares of Square. Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Bitcoin, PayPal Holdings, and Square. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended eBay and has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $75 calls on PayPal Holdings and short October 2021 $70 calls on eBay. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PayPal Holdings. 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 Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) share price is charging higher today.

In morning trade, the embattled gold miner’s shares are up 6% to 58.7 cents.

Despite this gain, the Resolute Mining share price is still down 30% since the start of the year.

Why is the Resolute Mining share price charging higher?

Investors have been bidding the Resolute Mining share price higher today following the release of a positive announcement.

According to the release, the company has signed an agreement to sell its interest in the troubled Bibiani Gold Mine to Asante Gold Corporation. The sale will be for a total cash consideration of US$90 million. This comprises a US$30 million deposit, US$30 million on or before six months from completion, and US$30 million on or before 12 months from completion.

Positively, this agreement has received Ministerial Consent, having been approved by the Ghanaian Honourable Minister of Lands and Natural Resources. Earlier this year the Minister had blocked the sale of the asset to China’s Chifeng Jilong for ~$105 million.

The completion of the transaction is expected within 10 days, pending no material adverse changes over this period.

Resolute Mining’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Gale, commented: “Resolute has made a commitment to deliver sustainable and enduring value to shareholders and to the communities in which we operate. Resolute is proud of its contribution to Ghana and particularly proud to have the opportunity to transfer ownership in Bibiani to a highly regarded team with strong ties to Ghana.”

“The transaction is consistent with our strategic focus on our core operating assets and strengthening the balance sheet, with the initial cash receipt of US$30 million to be applied to the voluntary repayment of debt. We do not expect there to be any material tax implications following the completion of this transaction,” he added.

The post Why the Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) share price is racing 6% 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. 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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