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The Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) share price is flopping today despite no news having been released by the company.

At the time of writing, Cochlear shares are swapping hands for $235.78 apiece. That represents a 2.76% fall from its previous closing price.

While the broader market is also falling today, Cochlear’s drop is more severe.

Right now, both the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) are 0.16% lower.

Let’s take a look at what the hearing device manufacturer and distributer has been up to lately.

The latest news

The last time we heard price-sensitive news from Cochlear was way back in February when the company released its results for the first half of the 2021 financial year.

Cochlear must have bested the market’s expectations. Despite posting a slight loss and a dividend that was 28% less than that of the previous corresponding period, the results boosted the Cochlear share price by 8.4%.

Cochlear share price snapshot

Cochlear’s shares are some of the ASX’s most expensive and their value has continued to climb through 2021.

The Cochlear share price has gained 24% year to date. It has also grown 17% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $15.9 billion with approximately 65 million shares outstanding.

The post The Cochlear (ASX:COH) share price drops 3% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Near all-time highs, why the ASX 200 could keep running higher
• Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price bucks market downtrend on ~$84m divestment
• Blazing it? How the top ASX cannabis shares performed in FY21
• How these top ASX biotech shares performed in FY21
• ASX 200 up 0.2%: Westpac asset sale, Ramsay increases Spire offer

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

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Cochlear Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is edging higher in afternoon trade.

At time of writing, the ASX 200 is up 0.1% at 7,320 points. That’s within a whisker of the index’s all-time closing high of 7,386, reached only 3 weeks ago on 16 June.

Despite retracing slightly from the record highs, it’s also still 2.5% above its pre-COVID closing high of 7,139, set on 21 February 2020.

And in case you’re wondering, the ASX 200 has now gained a rather astonishing 52% since the post pandemic closing low of 4,817 points on 20 March 2020.

This same trend has played out across most major global indexes.

In the United States markets, for example, the S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) closed at another new record high on Friday. (Markets were closed yesterday – overnight Aussie time – for the July Fourth holiday.)

The S&P 500 is up 18% in 2021 and up an eye-popping 89% from the 20 March 2020 pandemic lows.

These kinds of rapid fire gains have many investors feeling a bit skittish that the bull run may be coming to an end. Yet, while there are reasons to be cautious, many market experts believe share markets can keep running higher into 2022…or beyond.

3 reasons the ASX 200 could reset record highs

The top 3 reasons analysts point to in supporting an extended bull run for share markets are the strong rebound in corporate earnings, continued support from global central banks with rock bottom interest rates and quantitative easing (QE), as well as vaccination programs getting ahead of the virus.

We’ve already seen these factors help boost the ASX 200 to new records. But as Bloomberg reports, big names like BlackRock Inc, State Street Global Markets, UBS Asset Management and JPMorgan Asset Management all “expect equity markets to keep rising in the second half of the year”.

Esty Dwek is head of global market strategy at Natixis Investment Managers. According to Dwek:

Vaccination is accelerating globally, major central banks remain extremely accommodative, fiscal support is still present and earnings continue to recover. In such an environment, it is difficult to imagine a very negative scenario for equities.

Marija Veitmane, senior multi-asset strategist at State Street Global Markets agrees that getting a handle on COVID is crucial to supporting the continued bull run. “We still see the success in vaccinations and economic re-opening as the key driving force behind improving economic and earnings outlook, and ultimately equity market gains,” Veitmane said.

Cash on the sidelines

Another factor likely to offer healthy tailwinds to global share markets, like the ASX 200, is that there is still a tremendous amount of money sitting on the proverbial sidelines. And this in an environment with near record low bond yields and cash deposit rates.

How much money?

According to Goldman Sachs (as reported by Bloomberg), US money-market fund assets reached a record US$5.5 trillion (AU$7.2 trillion) during the pandemic.

Carsten Roemheld, capital markets strategist at Fidelity International, says that, “Many indicators suggest there is still overwhelming liquidity in the system that is looking for a home.”

Of course, we can’t expect the same skyrocketing returns over the next 12 months we’ve witnessed over the past 12 months. You have to remember the ASX 200 and other global markets were recovering from a historic pandemic hit.

As for the simmering fears of central banks raising interest rates, signaling the end to the easy money that share markets love, Ben Lofthouse, head of global equity income at Janus Henderson Investors, doesn’t believe that’s a current concern. “For now, monetary policy and fiscal policy remain loose around the world and, in reality, it will be some time before rates start to rise,” he said.

Claudia Panseri, a global equity strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management, agrees. According to Panseri:

The market is usually down quite a bit when you have growth scares and when you believe that there will be a strong tightening or big change in the monetary policy. And I think that both conditions are still not in place to have a major correction.

Nigel Bolton, head of BlackRock’s Fundamental European Equity team, sees the bull run potentially continuing into 2023:

We see really strong earnings growth, not just for this year, not just the bounce back, but actually going forward into 2022 and also, at a slower pace, into 2023 as well. So all of those factors are the reasons why you are still looking at a bull market and we will have wobbles on the way.

Now all shares are not created equal. So which ones are likely to run hottest in the year ahead?

According to Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Global Investors, “Within equities, cyclicals and value should continue to benefit from the likely surge in consumer spending, but investors should also consider secular growth stocks, such as mega-cap technology.”

How the ASX 200 has moved this year

Following a stellar recovery from the COVID-fuelled market meltdown, the ASX 200 has continued to march higher in 2021.

Year-to-date, the index has gained 9.2%.

The post Near all-time highs, why the ASX 200 could keep running higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price bucks market downtrend on ~$84m divestment
• Blazing it? How the top ASX cannabis shares performed in FY21
• How these top ASX biotech shares performed in FY21
• ASX 200 up 0.2%: Westpac asset sale, Ramsay increases Spire offer
• Why ASX energy shares are set to rise again today

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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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has been one of the top performing ASX 200 companies of 2021, with the CBA share price jumping more than 20% higher so far this year.

In light of this, investors will no doubt be interested to know where analysts think the CBA share price will be going next, among other things.

What are leading brokers saying about the CBA share price?

With the CBA share price currently fetching $99.35, many leading brokers believe it could have reached its peak for the time being.

For example, a recent note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have a neutral rating on CBA’s shares. And the broker’s CBA share price target of $95.00 implies potential downside of 4.4% over the next 12 months.

Citi is positive on Australia’s largest bank and is expecting a significant share buyback in the near future. However, this isn’t enough for a more positive rating on CBA shares.

The broker commented: “Given the rapid improvement in the domestic economic recovery above expectations, coupled with building excess capital, we have pulled forward our buyback assumptions. We have now incorporated a $5bn buyback in 1H22, which we expect will be announced at the FY21 results in August. The pull forward of our buyback assumption sees us upgrading FY22/23E EPS by ~2.5%. Our target price remains unchanged at $95.”

In respect to the CBA dividend in 2021, Citi is forecasting a fully franked $3.50 per share dividend. Based on the current CBA share price, this will mean a 3.5% yield.

What else are brokers saying?

One leading broker that believes CBA shares are overvalued is Goldman Sachs. Its sell rating and CBA share price target of $80.26 suggests potential downside of ~19% over the next 12 months.

Although the broker acknowledges the strength of the bank, it doesn’t believe it deserves to trade at such a premium.

In May, Goldman explained: “While CBA’s balance sheet is strong, with a sector leading capital position and operationally superior performance on volume growth versus its major bank peers, we do not believe this justifies the 42% premium it is currently trading on versus peers (peers adjusted for ex-dividend; versus 16% 15-yr average).”

However, Goldman Sachs is more positive on the CBA dividend in 2021 than its peers. It is forecasting a fully franked $5.39 per share dividend. Based on the current CBA share price, this represents a 5.4% yield currently.

Another neutral broker

Another broker that believes CBA shares are a fully valued now is Credit Suisse. In May the broker retained its neutral rating and lifted its CBA share price target in line with Citi’s to $95.00.

It believes that CBA’s strong balance sheet could allow the company to undertake a $4 billion share buyback later this year. Credit Suisse also suspects that further buybacks could be coming in the years that follow. Nevertheless, it remains neutral for valuation reasons.

In respect to the CBA dividend in 2021, Credit Suisse has pencilled in a fully franked $3.35 per share dividend. This represents a 3.4% based on where CBA shares are trading this afternoon.

The post Here’s what leading brokers are saying about the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) share price in July 2021. appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• PEXA (ASX:PXA) share price jumps to new heights on first ‘normal’ trading day
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes FY21 on a high
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• Why the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price pulled back from record highs in June
• ASX 200 down 0.3%: SEEK record high, IGO jumps, Lendlease downgrade

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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The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price is down today despite investment bank Jarden claiming yesterday that the company could grow its addressable market to more than $500 billion.

The Woolworths share price has dropped 0.82% to $37.29 at the time of writing.

Let’s take a look at what has unfolded.

New revenue streams through growth initiatives

Woolworths has had a busy year in 2021, undertaking several growth initiatives to add fuel to the company’s growth engine.

According to a report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) yesterday, Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci wants to generate additional revenue streams by building out the company’s retail, supply chain and rewards segments.

To illustrate, back in February, the company launched an online learning and training platform which it eventually made accessible to adjacent retail and service industries.

In April, it released its plan to more than double its e-commerce product mix through the launch of a virtual marketplace, enabling third-party sellers to drive sales through Woolworths’ website.

Later that month, it also established Q-Retail, a new business unit that brings together its data analytics capabilities with those of shopping insights platform Quantium. This followed Woolworths increasing its stake in Quantium to 75%.

Finally, in June, Woolworths also launched its financial services platform known as ‘Wpay’ as a standalone payments business segment. These moves come 14 years after it established its own in-house payments platform.

Analyst commentary

The AFR reports that Jarden analysts Ben Gilbert and Keegan Booysen believe Woolworths could “double its addressable market to more than $500 billion by expanding into areas outside the traditional food and everyday needs sectors and by leveraging its systems and expertise”.

The analysts estimated the company’s vertical businesses were already generating ~$100 million, including its:

• Cartology media interests
• Wpay for payments
• Supply chain operations via Primary Connect
• Data analytics through Quantium
• Plus other insurance/telco interests.

Gilbert and Booysen state in the equity research report:

“In our view Woolworths, along with Westfarmers, is the best positioned of Australian-listed corporates to capitalise on growing consumer brand trust to expand into right-to-play verticals and adjacencies.”

Woolworths share price summary

The Woolworths share price has given a 12-month return of just under 1% at the time of writing, which has lagged behind the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of ~21.5% over this same time.

Over the previous 5 sessions, the Woolworths share price has finished in the red, and has also finished in the red over the last 1 month by 13.94%.

The company’s share price has also lagged the ASX 200’s year-to-date return, by posting a loss of around 5% at the time of writing, compared to 9.3% for the index.

At a share price of $37.29, Woolworths has a market capitalisation of $47.2 billion, and trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.52.

The share price is trading off its 52-week high of $44.06 but it sitting above its 52-week low of $35.96.

The post Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price dips as experts predict growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These ASX shares are the latest to be hit by broker downgrades
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes FY21 on a high
• ASX blue chips set to unleash buybacks and dividends! But which is better?
• Why Lendlease, Marley Spoon, Reece, & Woolworths shares are sinking
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today

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 NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NFH) share price has hit a new 52-week high during today’s session.

At the time of writing, the NIB share price has dipped 1.52% into the red, after starting the day in the green and hitting an intraday high of $6.61.

This morning’s trading volume was around 9% higher than the 20-day average volume-at-time (AVAT) seen for that time of day.

Let’s cover NIB Holdings’ share price in a bit more detail.

What has NIB Holdings been up to lately?

NIB shares hit their 52-week high despite no market-sensitive information that may have impacted the company’s share price today.

Back on 23 June, NIB chief executive Mark Fitzgibbon stated there will be a paradigm shift towards a focus on medical care within the home going forward, Bloomberg LP reports.

Fitzgibbon also mentioned that NIB is aiming to provide networks within its existing channels that will connect to people in their residence or other care centres.

Speaking on these secular trends in healthcare, Fitzgibbon stated:

100 years ago about 90% of health care was practiced at home. Now, I’m not saying 100 years from now we’ll be back to 90% at home, but that’s the direction.

NIB shares have climbed more than 5% since this announcement.

Earlier in May, the ACCC also withdrew its case against NIB, originally filed for NIB’s changes to its MediGap scheme which covered customers’ Medicare services when they weren’t bulk billed.

At that time, ACCC chair Rod Sims stated:

We are pleased the industry has significantly changed practices since 2015 to ensure greater transparency for consumers, including NIB’s change of its approach and commitment to continue informing customers about changes that may affect their out–of–pocket expenses for ongoing treatment ahead of the changes occurring.

NIB share price snapshot

Today’s gains extend the run for NIB’s shares this year-to-date. Since January 1, the NIB share price has gained 8.7%, building out a 12-month return of 38.4% for the company.

These returns have outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return over these time periods, with the Index posting returns of 9.7% and 21.9% during the year-to-date and last 12 months respectively.

Over the last 1 month, the NIB share price has gained a further 1.25% and has set 3 new 52-week highs during the past 2 weeks.

At the current share price, NIB has a market capitalisation of $3 billion and trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of about 30.

The company also pays a 20 cents per share dividend, fully-franked, giving a current dividend yield of 2.15%. NIB has made good on each dividend payment since September 2009.

The post NIB Holdings (ASX:NHF) share price hits new 52-week high today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Blazing it? How the top ASX cannabis shares performed in FY21
• Medibank Private (ASX:MPL) share price sets new 52-week high today

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 NIB 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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Carnarvon Petroleum Limited (ASX: CVN) shares are on the rise today after the company announced it has formed a joint venture to produce green diesel with Frontier Impact Group.

At the time of writing, the Carnarvon share price is trading 1.75% higher at 29 cents.

Let’s take a look at what the company announced this morning.

Green diesel joint venture

Investors are driving the Carnarvon share price higher after the company reported its 50/50 joint venture with Frontier Impact Group will prioritise the production of renewable diesel from plant biomass.

The company reports the $100 million facility can also produce biochar, which can then be refined into graphene for use in the production of batteries and electronics.

The bio-refinery is poised to begin production in late 2022 and will rely on “internationally proven technology” which has never been implemented in Australia before.

Speaking about the company’s latest joint venture, Carnarvon chief executive Adrian Cook said:

This joint venture demonstrates a clear and pragmatic start to delivering on our net-zero commitment, while ensuring long-term, sustainable shareholder value remains a key determinant in our decision making.

He added:

There is a clear link between the delivery of our core projects, securing carbon offsets for these through this venture and producing valuable products such as renewable diesel.

Pivoting to show climate-change risks

Carnarvon was on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s radar in 2020, alongside a run of oil and gas players, for failing to report on its climate-change impacts.

Since these “climate pressures” emerged, the company has produced its first sustainability report, disclosing climate-change risks and actions taken to offset the same.

Carnarvon has today also committed to producing net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner.

Carnarvon share price snapshot

Over the past month, the Carnarvon share price has climbed by 16%. It has also posted gains of more than 52% over the previous 12 months.

Although the company’s shares have outpaced the returna of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over these periods, they have lagged the index on a year-to-date basis, dipping 3.33% since the start of 2021.

At the current share price of 29 cents, Carnarvon has a market capitalisation of $454 million. The share price is off its 52-week high of 34 cents but is aloft its 52-week low of 18 cents.

The post Carnarvon (ASX:CVN) share price jumps following renewables venture appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 high-yielding ASX dividend shares
• Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price bucks market downtrend on ~$84m divestment
• Blazing it? How the top ASX cannabis shares performed in FY21
• Medibank Private (ASX:MPL) share price sets new 52-week high today
• Why Bigtincan, Oil Search, Opthea, & Xref shares are racing higher

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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There are a certain number of ASX dividend shares that have a relatively high yield.

These are businesses that have reasonably high dividend payout ratios and have plans to grow profit over the long-term, which may mean the leadership teams are able to increase the dividend in some years. 

Here are three with higher expected yields:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

Accent is one of the largest shoe retailers in Australia with a large number of stores such as The Athlete’s Foot, PIVOT and The Trybe.

It has been increasing its margins, store count, efficiencies and online sales. Growth has accelerated during this period of COVID-19.

The FY21 interim result saw earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth of 29%, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) growth of 47.3% and net profit after tax (NPAT) growth of 57.3%.

This allowed the board to fund an interim dividend increase of 52.4% to 8 cents per share.

The business is expected to pay a dividend of 12.5 cents per share in FY21 according to Commsec, which would translate to a grossed-up dividend yield of 6.4%.

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

Nick Scali is another retailer with a large dividend yield.

It imports quality furniture and sells it to customers looking to improve their homes.

Nick Scali is currently rated as a buy by Citi which has noted that sales continue to be stronger than expected with the order book continuing to see growth.

Indeed, the ASX dividend share recently said that total written sales order growth was 50% in the third quarter of FY21. April 2021 written order sales growth was 242%, cycling against widespread store closures in April 2020. It’s expecting net profit after tax growth in FY21 of between 85% to 90%.

Citi thinks Nick Scali will pay a FY21 dividend of $0.80 per share, translating to a grossed-up dividend yield of around 10%.

Nick Scali plans to offer more products, open more stores and expand its digital offering.

Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)

Centuria Industrial is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that is the largest pure play on industrial property in Australia.

On 11 June 2021, it announced that its portfolio had increased to be worth over $3 billion across 66 high-quality industrial properties after an acquiring three properties with a blended initial yield of 5% and an average weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 5.8 years.

The manager of Centuria Industrial explains that the REIT’s strategy is to secure high-quality industrial assets within key metropolitan locations. Mr Jesse Curtis says that the ASX dividend share has a strong track record of identifying value and providing value-add opportunities through repositioning and active leasing to deliver reliable income returns and capital growth to unitholders.

The broker Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) rates the ASX dividend share as a buy, with the potential of further improvements in the valuations of the properties. Macquarie thinks Centuria Industrial will pay a distribution of 4.9% in FY22.

The post 3 high-yielding ASX dividend shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX lithium shares could get boost from Macquarie (ASX:MQG) upgrade
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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 Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. 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 Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) share price is outpacing the broader market after it sold its interest in a JV and announced a FY22 reinsurance placement.

The Suncorp share price jumped 0.3% to $11.21 during lunch time trade with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) slumped 0.3% into the red.

Management announced today that it sold its 50% stake in RACT Insurance Pty Ltd (RACTI) to its JV partner, the Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania Ltd (RACT) for $83.8 million.

Suncorp share price lifts on possible capital return

The sale price equates to around a price-earnings multiple of 18.1 times based on the expected FY21 earnings.

Suncorp will book a pre-tax profit on the divestment of $65 million to $70 million. The total capital release is expected to be $50 million.

No word yet on what Suncorp intends to do with the surplus capital and investors will be hoping for some form of capital return. No doubt the Suncorp share price will rally if management handed back some of the cash.

The bank and insurance group last did a capital return in 2019 when it paid 39 cents a share on top of its regular dividends.

Downsizing to upside the Suncorp share price

The sale is consistent with Suncorp’s plan to streamline its business. It said the transaction was in the best interest of shareholders and customers.

“Suncorp and RACT have enjoyed a successful relationship in Tasmania since 2007,” said Suncorp’s chief executive Steve Johnston.

“We have mutually agreed that now is the right time for RACT to take full control of the insurance entity. This is consistent with our focus on simplifying the Group and driving improvement in our core insurance and banking businesses.”

The sale isn’t expected to be completed till late this calendar year and is subject to regulatory approval.

Reinsurance update brings relief

Suncorp also announced that it has placed its FY22 reinsurance program. Reinsurance is like insurance for insurance companies to protect them in the event of a major claim event.

Given the growing incidences of natural disasters linked to climate change, the news is welcomed by shareholders.

The structure of the main catastrophe program remains unchanged from FY21. There is an upper limit of $6.5 billion covering the Home, Motor and Commercial property portfolios across Australia and New Zealand.

Pleasingly, the cost of the FY22 reinsurance program and natural hazard allowance are in-line with management’s guidance. The natural hazard allowance for FY22 is expected to be $980 million and Suncorp’s maximum event retention remains at $250 million.

No unexpected bad news to rock the Suncorp share price here.

Another reason for shareholders to cheer

Investors will also be relieved about Suncorp’s underpayment controversy. The group completed its review into pay and leave entitlements of staff in Australia.

It said it will make remediation payments to current and former employees identified by the review from July 2021.

More importantly, it believes that the $60 million it has set aside in the FY20 results will be enough to cover all costs.

The post Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price bucks market downtrend on ~$84m divestment appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Blazing it? How the top ASX cannabis shares performed in FY21
• How these top ASX biotech shares performed in FY21
• ASX 200 up 0.2%: Westpac asset sale, Ramsay increases Spire offer
• Why ASX energy shares are set to rise again today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau 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 2021 financial year was overall a very good one for ASX shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) managed to put on a performance of 24% for the 12 months to 30 June 2021. That makes FY2021 one of the best financial years ever for the Australian share market.

But some sectors inevitably performed better than others. That’s capitalism for you. And the sector we’re looking at today – ASX cannabis shares – certainly had its fair share of both winners and losers.

So let’s check out how this popular sector fared in the financial year that has just passed us by.

How did the top ASX cannabis shares fare in FY21?

Below is a table of how the ASX’s top cannabis shares performed in FY2021:

ASX Cannabis Share	% Gain/Loss for FY21
Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH)	351.6%
Little Green Pharma Ltd (ASX: LGP)	154.3%
Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: BOT)	107.7%
Althea Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AGH)	(6.3%)
Zelira Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: ZLD)	(20.4%)
Auscann Group Holding Ltd (ASX: AC8)	(26.7%)
Elixinol Wellness Ltd (ASX: EXL)	(29%)
Cann Group Ltd (ASX: CAN)	(57%)
Ecofibre Ltd (ASX: EOF)	(69.4%)

As you can see, it was something of a mixed bag. If you were lucky enough to hold Creso Pharma shares over the financial year, you would have enjoyed a very pleasing gain of more than 350%. However, if you were unfortunate enough to have money invested in Ecofibre, you instead would have had to cop a nasty near-70% loss for your time, effort and capital.

 

Highs or red eyes for ASX cannabis?

While each company had its own individual trials, triumphs and tribulations, it’s worth noting this is a sector that often moves in tandem. This is due to the unique but uniform challenges ASX cannabis shares all face. The most prominent of these is, of course, the legal status of cannabis itself.

Whilst recreational use of cannabis/marijuana is still illegal in many countries, including Australia, recent changes have been happening.

Perhaps at the forefront of these changes is the ever-evolving regulatory landscape in the United States. As it currently stands, 18 US states currently allow recreational use of cannabis.

Most recently, we saw the state of New York ‘legalise it’ back in April. This saw an immediate boost to the values of ASX cannabis shares despite the Australian market implications being limited.There is also debate in Mexico over the potential legalisation of cannabis. If this went ahead, it could open up a market of nearly 130 million people.

Another headache…

On the other hand, ASX cannabis shares have seen some setbacks in this arena as well. Last October, New Zealand held a ‘reefer-rendum’ on legalising recreational use of cannabis across the ditch. It failed, meaning that, at least for now, recreational use of cannabis remains illegal in the Land of the Long White Cloud. This was a big setback for the ASX cannabis sector here in Australia.

But, as you may have noted, there were some clear winners in this space regardless. As we noted earlier, Creso Pharma was the top performer in its sector.

Creso managed to capture investor attention through its acquisition of Halucenex Life Sciences. Halucenex specialises in psychedelic compounds and stands to benefit if the US state of California legalises psilocybin (the active drug in ‘magic mushrooms’). This is still currently being debated in the Californian Congress but investors certainly seem optimistic.

It’s also worth noting that some of the worst-performing ASX cannabis shares of FY21 were once known as some of the best performers.

Companies like Althea and Xalra were top-performing companies as recently as last year. But the tide has definitely turned for some of these companies’ share prices. Mostly, complications surrounding the pandemic, as well as regulatory issues, are mostly to blame here for the woes of Ecofibre and Cann Group in particular.

The post Blazing it? How the top ASX cannabis shares performed in FY21 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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 Medibank Private (ASX: MPL) share price has hit a new 52-week high this afternoon.

At the time of writing, the Medibank Private share price is trading hands at $3.21, up 2.23%. The 52-week low was $2.45 on 9 September 2020.

Trading volume was about 40% higher than the 20-day average volume-at-time (AVAT) for the same time of day this morning.

Let’s take a look at the Medibank Private share price in closer detail.

The month so far for Medibank Private

Medibank’s share price has hit its 52-week high despite there being no company-specific or market-sensitive news today.

Medibank has had a busy month, however, which could explain the rise in share price seen recently. The big item on Medibank’s agenda has been the company’s premium relief payments policy.

On 29 June, the company announced that it will return approximately $105 million to customers impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic through premium relief payments.

The insurer said the premium relief program would cover approximately 2 million accounts.

Speaking on the program, Medibank chief executive officer David Koczkar said:

Covid-19 restrictions limited how our customers could use their health insurance.

The moves take the company’s total Covid-19 support package to $300 million. Medibank Private shares climbed from $3.16 to $3.21 following the announcement.

Medibank Private share price snapshot

The Medibank Private share price has had a bumpy year in 2021 but has jumped into the green by 6.6% since January 1.

Medibank shares are also up around 1.2% over the previous 1 month and remain in the green over the previous 5 trading sessions.

The company’s share price has posted a 12-month return of ~6% which has lagged the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of 21.88% over the same period.

At the current share price, Medibank Private has a market capitalisation of $8.8 billion and trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of around 24.

The company pays a dividend of 12 cents per share, fully-franked, and the dividend yield is 3.77% at the current market price. Medibank also has earnings per share of 13.1 cents from its most recent filing.

The post Medibank Private (ASX:MPL) share price sets new 52-week high today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price up as customers get millions in support
• ASX 200 up 0.35%: SEEK upgraded, Afterpay lower

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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