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In early afternoon trade on Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back its morning gains and is sinking. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.3% to 7,294.9 points.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are racing higher:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

The Bigtincan share price is up 4.5% to $1.18. Investors have been buying the sales enablement platform provider’s shares after it announced a major contract extension. According to the release, US based telco giant T-Mobile has extended its contract by $6.3 million in total contract value over a two-year period. This means the T-Mobile total contract value now stands at $18.4 million since its initial deployment.

Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH)

The Oil Search share price is up 4% to $4.05. There have been a couple of catalysts for this rise. One is a jump in oil prices overnight and the other is a broker note out of Morgans. In respect to the latter, the broker has upgraded the energy producer’s shares to an add rating with a $4.40 price target. This follows an upgrade to Morgans’ medium term oil price forecasts.

Opthea Ltd (ASX: OPT)

The Opthea share price has jumped 9.5% to $1.38. This morning the biotech revealed that it has received Fast Track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration for its product to treat patients with neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In addition, Opthea noted that it may also be eligible for accelerated approval and priority review as long as it meets the needed criteria.

Xref Ltd (ASX: XF1)

The Xref share price has stormed 22% higher to 45 cents. This follows the release of the human resources technology company’s fourth quarter update. According to the release, Xref expects to report record sales of $6.37 million and cash receipts of $5.93 million for the quarter. Management notes that COVID-19 has accelerated the global demand for remote working. This has led to organisations seeking better ways to perform candidate verification, leading to growing demand for its self-serve platform.

The post Why Bigtincan, Oil Search, Opthea, & Xref shares are racing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Opthea (ASX:OPT) share price is soaring 8%
• Why the Xref (ASX:XF1) share price is rocketing 32% to a record high
• Bigtincan (ASX:BTH) share price storms higher on T-Mobile contract update
• Why ASX energy shares are set to rise again today
• ASX energy shares in hotseat as OPEC+ struggles to contain crisis

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 BIGTINCAN FPO and Xref Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Xref 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 Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX: SOR) share price is soaring today on news the company’s subsidiary will be making an autonomous vehicle in collaboration with the Australian Department of Defence.

At the time of writing, shares in Strategic Elements are up 3.49% ­ – trading for 22.3 cents apiece.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news from the exploration and information technology development fund.

Autonomous vehicle collaboration

Strategic Element’s subsidiary, Stealth Technologies, will be designing and delivering an autonomous drone-carrying vehicle to help the Australian Defence Force adopt autonomous technology faster.

The project will be in collaboration with the Department’s Defence Science Technology Group (DSTG).

The vehicle will be able to deliver drones and sensors to a target location, automatically detecting and sensing chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents on the way.

The vehicle will use Stealth Autodrive Hardware and Stealth OS Software to navigate through environments. It will also be able to launch a drone with CBRN detection and sensing abilities and have it land back in the vehicle.

The Western Australian Defence Science Centre (DSC) will provide $150,000 for the autonomous vehicle’s development and an investigation into whether it could be manufactured in Western Australia.

DSTG, DSC, the University of Western Australia, and Stealth Technologies will each put $350,000 towards the collaboration.

DSTG will also provide personnel, existing CBRN search algorithms, facilities, equipment, and support.

Stealth Technologies will retain all intellectual property and commercialisation rights for CBRN detection and other defence force-related applications.

Stealth Technologies will eventually demonstrate the vehicle’s abilities to the DSTG and the Army.

The company will also look into using technology to fulfil other Defence needs. These may include resupplying or intelligence, surveillance, or reconnaissance missions.

The autonomous vehicle and drone launch and land system’s initial concept design is expected this quarter.

According to Strategic Elements, the global market for CBRN Defence was estimated to be worth US$16.2 billion in 2020. It’s expected that will increase to US$21.9 billion by 2027.

Strategic Elements share price snapshot

Today’s good news hasn’t been enough to get the Strategic Elements share price back into the green.

It’s currently 6% lower than it was at the beginning of 2021. However, it has gained 221% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $86 million, with approximately 388 million shares outstanding.

The post Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) share price up on Defence Force collab appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) share price soars with air-powered battery

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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As we’ve covered extensively on the Fool over the past week, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a very successful year over the last financial year that has just passed us by. Over FY2021, the ASX 200 managed to add a very healthy 24%, making it one of the best financial years ever for ASX 200 shares. But that’s old news now. So today, we’re checking out how some of the ASX’s top biotech shares performed over FY21. Here’s the tea:

5 top ASX biotech shares in FY21

Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS)

Healius is an ASX biotech company that works in the pathology, imaging and medical centres spaces. It has also recently branched out into COVID-19 testing. Healius had a rather successful FY2021. Healius started the financial year at approximately $3.05 a share. It finished up last Wednesday at $4.63 a share, putting its FY21 gains at a very robust 51.8%. A positive trading update that Healius delivered back in May seems to have lit a fire under the company’s shares over the back half of the financial year in particular. This update showed quarterly revenue growth of 8%, as well as the company reaching the milestone of 3 million COVID-19 tests in total.

Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

Pro Medicus is another ASX biotech share that performed rather well in the financial year just gone. This compnay started FY21 at $26.4 a share, but ended up last week at $58.66. That’s a 12 month gain of 121.7%. Pro Medicus is in the imaging and diagnostic space as well. It also provides radiology information systems, communication services and visualisation to hospitals, medical centres and other health care facilities.

A series of positive announcements over FY21 seems to have been the primary catalyst here. Back in May, Pro Medicis announced an 8-year contract with The University of Vermont Health Network, which locks in a revenue stream for the company. Further, Pro Medicus also announced in June that it had inked a long-term collaboration agreement with Mayo Clinic.

Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX)

The Telix share price might be having a rough time today (down 2.8% at the time of writing). But that doesn’t take away from the fact that this company had an outstanding FY2021. Telix started the financial year at just $1.28 a share. It finished up last Wednesday at $6.08 a share, marking its FY21 gains at a very pleasing 375%. So what went so right for Telix?

Well, Telix is a biotech company that is working on molecularly-targeted radiation therapy to assist cancer patients. Again, it was a series of positive updates that seemed to be at work here. Back in May, Telix announced that its bone marrow conditioning drug TLX66 had “met study objectives” in patients during a clinical trial. That wasn’t the only piece of good news either. Back in January, Telix reported that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the recruitment of patients in a study looking at Zirconium Imaging in Renal Cancer Oncology (ZIRCON).

Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)

And at last, we get to the best performing ASX biotech share in Imugene. Imugene was also the best performing ASX share in the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) over FY21 as well, incidentally. Imugene shares started the financial year at just 3.1 cents a share, but finished up last week at 35.5 cents. That’s a gain of a whopping 1,045%. Why was Imugene such a powerful biotech gainer in FY21? Well, in April, it informed the markets that its clinical trials for the treatment of gastric cancer had proved successful. Soon after, Imugene announced in May that it would be conducting further clinical trials for the treatment of cancerous tumours with oncolytic virus and cell therapy technology.

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

This one is a bit of a bonus, but we couldn’t miss the ASX’s largest biotech company (and the third-largest ASX share overall by market capitalisation). CSL, in contrast to the companies above, didn’t have a great FY21. Investors might remember the cracking growth CSL shares became known for over the past decade. But 2020 and 2021 has seen this growth stall somewhat. CSL shares started out FY21 at $287 apiece.

But by the end of the financial year, they hadn’t strayed too far, ending last week at $285.47. That’s a loss of 0.53% for the preceding 12 months. Nothing terrible happened to CSL over the year that caused this stagnation. But ongoing problems with the company’s formerly lucrative plasma collections business, mostly due to the pandemic, can perhaps be blamed here. A rising Aussie dollar over the financial year wouldn’t have helped either (CSL reports in US dollars).

The post How these top ASX biotech shares performed in FY21 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 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
• 2 ASX healthcare shares analysts rate highly
• ASX 200 up, Sydney Airport soars, Airtasker rises

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. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Pro Medicus 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 EML Payments (ASX: EML) share price is trading in the green today, extending the previous 5 trading sessions’ gains.

At the time of writing, the EML share price is ~5% in the green, reaching an intraday high of $3.80 before retracing to the current price of $3.73.

Let’s take a closer look at shares in the payment card technology company.

What’s happened to the EML share price lately?

There have been no company-specific or market sensitive announcements to impact the company’s share price today.

Nonetheless, EML shares remain in the money, outpacing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of 0.22% intraday.

The company’s share price has had a volatile year-to-date. It’s slipped ~11% into the red since January 1 behind the S&P/ASX 200 Index’s return of 9.7% over the same period.

Recent volatility

During the previous 12 months, EML shares have gained 1.6% versus the Index’s 21.6% at the time of writing.

Recent volatility in EML shares comes after concerns raised by the Central Bank of Ireland on EML’s Prepaid Financial Services card services segment, citing issues with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism compliance.

EML shares took a 42% nosedive immediately following this event and haven’t fully recovered since. However, these recent gains put the share price closer to its previous highs.

The company also released its 3rd quarter trading update in June, demonstrating that sequential revenue had expanded 65% to $143.5 million.

The company also posted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of ~$44 million, a 62% advancement.

Volatility has crept in following both of these events and the 52-week range for EML shares is $2.47 – $5.89, a 138% spread.

EML share price snapshot

The EML share price has begun its walk northwards. Over the previous 1 month, EML shares have posted a return of 11%, reclaiming some of the returns given away after the loss in May.

The company’s shares are also in the green by 4% after the previous 5 trading sessions, continuing the gains seen over the last month.

At the current share price of $3.73, EML has a market capitalisation of $1.3 billion. EML does not pay a dividend and has negative earnings per share.

The post The EML Payments (ASX:EML) share price surges 5% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The 3 ASX shares that top brokers just upgraded to “buy”
• Here are the 5 worst performing ASX 200 tech shares from FY21
• The EML Payments (ASX:EML) share price zoomed 4% higher today
• Here’s why this fund manager decided to sell its EML (ASX:EML) shares
• M&A rumour fires up the Iress (ASX:IRE) share price today

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended EML Payments. 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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BlueBet Holdings Ltd‘s (ASX: BBT) first few days on the ASX have been a rollercoaster. Luckily for those who bought into the action, its shares are gaining today.

Right now, the BlueBet share price is trading at $1.83, up 4.57%, after hitting an intraday high of $1.87 earlier this morning.

It’s still 16% lower than its highest price of $2.10, however, which it touched shortly after its initial public offering (IPO) on Friday.

Let’s take a look at how the betting services provider’s first week on the ASX is panning out.

A quick refresher

IPOs are always exciting and BlueBet’s has kept us on our toes.

BlueBet’s IPO saw it raise $80 million by selling 70.2 million shares for $1.14 apiece.

As a result, the company started its time on the ASX with a market capitalisation of $228.1 million. It also walked away from its IPO with an extra $44.7 million in its coffers after covering the offer’s costs.

Now that it’s listed, BlueBet will be looking to expand its Australian operations, push into the US market, and develop its platform and technology suite.

How is the Bluebet share price tracking so far?

The BlueBet share price soared a whopping 85% on the opening of its first day on the ASX. Unfortunately, it ended Friday’s session 11.25% lower than where it started. Its very first close was at $1.78, which still saw those who bought shares in its IPO with an off-the-bat gain of 56%.

Yesterday’s session was a volatile one for the BlueBet share price. At one point it dipped 8% to hit $1.63, its lowest point yet. However, it gained back its losses to close at $1.77 – just 0.28% less than Friday’s close.

At the moment, today looks promising to break the short-lived stagnation. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the BlueBet share price for any more adrenaline-inducing movements.

BlueBet now has a market capitalisation of around $355 million, with approximately 200 million shares outstanding.

The post What’s up with the BlueBet (ASX:BBT) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 exciting small cap ASX shares you should be watching closely
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes FY21 on a high
• BlueBet (ASX:BBT) share price rockets 84% higher following IPO

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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Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) shares are taking a breather today following a massive 33.9% jump yesterday.

The Sydney Airport share price took flight on Monday after the company received a $22.6 billion all-cash buyout offer from a consortium of infrastructure investors.

Interestingly, the offer of $8.25 per share represented a 42% premium to the company’s Friday closing price. This is despite the airport’s May traffic performance showing total passengers were 59.1% below pre-pandemic levels.

Looking beyond the lockdowns

The consortium of infrastructure-focused investors consists of IFM Investors, Global Infrastructure Management, and QSuper. Yesterday’s bid from the partnership has been interpreted by many as a big bet on Australia’s travel future.

While no one really knows exactly when, or to what extent travel will resume – IFM and partners clearly have a positive perspective. Otherwise, the deal would look expensive based on the airport’s current performance.

Sydney Airport’s 2020 full-year results delivered earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $508.1 million. Based on that, the consortium would be paying a 44.5 times EBITDA multiple.

However, it wouldn’t be so farfetched for the company’s earnings to return to pre-pandemic levels if the global vaccine rollout is successful.

For that reason, it might be more valuable to look at the airport’s performance prior to COVID-19. In Sydney Airport’s 2019 full-year report, EBITDA came in at $1,336.3 million. That would put the consortium’s bid at roughly 17 times 2019 EBITDA.

Furthermore, analysts from Macquarie have said the bid is towards the upper end for airport offers globally. Though the offer remains quite distanced from the most expensive. They commented:

SYD should trade at a premium to peer assets, reflecting it has a high number of international passengers and better duty-free allowances. It has a light-handed regulatory regime, which provides flexibility, and opportunity to grow the nonaeronautical assets base.

Could Sydney Airport be leaving the ASX?

Sydney Airport’s chair, David Gonski, has recommended shareholders take no action on the offer. Meanwhile, the board is evaluating whether the proposal aligns with the underlying value of the company. In a release to the ASX yesterday, the company stated:

The indicative proposal has been made during a global pandemic which has deeply affected the aviation industry and the Sydney Airport security price. The indicative price is below where Sydney Airport’s security price traded before the pandemic.

Macquarie analysts expect the offer price may be bumped higher in order to unanimously win over the Sydney Airport board.

Looking forward, if the deal were to be approved by the board and receive all the regulatory thumbs-ups, the ASX might have to wave goodbye to Sydney Airport shares. However, we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. Between now and then, there are still plenty of events to occur.

Finally, Sydney Airport shareholders are now sitting on a 40% share price gain from a year ago. The Sydney Airport share price traded between $5.50 and $6.30 for much of the past 12 months.

The post Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) takeover bid indicates funds are looking forward appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 up, Sydney Airport soars, Airtasker rises
• Here are 3 ASX 200 shares making moves on the share market today
• Auckland Airport (ASX:AIA) share price jumps 6% on travel bubble news
• These ASX shares are the latest to be hit by broker downgrades
• Why A2 Milk, Airtasker, BetMakers, & Sydney Airport shares are storming higher

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

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The Raiz Invest Ltd (ASX: RZI) share price is on the move this afternoon, climbing 8.98% to $1.76.

Shares in the investment platform are pushing higher after the company announced a business update for June.

Raiz share price jumps on June update

Investors are driving the Raiz share price higher on Tuesday after the company announced a strong finish to the financial year.

According to the update, the company recorded a 4.5% month-on-month and 86.7% year-on-year (YoY) increase in active global customers to 456,927 as at 30 June.

Raiz said the growth was underpinned by growing momentum in the Australian market, delivering a year-on-year increase of 22.0% in active customers to 272,976 and 76.3% increase in funds under management to $799.64 million.

The company launched in Indonesia in March 2019 and Malaysia in June 2020. Both regions are in their early days, reporting a respective 117,923 and 66,028 active customers.

Management commentary

Raiz Invest managing director George Lucas was pleased with the company’s growth in FY21, saying:

Raiz finished the 2020-21 financial year on a high note. We remain well placed to hit our target of $1 billion in Funds under Management (FUM) by the end of calendar 2021. We are very pleased with the 30 June 2021 FUM of $800 million that is above budget. In the past 12 months, FUM has grown 76.3%.

Lucas shed light on the company’s strategy to grow key metrics.

The introduction of new products, such as custom portfolios and opening up the platform to self managed super funds (SMSFs), have helped accelerate FUM growth which is growing faster than active customers. It means we are growing the life-time value of each customer by increasing revenue per customer, demonstrating the benefits of the Raiz team delivering on our stated growth strategy.

In addition, he said Raiz was focused on growing the “favourable market opportunity in Southeast Asia”.

We also saw growth pick up in Southeast Asia in June, with both Indonesia and Malaysia enjoying double digit increases as they move on from the fasting month. Indonesia saw active customers grow 10.0% to 117,923, with Malaysia seeing growth of 10.6% to 66,028. We remain confident our long term strategies for both countries are on track.

Raiz share price snapshot

The Raiz share price has rallied a solid 75% year-to-date, with most of its gains occurring at the start of the year between January and February.

The company’s shares experienced sharp selloffs in late February and late April, coinciding with the broader weakness of the S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech Index (ASX: XIJ) index.

The Raiz share price has rallied strongly today, touching a 3-month high of $1.76.

The post Up 9% to a 3-month high, the Raiz (ASX:RZI) share price is surging. Here’s why. appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Selling some ASX shares before tax time? Here’s what you should know
• This tumbling ASX fintech should be 3 times current price: analyst
• Here’s why the Raiz (ASX:RZI) share price has gained 5% today

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 Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has come under pressure on Tuesday.

In morning trade, the artificial intelligence data services company’s shares were down 5% to $12.26.

When the Appen share price hit that level, it meant it was down by over 51% since the start of the year.

Why is the Appen share price under pressure?

Investors have been selling down the Appen share price today despite there being no news out of the company or broker notes that I’m aware of.

However, something that could be weighing on its shares was a recent ceasing to be a substantial holder notice.

According to the notice from Monday, the Capital Group Companies has been selling a large number of shares on-market in recent weeks and as recently as 1 July. On that particular day, the fund manager sold 583,170 shares for just a touch over $8 million.

This may have investors concerned as it was only just over a month ago when the fund manager, which has over US$2 trillion in assets under management, was loading up on Appen shares. It appears as though Capital Group Companies has changed its mind about Appen pretty quickly. However, it isn’t immediately apparent why at this stage.

Is this a buying opportunity?

The current Appen share price could have a lot of potential upside based on some recent broker notes.

According to a note out of Ord Minnett in late May, its analysts have a buy rating and $24.75 price target on its shares. This implies over 100% upside over the next 12 months if its analysts are on the money.

Even analysts at Credit Suisse, which have just a neutral rating on its shares, see decent upside from here. Their $15.00 price target offers potential upside of ~22% over the next 12 months.

The post Why the Appen (ASX:APX) share price is sinking 5% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.2%: Westpac asset sale, Ramsay increases Spire offer
• 2 fallen stars of ASX now worth buying: experts
• Here are the 5 worst performing ASX 200 tech shares from FY21
• The 5 worst performing shares of the ASX 200 in FY21 revealed
• Is this why the Appen (ASX:APX) share price is sinking 5% 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. owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Experts believe the market is set to rise further this year and leading brokers have just put forward three new ASX shares that they just upgraded to “buy” for your watchlist.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) gained 0.2% this morning and is up nearly 10% since January. Several equity experts believe ASX shares will continue to do well – at least for the rest of this year if not beyond.

Despite the big gains on the ASX, there are still buying opportunities on the market. One example is the IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price even as it raced to a 13-year high.

ASX shares getting a big boost from broker upgrade

The lithium and nickel miner jumped 3.8% to $8.29 during lunch time trade – making it the third best performer on the ASX 200.

Only the Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price and EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price are besting it with gains of over 5% each.

Investors are getting excited about the IGO share price after Goldman Sachs upgraded it to “buy”. The upgrade comes as IGO successfully completes its acquisition of a 49% stake in Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA).

What is the IGO share price worth?

“We forecast the acquisition will be EPS accretive from FY23 and cash flow accretive from FY25, driven by a strengthening lithium price and the ramp up of production,” said Goldman.

The broker believes IGO is well placed to benefit from the expected boom in battery demand. The miner is positioned in the bottom quartile of the cost curve across nickel, spodumene, and lithium hydroxide.

The broker’s 12-month price target on the IGO share price is $9.30 a share.

Playing a better game

Meanwhile, the Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH) also got upgraded by Morgans. The broker lifted its rating on the gaming group to “add” from “hold” following Tabcorp’s demerger announcement.

The group intends to split into two ASX-listed entities. One will control Lotteries and Keno (L&K), while the other will hold the wagering and media businesses.

Demerger drives “buy” upgrade for this ASX share

“We are attracted to L&K’s infrastructure-like qualities, which have clearly been illustrated through its financial performance during the pandemic,” said Morgans.

“We think the demerger has the potential to unlock the value inherent in the high quality L&K business.”

The broker’s 12-month price target for the combined group increased to $5.66 fron $5.11 a share.

Better placed for the commodity upswing

Another ASX shares that got upgraded by Morgans to “add” from “hold” is the Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) share price.

The broker took a more bullish view of the miner after it successfully refinanced its debt and undertook a capital raising.

The repair to its balance sheet is timely as it coincides with a sharp rise in global coking coal prices.

“Physical market participants – producers, traders, buyers – are increasingly of the view that stronger pricing will persist into end-CY21 on higher steel pricing,” added Morgans.

“Very strong Chinese demand is clearly spilling over into pricing into markets ex-China.”

The broker’s 12-month price target on the Coronado share price is $1.06 a share.

The post The 3 ASX shares that top brokers just upgraded to “buy” appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the 5 worst performing ASX 200 tech shares from FY21
• Why Australian Ethical, Clinuvel, Liontown Resources, & Tabcorp shares are dropping
• Why A2 Milk, Airtasker, BetMakers, & Sydney Airport shares are storming higher
• Why the BetMakers (ASX:BET) share price is up 5% at lunchtime

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of IGO Ltd. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended EML Payments. 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 Opthea Ltd (ASX: OPT) share price is soaring today, up more than 8% trading at $1.37 at the time of writing.

The clinical stage biopharmaceutical company is focused on developing therapies to treat progressive retinal diseases.

Below, we look at the company’s latest update from its United States’ endeavours.

What update did Opthea announce?

Opthea’s share price is rocketing after the company reported that it had received Fast Track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its product to treat patients with neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Opthea said the Fast Track designation for its VEGF-C/-D ‘trap’ inhibitor, OPT-302, used in combination with anti-VEGF-A therapy, recognises the potential role that OPT-302 has for addressing significant unmet needs to manage neovascular AMD.

The FDA’s Fast Track designation opens the door to Opthea for improved communications with the administration. It said a rolling review process enabled by the designation will help speed up its Phase 3 development program and approval review processes.

It noted that OPT-302 may now also be eligible for accelerated approval and priority review as long as it meets the needed criteria.

Commenting on the Fast Track approval, Opthea’s CEO Megan Baldwin said:

The recognition from the FDA to grant OPT-302 Fast Track designation reflects the seriousness of wet AMD as a debilitating eye disease and the importance of advancing new therapies such as OPT-302 to address the significant unmet medical need for wet AMD patients, many of whom experience an incomplete response to VEGF-A inhibitors despite regular, ongoing therapy.

By targeting a novel mechanism of action, OPT-302 has the potential to be a truly differentiated treatment option that when used in combination offers patients improved vision outcomes over standard of care anti-VEGF-A monotherapy.

Opthea said it was currently recruiting patients for 2 simultaneous global Phase 3 trials, with some 990 patients expected in each.

Opthea share price snapshot

Despite today’s rise, the Opthea share price remains down 45% over the past 12 months, during a period that saw the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) gain 24%.

Year-to-date, the Opthea share price has remained under pressure, down 30%.

The post Here’s why the Opthea (ASX:OPT) share price is soaring 8% 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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