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Trends… Some investors play to them, others steer well clear of them. But there’s no avoiding that they influence markets in some shape or form. CommBank’s inaugural Consumer Insights Report has unveiled a trend that could give neighbourhood real estate shares a boost.

The report gives a wide-ranging analysis of the Australian consumer. No surprise, this edition reflects how we changed our lifestyle and behaviours because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Times are a-changing

Some changes are unsurprising, such as an increase in online shopping across nearly all channels and categories. However, other shifts are a little unexpected – such as the high priority for Australian products, and a desire for spacious layouts. It seems even with all that time separated from people, we still like our space.

Another interesting arising trend is that consumers have developed an increased desire to shop locally. Rather than making the trip to the mega-mall, or city centre, Australians want to shop more at their local suburban shopping centre/neighbourhood store.

Based on CommBank’s research, 16% of respondents said they were likely to shop more at local suburban shopping centres in 2021 than pre-pandemic. Comparatively, only 10% said they were likely to shop more at large shopping centres.

Firstly, I’ll point out there’s a difference between what people ‘think’ they will do and what they actually do. However, if consumers follow the reported trend, we may see a longer-term uptick in foot traffic at local shopping centres. This might be beneficial to the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) that have strong exposure to convenience-focused retail.

Real estate shares that might benefit

There are many ASX-listed REITS and property groups with exposure to suburban shopping centres, some more so than others. Here’s a couple that could stand to benefit from the shift in consumer behaviour.

The first cab off the rank is HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN), HomeCo is an A-REIT that invests in convenience-based assets. The trust’s portfolio is spread across three sub-sectors – neighbourhood, large format retail, and health and services.

The neighbourhood portion that we’re interested in constitutes 50% of REITs targeted portfolio. Furthermore, the trust held $959.3 million worth of investment properties at 31 December 2020.

In the last year 12 months, HomeCo Daily Needs has returned 2.22% excluding dividends. It is worth noting that the trust is currently trading at a 1.87% premium to its reported net tangible asset (NTA) value.

The next ASX-listed investment that might be set to benefit is SCA Property Group (ASX: SCP). With 88% of its portfolio being neighbourhood investments, SCA might experience a tailwind from consumers.

At the end of the group’s first half, its NTA per unit was $2.25. Therefore, based on the property group’s current share price of $2.405, it is trading at a 6.9% premium to NTA.

Foolish takeaway

Investing solely based on an expected or perceived trend may not be the soundest decision. However, the data in the Consumer Report can add to making a more informed investment decision. Only time will tell whether shopping local is a long-term change or a short-term fad. 

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• NAB (ASX:NAB) share price lifts amid reports of another pay scandal
• What’s happening with the Peninsula Energy (ASX:PEN) share price?
• Why is the Dacian Gold (ASX:DCN) share price frozen today?

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.1% to 7,122.7 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are rising:

ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ)

The ALS share price has jumped 11.5% to $12.15. The catalyst for this was the release of the global testing, inspection, and certification company’s full year results. ALS reported a 5% decline in revenue to $1,761.4 million and a 1.5% reduction in underlying net profit after tax to $185.9 million. The latter doesn’t include government subsidies. This was a significant improvement on its first half performance.

AMA Group Ltd (ASX: AMA)

The AMA share price has risen 6.5% to 56 cents following the release of a market update. This morning the smash repairer revealed that vehicle volumes in its workshops in recent months has continued to improve. This is being driven by wet weather, more traditional pre-Covid driving customs, and the reluctance of many people to use public transport.

Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN)

The Chalice Mining share price has jumped 8% to $8.80. This is despite there being no news out of the gold explorer today. However, it could be due to a rise in the gold price to a four and half month high and a delayed response to a presentation given on Tuesday.

Jumbo Interactive Ltd (ASX: JIN)

The Jumbo share price has climbed 3.5% to $14.14. This may have been driven by a broker note out of Morgan Stanley this morning. According to the note, following the lottery ticket seller’s appearance at a conference, its analysts have retained their overweight rating and $15.20 price target on its shares. It notes that the company sees growth opportunities in the UK market.

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The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has finally passed the landmark $100 milestone.

CBA shares reached $100.20 in mid-morning trade today.

At the time of writing, the CBA share price has retreated slightly to trade at $100.09, 0.46% higher than its closing price yesterday.

By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.12% today.

The bank’s share price rally is particularly impressive given this time last year, it traded at $61.31 while battling the COVID-19-induced recession.

Let’s take a closer look at this new record high for Commonwealth Bank shares.

6 years in the making

Market watchers have been waiting for Commonwealth Bank shares to break through the $100 ceiling for some time.

The last time the share price tantalised ASX investors with the promise of reaching the century was in 2015.

On 20 March 2015, Commonwealth Bank shares hit what was then an all-time high of $96.50. It was a price the bank was unable to crack again until 13 May this year. Then, the bank smashed through its previous record 12 days ago when it hit $97.38 per share in intraday trade.

It’s been gaining almost continuously since, hitting multiple new highs on its way to reaching today’s breakthrough price.

ASX watchers will no doubt be keeping an eye on the CBA share price this afternoon to see if it can close the day at more than $100.

Commonwealth Bank share price snapshot

It goes without saying the CBA share price is having a fantastic year on the ASX.

Currently, it’s gained around 22% since the beginning of 2021. It’s also around 63% higher than at this time last year.

The bank has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 21.19 and a market capitalisation of around $177 billion. It has approximately 1.7 billion shares outstanding.

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The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is edging higher this afternoon despite reports of another staffing pay scandal. The Australian reported today the banking giant is about to face legal action from the Finance Sector Union (FSU) over the underpayment of full-time staff.

At the time of writing, shares in the banks are trading at $26.91, up 0.11%. At the same time, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.13% higher.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news and how it might be affecting the NAB share price.

NAB and FSU headed to court

In what The Australian says could be Australia’s largest underpayment claim, the FSU and NAB are heading to court to battle over “hundreds of millions of dollars” in alleged staff underpayments.

NAB has previously had to repay part-time and casual staff $55 million in compensation from underpayment claims. According to a source quoted in the paper, this case could affect many more people.

The FSU claims said senior staff were working in excess of 50 or 60 hours a week, well above their contracted 40 hours per week.

NAB countered by saying senior staff were not paid for their hours worked, but rather “modelling against the banking, finance and insurance award where relevant and market analysis for equivalent full-time roles,” as quoted in The Australian.

According to the report, the FSU will soon begin legal proceedings in Federal Court.

NAB share price snapshot

The NAB share price has increased 61.1% over the past 12 months but is the second-worst performer of the big four banks over that time. Taking an extended look at the banking industry, Nab shares have performed better than Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) and Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) in the past 12 months, but worse than Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN).

The NAB share price reached a 52-week high of $27.84 earlier this month and has since fallen 3.7%. Back in 2017, shares in the bank were valued at above $30 each. They have not reached that level since then.

NAB has a market capitalisation of $88.4 billion.

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The Peninsula Energy Ltd (ASX: PEN) share price won’t be going anywhere today. Securities in the uranium miner entered a trading halt before today’s session at the request of the company.

Here’s why shares in Peninsula are halted and what it could mean for the company’s share price.

Why is the Peninsula share price in a trading halt?

Earlier today, Peninsula requested that securities in the company be placed in a trading halt.

According to the company’s market update, Peninsula has requested the trading halt pending capital raising. The company expects the trading halt to last until either an announcement is made or before trading commences on Friday 28 May.

Peninsula did not provide any official details on the capital raising. However, an article in the Australian Financial Review provided some insight.

According to the article, brokers Canaccord and Shaw and Partners will be participating in the placement. In addition, Peninsula is aiming to raise $15 million at a price of 15 cents per share followed by a $2 million share purchase plan. The article also noted that the capital raising will be used for working capital and to finance Peninsula’s recent acquisition of 300,000 pounds of uranium concentrate.  

At the end of yesterday’s trading session, the Peninsula share price closed at 18.5 cents per share.

More on the Peninsula Energy share price

Peninsula is an ASX-listed uranium mining company. The company’s flagship Lance Project located in Wyoming, USA is the only US-based uranium project using a low pH, in-situ recovery (ISR).

The Peninsula share price has bolted more than 50% since the start of May. Earlier this month, shares in Peninsula received a boost after providing a field demonstration update for its wholly-owned Lance Project. Before making a final investment decision, Peninsula conducted an ISR in order to generate site-specific data. The company noted that achieving and maintaining the correct operational pH is critical to successful uranium operations.

In late April, Peninsula also released a promising quarterly activities report. For the March quarter the company reported an operating cash loss of US$2.2 million with no sales recorded. However, for the 9 months to 31 March, Peninsula noted an operating cash loss of US$5.7 million on sales of US$3.4 million.

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The Dacian Gold Ltd (ASX: DCN) share price has entered a trading halt today for a $40 million capital raising to accelerate its gold production and extend mine life. Its shares are expected to resume trading on or before market open on Friday.

Dacian Gold runs its flagship Mt Morgans open-pit gold operation near Laverton, Western Australia, and this year acquired the Redcliffe Gold project in WA. The company believes this prospect provides it with an attractive land position to pursue new discoveries.

Dacian Gold announces capital raising to drive growth

The company today announced a $40 million institutional placement at 28 cents per share. This represents an 11% discount to its last closing price of $31.5 cents per share on Tuesday. Investors will be eyeing the Dacian Gold share price when it resumes trading to see how its shares are impacted by the capital raising discount.

Dacian Gold believes FY21 has established the foundations for the company to accelerate gold production and growth opportunities.

Its capital raising presentation highlighted FY21 achievements including investments in open pit operations to drive towards its 110,000 to 120,000 oz production at an all-in sustained cost (AISC) of $1,400 to $1,550 at Mt Morgans. The company has also increased its regional presence at its Redcliffe project, with exploration activities adding 679,000 oz of high-grade mineral resource.

With the $40 million raised, Dacian Gold intends to allocate $20 million to accelerate a significant exploration investment across both Mt Morgans and Redcliffe. This includes approximately 300,000 metres of air core, diamond core and reverse circulation drilling. The drill program will help the company cover a significant area of its underexplored southern tenements.

The company will allocate $10 million to push its discoveries around Mt Morgans, otherwise known as its Greater Westralia Mining Area, into production.

Another $10 million will be allocated to advance its prospective Redcliffe into preliminary production. This will include the completion of mining studies, site establishment and initial pre-stripping activities.

The Dacian Gold share price so far

The Dacian Gold share price fell off a cliff in 2020 after it announced a capital raising on 14 April to “recapitalise” the company. Its shares fell a sharp 59% from $1.045 to 42.5 cents on the day.

Its shares haven’t been able to retest its previous highs so far, chopping between lows of 30 cents and highs of 55 cents.

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The Mosaic Brands Ltd (ASX: MOZ) share price is picking up steam in mid-morning trade. This comes after the company provided investors with an update on its business performance.

At the time of writing, the fashion retailer’s shares are rocketing 21.74% to 70 cents.

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

What’s driving the Mosaic share price higher?

Investors are driving Mosaic shares higher after digesting the company’s upbeat trading update and outlook.

In a statement to the ASX, Mosaic advised it has successfully completed a series of strategic initiatives to support growth. Previously, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the company and created unique challenges which saw a severe decline in instore customer numbers.

However, Mosaic turned its attention to improving its internal metrics to offset the damage done. The group reshaped its cost base, inventory holding, and focused on margin rather than chasing sales. As a result, the company is seeing a gradual return to profitability and growth.

Recently, Mosaic renewed its $25 million working capital facility with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ). However, the credit facility is expected to be reduced to $15 million in January 2022.

In addition, the company also secured a credit approved term sheet for a further $10 million with majority shareholder, Alceon.

FY21 outlook

Following the positive post Easter and Mother’s Day trading period, Mosaic anticipates a continued rebound in customers. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is projected to be around $48 million. This is provided that there are no significant changes in the current operating environment such as government mandated lockdowns.

Looking further ahead, the group is forecasting an improved EBITDA for FY22 due to its more efficient business model. In the next financial year (FY22), underlying EBITDA is assumed to be roughly $50 million.

EziBuy acquisition update

Mosaic noted that it has renegotiated the terms to extend the Option expiry date until 30 September 2021. This is 3 months longer than the original date, with the company also postponing the payment terms until 31 December 2021.

Should the deal go through, Mosaic’s digital revenue is estimated to be over $200 million, or 30% of its total income. EziBuy is forecasted to deliver a normalised EBITDA of about NZ$2.5 million in FY21, rising to NZ$5 million in FY22. This is before processes are fully integrated with Mosaic operations.

What did the CEO say?

Mosaic CEO Scott Evans touched on the company’s progress, saying:

After the toughest 18 months imaginable including the bushfires and COVID-19 pandemic, we are confident that Mosaic Brands has come through stronger and better with a very clear path to returning to our year-on-year track record of profitability and growth.

Aligned with the vaccine roll-out, since Easter, every week sees more and more of our customers heading back into store. Encouragingly even with the gradual return to normalised shopping behaviour, our online sales continue to perform well and grow

Despite today’s gain, the Mosaic share price is down more than 20% for the past 12 months.

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The Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund (ASX: FSF) share price is rising today, up 2% to $3.56 per share.

We take a look at the dairy co-operative’s updated forecast for the farmgate milk price and its Q3 performance for the nine months ending 30 April.

What results did Fonterra report?

Fonterra’s share price is moving higher after the co-op reported a 61% increase in normalised net profit after tax (NPAT) from the previous corresponding period. Normalised NPAT came in at $587 million. Fonterra credited its stronger balance sheet and improving underlying business performance for the boost.

Reported NPAT was $603 million, up 2% year on year.

Fonterra also reported an 18% year-on-year increase in its total group normalised earnings before interest and tax (normalised EBIT) of $959 million. It said lower operating expenses and higher margins helped drive the higher earnings.

Commenting on the results, Fonterra’s CEO Miles Hurrell said:

Greater China continues to be an important performer for us, delivering year-to-date normalised EBIT of $457 million, up 30% or $106 million year-on-year. Foodservice, once again, was the big driver behind this result, contributing $93 million of the growth. In the third quarter, the team continued to improve the strong gross margins we saw in Foodservice at half year by shifting milk into higher value products, for example cream cheese. As a result, the year-to-date margin increased from 21.5% to 28.6%.

Regarding the balance sheet, Hurrell added:

Fonterra’s operating expenses are down 5% year-to-date but we are planning some additional expenditure in the final quarter to support our brands and product initiatives for next year. Our debt reduction over the last couple of years and lower interest rates have reduced our interest bill by $69 million for the nine months ending 30 April 2021.

Looking ahead Fonterra maintained its normalised earnings guidance of 25 to 35 cents per share. The co-op noted that normalised earnings per share is currently sitting at 34 cents, but it expects the full-year results will fall in the middle of its guidance range as earnings come under some pressure during the fourth quarter.

Farmgate milk price update

Fonterra also revealed its opening forecast farmgate milk price range for the 2021–22 season. It forecasts a price of NZ$7.25–8.75 per kilogram of milk solids (kgMS), with a midpoint of NZ$8.00 per kgMS.

“Based on… supply and demand dynamics, along with where the NZ dollar is sitting relative to the US dollar, we’re expecting whole milk prices to remain at current levels for the near future,” Hurrell said.

Fonterra share price snapshot

Fonterra’s shares have lagged the wider All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) over the past year, up 5.3% compared to a 24.5% gain on the All Ords.

Year-to-date the Fonterra share price is down 15.2%.

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At lunch on Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is pushing higher again. The benchmark index is currently up 0.2% to 7,130.7 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

CBA share price cracks $100

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price broke through the $100 mark for the first time and hit a record high of $100.30 this morning. When Australia’s largest bank hit that level, it meant its shares were up an impressive 20% since the start of the year. This has been driven by improving investor sentiment in the banking sector following recent result releases.

ALS result impresses

The ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ) share price is storming higher today after its full year result impressed investors. The global testing, inspection, and certification company reported a 5% decline in revenue to $1,761.4 million and a 1.5% reduction in underlying net profit after tax to $185.9 million. The latter does not include government subsidies. This was a huge improvement on its first half performance.

Tech shares rise

The tech sector is playing a key role in driving the ASX 200 higher on Wednesday. The likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) are recording solid gains. As a result, at the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is up a solid 2%. This appears to have been driven by easing bond yields and Nasdaq futures pointing higher on Wall Street.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday is the Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) share price with a 10% gain. This is despite there being no news out of the gold explorer. The worst performer has been the Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) share price with a 3.5% decline. Investors appear nervous ahead of the medical device company’s results release tomorrow.

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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.

On Tuesday, Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) reported highly successful results from a clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine in patients ages 12 to 17. Depending on how you look at the top-line data from the TeenCove study, mRNA-1273 was found to be between 93% and 100% effective at preventing new cases.

The TeenCOVE trial enrolled over 3,700 12- to 17-year-old participants. Going by the primary case definition of COVID-19, from a period starting 14 days after their second dose, none of the volunteers who received the vaccine have tested positive. And although new case numbers are plummeting across the country, four of the volunteers who received the placebo did test positive for COVID-19.

Since teenagers are far less likely to present symptoms of COVID-19 when they’re infected, investigators also used a more sensitive definition of COVID-19 positivity that requires just one symptom plus a positive nasal swab test. Based on those looser criteria, the vaccine was still 93% effective at preventing new cases.

The TeenCove trial results Moderna reported Tuesday stack up nicely against those reported in March by Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) for their rival mRNA vaccine, Comirnaty. That said, comparisons between the two teen trials should be taken with a grain of salt. Pfizer and BioNTech ran their U.S.-based clinical trial in 12- to 15-year-olds at a time when far more Americans were contracting the virus.

Moderna plans to submit a completed data package from the TeenCOVE study to the FDA in early June. Given that its top-line results are roughly in line with those that earned Pfizer and BioNTech a green light for their vaccine to be administered to teens, we can reasonably expect a similar response from the regulator within a few days of its receiving Moderna’s submission.

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

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The post Moderna’s teen COVID-19 vaccine trial hits high marks appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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