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The Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS) share price will be one to watch closely tomorrow morning after the shock departure of its CEO.

At today’s market close, the investment platform provider’s shares finished the day flat at 77.5 cents.

More details on the shock announcement

Praemium shares will most likely be on the move tomorrow following the immediate loss of its CEO.

According to its release, Praemium advised that CEO and board member Mr Michael Ohanessian will be leaving the company. No reason, however, was given in the announcement as to why Mr Ohanessian has walked away from the role.

Mr Ohanessian spent almost 10 years as the company’s CEO.

Praemium chair, Barry Lewin thanked Mr Ohanessian for his services, saying:

On behalf of the Board, we are appreciative to Michael for his hard work and wish him well in his future endeavours.

During his tenure, Michael has built a solid and profitable foundation at Praemium. He leaves the business having positioned Praemium for continued strong growth, both in Australia and overseas.

To fill the void, non-executive director Mr Anthony Wamsteker has stepped into the position of interim CEO with immediate effect. Notably, Mr Wamsteker joined the Praemium board in November last year following its acquisition of Powerwrap. With over 30 years of experience in financial services, Mr Wamsteker brings a wealth of knowledge. He was the founding CEO of ME Bank for 9 years, 12 years in funds management with National Mutual/AXA, and 3 years as chair of Powerwrap.

Praemium management noted that it has confidence in Mr Wamsteker leading the team forward.

A formal process is now underway to search for a permanent CEO.

About the Praemium share price

Since its ASX listing in 2006, Praemium has become a global leader in technology platforms for managed accounts, investment administration and financial planning. Global funds under administration for the company total around $38 billion.

Praemium shares have accelerated over the past 12 months to register a gain of more than 120%. Year-to-date performance stands close to 20%.

On valuation metrics, Praemium presides a market capitalisation of roughly $388 million, with approximately 501 million shares on issue.

More reading

• 2 highly rated ASX growth shares
• Why the AnteoTech (ASX:ADO) share price is soaring 9% higher today
• Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price slips 7% on looming legal action
• Why did the Imugene (ASX:IMU) share price hit a new all-time high today?
• Invest like Warren Buffett with these ASX shares

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The good news for growth investors is that there are plenty of quality options for them on the Australian share market.

Two options to consider are listed below. Here’s why they are highly rated right now:

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

The first ASX growth share to look at is Megaport. It is a leading provider of elastic interconnection services globally. The company utilises software defined networking (SDN) to allow customers to rapidly connect their network to other services across the Megaport Network. This means that services can be directly controlled by customers via mobile devices, their computer, or its open API.

The shift to the cloud has led to increasing demand for Megaport’s services. As a result, it now connects more than 2,117 customers in over 700 enabled data centres globally. Among its customers are some of the largest companies and organisations around the world. This includes Amazon, AT&T, the BBC, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), General Electric, Microsoft, SpaceX, and Tesla.

As of March 31, Megaport was generating monthly recurring revenue of $6.8 million from these customers. This was an 8% increase since the end of December, and annualises to $81.6 million. 

Positively, with the structural shift to the cloud still having a long way to run and the company recently launching the Megaport Virtual Edge offering, it looks well-positioned to continue its strong form.

UBS is positive on the company’s future. Last month it put a buy rating and $17.10 price target on its shares.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

Another ASX growth share that is highly rated is Zip. It is of course one of the world’s leading buy now pay later (BNPL) providers with operations across several continents. 

Zip has been tipped to grow strongly in the coming years thanks to its global expansion and its US-based QuadPay business. The latter has been growing at a rapid rate, outshining the rest of the business in recent quarters. The good news is that only an estimated 10% of Americans have tried BNPL. This gives it a significant runway for growth in the coming years as penetration rates increase.

Especially given the increasing popularity of its Tap and Pay offering, which allows consumers to use Zip even if the merchant doesn’t offer it. It is partly for this reason that analysts at Shaw and Partners are so positive on the company. 

The broker recently put a buy rating and lofty $16.00 price target on its shares. This is more than double where the Zip share price trades today.

 

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• Why Zip (ASX:Z1P) and this beaten down ASX tech share could be buys

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The AnteoTech Ltd (ASX: ADO) share price is rocketing during late afternoon trade. This comes after the company provided an update on its recent capital raising efforts.

At the time of writing, the nanotechnology company’s shares are soaring 9.5% higher to 34.5 cents.

What did AnteoTech announce?

Investors are driving up AnteoTech shares following the company’s strongly supported share purchase plan (SPP).

According to its release, AnteoTech advised it has successfully completed its SPP, raising $8 million. Originally, the offer was listed for $4 million, however, the board decided to increase the SPP after receiving oversubscribed applications. In total, $37.1 million was counted by the SPP’s closing date on 18 May 2021.

The remaining $29.1 million is set to be returned to shareholders, as the SPP was carefully scaled back.

As a result, approximately 30.7 million shares will be issued to eligible investors with allotment on 25 May 2021.

From the funds obtained by the SPP, $4 million will be added to the monies raised from its institutional placement. Together, those funds will accelerate the company’s plans to establish a local manufacturing capability for its COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test. Other tests in development are also expected to advance into commercial opportunities.

Furthermore, the remaining $4 million will be put towards the company’s battery development program, including the commercialisation of AnteoX.

AnteoTech CEO, Derek Thomson commented:

We are extremely grateful for the support shown by our existing shareholders; this is a strong vote of confidence in our team and broader strategy. AnteoTech has a solid pipeline of tests in development and these funds greatly assist in accelerating the process of validating and registering the tests for introduction to the markets over the coming 18 months.

Having the ability to manufacture at scale in-house will provide a great advantage to AnteoTech in speed to market and de-risk manufacturing and the supply chain.

AnteoTech share price snapshot

Investors would no doubt be pleased with AnteoTech’s share price performance, with year-to-date gains sitting above 210%. When looking at its 12-month chart, the company’s shares have rocketed even further, up an astounding 1,300%.

Based on today’s prices, AnteoTech commands a market capitalisation of roughly $634 million, with approximately 1.9 billion shares on issue.

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• The AnteoTech (ASX:ADO) share price is on watch. Here’s why.

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The Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) share price was struggling today with a looming legal case from the company’s ex-CEO making news.

Adding to the downside, there are now two class action law firms looking at the investigative analytics and intelligence software provider.

By the market’s close, the Nuix share price was trading 6.83% lower at $3.41.

Nuix’s $200 million dark cloud

Between missing prospectus forecasts and heavy media scrutiny, Nuix has had a challenging start to its listed life – to say the least.

Yesterday, Fairfax publications questioned Nuix’s past financial reporting. Specifically, this related to options reportedly purchased by Blackall, an entity said to be controlled by former Nuix board member Tony Castagna.

Due to a lack of paperwork, questions have arisen surrounding whether the purchase was all above board.

But today is a new day, and with it brings a new controversy reported by The Age. The latest story concerns former Nuix CEO Eddie Sheehy and his options in the company.

The options in question were a part of Sheehy’s remuneration package in 2008. A condition of exercise was for Nuix to sell or list in an initial public offering (IPO) for over $40 million.

The core issue revolves around a 50 for 1 share split in 2017, which Nuix’s lawyers say did not apply to Mr Sheehy’s options. Additionally, Nuix lawyers argue that the December IPO does not meet the sale criteria for which the options were exercisable.

After the Nuix share price surged upon listing, Mr Sheehy’s options were valued at $250 million.

Commenting on the matter, as reported by The Age, Mr Sheehy said, “Currently, and by all accounts, Nuix is going to owe me over $200 million in damages. So, the big question for all shareholders is, where is Nuix going to find the funds to pay me? And, if it can’t find the funds, what happens next?”

Further pressure on Nuix share price

Former employees are not the only ones looking for Nuix blood. Missing prospectus forecasts within the first year of listing, among other revelations, has left some shareholders jaded.

Reportedly, at least two class action specialist firms are evaluating the potential for shareholder lawsuits. Both Quinn Emanual and Phi Finney McDonald are investigating Nuix, focusing on misleading and deceptive conduct or breaches of continuous disclosure obligations.

The barrage of negativity was temporarily masked earlier in the week by an apology from current CEO Rod Vawdrey. It seems the respite was short-lived, with the Nuix share price taking another hit from today’s developments.

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• Why Appen, ELMO, Nuix, & Paradigm shares are pushing higher
• Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price up 6% despite fresh claims of bad business

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The Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) share price hit an all-time high of 41 cents in intraday trade today, but with no news from the company since Tuesday, some market watchers are wondering why.

At the time of writing, the Imugene share price has retreated slightly, however, are still up 6.85%. Shares in the immuno-oncology company are swapping hands for 39 cents apiece.

The last time we heard from Imugene, it announced it had entered into a global patient license for a novel cancer therapy.

The following day (AEST), Imugene shared to its website that United States-based investment banking firm ROTH Capital Partners had given its shares a 12-month price target of 42 cents.  

Since then, the Imugene share price has gained 16.67%

Let’s take a closer look at the news that’s seemingly driving shares in Imugene.

Imugene’s good news day

On Tuesday, Imugene announced it had entered into an agreement with City of Hope, an independent cancer research and treatment centre, to license the patient for its CD19 therapy.

The technology under the license is an extension of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell cancer therapy. Currently, CAR T cell therapy can only be used to treat blood or liquid-based cancers. City of Hope’s technology has the potential to treat solid cancers.

Imugene’s first clinical trial of CD19 is planned to begin in 2022.

As a result of the news, ROTH Capital upgraded its guidance for Imugene shares to 42 cents yesterday.

ROTH Capital’s price target was based on a number of factors, including the projected future revenue of Imugene’s CHECKvacc, HER-Vaxx, and PD1-Vaxx.

The banking firm expects these products will bring in a combined $1.7 billion in royalties by the 2031 financial year.

Imugene share price snapshot

On Tuesday, the day Imugene’s latest news broke, the company’s share price finished flat with its previous close.

Then, after ROTH Capital’s analysis yesterday it shot up to close 10.61% higher. It’s gained another 6.8% today.

The company’s share price gains this week add to what has been a fantastic performance on the ASX recently.

Currently, the Imugene share price is 285% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It’s also gained 1,183% since this time last year when its shares were trading for 3 cents.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $1.7 billion, with approximately 4.7 billion shares outstanding.

More reading

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If you’re looking at following in the footsteps of Warren Buffett by making buy and hold investments, then you might want to look at the shares listed below.

Both have strong market positions and long runways for growth over the next decade. Here’s what you need to know:

Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

The first option to consider as a buy and hold investment is Nanosonics. It is a leading medical device company with a focus on infection prevention.

Nanosonics is the company behind the trophon EPR disinfection system for ultrasound probes. This technology is regarded as the best in its class and has been consistently winning market share in the United States and globally over the last decade.

In fact, at the last count, the company estimates that 80,000 patients are protected from the risk of cross contamination everyday thanks to its Trophon product.

Looking ahead, the company still has a large market opportunity to grow into for the trophon product. However, management isn’t settling for that. It is aiming to expand its portfolio in the coming years with the launch of new products targeting unmet needs.

One broker that is positive on the company is UBS. It currently has a buy rating and $7.00 price target on its shares

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

Another ASX growth share that could be a good long term option is Temple & Webster. It is Australia’s leading online furniture and homewares retailer.

Temple & Webster was growing at a rapid rate before the pandemic, during it, and is expected to continue doing so after it. This is thanks to its strong market position and the shift to online shopping. The latter is largely in its infancy for furniture and homewares.

Credit Suisse is very positive on the company and is forecasting rapid sales growth over the coming years. It believes online penetration in the industry will grow strongly over the coming years.

As a result, the broker recently put an outperform rating and $12.54 price target on its shares.

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On Wednesday I looked at three ASX shares that brokers have given buy ratings to this week.

Unfortunately, not all shares are in favour with them right now. Three ASX shares that have just been given sell ratings by brokers are listed below. Here’s why these brokers are bearish on them:

AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL)

According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have retained their sell rating and slashed their price target on this energy company’s shares to $7.60. UBS has been looking at its separation plans and isn’t overly convinced with what it sees. The broker suspects that it may require upwards of $600 million of additional equity to support an investment grade credit rating for both businesses. In addition to this, it has concerns over lower wholesale electricity prices. The AGL share price is fetching $8.19 on Thursday.

Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)

A note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have retained their sell rating and $200.00 price target on this hearing solutions company’s shares. According to the note, Citi has been looking over the results of major listed competitors, including Sonova and Demant. These results have been in line with expectations and point to the cochlear implant market recovering post-pandemic. And while the broker is forecasting a profit result in FY 2021 ahead of Cochlear’s current guidance, it still isn’t enough for a change of rating. The broker continues to believe that its shares are overvalued at the current level. The Cochlear share price is currently trading at $216.15.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

Analysts at Macquarie have downgraded this gold miner’s shares to an underperform rating and cut the price target on them to $1.80. This follows St Barbara’s update earlier this week that revealed a downgrade to its production guidance and an increase to its cost guidance. While the broker wasn’t surprised by the downgrade, it was still far greater than it expected. The St Barbara share price has fallen heavily this week and is now trading in line with this price target at $1.80.

More reading

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• AGL share price hits lowest level since 2004 as dividend tops 10%
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• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• ASX 200 rises, Nuix jumps, James Hardie drops

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In the sea of red across cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, stocks and commodities, gold has been one of few assets standing tall this week.

The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) crash is making headlines today, with the leading cryptocurrency sliding as much as 30% to intraday lows of US$30,000 overnight. Cryptocurrencies across the board from Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) to meme-inspired Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) marked losses as steep as 50% amidst China’s hard stance on cryptocurrency and account liquidations.

While cryptocurrency might arguably the gold of the modern era, here’s why it might be time for gold to shine.

Why its time to take a second look at gold

Its been a rather uneventful year for gold up until this month.

Looking back, the yellow metal staged a record-breaking rally last year from pre-COVID levels of US$1,650 to US$2,075 for the first time on record. Coupled with a plummeting Australian dollar / US dollar which reached lows of less than 60 cents, ASX gold miners were raking in cash, quite literally.

After reaching its peak of US$2,075 by early August 2020, gold has struggled to find headway. But after bouncing off lows of US$1,680 in both March and April, there are a number of factors that could put the topic of gold back on the table.

Dumping Bitcoin for gold

Analysts at J.P. Morgan Chase have reported that large institutional investors are dumping Bitcoin in favour of gold. The investment bank pointed that the sudden crash in Bitcoin has coincided with new inflows into the yellow metal.

JP Morgan cited open interest data in Bitcoin futures contracts, saying:

The Bitcoin flow picture continues to deteriorate and is pointing to continued retrenchment by institutional investors. Over the past month, bitcoin futures markets experienced their steepest and more sustained liquidation since the Bitcoin ascent started last October.

Rising inflation vs. rising yields

Rising inflation erodes the purchasing power of fiat money. Gold is commonly viewed as an inflation hedge, as its price tends to rise when the cost of living increases. More recently, the US recorded a surge in inflation to 4.2% in April compared to a year ago. The expectation that higher inflation is here to stay, could be a driving factor behind the renewed interest in gold.

However, working against rising inflation could be higher yields. Since gold doesn’t pay any dividends, higher yields typically push the gold price lower. Coinciding with gold’s selloff between August 2020 and April 2021, US 10-year treasury yields more than tripled from 0.50% to a high of 1.76%. On Wednesday, treasury yields once again edged 2.50% higher to 1.68%.

Despite treasury yields ticking higher overnight, gold has marked a sixth session of strong gains, from US$1,815 last Thursday to US$1,870 at the time of writing.

Foolish takeaway

The ASX is home to some of the world’s largest and lowest-cost gold producers including Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN), Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM).

While Bitcoin might continue to behave in a whipsaw like action, gold has steadily made its way back up to a 5-month high this week.

More reading

• Evolution (ASX:EVN) share price slides despite takeover update
• Crypto crash sends Bitcoin 30% lower to under US$40,000
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Bitcoin price woes continue as China cracks down on cryptocurrency
• 56% of Aussies think Elon Musk invented Bitcoin

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There is a group of ASX dividend shares that have been increasing the dividend for shareholders for many years in a row.

COVID-19 didn’t stop the income increases for investors. The underlying profit and cashflow were high enough that it meant the businesses could continue to grow the payouts for investors.

These two ASX dividend shares have managed to keep growing the dividend payout:

APA Group (ASX: APA)

APA describes itself as a leading Australian energy infrastructure business. Its gas transmission pipelines span every state on mainland Australia, delivering approximately half of the nation’s gas usage.

The infrastructure energy business has direct management and operational control over its assets and the majority of its investments. Not only does it own a large amount of gas pipelines around Australia, it’s also one of the largest owners and operators of renewable power generation assets, with wind and solar projects across Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.

APA recently announced its first hybrid energy microgrid at the Gruyere Gold Mine in Western Australia, combining solar energy with battery energy storage.

The ASX dividend share has increased its distribution every year for a decade and a half. New projects generate more cashflow, which provides the funding for higher distributions.

APA recently announced it had reached a final investment decision (FID) to commence expansion of transportation capacity on its East Coast grid, linking Queensland with southern markets by approximately 25% for a total investment of $270 million.

At the current APA share price, it has a distribution yield of 5.5%.

Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)

Sonic Healthcare is another ASX dividend share that has been increasing the payout to shareholders, every year since 2013.

The company has built a global portfolio of pathology businesses. Around 40% of revenue is being generated in Europe and the UK, another 25% in the US and the rest coming from Australia (and a very small contribution from New Zealand).

Long-term profit growth has helped send the dividend higher and higher.

FY19 saw the ASX dividend share’s net profit rise 15.6% and the dividend increased 3.7% to $0.84. FY20 saw underlying net profit growth of 6.5% with the full year dividend rising 1.2% to $0.85. The HY21 result showed net profit growth of 166%, with a steady 6% increase of the half-year dividend to $0.36 per share.

Why was the HY21 result so strong? It has seen significant revenue and earnings contribution from COVID-19 testing, leveraging existing infrastructure. More than 18 million COVID-19 PCR tests have been performed. It has seen margin improvements in both laboratory and imaging operations.

Management said that the volumes and quality of testing it has been able to achieve in such a short timeframe was a result of investments it has made over the years. That includes specimen collection facilities, courier networks, laboratories and other facilities, equipment, IT management, staff and supply chains. At the current Sonic share price it has a partially franked dividend yield of 2.5%.

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• 2 buy-rated ASX dividend shares with attractive yields

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The Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) share price is tracking in the red today. This comes after the company announced an update to its share purchase plan (SPP).

During late afternoon trade, the diversified investment company’s shares are being exchanged for $19.90 apiece, down 1.31%.

Let’s take a closer look at Seven Group’s latest news.

What did Seven Group announce?

Investors are pushing the Seven Group share price lower, most likely as a result of the impending share dilution.

According to its release, Seven Group advised it has successfully completed its SPP, raising around $33.14 million. This will result in more than 1.68 million new ordinary shares being issued to participating shareholders.

The price listed is $19.73 per share, which reflects a marginal discount of less than 1% on the Seven Group share price’s current level. However, Seven Group noted from the time of the offer, the SPP is a 2.5% markdown on the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) for the 5 days ending 17 May.

In total, the company received 2,164 valid submissions from shareholders, representing an average amount of $15,314 per application.

The SPP follows a recent $500 million underwritten institutional placement that Seven Group launched last month. With the latest SPP included, the company has raised a total of $533.14 million.

Funds will be used to reduce the outstanding net debt, while restoring strength in its balance sheet to pursue opportunities.

Settlement of the newly created shares is expected to occur on 25 May, with commencement of trading the day after.

Seven Group share price summary

It’s been an interesting year for Seven Group shares, with the Seven Group share price having performed strongly during late 2020. In the past 12 months, the company’s share price has increased close to 30%, however, its year-to-date performance is down 15%.

On valuation grounds, Seven Group commands a market capitalisation of roughly $7.2 billion, with approximately 361 million shares outstanding.

More reading

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