Tag: Motley Fool

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a solid gain. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.7% to 7,070.4 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to following the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are tumbling lower:

ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO)

The ELMO Software share price is down 3.5% to $4.74. Investors have been selling the HR and payroll platform provider’s shares after it narrowed its FY 2021 guidance range. It now expects annualised recurring revenue (ARR) to be between $83 million and $85 million. This compares to its previous guidance of $81.5 million to $88.5 million. Some investors appear to have been betting on the company achieving the high end of its previous range.

James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX)

The James Hardie Industries share price is down 4% to $40.44. This follows the release of the building materials company’s fourth quarter results. James Hardie reported a 20% increase in sales to US$807 million and a 44% jump in adjusted net income to US$124.9 million for the quarter. This led to its full year sales increasing 12% to US$2,908.7 million and adjusted net income rising 30% to US$458 million. As strong as this was, it appears as though some investors were expecting better.

Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL)

The Redbubble share price is down over 6% to $3.36. This is despite there being no news out of the ecommerce company today. This latest decline means that the Redbubble share price is now down 54% from its 52-week high. Weakness in the tech sector and concerns over its valuation have been weighing on its shares.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is down over 8% to $1.88. Investors have been selling the gold miner’s shares after it downgraded its production guidance and increased its cost guidance. Due to issues at its Leonara and Simberi operations, the company expects to be between 330,000 and 360,000 ounces in FY 2021. This compares to its previous guidance of 370,000 to 380,000 ounces. As for costs, the miner’s all-in sustaining costs (AISC) is now expected to be A$1,547 to A$1,695 per ounce, up from between A$1,440 and A$1,520 per ounce.

The post Why ELMO, James Hardie, Redbubble, & St Barbara are tumbling lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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If you’re a fan of small cap shares, then I would suggest you take a look at the ones listed below.

Here’s why these three ASX small cap shares could have bright futures ahead of them:

Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8)

The first small cap share to look at is digital audio-visual networking technologies provider, Audinate. It is best known for its industry-leading Dante audio over IP networking solution. This solution is used widely across a number of industries and is currently dominating the competition. This appears to have positioned it perfectly for growth once the pandemic passes and large gatherings and events begin again. The company has also made some acquisitions in the video side of things and is looking to replicate its success in audio in this lucrative market as well.

Universal Store Holdings Limited (ASX: UNI)

Another small cap to watch is Universal Store. It is a fashion retailer which aims to deliver a frequently changing selection of on-trend products to a target 16-35 year old fashion focused customer. It has been a very positive performer during the pandemic and reported impressive growth during the first half of FY 2021. For the six months ended 31 December, Universal Store delivered a 23.3% increase in sales to $118 million and a 63.6% increase in underlying net profit after tax to $21.1 million. The company followed this up in the third quarter with further strong growth, setting itself up for a bumper full year profit result.

Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP)

A final small cap share to watch is Whispir. It is a software-as-a-service communications workflow platform provider. Whispir provides an industry-leading software platform that allows governments and businesses to deliver actionable two-way interactions at scale using automated multi-channel communication workflows. Demand has been increasing strongly, leading to stellar recurring revenue growth in recent years. However, it is still only scratching at the surface of its total addressable market (TAM). At the end of the third quarter, Whispir’s ARR stood at $50.3 million, which was up 20.3% over the prior corresponding period. This compares to its TAM of US4.7 billion in the just United States. 

More reading

• 3 exciting ASX growth shares rated as buys
• 2 small cap ASX shares to keep your eyes on
• 3 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch in May
• 2 highly rated ASX tech shares for growth investors
• 2 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch

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 recommends Whispir Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AUDINATEGL FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Whispir 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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Australia’s leading investment platform provider CommSec has released data on the most traded ASX shares on its platform from last week.

Here’s the data:

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

This infant formula company’s shares were the most traded on CommSec last week and attributable to 2.8% of trades. And although the a2 Milk share price sank 21% lower following its fourth guidance downgrade of FY 2021, almost two-thirds of the volume came from buyers. Unfortunately for these buyers, the company’s shares continue to slide and hit a multi-year low earlier today.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

This buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares were popular again last week. They accounted for 2.5% of trades, with 62% coming from the buy side. Despite this buying pressure, it wasn’t enough to stop the Zip share price sinking 6.8% over the five days. This was driven by weakness in the tech sector.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF was attributable to 2.2% of trades on CommSec last week, with 84% of the volume coming from buyers. As with Zip, weakness in the tech sector weighed heavily on the popular ETF last week. This led to the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF falling 2.7% over the period.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

Afterpay shares were attributable for 2.1% of trades on the platform last week, with 59% coming from buyers. Unfortunately, the aforementioned selloff in the tech sector led to the Afterpay share price sinking 9.5% over the five days.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

This iron ore producer’s shares accounted for 1.5% of trades on CommSec last week. On this occasion, the buying and selling was largely even, with buyers accounting for 52% of the volume. The Fortescue share price fell 1% last week after a pullback in iron ore prices towards the end of the week.

More reading

• South32 (ASX:S32) increases capital returns by $258m and sets climate goals
• Why Zip (ASX:Z1P) and this beaten down ASX tech share could be buys
• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down almost 25% this month
• These ASX tech shares are down 50% from their 52-week highs
• Can China really crash the iron ore price?

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 AFTERPAY T FPO, BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk and BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. 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 Bitcoin (CRYTPO: BTC) price has recovered from its 7-day slide, eking out a 0.5% gain over the past 24 hours. One Bitcoin is currently worth US$45,029 (AU$57,729)

That’s well below the record high of US$64,829, reached on 14 April. But it still represents a gain of 55% year-to-date.

The Musk effect

Although Bitcoin’s recent woes can’t all be pinned on Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) founder Elon Musk, the world’s third-richest man has certainly had an impact on the value of the world’s largest crypto.

Last week he said that Tesla would stop taking payment in Bitcoin. That fuelled speculation the company might sell some of the US$1.5 billion worth of the crypto it recently bought. He was concerned about the huge carbon footprint associated with Bitcoin mining, which uses almost as much energy as the entirety of Australia.

Musk has since moved to calm Bitcoin investor angst. He wrote that Tesla won’t sell any of its Bitcoin holdings. But his company also won’t use it for transactions until the mining “transitions to more sustainable energy”.

How to squeeze more from your Bitcoin holdings

Investing in Bitcoin remains a risky proposition. The price swings can be fast and furious. Outsized potential gains and equally large potential losses often come in a matter of weeks or even days.

But for those investors with a cast-iron stomach for risk, there’s the opportunity to earn a yield on your crypto holdings.

That’s right, there are crypto savings accounts that will pay you interest on your borrowed Bitcoin.

As Bloomberg reports, various fintech companies will pay yields of 2–6% (or more) to borrow your Bitcoin.

Just don’t lose sight of the increased risks you’d be taking on.

Firstly, the crypto you’ve lent out could fall hard over a period of days, without offering you any immediate recourse to sell.

Also, the interest you’re getting is paid in Bitcoin (or occasionally other cryptocurrencies). So if the price does fall dramatically while you’ve lent it out, the 2–6% interest you’ve received won’t be nearly enough to cover the losses.

Then there’s the creditworthiness of the fin-tech companies themselves. If you’re going to lend to any entity, whether you’re lending dollars or Bitcoin, you want to be pretty confident you’ll be getting that back along with the interest owed.

Still, the extra yield in today’s near zero interest rate world is enticing a growing number of crypto holders to lend some out.

If you’re considering that, long-time Bitcoin investor and analyst Dan Held has the following advice (quoted from Bloomberg), “Never risk your whole stack, and don’t risk what you can’t lose. These are private companies with no federal backing.”

Parker Lewis, head of business development at Bitcoin financial-services company Unchained Capital, echoes that sentiment. “If you do decide to lend Bitcoin, you better be able to quantify the costs because you’re trading the greatest asymmetry that has ever existed for counterparty and credit risk.”

More reading

• 3 explosive shares that defy PE ratios
• Bitcoin’s next step forward aims to address adoption hurdles
• Why these 3 experts aren’t worried about the tumbling Bitcoin price
• Bitcoin suffers largest correction since March 2020
• Why I’m loving this ASX bank share at the moment: fundie

Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Bitcoin and Tesla. 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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has released a report finding Australia’s spending habits are continuing to recover from COVID-19.

The news comes as the Commonwealth Bank share price closes in on a landmark price tag of $100 per share.

At the time of writing, the CBA share price is up 0.44%, with shares in the bank swapping hands for $98.22. Earlier today, it hit yet another all-time high, trading at $98.62.

According to the Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s spending intentions increased in April.

Let’s take a closer look at the latest in CBA’s series of economic reports.

CBA finds Australia’s spending intentions are increasing

Each month, the Commonwealth Bank Household Spending Intentions report uses CBA and Alphabet Inc‘s Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) data to create a snapshot of future Australian spending.

In comparison to April 2020, spending intentions were up in all categories tracked by CBA last month.

CBA chief economist Stephen Halmarick commented on the findings, saying:

This comes as no surprise as we know that April 2020 was the low-point for spending as the first wave of COVID-19 restrictions hit Australians.

A year later, the economy has recovered strongly from COVID-19 impacts, with employment above pre-pandemic levels and household spending intentions on the rise as consumers once again feel confident about their economic prospects…

We expect the residential property market to be a key source of support for Australia’s economy in 2021, driven largely by the very low level of interest rates.

The expectation that the housing market will support much of Australia’s economic recovery comes from Australians’ increasing interest in purchasing houses, alongside growing housing prices. The CBA expects housing prices to jump by 14% by the end of next year.

The bank said the 2021 Federal Budget painted a “brighter economic picture”, while Halmarick stated: 

The Budget’s targeted support programs aim to put more people into jobs and ensure the economic recovery is widespread.

Where Australia is spending money

The Commonwealth Bank reported that Australians intended to spend more on homes, retail, travel, health and fitness, entertainment, education, and vehicles in April compared to the same time last year.

When compared to data from 2 years ago, Australians intended to open their wallets more for houses, entertainment, and vehicles.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, we’re spending less on door-to-door sales, duty-free goods, movie theatres, live music, and videotape rental stores than in pre-pandemic years.

Instead, Australians are spending more on eating out, bowling alleys, and digital entertainment such as books and movies compared to 2019.

While we’re dishing out the dollars much less on travel than we did in 2019, we’re spending more on camper trailers and caravans, buying and renting motorhomes, and staying at caravan parks or camping grounds.

CBA share price snapshot

2021 has been a fantastic year on the ASX for the CBA share price.

Currently, shares in the bank are up 17.6% year to date. The CBA share price has also lifted 67.2% over the last 12 months, having recovered well from the COVID-19 induced recession. 

It has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 26.25 and a market capitalisation of around $173.4 billion. CBA has approximately 1.7 billion shares outstanding.

More reading

• Exec jailed for ASX share market manipulation
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• 3 explosive shares that defy PE ratios
• Why the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price is in the spotlight today
• Is there more upside to the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price following recent results?

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

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares). The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares). 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 Latitude Consolidated Ltd (ASX: LCD) share price is having a stellar day today. Latitude Consolidated shares are up a chunky 32.20% at the time of writing to 7.8 cents a share. That comes after Latitude closed at 5.9 cents per share last Friday and opened at 7.2 cents per share this morning. Latitude shares were actually in a trading halt yesterday, which the company requested yesterday morning before market open.

Well, shares have resumed trading today, and with gusto.

So what’s going on with the Latitude Consolidated share price?

There’s gold in them hills

Well, it seems as though today’s decisive share price movement is the result of an update Latitude gave the markets this morning just before open. In this update, the gold miner informed investors that it now expects that its Murchison Gold Project houses 13.1 million tonnes of gold ore. The concentration is at 2.6 grams per tonne. Murchison is located in the Murchison goldfields in Western Australia. That gives it a reserve estimate of 1,115,000 ounces of gold.

This windfall comes from the Turnberry mineral resource in Murchison, a shallow gold deposit that has yet to be mined. The company’s estimates now evaluate Turnberry as housing 610,000 ounces of gold.

So how did Latitude get here? Here’s how the company said it happened:

[The] previous modelling of the resource was performed in a manner so as to produce a low tonnage, high grade estimate... Although this approach was strategically valid and also reflective of the gold price environment at the time, it resulted in a large number of mineralised intersections present in drilling being left out of the historical Mineral Resource estimates.

Here’s some of what Latitude Consolidated CEO Tim Davisson had to say on the announcement today:

We continue to build on our large, existing high-grade gold resource and this 125% upgrade at Turnberry is a fantastic outcome for Latitude. In short order, we have been able to clearly demonstrate the true scale and growth potential of our high-grade gold projects in the prolific Western Australian gold producing region of the Murchison.

About the Latitude Consolidate share price

Latitude is a small-tier gold miner and exploration company. Today’s share price move means that Latitude Consolidated shares are now up 150% year to date. They’re also up a healthy 650% over the past 12 months. At the current share price, Latitude Consolidated has a market capitalisation of $57.27 million.

More reading

• Australians are opening their wallets, says CBA report
• Up 8% this week, brokers are bullish about the Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price
• Here’s why Centuria Capital (ASX:CNI) shares are falling 6% today
• Why the BARD1 (ASX:BD1) share price is on the rise today
• Why Aristocrat Leisure, Creso Pharma, Nuix, & Resolute are charging higher

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) share price continues to ride the momentum of yesterday’s upgraded half-year earnings.

Reaching a new record high of $40.63 this morning, the Aristocrat share price is up 3.8% at the time of writing, trading at $40.41.

What do brokers say about the Aristocrat share price?

First off the blocks is Citi, which maintains its buy rating and has increased its target price from $40.60 to $44.50. The broker says that the gaming and gambling machine company’s recovery has been much faster than expected.

Citi believes Aristocrat’s business is being propelled by the reopened and stimulated United States economy. This has prompted the broker to pull forward its recovery forecast, upgrading FY21 net profit estimates by 12%. 

Credit Suisse had a similar reaction, with Aristocrat’s first-half operating earnings well ahead of its estimates. As a result, the broker upgraded its FY21 net profit estimates for the company by 24%. 

Despite retaining an outperform rating and increasing its target price from $38.00 to $41.25, the broker said that this positive situation might be temporary given the amount of stimulus injected into US and Australian economies. 

Morgan Stanley said that the company’s first half profit of $412 million was a significant 43% ahead of its forecasts. The broker believes Aristocrat’s update suggests that its land-based business is recovering well ahead of expectations, while its digital business must have also grown against the prior corresponding period. Despite the strong update, the broker retained its target price of $38.00 and an overweight rating. 

UBS notes that the outright gaming machine replacement market is still down 40% to 45%, meaning Aristocrat’s increase in market share should be taken positively.

The broker believes that around 90% of participation gambling machines are switched on despite potential disruptions in the US. The strong update has given the broker the confidence that Aristocrat could deliver $1.1 billion in profit for FY22. 

UBS retained a buy rating while lifting its target price from $35.50 to $42.50. 

Macquarie was the only broker to retain a neutral rating while lifting its target price from $32.00 to $39.00. The broker’s net profit forecasts were slightly less optimistic than UBS, forecasting $843 million in FY21.

Macquarie believes the catalyst for the upgrade was more margin-driven than anything revenue-related. 

More reading

• Why Aristocrat Leisure, Creso Pharma, Nuix, & Resolute are charging higher
• Here’s why the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price sank 5% today
• Is there more upside to the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price following recent results?
• Why the Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price just hit its lowest level ever
• Could the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price have an edge against other banks?

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 Centuria Capital Group (ASX: CNI) share price is one of the worst performers on the ASX markets today. While the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has opened strongly today, rising 0.74% at the time of writing to 7,075 points, Centuria Capital shares have gone the other way. Currently, the Centrica share price is down a hefty 6.36% to $2.58 a share.

That means that Centuria is now down around 9% from its 52-week high that we saw back in late April. Even so, this company is also still up more than 72% over the past 12 months.

So what’s going on with Centuria Capital shares today?

Merger plans stoke some fear

Well, the movements today can be attributed to the ongoing merger that Centuria is presently negotiating. As we reported last week, Centuria is on the cusp of securing a merger with Primewest Group Ltd (ASX: PWG). Centuria first flagged a merger proposal with Primewest back in April. The offer is for 20 cents in cash and 0.473 in Centuria shares for each share of Primewest.

On 14 May, Primewest’s board unanimously recommended that shareholders accept this offer from Centuria. Yesterday, Primewest issued another statement reiterating management’s support for the offer, urging shareholders to accept it in the absence of a more favourable deal.

Well, all of this wheeling and dealing has gotten investors a little hot and bothered it seems.

Centuria is one of the worst-performing ASX shares today. It is also one of the most heavily traded. Data from CommSec shows that Centuria is currently the fifth-highest ASX share by volume at the time of writing, after being the most traded ASX share on the market at one point his morning. More than 75 million shares have swapped hands today already.

That’s despite no major news or updates coming out about the proposed merger today. Well, that’s aside from some routine ASX paperwork that the company released this morning. But that was just a notice of initial substantial holder that relates to the merger, nothing to get too excited over.

About the Centuria Capital Group share price

Centuria is an ASX fund manager specialising in real estate and investment bonds. It owns a portfolio of mostly real estate assets across both Australia and New Zealand. These include commercial offices and industrial warehouses, amongst others. ASX investors might be familiar with the Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF) and the Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP) that these assets are housed in and that the company manages. On the current Centuria Capital share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $1.54 billion.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.6%: James Hardie Q4 update, St Barbara sinks, Nuix jumps
• Latest 2 ASX shares to be upgraded by brokers to “buy” today
• South32 (ASX:S32) increases capital returns by $258m and sets climate goals
• Why the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price is in the spotlight today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 BARD1 Life Sciences Ltd (ASX: BD1) share price is in the green during late morning trade. This comes after the life sciences company announced the launch of its EXO-NET product.

When news broke out, BARD1 shares soared to an intraday high of $2.69. However, some profit-taking has led its shares to fetch for (at the time of writing) $2.57, up 3.6%.

Anticipated EXO-NET launch

Investors are pushing BARD1 shares into positive territory following the company’s latest release.

In a statement to the ASX, BARD1 advised it will launch its EXO-NET product at the virtual International Society of Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) Annual Meeting. Notably, EXO-NET is the company’s first product based on its molecular NET technology. The ISEV meeting will be held from 18 May to 21 May 2021.

BARD1 stated that EXO-NET is a next-generation exosome isolation and purification tool, available only for research use. The molecular NET product captures exosomes from biological samples such as blood, urine and saliva.

Exosomes are nano-sized vesicles that are released from almost all cell types into surrounding body fluids. These biovesicles contain protein, DNA, and ribonucleic acid (RNA) which shuttle between neighbouring and distant cells, allowing functions like cellular communication. Exosomes have huge clinical and commercial potential in the diagnosis and treatment of numerous diseases.

According to Grand View Research, the global exosome market is expected to reach US$2.3 billion by 2030. This represents a growth rate of 18% per year, highlighting the increasing demand for harnessing exosomes.

The ISEV 2021 virtual meeting will showcase all the latest products in extracellular vesicle science. Industry professionals will gather to collate their thoughts and advance current knowledge for societal and economic benefit.

Management commentary

BARD1 chief scientific officer, Dr Peter French welcomed the upcoming event, saying:

We are very excited to launch EXO-NET to the global exosome research market at the ISEV2021 conference. EXO-NET solves the sample preparation problems encountered using traditional exosome capture methods by providing fast, accurate and scalable capture of exosomes from any liquid sample.

Furthermore, the potential of this technology is largely untapped, as only EXO-NET can be customised for the capture of target exosome sub-populations for a range of commercial diagnostic and therapeutic applications. This is becoming a major focus of exosome research and development.

BARD1 CEO, Dr Leearne Hinch went on to add:

This is a major milestone in BARD1’s commercial development of its Molecular NET technology. The exosome field is rapidly growing across research, diagnostic and therapeutic applications for cancer, inflammatory disease and wound healing. BARD1 intends to position itself as a leader in the exosomes field.

About the BARD1 share price

Over the course of the last 12 months, BARD1 shares have accelerated to more than 220%. However, year-to-date performance has jumped higher to post a gain of almost 280%. It’s worth noting though, since mid-March, the company’s shares have gradually trodden lower.

Based on today’s price, BARD1 commands a market capitalisation of roughly $204 million, with approximately 80 million shares on offer.

More reading

• Why is the BARD1 (ASX:BD1) share price jumping today?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a solid gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.6% to 7,063.7 points.

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

Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)

The Aristocrat Leisure share price is up a further 3.5% to $40.31. Investors have been buying the gaming technology company’s shares since the release of a strong first half update on Monday. One broker that was particularly impressed was UBS. This morning its analysts retained their buy rating and lifted their price target to $42.50.

Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH)

The Creso Pharma share price is up almost 7% to 16 cents. The catalyst for this was the release of the cannabis company’s tenth announcement in six weeks. Today’s announcement reveals that Creso has finalised the development of its patented anibidiol-swine product. The product is intended as a complementary feedstock for pigs. It was developed to address the need for an effective, natural and plant based complementary feed to support the reduction of stress and swine tail biting.

Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL)

The Nuix share price has jumped 12% to $3.52. Investors have been buying the analytics company’s shares following its investor day event. At the event, management apologised to shareholders for a series of failings since its IPO. Nuix also advised that it will be reviewing its governance in light of the missteps.

Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)

The Resolute Mining share price has risen 4% to 64.5 cents. Investors have been buying Resolute and other gold miners today following a rise in the gold price overnight. The precious metal hit a three-month high after bond yields softened. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is up a sizeable 2.5% at the time of writing.

More reading

• Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price gains 12% on signals of accountability
• ASX 200 up 0.6%: James Hardie Q4 update, St Barbara sinks, Nuix jumps
• Why the Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH) share price is on fire today
• ASX 200 rises, Nuix drops, Elders falls
• Here’s why the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price sank 5% today

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nuix Pty 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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