Tag: Motley Fool

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.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is expanding its in-garage delivery program for Prime members nationwide to wherever it currently offers grocery delivery.

Originally tested in just five cities last November, Amazon says the program will now be available in over 5,000 cities, making millions of Prime members eligible to use the service.

Grocery delivery was a growing phenomenon prior to last year’s COVID-19 outbreak, but the global pandemic made the service a literal lifesaver for many who could not or would not go into public during the lockdowns.

Still, letting a person into your home to deliver groceries when you’re not home requires a willing suspension of distrust. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) said it wanted to conquer the last 15 feet of delivery by offering an in-refrigerator grocery put-away service, but in-garage delivery seems arguably a superior option as it doesn’t require giving permission into the inner sanctum of the home.

Prime members who use the service must have a myQ Smart Garage compatible door opener. According to the manufacturer Chamberlain Group, most garage door opener brands made after 1993 are compatible.

The myQ app is then linked with Key by Amazon. When ordering groceries, the customer chooses the Key Delivery option at checkout. Customers can be notified when the delivery is occurring and if they have a home security camera, can watch the delivery being made.

A Morning Consult survey Amazon commissioned found convenience was the main benefit consumers associated with grocery delivery; 70% of respondents said they preferred it to making a trip to the supermarket. Some 77% said saving time was a key consideration, too.

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

More reading

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• 3 things you’ll want to know when Amazon reports Q1 earnings
• Growing pains, or something worse, for Kogan?
• Should grocery companies be worried about Amazon fresh?
• Amazon Prime adoption accelerated in 2020

Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, 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 Amazon and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Amazon to roll out Prime in-garage grocery delivery nationwide 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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The struggling Openpay share price is looking to make up for lost ground after announcing a positive third-quarter update. 

Leading buy now pay later (BNPL) rivals such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) have likely stolen the spotlight with dual listing plans and continued international expansion. The Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) share price has been left behind, stumbling 10% year-to-date to an 11-month low last week.

The company has approached this quarter with a sense of gravity, saying:

Openpay continues to move with urgency to capture market opportunity and disrupt major payments markets with its highly relevant and transparent offering for merchants and consumers.

But will this be enough to please the market? 

Third-quarter highlights 

Openpay delivered an uplift across leading indicators in the third quarter following a very strong second quarter.

The company’s total transaction value (TTV) increased 80% on the prior corresponding period (pcp) to $83 million. Its revenue had also increased 24% against the pcp to $6.6 million. Additionally, with an improved revenue yield of 7.8% from the 7.5% in 2Q21. 

The number of active plans increased to 1.7 million. This is up 185% on the prior corresponding period and up 19% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ). Its active customers doubled from a year ago to 505,000 and up 10% QoQ. Given the priority placed on the UK market, half the company’s customer base now comes from the UK. 

Openpay continues to drive merchant sign-ups. In particular, with active merchants up 70% on the pcp and an impressive 24% QoQ to 3,400. In Australia, key agreements were signed with leading brands such as Officeworks and Ford. Additionally, Openpay entered the hospital sector with St John of God Health Care. 

To add some perspective, rivals Zip delivered a 12% QoQ improvement in customers and an 18% increase in merchants in its third quarter update two weeks ago. Its shares surged some 15% on the day of the announcement but has since lost the entirety of its gains.

On the flip side, Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) recorded a slight quarter on quarter decline in revenues, falling from US$2.9 million to US$2.7 million in its first-quarter update. Its shares slipped 5% on the day.

Overall, it looks like the market has shrugged off the company’s achievements. At the time of writing, the Openpay share price down 1.88% to $2.09.

What will drive the Openpay share price? 

The Openpay share price is eyeing a number of growth initiatives to drive shareholder value and revenue growth. 

Openpay entered the US$55.8 billion US and UK healthcare channel in March. This was in partnership with cloud-based veterinary Practice Management Software platform, ezyVet. 

The company believes there is a significant market opportunity in the US to carve out its niche in higher-value, longer-term plans. By servicing strategy target verticals such as healthcare, home improvement, and education, Openpay believes it can address the current gaps in the BNPL market in the US. 

With the lack of share price traction for smaller BNPL shares, Openpay will need to put its best foot forward to get out of its recent slump. 

More reading

• Affirm shares are surging, why is the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price left behind?
• ASX 200 falls, BHP rises, Afterpay sinks
• Why has the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price plunged 6% today?
• Province Resources and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• ASX 200 down 0.5%: Bingo & Tabcorp takeovers, BlueScope upgrades guidance

Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 Respiri Ltd Fully Paid Ord. Shrs (ASX: RSH) share price has rocketed 18.2% higher at the market open after an update from the Aussie medical device company.

Why is the Respiri share price on the charge?

Respiri this morning announced a new agreement with TerryWhite Chemmart. The agreement will see TerryWhite Chemmart stores sell and market wheezo, commencing immediately.

wheezo is Respiri’s medical device that records breathing sounds and detects and analyses wheeze. The innovative device helps to identify and manage symptoms associated with asthma.

TerryWhite Chemmart is Australia’s largest pharmacy network with over 450 community pharmacies. The Respiri share price rocketed 18.2% at Wednesday’s open as investors reacted well to the new deal.

Respiri CEO and Managing Director, Mr Marjan Mikel, said, “Respiri continues to grow wheezo product availability in the pharmacy channel as we recognise the important role that pharmacies play with supporting asthma management and care”.

“This agreement with Terry White Chemmart takes the number of pharmacies contracted to stock and sell wheezo to approximately 1,000 stores”, he added. That represents an “implied market footprint” of 22% based on the total number of ex-hospital community pharmacies in Australia.

The Respiri share price has once again surged higher this morning on the back of the news. At the time of writing, the Aussie medical device company’s shares were up 18.2% for the day and 85.7% in the last 12 months.

Respiri said it remains in active discussions with several other large pharmacy banner groups. Further ASX announcements are expected once those discussions are finalised and initial orders have commenced.

Foolish takeaway

The Respiri share price has rocketed higher today after a new partnership announcement. The deal with TerryWhite Chemmart will expand its network of pharmacies selling the proprietary wheezo device across Australia.

That’s been enough for shareholders to snap up the Aussie healthcare share in one of the day’s early strong performers.

More reading

• Alcidion (ASX:ALC) share price slumps despite ‘strong growth’
• BrainChip (ASX:BRN) share price rises on first quarter update
• Why the Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) share price is racing higher
• Life360 (ASX:360) share price climbs on ‘accelerating growth’
• Here’s why the Ansell (ASX:ANN) share price is surging 5% higher today

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC) shares are on the slide today despite the company reporting “strong organic growth” in its March quarterly update.  At the time of writing, the Alcidion share price is trading 2.6% lower at 37.5 cents. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is currently sitting 0.02% higher. 

Let’s take a look at how the health-focused IT company has been performing. 

Quarter highlights

In a statement to the ASX this morning, Alcidion released its Q3 results for FY21. During the quarter, the company generated $2.8 million of positive cash flow. For the financial year so far, however, cash flow is currently negative $500,000.

Alcidion generated $11.5 million of customer receipts during the quarter. This constitutes just over half of the company’s entire revenue for the financial year up to 31 March. $6.1 million of the $11.5 million was generated by NHS Trust customers in the United Kingdom.

The group expects contracted revenue for the financial year to total $24.7 million, $15.9 million of which will be recurring and $8.8 million will be non-recurring.

This month, Alcidion announced it had acquired ExtraMed – a UK patient flow software company – for $9.6 million and won a $21 million contract with the Australian Department of Defence as part of a consortium. The announcements sent the Alcidion share price to an all-time high.

Alcidion says the ExtraMed purchase will add $2.7 million in revenue during FY22 and $500,000 in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA).

The group has $15.3 million in cash reserves currently. It expects to bolster its stash by an extra $6.6 million from a proposed capital raising endeavour.

Management commentary

Alcidion managing director Kate Quirke said of today’s update:

Alcidion has delivered another quarter of strong organic sales growth in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, with contracted revenue of $24.7M expected to be recognised in FY21, excluding revenue from the acquisition of ExtraMed.

Having already surpassed our FY20 revenue figure by 33%, we now enter a new phase following the acquisition of ExtraMed, which strengthens our current patient flow offering and puts us into a market leading position in the UK, with 27 NHS Trusts as customers. We are already moving to integrate these businesses and engage with our expanded client base in this market.

Alcidion share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Alcidion share price has increased by around 124%. In fact, just in the last month, the company’s value has appreciated by more than 20%.

Given its current valuation, Alcidion has a market capitalisation of $395 million.

More reading

• Why the Alcidion (ASX:ALC) share price is up 32% this month
• Why the Alcidion (ASX:ALC) share price just hit an all-time high
• Alcidion (ASX:ALC) shares are in a trading halt. Here’s why.
• 4 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch

Marc Sidarous has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Alcidion Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alcidion Group 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 BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price is pushing higher following the release of its first quarter update.

In morning trade, the artificial intelligence technology company’s shares are up 3% to 61.5 cents.

What happened in the first quarter?

In respect to its financials, it was a routinely quiet quarter for the company.

At the end of 31 March, BrainChip had a cash balance of US$20 million. This was up from US$19.1 million at the end of December.

Management advised that this was the result of net cash outflows from operating activities of US$3.8 million being offset largely by cash receipts of US$1.12 million and US$3 million from the exercise of options.

In respect to the latter, millions of BrainChip options were exercised during the quarter at just 20 cents per share.

What else has been happening?

Management took this opportunity to remind shareholders of developments during the quarter.

One of those was its addition to the All Ordinaries index at the March quarterly rebalance.

Another development was the appointment of Peter van der Made to the position of Interim Chief Executive Officer to replace Louis DiNardo who left the company.

In respect to this, BrainChip advised that it continues to undertake a thorough search for a highly qualified and seasoned permanent replacement.

Another development, which came after the end of the quarter, was the company’s design and manufacturing partner, Socionext, releasing the engineering layout of the production version of the AKD1000 chip to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. Production units are expected to be available for testing in the third quarter of FY 2021.

Following today’s gain, the BrainChip share price is now up an incredible ~1,100% over the last 12 months.

This gives the pre-revenue company a market capitalisation of almost $1 billion. This is despite its technology being unproven and facing competition from tech behemoths.

More reading

• Why your ASX 200 shares aren’t going up with the market 
• BrainChip and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Why is the Brainchip (ASX:BRN) share price jumping today?
• Why BrainChip, Regis Resources, Whitehaven, & Zip shares are tumbling lower
• Why BrainChip, Dubber, Galaxy, & Resolute shares are charging higher

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC) share price is climbing today after an update from the Aussie healthcare company.

Why is the Race Oncology share price climbing?

Race Oncology announced that it has entered into a collaborative preclinical research program with The University of Newcastle. The purpose of the program is to investigate the heart safety Bisantrene offers over current anthracycline therapeutics. 

Bisantrene is Race Oncology’s Phase 2/3 cancer drug that is a “potent inhibitor” of the Fatso/Fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) protein. The possible role of FTO inhibition in Bisantrene’s lack of cardiotoxicity will be a primary focus of the new project.

The Race Oncology share price has jumped 1.6% higher at the market open following the news. While Bisantrene’s heart safety has been demonstrated in over 40 clinical trials, how it avoids causing cardiotoxicity is unknown.

The aim of the project is to explore Bisantrene’s low cardiotoxicity at a molecular level. The project will be led by cardiotoxicity researchers Aaron Sverdlov and Doan Ngo of The University of Newcastle.

Pillar 2 of Race’s Three Pillar strategy announced on 30 November 2020 is focused on Bisantrene’s ability to act as an anthracycline replacement. Race said anthracyclines are chemotherapeutics that are effective but cardiotoxic.

That’s where the latest study comes in and why the Race Oncology share price is climbing. The results of this study will support Phase 2b human trials of a Bisantrene in anthracycline naïve breast cancer patients. European feasibility studies are evaluating the trials with potential initiation in 2022.

Chief Scientific Officer Dr Daniel Tillett said, “Understanding how Bisantrene works at a molecular level to avoid damage to the heart will aid our clinical plans”. 

The Race Oncology share price has jumped higher at the market open following the news as investors buy up the Aussie healthcare share.

More reading

• Why Ampol, Netwealth, Orocobre, & Race Oncology shares are storming higher
• Why the Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) share price is rocketing 10% higher
• Why Computershare, Macquarie, Race Oncology, & Webjet are tumbling lower
• Race (ASX:RAC) share price falters despite positive update

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) shares are on the rise in early trade following the company’s release of an upbeat March quarterly update this morning. At the time of writing, the Life360 share price is trading 1.69% higher at $6.01. 

Let’s take a look at how the technology company has been performing.

March quarter highlights 

Life360 shares are responding positively after the company reported its growth picked up momentum in March, with its largest market, the United States, showing early signs of recovery.

The company delivered a 20% year-on-year increase in revenue to US$23.0 million with annualised monthly revenue in March improving 26% to US$95.8 million. Its global monthly active user (MAU) base of 28.0 million now matches March 2020 levels, prior to the impacts of COVID-19.

Life360’s US MAU base set a new record of 18.1 million, an 8% year-on-year increase and 1 million higher than the December 2020 quarter. 

Life360 is on the cusp of positive cash flows with an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of US$1.5 million. Despite being loss-making, the company maintains a strong capital position with a cash balance of US$53.5 million in March 2021 with no debt. 

The company noted that during the March quarter, the majority of paid user acquisition spend remained paused with an investment of US$1.2 million compared to the respective US$1.7 million and US$4.0 million in the December and March 2020 quarters.

Its commentary observed that the performance of traditional user acquisition channels remains challenging, but new channels such as streaming TV are working well. With increasing activity and return on investment, the company is reactivating its marketing spend earlier than initially planned. 

The Life360 share price is edging higher following the company’s release of the largely positive update. 

Management commentary 

Life360 chief executive officer Chris Hulls commented on the results, saying: 

We are excited by Life360’s accelerating growth momentum in the March quarter, particularly in the US where the benefits of the vaccine rollout are beginning to be felt. We are encouraged that the early signs of recovery in Australia are now being replicated in our largest market, the US. Globally, new registrations are at their highest level since March 2020, prior to the onset of COVID. In the US, organic registrations increased… additionally, the month of March delivered the strongest growth in Paying Circle additions since November 2019…

Life 360 share price snapshot

Life360 shares have been on a tear since late January this year, climbing by around 50%. The company’s shares jumped almost 20% on the day its full-year results were released on 25 February to what was a new all-time high of $4.70.

The company entered the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) on 22 March following its surging valuation. Its shares have continued to set new highs in the weeks following, highlighted by another 13% jump yesterday following acquisition news. 

More reading

• Why Bingo, Life360, Tabcorp, & Vulcan shares are storming higher
• Life360 (ASX:360) share price jumps 9% to record high on acquisition news
• 2 buy-rated mid cap ASX shares
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Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Life360, Inc. 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 Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) share price climbed 5% in early morning trade. This comes after the company announced a trading update and upgraded guidance for FY21.

At the time of writing, the safety products company’s shares have retreated slightly, trading for $41.18, up 4.7%.

What did Ansell announce?

Investors are driving Ansell shares higher after digesting the company’s latest positive announcement.

According to its release, Ansell advised that it’s continuing to see strong global demand for its personal protection equipment (PPE). Key capacity expansions remain on track to meet the increasing need for PPE as COVID-19 still dominates the world today.

The company revealed that since January 2021, financial metrics have been better than expected. As a result, Ansell highlighted its operational performance for the period as:

• Successful management of COVID-19 at all manufacturing locations resulting in limited downtime or employee disruption to date.

• Increases in raw material and outsourced supplier costs for Exam/SU has been well managed.

• Mechanical and Surgical SBUs continuing to recover faster than previously foreseen, and Chemical and Life Sciences are performing well.

• Customers receiving products despite constraints in raw material supply and disruptions in ocean freight capacity, resulting in delayed transportation transit times.

• Lower than anticipated travel and marketing spend due to travel restrictions remaining in place.

Based on the above developments, the company is projecting the second-half of FY21 year-on-year sales growth to be robust. Current estimates put the business to record a 24.5% growth in sales over the prior period (H1 FY21).

In addition, full-year earnings per share (EPS) is predicted to be in the range of US$1.92 to US$2.02. This is a significant lift from the previous guidance of US$1.60 to US$1.70 announced in mid-February.

Ansell will release its full-year results along with its FY22 guidance on 24 August 2021.

About the share price

The Ansell share price has been a stellar performer in the last 12 months, rising 34%. While most of these gains are attributed to the early part of May 2020, year-to-date gains sit at around 13%.

Based on the current share price, Ansell presides a market capitalisation of approximately $5.05 billion, with 128.5 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• 2 high-growth ASX COVID-19 shares
• Aussie dollar tipped to weaken and this ASX share stands to gain the most
• Over 1 in 4 Australians are investing in the ASX: report

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ansell 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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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.

Cathie Wood’s focus on disruptive technology has made her one of the most-watched investors in the industry. Her firm, ARK Invest, operates several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on this philosophy, and one of the top holdings in Wood’s Ark Fintech Innovation ETF, at right around 4%, is PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ: PYPL).

Despite being a household name, PayPal is still growing, and 2020 was its best year on record. The pandemic showed more consumers the value — and necessity — of digital payments, and PayPal was well-positioned to benefit from that trend. While many companies may find 2021 challenging as they lap ultra-high pandemic-related growth, this fintech giant is likely to continue its growth streak, and it’s a stock you should consider.

Fintech for everyone

PayPal is the original online peer-to-peer payments service, and individual accounts make up one segment of the company’s operations. It has made a string of acquisitions over the past few years, and now owns popular peer-to-peer payments app Venmo and price comparison plug-in Honey. Its other segment is merchant accounts, which powers credit card and other payments.

PayPal ended 2020 with 377 million active accounts (that’s more than the U.S. population) and 29 million merchant accounts. Total payment volume (TPV) was $936 billion, as compared with competitor Square‘s $112 billion. But there’s good reason to believe that there’s more to come.

In 2020, TPV  increased 31% and sales increased 21%. Earnings per share rose 71%, and the company added more than 73 million net new accounts. Management is expecting TPV growth to be in the high 20’s, and revenue to increase 19% in 2021. It sees revenue more than doubling by 2025 to $50 billion, with a total addressable market of $110 trillion.

PayPal doubled its active accounts in the five years ending with 2020. Even if it doesn’t match that in the coming five years, it is expecting to add 50 million new accounts in 2021, and more and more people are catching on to digital shopping and mobile wallets. And the company added thousands of new merchants who now offer PayPal checkout. In an internal survey, PayPal found that that 54% of customers are more likely to complete a purchase if PayPal is an option, and 59% have abandoned a transaction because PayPal wasn’t an option.

Of course, this happened during a pandemic year when shoppers and individuals needed to rely on digital forms of payment. But all data indicates that the trend will continue. McKinsey research found that customers have been increasingly moving toward digital payments, with the biggest growth in people using more than one digital payment type. And PayPal knows it. Earlier this year, CFO John Rainey said, “The next five years will be very different than the last five, and we’re striving to shape that outcome … where e-commerce and digital payments are not just a fallback … but instead a necessity, a necessity that is sought out as the preferred way for people to transact every single day.” 

Between these tailwinds and PayPal’s position as the dominant player in the industry, there’s a lot to expect from PayPal in the coming years.

Cryptocurrency and more 

Last week, PayPal launched cryptocurrency trading on Venmo. This is a direct response to Square’s Cash App, which offers cryptocurrency and stock trading. But it’s also an important move to get more value out of the app. Internal data found that 30% of Venmo users already trade cryptocurrency, and now PayPal gets a piece of the pie.

Cryptocurrency trading has gained in popularity, and the price of Bitcoin increased to nearly $64,000 before falling back this week. (By the way, Cathie Wood is also bullish on Bitcoin — three Ark funds hold a combined 2.4 million shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global, which just went public two weeks ago.) And Venmo has played an important role in PayPal’s success, with TPV growing 60%. Account holders can now use a Venmo card, and the company has otherwise improved the Venmo experience.

In general, PayPal innovates regularly and easily. This is one of the keys to its success both past and future. Each new feature PayPal develops goes into its millions of customers’ accounts and adds so much more value to the company. It already has a broad suite of products and services, and it envisions an “inclusive digital currency ecosystem.” 

PayPal stock has gained more than 120% over the past year, and between its huge and growing customer base and new features, investors can expect more growth in the future.

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

More reading

• PayPal will target cross-border payments in China
• Square’s ready to take on PayPal
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price sinks despite new product launch

Jennifer Saibil 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, PayPal Holdings, and Square and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $75 calls on PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PayPal Holdings. 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The SG Fleet Group Ltd (ASX: SGF) share price is on the move in early trade. Shares in the Aussie fleet management and novated leasing company are steady this morning despite a capital raising update before the bell.

Why is the SG Fleet share price worth watching?

SG Fleet this morning announced the successful completion of its retail capital raising. The company raised $15 million under the 1 for 7.44 pro rata, accelerated, non-renounceable offer announced on 31 March 2021.

That money was raised at $2.45 per share with a take-up rate of approximately 78%. The SG Fleet share price is steady at $3.02 right now despite the steep discount on the capital raise.

Including the institutional component, SG Fleet’s capital raise netted the company $86 million. Approximately 6 million new shares will be issued and allotted on Friday under the Retail Entitlement Offer.

The SG Fleet share price has been steady in early trade and will be one to watch throughout the day.

How has the company performed recently?

Prior to the market open, SG Fleet had a market capitalisation of $880.1 million and boasted a 3.4% dividend yield.

Shares in the Aussie fleet manager have surged higher in 2021, climbing 26.4% through to yesterday’s close. Those gains have come despite a disappointing half-year result which saw the company shed 7% of its market value in one day.

However, the company’s planned acquisition of LeasePlan ANZ has helped turn things around in 2021. Funds from this capital raise will go towards the $387 million purchase of the company.

SG Fleet expects the acquisition to be earnings per share (EPS) accretive in FY2022 and FY2023.

The Aussie fleet manager is targeting an enterprise value of $1.5 billion following the LeasePlan ANZ acquisition.

The SG Fleet share price is one to watch throughout the year following the takeover which will increase its fleet to approximately 103,000 vehicles across 9 locations in Australia and New Zealand.

More reading

• Why the SG Fleet (ASX:SGF) share price surged 10% today
• Why the SG Fleet (ASX:SGF) share price is one to watch next week

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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