Tag: Motley Fool

  • Why the ASX 200 is at a 15-month high today

    Investor with palm up and graphic illustration of asx small cap tech shares charts shooting from his hand

    The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having another top day today as the market opens. At the time of writing, the ASX’s flagship index is up 0.96% to 6,994.4 points. That’s a 15-month high for ASX 200 shares. It’s also tantalisingly close to the psychologically potent 7,000 points mark, which the ASX 200 crossed for the first time ever in January of last year. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic made short work of that high just a month or so later, and we haven’t seen the ASX 200 climb back above 7,000 points since. But on the index’s recent momentum, it might not be too far off.

    It’s a decisive move upwards for the ASX 200. The index had, until last week, been stuck in a rut of sorts since late November. That’s when upward momentum for ASX 200 shares stalled after a strong October. In fact, since 25 November, the ASX 200 has bumped along in a band between 6,700 and 6,900 points. But we are well above that band today.

    So, why is the ASX 200 now suddenly pushing higher after months of going sideways? There are a couple of factors at play.

    Why the ASX 200 is pushing higher at last

    The first is positive economic momentum here in Australia. By all accounts, the Australian economy is recovering nicely from the coronavirus-induced recession last year, the first recession Australia has seen in near-three decades. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has flagged that it will not raise interest rates until 2024, and will also allow inflation to run somewhat before they would consider trying to reign it in. This is all highly supportive economic policy.

    The vaccine rollout is progressing despite a few witches and shortages. And we have just had confirmation of a trans-Tasman travel bubble with New Zealand that should result in a tourism boost for both countries after a year of effective travel bans.

    All of this is conducive to higher ASX shares.

    US markets lead the way

    Secondly, what is happening in the United States is also probably helping ASX 200 shares. The rollout of coronavirus vaccines in the US is going very well. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 42.4% of adults over 18 have now received at least one shot of a vaccine at the time of writing. That’s obviously great news for the US economy. The US share markets are reflecting this optimism as well by hitting new all-time highs. Just this month, the flagship US S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP: .INX) crossed the 4,000 points threshold for the first time ever last week.

    Further, the big spending plans of the new Biden administration are also supporting markets. President Biden is now trying to push a mammoth infrastructure spending bill through congress after the recent passage of the massive US$1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan last month. Markets appear to be cheering all of this on, which is probably spilling over to our own ASX. Remember, US markets hit their pre-COVID highs in August last year. The ASX 200 is still chasing its own high watermark.

    But this could soon change if things keep going the ASX 200’s way. And based on today’s moves with ASX 200 shares at a 15-month high, that’s what investors are expecting.

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    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of February 15th 2021

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    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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  • ASX 200 up 1%: Big four banks and miners take ASX 200 above 7,000 points

    rising asx share price represented by woman jumping in the air happily

    At lunch on Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on form and charging notably higher again. The benchmark index is currently up 1% to 6,999.3 points.

    Here’s what is happening on the market today:

    ASX 200 surpasses 7,000 points

    The ASX 200 broke through the 7,000 points mark and hit a new post-COVID high on Thursday morning. While all sectors are pushing higher today, the banks and miners have been doing a lot of the heavy lifting. All the big four banks are outperforming the market today as investor sentiment continues to improve thanks to a positive global economic outlook.

    Tech shares push higher

    The Australian tech sector is rising today despite the Nasdaq index’s underwhelming session last night. The likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) are pushing higher and helping to drive the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) 1% higher.

    ASIC goes after Westpac

    The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is storming higher today despite being hit with civil proceedings by ASIC this morning. According to the release, the proceedings relate to the sale of consumer credit insurance products to approximately 384 of the bank’s customers. The corporate watchdog alleges that Westpac supplied these products to certain customers who had not requested or agreed to acquire them.

    Best and worst ASX 200 performers

    The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CDI (ASX: URW) share price with a 4.5% gain on no news. The worst performer has been the Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) share price with a decline of almost 3%. The embattled gold miner’s shares are out of favour with investors for both company-specific issues and reducing demand for safe haven assets.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

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    *Returns as of February 15th 2021

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    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 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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  • Why Creso, EML, Immutep, & Western Areas shares are storming higher

    Five stacked building blocks with green arrows, indicating rising inflation or share prices

    In late morning trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on form again and charging higher. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 1.1% to 7,006.3 points.

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

    Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH)

    The Creso share price is up 5% to 20.5 cents. This morning the cannabis company released an update on its Canadian subsidiary, Mernova Medicinal. According to the release, Mernova Medicinal has secured new purchase orders valued at C$145,192 (A$150,770) from the Ontario Cannabis Store and Yukon Liquor Corporation. Positively, management notes that demand for its offering is growing and appears confident more orders are coming.

    EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

    The EML share price has continued its rise and is up a further 4% to $5.64. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the payments company’s shares since the announcement of its acquisition of Sentenial Limited for up to 110 million euros on Wednesday. One broker that is a fan of the move is Macquarie. This morning the broker retained its outperform rating and lifted its price target on the company’s shares to $6.20.

    Immutep Ltd (ASX: IMM)

    The Immutep share price has jumped 10% to 48.5 cents. The catalyst for this was news that the biotechnology company has received Fast Track designation from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead product candidate, eftilagimod alpha. The company is aiming to treat first line recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

    Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA)

    The Western Areas share price has stormed almost 5% higher to $2.23. This follows the release of the nickel producer’s quarterly update this morning. That update reveals that Western Areas delivered a significant improvement in the performance of its Forrestania operations in Western Australia. The company mined 4,236 Ni tonnes, which represents a 20% quarter on quarter increase in nickel in concentrate production.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of February 15th 2021

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    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 EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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  • Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price races 6% on performance update

    three building blocks with smiley faces, indicating a rise in the ASX share price

    The Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU) share price is racing higher following an update on its Q3 performance. In early-morning trade, the financial wellness app provider’s shares are swapping hands for 17 cents, up 6.25%.

    Let’s take a look at the key highlighted that Douugh mentioned in the release.

    How did Douugh perform?

    Investors are driving the Douugh share price higher after the company released a positive performance update.

    In its announcement, Douugh advised it is continuing to record robust growth on key transactional metrics in Q3 FY21.

    Card spend surged to $1.04 million, representing an increase of 643% quarter-on-quarter, and a compound monthly growth rate (CMGR) of 173%. Douugh attributed the result to customers using their Douugh card to pay bills such as Uber and Netflix.

    Deposits jumped to more than $2.71 million, which reflected a 553% lift on the previous quarter (Q2 FY21). CMGR stood at 155% since December 2020. The company noted that more customers each day are starting to put their salaries directly into their Douugh account.

    The total amount of customers signed up to the Douugh platform also grew to 10,877 users. This is a 259% surge on the prior period and 89% accent on CMGR.

    The company noted that it is in the late-stage of development for its Android app. Once rolled out, the app is expected to expand its market presence and attract new customers.

    Furthermore, the re-launch of the Goodments app is scheduled for the Australian market following some key improvements. Douugh anticipates the app will help accelerate customer and revenue growth in the short term.

    Comments from the CEO

    Douugh founder and CEO, Andy Taylor commented:

    We continue to build strong momentum in key growth metrics since our November launch and have worked hard to optimise onboarding and activation rates. To the extent that we now have confidence in dialling up the marketing spend and knowing the corresponding rate of customer acquisition.

    …Overall, we are very happy to see the generation and acceleration of interchange revenue in-line with the growth deposits and card spend.

    About the Douugh share price

    The Douugh share price has shot up close to 1,000% since its listing in October 2020. Year-to-date, however, its shares are relatively flat with a marginal 2% increase.

    Based on the current share price, Douugh commands a market capitalisation of roughly $62.8 million.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

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    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of February 15th 2021

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    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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  • Here’s why the NEXION (ASX:NNG) share price is lifting today

    The last piece of the jigsaw being fitted, indicating good news for a share price on merger or acquisition

    The NEXION Group Ltd (ASX: NNG) share price zoomed up 6% in early trade following news the company has completed a new acquisition agreement. The business to business (B2B) cloud and tech company will purchase Blue Sky Telecom, a B2B telecommunications company.

    At the time of writing, the NEXION share price has lost some ground and is now trading at 22.5 cents, up 2.2%. Let’s look closer at NEXION’s announcement.

    New acquisition

    In today’s release, NEXION stated that the acquisition was part of its expansion strategy. It would enable NEXION to supplement its core services while reducing the running costs of Blue Sky’s “to seamlessly connect all its products and services”.

    The acquisition has cost NEXION $2 million with additional earn-outs. An earn-out means a business’s seller can get compensation if the business achieves certain objectives after its sale. The $2 million is to be made up of 10 million shares in NEXION, a valuation of 20 cents apiece.

    According to today’s release, Blue Sky’s revenue has grown by 20% in the 2020 financial year, with the company making $2.9 million so far this financial year.

    NEXION said Blue Sky’s growth was mainly driven by its new enterprise and satellite divisions. It expects the acquisition to be completed in the fourth quarter of the 2021 financial year.

    Commentary from management

    NEXION co-founder and CEO Paul Glass welcomed the acquisition, saying.

    Blue Sky is a fast growing business with an outstanding product offering. As a result, NEXION will be a stronger combination of infrastructure and products that should yield material cross-sell opportunities and the possibility of lower costs.

    The terms of the acquisition have been designed to strongly align the vendor with NEXION’s ongoing success and should the terms of performance milestones be met all shareholders can be expected to benefit strongly in coming years as NEXION’s revenue will have grown very significantly.

    … It has been a key objective of the company to materially improve the proportion of recurring revenue in NEXION’s revenue mix and this acquisition is a huge step towards this goal.

    Blue Sky Telecom’s founder and CEO Daniel Fairbairn said he was committed to continuing Blue Sky’s success and create stronger commercial propositions for its customers.

    By bringing these two businesses together under the NEXION Group, the company will be able to leverage and combine their respective in-depth expertise and ability to build commercial solutions that adds real value to our customers.

    NEXION share price snapshot

    Investors will no doubt welcome some positive news after the NEXION share price made a poor start to its time on the ASX.

    The company was listed on the ASX in mid-February this year, and its share price has since fallen by 10%.

    NEXION has a market capitalisation of $14 million, with approximately 111 million shares outstanding.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

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    Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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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  • Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

    3 asx shares to buy depicted by man holding up hand with 3 fingers up

    Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their estimates and recommendations again, leading to the release of a number of broker notes.

    Three broker buy ratings that have caught my eye are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

    Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

    According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have retained their overweight rating but trimmed their price target on this payments company’s shares to $149.00. The broker has been looking into the entry of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) into the buy now pay later market. It expects this to put pressure on Afterpay’s merchant fees in the local market. However, this isn’t enough to dim its positive view of the company. Particularly given the strong performance of its US business and its expansion across mainland Europe. It believes Afterpay could be on the cusp of building a global buy now pay later platform. The Afterpay share price is trading at $119.77 this morning.

    EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

    A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on this payments company’s shares to $6.20. This follows the announcement of its acquisition of Sentenial Limited for up to 110 million euros on Wednesday. Macquarie appears positive on the acquisition, noting that it gives EML exposure to open banking’s strong structural growth story. The EML share price is fetching $5.67 on Thursday.

    Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)

    Analysts at Ord Minnett have retained their buy rating and $6.00 price target on this airline operator’s shares. This follows the announcement of a travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand that will launch later this month. Ord Minnett was pleased with the news. Combined with the ongoing domestic recovery, it expects the bubble to support its balance sheet recovery. In addition, it believes Qantas can come out of the crisis in a stronger position that when it entered it. The Qantas share price is trading at $5.39 today.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of February 15th 2021

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    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 EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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  • What’s happening with the Musgrave Minerals (ASX:MGV) share price?

    Gold

    The Musgrave Minerals Ltd (ASX: MGV) share price is flat in early morning trade, despite the ASX gold miner releasing a positive drilling update.

    Below we take a look at Musgrave’s latest drill results.

    What drill results did Musgrave report?

    Musgrave Minerals shares are flat in morning trade after the company reported a new round of positive assay results at its Cue Gold Project in Western Australia.

    According to the release, the aircore drilling results “define a continuous regolith gold anomaly with a strike extent over 1.2 kilometres”. Musgrave has named the strike zone Big Sky, reporting that gold mineralisation remains open to the north, south and at depth.

    The ASX gold miner revealed that new drill intersections include:

    • 30m @ 5.8g/t Au from 30m, including;

    ­6m @ 27.7g/t Au from 30m; and

    • 12m @ 4.1g/t Au from 42m

    Commenting on the assay results, Musgrave’s Managing Director Rob Waugh said:

    The aircore drilling is continuing to define strong continuous regolith gold mineralisation along the new gold corridor south-west of Lena under thin transported cover. The high-grade, strong continuity and near surface nature of the mineralisation is extremely encouraging.

    The regolith gold dispersion is over a broad area with RC follow-up drilling, testing basement targets scheduled to commence next week. We currently have three exploration drill rigs on site and a significant drilling program planned for the remainder of 2021. RC drilling is also continuing at White Heat.

    Musgrave reported that assay results from more than 100 aircore drill results are still to come.

    Musgrave Minerals share price snapshot

    Over the past 12 months, the Musgrave Minerals share price has gained 175%. By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 37% in that same time.

    Year-to-date Musgrave shares have struggled, down 13% so far in 2021.

    At the current share price of 33 cents, Musgrave has a market cap of $176 million.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of February 15th 2021

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    Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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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  • Why the EnviroSuite (ASX:EVS) share price rocketed 20% today

    rocket taking off

    The EnviroSuite Ltd (ASX: EVS) share price is surging higher this morning after a record quarterly result for the Aussie environment intelligence solutions group. At the time of writing, the EnviroSuite share price is trading for 16 cents, up 20%.

    Why is the EnviroSuite share price surging?

    EnviroSuite reported a strong third quarter highlighted by $2.1 million in new annual recurring revenue (ARR). The quarterly ARR added during the quarter was 180% on the previous quarter, or $1.15 million.

    EnviroSuite’s total ARR is now $42.5 million with one-off revenue of $1.7 million. This figure was reported for hardware and services reported during the period. The Aussie company also added 13 new customers during the period with “key expansion revenue” across existing customers.

    Furthermore, the continued recovery in the aviation sector was a big part of the strong quarterly result. EnviroSuite posted a new contract win at a major international airport in North America. In addition to expansion revenue across Dublin, Oakland, and San Francisco International Airport.

    In Mining & Industrial, EnviroSuite posted expansion revenue at Pilbara Ports Authority amongst other wins.

    Strong results in the group’s remaining Waste & Wastewater and Water segments helped to round out a strong quarter. The company added one additional site with Welsh Water and won Singapore’s national water agency global innovation challenge for “digital twin solutions for water treatment”.

    The EnviroSuite share price has jumped at the market open this morning on the back of the news. 

    EnviroSuite boasts a low churn rate of ~2% across its product suite. In addition, the diversified offerings from the group have helped to grow margins in its Software as a Service (SaaS) offering.

    Foolish takeaway

    The EnviroSuite share price will be one to watch throughout the day as investors take in the latest quarterly result. Shares in the Aussie environmental technology group surged as it posted a 180% increase in quarterly ARR today.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

    *Returns as of February 15th 2021

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    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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  • CSL (ASX:CSL) share price wobbles on COVID vaccine news

    common investors mistakes represented by man looking sheepish

    The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price is a little wobbly this morning after negative vaccine news overnight from the United Kingdom.

    The pharmaceutical giant, which produces and supplies the AstraZeneca PLC (LSE: AZ) COVID-19 vaccine in Australia, is trading close to its opening price after news that the UK medical regulator has found a “possible link” between the vaccine and blood clotting in younger adults. The regulator noted that blood clotting was considered a rare side-effect of the vaccine.

    At the time of writing, the CSL share price is trading flat around $263 as Australian investors digest the news out of the UK.

    What’s driving the CSL share price?

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) released a statement overnight concluding the evidence of a causal link between blood clotting and receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine in low platelet individuals was stronger than previously thought, but not conclusive.

    The agency said the risk of blood clotting decreased with age and was “extremely rare and unlikely to occur”. 

    Its statistics suggested the risk of developing a blood clot after the first vaccine dose was 1 in 250,000 (0.0004%) and the risk of a fatal blood clot was 1 in 1 million (0.0001%). Despite this, the UK will provide alternative vaccines to the under 30s if possible.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) responded to the UK news, saying evidence of the link, while plausible, was not yet confirmed. It also noted the risk of catching and dying from COVID-19 was much higher than the risk of the vaccine.

    What did our top doctor say?

    Australia’s chief medical officer, Professor Paul Kelly told ABC Radio:

    There seems to be a trend in younger people and, at least in the European data in women being more common, but I would really stress these are extremely rare events and like with any treatment… we have to look at the risk and benefit.

    And we do know that the benefits of vaccinations against this very serious diseases Covid is a really important component of our control…

    Ultimately it will be a decision by the Australian Government about what that means for the vaccine rollout.

    Australia’s position

    Australia is primarily relying on the AstraZeneca vaccine in the fight against COVID. The government has contracted CSL to develop the vaccine locally.

    Both the imported and locally manufactured AstraZeneca vaccine have already been approved by the Therapeutics Good Administration (TGA).

    Speaking about the developments this morning, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia’s medical experts would look at the data before making new recommendations to the government.

    The Prime Minister also stressed the extremely low chances of people experiencing blood clotting from the vaccine. He advised that at present, the vaccine rollout would not be affected by the latest developments.

    Motley Fool Australia reached out to CSL for comment, but none was received before publication.

    Where to invest $1,000 right now

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes are the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they are great buys right now.

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    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 CSL Ltd. 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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  • Why the Creso (ASX:CPH) share price is smoking the market today

    cannabis leaves on a rising line graph representing growth of ASX cannabis shares

    The Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH) share price is racing higher on Thursday following a positive announcement.

    At the time of writing, the cannabis company’s shares are up 6% to 20.7 cents.

    What did Creso announce?

    This morning Creso provided the market with an update on its Canadian subsidiary, Mernova Medicinal.

    According to the release, Mernova Medicinal has secured new purchase orders valued at C$145,192 (A$150,770) from the Ontario Cannabis Store and Yukon Liquor Corporation.

    The company notes that these orders include a repeat order from the Ontario Cannabis Store and the second order for its pre-roll joint range in a very short period. Furthermore, the new orders also include a maiden purchase order for Mernova’s new one ounce bag offering.

    Ontario Cannabis Store is the crown agency solely owned by the Province of Ontario. It reports directly to the Ministry of Finance and is the province’s only retailer and wholesaler of legal recreational cannabis.

    Positively, management appears to be expecting further orders in the near future. It advised that it continues to witness strong uptake of its products across Canada and shorter intervals between purchase orders.

    It believes this is very encouraging and highlights the company’s strong brand recognition in a highly competitive market.

    Management commentary

    Mernova’s Managing Director, Jack Yu, said: “To have secured these new purchase orders is a major achievement for Mernova. Particularly, the repeat order from OCS is very pleasing and our second order for Ritual Sticks in another new province highlights the significant potential the product has amongst consumers.”

    “The pre-roll market segment is booming and offers Mernova a huge opportunity that we plan to capitalise on to the fullest. We are very confident that we can leverage our growing reputation as a high-quality, artisanal, craft cannabis producer, to make headway into this market, and establish ourselves as producers of some of the best pre-roll joints in the country with our Ritual Sticks, as we’re currently doing with our Ritual Green brand, in the dried flower market.”

    Mr Yu also sees a big opportunity for its new one-ounce bag offering.

    “We are also very happy to have launched our new one-ounce bag offering, which will allow consumers to purchase more of their favourite cannabis at competitive prices, by offering a volume discount. The larger ounce offering will also allow the Company to streamline its inventory practices, ensuring we retain the highest standard and quality of cannabis in our range of high-quality offerings,” he concluded.

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    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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