Tag: Motley Fool

More reading

• Should income investors buy Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) shares?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 3 great reasons to own Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) shares
• 2 quality ASX shares to buy this week
• ASX 200 rises, EML jumps, Zip falls

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Kate O’Brien owns shares of Apple and Rio Tinto Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Apple. 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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Based on comments out of the Reserve Bank of Australia this week, interest rates look likely to remain at ultra low levels for some time to come.

In light of this, if you’re looking to earn a passive income, then dividend shares might be the answer.

But which dividend shares should you buy? One quality option to consider is listed below:

Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL)

Sonic Healthcare is one of the world’s leading providers of medical diagnostics. Over the years, it has earned itself a reputation for excellence in laboratory medicine, pathology, diagnostic imaging, radiology, and primary care medical services across operations in Australasia, Europe, and North America.

This excellence has been on display for all to see over the last 12 months, with Sonic playing a big role in COVID-19 testing globally.

Positively, this and a solid performance across the rest of the business, has led to the company delivering stellar earnings growth so far in FY 2021. During the first half, Sonic reported a 33% increase in revenue to $4.4 billion and a 166% increase in first half net profit to $678 million.

Analysts at Credit Suisse have been impressed with its performance. So much so, they have recently retained their buy rating and $40.00 price target on its shares. The broker is also forecasting dividends of 93 cents per share in FY 2021 and 97 cents per share in FY 2022.

Based on the latest Sonic share price of $36.31, this will mean dividend yields of 2.6% and 2.7%, respectively, over the next two years.

In addition to this, the broker’s price target of $40.00 implies potential upside of just over 10% over the next 12 months. This stretches its total potential return to just under 13%.

Overall, this could make Sonic Healthcare a dividend share to consider buying this month.

More reading

• Why the Sonic (ASX:SHL) share price could be a hidden opportunity
• 2 top quality blue chip ASX shares to buy in April
• 2 quick-growing ASX dividend shares to buy
• 2 COVID-19 ASX shares to buy
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sonic Healthcare 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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On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form again and continued its ascent. The benchmark index rose 0.6% to 6,928 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 futures pointing higher

The Australian share market looks set to continue its positive run on Thursday despite a mixed night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 33 points or 0.5% higher. Over in the United States, the Dow Jones rose 0.05%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.15%, and the Nasdaq edged 0.1% lower.

Oil prices rise

Energy producers Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could trade higher today after oil prices strengthened. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.6% to US$59.70 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has climbed 0.6% to US$63.11 a barrel. Global economic recovery optimism supported oil prices.

Tech shares on watch

ASX tech shares such as Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) will be on watch on Thursday after US tech stocks softened overnight. The tech-focused Nasdaq index dropped 0.1% during the session, compared to small gains by the Dow Jones and S&P 500. As the local tech sector has a tendency to follow its lead, today could be a day in the red.

Gold price softens

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) could edge lower today after the gold price softened. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.25% to US$1,738.70 an ounce. The safe haven asset came under pressure amid hopes of a swift global economic recovery from the pandemic.

Dividends being paid

A number of companies will be paying their latest dividends to shareholders later today. Among the companies making payouts are Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB) Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC), Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU), Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX: QUB), and South32 Ltd (ASX: S32).

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, EML jumps, Zip falls
• 88 Energy and Airtasker were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Is Canva coming to the ASX?
• Are ASX tech shares like Afterpay (ASX:APT) back to the races?
• Acquisitions and spin-offs put these 3 ASX shares on brokers’ “buy” list

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 Xero and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COSTA GRP 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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Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) is a really good business and there are quite a few good reasons why it’s worth owning.

What is Pro Medicus?

Pro Medicus describes itself as a leading medical imaging IT provider. It provides a full range of radiology IT software and services to hospitals, imaging centres and health care groups across the globe. Visage Imaging has become a global provider of enterprise imaging.

The healthcare technology business is currently led by Dr Sam Hupert, who has a long history with the business and is currently a very substantial shareholder, owning around a quarter of the business.

The following three things are very good reasons for owning Pro Medicus shares:

Enormous profit margins

Pro Medicus has very impressive profit margins, much higher than most other businesses. The higher the profit margins, the more that new revenue can turn straight into profit for shareholders.

The ASX share saw its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin improve from 51% to 59% in the FY21 half-year result. It also had a very high net profit after tax (NPAT) margin of 43%.

However, management noted that the EBIT margin may not remain as high as 59% because of short-term COVID-19 factors.

Dr Sam Hupert explained:

Costs associated with travel and the RSNA, the large conference we always attend at the end of November (which was virtual in 2020) were significantly reduced, with this partially offset by increased legal expenses as a result of the recent contracts we have won.

So, whilst we expect post-COVID to resume travel and attend conferences, we think our capacity to do things remotely, both in terms of sales and implementations, will mean there will be a “new normal” where we can do more off-site than we previously did without reducing our effectiveness. We think this will result in savings going forward. So, whilst we don’t envisage that 59% margins are sustainable long-term, we believe there is scope for margins to improve on what they have been historically.

Strong revenue pipeline

The business has won a number of key contract wins, including four during the six month period to 31 December 2020. This highlights the ability for the company to service major clients, and give more proof to prospective clients that Pro Medicus is the real deal.

In September it announced a $25 million, 7-year deal with New York University Langone. Then in October 2020 it revealed a $10 million, 7-year deal with Ludwig-Maximilians University in Germany. Next, it won a $8.5 million, 5-year contract with Zwanger-Pesiri. The final big one during the period was a $18 million, 5-year contract with Medstar Health.

Subsequent to the end of the half-year, it won two further contracts totalling $71 million over seven years.

All this revenue will be earning profit at very high margins, as I mentioned earlier.

Rewarding shareholders with dividends

Pro Medicus isn’t like most other growth shares. It actually pays out a very attractive dividend, in terms of the payout ratio. In the half year result its dividend payout ratio was 54% after a 16.6% increase of the interim dividend to $0.07 per share.

The actual prospective yield for new investors is very low, but long-term shareholders are getting a nice payout.

What’s the valuation?

Broker Morgans rates the Pro Medicus share price as a hold because of how strongly the share price has gone up recently, with a price target of $41.30.

On Morgans’ numbers, the Pro Medicus share price is valued at 134x FY21’s estimated earnings and 105x FY22’s estimated earnings.

More reading

• 2 highly rated ASX growth shares to buy now
• Here’s why the Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) share price is charging higher
• 2 exciting ASX growth shares to buy next month
• 2 strong ASX mid cap shares to buy
• 2 ASX shares delivering irresistible growth

Tristan Harrison 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 Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus 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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If you’re wanting to make some new additions to your portfolio this week, then you might want to take a look at the ASX shares listed below.

Here’s why they could be the buy zone:

Adore Beauty Group Limited (ASX: ABY)

The first ASX share to look at buying this week is Adore Beauty. It is a beauty-focused ecommerce company which aims to deliver users an empowering and engaging beauty shopping experience.

Adore Beauty has been growing very strongly in recent years and this has continued in FY 2021. In February, the company released its half year results and reported revenue and earnings growth ahead of its prospectus forecasts. The company’s revenue increased 85% to $96.2 million and its operating earnings jumped 188% to $5.2 million. The shift online and a significant jump in customer numbers to almost 800,000 drove the strong result.

Positively, Adore Beauty looks well-placed to continue its growth over the 2020s. Especially given the low penetration of online beauty sales compared to other Western markets.

One broker that is a fan of the company is UBS. It currently has a buy rating and $6.20 price target on its shares.

Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)

Another ASX share to consider buying this week is Aristocrat Leisure. It is one of the world’s leading gaming technology companies with a portfolio of world class poker machines and digital games.

With COVID-19 vaccines rolling out across the world, the outlook for the company’s poker machine business is improving greatly. This should be supported by its digital business. which is home to some of the most popular mobile games in the world. These include RAID and EverMerge, which are helping this side of the business generate significant recurring revenues.

Analysts at Morgans are positive on the company. They believe the company is experiencing strong product tailwinds and expect new digital releases to boost its revenue.

Morgans currently has an add rating and $37.31 price target on its shares.

More reading

• Leading broker names its best ASX share ideas for April
• 5 of the best ASX shares to buy after the Easter break
• Top ASX shares to buy in April 2021
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why Aristocrat Leisure, Opthea, PointsBet, & Spirit are storming higher:

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Adore Beauty Group Limited. 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by 0.6% today to 6,928 points.

These are some of the highlights from the ASX, including a major acquisition by one ASX share:

EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

The EML share price went up by 5.25% today after announcing the acquisition of Sentenial, including the open banking product, Nuapay, for an upfront enterprise value of €70 million, as well as an earn-out component of up to €40 million.

Sentenial is a leading European open banking and account to account payments provider, utilsing a cloud-native, API-first, full stack enterprise grade payment platform.

EML said that combining the two businesses’ platforms and capabilities is an opportunity to deepen customer relationships, enter new industry verticals and diversify the revenue streams.

Management said that Sentenial has an attractive customer base across banking, corporate and software industries, including four of the top seven banks in the UK and some of the largest merchant acquirers in Europe.

EML explained that Sentenial has a highly scalable platform that has had continual investment to future proof the business and allow for agile developments and rapid growth. It plans to export it globally, with plans to expand into Australia and North America.

The company is expecting to process more than $90 million of annual gross debit volume (GDV) after the acquisition.

EML’s managing director and CEO Tom Cregan said:

EML has transitioned over the years from primarily a gift card company to a company with a diverse revenue base across multiple prepaid products. The acquisition of Sentenial will be the next evolution for EML, as we transition into a broader payments business by adding instant account to account (open banking) payments into our suite of solutions for current and prospective customers.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price was one of the worst performers in the ASX 200 today.

It fell by around 4% after yesterday’s sizeable rise of the share price.

Vgi Partners Ltd (ASX: VGI)

VGI Partners announced the appointment of a new CEO today. Jonathan Howie has been chosen to be the new boss.

Mr Howie most recently worked as the Asia Pacific head of index equity at BlackRock Investment Management in Hong Kong. Before that, he was the head of iShares Australia from 2011 to 2018.

VGI Partners’ executive Chair Robert Luciano said:

We are delighted to have Jonathan join VGI at such an important time in our company’s growth. Jonathan is well suited to take our company strategy forward, with the skills and experience needed to drive long-term value for all our shareholders.

Jonathan’s appointment is part of our focus to further build out VGI’s investor relations, operational risk and management capabilities.

This will allow VGI to further enhance our existing capabilities and continue to grow the business while ensuring the senior investment team and I remain focused on managing the global and Asian portfolios.

The VGI Partners share price fell 1.5% today.

Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (ASX: AQZ)

The Alliance Aviation Services share price fell 1% despite announcing a material contract renewal.

It has extended its BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) Western Australian Iron Ore (WAIO) air charter services contract for a further two years.

Alliance CEO Lee Schofield said:

Alliance is delighted to be continuing the provision of these charter services into the Pilbara. Our commitment to safety and providing our clients with industry leading on time performance has played a significant role in being awarded this extension.

More reading

• Why the Bubs (ASX:BUB) share price is up 5% today
• 88 Energy and Airtasker were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Is Canva coming to the ASX?
• ASX stock of the day: Tassal Group (ASX:TGR) shares rise 5%
• Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) share price sinks as gold estimate grows

Tristan Harrison 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’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD 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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The Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) share price has been growing steadily since this time last year. In fact, it’s up a whopping 1,023% over the last 12 months.

But in the last month, something has changed for the mineral miner. The company’s share price has rocketed up by 51% since 5 March.

At the time of writing, its shares are selling for $6.21 a piece, up 5.79% from yesterday’s close.

Let’s take a deep dive into what’s been moving the Chalice Mining share price lately.

Chalice Mining’s Mad March

For a month of impressive share price gains, the mining company, which has 11 projects across Australia underway, was curiously quiet throughout most of it.

While not much news came out of the company early in the month, it was caught up in the S&P/ASX 300 quarterly rebalance. On 12 March it was announced the miner had been added to the index, effective 22 March.  

On 25 March, the company announced two pieces of news.

First, it announced favourable results of a A first-pass ground moving loop electromagnetic survey at its 100%-owned Julimar Nickel-Copper-Platinum Group Element (PGE) Project.

The survey found a cluster of 29 low to moderate conductance in a new area of the Project. Signalling the potential of nickel, copper, and platinum.

Next, it announced a mine in which Chalice Mining has an earn-in agreement with had had its tenement granted.

An earn-in agreement is one where one mining company agrees to mine a site owned by another company. Both companies then receive a part of any proceeds from the activity.

In this case, the mine is owned by Metal Hawk Limited (ASX: MHK) and Chalice’s subsidiary CGM Pty Ltd would be charged with the activities.

Since these two announcements, the Chalice Mining share price has rocketed 34%.

Whether the Chalice Mining share price has the energy to continue its upwards power is still to be seen. Though, shareholders who bought in early March must be grinning from the win.

Chalice Mining share price snapshot

While 2021 has been a good year so far on the ASX for the Chalice Mining share price, being up 44% year to date, its comparatively ordinary next to the last month’s growth.

The mining company has a market capitalisation of around $2 billion, with approximately 345 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Surge in mining exploration to benefit these small-cap ASX shares: broker

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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The Federal Court has ordered Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) to pay a $7 million fine for misleading and deceptive conduct.

As The Motley Fool reported in December, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had taken the bank to court for overcharging interest on thousands of customers’ overdraft facilities.

Specifically the customers were told they would be charged 16% per annum, but CBA actually slugged them an eye-watering 34%.

This allegedly occurred over more than 6 years from December 2011.

CommBank did not defend the allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct and making misleading representations. The court found the bank liable in February.

CBA’s conduct was presented as a case study during the banking Royal Commission in 2018.

The bank’s shares were up 0.51% on Wednesday, trading at $86.47 when the ASX closed.  

CommBank took too long to fix the problem

While CommBank did not defend itself against the accusations, it did fight the size of the fine. Its lawyers debated in court that the financial giant should be penalised somewhere between $4 to $5 million.

ASIC had sought $7 million, and the justice ultimately sided with that suggestion.

According to earlier ASIC submissions, CommBank attempted to manually fix the error after a 2013 complaint. But this wasn’t successful and overdraft clients were charged more than double the correct interest for 5 more years, until March 2018.

In setting the fine, Justice Michael Lee rejected CommBank’s argument that it had acted promptly to reverse the error.

“When CBA failed to resolve this error after it was identified, customers were overcharged more than $2 million in interest,” said ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes.

“CBA’s delay in remediating customers following this error was an aggravating factor in the court’s determination of the penalty. When financial institutions discover overcharging, they must take immediate action to remediate impacted consumers.”

Rebuilding trust

The $7 million penalty was specifically for offences CBA admitted between 1 December 2014 to 31 March 2018.

More than 12,119 instances of overcharging took place in that period, affecting 1,510 customers.

A CBA spokesperson told The Motley Fool that “failures of this sort are unacceptable”.

“We apologise to those customers who at the time were overcharged fees,” said the spokesperson.

“The problems that caused the error have been addressed and 2,269 customers have been sent refunds. The combined total of refunds sent to customers was $3.74 million, and the remediation program has now concluded.”

Hughes said CommBank is currently “making investments in its systems as a matter of priority”.

“All financial services institutions should make similar commitments to rebuild trust in our financial system and to avoid further failures.”

The case will return to court at the end of this month to decide how a publication order would be implemented and who would pay for ASIC’s legal costs.

More reading

• Tesla and GameStop were some of the most popular US shares last week
• Why this top broker thinks the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price can break new record highs
• 2 ASX dividend shares to buy this April
• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price and weekly news wrap
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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 Ionic Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: IXR) share price was flying earlier today after the company announced a new partnership with a Chinese minerals’ explorer.

This morning, shares in the mineral exploration company were up 14.29% to hit a 5-year record of 6.8 cents each.

Since then, the Ionic share price has plunged the red, closing down 1.79%, at 5.5 cents. In comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) was up 0.5%.

Let’s take a closer look at Ionic’s new partnership.

What’s driving the Ionic share price?

In today’s release, Ionic announced it had signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Aluminium Corporation of China subsidiary, Chinalco.

The MOU relates to Ionic’s rare earth’s project in Makuutu, Uganda. Ionic claims resources at the site cover an area of 20km to 37km and could have a timeframe of at least 30 years.

According to the release, Chinalco has conducted “extensive” due diligence works on the site over the past year. This includes assessing local infrastructure, drilling results, and Ugandan regulations. 

As part of the MOU, Ionic and Chinalco have agreed to use “reasonable endeavours” to cooperate in accelerating the development of the Makuutu project. As well, Chinalco may be able to invest in future Ionic projects, including direct investments in the Makuutu project. Chinalco is described as “the largest rare-earths miner and separator on the planet by market capitalisation”.

Most of the MOU is non-binding except for some provisions, and the exclusivity portion will expire in 12 months. Despite the exclusivity clause, Ionic reserves the right to continue discussions with third parties that began before the MOU was signed.

Management commentary

Ionic managing director Tim Harrison welcomed today’s announcement, saying:

We are very pleased to have signed this MOU which, further endorses the quality of the project and its strategic importance and will now enable the Makuutu Rare Earths Project to rapidly advance activities in the near term. 

We see Makuutu rapidly growing into a very large, long life producer of critical and heavy rare earths. Partnering with Chinalco potentially fast tracks the development process for Makuutu and will greatly assist in value creation for Ionic.

Foolish takeaway

The Ionic share price has gone gangbusters over the last 12 months increasing by 1,060%.

The price of many rare earth minerals has also climbed dramatically recently, as western nations look to secure their own supply of the vital metals.

Rare earth minerals have a variety of applications including magnets and super magnets, electronic equipment and batteries, according to Geoscience Australia.

More reading

• Tesla and GameStop were some of the most popular US shares last week
• Why the Bubs (ASX:BUB) share price is up 5% today
• PharmAust (ASX:PAA) share price soars 7% on positive update
• How are these ASX 200 retail shares tracking after JobKeeper’s end?
• 3 top ASX small cap shares that delivered for this fund’s portfolio

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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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Most weeks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia‘s (ASX: CBA) CommSec brokering platform tells us the ASX and US shares that are the most popular with its Aussie investors.

CommSec is one of the most popular brokerage platforms in Australia. As such, the data it gives us can be an interesting insight into what’s been on the mind of the average ASX investor.

My Fool colleague, James, has already looked at the most popular ASX shares last week today. So here are the top 10 US shares CommSeccers were buying last week. This week’s data covers 29 March to 1 April. 

GameStop shares among most traded US shares on the ASX

1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 6.3% of total trades with an 80%/20% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 2.5% of total trades with a 69%/31% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) – representing 2.2% of total trades with an 80%/20% buy-to-sell ratio.
4. Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE: PLTR) – representing 1.9% of total trades with an 86%/14% buy-to-sell ratio
5. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) – representing 1.8% of total trades with a 75%/25% buy-to-sell ratio.
6. ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (BATS: ARKX)
7. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
8. ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK)
9. 88 Energy Ltd (OTCMKTS: EEENF)
10. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)

What can we learn from these trades?

Some interesting insights this week. Firstly, while electric vehicle and battery manufacturer continues to hold its crown on top of this list, its Chinese rival Nio continues to slide. Nio has fallen on the n0. 4 stock last week to 5 this week.

Aussie investors are clearly not done with GameStop either, despite this roulette wheel of a stock falling 30% since 10 March. However, GameStop did pop 50% in one day back on 25 March, so perhaps investors are hoping for a similar event to cash out (or double down).

Apple remains popular with Aussies, while Amazon has resurfaced as a top 10 company following some recent investor apathy. It seems Aussies still see value in having two of the US’s largest companies in their portfolios.

Ark Innovation ETF has been a staple of this list for a while now. But another ARK exchange-traded fund in the Space Exploration & Innovation ETF joins the party this week. ARKX only started life on 30 March 2021, so clearly, Aussie investors don’t want to let this one go.

Finally, it’s worth noting the inclusion of 88 Energy. Perhaps an ASX first, 88 Energy Ltd (ASX: 88E) is actually an ASX company that is also an over-the-counter (OTC) stock (hence the strange ticker code) in the US and has clearly attracted some investors with its wild volatility of late. I’m not sure why ASX investors are trading this company on US OTC markets when they could get it here on the ASX, but there you go. 88 Energy shares were trading for 1 US cents a month ago, but shot up 700% between 11 March and 5 April, before falling more than 76% since. Ouch.

More reading

• This ASX ETF is smashing the ASX 200… and the S&P 500
• Is GameStop the next Blockbuster, Amazon, or Best Buy?
• Tesla stock could surge 51% to $1,000 according to this analyst
• Amazon just passed a major milestone in the digital advertising market
• Why this top broker thinks the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price can break new record highs

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, NIO Inc., and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Palantir Technologies Inc and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon, short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple, short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, and long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Apple. 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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