Tag: Motley Fool

The last 12 months on the ASX have been a rollercoaster for the EcoGraf Limited (ASX: EGR) share price. At the time of writing, the EcoGraf share price is trading for 62 cents, down 3.88%. However, overall the share price is up 940% over the last 12 months. As well as 267% year to date.

A year ago, you could have grabbed a share in EcoGraf for a mere 6 cents. Now, the EcoGraf share price is 63 cents apiece.

So, what’s driving the graphite producers share price? Let’s take a deep dive into EcoGraf’s last 12 months on the ASX. 

What does EcoGraf do? 

EcoGraf produces battery graphite for electric vehicles and lithium-ion battery manufacturers.

It also has a leader in the recycling graphite from disused lithium-ion batteries.

The company mines graphite from Tanzania. It is in the process of developing a processing plant in Kwinana, Western Australia.

Battery business boom

EcoGraf’s meteoric share price rise didn’t gain huge traction until January 2021.

Then, with no warning at all, it shot up 116% over a week without a word of news from the company. When questioned by the ASX as to why it answered that growing interest in the lithium battery sector and its purification technology may have been to blame.

Over the next 4 weeks, the EcoGraf share price climbed a monumental 511%. In that time EcoGraf updated its debt facility and completed a capital raising.

Then, at the beginning of last month, the company’s Kwinana facility was awarded major project status by the Australian Federal Government. It then announced the Tanzanian Government had approved its $60 million debt facility for its Epanko Graphite Mine.

Though the EcoGraf share price continues to be one of the ASX huge gainers of 2021, the excitement surrounding it at the beginning of the year seems to have died down.

Since the middle of February, it has dropped by 43%. Whether  EcoGraf shares will regain their spark, we can only wait to find out.

But investors who got on board this time last year can still rub their hands with glee.

EcoGraf Limited share price snapshot

At the time of writing, the EcoGraf share price has fallen by 3% since yesterday’s close. Today’s drop is just the latest, as the company’s shares are down 8% this month.

EcoGraf has a market capitalisation of around $293 million, with approximately 454 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Which ASX shares with ethical values are seeing returns in 2021?
• Ecograf (ASX:EGR) share price powers up on government approval news

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.

The post Up 940% since last year: What’s with the EcoGraf (ASX:EGR) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Australia’s leading investment platform provider CommSec has released data on the most traded ASX shares on its platform from last week.

Here’s the data:

88 Energy Ltd (ASX: 88E)

This oil and gas exploration company’s shares were easily the most traded share on the ASX last week. 88 Energy’s shares accounting for 6.1% of trades on Commsec, with 55% of the volume coming from buyers. Those buyers will have been delighted to see the 88 Energy share price surge 135% higher over the four days amid excitement over its Merlin-1 project in northern Alaska. However, it is worth noting that its shares have come crashing back down to Earth this week following a disappointing update.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

Once again, Zip’s shares were popular with investors last week. The buy now pay later provider’s shares were attributable to 2.1% of trades on the platform, with 52% coming from the buy side. Unfortunately for these buyers, the Zip share price edged lower over the four days. This was its sixth weekly decline in a row.

Red Sky Energy Limited (ASX: ROG)

This oil and gas acquisition and development company is a new entry to the top five. It accounted for 2% of trades on CommSec last week, with buyers making up the majority of the volume. They will have been very pleased to see the Red Sky Energy share price rocket a whopping 250% higher over the period. This strong gain resulted in the ASX giving it a speeding ticket. Management suspects the gains were caused by its 22 March announcement relating to the Killanoola Oil project.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

Afterpay’s shares were heavily traded last week. The payments giant’s shares were responsible for 1.7% of trades on the platform. On this occasion, only 44% of these trades were from buyers. Like rival Zip, the Afterpay share price fell slightly over the shortened week.

Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART)

Airtasker shares were popular with investors again last week. The jobs marketplace provider’s shares were attributable to 1.6% of trades on CommSec, with almost two-thirds coming from buyers. Unfortunately for those buyers, the Airtasker was unable to repeat its heroics from the previous week. The company’s shares lost over 19% of their value during the four days.

More reading

• Is Canva coming to the ASX?
• Are ASX tech shares like Afterpay (ASX:APT) back to the races?
• Why Zip (ASX:Z1P) and this ASX growth share could be buys
• Why ASX 200 shares are at a 6-week high
• ASX 200 jumps, Cleanaway’s treasured acquisition, Afterpay soars

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.

The post 88 Energy and Airtasker were among the most traded ASX shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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When an ASX investor considers an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for their portfolio, normally the goal is to bring in the market’s average return. The whole point of an index fund is, after all, to mimic the market, nothing more, nothing less. But not all ETFs are index funds. That in itself is a source of danger. Remember, beating the market is hard, and most of us statistically don’t manage it. That includes active fund managers too.

But one ASX ETF has done a pretty good job. That ETF is the VanEck Vectors Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT).

MOAT is an ASX-listed ETF that tracks a basket of US shares. Not just any or all US share though. This ETF holds a basket of roughly 50 companies that all demonstrate one defining feature: the presence of a moat. A moat is a term originally popularised by the great investor, Warren Buffett. The moat Buffett originally described refers to a companies’ intrinsic ability to protect itself from its competition, just as a moat used to do for a castle in days of yore. There are many forms a moat can take, but characteristics such as a strong brand, a cost of stitching away from a company’s products or an ability to profitably sell goods or services at the lowest cost on the market are the most well-known.

All of the companies that the MOAT ETF holds display these characteristics. VanEck describes its selection process as “exposure to a diversified portfolio of attractively priced US companies with sustainable competitive advantages according to Morningstar’s equity research team”.

MOATs float the boat

Here are some of MOAT’s current holdings: Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO), McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Kellogg Company (NYSE: K).

Can you identify what might give some of these MOAT holdings their edge? Well, Facebook is the most dominant social media company in the world by a long shot. Alphabet’s Google has a virtual monopoly on internet search, as well as internet videos with its YouTube platform. Coca Cola and McDonald’s are two of the world’s most dominant food and beverage brands, recognised in almost every country on the planet. Kellogg Co is the name in cereal, with the original Corn Flakes brand. And Amazon is, well, Amazon.

But there is a method in this madness. MOAT has handily outperformed ETFs tracking the ASX market like the iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ) per annum over the past 3 and 5 years.

It has also dominated its own benchmark, the US-based S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP: .INX). According to VanExk, MOAT has returned an average of 16.86% per annum over the past 3 years, and 17.74% over the past 5. In contrast, the S&P 500 has returned an average of 13.73% and 14.28% respectively. The iShares ASX 200 ETF has returned an average of 9.53% and 10.10% per annum over the same periods.

The numbers are clear here: the VanEck Vectors Wide Moat ETF has smashed the market. Especially where it counts: over the long term.

More reading

• Is GameStop the next Blockbuster, Amazon, or Best Buy?
• Amazon just passed a major milestone in the digital advertising market
• Why Facebook stock gained 14% last month
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) leads Zip by 40% on one critical measure
• 2 quality international ETFs for ASX investors to buy

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Alphabet (A shares), Coca-Cola, Facebook, Kellogg, McDonalds, and VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Amazon, and Facebook 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 Alphabet (A shares), Amazon, Facebook, and VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post This ASX ETF is smashing the ASX 200… and the S&P 500 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price is failing to make a meaningful comeback after spending months moving sideways. The global biotech’s shares finished yesterday market session at $263.60, just 8% above its 52-week low reached in early March. At the time of writing, the CSL share price is up slightly, trading for $263.69.

Below, we take a closer look at what could be weighing down CSL shares.

COVID-19 vaccine delay

While most of the world looks towards advancing past the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia has been locked in vaccine holdups. This comes after a reported 2.5 million AstraZeneca doses are being kept in cold storage at CSL’s facilities in Melbourne.

The reason for the postponement is because Europe is undergoing further batch testing of the AstraZeneca vaccine. More and more cases are being reported with blood clotting, including one Melbournian who was found to have abdominal clots and low platelet levels.

AstraZeneca has confirmed that there is a clear link between the vaccine and blood clots but notes that the benefits outweigh the risks. As a result of the serious side effects, Australian health authorities are taking the potential risk very seriously.

The concerning news has ultimately affected the CSL share price, which has remained near its 52-week low.

Currently, 877,790 Australians have received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine since the program began on 22 February. Well and truly behind the government’s original target to have 4 million people vaccinated by the end of March.

Secretary of the Department of Health, Brendan Murphy, reiterated CSL’s commitment to producing over a million doses per week. Mr. Murphy believes that the biotech giant will reach this target in the coming weeks. However, the company is working on the time taken to approve each batch release, without going through international clearance processes.

Furthermore, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison will write to the European Union asking for more COVID-19 doses to be exported. This is all while the majority of the locally-producing COVID-19 vaccines remain on ice until approved for use.

CSL share price review

Over the past 12 months, the CSL share price has backtracked around 15%, particularly heading lower in recent times. The company’s shares reached a 52-week high of $332.68 last April, and have travelled in circles ever since.

More reading

• 2 quality ASX healthcare shares to buy and hold
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Top broker picks the best ASX shares to buy for the new quarter
• 5 of the best ASX shares to buy after the Easter break
• Why the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price is going around in circles

Aaron Teboneras owns shares of CSL Ltd. 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.

The post CSL (ASX:CSL) share price remains near 52-week low on COVID-19 vaccine delays appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Antipa Minerals Ltd (ASX: AZY) share price is going gangbusters today following news of freshly discovered high-grade mineral intersections.

The Antipa share price reached an intraday high of 3.9 cents around midday – a 39% gain from yesterday’s close. Since then, it has retreated to 3.7 cents, up 32%.

Let’s look closer at the miner’s announcement today.

Striking gold

Antipa advised this morning that a drilling program at its 100% owned Minayari and WACA mines has found significant mineral intersections.

These intersections include high-grade gold and copper, as well as significant zones of gold, copper, silver and cobalt. All were found outside existing mineral resource boundaries.

The company considers the newly found mineral resources to be analogues for the nearby Havieron Project.

Of the 6 holes making up the drilling program, only 1 was deeper than the top of the Havieron Project. While the 5 holes were far shallower than the Havieron Project, 4 struck high-grade copper, gold and silver breccia mineralisation.

Antipa plans to conduct a follow-up drilling program this month.

Further drilling and testing will continue at Minayari throughout 2021.

Commentary from management

Antipa’s managing director Roger Mason said the find confirmed the potential for a stand-alone development.

We are  particularly excited given the similarities between Minyari and Havieron (gold-copper development project), with  the  Minyari mineralisation hosted by the same rocks, with intense intrusion related hydrothermal  alteration and very high‐grade gold-copper sulphide breccia style mineralisation occurring over  a similar ‘footprint’ to Havieron.

The mineralisation remains open in all directions which, together with the several untested Minyari geophysical anomalies, provides a very exciting framework for this year’s Minyari Dome  Project exploration programme which will be the largest programme we have ever undertaken  at Minyari.

Antipa Minerals share price snapshot

The Antipa Mineral share price isn’t enjoying 2021 on the ASX. Even with today’s gains, it’s down 10% year to date. Although, it has gained 260% since this time last year.

The miner has a market capitalisation of around $70 million, with 2.5 billion shares outstanding.

More reading

• Is GameStop the next Blockbuster, Amazon, or Best Buy?
• Is Canva coming to the ASX?
• Could the Openpay (ASX:OPY) share price double in 2021?
• ASX stock of the day: Tassal Group (ASX:TGR) shares rise 5%
• Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) share price sinks as gold estimate grows

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.

The post Here’s why the Antipa Minerals (ASX:AZY) share price is up 37% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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.

One thing everybody seems to have an opinion about these days is GameStop (NYSE: GME). The video game retailer is one of this year’s hottest stocks, roughly a 10-bagger in 2021 alone. Bulls think it will keep moving higher as the country warms up to the digital evolution of the throwback strip mall chain. Bears think that it’s a helium-stretched balloon waiting for a pin to pop. 

Both sides can’t be right, at least in the long run. In the end, it all boils down to which trajectory you believe the chain will follow at this point. Bulls will argue that Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is where it’s going given the fresh faces that GameStop has brought in to make it an e-commerce star against the backdrop of its shrinking physical footprint. Bears will argue that GameStop is the next Blockbuster Video, a brick-and-mortar institution dedicated to physical media that’s being inevitably replaced by consumer-direct digital delivery. Both sides may have compelling arguments, but perhaps the more reasonable optimistic scenario is none other than Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), a chain that also seemed to be on the brink of extinction before new leadership turned the consumer electronics superstore concept around. 

Wow, what a difference

Blockbuster is the last thing that GameStop would like to be in the next couple of years, but the similarities are there. Blockbuster was the leader in its specialty retail niche, which in its case was renting out VHS tapes and then DVD and Blu-ray discs. Blockbuster tried to take on disruptors when discs were being rented by mail or out of vending machine kiosks, but the final fight took place on the digital battlefield, where it was unable to compete. 

Under new ownership, Blockbuster shuttered stores and launched an on-demand platform that failed to take off. The retro brand became a liability rather than an asset. It failed to scale in a way that could give it a fighting chance in the new future, where movies and TV shows were being summoned digitally through improving in-home connectivity. Bears see this as the logical trajectory for GameStop. Are they right?

Bulls can point to Amazon as the market-thumping role model. Amazon.com was and continues to be a leading retailer of physical video games and gear. The secret sauce here is that it has spent more than two decades perfecting the fulfilment process for speedy delivery with a nine-figure audience of Prime loyalty shoppers who turn to Amazon first when it’s time to shop for anything. Amazon’s also a leader in e-sports through its Twitch platform, where the world’s top gamers monetize their streams to growing viewers. Last fall it unveiled Luna, a cloud-based gaming service that will compete with existing platforms put out by other tech giants. 

In a dream scenario, GameStop keeps shutting down stores — it has shed 12% of its storefronts over the past year — and becomes leaner so it can compete with Amazon in e-commerce. Trying to take on Twitch as well as the more crowded realm of cash-rich cloud-based gaming services will be more challenging, but GameStop bulls feel that (unlike with Blockbuster) the retro charm of the brand will be an advantage instead of a disadvantage. Are they right?

Talk about what’s possible

Best Buy is a name that doesn’t get mentioned a lot by those sizing up GameStop’s retail persona, but it’s not a bad choice to play the role of the Ghost of GameStop Future. When rival Circuit City liquidated, all eyes turned to Best Buy as the next consumer electronics chain to falter. Best Buy also competes with GameStop as a seller of video game systems, software, and accessories.

The unlikely turnaround at Best Buy began in 2012 when its CEO had to step down following allegations of his having an inappropriate relationship with a fellow employee. Best Buy brought in an outsider who brought in some of his associates to help steer the ship in a new direction — something that recalls GameStop circa today — and this was when CEO Hubert Joly unleashed the Renew Blue initiative. 

Initially mocked by the masses, his approach to beefing up his fading concept’s e-commerce efforts proved revolutionary. Instead of seeing his network of stores as a problem in a digital world, he made them an advantage. He invested in employee training to make his staff smarter. He revamped Best Buy’s archaic inventory system. He used his stores to enable locals to pick up online orders and to expedite delivery in a way that Amazon couldn’t match, and that’s pretty much the model for the real-world chains that are thriving these days. Best Buy also raised the bar by renting out space in its store for brands, even if the “store within a store” call in the Best Buy playbook may not work in small GameStop locations. 

GameStop is far more likely to become the next Best Buy than the next Blockbuster or Amazon. This wouldn’t be a bad compromise for GameStop’s destination in the ranks of retail stocks. Best Buy stock is a 12-bagger since the start of 2013, even though bears will argue that GameStop is already commanding a sales multiple four times greater than where successful Best Buy is today. The valuation concerns are real, but we can’t dismiss the GameStop model itself when Best Buy is proof that fresh thinking can turn a broken concept around.

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

More reading

• Amazon just passed a major milestone in the digital advertising market
• Is the GameStop (NYSE:GME) share price about to go in full retreat?
• Amazon is doubling down on this multibillion-dollar opportunity
• GameStop appoints former Amazon and Chewy Execs in turnaround bid
• Amazon and ABB partner to help push EV adoption

Rick Munarriz 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.

The post Is GameStop the next Blockbuster, Amazon, or Best Buy? 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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ASX tech investors might be scouring the ASX for a company called Canva today. Before you search for ‘ASX Canva’ though, you might want to read this first.

Canva is one of the biggest Australian tech companies. According to a report from Forbes, this digital design company has just been valued at a whopping US$15 billion ($19.6 billion) after a recent funding round. It was sitting at a valuation of US$6 billion less than a year ago. The new valuation was helped by the company reporting that it is profitable. It also reported that annualised revenues have grown beyond US$500 million. That’s up 130% in a year. Canva now reportedly has 55 million users, including 3 million paying ones.

But unfortunately for ASX tech investors, Canva is not listed on the ASX. This company remains a private one, owned largely by its founders Melanie Perkins, Cameron Adams and Cliff Obrecht. As such, it’s only institutional investors that are privy to owning shares. The report tells us that it’s these investors that are pushing the valuation of Canva to new heights though. The funding round that valued the company at US$15 billion reportedly resulted in Canva raising US$71 million in new funding. That came from a handful of big institutional investors, including fund managers T. Rowe Price, Blackbird Ventures and Dragoneer.

That new valuation has pushed the stakes that Canva’s founders have to new heights as well. Ms Perkins and Mr Obrecht both own a little less than 15% each in the company after the funding round. That values their holdings at roughly $2 billion each.

Will Canva IPO on the ASX?

Despite this new valuation, which makes Canva more valuable than listed ASX tech companies Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) put together, there is no talk of an imminent ASX IPO for Canva.

But given the ASX’s enthusiastic accommodation of Airtasker, which rocketed more than 80% when it IPOed last month, I’m sure its founders are thinking about it. If Canva did hit the ASX boards, it would immediately become one of ASX’s most valuable tech companies. But remember, we might not even see Canva on the ASX if it does decide to go public. Australia’s largest tech company is theoretically Atlassian Corporation (NASDAQ: TEAM), which is currently valued at US$55.8 billion. But Atlassian decided to list on the US Nasdaq exchange when it IPOed back in 2015, rather than our ASX. Canva could well decide it’s large enough to play in the big end of town now too.

More reading

• Are ASX tech shares like Afterpay (ASX:APT) back to the races?
• Why Zip (ASX:Z1P) and this ASX growth share could be buys
• ASX 200 up 0.9%: Cleanaway jumps, tech shares rise, Incitec Pivot sinks
• Why the IOUpay (ASX: IOU) share price tumbled 40% in March 
• 2 beaten down ASX tech shares to buy this week

Sebastian Bowen 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 Altium and Atlassian. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Appen Ltd and ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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.

The post Is Canva coming to the ASX? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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It has been a disappointing year so far for the Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) share price.

At one stage in February, the buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares were up as much as 41% year to date to $3.35.

Since then, the Openpay share price has given back all those gains and a little bit more. This is despite the release of a couple of very positive updates during this time.

Is the Openpay share price in the buy zone?

Analysts at Shaw & Partners believe that this could be a buying opportunity for investors.

According to a note from last week, the broker has reiterated its buy (high risk) rating and $5.00 price target on its shares.

Based on the current Openpay share price of $2.30, this price target implies potential upside of over 100% over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Shaw & Partners notes that Openpay has announced the signing of an agreement with payments giant FIS Worldpay. This was hot on the heels of the announcement of its entry into the US$55.8 billion US and UK veterinary markets via partnerships with ezyVet.

The broker said: “Another milestone partnership on the back of the recent ezyVet deal further demonstrates OPY’s ability to integrate into leading global payments providers like FIS Worldpay but also augment that with service specialist requirements with a variety of healthcare partners, a major differentiator to its BNPL peers, and augments the recently inked partnership with St John of God Health Care, delivering higher-value plans to help customers split payments for important needs – like elective surgery, dental, optometrist, car servicing and now pet care – over longer terms.”

Its analysts also point out that the Openpay share price trades at a significant discount of 42% compared to its listed BNPL peers.

They estimate that Openpay is trading on an FY 2022 EV/Sales multiple of 5.3x compared to the average of its ASX peers of 9.1x.

More reading

• Afterpay (ASX:APT) leads Zip by 40% on one critical measure
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why AGL, Bubs, Harvey Norman, & Openpay are tumbling lower
• Why the Openpay (ASX:OPY) share price is sinking 8% lower today
• Openpay (ASX:OPY) share price on watch after agreement with Worldpay

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.

The post Could the Openpay (ASX:OPY) share price double in 2021? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Tassal Group Limited (ASX: TGR) share price is one of the better performers on the ASX boards today. Tassal shares are, at the time of writing, up 5.43% to $3.7. Yesterday, the Tassal share price close at $3.50 a share yesterday afternoon. It’s a new 2021 high for Tassal, which hasn’t seen the levels we see today since December last year. Since finding a new 52-week low of $3.16 a share back on 19 February, Tassal is now up around 15%. Even so, the company remains more than 10% off of the highs we saw in June last year when the company was over $4 a share.

So who is Tassal? And why are Tassal shares on the move today?

A Tassalating story

Tassal is a rather unique company on the ASX as it is the largest producer of Tasmanian Atlantic salmon in the country. It also has a growing prawn operation. It was founded in 1986 and listed on the ASX back in 2003. Tassal farms its salmon on various sites throughout Tasmania. It sells its fresh, canned, smoked and marinated salmon. These products are branded under the Tassal, Superior Sold, Tasmanian Smokehouse and De Costi Seafoods brands around the country. Its prawns are sold under the Tropic Co brand.

The company has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic in recent times. This was on full display in February. Tassal reported its earnings for the 6 months ending 31 December on 16 February, and it was a mixed bag. The company reported a statutory net profit after tax of $27.6 million for the period. That was down from the $40.8 million that was reported for the previous year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 4.3% to $77.5 million, which allowed Tassal to pay an interim dividend of 7 cents per share on 30 March. That was down from 202’s interim dividend of 9 cents per share.

Why are Tassal shares rising today?

Well, there has been no major official news or announcements out of the company today, so we can put that aside. But there have been some interesting developments for Tassal of late that might help explain its share price movements today.

Firstly, Tassal was kicked out of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) last month. The ASX 200 is rebalanced every quarter. This ensures only the 200 largest companies are represented in the index. Tassal’s share price woes last year resulted in the company being overtaken. This generally results in significant selling pressure seeing as index funds that track the ASX 200 all have to dump their Tassal positions over a relatively small window. Now that this rebalancing is complete, we could be seeing some price stabilising going on. There might also be some entrepreneurial investors betting that Tassal could once again play musical chairs and rejoin the index if its fortunes improve sometime in the next year.

Further, Tassal is one of the most short-sold shares on the ASX, as my Fool colleague James Mickleboro frequently covers. If a share is heavily shorted, a price gain could see some investors cover their short position. Consequently, this results in more buying pressure. So it’s possible that if Tassal rises say 2%, it could trigger some short covering which then helps the Tassal share price rise another 2—3%. That could be what we are seeing today.

Either way, Tassal shareholders will no doubt be celebrating today. At the current share price, Tassal has a market capitalisation of $778.77 million and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 13.83

More reading

• Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) share price sinks as gold estimate grows
• Are ASX tech shares like Afterpay (ASX:APT) back to the races?
• ASX 200 up 0.25%: EML surges on acquisition news, Westpac’s APRA update
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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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Confusing some shareholders today, the Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX: NVA) share price is sinking, despite the mining company upgrading its Korbel Main resource estimate.

Perplexingly, the Nova Minerals share price has experienced a 9.1% selloff to 15 cents per share. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has added a further 0.32% at the time of writing.

Expectations meet reality

I think it was Shakespeare that said “expectation is the root of all heartache”, which is a bit of an exaggeration in this case – but the point holds true. The reaction to Nova’s update is likely the consequence of expectations. With that being said, let’s go through the details so you can make your own mind up.

The update that sparked the share price fall relates to Nova Mineral’s Korbel Main deposit. Located in Alaska, Korbel forms part of the company’s flagship Estelle gold project. Nova now estimates the deposit to contain 4.7 million ounces of gold.

The revised update is the result of an additional 48 diamond core holes drilled last year. As a result, independent consultants determined an increased inferred mineral estimate. Additionally, the resource was found to start from the surface and is open along strike to the North-West and South-East.

Furthermore, ore sorting results indicate a substantial grade increase, which assisted in lowering the reported gold cut-off grade to 0.15 grams per tonne. This is a reduction from the previously reported 0.18 grams per tonne cut-off.  

Nova Minerals share price unfazed by further potential

On top of the resource upgrade today, Nova Minerals pointed to further potential in unexplored targets. Specifically, Korbel blocks C and D, Cathedral, You Beauty, Isabella, Sweet Jenny, and other priority targets were not included in the upgrade.

The company insisted these targets could potentially provide substantial resource growth across the Estelle gold project. Nova Minerals CEO Christopher Gerteisen commented further:

Estelle is a district scale project, and Nova is on a mission to unlock it, with multiple exciting targets that offer huge potential to continue growing the overall resource inventory across the project area.

Mineralisation remains open in multiple directions and we have numerous well-established targets, some with historic drilling such as RPM, which we plan to drill and release a Maiden Resource on this year.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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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