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If Mexico moves forward with legalising recreational marijuana use, the ripple effects could boost cannabis shares across the globe. ASX cannabis shares, especially those with international markets in their sites, could enjoy a fresh tailwind for years to come.

What’s going on with Mexico and cannabis?

It wasn’t long ago that Mexican authorities still diligently pursued and prosecuted people for breaking the nation’s cannabis laws. Even minor possession could incur a heavy fine or jail term.

That changed in 2009, when the nation decriminalised the possession of small amounts of cannabis. Nine years later, in 2017, Mexico gave the green light to select medicinal marijuana products. The medicinal market is likely to expand this year.

But even more importantly for ASX cannabis shares, the country could soon join the growing cadre of nations to fully legalise its recreational use.

According to Bloomberg:

With a population approaching 130 million, Mexico is on the cusp of becoming the largest legal recreational market in the world. That could pressure the US to follow suit, since it will be sandwiched between Mexico and Canada, countries that both allow cannabis use.

Emily Paxhia, managing partner of Poseidon Asset Management, points out why Mexico’s move to legalise recreational use could be especially impactful to the global cannabis industry (quote summarised by Bloomberg):

Mexico’s move is particularly significant for global cannabis. Because many multinational pharmaceutical, alcohol and consumer products companies are already there, it could make the country an attractive place to export cannabis and related products from.

And it’s not just Mexico looking to legalise recreational use. Although the measure recently failed in New Zealand by a narrow margin, Curaleaf Holdings Inc (CNSX: CURA) executive chairman Boris Jordan says, “Countries like Poland, Ukraine, South Africa – there are even rumours of Egypt – are also moving toward legalisation.”

And as the world marches towards legal cannabis use, well-placed ASX cannabis should benefit.

Two leading ASX cannabis shares

There are a number of ASX cannabis shares that stand to benefit as Mexico and the rest of the world move to legalise both the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana.

We’ll just have a quick look at 2.

Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH) develops and commercialises pharmaceutical-grade cannabis and hemp-based nutraceutical products and treatments for humans and animals.

Flat in intraday trading today, the Creso share price is up 17% year-to-date and up an impressive 250% over the past 12 months. By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 39% over the past full year. Creso has a market cap of $200 million.

Althea Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AGH) grows, supplies, imports, and exports pharmaceutical-grade medicinal cannabis in Australia and the United Kingdom.

The Althea share price is also flat in afternoon trading. So far in 2021 shares have gained 17%, while over the past 12 months the Althea share price has soared 222%. Althea has a market cap of $135 million.

More reading

• What’s with the Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH) share price today?
• Why the Althea (ASX:AGH) share price is pushing higher today
• The Creso (ASX:CPH) share price fizzles despite new distribution deal
• Why the Althea (ASX:AGH) share price is pushing higher today
• Why the Althea (ASX:AGH) share price is surging 8% higher today

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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The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price has been a strong performer over the last six months.

During this time, the travel agent giant’s shares have rallied an impressive 40% higher.

Why is the Flight Centre share price up 40% in six months?

Investors have been buying Flight Centre shares during this time thanks to the improving outlook for the travel market following the successful development of several effective COVID-19 vaccines.

This has sparked hopes that travel and tourism could return to normal quicker than expected. And with Flight Centre having such a strong balance sheet following its capital raising and cost cutting, it could be in a position to put these funds to work on earnings accretive acquisitions when trading conditions return to normal.

Can the Flight Centre share price go even higher?

According to one leading broker, Flight Centre’s shares could have peaked now.

A note out of Morgan Stanley this morning reveals that its analysts have downgraded the company’s shares to an underweight rating with a $17.50 price target.

This compares to the current Flight Centre share price of $18.44.

Why did Morgan Stanley downgrade its shares?

The broker made the move on valuation grounds after the aforementioned strong gain by the Flight Centre share price.

In fact, the broker notes that Flight Centre’s shares are now trading ahead of pre-pandemic levels when adjusting for its capital raising.

Instead of Flight Centre, the broker believes investors should be buying Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) shares for exposure to the travel and tourism sector.

Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating and $5.90 price target on the airline operator’s shares.

It isn’t alone with that recommendation. This morning analysts at Macquarie upgraded Qantas’ shares to an outperform rating with a $6.35 price target.

Whereas last week Citi upgraded them to a buy rating with a $6.14 price target. This compares to the current Qantas share price of $5.48.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why brokers think the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price could fly 17% higher
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• The JobKeeper payment is ending. So what will happen next?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Clean TeQ Holdings Limited (ASX: CLQ) share price is climbing today after the company announced a new water treatment contract. Shares in the small-cap company are up 3.85% at the time of writing, trading at 27 cents.

The Clean TeQ share price has been on an astounding run over the last year, gaining 107.69%. In doing so, the company has outpaced the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) return of 37.5% in the same period.

What happened

The Clean Teq share price lifted this morning after the company advised that it had been awarded a new contract for a water treatment plant upgrade in Oman.

The company will upgrade the existing ‘DESALX’ technology plant that is used for the purification of water.

Clean TeQ said by treating the waste, the plant operator would be able to recycle a significant proportion of water for re-use in the processing plant rather than disposing of it.

So what

As announced in early January, the company was awarded a contract to undertake the design to upgrade the water treatment plant in Oman. However, changes in salt and arsenic loads have resulted in the need for further upgrades.

The upgrade will focus on neutralising the waste components mentioned above and precipitating contaminants for easier recovery. This will enable the plant to decrease its water usage and generate lower brine levels for disposal.

With the initial contract near its completion, the company has now been awarded a further agreement in excess of $1 million to upgrade the project again. It is proposed that Clean TeQ also supply construction oversight and commissioning support, but this has not been included in the current scope and costing.

Management comments

Commenting on the contract, Clean TeQ managing director Sam Riggall said:

We have demonstrated our capability in designing, constructing and commissioning our highly effective proprietary water purification systems in a range of different applications.

As we move towards the proposed demerger of our water business later this year, it is pleasing to see that we are making good progress on our goal of growing revenues.

At the current Clean TeQ share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $230.3 million.

More reading

• Clean TeQ (ASX:CLQ) share price nosedives 8% on $10 million loss

Motley Fool contributor Daniel Ewing 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 Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is climbing today after the company received a favourable outcome from the federal government. In mid-afternoon trade, the lithium producer’s shares are swapping hands for 23 cents, up 4.55%.

Let’s take a closer look at what was announced during the morning.

Major boost for Core Lithium

The Core Lithium share price is firmly in the green today after the company updated investors with the positive news.

According to its release, the federal government has granted Major Project Status (MPS) to Core Lithium’s wholly-owned Finniss Lithium Project. This will see the development of its flagship project receive extra support from the Major Projects Facilitation Agency.

The three-year award will provide an array of benefits to the Finniss Lithium Project. These include a single-entry point for Australian Government approvals, the mapping of critical approval pathways and processes, as well as the monitoring of approval milestones for projects, and addressing any issues.

Core Lithium further noted that the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) will be completed in the middle of the year. Shortly following, will be the Final Investment Decision (FID), with construction to commence sometime later this year.

What did the managing director say?

Core Lithium managing director Stephen Biggins commented:

The award of Major Project Status for our flagship Finniss Lithium Project is another major milestone for both the company and the Federal Government, as we strive to enter the construction phase in 2021, subject to a Final Investment Decision.

When in production, the Finniss Lithium Project will be the first Australian lithium- producing mine outside of Western Australia, with our proximity to Darwin Port – the country’s nearest port to Asia – serving as a direct route for our lithium to be processed and delivered to end users worldwide.

This opens up a pathway for a critical minerals hub to be established in Northern Australia, along with the potential for significant associated local modern manufacturing opportunities.

The Core Lithium share price has rocketed by more than 800% over the past year, and is up almost 60% year to date.

More reading

• The Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price slips today

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Some S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares could make good picks for income in the form of dividends.

An attractive combination for investors might be businesses that are both growing profit, increasing the dividend and start with a solid dividend yield.

These two businesses have a track record of paying dividends to shareholders:

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

Magellan is a funds management business run by billionaire Hamish Douglass. In the latest monthly funds under management (FUM) update, it said that it had $100.6 billion of FUM.

Broker Morgans has a positive long-term outlook for the company because of its expected launch of new products. Morgans has a share price target of just over $58 for Magellan.

The Magellan FY21 half-year result was marginally better than what Morgans was expecting. In that result, Magellan said that its average FUM increased by 9% to $100.9 billion, which drove management and service fees higher by 8% to $311.4 million.

The increased management fee revenue from the ASX 200 share sent profit before tax and performance fees of the funds management business up 8% to $256.2 million.

Adjusted net profit after tax (NPAT) fell 2% to $213.1 million whilst earnings per share (EPS) increased by 2% to 110.6 cents.

For income focused investors, Magellan grew its interim dividend by 5% to 97.1 cents per share.

Looking ahead to growth initiatives, Magellan recently launched its core series of ETFs which look to give investors to global investments at a cheaper cost than its main active strategies.

It has also been making external investments through its principal investment division. For those investments, Magellan is looking for high quality companies with meaningful scale in their sector, with high quality management teams, that help to the intellectual capital of the Magellan funds management business and could provide attractive financial returns.

The three main investments it has made includes Barrenjoey, FinClear and Guzman y Gomez. Barrenjoey has been busy building its investment banking teams.

Magellan is also trying to obtain necessary regulator approval for its proposed retirement income product.

Broker Morgans thinks Magellan will pay a dividend of $2.06 per share for FY21, equating to a partially franked dividend yield of 4.5%.

Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV)

Premier Investments is a high-performing ASX retail share that runs a number of different retail brands including Smiggle, Portmans, Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Peter Alexander and Dotti.

COVID-19 has been disruptive for many of the company’s physical retail store chains. However, the online sales have more than made up for the loss of revenue from physical stores.

In a trading update, for the first 24 weeks of the first half of FY21 the ASX 200 share said that online sales had grown by 60% year on year to $146.2 million. These online sales contributed 20.4% of total group sales. Total global sales were only up 5% compared to the prior corresponding period.

The online sales come with much higher profit margins than physical store sales, which is shown with the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin.

Premier is expecting Premier Retail EBIT for the first half of FY21 to be in the range of $221 million to $233 million – this would represent an increase of 75% to 85%.

The ASX 200 company said that it is seeing “outstanding” sales and gross profit margin growth from Peter Alexander, Just Jeans and Jay Jays in both Australia and New Zealand.

Using the last twelve months of dividends, Premier Investments has a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.9% for income investors.

More reading

• Why the Hub24 (ASX:HUB) share price is firing up 12% today
• Triple whammy hammers the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price today
• ASX 200 down 0.1%: Afterpay sinks, Evolution announces acquisition
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Calm restored to the ASX 200
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Magellan Financial Group. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Premier Investments Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) share price is on fire today, rising 12.32% to $24.25 a share at the time of writing.

Hub24 shares had closed last week at $21.62 a share but opened this morning at $22.80. They went as high as $24.85 soon after the open.

However, today’s strong move papers over what has been a rough and volatile month for this company. Backtrack exactly one month, and Hub24 was sitting at a new all-time high of $27.80.

However, the rout in ASX tech shares that we’ve seen over the past four weeks has not been kind to this company. By 5 March, the Hub24 share price was down to $19.48 a share, a near-30% drop from those previous highs.

On current pricing, Hub24 shares are up more than 23% from that low, but still more than 10% off of the highs of 15 February.

So what’s causing the partial redemption of the investment platform provider today?

Hub24 share price benefits from ASX 200 rebalancing act

Perhaps strangely for a share price move this substantial, Hub24 shares are not responding today to any news out of the company. In fact, we haven’t had any substantive official news from Hub24 all month.

No, Hub24 is moving today because of its inclusion in the ASX’s flagship index, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Ever 3 months, the ASX 200 is rebalanced by its administrator (S&P Global) so that the index accurately reflects the size of the companies that it tracks. If a company is among the largest 200 in Australia, chances are it will be included in the ASX 200 Index.

And that’s what happened to Hub24 this morning. S&P Global announced last week on Friday afternoon (after market close) that Hub24 had made the cut.

As we reported this morning, HUB24 joins Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS), Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC), Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) and Codan Ltd (ASX: CDA) as the ASX 200’s newest members.

These companies replace Service Stream Limited (ASX: SSM), Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS), Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ), and Tassal Group Limited (ASX: TGR).

It’s not the index inclusion itself that really moves these companies’ share prices. But rather, it’s the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the index. Index ETFs, such as the iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ), by mandate, have to reflect the ASX 200 accurately.

Since Hub24 is now in the ASX 200 (as of today), we have a whole range of large index funds buying HUB shares. Thus, we see a massive imbalance between buyers and sellers on the market. The result is a big move up for the Hub24 share price.

More reading

• Triple whammy hammers the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price today
• ASX lithium shares on watch as lithium prices eye 2-year high
• Here’s why the Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price is pushing higher
• ASX 200 down 0.1%: Afterpay sinks, Evolution announces acquisition
• Why Codan, Evolution, Opthea, & People Infrastructure shares are charging higher

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 Bravura Solutions Ltd and Hub24 Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Bravura Solutions Ltd, Hub24 Ltd, Service Stream Limited, and SMARTGROUP DEF SET. 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 Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is underperforming its peers today and for a good reason or three!

The Fortescue share price tumbled 4.3% to $20.34 in after lunch trade when the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) gained 0.2%.

Iron ore bending to pressure

Other iron ore producers aren’t faring well either, although their declines are modest in comparison. The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price dipped 0.4% and the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price surrendered 1.6% in value.

The drop in the iron ore price is weighing on the sector as the price of the commodity declined another 1.8% to US$168.26 a tonne.

The Fortescue share price is taking the brunt of the sell-off as it’s more leveraged to the iron ore price than other big producers.

Fortescue share price worst for wear

This is in part because of it’s higher cost base compared with BHP and Rio Tinto. The other reason is because Fortescue’s ore quality is lower than the two majors, even though it’s improved over the past few years.

The point is particularly significant because pollution controls in China is behind the latest bout of weakness in the iron ore price.

But there could be an extra reason why the Fortescue share price is under more pressure than others.

Fortescue share price dropped by Macquarie

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) cut Fortescue from their model portfolio to lower its exposure to iron ore.

While the broker is still bullish on the sector, it is making way for miners that supply metals used in electric vehicles (EV).

Some experts believe that the market is underestimating the demand for EVs. UBS predicted that EVs will account for 20% of the total market by 2025 and every other vehicle on our roads will be electric by 2030.

This means the supply of batter cells will need to surge by around 22 times over the next decade.

Latest ASX shares to be added to model portfolio

The big ramp-up in electric vehicles mean a very significant increase in demand for lithium and copper.

Now you can see why Macquarie added the Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price and Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: OZL) share price to its model portfolio.

More reading

• Why the Hub24 (ASX:HUB) share price is firing up 12% today
• Why Afterpay, Fortescue, GWA, & Jupiter Mines are dropping today
• Do brokers rate the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price as a buy?
• ASX 200 down 0.1%: Afterpay sinks, Evolution announces acquisition
• Fortescue (ASX:FMG) shares tumble despite bringing forward carbon neutrality target

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of BHP Billiton Limited, OZ Minerals Limited, and Rio Tinto Ltd. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

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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To be clear right from the top, I’m not saying Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is in a bubble.

I’m also not saying it isn’t.

Undoubtedly, Bitcoin’s price gains over the past months have been nothing short of meteoric. And to be sure, these types of huge, rapid gains are frequently followed by some equally huge, rapid losses.

Bitcoin’s meteoric rise

On Friday, I penned an article reporting that Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, hit US$58,150, within a whisker of its all-time highs.

Over the weekend, it smashed through that record, trading for US$61,520 (AU$79,380) on Sunday (data from CoinDesk). At the time of writing, it’s retraced a bit, down to a mere US$59,702.

Now if you take a step back in time to March 2019, you’d see Bitcoin was worth only US$3,900. Last March 2020, it was trading for US$5,700.

Going by the record price set yesterday, Bitcoin has therefore soared 1,470% in two years and 974% just in the past twelve months.

Is there any stopping this digital token from marching ever higher?

Could this be the pin to pop the bubble?

While Elon Musk has come out in strong support of Bitcoin, Mark Zuckerberg looks to have a different plan.

Although Facebook Inc‘s (NASDAQ: FB) initial plan to launch its own digital currency got mired in international government red tape, the social media mammoth has quietly kept plodding ahead behind the scenes. It has since renamed its Libra digital token Diem.

In May 2019, Facebook released Novi as a digital wallet. And as the Australian Financial Review reports, “Novi confirmed that peer-to-peer payments would support business, and ‘additional merchant services’ would be added online, in-app, and in-store over time.”

Facebook is currently pursuing a payments’ systems license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority. Now Diem is different from Bitcoin in some important ways. Including that it will be “updated by trusted nodes within the network, as distinct from a public blockchain”. It could also be more akin to what are known as stablecoins, digital tokens that are pegged to select currencies.

But still, as the AFR notes, “Mark Carney, then as governor of the Bank of England, put this well in 2019, stating that the Facebook project ‘would instantly become systemic…’”

And the universal adoption of Facebook Diem coins could take the wind out of Bitcoin’s sails.

More reading

• Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) hits another record high. What’s going on?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Calm restored to the ASX 200
• The FOMO fund: Yes, it’s a real thing and it could be dangerous
• Why the Bitcoin price is rocketing towards new record highs again
• Warning: Latest trap that could cost you more than 3% a year

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. Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Bitcoin and Facebook. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Facebook. 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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With so many shares to choose from on the ASX, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.

Three top ASX shares that leading brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have put a buy rating and $7.29 price target on this toll road operator’s shares. While the broker notes that traffic volumes remain weak on its roads, it expects a big improvement in the coming months. This is due to infection rates naturally slowing post winter and the inoculation program making process. Goldman appears optimistic that its shares will rerate higher as traffic volumes and distributions recover. The Atlas Arteria share price is trading at $6.04 this afternoon.

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have retained their overweight rating and lifted their price target on this document productivity software company’s shares to $3.70. According to the note, the broker believes the company’s guidance for the second half is conservative and appears confident it will outperform it. Particularly given that management has a number of growth levers to pull. The Nitro Software share price is fetching $2.59 on Monday.

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)

A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have upgraded this airline operator’s shares to an outperform rating with a $6.35 price target. According to the note, the broker believes that domestic capacity will come roaring back in the near term, bringing it close to pre-pandemic levels. In addition to this, it remains optimistic that international travel won’t be too far away given the rollout of vaccines in its key destinations. Overall, the broker believes the company is coming out of the crisis in a stronger position. The Qantas share price is trading at $5.45 this afternoon.

More reading

• Why brokers think the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price could fly 17% higher
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• The JobKeeper payment is ending. So what will happen next?
• Qantas (ASX:QAN) successfully trials COVID vaccine app in preparation of return to international travel
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nitro Software Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Emerge Gaming Ltd (ASX: EM1) share price is jumping this afternoon following an update on the company’s operational performance.

At the time of writing, the e-sports and gaming technology company’s shares are swapping hands for 4.3 cents, up 13.16%.

What’s pushing the Emerge Gaming share price higher?

The Emerge Gaming share price is soaring higher after the company revealed that it is attracting new subscribers.

In its announcement, Emerge Gaming advised that it has banked around $4.5 million from its platform subscriptions. With more than 300,000 paying subscribers between its MTN Arena and MIGGSTER platforms, the company aims to become the world’s largest online gaming community.

Emerge Gaming noted that it was driving growth by offering its products and services across more than 160 countries. In addition, users can pay through credit card, Bitcoin and mobile billing systems, promoting flexible payment options.

A quick take on Emerge Gaming

Emerge Gaming seeks to capture the e-sports market through its online e-sports tournament and social gaming platform and lifestyle hub.

The entertainment company enables subscribers to play against each other via a mobile, console or PC, with rewards and prizes up for grabs through competitions.

Management commentary

Emerge Gaming CEO Greg Steven hailed the progress, saying:

Emerge is feeding the insatiable appetite of the social and casual gaming segments of the market. The uptake in subscriptions is an endorsement of the value proposition in our offering and we are seeing strong user engagement on the platform.

I am enthusiastic about the company’s pursuit to substantially grow our online gaming community and the potential for further growth when our new products are launched.

Our financial performance has demonstrated strong early results and the next phase to building a truly global community is for Emerge to target a community size in the tens of millions of subscribers.

The Emerge Gaming share price has gained close to 750% since this time last year. However, year-to-date, the company’s shares are down almost 50%.

Based on the current share price, Emerge Gaming has a market capitalisation of roughly $35 million.

More reading

• Why the Emerge Gaming (ASX:EM1) share price is up 7% today

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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