Tag: Motley Fool

Today is International Women’s Day.

Frankly, the fact we need to have International Women’s Day is an indictment; but women are still paid less, have less Super, are underrepresented in positions of power and responsibility, and are far more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence.

For a society that, on a good day, wants to consider itself enlightened, that’s a helluva litany, huh?

And then there’s the last couple of weeks in Federal politics.

Seriously.

(If you’re someone who rails at the idea of ‘days’ for certain groups, I’m going to ask you to re-read the second paragraph, above. That’s why we need one. And yes, apparently there’s a Men’s day, too. But seriously, just harden up.)

Now, I’m a bloke, writing on International Women’s Day.

Yep. Awkward.

I should not be the most powerful or listened-to voice, today. That belongs to the many women who are — rightly — being heard.

I considered saying nothing. Just ceding the ground and making space. If I thought that space could or would be taken up by other women in finance, I’d gladly do it.

But for better or worse, I’m what we’ve got, on our social media feeds, our emails and one of the articles on our website.

I hope I’m adding to the conversation, rather than distracting from it.

I hope I can speak to those women and men who regularly read my writing. To share something from my perspective that can add to the discussion, without crowding women out.

To point out, from a bloke’s perspective, the importance of today as a point in time to stop, listen, and do better in future.

But that’s not all I’m going to do.

The good news is that I work with some wonderful women. 

They work across all parts of our company, and while I’ll add some short words at the end, I wanted you to hear from them, today:

“Let us take charge of our financial future and take a little risk. Together, we can achieve financial success, independence, and prosperity in a COVID-19 world.”

— Abbie

“Having a financial capability brings you more choices in life. Traditionally, investing or money management, either on a personal level or in the professional asset management industry, was considered as a man’s job. But I believe investing may fit better for women than some other jobs because all it requires is an ability to think logically and a good temperament. And the stock market does not know if you are female or male so there’s less prejudice as long as your logic and reasoning is right.”

— Kate

“The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is “Choose to Challenge” where the goal is a gender equal world. 

“Studies show that women are less likely to invest than men. Is it time? Is it a lack of interest or just not understanding how to get started? Whatever the answer, it limits our ability to reach our financial goals.  

“My challenge is to continue to learn more and get reacquainted with my portfolio (and by reacquainted I mean start again!) – I’m fortunate enough to work with some of the best investing talent there is. I’ll report back next year to let you know how I go!

“My challenge for you… Whether you are male or female, today is a good day to consider how you can contribute to a gender equal world.”

— Erin

“For me, investing is about independence. I’ve discovered there really is no right or wrong approach to investing. Determine what your goals are and what you’re comfortable with and invest your way. And mainly, don’t overthink it, just get started!”

— Lauren

“It’s good for women to get into investing because we’re underrepresented in the field. Having whole industries operate as boys’ clubs does the world few favours, as we’ve seen over the last few millennia. As importantly, investing is an intellectually satisfying hobby. It encourages you to develop a deeper understanding of economics and a considered view of how the world operates versus how it purports to operate. And that makes you better at your job, whatever your job happens to be, and a more skillful negotiator in all kinds of situations. You learn to appreciate the importance of incentives, to evaluate risk, and to think strategically. Plus you stand to make a pile of filthy lucre. I recommend it.”

 — Catherine

You bet I’m lucky to work with those women. And others besides.

They are fantastic colleagues.

And the short words I promised?

Pretty simple:

To the women reading: You’ve got this. Don’t take it from me. Take it from the wonderful women quoted above.

And blokes? Please share this with the women in your life. Not in an ‘as the father of daughters’ kinda way, but just because you have the opportunity to empower others who aren’t reading this right now. 

If you have the opportunity to improve someone else’s life, and future, I reckon you’re pretty much duty bound to take it. And if it costs you nothing but the few seconds it takes to hit ‘send’, ‘forward’, ‘share’ or something else… well, I reckon you’re doubly obligated.

It truly is the least we can do.

And here’s to the end of International Women’s Day… because if it’s no longer needed, that’ll mean we’ll have gender equality.

And it’s well past time.

More reading

• The Medical Developments International (ASX:MVP) share price is jumping 7% today
• Kleos (ASX:KSS) share price is edges lower despite positive update
• What’s weighing on the Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price lately?
• Why the Talga (ASX:TLG) share price is surging 8% today
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips 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 Medical Developments International Ltd (ASX: MVP) share price has been a strong performer on Monday.

In afternoon trade, the medical device company’s shares are up 7% to $5.37.

Why is the Medical Developments International share price charging higher?

Investors have been buying Medical Developments International shares on Monday following the release of a roadshow presentation.

Within the presentation, the company acknowledged that current results are challenging because of COVID-19 but notes that it is investing for the future.

In respect to its results, Medical Developments International recently posted a sharp reduction in profit during the first half of FY 2021.

This was driven partly by lower sales of Penthrox, also known as the green whistle, due to COVID-19 causing a reduction in trauma-related events.

Positively, management is anticipating a rebound in sales in the second half. This is due to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and increased community movement.

What about the future?

The company also revealed that a number of initiatives are currently in-flight.

This includes the analysis of European market access routes to growth and an organisational review to position the company for rapid growth.

In respect to Europe, management notes that there are encouraging early signs of growth in Europe. This includes, in some cases, building from the ground level after almost two years of partner inactivity.

It is also targeting new European country launches in key markets in 2021, along with potential new partnerships.

Longer term opportunities

The company also provided an update on its longer term opportunities.

It notes that it had a positive exchange with the US FDA at its Type-C meeting in January. It is now awaiting the final post-meeting note regarding its path forward in the lucrative market.

In addition to this, a phase one Pharmaco-Kinetic study in China will begin to enrol patients in the third quarter of 2021.

The company also has phase three Trauma and Procedural studies in China that are planned to commence in the not so distant future.

And finally, Medical Developments International is continuing with the CSIRO to develop alternative manufacturing methods for generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) utilising its continuous flow platform technology.

It advised that advancements have been made in late-stage Lidocaine scale-up development. The company plans to advance four additional APIs into scale-up phase during 2021.

More reading

• Don’t take it from me. Take it from them…
• Kleos (ASX:KSS) share price is edges lower despite positive update
• What’s weighing on the Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price lately?
• Why the Talga (ASX:TLG) share price is surging 8% today
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

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

The post The Medical Developments International (ASX:MVP) share price is jumping 7% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Kleos Space SA (ASX: KSS) share price is edging lower today despite announcing a new agreement with rideshare provider Spaceflight Inc. At the time of writing, the satellite infrastructure company’s shares are down 1.6% to 60 cents.

What did Kleos announce?

The Kleos share price in the red during early-afternoon trade as investors seem unmoved by the company’s update.

According to its release, Kleos advised that it has signed a new contract with Spaceflight. The agreement is to launch its third cluster satellite, codenamed the ‘KSF2 Polar Patrol’ mission. The launch is expected to take place sometime in December 2021 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Kleos revealed that the four KSF2 satellites will enter a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at a height between 500 kilometres to 600 kilometres. An SSO travels over the Earth’s atmosphere in the same ‘fixed’ position relative to the sun.

The KSF2 satellites will be deployed to complement the company’s first and second existing satellite clusters. This will allow Kleos to increase its coverage over vast areas over key maritime interests. As such, this enables improved detection of illegal activity like drug and people smuggling, illegal fishing, and border and security breaches.

The company also noted that its second satellite cluster, the Polar Vigilance mission, is on track for the mid-2021 launch. This will also be boarded on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

CEO commentary

Kleos Space CEO Andy Bowyer touched on the company’s progress, saying:

The launch of our third satellite cluster will further improve the frequency and value of Kleos’ radio frequency intelligence data, generating higher-value datasets and further tiered subscription licence options. While Kleos is targeting a constellation of up to 20 satellite clusters, each cluster will increase the volume of data that can be sold and provide further insights as to activity in key areas of interest for our customers.

While we progress, our constellation roll-out with the launch of our second and third satellite clusters, we continue to focus on securing and building a new subscriber base. Data delivery from the Scouting Mission satellites allows us to commence revenue generation from early adopter and test contracts.

Kleos share price review

The Kleos share price has soared 146% higher over the course of the past 12 months. The company’s shares hit a low of 15 cents last March before gradually moving higher. In November, its shares reached a record high of 92.5 cents.

Based on current valuations, Kleos commands a market capitalisation of around $98.5 million.

More reading

• Don’t take it from me. Take it from them…
• The Medical Developments International (ASX:MVP) share price is jumping 7% today
• What’s weighing on the Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price lately?
• Why the Talga (ASX:TLG) share price is surging 8% today
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy 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.

The post Kleos (ASX:KSS) share price is edges lower despite positive update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB) share price has dipped 0.43% at the time of writing and is currently trading at $2.31 a share. This compares to the S&P/ASX200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has jumped 1.75% so far today.

In fact, over the past four months the Mesoblast share price has fallen more than 40%. So what’s going on? 

Why is the Mesoblast share price going down?

Mesoblast carried out a capital-raising exercise, which was announced last week. The cash injection came just in time, as concerns about Mesoblast’s dwindling cash flow have been weighing on the company’s share price over the past few months.

On 28 February 2021, the Australian Financial Review quoted the auditor of Mesoblast’s latest results, who stated that, “material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern”.

For the 6-month period ended 31 December 2020, Mesoblast posted a loss of $33.2 million and the company’s deficit stood at US$599 million.

So what does the capital deal look like?

Mesoblast raised US$110 million issuing 60 million shares at A$2.30 in a private placement led by a US investor group.

The money will be used to keep pushing the company’s products through the necessary United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals in the second and third quarters. For example, work will continue on gaining US regulatory approvals pertaining to a back pain treatment that uses Mesoblast’s rexlemestrocel-L drug.

Funding will also be allocated toward generally progressing its remestemcel-L and rexlemestrocel-L platforms.

The business advised that it will invest in a commercial supply of remestemcel-L and continue to advance the manufacturing and development of rexlemestrocel-L.

Mesoblast share price snapshot

Mesoblast has a market capitalisation of $1.4 billion and there are presently 623.5 million shares outstanding.

Over the past year, the Mesoblast share price has climbed by 26%.

The company is a developer of medicinal treatments for severe and life-threatening inflammatory conditions. It has locations in Australia, the United States and Singapore, and has commercialised two of its products in Japan and Europe.

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• ASX 200 up 0.3%: Mesoblast raises US$110 million, tech shares rebound
• Here’s why the Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price is tumbling lower today
• Did you know Piedmont (ASX:PLL) and Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) are listed on the NASDAQ?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Gretchen Kennedy 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 What’s weighing on the Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price lately? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Talga Group Ltd (ASX: TLG) share price is trading 8.64% higher at $1.32 at the time of writing. This comes as the company announced a new graphene milestone. 

This is in contrast to recent movements with the Talga share price having fallen sharply since the turn of the year, slumping 29%.

What Happened

This morning’s announcement revealed that Talga has reached a key milestone in its ship coating trials.

Talga has been undertaking a research study regarding its graphene ship coating. Aimed at providing a more weatherproof and chemically friendly alternative to the current commercially available chemical coating.

The primer coating was first applied to a 33,000-tonne container ship late in 2019. At the time, this was the world’s largest single application of graphene. The trial was then expanded to another similar sized container ship. In good news for the company, upon visual inspection of the first ship, it appears as if the coating matches the commercial standard.

However, it must be noted that as a result of travel and access restrictions the detailed physical testing of the ships is yet to be completed. More information will be available when access is reinstated and testing can resume.

Management Comments

Commenting on the milestone, Talga managing director, Mark Thomson said:

We are very pleased to see this large scale demonstration of Talga’s graphene successfully working in the tough conditions of commercial shipping. Additionally, as we can now produce our graphene as a by-product of our battery anode manufacturing process, we are demonstrating a global leading lowcost and scalable graphene additive supply for large volume industrial products.

What Now

With the largely positive results has come growing market interest according to the company. Consequentially, this has encouraged Talga to extend its range of graphene coating products.

The Talga share price has risen around 228% over the past 12 months, compared to an increase of 9.12% for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The Talga share price currently sits in the middle of its 52-week range, having achieved a 52-week high of $2.15 and a low of 17.5 cents. 

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why this broker is bullish about ASX lithium shares
• How the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price weakness exposes its dividend strength
• Why Audio Pixels, Nick Scali, Smartgroup, & Zip are tumbling lower
• What is going with the Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) share price today?

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.

The post Why the Talga (ASX:TLG) share price is surging 8% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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:

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their conviction buy rating and $112.60 price target on this pizza chain operator’s shares. Goldman believes that the trends for profit growth look strong thanks to operating leverage. Looking further ahead, the broker believes that the company has the balance sheet strength to build on its scale through further regional expansion via acquisitions. The Domino’s share price is fetching $88.16 on Monday afternoon.

Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR)

A note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have retained their (high risk) buy rating and 40 cents price target on this department centre operator’s shares. The broker acknowledges that the company is facing tough trading conditions and has cut its earnings forecasts to reflect this. However, it is pleased with the health of its balance sheet and sees value in its shares at the current level. The Myer share price is trading at 29 cents on Monday.

Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL)

Analysts at Ord Minnett have upgraded this energy producer’s shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $29.05. According to the note, the broker has lifted its oil price estimates to reflect OPEC’s decision to maintain its production cuts. It believes this will keep oil prices higher for longer, putting Woodside in a position to benefit from upcoming offtake agreements and potential asset sales. As a result, it sees a lot of value in its shares today. The Woodside share price is trading at $25.78 this afternoon.  

More reading

• Why the Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price is climbing today
• Why Afterpay, Alkane, ALS, & Woodside shares are storming higher
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes higher, despite tech selloff
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• How to turn $20,000 into $300,000 in 10 years with ASX shares

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises 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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ASX lithium shares Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY), Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) have slumped across the board after posting triple-digit returns late-last year. 

Some of the weakness in ASX lithium shares could be attributed to factors such as a crashing Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) share price and a slump in the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (NYSEARCA: LIT) which comprises of companies around the world involved in the lithium cycle, from mining and refining through to battery and electric vehicle production. 

While ASX lithium shares have slumped this year, UBS thinks you should stay bullish on higher lithium prices. 

Shares to leverage higher material prices 

Lithium prices bottomed out late last year after more than two years of spiralling lower. Fastmarkets, which tracks lithium prices, has provided the following commentary on the latest lithium price movements:

• The ex-works China battery-grade lithium hydroxide price hit a 19-month high after producers offered aggressively in response to limited supply.
• China’s domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate price also rose, supported by continuing shortage in the spot market.
• The rest of the world’s battery-grade lithium spot prices continued in an uptrend with most suppliers insisting on higher prices.

UBS bullish on ASX lithium shares 

As lithium markets continue to improve, UBS sees potential upside in the Galaxy and Orocobre share price. 

On 5 March, UBS rated Galaxy as a buy with a $3.90 price target. The broker acknowledges the company’s intentions to ramp up Mt Cattlin to full production rates which should translate to a return to profitability. It estimates Galaxy to deliver FY21 earnings per share of 7.06 cents. At today’s prices, this would translate to a price to earnings of roughly 32.

On the same day, UBS also rated Orocobre as a buy with a $6.70 price target. It notes that Orocobre has improved its cost base from US$4,266/tonne last year to US$3,623/tonne in its most recent half-year result, which reflects the company’s ability to tackle operational challenges.

More broadly speaking, UBS expects lithium prices to be approximately 10-15% higher in 2021. 

More reading

• Morgan Stanley reveals some investment trends to watch in 2021
• ASX lithium shares to get price shock as commodities supercycle charges up
• The Vulcan Energy (ASX:VUL) share price has fallen 17% in 2 weeks
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Orocobre (ASX:ORE) share price dives despite a recovery in lithium markets

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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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Anyone who has been watching the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the past year or so (which is most of us, I’d wager) might have noticed the performance fo the CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price. Or lack of performance as one might more accurately describe it. Since reaching a new all-time high of over $336 back in February 2020, the CSL share price has fallen around 25%. Today (at the time of writing), CSL shares are sitting at $250.24 a share. That’s a similar level to what you could have bought at back in October 2019.

That’s something of a fall from grace for one of the ASX’s largest companies. Up until February 2020, it seemed as though CSL shares could go nowhere but up. In 2017, the company rose by roughly 40%. In 2018, it was a rough 32%. 2019 saw another ~50% piled on. And between New Year’s Day 2020 and 21 February 2020, another ~18%. That saw CSL ascend to the throw of the ASX 200’s most valuable company for a few months as well. But now Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has usurped this title back.

We won’t get into the nitty-gritty of CSL’s fall, although we can probably blame a stretched valuation in a nutshell.

Instead, let’s discuss CSL’s exposure as an ASX dividend growth star.

CSL: An unexpected dividend star

CSL’s stellar history as a dividend growth share has been hidden in plain sight for a while now. The rocking CSL share price has historically kept its dividend yield extremely low by ASX 200 standards. Even now with the 25% fall from all-time highs, CSL shares only yield around 1.05% on current prices.

But the fact is that CSL has been growing its dividend at a healthy rate for years now. Here’s a graph of the annual dividends CSL has paid out to its shareholders since 2013:

Yes, CSL has grown its dividend from US$1.02 in 2013 to US$2.02 in 2020. It’s also worth mentioning that I excluded the interim dividend of US$1.04 a share that CSL will pay out on 1 April, which is it’s highest ever interim payment and a 9.47% increase on 2020’s corresponding dividend.

The growth in dividends from 2013 to 2020 represents a healthy compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.25% per annum. Caveating this though has been the rise of the Australian dollar over the past year or so. CSL’s dividends were worth a lot more to Aussie investors when our dollar was buying 65 US cents, as opposed to the exchange rate today of roughly 77 US cents. That’s probably another reason why CSL shares have been selling off over the same period.

Even so, the CSL dividend growth streak is impressive, and rare for an ASX 20 company. Investors will no doubt be hoping it continues for at least another 7 years.

More reading

• Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price surges as it finds a sweet spot
• ASX 200 up 1.6%: Appen rebounds, ALS acquires Investiga, Woolworths upgraded
• Why the Woodside (ASX:WPL) share price is climbing today
• Here’s why Biden’s stimulus is pushing the ASX 200 higher today
• Why the Santos (ASX:STO) share price is down this morning

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a solid gain. In early afternoon trade the benchmark index is up 1.55% to 6,814.7 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are tumbling lower:

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price is down 2% to $28.21 after providing an update on its digital speaker development. According to the release, due to logistical complications, the delivery of chips for its speakers has been delayed until this week. They were previously expected by the end of February. For the last 15 years, Audio Pixels has been developing a new generation of speakers that it believes will exceed the performance specifications and design demands of the world’s top consumer electronics manufacturers.

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

The Nick Scali share price has fallen 5.5% to $9.62. The majority of this decline is attributable to the furniture retailer’s shares trading ex-dividend this morning for its interim dividend. Nick Scali shareholders can now look forward to receiving the 40 cents per share fully franked dividend in their nominated accounts on 30 March.

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ)

The Smartgroup share price us down 5% to $6.38. As with Nick Scali, Smartgroup’s decline is attributable to the company’s shares trading ex-dividend this morning. The salary packaging and fleet management company’s shareholders will be paid its final fully franked dividend of 32 cents per share in a couple of weeks on 23 March.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price has dropped 4% to $9.20. This is despite many tech shares rebounding today following a positive end to the week on the tech-heavy Nasdaq index. Today’s decline could be a delayed reaction to a note out of Macquarie on Friday. According to the note, its analysts have put a sell rating and $5.70 price target on Zip’s shares. They have concerns that increasing competition could weigh heavily on its QuadPay margins.

More reading

• Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price surges as it finds a sweet spot
• ASX 200 up 1.6%: Appen rebounds, ALS acquires Investiga, Woolworths upgraded
• The Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down 34% in less than a month
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes higher, despite tech selloff
• 2 fantastic ASX growth shares to buy this week

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 has recommended 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 Noxopharm Ltd (ASX: NOX) share price is raced higher on the open this morning. However, the Noxopharm share price has since settled down. The movement comes as a result of the clinical drug developer provided an update on its NOXCOVID trial.

At the time of writing, the share price is 2.9% higher, trading at 70 cents a share.

Drug trial advances moving the Noxopharm share price

Today’s announcement from Noxopharm specified that its Veyonda drug has been approved to move to its final stage of the NOXCOVID-1 clinical trial.

The thumbs up for proceeding to the second and final stage comes after the company completed Part 1. This process involved 26 patients with moderate COVID-19 disease. As a part of the trial, Noxopharm assessed daily Veyonda doses of 400, 600, 800, 1200, and 1800 mg. It has been deemed that the 1,800 mg dosage was the most optimal. The high dosage exhibits evidence of the safety of using the developed drug.

CEO commentary

Noxopharm’s CEO, Dr. Graham Kelly commented on the findings:

The high potency of Veyonda in blocking cytokine release from damaged tissue in the laboratory meant we were obliged to adopt a very cautious and methodical approach when being used for the first time in patients with poor lung function. We can now be confident that Veyonda, despite its potency, is well tolerated at a dosage we believe will be therapeutic.

The progression to Part 2 moves it closer to being an effective and safe treatment for septic shock. The company is excited about its potential, as septic shock is not only experienced by COVID-19 patients but is also one of the most common causes of human deaths in the event of infection and severe trauma.

What’s next for Noxopharm?

From here, Part 2 of the trial will involve 10 to 15 patients with moderate to severe lung dysfunction.

The recruited patients will then be treated with the selected 1,800 mg dosage of Veyonda each day over 14 days.

Lastly, the company also noted:

Part 1 patient blood (Cohorts 1-4) currently is being analysed for 60 pro-inflammatory (cytokines, chemokines) factors in what the Company believes will be one of the most comprehensive analyses of its kind in COVID-19 disease.

The Noxopharm share price is now up 327% in the last 12 months. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 9.8% over the same period of time.

 

More reading

• Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) share price closes 21% higher after clinical milestone

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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