Tag: Motley Fool

The Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: BOT) share price has been on fire on Wednesday.

At one stage today, the clinical stage synthetic cannabinoid company’s shares were up over 22% to a record high of 16.5 cents.

In afternoon trade the Botanix share price has faded a touch but is still up a sizeable 11% to 15 cents at the time of writing.

Why is the Botanix share price rocketing higher?

Investors have been buying Botanix shares following the release of an announcement this morning.

According to the release, research data from its antimicrobial platform has been published in Nature Research’s peer-reviewed journal, Communications Biology.

The lead author is Dr Mark Blaskovich, Director of the University of Queensland’s Centre for Superbug Solutions in the Institute for Molecular Science. He is joined by Botanix Directors Matt Callahan and Dr Michael Thurn as co-authors.

The company explained that the research represents the culmination of research collaborations involving leading antimicrobial researchers across the world. Furthermore, all research data generated is fully owned by Botanix and is the subject of several patent applications.

What was said about the research?

The release reveals that Communications Biology editors summarised the article as follows:

“Blaskovich et al. demonstrate the antimicrobial applications of cannabidiol in a range of pathogenic bacteria, including MRSA and the capacity to kill the Gram-negative bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae. This article highlights the potential for cannabidiol in the age of antimicrobial resistance.”

Botanix President and Executive Chairman, Vince Ippolito, was delighted with the development. He said:

“The published data clearly establishes Botanix as the world leader in characterising and exploiting the pharmaceutical potential of synthetic cannabinoids as antimicrobials – and vast potential for the development of novel and effective treatments. Congratulations to all the collaborators involved in this significant body of research.”

BTX 1801 Phase 2a antimicrobial study update

In addition to this, the company provided an update on its BTX 1801 Phase 2a antimicrobial study.

According to the release, the BTX 1801 antimicrobial clinical study is complete and it is on track to announce data within the first quarter of 2021.

This study aims to test the ability of the nasally applied BTX 1801 ointment to eradicate Staphylococcus aureus (Staph) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from the nose of individuals known to carry these bacteria in their nasal cavity.

Botanix notes that nasal “carriage” of Staph and/or MRSA greatly increases the risks of serious and sometimes life-threatening infections following surgery, as patients essentially infect themselves.

At present, nasal decolonisation is a commonly used method for preventing surgical site infections. However, overuse of the widely available antibiotic Bactroban (also known as mupirocin) has led to a significant increase in the development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

The double-blind, vehicle controlled BTX 1801 Phase 2a clinical study has been designed to evaluate the safety and local tolerability of two formulations of BTX 1801 to decolonise Staph and MRSA in the nose of healthy adults.

All eyes will be on the Botanix share price when that data is released.

More reading

• Here’s a fantastic ETF that ASX investors need to know about
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why the Smartpay (ASX:SMP) share price has stormed to an all-time high
• Here’s why 25-bagger Latin Resources (ASX:LRS) is making news today
• Why the Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price is 33% higher today

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

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It isn’t hard to see why exchange traded funds (ETFs) are becoming very popular with Australian investors.

Through just a single investment, these funds allow investors to invest in a large number of shares.

As well as making diversification easier, it means investors can gain exposure to indices, sectors, or themes that would have been almost impossible to do so 10 years ago.

One popular ETF that ASX investors might want to get better acquainted with is summarised below:

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

The BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF gives investors the opportunity to invest in some of the biggest and brightest technology and ecommerce companies that have their main area of business in Asia.

BetaShares notes that this funds provides diversified exposure to a high-growth sector that is under-represented in the Australian share market. There are a total of 50 companies included within the ETF.

One of these is Baidu, which is widely regarded as the Chinese version of Google.

As well as being the dominant search engine in China, Baidu has a keen focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and is aiming to be an autonomous vehicle giant. In 2019, the company ranked number one in the amount of AI-related patent applications in China for the second consecutive year.

Another company included in the fund is Alibaba. It is the Amazon of China and at the end of September had 757 million annual active customers.

Across its Alibaba, Taobao, and Tmall brands, the company is estimated to control a sizeable 56% of China’s e-commerce market. It also has a presence offline with a growing network of grocery stores, hypermarkets, and department stores.

A third company of note that you’ll be buying a slice of is Tencent. It is one of the world’s largest tech companies with a focus on video games and social media.

It is best known as the company behind the WeChat app, which is China’s most dominant instant-messaging service and currently has over 1.2 billion active users globally. In addition to this, the app has a virtual duopoly with Alibaba’s Ant Group in the mobile payments industry in the country. Tencent is also a substantial shareholder of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT).

The BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF share price is up 63% over the last 12 months.

More reading

• 3 great ASX tech shares to buy
• 2 outstanding ASX ETFs to buy
• 2 ASX ETFs to buy for 2021 and beyond
• US decides against delisting Tencent and other Chinese giants
• 2 quality ETFs for ASX investors in January

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. 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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Many of Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their financial models again, leading to the release of a large number of broker notes this week.

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

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have retained their overweight rating and $5.50 price target on this baby products retailer’s shares. The broker suspects that Baby Bunting could outperform expectations in the first half of FY 2021 due to market share gains and its strong online presence. In addition to this, the broker feels it is in a stronger position than its competitors due to its size. This provides it with better quality customer data and strong buying power with suppliers. The Baby Bunting share price is trading at $5.25 this afternoon.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Analysts at UBS have retained their buy rating but trimmed the price target on this global elastic interconnection services provider’s shares to $15.45. This follows the release of its second quarter update earlier this week. Although its ports growth was softer than UBS was expecting, it notes that its overall performance has improved since the first quarter. Furthermore, the broker remains positive on the future and expects the company to benefit greatly from the structural shift to the cloud. The Megaport share price is fetching $12.17 on Wednesday.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating but reduced their price target on this buy now pay later provider’s shares to $7.86. According to the note, the broker has trimmed its FY 2021 estimates to account for softer margins, but lifted its FY 2022 estimates to reflect its belief that its sales will be stronger than previously expected. Morgans believes the buy now pay later industry is well-placed for growth in the current environment. The Zip share price is trading at $5.99 this afternoon.

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• ASX 200 up 0.5%: BHP’s update, PolyNovo jumps, Ansell impresses
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• Why Bathurst Resources, Megaport, Orocobre, & Splitit shares are dropping lower
• Why the Megaport (ASX:MP1) share price is sliding lower 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 and recommends MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP) share price is storming higher today following the release of a positive third quarter trading update.

In the first 30 minutes of trade, the payment solutions’ share price reached an all-time high of 90.5 cents. However, the Smartpay share price has since retraced to 88 cents, up 7.3%, at the time of writing.

Smartpay is the largest independently owned and operated EFTPOS provider in both Australia and New Zealand. The company develops innovative point-of-sale (POS) systems for more than 25,000 business customers including banks, retailers and merchants.

How did Smartpay perform?

In today’s release, Smartpay advised it has booked strong growth over the third quarter of FY21, particularly in its Australian segment.

For the period ending December 31, Smartpay delivered total group revenue of NZ$9.2 million for the third-quarter. This reflected a 24% increase on the prior corresponding period (pcp), and 18% lift quarter-on-quarter.

Most notably for the company was its Australian segment performance which drove the overall higher result. Smartpay recorded $5 million in Australian acquiring revenue in the 3 months, representing a 75% jump on the pcp, and 35% gain over the last quarter.

In comparison, New Zealand climbed just 2% higher through the period against the prior 3 months.

Transacting terminals in Australia stood at 5,775, which grew an additional 1,164 units at the end of the third quarter. The surge was attributed to an uptick in lead generation and customer acquisition activities. Also having some positive impact, was the return of some terminals to transacting status following the COVID-19 disruption.

In addition, transaction volumes across the existing network reported robust trading conditions through the holiday season. Merchant partnerships coupled with higher margin products accounted for 70% of Smartpay’s base now using its SmartCharge solution.

About the Smartpay share price

On the back of the sound performance update, the Smartpay share price has reached an all-time high today. Compared to the same time last year, the company’s shares have soared more than 72%.

The Smartpay share price reached a 52-week low of 22 cents in March.

More reading

• Here’s why 25-bagger Latin Resources (ASX:LRS) is making news today
• Why the Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price is 33% higher today
• Afterpay and BrainChip were some of the most traded ASX shares last week
• Why Fox (NASDAQ:FOX) might hurt News Corp (ASX:NWS) shareholders
• Tesla debuts China-made Model Y SUV

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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The Latin Resources Ltd (ASX: LRS) share price is making big news today. Latin Resources shares are, at the time of writing, up 3.92% to 5.3 cents a share.

That doesn’t sound all too impressive. But consider that Latin Resources shares are now up 60.6% over just the past 5 days, and up almost 2,550% since its last 52-week low. A 25-bagger! Put simply, this is a company that would have made some investors extremely happy over the past 12 months.

So what’s going on here? Why is this company exploding in value this week?

Who is Latin Resources?

Latin Resources is a mineral exploration company. It owns several projects across both Australia and Latin America. These include a gold project in NSW, a copper project in Peru and a lithium opportunity in Argentina as well as Brazil.

It’s some of these projects which have spurred the rapid price appreciation we have seen in Latin Resources shares over the past few months in particular.

Back in early November, for instance, the company told investors it had acquired a new exploration license in the NSW Lachlan Ford Belt, very close to Newcrest Mining Limited‘s (ASX: NCM) world-class and highly valued Cadia mine. That announcement precipitated a surge of interest in Latin Resources shares.

But that project isn’t why Latin Resources is in the news today.

The Kaolin master

Back in late November, Latin Resources told investors that it had started ‘air-core drilling’ at its Noombenberry Halloysite-Kaolin project in Western Australia. The drilling was designed to “outline the extent of a known sub-outcrop of kaolinitic clays and halloysite” at the site.

Kaolin and halloysite are both materials best described as clays. Kaolin is used as the primary ingredient in the manufacture of porcelain and fine china. Halloysite can also be used for this purpose. Although it has more industrial applications, most prevalently in the refining of petroleum.

Yesterday morning, Latin Resources told investors that this drilling has been completed, and has resulted in the discovery of significant deposits of “bright, white” kaolin clay “up to 50m thick” across the 18sqkm area.

Samples are now being sent to “laboratories in Perth and Adelaide” for further testing.

Latin Resources exploration manager Tony Greenaway had this to say on the news:

Our initial observations from drill cutting are very encouraging… [and] will bode well for any potential future development. We are now able to significantly advance the Noombenberry project to the next stage…

The whole team at Latin Resources is very excited by our initial observation at Noombenberry, and the potential that this emerging project is showing at such an early stage.

More reading

• Top broker says you should buy these oversold ASX gold stocks now
• Here’s why the Newcrest (ASX:NCM) share price is underperforming
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX drops despite promises of more US stimulus
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Newcrest Mining Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Archer Materials Ltd (ASX: AXE) share price is on the march today after the company released an announcement pertaining to its quantum computing chip.

Following today’s 33% gain, the Archer share price has now returned over 238% in the past year. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slipped 4.1% over the same period.

Why is the Archer Materials share price moving higher?

This morning Archer Materials updated the market regarding the granting of its first patent for the company’s 12CQ quantum computing chip. More specifically, the patent granted is a Japanese patent (No. 6809670) for the protection of intellectual property of the 12CQ chip.

In the update, Archer noted the patent gives access to the high-value Japanese market for the 12CQ chip.

Considering the stringency of the world’s largest patent office, Archer also believes that further patent application processes will now be streamlined. These future patent applications include the jurisdictions of Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Europe, and the United States.

Quantum computing is an emerging technology, mostly restricted to research and development. Existing limitations of scale, temperature and pressure requirements have long impeded the application of quantum computing at a consumer level.

Archer aims to build quantum computing that is operational at room temperature, thereby making the technology adoptable by a wider addressable market.

CEO commentary on the update

Archer CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair commented on the news, stating:

Archer’s quantum computing chip IP is now well protected in Japan – a major global economy and centre for technological innovation. The grant of a patent in Japan further validates, and substantially derisks, our unique technology.

This update comes only a month after Archer announced it was partnering with the Brisbane based artificial intelligence (AI) firm Max Kelsen.

Archer Materials trying to knock on Google’s door

Real-world problems are being solved more and more with the application of quantum computing. Last week, it was published that Google’s quantum AI division was working alongside a pharmaceutical company to facilitate the development of new drugs.

Google’s quantum computing division will help develop new drugs https://t.co/BZ9yS5yT0V pic.twitter.com/t9B37TrvHo

— Engadget (@engadget) January 11, 2021

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

For now, most applications involve utilising quantum computing as a service. Companies that currently offer such a service include IBM, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. However, much like the original computer, there are companies working on making this technology accessible to the everyday consumer. The question is, will we see the the consumer value unlocked in this case, as we did in the era of PC’s by Microsoft and Apple?

Following today’s rally in the Archer materials share price, the company now has a market capitalisation of around $118 million.

More reading

• Why the Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price is up 2% today

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. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft 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), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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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:

Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

BrainChip was the most traded share on the CommSec platform last week, accounting for 2.2% of total trades. Approximately 60% of these trades came from buyers, but that couldn’t stop the artificial intelligence technology company’s shares falling 1% over the five days. Despite this, the BrainChip share price is up almost 100% in the space of a month. This has been driven by the announcement of its first Akida IP license agreement.

Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB)

Mesoblast shares were popular with investors last week and accounted for 2% of trades on the CommSec platform. While the buying and selling was evenly split, the buyers will certainly have been the happier group. The biotech company’s shares jumped over 9% last week thanks to the release of positive data from a heart failure phase 3 trial.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

This buy now pay later giant was responsible for 1.7% of shares on CommSec last week. And although only 40% of these came from the buy side, it couldn’t stop the Afterpay share price storming almost 15% higher to a new record high. This appears to have been driven by the successful IPO of rival Affirm in the United States and a positive broker note out of Morgan Stanley.

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

Another ASX share that was popular with CommSec users was CSL. The biotherapeutics company’s shares were attributable for 1.5% of trades on the platform, with a massive 83% coming from buyers. Unfortunately for them, the CSL share price fell 5% over the five days. This appears to have been driven by concerns over plasma collection headwinds.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

This exchange traded fund (ETF) was popular with investors again last week and was accountable for 1.5% of trades on CommSec. Once again, the buying was strong, with 80% of trades coming from the buy side. This ETF is proving to be very popular with investors as it gives them exposure to the likes of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Tesla.

More reading

• Why Afterpay, Ansell, MyDeal, & PolyNovo shares are storming higher today
• One bullish growth signal for the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price in 2021
• 2 top ETFs delivering solid returns
• Broker lists the best ASX stocks to own for an up to 30% gain in 2021
• Here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX

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 BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS and CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. 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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Despite the News Corporation (ASX: NWS) share price getting a 31% bump between November last year and today, News Corp is not an ASX company you hear too much about these days. To understand why that is, lets take a closer look at the company structure and what they have been up to lately. 

News Corp is a rather interesting company. It’s listed on the ASX under the ticker symbol NWS and is also listed over in the United States, on the Nasdaq exchange.

Additionally, News Corp has another interesting characteristic: it has two classes of shares.

News Corp Class A and News Corp Class B

There’s News Corp Class A (NASDAQ: NWSA) and News Corp Class B (NASDAQ: NWS). The ASX-listed variation is actually a Chess Depository Interest (CDI), which basically means it is the same stock as News Corp Class B on the Nasdaq.

Why two classes of shares?

Well, over in the States, dual-class structures are legal and accepted (unlike on the ASX). It gives a company’s founders or management the ability to dilute their economic holdings of a company without diluting their ownership.

Let me explain.

In News Corp’s case, the Class B shares get a single vote over the management of the company, just like any ASX share entitles the owner to. The News Corp Class A shares, however, do not come with that vote. They are equal in terms of economic value, but unequal in terms of voting power.

This structure enables the owners of large tranches of Class B shares to maintain their control of the company by ensuring that a large shareholder base gets no voting power.

News Corp is not the only company to employ such a structure. Other prominent examples include Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), and even Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B).

But I digress…

News Corp’s complicated history

News Corp is most famous for being majority-owned by Rupert Murdoch and the Murdoch family. The company owns the Murdoch print assets like The Wall Street Journal and Australia’s The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, and The Courier Mail. It also owns a range of other assets, including a large stake in REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA) as well as the Foxtel Pay TV business.

However, the business used to be a lot larger.

Back in 2013, News Corp spun out most of its media assets, including 21st Century Fox TV and Film and Fox News, into the 21st Century Fox Company. In 2019, the Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) bought most of 20th Century Fox’s television and film assets, which included iconic brands like The Simpsons.

However, 20th Century Fox kept its television assets like Fox News. Subsequently, the company rebranded to Fox Corporation (NASDAQ: FOX)(NASDAQ: FOXA). Note the retainment of the dual-lass structure.

Today, both News Corp and Fox Corp are still majority-owned and run by Rupert Murdoch and his family. This brings us to a predicament for News Corp shareholders.

There’s one in every family…

Fox isn’t the most popular company right now, even in the Murdoch family itself. Reporting from the Australian Financial Review (AFR) this week told us that James Murdoch, son of Rupert, has publicly criticised the company for a perceived role in the riots at the US Capitol building earlier this month. The AFR states that Mr. Murdoch was asked whether Fox News had played a role in the riots.

Fox is a dominant and conservative news network in the US. Mr. Murdoch reportedly responded by saying that “media groups had amplified election disinformation, leaving ‘a substantial portion’ of the public believing ‘a falsehood’”.

He went on to state the following:

The damage is profound… The sacking of the Capitol is proof positive that what we thought was dangerous is indeed very, very much so. Those outlets that propagate lies to their audience have unleashed insidious and uncontrollable forces that will be with us for years… I hope that those people who didn’t think it was that dangerous now understand, and that they stop.

James Murdoch used to be the Chief Executive of the old 21st Century Fox. He famously cut ties with the family business in August when he resigned from the News Corp board. James Murdoch reportedly cited “disagreements over certain editorial content” as the reason.

Should News Corp shareholders be worried?

So how does this affect News Corp shareholders?

Well, in this business, reputation can be a powerful force. If there does happen to be more fallout over the role that Fox News played in the recent incidents at the US Capitol, it could have unforeseen consequences.

Remember, both companies are controlled by the same large shareholders, namely, the Murdoch family. The AFR report tells us that James Murdoch stated that he is “praying for people to come to their senses” and talked of a “reckoning” for the media industry.

Those words from a former board member would make any News Corp shareholder worried, I’d wager.

More reading

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Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group Limited and Walt Disney. 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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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.

It’s official. On Monday, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) announced that it has started selling domestically-made Model Y’s in China. The company released a comment on Twitter saying simply “Model Y deliveries in China have officially begun.” 

Tesla broke ground on its Shanghai manufacturing plant two years ago, and the company delivered the first Model 3 sedans from the factory a little over one year ago. As the company expands its offerings from the facility, competing Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) makers have also been enlarging product portfolios. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) just unveiled its first luxury sedan at its “Nio Day” event earlier this month. 

Nio’s ET7 will directly compete with Tesla’s Model S luxury sedan when it becomes available early next year, while Tesla’s Model Y will compete with Nio’s SUV products. But the Model S isn’t made at the Chinese factory. The plant will ultimately have a production capacity of 500,000 vehicles annually. 

Tesla sold 138,000 Model 3 sedans in China in 2020, representing a little over 12% of all EV’s sold in the country, according to The Wall Street Journal. Automakers expect that to grow quickly, as the Chinese government wants to almost quintuple EV sales by 2025. 

Tesla offers three models of its Model Y in the United States. However, the standard range basic model will not be offered from the Shanghai plant. The Chinese-made long range model will sell for $52,425 and performance models will be priced at $57,050, according to reports. 

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

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Howard Smith 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 Tesla and Twitter. 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The Downer EDI Limited (ASX: DOW) share price is edging higher today. This comes after the company announced it has been awarded a new contract with Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS).

At the time of writing, the Downer share price is up 2.2% to $5.48.

New contract win

In today’s release, Downer revealed that it has won a field services contract by Telstra for infrastructure works. The deal, worth approximately $330 million, will run over a 4-year period, with a possible one-year extension.

Under the agreement, Downer will carry out a number of services, which include:

• Network asset relocations;
• Wideband business services;
• Facilities design and construction activities including Telepower and building upgrades; and
• Continuation of the 5G mobile rollout;

The works are scheduled to commence this month across New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Quick take on Downer

Downer is an integrated services company that operates primarily in Australia and New Zealand.

The multi-functional company has three divisions: infrastructure, mining and rail. These industries move into market sectors such as minerals and metals, oil and gas, power, transport, telecommunications, water and property.

Most notably, Downer is a leading provider of fixed and wireless network services and one of the largest constructors of telecommunications carrier networks.

What did the CEO say?

CEO Grant Fenn welcomed the extended partnership, saying:

Downer has been working closely with Telstra for over a decade and we have earned a reputation as a high-quality contractor trusted for our delivery excellence.

Downer is proud of our involvement in the Field Optimisation initiative assisting Telstra as it simplifies its business. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Telstra and transitioning into the new Field Services contract.

Downer share price snapshot

The Downer share price has been trekking higher over the last 9 months, since its steep fall from COVID-19. Reaching as low as $2.58 in March, the company’s shares stand at a 112% increase over the period since.

Based on its current share price, Downer commands a market capitalisation of $3.3 billion.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras owns shares of Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. 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 Downer (ASX:DOW) share price is edging higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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