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The Tilt Renewables Ltd (ASX: TLT) share price is rocketing today, up 17.43% at the time of writing to $4.34 a share.

Tilt shares closed at $3.74 on Friday afternoon last week, but opened at $4.25 this morning, before climbing all the way to $4.44 just after open (a new all-time high).

At the current share price, Tilt shares are now up more than 33% year to date, and up more than 137% since the company’s ASX debut back in February 2018. They are also up 73.6% off Tilt’s 52-week low that we saw back in mid-March during the coronavirus-induced market crash.

So what is Tilt Renewables? And why is the Tilt share price rocketing up today?

Tilting towards clean energy

Tilt Renewables is a renewable energy company (shocker) with a focus on the Australian and New Zealand energy markets. The company tells us its vision is “to be a leading developer and owner of renewable electricity generation in Australia and New Zealand. We tilt for a positive and sustainable future.”

Even though it describes itself as a ‘renewable energy company’, Tilt is in the business of wind power at the present time. It currently owns and operates 8 wind farms across Australia and New Zealand.

These include the Tararua Wind Farm in Manawatu, NZ; the Snowtown Windfarm in South Australia, the Crookwell Wind Farm in Goulburn, New South Wales, and the Salt Creek Wind Farm near Woorndoo, Victoria. The company also has another 22 new farms or upgrades in the pipeline, including the Dundonnell Wind Farm near Mortlake, Vic, and the Liverpool Range Windfarm just outside of Sydney.

However, Tilt is also planning to expand into solar power as well. It currently has 2 solar farm projects in development – the Dysart Solar Farm near Mackay, Queensland, and the Illabo Solar Farm near Wagga Wagga, NSW.

Tilt has had a good year so far, if the numbers are anything to go by. Back in October, Tilt reported that the 6 months ending 30 September 2020 saw profits after tax up 125% to compared to the prior corresponding period to $26.8 million. The company also saw basic earnings per share surge by 151% to 6.32 cents.

Interestingly, more than half of this company’s outstanding shares are owned by 2 large corporate shareholders, Infratil Ltd (ASX: IFT) and Mercury NZ Ltd (ASX: MCY). And that takes us to why the share price is rocketing today.

Why the Tilt Renewables share price is on fire today

The Tilt share price performance today is almost certainly due to a release the company made to the markets this morning before open. In this release, Tilt informed the market that Infratil (Tilt’s largest shareholder with a 65.5% stake) has “commenced a strategic review of its shareholding” of Tilt.

The company stated the following on this situation:

TLT [Tilt Renewables] understands the IFT [Infratil] strategic review process may result in an offer from a third party for all outstanding shares in TLT and therefore the directors of TLT will begin preparations to be able to respond to such an offer. At this stage, the directors recommend TLT shareholders take no action.

Infratil elaborated on this announcement by stating:

Infratil has recently received a number of enquiries in relation to its Tilt shareholding. Given strong demand for high quality renewables platforms globally, Infratil considers it is prudent to assess alternatives for its Tilt shareholding, including divestment of its position.

It’s likely that it’s for this reason that Tilt shares are rocketing today.

More reading

• Could these ASX renewable energy shares benefit from the Biden win?

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

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One area of the market which has performed very strongly in recent years, and has been tipped to continue doing so in the future, is the tech sector.

In light of this, it is no surprise that tech shares are among the most popular shares on the local share market.

With that in mind, I have picked out two shares in the sector that come highly rated right now. They are as follows:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

Altium is a leading printed circuit board (PCB) design software provider. It is best known for its industry-leading Altium Designer and cloud-based Altium 365 platforms but also has a number of other growing businesses. These include the Octopart search engine for electronic parts and the Nexus team-based PCB workflow solution.

Due to the proliferation of electronic devices because of the rapidly growing Internet of Things and artificial intelligence markets, management is aiming to more than double its revenue between now and 2025/26. It is also believes that when it gets to 100,000 subscribers, double its current subscriber base, it will be in a position to dominate the industry.

These plans appear to have gone down well with analysts at Morgan Stanley. They have an overweight rating and $40.00 price target on the company’s shares.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Xero is one of the world’s leading cloud-based business and accounting software platform providers. Over the last few years the company has evolved from being a place to do your accounts, to a full-service small business solution.

This has helped underpin significant subscriber and recurring revenue growth. For example, during the first half of FY 2021, Xero finished the period with 2.45 million subscribers. This led to it reporting a 21% increase in operating revenue to NZ$409.8 million and a 15% lift in annualised monthly recurring revenue (AMRR) to NZ$877.6 million.

One broker that is confident there will be more of the same in the future is Goldman Sachs. This morning it initiated coverage on the company with a buy rating and $157.00 price target. Goldman believes Xero can achieve a 2030 subscriber footprint of 7.4 million and generate NZ$3.4 billion in annual revenue.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.7%: Metcash impresses, BHP & Fortescue storm higher, Xero given buy rating
• Why Fortescue, Metcash, Nuix, & Xero shares are storming higher
• Leading broker puts buy rating on Xero (ASX:XRO) share price
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 2 stellar ASX tech shares to buy next 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 and recommends Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Xero. 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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Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) has been ordered to pay a $350,000 fine for making false or misleading representations about a sale.

The Federal Court found the company’s subsidiary, Kogan Australia Pty Ltd, misled customers by jacking up the prices of 621 products immediately before a ‘tax time’ sale.

The online retailer then ran a sales promotion offering customers the code ‘TAXTIME’ to use at checkout for a 10% discount.

“Consumers who used the promotional code to purchase these products paid the same as, or more than, they would have paid before or after the promotion,” said Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair, Rod Sims.

“Consumers were not receiving a genuine 10% discount as promised, and this affected high-value products such as Apple MacBooks, cameras and Samsung Galaxy mobile handsets.”

To rub further salt into the wound of customers who thought they had a bargain, Kogan then put the standard prices back down after the promotion.

Despite the absence of genuine discounts, the retailer used phrases like “48 hours left!” and “Ends midnight tonight!” in emails to customers to create a sense of urgency.

Kogan’s deceptions were “serious”

Justice Jennifer Davies said Kogan’s misbehaviour “must be viewed as serious”.

“Misrepresentations about discounts offered on products not only harm purchasers acquiring such products on the basis that they are getting a genuine discount but also may impact on consumer confidence in discount promotions when legitimately made – that is, when products are being offered for sale with a genuine discount on price.”

The Kogan share price was up 3.62% at 3:21pm AEDT, to hit $18.01. This was largely due to its acquisition of New Zealand e-tailer, Mighty Ape.

In a statement to the ASX, Kogan dismissed the significance of the court findings.

“The profit derived by the company from the promotion was immaterial,” the company stated.

“Kogan.com has a compliance program in place, which comprises protocols for the internal and external review of promotional statements and associated collateral.”

Kogan’s offences occurred in June 2018, with the ACCC starting legal action May last year. The court found the case in the watchdog’s favour July this year, with the resulting penalty handed down this month.

The court also ordered Kogan to pay ACCC’s costs.

Sims said the penalty was a “strong signal” to all internet retailers.

“They must not entice consumers to purchase products with a promise of discounts that are not genuine.”

More reading

• 3 great ASX tech shares to buy
• 3 of the best ASX shares to buy in December
• Got cash to invest? Here’s 3 ASX shares to buy
• 3 reasons why Kogan.com (ASX:KGN) shares could be a buy
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now

Tony Yoo 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 Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) share price is falling today despite the company announcing delivery of a new littoral combat ship to the United States Navy. During morning trade, the Austal share price reached $3.00, but has since retreated. At the time of writing, its shares are trading lower at $2.90, down 0.3%.

Let’s take a look at Austal’s market update today.

New ship delivery

Austal advised that it has delivered an independence-class littoral combat ship to the US Navy.

The warship is the 13th of its kind to be built at Austal’s US shipyard. In a symbolic move, the vessel was named USS Mobile after the city of Mobile in Alabama where the shipyard is based.

The new combat ship is a high-speed, shallow-draft surface combatant with an aluminium trimaran hull that provides class leading, multi-mission capability. The ship is designed to defeat growing littoral threats and provide access and dominance along coastal waters. In addition, the vessel has operational flexibility to execute surface warfare, mine warfare and anti-submarine warfare missions.

Currently, Austal’s US shipyard has four other littoral combat ships at various stages of construction. Under the program, USS Savannah and USS Canberra are being assembled. USS Santa Barbara and USS Augusta are under construction in the module manufacturing facility.

In addition, construction of USS Kingsville and USS Pierre has yet to start but both have been signed off by the US Navy. Another 14 expeditionary fast transport vessels are also under contract, with 12 vessels already delivered. The remaining two ships include one that is being built and the other scheduled for future construction.

What did management say?

Austal CEO David Singleton welcomed the achievement, saying:

What better way to end this challenging year than with the delivery of the future USS Mobile in its namesake city. This ship is a fantastic tribute to the spirit and determination of the people of Austal USA and the City of Mobile.

Our warmest congratulations to the US Navy on the delivery of their latest independence-class littoral combat ship; another great symbol of the success of the United States defence industrial base and a highly capable addition to the fleet.

About the Austal share price

The Austal share price is heading towards recovery from a rolling 6 months. After reaching highs of $3.68 in June, the company’s shares are trading almost 22% lower today.

Austal has a market capitalisation of $1.04 billion and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.7.

More reading

• Why the Austal (ASX:ASB) share price is edging higher today

Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Austal 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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It has been a disappointing start to the week for the Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) share price.

In afternoon trade, the buy now pay later provider’s shares are down 3.5% to $2.46.

Why is the Openpay share price dropping lower?

The Openpay share price has been on a very poor run of late and is now down 23% since this time in October. This is despite the company’s performance remaining strong during this period.

For example, in the middle of last month Openpay released a trading update for October and November to date.

That update revealed that active plans were up 233% in October compared to the prior corresponding period and active customers were up 143%. This underpinned a 101% increase in total transaction value (TTV) to $25.8 million for the month.

This positive form continued in November with Openpay achieving its strongest ever daily TTV of $915,000. This was thanks to Australian online sales initiatives including Click Frenzy and was an 11% increase on the company’s previous TTV record.

Management believes this bodes well ahead of the peak sales season of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas.

That update also revealed that the company had signed major partnerships with US SaaS eCommerce group BigCommerce Holdings and online retailer Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN).

Since then, the company has held its annual general meeting and spoke positively about current trading and its future prospects.

At the meeting, management commented: “To conclude, we have been extremely happy with our strategic delivery and strong operational performance, both in FY20 and in FY21 year to date. We have made significant progress in creating a great business and company, very much in line with our vision ‘to change the way people pay, for the better’ and with the pillars of our growth strategy.”

Is this a buying opportunity?

One broker that sees the recent Openpay share price weakness as a buying opportunity is Shaw & Partners.

Last month its analysts responded to its trading update by reaffirming their (high risk) buy rating and $5.00 price target.

They believe the company is well-placed for growth and note that its shares trade at a significant discount to the likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P).

More reading

• Why the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price continues to dominate
• Top broker thinks the Openpay (ASX:OPY) share price is dirt cheap
• Is buy now, pay later (BNPL) giving Aussies a headache?
• Why the Openpay (ASX:OPY) share price is up and down today
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price underperforming after ASIC finds more BNPL customers falling behind

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 Kogan.com ltd and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) share price is sliding today, down 2.33% in early afternoon trading.

At $12.07, the Elders share price hit its 2020 peak on 20 October. At the time, Elders shares were up 87% for the year. Since then, shares have retraced around 17%. Still, that leaves the share price up an impressive 56% year to date.

By comparison, the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is flat for the year.

And the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) could see Elders continue to outperform into 2021.

We’ll look at that below. But first…

What does Elders do?

Elders Ltd provides a range of services to customers working in the agricultural industry. These services include finance, banking and home loans, real estate, insurance and rural services.

Founded in 1839, Elders has grown to become the country’s largest listed rural services provider and agribusiness. Elders shares first began trading on the Australian exchange in 1981.

What did ABARES report that could boost the Elders share price?

In its December quarter agriculture commodities report, ADARES forecast Australia’s farmgate value is likely to reach $65 billion in 2020/21. This comes following our second largest winter crop and with seasonal rainfall predicted to be promising.

Commenting on the findings, ABARES executive director Steve Hatfield-Dodds stated:

We’re expecting a near all-time high winter crop, the best ever in New South Wales, and a more favourable outlook for summer cropping than we have seen in recent years. Livestock prices have also stayed high with herd and flock rebuilding, and continued international demand.

While ABARES predicts that farm production will increase 7%, to $65 billion, it expects export values to fall by 7%, down to $44.7 billion.

Part of the export drop is attributed to the lingering effect of past dry seasons. But Hatfield-Dodds also points to trade uncertainties, particularly with China, as likely to drag on agricultural exports, saying, “There are a number of risks present for the rest of 2021 that remain a watch point, including wine trade with China and labour shortages for the horticulture sector.”

Trade and labour issues will remain a wild card moving into 2021. But with a bumper winter crop and potentially strong summer crop, it will be interesting to see how the Elders share price performs moving forward.

More reading

• Exciting ASX shares rated as buys by top fundie
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• ASX 200 up 1.2%: Afterpay ASIC response, Elders result, CSL vaccine facility
• Why the Elders (ASX:ELD) share price is turning around today
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX continues to hit post-COVID highs

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Elders 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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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 shares that leading brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

According to a note out of Credit Suisse, its analysts have initiated coverage on this payments company’s shares with an outperform rating and $124.00 price target. Credit Suisse believes Afterpay is well-positioned for growth and has the potential to grow its underlying sales materially over the next five years. This is thanks to the structural shift to online shopping, a decline in credit card use, and its exposure to younger demographics. The latter are expected to increase their spending in the coming years. The Afterpay share price is changing hands for $96.02 this afternoon.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on this iron ore producer’s shares to $23.00. The broker made the move in response to a significant rise in iron ore prices, which it believes will result in sizeable free cash flow yields. The broker has also lifted its earnings and dividend expectations for the next couple of years. The Fortescue share price is fetching $21.34 on Monday.

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)

Analysts at UBS have retained their buy rating and increased their price target on this airline operator’s shares to $6.20. According to the note, the broker believes that Qantas’ balance sheet risk has significantly reduced recently. This is thanks to COVID vaccine developments, border re-openings, and its plan to increase capacity to 70% of pre-COVID levels. It also notes that Qantas appears to be winning market share domestically. The Qantas share price is trading at $5.46 this afternoon.

More reading

• RBA gives BNPL another blessing
• ASX 200 up 0.7%: Metcash impresses, BHP & Fortescue storm higher, Xero given buy rating
• Why Fortescue, Metcash, Nuix, & Xero shares are storming higher
• Why ASX iron ore stocks are set to rally today
• How to get a passive income of $50,000 per year from ASX dividend shares

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

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The three ASX dividend shares in this article are relatively small in size, but they have large dividend yields.

Here they are:

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

Baby Bunting is the largest retailer of products for babies and small children. It sells a variety of items like prams, toys, clothes and car seats. According to the ASX, it has a market capitalisation of $554 million.

Its FY20 dividend per share was essentially double the size of the dividend from FY18. FY20 saw Baby Bunting deliver total sales growth of 11.8% to $405.2 million. Whilst comparable store sales growth was 4.9%, online sales growth was much higher at 39.1%.

Baby Bunting demonstrated economies of scale as its margins increased. The gross profit margin increased by 120 basis points to 36.2%. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 24.1% to $33.7 million and underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) rose 34.1% to $19.3 million.

This growth allowed the ASX dividend share to grow its FY20 dividend by 25% to 10.5 cents per share. At the current Baby Bunting share price it offers a grossed-up dividend yield of 3.5%.

In the first six weeks of FY21, Baby Bunting saw same store sales growth of 20% – excluding Victoria same store sales went up 28.7%.

Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC)

This business partners with quality fund managers and helps them with capital (by taking a stake) as well as helping with growing the business.

According to the ASX, Pacific Current has a market capitalisation of $315 million.

As Pacific’s funds under management (FUM) and earnings grow, then it is able to fund higher dividends.

In FY20 it reached funds under management (FUM) of $93.3 billion at 30 June 2020. This was an increase of 52% when excluding the boutiques sold and acquired during the year. The asset manager GQG grew its FUM from US$25.1 billion to US$44.6 billion.

An 18% increase in underlying earnings per share (EPS) to $0.51 in FY20 allowed the board to increase the annual total dividend by 40% to $0.35 per share.

The ASX dividend share reported that in the three months to 30 September 2020 it saw total FUM go up by 14% to AU$106.4 billion. The vast majority of the FUM growth in the period came from GQG.

Pacific Current CEO Paul Greenwood said: “COVID-19 has certainly been disruptive to institutional fundraising and investor demand.” However, he went on to say at the time (at the end of October 2020) that it was still a long way from pre-pandemic levels of activity.

At the current Pacific share price, it has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 7.8%.

EQT Holdings Ltd (ASX: EQT)

This business is an independent specialist trustee company offering trustee and fiduciary services to private and corporate clients. According to the ASX it has a market capitalisation of $315 million. 

In FY20 the company saw funds under management, administration and supervision rise by 19% to $101 billion. This helped offset the downturn in the equity market, according to the company.

It grew revenue by 3.2% to $95.4 million. Net profit before tax fell by $1 million to $30.3 million. Underlying EPS declined by 5.5% to 102.66 cents.

Managing director Mick O’Brien said: “Our strategy of investing for growth is bearing fruit, with significant new business obtained during the adding, adding a range of new, high-quality clients. All of the areas of the business performed well and would have delivered even stronger results were it not for the equity market downturn.

“We have established businesses that are well suited for these challenging times, and we have a number of newer growth businesses, a pipeline of opportunities and a strong balance sheet.”

In FY20 it maintained its annual dividend per share at 90 cents, which equates to a trailing dividend grossed-up dividend yield of 4.7%.

More reading

• Here’s why the Baby Bunting (ASX:BBN) share price is edging higher
• 4 small cap ASX dividend shares with large yields
• 3 ASX shares with large dividend yields
• 3 ASX dividend shares with large and growing dividends
• Best and worst ASX retail stocks to own in the COVID recovery

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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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Commodity prices have lifted across the board with both iron ore and copper running to 7-year highs and a strong recovery for oil prices. This has seen ASX mining shares including BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) delivering market leading returns. 

However, the Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price triumphs over its ASX 200 mining peers after soaring more than 30% in November. The Lynas share price is now up 77% year to date and more than 7% in December. 

Rare earth prices running to record highs 

Rare earth elements are a group of 17 metals, with China holding about 50% of the world’s economic resource. Lynas primarily produces the rare earth element, neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr). NdPr prices have soared in recent weeks to an 8-year high of CNY$635,000 (A$130,700) per tonne. The commodity dipped as low as CNY$307,000 (A$63, 200) in 2016 and bounced off a low of CNY$350,000 (A$72,050) in April 2020. 

Lynas advises that a full assessment of global rare earths demand will not be possible until the global COVID-19 situation is more stable. However, positive news continues to support the magnet market. The European Union (EU) recently decided to accelerate the decarbonisation of its economy, now targeting a 60% reduction in emissions by 2030 instead of the 40% previously targeted.

With road transportation responsible for more than 20% of CO2 emissions in the EU, this acceleration is expected to translate into a faster penetration of electric and hybrid vehicles. 

Lynas to expand production and footprint 

Lynas has selected Kalgoorlie as the location for its new rare earths processing facility. The Western Australia Government awarded the project ‘lead agency’ status, with a ‘major project’ status awarded by the Australian Government. The major project status formally recognises the significance of a project to the Australian economy with extra project support and streamlined project state and territory approvals. 

As announced on 27 July 2020, Lynas also signed a contract with the United States Department of Defence for Phase 1 work on a proposed US-based heavy rare earth separation facility. The asset is intended to provide an expanded product suite as well as the only source of separated heavy rare earths outside China. The facility will be using material sourced from the Lynas mine in Mt Weld, Western Australia. 

At the time of writing, the Lynas share price has increased 1.5% to $4.08 in trading today.

More reading

• The Lynas share price (ASX:LYC) rose 34% in November. Here’s why
• Why the Lynas (ASX:LYC) share price just hit a 52-week high
• ASX 200 events this week that could move the market

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim 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 OceanaGold Corp (ASX: OGC) share price has surged after the gold producer announced the Philippines Government has agreed to finalise the renewal of its Didipio gold mine contract. At the time of writing, the OceanaGold share price has climbed by 33.16% to $2.53.

Why the OceanaGold share price surged on the news

OceanaGold has been the operator of the Didipio gold mine in the Philippines since 2013, a site which is 270km north of Manila.

The company has been operating the mine under a ‘Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA)’ contract. In July 2019, the agreement was subject to a temporary order issued by the provincial governor to restrain activities of the mine, pending renewal of the FTAA contract.

The dispute was over the location of the mine, which was claimed by the indigenous people of the area as ancestral grounds.

The OceanaGold share price is today rocketing on news the company has been granted a Certification of Non-Overlap (CNO). This states that the FTAA area is outside the ancestral domain of the Indigenous Cultural Communities.

OceanaGold today advised its FTAA contract has strong endorsement from the residents in the local communities around the Didipio mine, including the indigenous peoples.

The company further reported it will continue engaging with the national government with the goal of finalising the FTAA renewal. 

OceanaGold also announced in today’s release that as “a contractor of the Philippines Government and a responsible multinational miner, the company is ready and waiting to restart the Didipio operations and to continue contributing to the Philippines’ post-COVID-19 recovery.”

How has OceanaGold performed in 2020?

Prior to the market update, the OceanaGold share price had lost around 30% of its value in 2020. Following today’s movement, however, OceanaGold shares are now down just 9% in year-to-date trading. Despite today’s gains, this still leaves the company’s share price a long way off its 52-week high of $4.29.

OceanaGold has, however, been making progress recently.

Just last week, the company announced it was given permits by the New Zealand Government. These related to OceanaGold’s Golden Point Underground Mine, Deepdell North Stage III open pit extension and Frasers West expansion. 

The company advised these permits would allow it to proceed with the development of underground mining opportunities in New Zealand, and to extend the mine life of its Macraes operation all the way to 2028.

Based on the current OceanaGold share price, the company commands a market capitalisation of $134 million.

More reading

• Watch out! ASX IPO boom may sink the ASX bull market in 2021
• The scariest thing in Boeing’s 10-year forecast
• Why Bapcor, Event, Money3, & Tyro shares are dropping lower
• The Etherstack (ASX:ESK) share price is soaring 10% higher today. Here’s why.
• The Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price rocketed a further 37% higher today

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto 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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