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The Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) share price will be on watch this morning following the release of an announcement.

What did Ramsay announce?

In response to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations, this morning Ramsay provided an update on trading across the business during the first quarter of FY 2021.

Ramsay’s Managing Director and CEO Craig McNally, commented: “Ramsay’s operating results continued to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 1Q FY’21. Surgical restrictions, regional outbreaks and lower demand for some services, combined with higher costs associated with operating in the current environment, have all impacted the results.”

How are its businesses performing?

According to the release, Ramsay Australia reported a 1.5% increase in total revenue during the first quarter. This reflects a 1.7% increase in surgical admissions and lower non-surgical activity.

A major drag on its performance was its Victorian operations. Excluding Victoria, total Australian revenue was up 6.6% and surgical admissions rose 8% over the prior corresponding period.

These operations also weighed heavily on Ramsay Australia’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and restructuring or rent costs (EBITDAR), which was lower than the prior corresponding period.

Management notes that this was due to restricted surgical activity in Victoria, increased costs, and reduced procurement benefits as a result of operating in a COVID safe environment. Also weighing on its performance was a negative mix impact from the decrease in medical, mental health, and rehabilitation case volumes.

The Ramsay Santé business saw an increase in surgical activity in the first quarter. Management revealed that volumes increased 5.4% over the prior corresponding period in France as clinicians sought to reduce the backlog of surgeries created by the first COVID-19 lockdown.

The Nordic region also reported growth in surgical volumes in recent months. Though, demand for other services has been below the prior period due to the impact of COVID-19.

After a slow start to FY 2021, the company revealed that its Ramsay UK business has experienced a recovery in private work in recent months. This is being driven by private health insurers and clinicians moving to reduce the surgical wait lists, and a recovery in demand for other services such as oncology flowing from the public system.

Nevertheless, total Ramsay UK revenue for the first quarter was down 9.9% on the prior corresponding period in local currency.

Finally, over in Asia the company revealed that movement control orders have impacted patient volumes. One positive, though, is that its diagnostic pathology services in Indonesia and Malaysia have benefitted from an increase in COVID-19 PCR testing as a result of a second wave in both countries.

Outlook.

Mr McNally warned that the near term will be tough for Ramsay but he remains very positive on its long term outlook.

He said: “Given the near-term uncertainties in the market, we are not in a position to provide guidance for FY’21. Notwithstanding the current environment, over the medium to long term the health care industry fundamentals remain positive.”

“Ramsay is well positioned to capitalise on the shifting industry dynamics in each of our key markets. Following the recent equity raising, the Company has a strong balance sheet to support new opportunities as they arise,” concluded Mr McNally.

More reading

• Broker tipping a ~10% jump in the Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price by Tuesday
• Latest ASX stocks to be hit by a broker downgrade
• Why I would buy REA Group and this ASX blue chip share
• Why market crashes are useful for buying ASX dividend shares
• How to turn $20,000 into $350,000 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 Ramsay Health Care Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Fortunately, in this low interest rate environment, the share market is home to plenty of shares offering generous yields.

For example, two ASX blue chip shares that have prospective yields of over 5% are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

BHP is one of the world’s largest and highest quality miners in the world. The Big Australian has a collection of world class, low cost assets across a diverse range of commodities which continue to generate significant free cash flows. This certainly is the case for its iron ore and copper operations, which are benefiting greatly from sky high prices.

One broker that is expecting bumper free cash flows from BHP in FY 2021 is Macquarie. And the good news for shareholders is that its analysts expect the majority of this to be returned to shareholders via dividends. Macquarie is forecasting a full year dividend of approximately $2.80 per share. Based on the current BHP share price, this would mean a massive fully franked 7.7% dividend yield.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

This telco giant has been in the news this week after announcing plans to split its business into three separate entities. This will comprises InfraCo Fixed, InfraCo Towers, and ServeCo. Management believes the restructure would enable the company to take advantage of potential monetisation opportunities for its infrastructure assets, which could create additional value for shareholders.

This plan has gone down well with investors and also with brokers. For example, Goldman Sachs has reiterated its buy rating and $3.60 price target on the company’s shares. It has also reaffirmed its forecast for a 16 cents per share fully franked dividend in FY 2021 and beyond. Which, based on the current Telstra share price, would provide investors with a 5.2% dividend yield.

More reading

• The ASX 200 fell 0.5% on Thursday
• After 8 months, ASX 200 shares are finally out of correction territory
• Why InvoCare, Nine, Telstra, & Wesfarmers shares are storming higher
• ASX 200 down 0.1%: Xero hits record high, Telstra and Wesfarmers updates impress
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price on watch after major update

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price was out of form on Thursday and dropped notably lower.

The aerial imagery technology and location data company’s shares dropped over 3% to $2.40.

Why did the Nearmap share price drop lower?

Investors were selling the company’s shares yesterday after the release of an update on its guidance for FY 2021 at its annual general meeting.

Nearmap has provided guidance for annualised contract value (ACV) of between $120 million and $128 million this year. This represents an increase of 12.8% to 20% on FY 2020’s ACV of $106.4 million. Management advised that this forecast is based on constant currency and does not factor in any unforeseen circumstances.

The high end of its guidance range is just inside its medium to long term ACV growth target of 20% to 40% per annum.

How does this guidance compare to expectations?

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts were forecasting FY 2021 ACV of $122.7 million, which represents annual growth of 15%.

The broker commented: “NEA has provided ACV guidance for FY21, between A$120mn to A$128mn which implies +13% to +20% YoY growth on a constant currency basis. Our published FY21E ACV forecast of A$122.7mn (+15% YoY) is within this range (and on constant currency basis our forecast would be A$126.7mn).”

“While this growth rate remains below the company’s medium-to-long term target of +20-40% YoY ACV growth, the company reiterated it expects accelerated ACV growth from FY22,” it added.

Is the Nearmap share price in the buy zone?

Goldman Sachs has retained its neutral rating following this update. Though, it is worth noting that the broker’s price target is materially higher than where the Nearmap share price is currently trading.

Its analysts have a $2.95 price target on the company’s shares, which implies potential upside of almost 23% for its shares over the next 12 months.

More reading

• Why Fortescue, Nearmap, Saracen, & Westpac shares are dropping lower
• The Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price is up and down today. Here’s why.
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Where you could invest $20,000 into ASX shares today
• ASX 200 jumps 1.75% on Monday

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 Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Is the Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price great value? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price was a strong performer on Thursday.

The conglomerate’s shares climbed a solid 2.5% to $48.78.

This leaves the Wesfarmers share price trading within a whisker of its record high.

Why did the Wesfarmers share price climb higher?

Investors were buying Wesfarmers shares yesterday following the release of a trading update ahead of its virtual annual general meeting.

That update revealed that the majority of the company’s businesses have delivered strong sales growth so far in FY 2021.

The company’s biggest business – Bunnings – has been a key highlight during the first four months of the new financial year.

The Bunnings business has delivered a 25.2% increase in sales over the prior corresponding period. Management notes that this strong sales growth has driven by both the consumer and commercial segments. Consumer sales remained particularly strong as customers spent more time undertaking projects around the home.

This growth was supported by its Officeworks and Catch businesses. They delivered sales growth of 23.4% and 114.4%, respectively, over the prior corresponding period.

Things were not quite as positive for its Kmart and Target businesses, which have been impacted by government-mandated store closures during the pandemic.

Kmart delivered 3.7% sales growth, whereas Target recorded a 2.2% decline in sales. However, excluding its Melbourne stores, Kmart and Target delivered sales growth of 12.1% and 7.8%, respectively.

Is the Wesfarmers share price in the buy zone?

Unfortunately, it may too late to invest in this one, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.

In response to this trading update, this morning the broker has held firm with its neutral rating and put a $47.90 price target on the conglomerate’s shares.

While Goldman Sachs expects a strong finish to 2020, it has warned that 2021 uncertainty is increasing.

It explained: “WES continues to be driven by Bunnings given the combination of the scale of the business’ contribution to group EBIT (66% of FY21E EBIT) and the strong sales momentum as the business benefits from the current “stay at home” consumption trends.”

“Looking ahead, the potential for a wet summer and the increasingly positive outlook for a gradual return to normal consumption activities (through better COVID management in Australia and global developments in vaccines) suggests risks to the short term earnings outlook are increasing despite our upgrades to FY21,” it added.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• The ASX 200 fell 0.5% on Thursday
• Why InvoCare, Nine, Telstra, & Wesfarmers shares are storming higher
• ASX 200 down 0.1%: Xero hits record high, Telstra and Wesfarmers updates impress
• Best and worst ASX retail stocks to own in the COVID recovery

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Is the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price a buy? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ran out of steam and ended its impressive winning streak. The benchmark index gave back its morning gains and fell 0.5% to 6,418.2 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 looks set to fall again.

It looks set to be a tough end to the week for the ASX 200 after global markets dropped lower. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 26 points or 0.40% lower. In late trade on Wall Street the Dow Jones is down 1.3%, the S&P 500 has fallen 1.2%, and the Nasdaq is down 0.6%. There are concerns that rising COVID-19 cases could weigh on the global economy.

Oil prices higher.

Energy producers including Santos Limited (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could finish the week on a high after oil prices pushed higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.2% to US$41.54 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 0.2% to US$43.88 a barrel.

Gold price rebounds.

It could be a better day of trade for gold miners such as Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) on Friday. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has rebounded 0.75% to US$1,875.70 an ounce. Rising COVID cases gave the precious metal a boost.

NEXTDC annual general meeting.

The NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) share price could be on the move today when it holds its virtual annual general meeting. At the event the data centre operator is likely to provide the market with an update on its performance year to date. Also holding its annual general meeting this morning is medical device company PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV).

Wesfarmers given neutral rating.

The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price could be fully valued now according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. In response to its trading update, the broker has held firm with its neutral rating and put a $47.90 price target on the conglomerate’s shares. Goldman expects a strong finish to 2020 but warned that 2021 uncertainty is increasing. The Wesfarmers share price is currently trading at $48.78.

More reading

• The ASX 200 fell 0.5% on Thursday
• After 8 months, ASX 200 shares are finally out of correction territory
• Broker tipping a ~10% jump in the Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price by Tuesday
• Why the Dubber Corp (ASX:DUB) share price is surging today
• Why are ASX tech shares all over the place today?

James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by 5% today to 6,418 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) reports

Xero reported its FY21 half-year result today.

The software business reported that for the six months ending 30 September 2020, its operating revenue grew by 21% to NZ$409.8 million.

Total subscribers rose by 19% to 2.45 million whilst net subscriber additions decreased by 30% to 168,000. The total lifetime value of subscribers increased by another 15% to NZ$6.17 billion.

The rest of the world subscribers demonstrated the fast growth rate with an increase of 37% to 136,000 with revenue growth of 38%. This was led by South Africa, with progress in Singapore.

UK subscribers rose by 19% to 638,000 with revenue growth of 33%. Australian subscribers grew by 21% with revenue growth of 18%. New Zealand subscribers rose by 13% with revenue also increasing by 13%.

The average revenue per user decreased by 4% to NZ$29.81 whilst annualised monthly recurring revenue increased by 15% to NZ$877.55 million.

The ASX 200 share’s gross margin percentage rose by 0.5 percentage points to 85.7%.

Xero’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) went up by 86% to NZ$120.8 million. The net profit after tax (NPAT) rose from NZ$1.3 million to NZ$34.5 million and the free cash flow jumped from NZ$4.8 million to NZ$54.3 million.  

CEO comments

Xero CEO Steve Vamos said: “This result demonstrates the value our customers attribute to their Xero subscription and the underlying strength of Xero’s business model. We continue to prioritise investment in customer growth and product development in line with the long term opportunity we see.

“Subscriber growth was positive in all geographies, with stronger net subscriber additions in Australia and New Zealand with relatively less disruption in those markets from COVID-19. During a difficult period, it’s pleasing to report we grew to exceed one million subscribers in both Australia and in our international segment.

“We’ve responded to COVID-19 by delivering new products and services that meet our customers’ and partners’ changing needs. These include assisting with small business access to government stimulus and delivering Xero On Air, our first global digital customer and partner engagement event.”

Outlook

In terms of the outlook, Xero said that it’s a long-term orientated business with ambitions for high-growth. It will continue to operate with disciplined cost management and targeted allocation of capital. It will continue to innovate invest in new products and customer growth, and respond to opportunities and changes in its operating environment.

But it couldn’t provide guidance or further commentary due to the uncertainty created by COVID-19.

The Xero share price rose by 0.6% today, though it reached around $130 in early trading.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

The telecommunications ASX 200 giant held an investor day today. It laid out a plan to create three separate legal entities within the Telstra business.

The first division will be called InfraCo Fixed which will own and operate the passive or physical infrastructure assets including the ducts, fibre, data centres, subsea cables and exchanges.

Second, InfraCo Towers will own and operate the passive or physical mobile tower assets, which will look to monetise over time.

Third, ServoCo will focus on how to create innovative products and services, support customers and deliver the best possible customer experience.

The idea behind this is to take advantage of the increasing value of infrastructure assets globally, the importance of the digital economy, and the dependence of the digital economy on telecommunications.

The Telstra share price rose 3% today.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

The ASX 200 retail giant released a trading update today.

It said that in the four months to the end of October 2020, Bunnings sales have grown 25.2%, Kmart sales went up by 3.7%, Target sales decreased by 2.2%, Catch sales went up 114.4% and Officeworks sales grew by 23.4%.

In the year to date, its retail businesses have delivered total online sales growth of 166%, excluding Catch. Excluding online sales in metropolitan Melbourne, which were significantly elevated due to government-mandated trading restrictions, online sales growth was 98%. Including Catch, which is 100% online, total online sales across Wesfarmers increased to $1.3 billion.

Wesfarmers also said that its industrial businesses have made a pleasing start to the year.

The Wesfarmers share price went up 2.5% today.

More reading

• After 8 months, ASX 200 shares are finally out of correction territory
• Broker tipping a ~10% jump in the Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price by Tuesday
• Why the Dubber Corp (ASX:DUB) share price is surging today
• Why are ASX tech shares all over the place today?
• Here’s how ASX investors have reacted to a Biden win

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a pretty ho-hum kind of day, down 0.49% at market close to 6,418 points.

Despite this, the index is still up around 4.4% over the past week, so ASX 200 investors don’t have too much to complain about today.

The ASX 200 is currently at its highest levels since March, when global share markets were in freefall as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic was first becoming obvious. It might be easy to forget, but back in January and February, the ASX 200 was well over 7,000 points. It actually crossed the 7,000-point threshold for the first time ever in January, and went on to go as high as 7,162 points by mid-February, before things started to hit the fan.

On the current level, the ASX 200 is now just 4.1% below where it started the year and just 10.4% below the all-time high we saw in February.

This last point is significant because when the index closed yesterday, it was sitting at 6,446 points, which is equivalent to 9.9% below February’s all-time high. According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) yesterday, that means that the ASX 200 is now officially out of ‘correction territory’.

A correction is a share market event that describes the situation when the share market falls more than 10% from the most recent high watermark. Thus, a correction is technically ‘over’ when this 10% gap is once again closed.

What’s pushing ASX 200 shares up?

The ASX 200 is a weighted index, which means the largest companies within it have the largest impact on the overall index.

The top 5 largest companies on today’s levels are as follows: CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC).

Over the past month, CSL shares are up 3.58%, Commonwealth Bank shares are up 5.23% and BHP shares are essentially flat. Meanwhile, NAB shares are up 10% and Westpac is down 3.3%.

So CSL, Commonwealth Bank and NAB are the shares most likely behind the ASX 200’s rise over the past month.

As we discussed earlier in the week, various commentators have attributed the recent ASX 200 performance (including the above shares) to a combination of the Biden victory in last week’s presidential election, together with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision at the start of the month to slash interest rates to another all-time low of 0.1%. 

It seems that these factors have now also enabled the ASX 200 to finally ‘correct the correction’ after 8 long months.

More reading

• Broker tipping a ~10% jump in the Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price by Tuesday
• Why the Dubber Corp (ASX:DUB) share price is surging today
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Why are ASX tech shares all over the place today?
• Here’s how ASX investors have reacted to a Biden win

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of National Australia Bank Limited. 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. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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There are a large number of growth shares listed on the Australian share market for investors to choose from.

So many, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy ahead of others. Two growth shares that have been rated as buys recently are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

a2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

a2 Milk Company is a leading New Zealand-based fresh milk and infant formula company. Although FY 2021 is likely to be a rare off-year for the company because of the pandemic’s impact on the daigou channel and pantry stocking pulling forward sales into FY 2020, management remains confident that these are short term headwinds. It commented: “We are of the view that this short-term impact to the daigou channel will prove to be temporary, assuming stabilisation of COVID-19 related issues in Australia.”

One broker that agrees with this view and expects a2 Milk Company’s growth to accelerate once the headwinds ease is UBS. Earlier this week the broker put a buy rating and NZ$20.50 (A$19.37) price target on its shares. It believes investors should look beyond short-term volatility and focus on the potentially substantial gains in market share in China in the future.

Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

Pro Medicus is a leading provider of radiology information systems (RIS), picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), and advanced visualisation solutions to healthcare organisations across the globe. It has been growing at a consistently strong rate over recent years thanks to increasing demand for its software.

This has caught the eye of analysts at Morgans, which recently put an add rating and $33.32 price target on the company’s shares. The broker believes the company’s leading software puts it in a position to win new contracts in an industry expected to grow at a strong rate in the future.

More reading

• 2 ASX 50 shares to buy today
• The A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price is up 4% today. Here’s why.
• These were the best performing ASX 200 healthcare shares in October
• 2 must-buy ASX growth shares to buy in November
• Why the Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) share price rocketed 22% higher last month

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended A2 Milk and Pro Medicus Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) share price rocketed up to a record high earlier today based on an update on its Taro lithium asset. After jumping 19.28% to its peak of $1.98 this morning, the Vulcan share price has since retreated significantly. It’s now trading up 2.11% at $1.69 at the time of writing.

What did Vulcan announce?

Vulcan released an updated and reclassified resource estimate for its Taro asset. The new estimate indicated that the Taro asset includes .83 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at a grade of 181 milligrams per litre of lithium. This was based on the acquisition and interpretation of seismic and well data. 

The company also announced:

• Taro inferred resource estimate revised upward to 1.44 million tonnes of contained LCE at a grade of 181 milligrams per litre of lithium
• Upper Rhine Valley project now estimated to contain 16.19 million tonnes LCE indicated and inferred with a grade of 181 milligrams per litre of lithium

The company will also include the higher resource estimates into its pre-feasibility study for the Upper Rhine Valley project. Vulcan aims to produce lithium hydroxide for electric cars with the lowest carbon dioxide equivalent footprint in the world from this “zero carbon lithium” project. 

About the Vulcan share price

Vulcan Energy Resources is a lithium development company with assets in Germany. Vulcan has been listed on the ASX since 2018.

In the quarter to 30 September 2020, Vulcan Energy Resources spent $2.23 million on exploration and evaluation. The company had cash of $5.11 million at the end of the September quarter.

In September, former Tesla Inc (NADAQ: TSLA) director Jochen Rudat joined Vulcan as a sales and marketing consultant. Mr Rudat previously reported directly to Tesla CEO Elon Musk. 

The Vulcan share price is up 1316.67% since its 52-week low of 12 cents, and 962.50% higher than the beginning of the year. The company’s shares are up 1207.69% since this time last year. 

More reading

• Why the Talga Resources (ASX:TLG) share price hit a record high today
• The People Infrastructure Ltd (ASX:PPE) share price is up 250% since March
• Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price flat after AGM and sustainability update
• The Secos (ASX:SES) share price has soared 13% higher today. Here’s why.
• Broker tipping a ~10% jump in the Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price by Tuesday

Chris Chitty 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. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Although the Talga Resources Ltd (ASX: TLG) share price finished the day 2% lower at $1.74 on Thursday, that is only really half the story.

At one stage today, the battery anode company’s shares stormed as much as 13.5% higher to a record high of $2.01.

When the Talga Resources share price hit that level, it meant it had gained a remarkable 328% since the start of the year.

Why is the Talga Resources share price at a record high?

Investors have been fighting to get hold of the company’s shares this month following a couple of promising announcements.

The first came on 2 November when the company announced that it had entered into a non-binding tripartite letter of intent with international high-tech mining and minerals group Luossavaara-Kiirunavaraa Aktiebolag and Mitsui & Co. Europe.

The three parties are discussing the joint development of the Vittangi Anode Project in Sweden. This project is part of its plan to establish a European supply of sustainable, low-CO2 emission anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Two days later the company revealed that it has received a commitment for grant funding under the UK Government’s Automotive Transformation Fund to complete a preliminary feasibility study into the commercialisation of its silicon anode product in the UK.

Talga has been developing its silicon anode lithium-ion battery product, Talnode-Si, both at its battery materials centre in Cambridge, UK, and under the now concluded Faraday SAFEVOLT program.

It notes that this work demonstrated a promising commercial route to produce higher-energy density anodes for Li-ion batteries, with the potential to significantly increase the driving range of electric vehicles.

Talga’s Managing Director, Mark Thompson, commented: “With a large automotive industry employing nearly 800,000 people and a rich history of iconic manufacturers such as Jaguar-Land Rover, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, McLaren and many more, we see significant growth opportunities in the UK’s electrification process causing increased demand for our battery materials.”

“Our Cambridge-based battery material and technology facility has and continues to receive excellent support from Government agencies committed to a sustainable UK automotive industry,” he added.

More reading

• The People Infrastructure Ltd (ASX:PPE) share price is up 250% since March
• Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price flat after AGM and sustainability update
• The Secos (ASX:SES) share price has soared 13% higher today. Here’s why.
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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. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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