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The Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) share price gained 5.6% today, outpacing the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) gains of 0.2%.

This follows the company’s quarterly activities report, released this morning.

Today’s gains see the Champion Iron share price well into the green for the year, up 15% since 2 January. That’s despite the shares falling more than 50% from late January through to 24 March. Since then shares are up 119%.

What does Champion Iron do?

Champion Iron is an iron ore exploration and development company. Through its subsidiary, Quebec Iron Ore, the company owns and operates the Bloom Lake Mining Complex. This is located in the southern Labrador Trough in Quebec, Canada’s largest source of iron ore.

Champion Iron also owns the Gullbridge-Powderhorn property in Northern Central Newfoundland. The company sells its iron ore concentrate around the world with customers in China, Japan, the Middle East, Europe, South Korea and India.

Why is the Champion Iron share price up today?

Champion Iron announced record production, net income and net cash flow from its operations in the second quarter of FY21.

Atop revealing that it had suffered no new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the company reported revenue of $311 million for the 3-month period ending 30 September. This is up from $164 million over the same quarter in 2019.

Net income was also up, coming in at $122 million compared to a net loss of $1.7 million for the second quarter in 2019.

This left Champion Iron with a strong balance sheet, reporting cash on hand of $426 million. That compares to cash on hand of $346 million on 30 June. The company said that comes despite a dividend payment of $17 million made during the second quarter, and $97 million in mining taxes and payments.

Cpommenting on the results, Champion Iron CEO David Cataford said:

Our team’s agility in adapting operations is unlocking the full potential of our flagship Bloom Lake Mine, resulting in record quarterly production and financial results for our company.

I am proud to be leading such a highly motivated workforce, dedicated to the success of our company, despite the challenging environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic… With our cash on hand rapidly growing, our company continues to diligently advance the Phase II expansion project, increasing the cumulative budget to $120 million, which is expected to further de-risk the project.

With the iron ore price strong at US$115 per tonne today, and Champion Iron reporting record production, I think the Champion Iron share price will be one to watch.

More reading

• Why the Evans Dixon (ASX:ED1) share price is up 7% as the All Ords slides
• Why the Probiotec (ASX:PBP) share price is trading higher
• Why the Danakali (ASX:DNK) share price is down 7% today
• Why the Adairs (ASX:ADH) share price is swinging lower today
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX snaps winning streak… just

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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In the mid cap space I continue to believe there are a good number of shares that have the potential to grow strongly over the next decade, potentially generating market-beating returns for shareholders.

Three which I think would be great options for long-term focused investors are listed below:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

Bravura is a leading provider of software solutions for the wealth management and funds administration industries. I’m a big fan of the company due to its growing portfolio of solutions that are both high quality and have significant market opportunities. This is particularly the case for the Sonata wealth management platform. This is used by a number of large financial institutions, such as Aware Super. In fact, Australia’s second largest super fund just signed a 7-year agreement for Sonata.

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

Another mid cap share to consider buying is Collins Foods. It is one of the largest quick service restaurant operators in the ANZ region. At the last count, it had 240 KFC stores in Australia, 40 KFC stores in Europe, and 12 Taco Bell across Queensland and Victoria. Although this is a sizeable network, management stills see plenty of room to expand in the coming years. I expect this and the continued popularity of its brands to underpin consistently solid earnings and dividend growth for the foreseeable future. 

Damstra Holdings Ltd (ASX: DTC)

Finally, Damstra is a growing integrated workplace management solutions provider to multiple industry segments. Its cloud-based workplace management platform is used by businesses globally to track, manage and protect their workers and assets. This appears to have left it for well-placed to benefit from changes to working conditions in the post-pandemic world. Particularly given solutions such as fever detection and mobility tracking. The company also recently bolstered its offering with the acquisition of Vault Intelligence. It is a software company offering solutions which combine health, safety, compliance, and risk management.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why is the Bravura (ASX:BVS) share price dropping today?
• Why the Damstra (ASX:DTC) share price is climbing higher today
• 5 top ASX shares to buy with $5,000
• Beat the rate cuts with these ASX dividend shares

James Mickleboro owns shares of Collins Foods Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Damstra Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bravura Solutions Ltd and Damstra Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods 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 aftermath of the Banking Royal Commission (also called the Hayne Commission) continues to spill over, almost two years after it concluded.

After much soul-searching and lessons learnt in these last two years, the big four banks are still grappling with various write-down in profits related to the findings from that inquiry. 

Here we take a look at how the inquiry has financially impacted the big four banks over the last two years.

Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ)

ANZ Bank announced yesterday that its second half 2020 cash profit would be impacted by a charge of $528 million as a result of large notable items. 

One of the items includes remediation to customers, which makes up $188 million of the total figure. This charge relates to remediation programs the bank had conducted in response to recommendations made by the commission.

Earlier this year, ANZ had already paid a $10 million penalty for wrongly charging 69,000 customers more than $3 million in fees.

The figures announced yesterday will only add to the misery.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Earlier this month, the Federal Court ordered Westpac to pay a $1.3 billion penalty for its breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Acts. The penalty was the highest ever civil penalty in Australian history, reflecting the seriousness of internal control failures at Westpac.

The compliance failures were levelled by AUSTRAC, a government financial intelligence agency set up to monitor financial transactions.

In response, Westpac admitted to the court that it failed to report 19.6 million international transactions within 10 days. The bank also admitted to 48 instances where it didn’t perform adequate customer due diligence, and failure to flag 262 customers for making transactions that fitted the pattern of child exploitation.

It remains to be seen whether more write-down will be reported in the future as the bank recently reshuffled its management team. 

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

Last week, NAB also announced a hit to profits totalling $450 million. This includes payment of refunds to customers of $245 million, and a whopping $128 million in backdated payments to remediate staff underpayment.

This figure is on top of the $297 million in penalties the bank has already paid since 2018.

NAB revealed 12 months ago that it was investigating a payroll mistake responsible for short-changing 730 NAB employees of about AU$850,000. That number had grown to 1,500 staff and $1.3 million by June, but it was a surprise for the market to hear the number had now increased to $128 million. 

NAB was also accused of charging customers fees without providing them with services, as well as providing its wealth clients with non-compliant advice.

The bank recently announced a startling forecast that the cost of compensating customers could eventually be as high as $2.2billion, which it already reported as provisions during the half year reporting.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

In 2018, the prudential regulator APRA slammed CBA’s board and senior management in a scathing report that chided the bank for its widespread “complacency and excessive complexity and insularity”. The regulator also identified serious failures in the bank’s internal controls to prevent anti-money laundering and terrorism-related activities.

CBA agreed to pay AU$700 million in penalties, as well as agreeing to carry an additional $1 billion in regulatory capital and to undertake a comprehensive review of its operations. 

Earlier this year, CBA denied reports that it was facing fines in the billions of dollars for selling superannuation products through bank tellers. That saga is still ongoing and the bank may still be imposed a fine for that breach.

So what lies ahead for the big four banks?

With all that’s happening, it’s clear that FY20 will not be the best year for banking sector investors. Many banks will be throwing everything but the kitchen sink when they close the books for FY20, by including other write-down charges in a year that’s already lost. Investors may need to be patient and focus on the FY21 results.

More reading

• Today was mixed for the ASX 200, ending 0.1% higher
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price on watch after revealing $528 million earnings hit
• Douugh and Ioupay were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week

Motley Fool contributor dsunarto 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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The ResApp Health Ltd (ASX: RAP) share price soared higher today following the release of a positive market announcement.

During market open, shares in the digital health company surged to an intra-day high of 12 cents. However, a portion of those gains have been given back, with the ResApp share price closeing at 11.5 cents, up 9.5%.

Let’s see what news ResApp updated investors with.

A new software app for Android

ResApp advised that it has now launched its software application ResAppDx on select Android devices.

The smartphone-based acute respiratory diagnostic test has been developed for use by clinics for a range of health issues. These include lower respiratory tract disease, croup, pneumonia, asthma/reactive airway disease exacerbation, COPD exacerbation and bronchiolitis.

It is estimated that there are more than 2.5 billion active Android devices worldwide, thus expanding ResApp’s addressable market. Android users in Australia and Europe number more than 11 million and 450 million, respectively.

The company said the launch followed extensive testing and met high standards identifying respiratory diseases. ResApp will work with its existing partnerships with Coviu and Phenix Health.

The company will now focus its efforts on launching SleepCheck for Android. This will allow users to assess their risk of sleep apnoea on almost all smartphone devices. It is expected the rollout will be in the coming months.

What did management say?

ResApp CEO and managing director Tony Keating said launching ResAppDx on select Android devices was a major achievement for ResApp:

The company has undertaken extensive testing to ensure our offering continues to meet the high standards set by regulative bodies and provides clinicians with a best in class solution to test for respiratory disease during telehealth consultations.

ResApp has established partnerships in the Australian telehealth sector through both Coviu and Phenix Healthcare and we will now pursue the launch of ResAppDx for Android across their respective platforms. Further, we will continue to pursue similar partnerships in Europe, which have the potential to give us access to a much larger and established telehealth market.

More reading

• Why the ResApp (ASX:RAP) share price is up almost 20% today
• The ResApp (ASX:RAP) share price is soaring 10% today. Here’s why.

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. 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 is a category of ASX shares that have been pummelled by COVID-19, but have very bright prospects in the next year or so.

That’s according to analysis firm Moody’s Investors Service, which has picked Australian real estate investment trusts (REITs) positioned for a revival in the next 12 to 18 months.

The entire sector saw share prices tumble in late February and March as investors panicked over the potential economic impacts of the coronavirus.

And many nations around the world have indeed gone into recession, which is usually a death knell for real estate.

But Moody’s Investors Service reported on Wednesday that Australian REITs would see their aggregate net operating income grow 2% to 3% over the next year or 18 months. 

This sparks a potential for the share prices to once again pick up.

Exactly which REITs will bask in glory?

Industrial real estate would lead the way in the post-COVID world, said Moody’s senior credit officer Matthew Moore:

A renewed focus on supply chains because of coronavirus disruptions and limited space availability will support demand for industrial assets, benefiting A-REITs active in this space.

ASX-listed REITs that invest in industrial properties include Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) and Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC).

Will work-from-home kill office real estate?

The white-collar shift to work-from-home arrangements is a risk for the office space subsector.

But prospects still remain solid, according to Moody’s senior analyst Saranga Ranasinghe:

In the office space, performance remains for now supported by low vacancy rates and low near-term lease expiries, but there is a clear longer-term risk in the form of a potential structural shift to remote work that could affect demand.

The Moody’s report listed GPT Group (ASX: GPT), Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR) and DEXUS Property Group (ASX: DXS) as the REITs with the highest exposures to the office market.

It noted all three have “high-quality assets with stronger and larger tenants, staggered lease maturities and leases that mostly have built-in rental escalations”.

What about retail and residential real estate?

The fortunes for retail REITs will vary according to whether the tenants sell discretionary or non-discretionary goods.

Shopping malls with discretionary spending as a focus would see their fortunes improve over the next 12 to 18 months, according to Moody’s– albeit off a very depressed base. REITs in that space include Westfield operator Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) and Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX).

Meanwhile REITs such as Charter Hall Group and Shopping Cntrs Austrls Prprty Gp Re Ltd (ASX: SCP), which have more non-discretionary retail exposure, would remain stable.

Residential real estate demand sunk when COVID struck. But government stimulus and relaxed lending rules will fire it up again, according to Moody’s.

The big federal subsidy coming out of COVID is the $25,000 available to all owner-occupiers for renovations. There is also the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and First Home Super Saver Scheme.

At the state and territory level, first home owner grants of varying amounts and stamp duty discounts help stoke demand.

Unfortunately, apartments were already in oversupply before the pandemic and are in even less demand now with zero immigration. This means the major beneficiary will be the standalone housing market.

“We expect that single family dwellings, particularly outside of major metropolitan areas in Sydney and Melbourne, are best placed to benefit from ongoing stimulus initiatives.”

By September, successful mortgage applications had already picked back up to pre-pandemic levels. That was despite Melbourne still being in the middle of its second lockdown.

More reading

• 3 of the best blue chip ASX shares to buy in November
• AMP (ASX:AMP) asset sales part of wealth sector transformation
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• ASX 200 shares hit by multiple takeovers
• Reject Shop (ASX:TRS) share price tumbles but it’s property stocks that should be worried

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group. 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) finished 0.1% higher today to 6,058 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) business announced its FY21 first quarter update today.

It said that it generated strong growth with underlying sales increasing 115% to $4.1 billion. This was also 9% higher than the underlying sales achieved in the fourth quarter of FY20.

Afterpay said that its annual run rate in the first quarter reached $16.4 billion.

Merchant revenue margins remained in line with what was achieved in FY20. The trend of lower gross losses continued in the first quarter with customer default payments remaining below historical rates in all regions. This resulted in net transaction losses as a percentage of underlying sales also remaining low.

As a result of the above factors, Afterpay boasted that its net transaction margins have remained strong in the first quarter.

Active customers increased globally by 98% to 11.2 million, up from 5.7 million in the first quarter of FY20. The US now has over 6.5 million customers. Afterpay said that there has been an 18% increase of the daily average number of new customers in the month to date (in October) compared to the average for the first quarter of FY21.

Active merchants also grew strongly, up by 70% to 63,800. Afterpay said that a number of major enterprise retailers launched in October.

The company said that the rollout of in-store Afterpay in the US is progressing well with a number of high profile retailers now live in open stores across the country. The launch into Canada has also progressed well with a number of large retailers now live. Some retailers include Aritzia, Lush, Ardene and Goop.

The Afterpay share price went up by more than 7% today.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ)

Yesterday evening the big four ASX 200 bank announced a number of hits to its FY20 second half profit. The combined impact is an after-tax charge of $528 million, which will impact its CET1 capital ratio by 5 basis points.

Remediation charges relating to the Hayne royal commission in the second half of 2020 will be $188 million after tax, largely relating to an acceleration of remediation programs and product reviews across the business.

Changes to how ANZ amortises its software resulted in a $138 million after-tax charge being recognised in the second half of FY20. These changes were made to reflect the increasingly shorter ‘useful’ life of various software assets with rapidly changing technology and business requirements.

The remaining charges of $202 million after tax include the writedown of goodwill in ANZ’s Pacific business, the impacts of AASB 9 accounting changes on ANZ’s investment in PT Panin and restructuring charges.

The ANZ share price fell 1.7% today.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)  

The ASX 200 retailing giant released its update for the first 13 weeks of FY21.

It said that its supermarkets grew total sales by 9.8% to $8.46 billion. This was driven by comparable sales growth of 9.7%, with significant growth from Victoria due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Excluding Victoria, comparable sales growth was 7.7%. Online sales grew by 73%.

Total liquor sales was 17.4% higher to $852 million. Again there was strong comparable sales growth, with a rise of 17.8%.

Coles Express sales went up by 10.3% to $291 million, largely thanks to comparable sales growth of 10.2%.

Overall, the Coles business delivered total sales growth of 10.5%.

Coles CEO Steven Cain said: “We have made further progress executing our strategy to ensure the long-term growth of Coles, particularly in digital and online. This is despite significant COVID related restrictions in Victoria related to our main store support centre, our distribution centres, our meat suppliers and of course, our customers”.

The Coles share price went up by 2.7% today. 

More reading

• These could be the next ASX stocks to unlock value by selling assets
• Beat low interest rates with these 2 ASX dividend shares
• After sliding 3% this week, is Sydney Airport’s (ASX:SYD) share price a buy?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why Afterpay, Blackmores, Coles, & Super Retail shares are charging higher

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 AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET. 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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Vection Technologies Ltd (ASX: VR1) share price surged up by 11% to a high of 16 cents in earlier trade today before retreating slightly. At the time of writing, the shares were trading at 14 cents, up 7.69%.

Let’s take a look at the company and why the Vection share price is up today.

What does Vection Technologies do? 

The software company has developed a technology called FrameS. It takes previously created models from software such as CAD or others and provides an immersive experience for up to six remote users. Applications include interior design, design review of industrial projects, exhibiting products remotely, and even training. 

The company also develops Mindesk, the first native virtual reality interface for Solidworks. This is one of the most widely used mechanical CAD software packages in the world. It is used by more than 6 million users worldwide, primarily for industrial design. The software allows designers to quickly sketch out ideas, experiment with features and dimensions, and produce models and detailed drawings.

Mindesk then allows users and engineers to interact with the design in a virtual world. It is useful for engineers, designers and customers. The applications include industrial design, electronics designs, customer reviews of housing plans and a range of others.

Why is the Vection share price moving?

The company’s share price has been moving since the partnership announcement with Nuovamacut. This has the biggest designer community in the Italian territory. Nuovamacut  has more than $68 million in annual revenue and 160 employees across 9 offices. In addition, it distributes Solidworks software to 8,600 company clients and 26,000 users. Its diverse client portfolio includes sectors ranging from industrial machinery, engineering and construction to aerospace and education.

The agreement represents an opportunity for Vection to accelerate market share growth for its virtual reality software, Mindesk. It aligns with the company’s goal to achieve strong annual recurring revenue growth. Although Vection Technologies advised that the financial impact of the agreement was not determinable, the company did say it anticipated the partnership to be “material for the company”.

This comes after a number of additional announcements that underscore the momentum behind the company. For example, it recently announced the global launch of its first Dell Technologies powered Virtual Reality integrated solution for enterprise, VRONE. Another recent announcement focused on the acceptance into the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) Hololens 2 program.

Vection Technologies will collaborate with the Autodesk Technology Centers and the Microsoft Mixed Reality team for the integration of the Mindesk software with the Microsoft Hololens 2 device.

The company already provides VR and AR capabilities to clients including Lamborghini, Maserati, Volvo and Philip Morris, servicing luxury brands with virtual showrooms for customers.

More reading

• Vection (ASX:VR1) share price lifts on partnership deal
• 3 ASX shares I think could be the next Afterpay (ASX:APT)
• Top ASX tech shares to buy in October 2020

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If you have room in your portfolio for a growth share or two, then you might want to take a look at the ones listed below.

Here’s why I think these ASX shares could be market beaters over the long term:

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The first growth share to look at is Appen. It is the global leader in the development of high-quality, human-annotated training data for machine learning and artificial intelligence. Through its team of 1 million+ crowd-sourced workers, it collects and labels high volumes of image, text, speech, audio, and video data used to build and improve artificial intelligence models. Given the growing importance of artificial intelligence and machine learning and the company’s leadership position in its field, I believe it is perfectly positioned to continue growing its earnings at a strong rate over the 2020s.

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

Another ASX growth share to consider buying is actually an exchange traded fund (ETF). But not just any old ETF, this one gives investors access to a group of the most promising technology companies in the Asian market. The BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF is invested in a total of 50 of the largest technology and ecommerce companies that have their main area of business in Asia (excluding Japan). This means you’ll be buying a slice of tech giants such as Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com, and Tencent Holdings. According to BetaShares, due to its younger and tech-savvy population, Asia is surpassing the West in respect to technological adoption. In light of this, this area of the economy is anticipated to remain a growth sector for a long time to come.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

A final growth share to consider buying is NEXTDC. It is one of the world’s leading data centre operators and a company I believe is perfectly positioned to capitalise on the cloud computing boom. Last year research firm Gartner predicted that 80% of all organisations will shift their workloads to third-party data centres by 2025. This compares to an estimated 10% that had already done so in 2019. I suspect that the pandemic might have even accelerated this shift, which could underpin very strong demand for its services over the coming years.

More reading

• Where to invest $20,000 into ASX shares right now
• The 10 ASX stocks worst hit by a Biden US presidential election win
• 2 no-brainer ASX shares to buy immediately
• Are these shares the next Afterpay (ASX:APT) and Appen (ASX:APX)?
• ASX 200 flat: Big four banks push higher, Afterpay drops, Megaport sinks 10%

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Appen 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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Several ASX stocks have been trying to unlock value by divesting assets and we are likely to see more. The question is who’re next in line to try to trigger a share price rally.

The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) is one of the most recent and obvious examples. Management announced the sale of half of USG Boral for around $1.4 billion as it put its US businesses on the auction block.

Citigroup reckons the US assets could fetch as much as $2 billion, reported the Australian Financial Review.

Divestments create value for ASX stocks

Divestmenting is usually a good way to score a re-rating for ASX stocks, although that has yet to play out for Boral.

However, most analysts view potential divestments of underperforming assets in a positive light. The Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK) share price is one example, while the Deterra Royalties Ord Shs (ASX: DRR) spin-off from Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) is another.

There are plenty of other examples where spin-offs and divestments have created extra shareholder value, including for the Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price.

Divorce is better than marriage

In fact, history has shown that a divestment strategy is a more reliable way of generating superior returns for ASX stock than mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

This is why some experts are trying to predict which S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) stock could be next to unlock value.

AMP share price on watch list

It appears there are a number of divestment ASX stock candidates. Bell Potter’s high-profile trader Richard Coppleson ventured a guess and the AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) share price is on the list.

It’s no secret that the embattled wealth manager is looking to shed more assets after selling its life insurance business in July this year. Shareholders were rewarded with a 10-cents a share fully franked dividend as a result.

The AMP share price has since slipped back to near record lows. I think it’s looking good value despite the risks of repositioning the business as there are multiple levers management could pull.

Not only could management trigger a rally with more asset sales, I suspect potential suitors are running the ruler over the group.

Other ASX stocks looking to cut and run

Other stocks on Coppleson’s list include the Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) share price, Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL) share price and Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT) share price.

Among the small caps, the AMA Group Ltd (ASX: AMA) share price looks to be a possible candidate too. The panel beating and auto services group is struggling to return to its glory days and streamlining its divisions might just do the trick.

More reading

• Beat low interest rates with these 2 ASX dividend shares
• After sliding 3% this week, is Sydney Airport’s (ASX:SYD) share price a buy?
• Why Afterpay, Blackmores, Coles, & Super Retail shares are charging higher
• What do you do when your ASX 200 shares are falling?
• ASX 200 flat: Afterpay impresses, Coles beats expectations, & HUB24 in a trading halt

Brendon Lau owns shares of AMP Limited and Iluka Resources Ltd. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Link Administration Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET and Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Link Administration Holdings 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 Medical Developments International Ltd (ASX: MVP) share price is pushing higher on the day of its annual general meeting.

In afternoon trade the healthcare company’s shares are up 2.5% to $5.44.

In case you missed the event, I thought I would summarise three key takeaways from the annual general meeting. Here’s what you missed:

Frustration but optimism over FDA delays.

The company’s Chairman, David Williams, noted that it has been a wild ride for the Medical Developments share price over the last 12 months. And while it is up around 10% since the time last year, it is trading more than 50% below its 52-week high.

Mr Williams suspects the “market was impatient for a faster roll-out in Europe and for results from the process we are going through with both the FDA and the Chinese regulator.” While he acknowledges that this is frustrating, he explained that “this is the nature of the pharmaceutical industry” and he is confident the company is “doing the right things.”

New CEO brings a lot of experience.

The company’s chairman believes the recent appointment of Brent MacGregor as its CEO is a big positive. Especially given its need to find a new leader that better matched where the company is in its lifecycle. Mr MacGregor was most recently commercial lead at Seqirus for CSL Limited (ASX: CSL).

Mr Williams commented: “The success of Seqirus in three short years was breathtaking and Brent played a big role in that success. It is very exciting to have Brent on board as his achievements in international markets is exactly what MVP needs. Better still he has worked and lived in Australia before so gets our culture and work ethic.”

FY 2021 update.

The company stopped short of providing a trading update, but revealed that Penthrox sales continue to grow strongly globally and its respiratory business is performing well.

In respect to the latter, management notes that it delivered its first private label spacer order for Walmart in August, which is being rolled out in approximately 4,600 pharmacies. This means its US footprint now totals in excess of 20,000 pharmacies.

In addition to the US, the company has also commenced the expansion of its footprint into Europe. It believes by continuously improving the quality and efficacy of its devices whilst expanding its geographic footprint, the long-term potential of this business remains very positive.

Finally, management commented on its partnership with CSIRO. It advised that it remains very strong and what started as a successful program for the company, is now showing great potential for advanced manufacturing across many industries. Especially in a new COVID effected world of decentralised manufacturing.

More reading

• Here’s why Medical Developments (ASX: MVP) share price has soared 12% today

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Medical Developments International Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Medical Developments International Limited. 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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