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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is once again climbing higher this Thursday in what is shaping up to be a very pleasing week for ASX shares. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has added another 0.24%, putting the index at just under 7,250 points – its highest level in almost six months.

So let’s now dig a little deeper into these share market moves by having a look at the ASX 200 shares currently at the peak of the market’s trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Thursday

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

Our first company to take a look at today is the ASX 200 coal miner Whitehaven. So far this Thursday, a sizeable 12.14 million Whitehaven shares have been dug up and sold. This is probably a consequence of the rather large share price drop Whitehaven is enduring today.

The coal miner’s shares are presently down a nasty 5.4% at $9.10 each. As we looked at earlier today, this may have been sparked by news that the CEO has sold more than $7 million worth of shares recently.

Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)

Next up we have ASX 200 gold miner Evolution. This Thursday has had a hefty 12.47 million Evolution shares panned out of the proverbial ASX river. Evolution is having the opposite experience to Whitehaven today, with the gold miner’s shares up a pleasing 6.8% to $2.74 each.

This comes after the miner discovered a new and significant copper-gold intersection at its Ernest Henry mine in Queensland. This is almost certainly behind the high volumes we are seeing.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

Our third and most traded ASX 200 share today is a frequenter of this list – Core Lithium. So far today, a notable 14.95 million of this lithium producer’s shares have been bought and sold on the ASX. Core Lithium shares have taken a pretty nasty tumble today, falling more than 2% at present to $1.42 a share.

This comes as the lithium share holds its annual general meeting today. As my Fool colleague covered this morning, Core Lithium is dropping despite some positive developments coming out of the AGM. These include a doubling of the company’s exploration budget.

The post Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• What $10,000 in ASX lithium shares a year ago would be worth today
• Why Core Lithium, Invictus Energy, New Hope, and Smartgroup shares are sinking
• Why is the Core Lithium share price getting crushed on Thursday?
• The CEO just sold 900,000 of his Whitehaven shares. What’s going on?
• Down 40% so far in 2022, this ASX 200 stock is being gobbled up by 2 directors

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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The New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) share price is having a difficult day.

In afternoon trade, the coal miner’s shares are down a sizeable 8% to $5.44.

This makes the New Hope share price the worst performer on the ASX 200 today.

Why is the New Hope share price under pressure?

There appear to have been a couple of reasons for the weakness in the New Hope share price.

The first is a particularly poor showing from coal miners. Rivals Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) and Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) are also down sharply. This is potentially due to concerns over demand in China amid soaring COVID cases.

In addition, this morning New Hope released its quarterly update.

And while the coal miner reported a huge profit jump, it would have been so much stronger but for weaker production because of wet weather and skilled labour shortages.

According to the release, New Hope reported a 167% increase in underlying EBITDA to $648.1 million. This was driven by record thermal coal prices, which was partially offset by a 10.4% decline in production quarter on quarter.

In light of this, the company is expecting its full year production to fall 1% year over year in FY 2023.

One positive, though, is that management expects coal prices to remain high. At its annual general meeting it commented:

The financial results for the first quarter of the 2023 Financial Year are in line with our expectations, with a first quarter Underlying EBITDA of $648 million, an increase of 167% from the same quarter last year. The financial performance reflects the current high price environment driven by a shortfall of supply against demand in the market given weather disruptions on top of the historic under investment in our industry.

At the start of the quarter, we were seeing exceptionally high prices as the northern hemisphere started restocking for winter. Price has since come off slightly due to the warmer winter currently being experienced, but we do expect prices to remain stable, or increase as Europe moves into the middle of winter.

The post Why is the New Hope share price tumbling 8% on Thursday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Core Lithium, Invictus Energy, New Hope, and Smartgroup shares are sinking
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares beating inflation right now
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Galan Lithium, New Hope, TechnologyOne, and Virgin Money UK shares are rising

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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Lithium shares are easily among the hottest stocks of the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) in 2022.

In this article, we do the maths to discover what $10,000 invested in five of the most popular lithium shares a year ago would be worth today.

How much have these shares gone up in 12 months?

Let’s say you invested $2,000 in each of the following five ASX lithium shares a year ago.

Now, let’s see where these stocks are trading today and how far they’ve moved up in that time.

• The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is $1.42, up 158% over the past 12 months
• The Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price is $86.70, up 98% over the past 12 months
• The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is $4.85, up 92% over the past 12 months
• The IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price is $16, up 56% over the past 12 months
• The Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price is $14.59, up 50% over the past 12 months.

You’ll note that Mineral Resources is included in this list. Yes, while it does mine more than lithium, it is a global top-five producer and therefore worthy of inclusion in any list of lithium shares.

What is my $10,000 worth now?

So, drum roll please… in total, your initial $10,000 investment would be worth about $19,080 today (excluding the minor impact of brokerage fees).

This list above demonstrates the power of investing in ASX shares with momentum.

By comparison, All Ords shares as a group are down 3.6% over the past 12 months.

Why have ASX lithium shares gone up so much?

Lithium stocks have got momentum for three reasons:

1. They are a direct beneficiary of a brand new and rapidly-rising global industry: electric vehicles (EVs)
2. The commodity price of lithium has reached historical levels and is up 200% year over year, according to Trading Economics data
3. Lithium shares are associated with a massive long-term global investment thematic: decarbonisation.

It’s important to remember that past performance doesn’t guarantee future returns. Things can change.

For example, some experts think the amount of business investment going into new lithium mines will lead to an oversupply of the resource. That might mean weaker commodity prices and, thus, share prices. (Many disagree with that assessment, it’s worth noting.)

We also do not suggest that if you have $10,000 to invest, you put it all into ASX lithium shares. Or for that matter, any other stocks that happen to have momentum at the moment. That goes against one of The Fool’s fundamental beliefs that share portfolios should always have diversification.

But if you do have $10,000 to invest, check out our article on how to start investing with $10,000.

The post What $10,000 in ASX lithium shares a year ago would be worth today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Core Lithium, Invictus Energy, New Hope, and Smartgroup shares are sinking
• Why is the Core Lithium share price getting crushed on Thursday?
• Sell the big four banks and buy this ASX lithium share: broker
• 3 ASX 200 shares hitting new 52-week highs on Wednesday
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Allkem Limited and Core Exploration Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has continued its positive run on Thursday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.3% to 7,252.6 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are rising:

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

The Kogan share price is up 9% to $3.74. Although the ecommerce company reported a significant sales and earnings decline so far in FY 2023, investors appear pleased that Kogan’s under pressure CEO, Ruslan Kogan, is expecting a strong second half. In other news, shareholders voted down the adoption of a new constitution at its annual general meeting.

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

The Nick Scali share price is up 10% to $10.30. This follows the release of a trading update at the furniture retailer’s annual general meeting. Management revealed that the company expects its first half profit to be 57% to 66% higher than the prior corresponding period. This follows a 74% increase in sales revenue to $194 million for the four months ended 31 October.

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

The PointsBet share price is up almost 4% to $1.95. Investors have been buying this sports betting company’s shares after it announced its launch in Maryland. This represents the company’s 13th online sports betting operation in the United States market.

Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)

The Sayona Mining share price is up 3.5% to 22.2 cents. This follows the release of an update on the company’s North American Lithium (NAL) operation. According to the release, the operation is on budget and on track for the recommencement of production in the first quarter of 2023. NAL has nameplate capacity to produce up to 220kt of spodumene concentrate or 30kt LCE per year.

The post Why Kogan, Nick Scali, PointsBet, and Sayona Mining shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is this ASX 300 retail share soaring 13% today?
• Could these be the best ASX dividend shares to buy now for 2023?
• Sayona Mining share price jumps 7% on ‘progressing rapidly’ update
• Why is the Pointsbet share price smashing the ASX All Ords today?
• Kogan share price jumps 13% as boss touts ‘return to historic growth trajectory’

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Kogan.com ltd and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. 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 Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) share price is screaming higher today after a positive trading update.

The ASX 200 retail share is currently up 10.6% to $10.33. It is vastly outperforming the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO), which is up 0.3%.

The Nick Scali share price hit an intraday high of $10.54, representing a 12.8% bump on yesterday’s close.

The furniture retailer held its annual general meeting (AGM) today. The managing director, Anthony Scali, presented a snapshot of trading conditions for FY23 so far. Clearly, it’s got investors excited.

The highlight is an expectation of a 57% to 66% increase in net profits in 1H FY23 compared to 1H FY22.

Let’s take a look.

Nick Scali share price soars on trading update

Scali said trading in FY23 so far has been “robust”. While supply chain issues had eased, he noted uncertainty as to how rising inflation and interest rates would affect customer demand in the near term.

Scali reported sales revenue of $194 million for the four months to the end of October. This is a 74% increase over the same timeframe in FY22.

He said group written sales orders were $148 million for the period, which was 55% above last year.

Scali said:

Based on current delivery levels we expect net profit after tax for the first half of FY23 to be in the range of $56 to $59 million, 57% to 66% above the first half FY22 of $35.6 million.

Is Plush delivering for Nick Scali shareholders?

The acquisition of Plush — Think Sofas was Nick Scali’s first major acquisition ever.

The $103 million deal was done in November 2021. Plush continues to trade under its existing brand name. Its integration into the network was “substantially completed” by the end of FY22, says Scali.

He noted that written sales orders from the Plush network pushed the company’s group total written sales orders for FY22 to a record $474 million.

As noted earlier, in the first four months of FY23, group written sales orders are 55% above the same period in FY22. Scali reported a 21.7% bump in Nick Scali-brand written orders for the period.

This suggests that a fair-sized chunk of the overall group increase of 55% reflects the impact of Plush, as well as the impact of lockdowns last year.

On track to reach gross margin target for Plush

Scali said:

Group margin for the four months improved 180 basis points to 61.3% versus the 59.5% reported for the second half of FY22, following the Plush acquisition in November 2021.

We expect gross margin to continue to improve over FY23 with further realisation of the Plush synergies.

Under the Group’s ownership we have achieved an improvement of 240 basis points in the gross margin of Plush to 54.8%, whilst also achieving cost synergies.

Our gross margin target for Plush is 59% and we expect to reach this run rate before the end of FY23.

What’s next for Nick Scali?

Scali said the company has a long-term target of at least 85 Nick Scali stores and 90 to 100 Plush stores.

The network currently has a combined 108 stores across Australia and New Zealand.

They intend to open a minimum of two new Nick Scali stores and four new Plush stores in FY23.

The first Nick Scali store will be in Helensvale on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Two new Plush stores will be opened as well — one in Capalaba in Redland City, QLD and one in Campbelltown in southwest Sydney.

Scali said:

We are continuing our strategy of owning more of our retail stores and in FY22 we acquired
a multi-purpose site in Townsville to relocate our existing Nick Scali showroom and to
provide a new distribution centre to support growth of both brands in regional Queensland.

Scali said he would provide another trading update in February 2023.

Nick Scali share price snapshot

This ASX 300 retail share has had a tough time in 2022.

The Nick Scali share price is currently down 33% in the year to date.

Nick Scali is trading on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 10.06, according to the ASX website.

The post Why is this ASX 300 retail share soaring 13% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Could these be the best ASX dividend shares to buy now for 2023?
• Time to buy? Which ASX 200 shares are trading on single-digit P/E ratios?
• Up 14% in a month, why the ANZ share price can keep delivering: Citi
• How I’d build a portfolio by investing in top ASX shares now
• 3 ASX shares to buy no matter what the market’s doing: Auscap

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Nick Scali Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to continue its winning run. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.3% to 7,258 points.

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

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price is down 2% to $1.42. A number of lithium miners are trading lower on Thursday. This may be due to concerns over soaring COVID cases in China. Investors may fear that this could put pressure on short term battery materials demand and therefore lithium prices.

Invictus Energy Ltd (ASX: IVZ)

The Invictus Energy share price is down 14% to 27 cents. This morning this energy explorer released an update on drilling at the Mukuyu-1 well in Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa Basin. Invictus Energy revealed that after reaching its target depth, a deterioration in borehole conditions meant its tools were unable to reach where the primary fluid sampling targets are located. As a result, the decision has been made to sidetrack the Mukuyu-1 well.

New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC)

The New Hope share price is down 7% to $5.52. Investors have been selling New Hope’s shares following the release of its quarterly update. That update revealed a 167% increase in underlying EBITDA to $648.1 million. This was driven by record thermal coal prices. The result would have been stronger but for a 10.4% decline in production quarter on quarter.

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ)

The Smartgroup share price is down 2.5% to $4.64. This morning analysts at Macquarie downgraded the salary packaging company’s shares to a neutral rating and slashed their price target to $4.75 following yesterday’s guidance downgrade.

The post Why Core Lithium, Invictus Energy, New Hope, and Smartgroup shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why is the Core Lithium share price getting crushed on Thursday?
• Why is the Invictus Energy share price crumbling 16% on Thursday?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Wednesday
• Why PolyNovo, Smartgroup, Star, and WiseTech shares are falling

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended SMARTGROUP DEF SET. 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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With hundreds of shares to choose from on the ASX share market, building an ASX share portfolio with confidence is a hard thing for many investors to do. We can do our own research until the cows come home, but it sure helps to get a headstart by considering ASX 200 shares named by other experts to get started.

So with this in mind, it’s time to check out five ASX 200 shares that brokers at Macquarie have just recommended to their clients as buys.

Brokers like Macquarie can run ‘model portfolios’ of shares to help guide clients in building a portfolio. According to reporting in The Australian this week, Macquarie has just dramatically rejigged its model portfolios in light of the broker’s belief that next year will see the US economy go into recession.

As such, Macquarie’s team has “swung to backing defensive stocks, arguing risks are too high for a range of stocks that did well from the first phase of the rate rises this year”.

The ASX 200 shares that Macquarie has decided to ditch in this light include Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), and Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX: TAH).

The broker has also put a few more shares on its ‘reduction’ list. These include National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS).

So which ASX 200 shares does Macquarie actually like right now?

Macquarie names 5 ASX 200 shares for clients’ portfolios

Well, the broker names five.

There is Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), for starters. Macquarie likes CBA as a “quality choice within the banking sector” and a better alternative to ANZ.

Then there’s ASX 200 toll road operator Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), viewed as a defensive share and ‘bond proxy’ with a reliable income stream.

APA Group (ASX: APA), an owner of gas pipelines, is the third ASX 200 share, selected for similar reasons to Transurban.

Next, we have ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX), the operator of the Australian Securities Exchange. This is despite the recent woes with the company’s failed blockchain alternative to the CHESS system.

Finally, Macquarie has named Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA), an ASX 200 packaging company that specialises in bottling and canning.

So those are the ASX 200 shares that Macquarie is currently recommending its clients build an ASX share portfolio around. Make of them what you will.

The post 5 ASX 200 shares Macquarie just recommended its clients buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Sell the big four banks and buy this ASX lithium share: broker
• How I’d aim for $1,000 in monthly income by buying ASX 200 dividend shares
• Are CBA shares flying too close to the sun?
• Macquarie is cooling off on its outlook for BHP shares. Should you?
• Markets are nervous. Why waiting to buy these ASX 200 shares could prove expensive

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in National Australia Bank Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended APA Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited and Macquarie Group Limited. 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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It certainly has been an eventful year for BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares and its shareholders.

Since the start of FY 2022, the company has completed a major divestment, announced plans to acquire OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL), and delisted from the London Stock Exchange following the unification of its corporate structure.

But has it been a successful year for anyone that invested in BHP shares?

Have BHP shares been a good investment in 2022?

BHP’s shares ended 2021 trading at $41.50, which means that if you had invested $20,000, you would have picked up a total of 482 shares.

At the time of writing, the BHP share price is trading at $44.60, which gives your parcel of shares a market value of approximately $21,500. That’s a return of $1,500 or 7.5%, which compares favourably to the 4.5% decline recorded by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this year.

But the returns don’t stop there. BHP is of course well-known for its big dividend payments and 2022 has been no exception.

In FY 2022, BHP rewarded its shareholders with fully franked dividends totalling approximately $4.63 per share. This equates to a yield on cost of ~11.2% and a payout of just under $2,232.

This brings the value of your investment to approximately $23,732, which represents a total return of 18.7%.

But wait, there’s more!

Petroleum demerger

As mentioned at the top, BHP completed a major divestment this year. The Big Australian offloaded its petroleum assets to Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) in exchange for a stake in the energy giant.

Shareholders received one newly issued Woodside share for every 5.534 BHP shares they owed. This means that our 482 BHP shares would have yielded 87 Woodside shares. Those Woodside shares currently have a market value of $3,350.

And let’s not forget that the energy giant has paid a dividend of $1.40 per share since the demerger completed. This adds an extra $121.80 to our return.

Summary

Here’s a summary of all the different returns from a $20,000 investment:

• BHP capital gains – $1,500
• BHP dividends – $2,232
• Value of Woodside demerger shares – $3,350
• Woodside dividends – $121.8
• Total return – $7,203.80

All in all, your $20,000 investment in BHP shares would now be valued at $27,203.80, which equates to a stunning return of 36%. Not bad for a bear market!

The post If I’d invested $20,000 in BHP shares at the start of 2022, here’s how much I’d have now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How I’d aim for $1,000 in monthly income by buying ASX 200 dividend shares
• Macquarie is cooling off on its outlook for BHP shares. Should you?
• Markets are nervous. Why waiting to buy these ASX 200 shares could prove expensive
• Will ASX 200 shares bottom before the year is out? Here’s Macquarie’s ‘best guess’
• Broker tips 17% total annual return from BHP shares

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is struggling on Thursday amid the broader market’s gains.

The lithium favourite’s stock has plunged 2.07% at the time of writing to trade at $1.42 a share.

Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.3% and the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) has lifted 1.06%.

Today’s session wasn’t always as grim for the Core Lithium share price. The stock started the day in the green, reaching a high of $1.49 – a 2.8% gain.

Interestingly, the company also held its annual general meeting today, where chair Greg English said its Finniss project is “definitely in the right place at the time”.

Let’s take a closer look at the latest from the ASX 200 lithium share.

Finniss project in ‘the right place at the right time’

The Core Lithium share price is sinking amid the company’s AGM despite seemingly positive comments from its chair. Looking back on the 12 months just been, English said:

We have progressed Finniss to the stage where we are mining ore at the Grants open pit. We are trucking direct shipping lithium ore to Darwin Port, and will commence shipping to China in the coming weeks. Our Dense Media Separation processing plant is nearing completion, and we are on track to commence lithium concentrate shipments early next year.

English also noted that only around 10% of Finniss’ tenements, by area, have been drilled so far. The company remains confident of the potential for additional lithium resources.

Core Lithium also intends to double its record 2022 exploration budget in the coming year. It’s confident Finniss’ mine life can be extended in 2023. English continued:

It may be somewhat cliché, but I believe that with Finniss we are definitely ‘in the right place at the right time’.

Spodumene prices continue to rise, and credible forecasters predict the price will remain high for many years. The ore at Finniss is high grade and metallurgically simple, with low iron, and we can ship the spodumene as simple gravel, making our product appealing to customers.

Core Lithium share price snapshot

Today’s tumble hasn’t been nearly enough to see the Core Lithium share price in the longer-term red.

The stock has gained 125% since the start of 2022. It’s also 158% higher than it was this time last year.

For comparison, the ASX 200 has fallen 5% year to date and 2% over the last 12 months.

The post Why is the Core Lithium share price getting crushed on Thursday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

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Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

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There has been reporting this week that a major investor decided to sell a significant chunk of Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) shares.

We’re not talking about $1 million or $2 million.

According to the Australian Financial Review, the broker UBS handled a major $154 million sale of shares. The newspaper said 2.34 million Xero shares were sold at $66 per share, representing a 0.5% discount to the last closing price.

The Xero share price is currently at $68.91, so it has risen 4.4% since then – the investor has left some money on the table.

It hasn’t been announced who the seller was, though AFR sources suggested it would be surprising if it were Xero founder Rod Drury or Craig Winkler’s Givia.

Due to the fact there hasn’t been an announcement from Xero, investors can’t know for sure who it was.

But, it seems puzzling selling now, considering the Xero share price has dropped by more than 50% this year, yet the business continues to grow.

Growth continues

It was only a couple of weeks ago that Xero announced its FY23 half-year result.

The ASX tech share announced that its total number of subscribers had gone up by 16% to 3.5 million, helping operating revenue increase by 30% to NZ$658.5 million. Annualised monthly recurring revenue (AMRR) grew 31% to NZ$1.5 billion after a 13% increase in average revenue per user to NZ$35.30.

Xero’s free cash flow surged 145% to NZ$15.6 million as it continues to invest heavily in sales and marketing, as well as research and development.

Xero CEO Steve Vamos said:

Our strong revenue growth momentum supports our strategy to invest, with discipline, to take advantage of the significant opportunity ahead as we continue to drive efficiencies in our business. This strong result underlines the quality of our business and the value we’re generating as more customers join us, do more with our open platform and stay with us for longer.

We’re focused on delivering the world’s most insightful and trusted small business platform by driving cloud accounting adoption, growing the small business platform and building for global scale and innovation. We remain committed to investing for the short and long term opportunity and supporting customer needs while maintaining a disciplined cost focus.

Xero share price snapshot

Over the last month, Xero shares have declined by around 9%. They are also down 51% over the past 12 months.

The post Who sold $154 million worth of Xero shares this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 4 ASX shares to buy in the sectors set to explode in 2023: expert
• Markets are nervous. Why waiting to buy these ASX 200 shares could prove expensive
• 3 ASX shares to buy for the end-of-year tech comeback: expert
• I’d use the Warren Buffett method to create a ‘best ASX shares to buy now’ list
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. 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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