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

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

The Allkem share price is down almost 3% to $14.44. This is despite there being no news out of the lithium miner. However, it is worth noting that a number of lithium shares fell heavily overnight on Wall Street. This may have been driven by concerns over economic data out of China and the impact this could have on electric vehicle demand.

Argosy Minerals Limited (ASX: AGY)

The Argosy Minerals share price is down 6% to 44.7 cents. As well as broad weakness in the lithium industry today, the release of an update on the Rincon project in Argentina could be weighing on its shares. Some investors may be a touch underwhelmed with the company's progress.

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price is down 4.5% to $14.00. This may have been driven by profit taking after strong gains earlier this week. Investors were buying the digital speaker developer's shares after it streamed a demonstration of its technology at its annual general meeting. Time will tell if it is as ground-breaking as claimed.

Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU)

The Imugene share price is down 4.5% to 10.5 cents. That's despite the immuno-oncology company releasing yet another announcement this morning. Today's announcement reveals that Imugene has dosed its first patient in the combination cohort of the IMPRINTER study.

The post Why Allkem, Argosy Minerals, Audio Pixels, and Imugene shares are falling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that didn't let that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they were climbing today:

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The Appen share price rose 13% to $3.16. Traders have been buying Appen's shares amid increasing interest in the artificial intelligence space. Though, given its abject performance over the last 12 months, it remains unclear if Appen will be able to fend off increasing competition from other data services providers.

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price was up 20% to $14.65. Investors have been buying this digital speaker developer's shares following the demonstration of its technology at its annual general meeting. Though, it is worth noting that the technology wasn't actually present and was streamed to attendees.

De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG)

The De Grey Mining share price rose over 2% to $1.34. This appears to have been driven by increased demand for safe haven assets and a positive broker note out of UBS. In respect to the latter, the broker has upgraded the gold developer's shares to a buy rating with a $1.80 price target.

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)

The Paladin Energy share price was up 2% to 54.5 cents. Investors were buying this uranium developer's shares after it downplayed reports that the Namibian government is seeking to take minority stakes in mines in the southern African country. Paladin has the globally significant Langer Heinrich Mine in Namibia.

The post Why Appen, Audio Pixels, De Grey Mining, and Paladin Energy shares rose today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP) share price stormed 34% higher in today's trade to $12.20 before entering a trading halt.

Let's take a look at what went on with this ASX All Ords stock on Tuesday.

What is Audio Pixels excited about?

Audio Pixels is developing revolutionary sound reproduction technology which has taken more than a decade to deliver.

On Tuesday afternoon, the market was advised Audio Pixels was entering a trading halt "pending a further announcement".

The company's AGM was held at 1.30pm on Tuesday afternoon in Sydney, following notice of the trading halt. This AGM included a demonstration of the company's second-generation chip, which had been previously announced.

ASX CEO Danny Lewin said the chip is "in advanced stages of fabrication process development" and is "designed to add very specific commercial value as understood and expressed by the market".

A copy of Lewin's prepared address for the AGM was posted to the ASX this morning. He noted the company's confidence in its technology, including its sound quality.

Lewin noted the company's objective on Tuesday was to share some of the "excitement" and "confidence" in the technology that "we envisioned, you have invested in, and impatiently waited for".

Our technology delivers many competitive advantages, such as eliminating any need to enclose the speaker in heavy, space consuming enclosures and chambers, or the need to convert from digital to analogue and amplify the signals, or the need for crossover circuitries, or the need to isolate speaker vibrations from the device electronics, to name but a few…

But our focus today is on demonstrating what undoubtedly is the most important criteria and advantage of our technology – the incomparable sound quality it offers.

Chairman Fred Bart also provided the market with a copy of notes for his address to the meeting on Tuesday morning.

He thanked shareholders for their patience in "supporting the massive undertaking to revolutionize the multibillion-dollar sound reproduction industry". He added:

Given our recent accomplishments, I am increasingly optimistic that your patience will be rewarded many times over.

The company noted its fabrication partner Earth Mountain has expanded its fabrication facilities with two extra silicon foundries.

Share price snapshot

The Audio Pixels share price has shed 33% in the past year.

This ASX All Ords stock has a market cap of about $354.35 million based on the latest share price.

The post Guess which ASX All Ords stock just rocketed 34% before being halted? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The truly ghastly fact about zombie companies is how pernicious their capital destruction can be. Rather than presenting a problem in plain sight, these undead entities can wander along for years without their detrimental deeds being detected.

Half of the mission in investing is to make money, the other half is trying not to lose it. That's why I believe it is critical to understand what a zombie share is and ways to avoid them. Being able to distinguish a horde from a haven could help rule out an especially deadly part of the market.

What is a zombie company?

If there are ASX All Ord shares that meet the conditions of a zombie company, what are those conditions?

Well, the technical requirements differ depending on who you ask. However, the general principle is a company that generates inadequate cash earnings from its operations to cover the interest on its debt — let alone pay it down.

Typically, these businesses will make use of additional capital raises and/or more debt to sustain themselves. It might work for a time, but the reality is unless the company can substantially improve its operational earnings, there's a good chance it will eventually collapse.

Right now, some ASX All Ords shares that are emblematic of zombies are Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP), Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB), and Magnis Energy Technologies Ltd (ASX: MNS).

Mesoblast is a prime example of a zombie. The regenerative medicine company has dialled up its debt over the past five years, as pictured above. During that time, more funds have been consumed by research and development (among other expenses) than what has been generated by its operations.

Before you go deleting a bunch of companies from your watchlist, there are a few benefits of the doubt that I believe are worth giving:

• Companies can have a challenging year where they become unprofitable. It may turn out to be a temporary sickness, rather than a full-blown zombie awakening
• Sometimes a zombie can return to the land of the living under a successful strategy
• Certain stages of select industries necessitate a period of zombification e.g. drug development and mineral exploration

Unfortunately, the risk that ASX zombie shares pose to shareholders is more prominent now than at any other time in the past decade. This comes down to the cost of capital ballooning amid the face-melting rise in interest rates.

How to dodge ASX All Ord shares with a nasty bite

If staying far, far away from anything that holds any resemblance to a zombie is more in tune with your investing style, there are several fundamentals I'd zero in on.

Firstly, a good place to start is a high EBITDA margin. The higher the margin, the more cash is available to pay interest and fund growth without additional debt. Keep in mind, though, a company can be profitable on an EBITDA basis and still lose money on the bottom line due to non-cash items.

Secondly, and perhaps a no-brainer (pun intended), is to search for ASX shares with minimal debt from the get-go. If the company never takes on debt, it's open ocean ahead — but if it does, you have ample time before it runs aground.

Lastly, a large swathe of ASX zombie shares can be avoided by steering clear of pre-revenue companies. Whether it is a drug developer, mineral explorer, or chip designer, if they are yet to generate meaningful revenue, there's a fair chance they're a zombie in the making (if not one already).

Some of these companies will go on to succeed and reward their investors handsomely. Many others will consume shareholder wealth before fading into oblivion.

If you don't mind going toe-to-toe with zombies, here's my final word. Rule number 22 of Zombieland: when in doubt, know your way out.

It's easy to start making excuses and loosen your standards when a company in your portfolio starts to turn. I personally think it is important to set the goalposts for selling early and don't be tempted to shift them.

The post There are zombies among ASX All Ord shares. How I'd avoid my wealth being devoured appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price is down a further 6% to a 52-week low of $9.50. Last week, this digital speaker developer revealed that it is facing further delays with its placement. Though, delays are nothing new for Audio Pixels shareholders. Investors have been waiting over a decade for the company's speakers to be released.

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is down 3% to 30.2 cents. A number of coal miners are falling again today. This may be down to concerns that coal prices may not be as strong in 2023 and are locking in some of the stellar gains that were recorded over the last 12 months.

Pantoro Ltd (ASX: PNR)

The Pantoro share price is down 10% to 9 cents. This morning the gold miner and Tulla Resources Group Pty Ltd (ASX: TUL) revealed that they are in discussions in relation to a potential transaction to combine the ownership of the gold asset at Norseman into a single Pantoro entity. The two are joint venture partners at Norseman. It also revealed that the Halls Creek mine will be placed on care and maintenance.

Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS)

The Woodside share price is down 2% to $34.61. Investors have been selling energy shares today after oil prices pulled back overnight. Traders were selling down oil amid concerns that Chinese demand could be softer than expected due to rising COVID cases.

The post Why Audio Pixels, Bowen Coking Coal, Pantoro, and Woodside shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price is down 4% to $9.60. This morning, this digital speaker developer revealed that it is facing further delays in closing its placement. Delays are nothing new for Audio Pixels. Investors have been waiting over a decade for the company's wafer-thin speakers.

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is down 1.5% to 32 cents. This may have been driven by profit taking after a strong gain on Thursday. Investors were buying the coal miner's shares after it announced the completion of the loading of its first coal train through its Mallawa train loadout facility following refurbishments.

Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK)

The Link share price is down 39% to $2.01. This morning, Link's shares traded ex-distribution for an in-specie distribution of PEXA Group Ltd (ASX: PXA) shares. Early next year, eligible shareholders will receive one PEXA share for every 7.52 Link shares held at the record date rounded down to the nearest whole PEXA share.

Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX: RSG)

The Resolute share price is down almost 5% to 20 cents. This follows a pullback in the gold price on Thursday night. It isn't just Resolute that is falling on Friday. A good number of gold miners are falling, which has led to the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index falling 0.5% today.

The post Why Audio Pixels, Bowen Coking Coal, Link, and Resolute shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Most of the sector indices finished in the green today, although the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) was the worst performer, closing 0.39% lower.

The top indices were the S&P/ASX 200 Telecommunication Services Index (ASX: XTJ), which gained 0.81%, and the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ), closing 88% higher.

Let's discover which ASX All Ords thrashed these mediocre results by the market on Friday.

Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU)

The Arafura share price closed 13.58% higher to 46 cents apiece.

There's no fresh news to explain why Arafura's share price rallied strongly today.

However, its shares have been on a bull run since Wednesday, when they gained 17.14% in a single trading session. The momentum from this massive green candle may have carried over into the price action today.

Arafura's rally this week follows the mineral explorer's announcement on Tuesday that it had received approval for its mining management plan to get its Nolans project off the ground in the Northern Territory.

The agreement authorises Arafura to legally operate its Nolans project with the end goal of producing rare earth elements (REE) neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr).

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price also had a great run, surging 9.65% to close at $12.50 on Friday.

Like Arafura, Audio Pixels also had no announcements to report on today.

In fact, its most recent update came on 28 October when it posted its quarterly activities and cash flow report.

The digital speaker developer advised it used $1.23 million in operating activities for the reported period and $3.69 million over the last nine months.

Taking into account its cash balance and cash burn rate, Audio Pixels has an estimated 1.6 quarters of funding available.

One highlight of Audio Pixel's operations is that it's working towards making its product suitable for mass production.

BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI)

And finally, the BCI Minerals share price rocketed on Friday. It gained a hefty 10.6% to 26 cents per share.

Again, like the other shares on this list, the company had no news to report today, despite its share price surging into the green.

BCI Mineral's most recent announcement was posted on 28 October in the form of its September 2022 quarterly report.

The company reported its Iron Valley mine contributed $3.5 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) during the reported period.

It also finished the quarter with a strong balance sheet. BCI Minerals said it has no debt on its books but has $188 million in cash.

This balance sheet, alongside $100 million in convertible notes, will mean BCI Minerals will not need to take on additional debt to fund its construction projects for its Iron Valley mine.

The post 3 ASX All Ords shares that had a cracking run on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The following ASX All Ords shares spent a day in the red as well, after releasing FY22 and half-yearly results today. However, a late rally saw two of the companies return to base. Let's take a look.

Healthia Ltd (ASX: HLA)

The Healthia share price dropped 4% today after the ASX-listed healthcare company brought in some subdued results for FY22.

The top line did quite well with revenue growth of 44.4% to $202.8 million, but Healthia recorded a net loss of $3.3 million.

Healthia attributes the loss to flooding events across Southeast Queensland and New South Wales, staff absenteeism and cancellations stemming from COVID-19. On top of this, there were one-off non-recurring acquisition, integration and restructuring costs.

Across the year, Healthia deployed $111.3 million in capital towards acquiring 95 new businesses. This includes the 63 Back In Motion physiotherapy clinics, enabling Healthia to become one of the largest health providers in Australia and New Zealand.

However, these acquisitions stretched Healthia's balance sheet. It increased borrowing to around $77 million and managed to negotiate an extension of its finance facility from $70 million to $100 million.

Management advised that it expected to record underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation of more than $40 million in FY23.

Healthia also plans to spend at least $20 million on acquisitions in FY23.

The company's current market capitalisation is around $231 million.

Family Zone Cyber Safety Ltd (ASX: FZO)

The Family Zone share price spent all day in the red on the back of a poor set of financial results for FY22 before returning to its previous closing price of 40 cents apiece in the final moments of trading. The company is focused on developing a cyber safety and parental control platform.

Revenue increased 399% from $8.96 million in FY21 to $44.73 million in FY22, but this couldn't curtail the hefty jump in its net loss. Family Zone recorded a 243% increase in its net loss from $21.98 million in FY21 to $75.38 million in FY22.

The significant change in results is due to the company's acquisition of Smoothwall and Cipafilter during the year.

Family Zone currently holds $32.75 million in cash and $0.2 million in long-term borrowings.

Operating cash outflow jumped from negative $15.48 million in FY21 to negative $37.32 million in FY22.

Family Zone's market capitalisation is around $352.23 million.

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price fell by as much as 3% today on the back of soft results for HY22. However, shares in the ASX All Ords company also rallied back to their previous closing price of $14.47 in the final moments of trading.

Revenue went up from $58.3 million in HY21 to $78.6 million in HY22. Audio Pixels' net loss also went in the right direction, improving from $1.6 million to $0.68 million. However, when you account for foreign exchange differences, net loss rose from $2.66 million in HY21 to $2.98 million in HY22.

Operating cash outflow improved slightly from $2.64 million in HY21 to $2.50 million in HY22.

It appears Audio Pixels needs to raise more capital or rely on more debt given it holds $0.59 million in current assets and $1.40 million in current trade payables.

Audio Pixels relied heavily on unsecured borrowings of $2.39 million in HY22.

The current market capitalisation of Audio Pixels is around $415 million.

The post 3 ASX All Ords shares beaten up on results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price is down 10% to $15.20. This morning the digital speaker developer announced a $10 million placement to institutional and sophisticated investors. These funds were raised at a huge discount of $14.00 per new share. The proceeds will primarily go towards development, marketing and working capital, including repayment of outstanding debt. Maybe this means the company's technology will finally be ready for commercialisation in the near future after years and years of development.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

The Coles share price is down 3.5% to $18.06. This follows the release of the supermarket giant's full year results for FY 2022. Although the company beat consensus estimates with its net profit after tax of $1,048 million, its outlook commentary appears to have spooked investors. Management warned that both its Liquor and Supermarket sales growth are expected to be impacted by the cycling of COVID-19 lockdowns in the first half of FY 2022 and price inflation in the second half.

EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

The EML share price is down 14% to 85.7 cents. Things have gone from bad to worse for this payments company. This morning the embattled company revealed that it has identified fraudulent activity within its Sentenial business, with losses that could amount to $7.9 million. This is from fraudulent merchants within the debt processing business.

Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

The Nanosonics share price is down 8% to $4.31. This appears to have been driven by a negative reaction to this infection control company's full year results from brokers. One of those was Goldman Sachs. In response to its results, this morning the broker reiterated its sell rating with a price target of $3.50.

The post Why Audio Pixels, Coles, EML, and Nanosonics shares are sinking today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price is down 2% to $17.44. Investors have been selling this digital speaker developer's shares amid news that the Australian share market operator is querying the status of the demonstration of its playing chips. For around a decade, Audio Pixels has been promising game-changing digital speaker technology. But every time it gets close to finally revealing it, something seems to happen that delays things.

Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE)

The Lake Resources share price is down 4% to 73 cents. This is despite there being no news out of the lithium developer. However, it is worth noting that a number of lithium shares are falling on Monday despite the market pushing higher.

Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK)

The Link share price is down 1.5% to $3.75. This morning this administration services company rejected a takeover proposal from Dye & Durham. Last week the proposal was reduced from $5.50 per share down to $4.30 per share. The two parties are continuing discussions but Link will need a higher offer if a deal is going to be reached.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

The Magellan share price has sunk 9% to $11.81. This appears to have been driven by news that co-founder Hamish Douglass has been selling shares. Throughout June, Douglass offloaded approximately 760,000 Magellan shares. They have a current market value in the region of $9 million.

The post Why Audio Pixels, Lake Resources, Link, and Magellan shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

• Audio Pixels shares are booming today
• The company released its quarterly update yesterday
• Most of the progress was largely technical in nature
• The Audio Pixels share price has gained less than 2% since January 1

Shares in Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP) are booming today and are now trading 14% higher at $22.78 apiece.

Investors are showing support for Audio Pixels today despite there being no market-sensitive information out of the company's camp.

However, it did release its quarterly activities report for the three months ended 31 December 2021 yesterday, which could potentially help explain the momentum in today's session. Let's take a look.

Audio Pixels share price spikes on technical advancements

During the quarter, the company achieved several investment highlights, that were "mostly technical in nature", including:

• Activities supporting the transition of MEMS wafer fabrication to batch processing (production lines, processes and procedures).
• Fabrication and functional validation of Gen-II ASIC controller.
• Activities supporting the transition of Chip Packaging to vendors capable of mass production assembly, processes and procedures.
• Finalising of Fabrication / Production Agreements.
• Development and fabrication of self-contained demonstration systems.
• Expanded the technology portfolio during the quarter as well.

What else happened this quarter for Audio Pixels?

The company notes that its transition to mass production is "progressing according to plans", whereas the MEMS fabrication is also advancing on time.

Probably the most important update for the company last quarter was the settlement of a comprehensive manufacturing agreement with Shanghai-based Earth Mountain Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd.

Audio Pixels says the deal "secures very significant MEMS production and chip packaging capacity" and will transpose the collaboration from research and development into mass-production.

The company notes it has also prioritised the design and production of self-contained demonstration systems.

These systems are specifically designed to be securely provided to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) in a way that "permits independent technological assessment".

The company is now awaiting receipt of "packaged chips produced in mass production lines", which is anticipated sometime in March, per today's release.

Aside from that, Audio Pixels left the quarter with $750,000 in cash and equivalents on the balance sheet, up from $479,000 the quarter prior. At its current burn rate, the company estimates it has another 2-3 quarters of funding available, including unused financing of $1.6 million.

What's next for Audio Pixels?

The release notes that management has already begun laying the groundwork to "retool" the company, as it put. It aims to transition from an R&D focused company to "one that is capable of a large-scale global production, marketing and sales".

It also expects to surpass 200 granted patents in its portfolio later this quarter, after making several refinements to its predictive modelling and algorithms in the last few months.

Management did not provide any specific earnings or expenditure guidance in the quarterly update today.

Audio Pixels share price snapshot

In the last 12 months, the Audio Pixels share price has had a difficult time and is more than 4% in the red.

This year to date, it has taken off and gained a little under 2% since January 1 after rallying another 6% in the past week of trading.

The post Why is the Audio Pixels (ASX:AKP) share price booming 14% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are tumbling:

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price is down 10.5% to $21.65. This has wiped out most the gains made last week following an announcement. Investors may be concerned why, if the company's digital speaker technology is so revolutionary, it has had to resort to signing a fabrication agreement with an unknown Chinese company with no track record.

CIMIC Group Ltd (ASX: CIM)

The CIMIC share price sank 15% to $15.51 before being placed in a trading halt. This follows allegations reported in the Australian Financial Review of broken promises, extreme personal and financial hardship, and millions of dollars in unpaid wages from Australia's biggest construction company.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

The Magellan share price has crashed 30% to a multi-year low of $20.62. This morning, the fund manager announced the termination of the St James's Place mandate. The release notes that the mandate represents approximately 12% of the company's current annual revenues. As a result, the termination of the mandate at this point in the financial year is anticipated to impact its FY 2022 revenues by 6%.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is down 8% to $1.35 after the comany announced the acquisition of Bardoc Gold Limited (ASX: BDC). St Barbara has offered 0.3604 new St Barbara shares for each Bardoc share. Based on the St Barbara share price at the close of play on Friday, this values Bardoc at approximately $157 million and each Bardoc share at 53 cents. Investors appear to believe St Barbara is overpaying to expand its footprint in the Leonora Province.

The post Why Audio Pixels, CIMIC, Magellan, and St Barbara shares are tumbling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In afternoon trade, the Israel-based digital speaker developer's shares are up a massive 32% to $25.10.

Why is the Audio Pixels share price shooting higher?

The catalyst for the rise in the Audio Pixels share price on Friday has been the release of an announcement relating to its long-developed digital loudspeaker products.

According to the release, the company has signed a comprehensive agreement with Earth Mountain (Shanghai) Intelligent Technology to mass produce Audio Pixels' transformational digital loudspeaker products.

While details on Earth Mountain (Shanghai) Intelligent Technology are very limited on the internet, the release explains that it is a full-service semiconductor company with a focus on the mass commercialisation of devices and systems rooted in Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS).

A search also shows that Earth Mountain was founded by representatives of Israel-based ORAD Ltd, which specialises in solutions for complex technology multidisciplinary projects in security and in perimeter protection.

The agreement

The agreement sees Earth Mountain guarantee Audio Pixels with a long-term resilient supply of tens of millions of digital loudspeaker chips per year from the first quarter of 2022. Though, it is important to note that this is not a sales order but merely the promise of supply if sales are made.

Former poker play and current Audio Pixel's Chairman, Fred Bart, commented: "This agreement with EM represents a major milestone toward the commercialization of our technologies is all the more valuable given that it comes at a time when industry at large is struggling to secure semiconductor fabrication capacity. Our collaboration with EM enables us to expedite and broaden the number of customers and applications for our ground-breaking technologies"

Earth Mountain's CEO, Helen Du, said: "We are excited to be a part of Audio Pixels' international ambitions to transition sound reproduction technologies into the digital era. We hope to expand our relationship in AKP beyond this fabrication and commercialization agreement to include promotion, distribution and support for the products throughout greater China."

The post Why the Audio Pixels (ASX:AKP) share price is shooting 32% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why these ASX shares are sinking:

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price has tumbled 11% to $23.55 following the release of its quarterly update. Investors may be concerned with the digital speaker development company's balance sheet. At the end of the period, the company had cash of just under $500,000 and a $2 million loan facility. This gives it just 1.7 quarters worth of funding.

Marley Spoon AG (ASX: MMM)

The Marley Spoon share price has crashed 31% to $1.04. This follows the release of the meal kit delivery company's quarterly update. Due to volatile consumer behaviour, the company has downgraded its full year revenue growth guidance. It now expects growth of 26% to 28% compared to previous guidance of 30% to 35% growth.

Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

The Pointsbet share price is down 6% to $8.11. Investors have been selling the sports betting company's shares since the release of its first quarter update yesterday. That update revealed softer growth than the market was expecting. Goldman Sachs believes the selloff is a buying opportunity.

Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL)

The Vulcan Energy share price is sinking 14% to $12.89. This morning this lithium developer's shares returned to trade after responding to a scathing report from short-focused activist investor J Capital. In response, Vulcan stated that the report contains many claims that are wrong and misleading. Despite this, a good number of investors appear to have been spooked and have been rushing to the exits on Friday.

The post Why Audio Pixels, Marley Spoon, PointsBet, and Vulcan shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, Audio Pixels shares are up 7.02% to $27.61. In comparison, the All Ordinaires Index(ASX: XAO) is down 0.58% to 7,764 points.

What did Audio Pixels announce?

According to its release, Audio Pixels advised that it has commenced technological demonstrations of its advanced MEMS-based transducers.

The company is developing the next generation of speakers that will exceed current market performance and design specifications.

Audio Pixels stated that in-person demonstrations have taken place out of the clean room with expert representatives from world leading consumer electronic companies. These industry players have maintained relevant staffing in Israel and have expressed interest in the technology.

Furthermore, due to the unpredictable nature of COVID-19, the company has prioritised the development of its demonstration systems for third parties outside of Israel. It aims to have these components securely shipped for independent third-party assessments.

The announcement follows a previous update on 28 July, stating that Audio Pixels underwent extensive testing, optimization and fine-tuning on its demo systems.

Quick take on MEMS and transducers

MEMS refers to micro-electromechanical devices which comprise electronic, mechanical, and wireless communication components. This is used in commercial applications such as sensor-driven heating and cooling systems, tiny gyroscopes, barometers, accelerometers and microphones for mobile phones, and disposable pressure sensors for healthcare.

A transducer is a device that converts power from one form to another for purposes of measurement or control.

About the Audio Pixels share price

Over the past 12 months, Audio Pixels shares have gained almost 25% for investors, with year to date 14% higher. This is despite the company's share price hitting a multi-year low of $18 in May 2021, before quickly rebounding.

Audio Pixels presides a market capitalisation of roughly $792.3 million, with approximately 28.7 million shares on hand.

The post Audio Pixels (ASX:AKP) share price storms 7% higher following progress update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Audio Pixels shares have edged 0.04% at the time of writing to $23.70 per share. That's after closing at $23.69 per share yesterday and opening at $24.40 this morning.

It was a lot better for Audio Pixels earlier this morning as well. Soon after open, this company got all the way up to $25.35 a share. At the time, that was a gain of more than 7%.

These latest moves in the Audio Pixels share price might come as a relief for investors, who had to watch the shares fall more than 35% between 30 March and 17 May.

A quarterly update the company put out at the end of April did not restore investors' confidence. Audio Pixels flagged semiconductor supply chain squeezes and packaging issues that were taking a toll on its business.

Investors weren't impressed at the time, and sent Audio Pixels shares down 10% on the news.

So what's going right today?

Today's share price moves can be put down to a presentation the company has released today that was shown as part of its annual general meeting.

In this meeting, Audio Pixels reiterated that it is facing global supply chain and packaging issues.

However, it also announced that its new high-voltage ASIC speaker chip is set to begin production in the fourth quarter of 2021.

In addition, the company told investors its production time for manufacturing/fabrication of wafer chips has fallen to record lows.

Back in 2013, it took Audio Pixels 52 weeks to make a wafer chip. By 2020, this had fallen to 10 weeks. It now estimates by the fourth quarter of 2021, it will be at 6 weeks.

About the Audio Pixels share price

Audio Pixels is a company dedicated to manufacturing high-quality speaker technology for small applications, such as smartphone speakers.

The company has had a bumpy ride, share-price wise, since its listing in 2004. Although Audio Pixels shares are up close to 5,000% since then, the company has yet to reclaim the share-price highs we saw back in 2017, when the company reached close to $33 per share.

On the company's current share price, Audio Pixels has a market capitalisation of $700.5 million.

The post Why the Audio Pixels (ASX:AKP) share price jumped 7% this morning appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that have fallen more than most are listed below. Here's why they are sinking:

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

The a2 Milk share price is down a further 3.5% to $6.91. Investors continue to sell this infant formula company's shares amid concerns that it will fall short of its downgraded guidance in FY 2021. This is due to signs of discounting by Australian retailers and weak prices on Chinese ecommerce platforms.

The Atlas Arteria Group (ASX: ALX)

The Atlas Arteria share price is down 2.5% to $5.96. This toll road operator's shares have come under pressure today after revealing that the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) has rejected its request to increase tolls on the Dulles Greenway. Atlas was seeking a rise of 6% this year and 6.5% next year. However, the Virginia SCC will leave the price at $5.80 for the next two years.

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price has sunk 11% to $23.00. This follows the release of the speaker development company's quarterly update. Within that update, Audio Pixels revealed that the semiconductor shortage had a dramatic impact on the packaging of its chips. This means the demonstration of its technology has been pushed back yet again until the end of the current quarter. Audio Pixels has been promising this technology for around 15 years now.

Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC)

The Nickel Mines share price has crashed 15% to $1.09 following the release of its quarterly update. For the three months ended 31 March, Nickel Mines reported quarterly production of 10,067.5 tonnes of nickel metal. This was down 12.7% from the December 2020 quarter. In addition, higher costs and lower sales volumes led to the company reporting a 29.2% decline in EBITDA to US$50.7 million.

The post Why a2 Milk, Atlas Arteria, Audio Pixels, & Nickel Mines shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Let's take a look at how the digital loudspeaker company has been performing.

Quarterly performance

According to its release, Audio Pixels' main focus for the period has been an "intensive effort" to monetise its research and development by producing working devices. The company is hoping to produce product demonstrators as well as engineering samples for select customers. Audio Pixels said its "primary highlight" of the period was the "successful sampling of playing chips and multi-chip boards outside of its cleanroom."

However, Audio Pixels has been contending with widespread disruptions throughout the global semiconductor supply chain. Global shortages for the in-demand silicone chips – that are used for virtually all electronics these days – are hitting the company, but these aren't its only problem.

The company advised the impact of supply shortages on its production has so far been manageable, but "the adverse effect on the packaging of our chips has been dramatic". Audio Pixels has partnered with a "world-leading" specialty chip packaging company and has "spent over five years developing and perfecting an automated packaging process for our chips".

But unprecedented production demands on the company's partner have prevented it from making use of this packaging line.

Background

Audio Pixels is an Australian listed company that has 100% ownership of an Israel-based company, Audio Pixels Limited. The company is focused on the development of an "entirely new generation" of digital loudspeakers. Audio Pixels' patented technology aims to radically improve the design and performance of speakers by generating sound waves from audio streams through the use of microelectromechanical structures (MEMS).

Founded in 2006, the company is striving to produce high-quality sound production via single silicon chips that can be licensed and/or sold as stand-alone speakers or collectively incorporated into a range of electronic devices as required. According to Audio Pixels, the company is actively engaging with leading consumer electronics manufacturers regarding the development of its technology.

Whilst Audio Pixels' product is still under development, the company believes market research points to significant demand for real innovation in audio speakers to bring them in line with current device trends.

Audio Pixels share price snapshot

Audio Pixels shares listed on the ASX in 2004. After remaining relatively flat for its first few years of trade, the Audio Pixels share price began really taking off in late 2010. It continued to trend upwards from then, reaching nearly $33 in July 2016. Since then, the company's share price has been volatile, trading as low as $8.69 in March 2020 and as high as $28 in September 2020.

The Audio Pixels share price had been mostly stable in 2021 until this month, when it has continued to fall dramatically. It has now lost around $5 this month alone, an 18.7% decline. It's still up by around 60% over the past 12 months, however. 

The post Why is the Audio Pixels (ASX:AKP) share price falling 11% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This latest move caps off what has been a wild ride for this company over 2021 so far. Audio Pixels is up more than 16% year to date, and up 23% since 1 February. But it's also still down from the 52-week high of $31.85 that the company saw in October last year.

One could almost say that, true to form, the Audio Pixels share price resembles a sound wave. So who is Audio Pixels? And why is the Audio Pixels share price on fire today?

Audio-who?

If you're wondering if Audio Pixels is a sound or camera company, the answer is the former. The company was founded in 2000 and has been listed on the ASX since 2004. It also has a secondary listing on the US over the counter (OTC) markets under the ticker symbol ADPXY under an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) structure.

Audio Pixels is attempting to revolutionise sound speaker systems. It is aiming to do this through 'a new generation' of speaker technology that uses micro-electromechanical structures rather than conventional speaker design. This, the company hopes, will result in speakers that are better in quality, while being as thin as one millimetre. According to Audio Pixels, the company holds several patents in this field. It hopes to sell and license this technology to manufacturers of speakers and consumer electronics once mass production has been achieved.

Saying that, things haven't been 'coming up Milhouse' for Audio Pixels in recent times. The company delivered its annual report for shareholders earlier this month, reporting that revenues for the 2020 calendar year came in at $191,434, which was down substantially (almost 30%) from the $272,520 revenue figure from 2019. That lead to a net loss before tax of $12.1 million for the year, also up substantially from 2019's net loss of $6.23 million.

Why is the Audio Pixels share price rising today?

Even though the Audio Pixels share price is having a top day today, it is unclear exactly why. There has been no major news or official announcements out of the company since 9 March. And that was just a routine Appendix amendment notice. 

The company did issue a notice on 8 March, in which it advised investors that a shipment of packaged chips that was due to arrive in late February was late, and would arrive in early March instead. But the market has already priced this in, so we can probably discount this for today's share price moves.

What's perhaps even stranger is that the market as a whole is having a day in the red. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.4%. Tech shares are being hammered even harder today as well, so you'd think all of the conditions that might influence Audio Pixels shares would be going against it.

ASX data does show that trading volume is significantly above the 5-day average for this company, so perhaps we are seeing a large institutional investor pick up a big tranche of shares today. Or perhaps someone just knows something we don't. Either way, shareholders would be very pleased with today's moves.

At the current Audio Pixels share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $838 million

The post ASX stock of the day: Audio Pixels (ASX:AKP) shares shoot up 8% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price is down 2% to $28.21 after providing an update on its digital speaker development. According to the release, due to logistical complications, the delivery of chips for its speakers has been delayed until this week. They were previously expected by the end of February. For the last 15 years, Audio Pixels has been developing a new generation of speakers that it believes will exceed the performance specifications and design demands of the world's top consumer electronics manufacturers.

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

The Nick Scali share price has fallen 5.5% to $9.62. The majority of this decline is attributable to the furniture retailer's shares trading ex-dividend this morning for its interim dividend. Nick Scali shareholders can now look forward to receiving the 40 cents per share fully franked dividend in their nominated accounts on 30 March.

Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ)

The Smartgroup share price us down 5% to $6.38. As with Nick Scali, Smartgroup's decline is attributable to the company's shares trading ex-dividend this morning. The salary packaging and fleet management company's shareholders will be paid its final fully franked dividend of 32 cents per share in a couple of weeks on 23 March.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price has dropped 4% to $9.20. This is despite many tech shares rebounding today following a positive end to the week on the tech-heavy Nasdaq index. Today's decline could be a delayed reaction to a note out of Macquarie on Friday. According to the note, its analysts have put a sell rating and $5.70 price target on Zip's shares. They have concerns that increasing competition could weigh heavily on its QuadPay margins.

The post Why Audio Pixels, Nick Scali, Smartgroup, & Zip are tumbling lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.