Conversely, insider selling can cause a loss of investor confidence, as shareholders typically ask themselves why they should keep their money locked up in a company if those at the top aren't doing the same.

Fortunately for investors in zinc-oxide powder producer Advance Zinctek Ltd (ASX: ANO), it is the former scenario that is relevant today.

ASX insider loads the boat with his own company

ASX records show that over May so far, insider Lev Mizikovsky has purchased Advance Zinctek shares no fewer than six times. The most recent ASX notice came just last week on 23 May. This showed that Mizikovsky acquired 31,680 Advance Zinctek shares for a total cost of $60,927.

It gets better. The 17 May notice revealed Mizikovsky bought 120,517 shares, which was a purchase worth just over $240,000. Mizikovsky has certainly been on a buying spree this month. The largest purchase appears to be the one that occurred on 10 May. This showed Mizikovsky picking up almost 300,000 shares for a value of just over $593,000.

As of the latest notice, Mizikovsky now owns just under 33 million shares, both directly and indirectly, of Advance Zinctek. That's a stake worth almost $60 million.

So Mizikovsky is the non-executive chair of Advance Zinctek. He is a rather interesting character, being an enthusiast of motorcycle riding, specifically Harley Davidsons. As reported in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) a few years ago, Mizikovsky went to court over a $219 traffic ticket he received in 2016. The case was only resolved in 2020 after numerous legal battles.

Still, no doubt Advance Zinctek shareholders will be elated to see the level of financial skin Mizikovsky has in the game with this company.

Advance Zinctek share price snapshot

Advance Zinctek shares have had a rough 2023 so far, which probably at least partly explains Mizikovsky's enthusiastic buying spree this month. Year to date, the Advance Zinctek share price has lost more than 21% and is going for $1.865 a share at the time of writing.

At this share price, Advance Zinctek has a market capitalisation of $116 million.

The post Guess which ASX Harley-riding insider is buying up his company's shares hand over fist appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In the update, Advance Nanotek confirmed the receipt of its manufacturing license from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

The Advance Nanotek share price was trading at $4.16 a share at yesterday's close, up 1.22% for the day.

Preparation for a sunny season

According to the release, the company has received the necessary TGA Manufacturing License for its production facility in the Brisbane suburb of Rocklea.

This comes just over a week after the company advised it was expecting TGA approval for 18 zinc-based dispersions and 4 new sunscreen products. In that same announcement, Advance Nanotek divulged it was expanding into bulk intermediate sunscreen production. At the time, the company anticipated TGA approval for four bulk SPF50+ intermediate sunscreen products within two weeks.

The latest announcement confirms the company can now manufacture all of the aforementioned products in Brisbane. Currently, 6 vegan/organic zinc and zinc-based powders already have TGA approval for the product itself. Additionally, the 4 new bulk intermediate products are still under development.

Perhaps a point of difference, all products manufactured are non-nano, gluten-free, and have no preservatives. Advance Nanotek said it would start manufacturing immediately and actively promote sales of these products to its global distribution network.

Interestingly, the company noted it does not expect a material revenue impact until FY22.

It's been cloudy for the Advance Nanotek share price

The COVID-19 impacts linger for Advance Nanotek, as travel remains more broadly halted. Although the company's zinc oxide chemicals have widespread applications, sunscreen is the main focus. While international borders remain locked, not too many people are going on their sunny beach vacations. Hence, the demand for sunscreen has slumped over the past 12 months. 

Despite the implication, the Advance Nanotek share price has returned 8% in the last year. However, it has been one wild ride to get there, with violent sways between $5.94 to $2.92.

Additionally, 8% is still underperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) return of 36% over the same timeframe. 

The post Why the Advance Nanotek (ASX:ANO) share price is on watch today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Advance Nanotek is a zinc-oxide powder producer and its products are used in foods, medicines and cosmetics, as well as in industrial materials like paints, plastics and glass.

Advance Nanotek share price rises on bulk sunscreen

However, the company is also expanding into bulk intermediate sunscreen production, with the TGA confirming it will approve four bulk SPF50+ rated intermediate sunscreen products within the next two weeks.

The company's first bulk intermediate sunscreen has been rated by Dermatest at an SPF of 64.5, with a further 8 dispersions currently being tested in Australia and Canada.

Advance Nanotek has been focusing on research and development, and improving its production capabilities. It announced in February that it's developing an all-natural insect repellent sunscreen, and has also increased its dispersion lines to be able to produce the equivalent of 250 million 100 gram tubes annually.

It can also produce 5,000t of zinc oxide per year, with these improvements all made out of the company's existing cashflow. All of the company's 15 new bulk products are vegan or organic-based, tapping into growing industry trends.

A closer look at Advance Nanotek

The Advance Nanotek share price has suffered notorious fluctuations on the ASX, from as low as 8 cents per share after the global financial crisis to a high of $7 in 2019. 

The company suffered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and posted poor results in its half-year accounts statement released in February, due to a 20% decline in sunscreen revenue.

The company has remained debt free despite lower turnover, with a $260 million market capitalisation, and is in the process of attempting to list on the NASDAQ index.

The Advance Nanotek share price is currently sitting at $4.34 after strong gains recently, with a 16% gain for the month. 

The post Sun shines on the Advance Nanotek (ASX:ANO) share price 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 sinking:

Advance Nanotek Ltd (ASX: ANO)

The Advance Nanotek share price is down 9% to $4.01. This may be due to profit taking after some strong gains recently. As the company creats ingredients that go into sunscreen products, investors may have been hopeful that demand will increase now that COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price is down 1.5% to $47.19. This is despite there being no news out of the mining giant today. However, while Goldman Sachs continues to rate BHP shares as a buy, this morning it warned that iron ore was likely to go from being in a deficit this year to a surplus in 2022. This is expected to put pressure on the price of the steel making ingredient.

Limeade Inc (ASX: LME)

The Limeade share price has continued its slide and is down a further 2.5% to 88.5 cents despite a rebound in the tech sector. Investors have been selling the employee experience software company's shares since the release of its results last month. Particularly disappointing investors was its guidance for FY 2021. Management expects revenue of US$50 million to US$53 million. This is a decline on FY 2020's revenue of US$56.6 million. Falling customer numbers is weighing on its performance.

Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS)

The Metcash share price is down 3.5% to $3.40 following the release of its strategy update. At the event, the wholesale distributor also revealed that its strong sales momentum had continued for all business segments during the second half of 2021. Supermarket, hardware, and liquor sales have all experienced double-digit growth compared to the prior corresponding period. Investors may have been expecting an even stronger update.

The post Why Advance Nanotek, BHP, Limemade, & Metcash shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Even though the company's share price has cooled slightly since then, it's still a hefty move upwards. Especially if you consider this company was asking $3.40 per share as recently as 15 February. That means Advance Nanotek is up close to 30% in just under a month.

So what is this strangely-named ASX company? And why are its shares enjoying their day in the sun today?

Advancing to sunscreen

Advance Nanotek describes itself as Australia's leading manufacturer of zinc oxide powder. It also manufactures aluminium oxide (also called alumina). The company has been around since 1997 and listed on the ASX back in 2003.

Since then, Advance Nanotek shares have had a rather wild ride. The company was trading around the $2 mark back just before the global financial crisis. But the years that followed were not kind, and the company sank as low as 8 cents per share.

However, its fortunes were revived in 2019 when it reached a new high of more than $7. An investor who made a well-timed trade buy at 8 cents per share in mid-2012 would have seen an incredible gain of nearly 9,000% by mid-2019. But there's no use crying over spilled milk.

Zinc oxide is a chemical with widespread industrial applications (some of which aluminium oxide also share). These include as an additive in foods, medicines and cosmetics, as well as in industrial materials like batteries, concrete, paints, plastics and glass.

It is also used in sunscreens and cosmetics that offer supplementary sun protection. This is the area that Advance Nanotek specialises in. Its flagship products are ZinClear XP and ZinCare IN. There are zinc oxide dispersion solutions that are designed to be easily incorporated into the manufacturing process for toothpaste, sunscreens and sunsafe cosmetics.

What's with the Advance Nanotek share price today?

Well, it's not immediately obvious. There have been no major ASX announcements out of the company since mid-February. But there could be a macro factor at play here.

Back in September last year, Advance Nanotek delivered a depressing sales update to investors. At the time, it told the markets its poor sales over the previous few months were largely due to the coronavirus pandemic. More specifically "due to the significant travel restrictions caused by the second and third waves of COVID-19 in Europe and the US".

That makes sense. If people are travelling less, it's logical to assume they need less sunscreen.

Now yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a significant $1.2 billion stimulus package for the travel industry. This included a major subsidy for airline travel, also known as 'cut-price tickets', of which there will be 800,000.

Further, according to the ABC, this morning (our time) US President Joe Biden announced that all Americans can be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of April 2021.

That's a double whammy of good news for a company that has claimed a drop in tourism has been catastrophic for its business. This could well be the reason why the Advance Nanotek share price has been popular with investors today.

The post ASX stock of the day: Why Advance Nanotek (ASX:ANO) shares are rocketing 7% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In short, the results were a significant downgrade from the prior year. Let's take a look at how the numbers stacked up and management comments regarding the slip in performance.

What drove the Advance Nanotek share price lower?

The Advance Nanotek share price was heavily weighed down today after the release of the company's results. Advance Nanotek reported that its revenue for the half-year ended fell 69.63% to $3.433 million. This result also flowed down to the company's profit, resulting in a 93.32% decrease to $225,000 in profit.

You might ask what could lead to such a significant impact on results. The answer provided in the report is the ongoing travel restrictions and lockdowns caused by COVID-19. Given the company's aluminium oxide and zinc oxide dispersions are made predominantly for use in sunscreens, demand for the product has fallen off a cliff.

Consequently, earnings per share (EPS) has declined from the previous period's 38 cents to just 5.71 cents this half.  

In the chair's letter accompanying the half-year accounts report, there was some good news outlined, despite the poor result. This included the following:

• Remains commercially debt-free.
• Successful installation of a new dispersion line capable of producing the equivalent of 250 million 100-gram tubes annually.
• Successful installation of equipment to increase zinc oxide production to 5,000 tonnes per annum.
• New product development continued.

The new products developed by Advance Nanotek include vegan and/or organic-based offerings, such as an all-natural insect repellent sunscreen. The company is awaiting Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval before scaling production.

The board's forward view

Despite the disappointing result, the Advance Nanotek board emphasised that the achievements made during the half-year are likely to produce positive results for many years to come. Meanwhile, the board further advised that the impacts on sunscreen sales due to COVID-19 will hopefully be resolved before 2023.

The post Why the Advance Nanotek (ASX:ANO) share price tumbled 12% 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 tumbling lower:

Advance NanoTek Ltd (ASX: ANO)

The Advance NanoTek share price is down 4% to $3.72. This is despite there being no news out of the advanced materials company. However, the company has been struggling recently due to a collapse in demand for its products from sunscreen manufacturers. As a result, it is expecting to report a $90,000 first half profit. This compares to $4.8 million in the prior corresponding period.

Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL)

The Incitec Pivot share price is down 2.5% to $2.57. Investors have been selling the chemicals company's shares following the release of a trading update. That update revealed that its Dyno Nobel Americas Explosives segment is experiencing unplanned downtime due to equipment failure. The total earnings impact of the outage is expected to be US$11 million and will be included in the first half results.

Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL)

The Starpharma share price has fallen 3% to $2.29. This decline appears to have been driven by profit taking from some investors. Last week the dendrimer products developer's shares hit a record high following a positive announcement. This meant that prior to today, the Starpharma share price was up 53% since the start of the year.

Zoono Group Ltd (ASX: ZNO)

The Zoono share price is down over 7% to 82 cents. This latest decline means the biotech company's shares have now lost two-thirds of their value over the last six months. Investors have been selling Zoono shares after sales of its sanitiser products weakened considerably. Zoono recently reported second quarter cash receipts of $5.5 million. This was down from $15 million in the first quarter.

The post Why Advance NanoTek, Incitec Pivot, Starpharma, & Zoono are tumbling lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In morning trade, the advanced materials company's shares were down as much 9% to $3.61.

The Advance NanoTek share price has since rebounded but is still down 2% to $3.90 in late afternoon trade.

Why is the Advance NanoTek share price sinking lower?

Investors have been selling Advance NanoTek shares on Monday following the release of an update on its first half performance.

According to the release, as the company had previously warned, it is expecting to post the smallest of profits for the six months ended 31 December.

Subject to its audit, Advance NanoTek recorded a half year result profit before tax of $90,000. This compares to a net profit before tax of $4.81 million in the prior corresponding period.

Management advised that this weak result has been driven by travel restrictions and lockdowns caused by COVID-19. This has led to a reduction in sunscreen sales globally and therefore lower demand for the company's zinc oxide which goes inside these products.

What about current trading?

Within the release, the company listed a number of "good news" items. One of those is that it has witnessed an improvement in its performance during January.

It advised that it has experienced a significant increase in sales orders, leading to the company recording an unaudited profit before tax of $540,000 for the month.

In addition to this, the company revealed that it has been working on a number of new products which it hopes to release in the near future. It expects these to have a positive impact on its FY 2022 results.

It explained: "ANO has successfully developed 15 new bulk intermediate products, vegan and/or organic based, including an all natural insect repellent. Once our TGA licence is obtained, ANO will begin full scale production of the products."

"Samples are being prepared for our distributors and ANO anticipates sales of these products to impact our results in FY22. In addition, we are working on a premium range of dispersions based on our current dispersions and we expect these to be available to distributors and customers in FY22," it added.

Looking ahead, management appears to believe the future will be bright once the pandemic passes.

It concluded: "The Board would like to point out that most of the achievements listed under the Good News heading are likely to produce positive results for many years to come, on the other hand, the Bad News, COVID-19 issues are likely to be resolved over the next two years."

The post Why the Advance NanoTek (ASX:ANO) share price is sinking lower again appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Advance Nanotek Ltd (ASX: ANO)

The Advance Nanotek share price is down 6% to $3.90 despite there being no news out of the advanced materials company. However, Advance Nanotek has been struggling in FY 2021 due to lower demand for its products because of COVID-19. This is expected to lead to a sharp drop in profits during the first half.

Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)

The PolyNovo share price has sunk a further 6% to $2.59. This medical device company's shares have come under significant pressure this week after the release of a trading update. While PolyNovo delivered a 31% increase in first half sales, it would have been much stronger had its second quarter performance not fallen short of expectations. Bell Potter was disappointing, it commented: "Polynovo announced a relatively disappointing trading update, with 1H FY21 sales growth of 31% vs the pcp well below our forecasts, consensus and management expectations".

Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)

The Resolute share price is down 8% to 70.5 cents after the release of a disappointing production update. Resolute achieved gold production of 89,888 ounces during the three months ended 31 December. This led to its calendar year production coming in at 395,136 ounces, which falls short of its downgraded guidance of 400,000 ounces. In 2021, management expects production to fall to between 350,000 to 375,000 ounces.

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

The Tyro share price crashed 12% lower to $2.32 before going into a trading halt. Investors were selling the payments company's shares today after it was the subject of a short seller attack. Viceroy Research claims that its payment terminals problem is far greater than the company is admitting. It alleges that Tyro has "bricked" ~50% of its terminals across the country via a software patch.

The post Why Advance Nanotek, Polynovo, Resolute, & Tyro shares are dropping lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the advanced materials company's shares are up 4% to $4.80.

What did Advance NanoTek announce?

This morning the company revealed that it has experienced an improvement in sales in the US over the last few months.

This follows a difficult period where demand for sunscreen ingredients dropped off a cliff because of the pandemic.

According to the release, the company has been informed by its US distributor that over 50% of its original 180T stock holdings in XP powder has been sold in the past four months.

In addition to this, the distributor intends to start ordering new stocks of dispersions in December.

Things aren't quite as positive in Europe, with new orders down materially compared to a year earlier. For the five months to 30 November, European new orders are down 55% on the prior corresponding period.

Management advised that this is a consequence of restrictions relating to the second and third waves in key markets on the continent.

What about the future?

The company is hoping to get a boost in the second half from manufacturing sunscreens on behalf of companies that lack the necessary equipment to manufacture sunscreens using its ZinClear XP powders and dispersions.

This follows its recent investment in its own manufacturing facility. However, this remains subject to TGA approval, which is expected in February or March.

Outlook.

Management continues to expect its profits to be down significantly in the first half, with only a small profit result being forecast.

However, it remains hopeful for a stronger second half as demand picks up.

It commented: "We are optimistic of a much improved profit result for the second half FY21. ANO already has stock in US and Europe to meet the anticipated increase in demand for products, with further shipments to continue throughout December."

The post Why the Advance NanoTek (ASX:ANO) share price is storming 4% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The Advance NanoTek Ltd (ASX: ANO) share price is down almost 2.5% to a 52-week low of $3.08. Investors have been selling the advanced materials company's shares this year amid a collapse in demand for its zinc products from sunscreen manufacturers. This led to the company recently downgrading its guidance for FY 2021.

The Macquarie Telecom Group Ltd (ASX: MAQ) share price has dropped 3% lower to $47.07. This appears to have been driven by a report in the AFR in relation to a statement of claim filed in the Supreme Court of NSW. Cocoon Data has accused the company's Government division of failing to honour the terms of an agreement for it to resell its Safe Share security platform. Instead, it alleges, Macquarie Telecom created its own copycat version, which was passed off as an incremental upgrade.

The Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) share price has fallen almost 3% to $8.22. This decline is attributable in full to the furniture retailer's shares trading ex-dividend this morning for its final dividend. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to being paid Nick Scali's 22.5 cents per share fully franked dividend in approximately three weeks on 27 October 2020.

The Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA) share price has crashed over 12% lower to $1.37. As with Nick Scali, this decline is due to the fuel retailer's shares trading ex-dividend this morning. Viva Energy is not only paying a 5.9 cents per share dividend, it is also returning 21.46 cents per share of capital to shareholders. If you exclude these from the equation, Viva Energy's shares would be up over 5% on Monday. The capital return was the result of the company divesting its stapled securities in Waypoint REIT (ASX: WPR).

The post Why Advance NanoTek, Macquarie Telecom, Nick Scali, & Viva Energy shares are dropping lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing the advanced materials company's shares are down 11% to $3.35.

This leaves the Advance NanoTek share price trading 52% lower than its 52-week high and within sight of its 52-week low of $3.20.

What was in Advance NanoTek's update?

Today's update revealed that the company's poor performance has continued in FY 2021 due to negative impacts from the pandemic.

According to the release, based on current distributor forecasts for the second quarter, the company expects its first half sales to be lower than the prior corresponding period.

Management explained that travel restrictions are reducing demand for sunscreen, which is having a knock-on effect on sales of its zinc oxide product. In addition to this, it believes its shortened delivery times are having a negative impact on near term demand.

The company explained: "ANO understands the delay in sales orders is due to the significant travel restrictions caused by the second and third waves of COVID-19 in Europe and the US."

"We are also seeing distributors destocking due to us offering much shorter delivery times. Distributors prepared to comment, have indicated that Q3 sales should improve as customers are gearing up for the next season and continue to improve over foreseeable future," it added.

What now?

In light of this sales uncertainty, the company advised that it can longer say that its first half result will be stronger year on year. Nor can it accurately predict its full year results because of the uncertainty.

Though, it has advised that the Board is working on a number of initiatives in an effort to diversify its product offerings. It is also looking to increase its distribution network and prepare the company for a potential significant increase in demand for zinc oxide over the next three years.

The post Advance NanoTek (ASX:ANO) share price crashes lower on COVID-19 sales update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The Advance NanoTek Ltd (ASX: ANO) share price is down 9% to $3.43. This follows the release of the advanced materials company's full year results. Although Advance NanoTek reported a 121% increase in profit before tax to $7.46 million, it fell short of the guidance of $8.4 million it gave on 11 May. In addition to this, the company warned that its first half performance will be weak. This is due to distributors selling down inventory before reordering.

The ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO) share price has fallen 7% to $6.49. This is despite the cloud-based HR, payroll, and rostering software provider delivering a strong full year result this morning. ELMO reported annualised recurring revenue (ARR) of $55.1 million and statutory revenue of $50.1 million for FY 2020. This represents a 19.7% and 25% increase, respectively, over the prior corresponding period. Strong customer growth played a key role in this solid top line result. Next year management expects its ARR to be in the range of $65 million to $70 million, which represents year on year growth of 18% to 27%.

The ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD) share price is down 5% to $26.55. The catalyst for this was the release of its fourth quarter and full year update. Although the sleep treatment-focused medical device company delivered a very strong year of sales and profit growth, investors appear concerned by softer than expected mask sales during the pandemic. Management's guidance for FY 2021 was cautious but optimistic.

The Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) share price has dropped over 2% to $1.92. This follows the release of an update on its expectations for the first half. The shopping centre operator advised that it plans to report a 10% decline in the carrying value of its property portfolio because of the pandemic. Scentre also expects to report net operating cashflow in excess of $250 million for the half. This compares to net cash flows from operating activities of $619 million during the first half of FY 2019.

The post Why Advance NanoTek, ELMO Software, ResMed, & Scentre shares are dropping lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

How did Advance NanoTek perform in FY 2020?

For the 12 months ended 30 June 2020, the sunscreen-focused advanced materials company delivered revenue from ordinary activities of $17.97 million. This was a 46% increase on the prior corresponding period and in line with its May guidance for revenue of $18 million.

One metric that did fall short of its guidance was its profit before tax. Advance NanoTek reported a 121% increase in profit before tax to $7.46 million. This compares to the guidance of $8.4 million for FY 2020 it gave on 11 May. No explanation was given in relation to why the company hit its sales target but fell short of its profit before tax guidance.

On the bottom line, the company reported a net profit after tax of $5.3 million, which was down 44.7% on the prior corresponding period. Though, it is worth noting that FY 2019's profit after tax was positively impacted by its decision to write back a tax benefit of $6.25 million.

FY 2021 outlook.

The increasing demand for hand sanitiser globally during the pandemic looks set to impact its sales in FY 2021. Management notes that this increase is limiting the production capacity of manufacturers for products such as sunscreens.

The company is also anticipating a gap in sales over the next three months as distributors sell down inventory. While management expects the first half to be an improvement on the first half of FY 2019, it looks likely to be down on the corresponding period in FY 2020.

Despite this, Advance NanoTek has been ramping up production and building up its inventory. Management commented: "The Board is very satisfied with this new strategy because ANO has significantly shortened delivery times-frames to five days and reduced the cashflow burden on our distributors of having to hold significant inventory in their warehouses."

The post Advance NanoTek share price on watch after mixed full year result and outlook appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What does Advance Nanotek do?

Advance Nanotek manufactures zinc oxide, which is used in sunscreen. First formed in 1997, Advance Nanotek has been listed on the ASX since 2003. Its product range suits a wide variety of sunscreens and cosmetics, with its Zinxation recipe providing SPF50+ for broad UVA/UVB protection. Advance Nanotek has a current annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes, and is investing to increase capacity beyond 5,000 tonnes. 

Advance Nanotek's business

Around 70% of Advance Nanotek's sales are in the US. The company's production facilities were temporarily closed in the US but have now reopened with sunscreen manufacturing recommenced, albeit at smaller volumes. Advance Nanotek expects US sales volumes to return to normal and has established stockpiles in a logistics facility to take advantage of the expected upturn in conditions. 

The board is looking to expand Advance Nanotek's aluminium oxide business into new markets and improve supply to existing customers by raising capacity. Stock will be made available at an EU logistics facility, with sales from the aluminium oxide product in FY20 expected to be ~$2 million. 

Financial results

Advance Nanotek recorded sales revenue of $11.3 million in 1HFY20, up from $4.7 million in 1HFY19. Net profit before tax for the half was $4.81 million, nearly 3 times greater than the prior corresponding period. Earnings per share increased to 5.71 cents up from 3.03 cents in 1HFY19. 

The company ended the half with cash and cash equivalents of $304,964 and borrowings of $1.1 million. Strong sales continued into the second half with profit before tax of $1.3 million in January. FY20 anticipated turnover is up 46% on FY19 to $18 million. 

Outlook

US sales increased 280% for the 7 months to 31 January over the prior corresponding period. Some negative impact from coronavirus has been experienced with US citizens cancelling or delaying travel plans for the summer. This may have a modest negative impact on Advance Nanotek's $30 million FY20 sales target. 

Nonetheless, Advance Nanotek has seen impressive increases in profit over the last few years. Profit before tax increased from $0.56 million in the 5 months to November 2017 to $3.831 million in the 5 months to November 2019. Full year FY20 net profit is estimated to be $8.4 million. 

The post ASX stock of the day: This ASX materials share jumped 11% today on a 250% surge in profits appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that have climbed more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are charging higher:

The Advance Nanotek Ltd (ASX: ANO) share price is up 14% to $5.36 after the release of a trading update. The advanced materials company revealed that it expects its net profit before tax to be approximately $8.4 million in FY 2020. This will be 2.5 times greater than FY 2019's profit before tax. The company also advised that sunscreen manufacturing has recommenced in the United States. And although manufacturing is occurring at smaller volumes, it anticipates sales volumes to return to normal.

The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price is up almost 5% to $110.22. This gain may have been driven by a broker note out of Morgan Stanley. This morning the broker retained its overweight rating and lifted the price target on the investment bank's shares to $120.00. This offset a downgrade by Credit Suisse to neutral with a $107.50 price target.

The Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) share price has jumped over 8% to $3.67. This follows the release of its weekly trading update. According to the release, Tyro's transaction values have continued to recover. During the week ending May 8, its transaction value was $315 million. This is down 23% on the prior corresponding period. A week earlier, its transaction value was down 27%.

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price has stormed a further 8.5% higher to $3.55. Investors have been buying the buy now pay later provider's shares since the release of a strong trading update last week. During April, Zip Co's monthly revenue increased 81% on the prior corresponding period to $15.1 million. The company also reported an 86% lift in monthly transaction volume to $181.6 million and net bad debts of 1.99%.

The post Why Advance Nanotek, Macquarie, Tyro, & Zip Co shares are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What did Advance NanoTek announce?

This afternoon Advance NanoTek released a business update which included a vast array of news, complaints, and plans.

To understand what is going on, it is best to start right back at the beginning.

On March 16 the company requested a trading halt after its customer Astivita Ltd (ASX: AIR), whose managing director is the son of the chairman of both companies, brought to its attention a "highly progressed opportunity regarding the development of oral care products which could prevent the coronavirus cell multiplying."

The request went on to explain that it wants to file a patent application and that both companies needed time to make arrangements regarding the ownership of the intellectual property in the new products and/or commercial arrangements.

The next day Advance NanoTek advised that there was a "typo" in the letter. It should actually have said: "The patent is looking at a range of oral care products that could inhibit the replication of the novel coronavirus inside the cells of the oral cavity/mouth."

On March 19 it was revealed that the Enforcement Team at the ASX had sent the company a query letter and imposed a temporary suspension until their queries were answered.

This afternoon Advance NanoTek revealed that it responded to these queries but the ASX was not satisfied.

Managing director Geoff Acton explained: "It is astonishing that the ASX would seek to impose forced suspension of ANO's shares for what can only be understood to be a result of the brevity of some responses (which were in the Board's view the appropriate factual responses to ASX's questions). The ASX has offered no clarification as to why the brevity is not acceptable to them nor have they tried to reframe their questions to elicit a different answer."

Acton continued: "So, shareholders are aware, some of the questions raised by the ASX were technical in nature and in, the Board's view, only capable of answer by reference to the patent and the scientific papers referred to therein. It is not appropriate for the Company to attempt to summarise for the ASX matters of such a technical and scientific nature, at the risk of being accused of not effectively summarising the matter."

"The only appropriate response in the Board's view is to direct the ASX to the source documents where all the technical detail is available. Of course, this is the Company's best guess at the ASX's concerns as it has to date not offered any additional guidance on which responses are deficient or why," he concluded.

Nasdaq listing.

The company is so unhappy with the current situation between it and the ASX that it is now investigating a listing on the NASDAQ.

It believes that with 70% of its sales in the U.S. and its market capitalisation in excess of $200 million, it may be eligible to list on the U.S. market.

Whatever happens next, shareholders will no doubt be hoping that this won't be another iSignthis Limited (ASX: ISX) situation. The payments company's shares have been suspended from trade since October due to a much publicised dispute with the ASX.

Business update.

Outside the aforementioned saga, Advance NanoTek has continued to operate and reported that demand for its products remains solid.

The company advised that one of its large customers in the US has reconfirmed their prior orders for 80 MT plus for April, May and June. It has also received two new orders from Merck, which doubles their orders for calendar 2020 to $3.2 million. 

The post Why the Advance NanoTek share price remains suspended appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Advance Nanotek Ltd (ASX: ANO)

The Advance Nanotek share price is trading 4.2% higher at the time of writing following an ASX announcement containing several updates yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday, the company reported it has started investigations into a possible capital reduction which may go ahead before the end of FY20. Additionally, in a profitability update, the company noted it recorded just over $1 million profit before tax for the month of February 2020. Along with this, the company added that its operations remain debt-free, and it has in excess of $1.9 million in the bank.

On top of these updates, the company also announced the signing of a new distribution agreement. Deveraux Specialties is to be Advance NanoTek's non-exclusive distributor for Canada. Advance Nanotek is aiming to grow its Canadian operations over the next year, as it has recently done in the US.

In addition, the company provided an update with regards to the potential impact of the coronavirus. Despite receiving 'concerning' feedback from its US distributor, Advance NanoTek believes its product will continue to experience demand.

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV)

The Clinuvel share price has surged higher today by 5.1% at the time of writing. Today's increase appears to be linked to an ASX release earlier in the week.

On Tuesday, Clinuvel announced it had secured a meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to progress the use of its drug, SCENESSE, for the treatment of vitiligo. The disease is a skin disorder characterised by the appearance of white to off-white skin patches in different parts of the body due to the loss of melanin production.

Pending ongoing safety and efficacy of its vitiligo program, Clinuvel will seek to file a supplemental New Drug Application for SCENESSE. The Clinuvel share price rocketed as much as 25% on the day of the announcement. After slightly dipping yesterday, this momentum appears to be pushing shares higher today.

De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG)

The De Grey Mining share price is up by 3.04% today at the time of writing. Today's rise comes on the back of a massive 24.3% gain yesterday after the company announced results from drilling programs at the newly discovered Hemi Prospect. In early trade yesterday, De Grey Mining shares climbed as much as 44.44% higher.

According to yesterday's release, the company's recent drilling has revealed wide, continuous, and high-quality grade gold mineralisation. De Grey Mining believes this confirms a large-scale gold system at Hemi.

Additionally, the company believes that the significant sulphide zones beneath the high-grade gold zones are very encouraging, and the large sulphide zones have the potential to significantly increase Hemi's scale.

The post Why Clinuvel, De Grey, and Advance NanoTek are soaring higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Advance NanoTek shares were trading as much as 11% lower shortly after the announcement but have since recovered some of those losses to be down by 5.6% at the time of writing.

Details of a new possible capital reduction

This afternoon, Advanced NanoTek announced it has started investigations into a possible capital reduction. If the reduction were to go ahead, the company noted it would occur before the end of FY20.

Advance NanoTek estimates that it will consider up to 7 cents per ordinary share. However, this consideration will be subject to no further adverse market conditions, significant currency exchange fluctuations, nor any further decline in sales orders.

Profit update

In today's ASX release, Advance NanoTek also provided an update on its profitability to date. The company noted it has recorded just over $1 million profit before tax for the month of February 2020. Along with this, the company added that its operations remain debt-free, and it has in excess of $1.9 million in the bank.

Additionally, Advance NanoTek is in the process of shipping additional powder and dispersions to an FDA-approved warehouse in the US. With these new shipments in place, the company commented it will be in a position to transport its product to any location in the US and Canada within 7 days.

Canadian market update

The company also revealed it has signed a new distribution agreement with Deveraux Specialties to be Advance NanoTek's non-exclusive distributor for Canadia.

Advance NanoTek is currently focused on growing its Canadian operations over the next year, with a goal to achieve similar growth rates recently seen in the US market. Speaking to this, the company highlighted a very rapid growth of 280% in the US over the past 7 months.

Coronavirus impact

Last but not least, today's announcement provided an update with regards to the impact that the coronavirus is having on company operations.

Advance NanoTek stated it has received some concerning feedback from its US distributor. Due to the reduction in holiday bookings, brand owners and retailers are not building up inventory for the approaching summer season.

However, this development doesn't appear to have phased Advance NanoTek. Being the safest active ingredient on the market, the company's view is that its product will continue to experience demand.

The post Advance NanoTek share price slides on coronavirus update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The sunscreen-focused advanced materials company's shares are down almost 9% to $4.98 this afternoon.

What did Advance NanoTek announce?

This afternoon Advance NanoTek released a sales and coronavirus update and revealed that its managing director will be selling some of his holding.

In respect to its sales update, the company advised that sales by its US distributor are up 280% for the seven months to January 31 compared to the same prior seven months.

The release also reveals that it is now seeing the first signs of sales growth with its new distributor network in Europe.

A large manufacturer in Europe is looking to trial Advance NanoTek's XP for large volume sunscreen sales to the United States and Australia. In addition to this, there are a further 35 new customers trialling its zinc powders and dispersions.

Coronavirus update.

According to the release, whilst its current orders remain strong, it is starting to witness a short term negative impact from the coronavirus outbreak on its sales.

The company advised that its distributors in the United States have become aware that many American citizens are cancelling or postponing their travel plans for the upcoming summer.

In addition to this, the company is aware that tube suppliers from China have delayed supplies to key manufacturers in Europe and the United States.

At this point, management anticipates that this will have a modestly negative impact on its sales target of $30 million for the current financial year.

Insider sales.

The company has also announced that its managing director, Geoff Acton, has been given approval by the board to sell shares in the coming weeks.

It explained: "These transactions reflect his commitment to take up his next tranche of options and will reinvest into ANO $294,000 to receive these shares. In addition, Mr Acton is finalising a family settlement matter with some of these transactions and his privacy in this matter is to be respected by all."

The post Advance NanoTek shares tumbles on coronavirus and insider selling update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.