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

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is up almost 17% to 7 cents. This morning, this coal miner released a trading update which revealed that it has recorded 544Kt of coal sales for the quarter to date. Management notes that this represents a new quarterly sales record for the company and a 31% improvement from the September quarter. CEO Daryl Edwards said: "The Burton Mine Complex continues at steady-state and we are proud to report another record being achieved, this time a quarterly coal sales record."

DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)

The DroneShield share price is up 13% to 72.5 cents. This is despite there being no news out of the counter drone technology company. However, with its shares falling heavily in recent months, investors may believe that a buying opportunity has opened up. Despite today's gain, the DroneShield share price remains down 56% over the past six months.

Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB)

The Mesoblast share price is up a further 8% to $2.76. This biotechnology company's shares have been racing higher this week thanks to the release of a big announcement. That announcement revealed that the US FDA has approved its Ryoncil (remestemcel-L) product as the first mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy in the United States. Ryoncil is the only MSC therapy approved in the U.S. for any indication. It is also the only approved therapy for steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (SR-aGvHD) in children 2 months and older, including adolescents and teenagers. This could be a positive sign for its other stem cell therapies that are seeking approval.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is up 8.5% to 21.7 cents. This appears to have been driven by bargain hunters swooping in after the gold miner's shares were sold off earlier this week. Investors rushed to the exits after the company revealed that the Papua New Guinea Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) has delivered correspondence to Simberi Gold's tax agent. That correspondence contains details of tax assessments with additional taxes, inclusive of a 200% penalty imposition, that amount to PGK 523 million. This is the equivalent to approximately A$210 million.

The post Why Bowen Coal, Droneshield, Mesoblast, and St Barbara shares are racing higher 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 dropping:

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is down almost 11% to 5 cents. Investors haven't responded positively to news that the company has completed the sale of a 10% interest in the Broadmeadow East Mine. Nevertheless, Bowen Coking Coal's CEO, Daryl Edwards, was pleased. He said: "The unification of ownership and operating structures for the Broadmeadow East Mine, the Burton Mine and the planned Lenton Coal Project provides BCB and MPC with significant operational flexibilities and efficiencies. It is satisfying to see this transaction successfully concluded."

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV)

The Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals share price is down 10% to $15.57. This may have been driven by profit taking after a very strong gain from this pharmaceuticals company's shares on Friday. That gain was driven by the release of an update on its CUV151 study, which is evaluating the DNA-repair capacity of afamelanotide on skin of healthy volunteers exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Chief scientific officer, Dr Dennis Wright, commented: "The results from RNA sequencing complement the earlier results we saw from immunohistochemistry, in that afamelanotide consistently seems to assist repair of UV-damaged DNA in the skin."

Meteoric Resources NL (ASX: MEI)

The Meteoric Resources share price is down 11% to 16 cents. This follows the release of the scoping study results for its 100%-owned Caldeira Rare Earth Ionic Clay Project in Brazil. That scoping study demonstrated a pre-tax net present value (8%) of US$1,235 million and a payback of 2.2 years. The market may have not responded positively to the study results, but its CEO, Nick Holthouse, was very pleased. He said: "These outcomes demonstrate that the Caldeira Project is disruptive to the global rare earth mining industry in the true sense of the word."

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The Pilbara Minerals share price is down 2% to $2.93. This is despite there being no news out of the lithium miner on Monday. However, it is worth highlighting that most ASX lithium stocks are under pressure today. This follows another bleak night of trade for lithium miners on Wall Street amid concerns over falling lithium prices. Following today's decline, Pilbara Minerals' shares are at a new 52-week low and down by 40% since this time last year.

The post Why Bowen Coking Coal, Clinuvel, Meteoric Resources, and Pilbara Minerals shares are falling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The Appen share price is down 34% to 62.5 cents. Investors have been selling the struggling artificial intelligence data services company's shares after it completed the institutional component of its capital raising. Appen raised the funds at a 42% discount of 55 cents per new share. These funds will be used to help the company return to profit.

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is down almost 8% to 12 cents. This morning, this coal miner announced the successful completion of the retail component of its $50 million capital raising. These funds were raised at 9 cents per share and will be used to provide Bowen with balance sheet flexibility to fund the ramp-up of mining at Ellensfield South Pit until it achieves steady-state production.

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

The Nick Scali share price is down 7% to $10.77. Investors have been selling the furniture retailer's shares after it announced some major insider selling. According to the release, Nick Scali's managing director and CEO Anthony Scali has sold 4.6 million shares by way of a fully underwritten block trade.

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)

The Northern Star share price is down almost 3% to $11.58. A pullback in the gold price appears to be putting pressure on Northern Star's shares today. It isn't the only gold miner that is falling. In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is down 1.2%.

The post Why Appen, Bowen Coking Coal, Nick Scali, and Northern Star shares are falling 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 falling:

Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB)

The Aussie Broadband share price is down almost 8% to $3.62. This has been driven by the successful completion of a placement raising $120 million. The placement was priced at a 9.4% discount of $3.55 per share and supported by new and existing institutional, sophisticated, and professional investors. The proceeds will be used to strengthen Aussie Broadband's balance sheet in light of its capital investment pipeline, potential M&A, and the proposed Symbio Holdings Ltd (ASX: SYM).

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is down 4.5% to 10.5 cents. This coal miner's shares are falling today after it raised $50 million at a discount of 9 cents per new share. Management notes that the proceeds will provide Bowen with balance sheet flexibility to fund ramp-up of mining at Ellensfield South Pit until it achieves steady-state production in the second half of FY 2024.

Integral Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: IDX)

The Integral Diagnostics share price is down 31% to $1.83. This morning, this medical imaging services provider released a trading update. That update revealed higher-than-expected labour costs, which have impacted its operating EBITDA. This has been driven by clinical staff shortages, particularly in regional areas, and cost inflation.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

The Treasury Wine share price is down 6% to $11.35. This has been driven by the wine giant completing the institutional component of its $825 million equity raising. These funds are being raised to support the acquisition of California-based luxury wine company DAOU Vineyards for US$900 million (plus US$100 million in potential earnouts). The institutional component of the entitlement offer raised gross proceeds of approximately $604 million at a 10.7% discount of $10.80 per new share.

The post Why Aussie Broadband, Bowen Coal, Integral Diagnostics, and Treasury Wine are falling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is up 11.5% to 14.5 cents. This morning, this coal miner revealed that it has executed agreements with its lenders, Taurus Mining Finance and New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC). The material amendments include extension of tenor, deferment of principal amortisation for the next 12 months, and a modest increase in interest margins and royalties payable.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price is up 26% to 42.8 cents. This follows the release of the lithium miner's FY 2023 results this morning. Core Lithium reported revenue of $50.6 million, EBITDA of $14 million, and net profit after tax of $10.8 million. Management has also reaffirmed its FY 2024 guidance for spodumene production of 80,000 to 90,000 tonnes, sales of 90,000 to 100,000 tonnes, and C1 costs of $1,165 to $1,250 a tonne.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

The South32 share price is up almost 4% to $3.40. Investors have been buying this mining giant's shares today after it was upgraded by analysts at Citi. According to the note, the broker has upgraded South32's shares to a buy rating with a $3.80 price target. It notes that commodity prices have been stronger than expected in FY 2024.

Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR)

The Syrah share price is up almost 15% to 51 cents. This morning, analysts at UBS initiated coverage on the graphite producer with a buy rating and a lofty $1.10 price target. The broker believes the company is well-positioned to benefit from strong demand for natural graphite over the remainder of the decade thanks to electric vehicle growth.

The post Why Bowen Coking Coal, Core Lithium, South32, and Syrah shares are racing higher 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 dropping:

Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

The Brickworks share price is down 7% to $23.96. Investors have been selling this building products company's shares after it posted a sharp decline in profits for FY 2023. Brickworks reported a 32% decline in underlying net profit after tax to $508 million. One positive was that it still increased its dividend again.

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is down 16% to 13 cents. This morning, this coal miner revealed that its Bluff Mine is transitioning to care and maintenance. Management believes the suspension of mining at Bluff Mine prior to the wet season will allow the company to focus on its flagship Burton Mine Complex, where lower mining costs, infrastructure advantages, and rising coking coal prices will deliver stronger returns on investment.

Latin Resources Ltd (ASX: LRS)

The Latin Resources share price is down almost 10% to 23.5 cents. This follows the release of the lithium developer's technical and financial study for its Colina Lithium Project in Brazil. While the study demonstrates strong outcomes for the company, investors may be concerned by some of the assumptions. For example, Latin Resources expects a weighted average life of mine spodumene concentrate price (5.5%) of US$1,699 per tonne. Goldman Sachs is expecting a long-term price of US$1,000 per tonne for higher grade 6% spodumene.

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)

The Soul Patts share price is down almost 7% to $31.70. Investors have been hitting the sell button today after the investment company released its FY 2023 results. Soul Patts reported a 9% decline in regular profit to $759.3 million.

The post Why Brickworks, Bowen Coking Coal, Latin Resources, and Soul Patts shares are dropping 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 dropping:

ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX)

The ASX share price is down 10% to $60.93. Investors have been hitting the sell button today after the stock exchange operator released an update at its investor day. At the event, management increased its cost guidance and lowered its payout ratio for FY 2024.

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

The Baby Bunting share price is down 20% to $1.42. This follows the release of a very disappointing trading update from the baby products retailer. Baby Bunting revealed that it has experienced "unprecedentedly low" sales since starting its end of financial year promotional event. Given how much this contributes to its profits, management has been forced to downgrade its guidance materially.

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is down 23% to 17 cents. This follows the completion of the institutional component of the coal miner's $50 million capital raising this morning. Bowen Coking Coal is raising the funds via a $40 million placement to sophisticated or professional investors and a fully underwritten $10 million share purchase plan. These funds are being raised at a 23% discount of 17 cents per share.

EBOS Group Ltd (ASX: EBO)

The EBOS share price is down 10% to $34.04. This follows news that the company has lost a supply contract with Chemist Warehouse worth approximately $2 billion per year. The pharmacy giant has chosen Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) for the contract.

The post Why ASX, Baby Bunting, Bowen Coking Coal, and EBOS shares are sinking today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The invasion of Ukraine continues, hence the embargo against Russia's energy exports, plus the transition to cleaner sources takes years to build up the infrastructure.

So, like it or not, coal is still an investment option.

The coal price and coal stocks have fallen this year. This could just present a temporary buying opportunity.

Here are two ASX energy shares that play on that theme:

Coal prices will rise

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB) shares have plunged more than 34% year to date.

But that's not putting off Shaw and Partners portfolio manager James Gerrish.

"We remain bullish over the medium term," he said on a Market Matters Q&A.

"Coking coal markets remain tight and we expect to see price support coming through as a result."

The $390 million company is also increasing its output.

"Bowen… have recently received notice that their next mine expansion, Isaac River, is set to be approved."

Both analysts that currently cover Bowen shares rate them as a strong buy, according to CMC Markets.

Buying opportunity after a wild May

Gerrish's team also likes mining technology provider Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL).

The share price has admittedly been wildly volatile this month.

"It has been hard to pinpoint the reason for the weakness," said Gerrish.

"Talk of a large seller coming through could be one reason, while the papers have also been reporting on a lack of support for carbon capture projects could be another."

Calix even put out an announcement to the ASX last week to clarify there was no particular reason they know of that's causing the stock price fluctuations.

Gerrish isn't fazed.

"We remain bullish here. This is a long term holding for the emerging companies portfolio."

The Calix share price is actually still 3% higher than where it started this year.

All three analysts currently surveyed on CMC Markets rate Calix as a strong buy.

The post 'Key pick': 2 ASX energy shares that you need to jump on now 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 falling:

Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)

The Aristocrat share price is down 4% to $37.65. This follows the release of the gaming technology company's half-year results. Aristocrat reported a 12.2% increase in revenue to $3,080.4 million and a 5.7% increase in EBITDA to $1,025.5 million. Goldman Sachs commented: "Americas was a key positive surprise while ANZ and Pixel United results were misses vs. GSe."

Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT)

The Beach Energy share price is down 4% to $1.35. This has been driven by the release of an update on the Waitsia Stage 2 project. According to the release, the tight labour market in Western Australia has impacted construction progress and created a range of uncertainty in outcomes. As a result, Beach no longer considers it prudent or appropriate to maintain its previously targeted schedule and capital estimates. A review is underway.

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is down 6% to 20.7 cents. This is despite there being no news out of the coal miner. In addition, it is worth noting that other coal miners are charging higher today. This latest decline means the Bowel Coking Coal share price is now down by a third this year.

Virgin Money UK (ASX: VUK)

The Virgin Money UK share price is down 1% to $2.82. This has been driven by the UK bank's shares trading ex-dividend this morning for its interim dividend of 6.2 cents per share. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving this dividend next month on 21 June.

The post Why Aristocrat, Beach Energy, Bowen Coal, and Virgin Money shares are falling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

With Europe scrambling to replace their gas and petroleum import channel from Russia, energy prices went through the roof.

This accelerated the development of renewable energy projects around the globe. But those efforts take years before meaningful contributions are brought to the energy pool.

Therefore, after years of being out of favour, old sources like nuclear and coal were forced to be deployed to make up for the shortfall.

And this trend doesn't look like it will end anytime soon.

"We think the outlook for energy stocks is attractive because there's just not a lot of supply coming in," Schroders portfolio manager Ray David told The Motley Fool last month.

"No one really wants to invest in fossil fuels or LNG or gas without the high prices to justify the returns, because everyone's quite worried about renewables and the ESG factors."

This means that existing producers can cash in big time.

If you're interested in investing in this area, Glenmore Asset Management portfolio manager Robert Gregory named three ASX shares that he's backing:

3 stocks to buy in a buoyant energy sector

The Stanmore Resources Ltd (ASX: SMR) share price lifted a whopping 15.9% last month.

But for Gregory, the stock still presents value.

"There was no news released. However, the company was likely assisted by a ~12% increase in the hard coking coal price," he said in a memo to clients.

"The stock continues to look attractive based on its free cash flow generation, cheap valuation metrics and low cost of production."

Stanmore shares have rocketed up 250% over the past 12 months.

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB) saw opposite fortunes in January, with the stock dropping 12.1%.

"Wet weather in Queensland, where Bowen Coking's mines are located, caused some production issues and also at the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) where BCB exports coal through."

The effect is expected to be temporary, though, according to Gregory.

"Whilst the rain had caused some operational issues, the impact was not overly severe and that mining has recommenced at Broadmeadow East and Bluff, the latter which has been assisted by water management initiatives."

The Bowen Coking stock price is currently 42.5% higher than it was a year ago.

Perhaps the best known out of Gregory's coal picks, Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) saw its shares tumble 10.8% to start the year.

That drop in valuation was largely tied to commodity prices.

"The main driver in the month for the stock price was the -35.2% fall in the thermal coal price, albeit from very elevated levels."

The December quarter result was "in line with market expectations", said Gregory. 

"With the report, Whitehaven Coal said it expects 1H23 EBITDA of $2.6 billion, versus $0.6 billion in the prior comparable period."

The post 'Looks attractive': Fund names 3 ASX shares to buy for the energy crisis 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.

Four ASX shares that aren't letting that hold them back today are listed below. Here's why they are charging higher:

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is up almost 7% to 32 cents. This morning, this coal miner announced that it has completed the loading of its first coal train through its Mallawa train loadout facility following refurbishment works.

Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

The Domino's share price is up 2% to $65.32. Investors have been buying this pizza chain operator's shares despite there being no news out of the company. However, with its shares down almost 50% in 2022, bargain hunters may have been buying them on the belief that they have been oversold.

Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)

The Sayona Mining share price is up 7% to 18.2 cents. Once again, this may have been driven by investors snapping up shares after some significant declines. For example, prior to today, the lithium developer's shares were down by over 50% since the middle of September. Alternatively, some short sellers could be closing positions to lock in gains ahead of the end of the year.

Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX: SOR)

The Strategic Elements share price is up a massive 54% to 17 cents. This morning, this beaten down investment company released an update on Energy Ink. It is a new power source that generates electrical energy from moisture in the air. According to the release, the power output of an Energy Ink battery has provided more than the baseline power consumed by a leading glucose-monitoring skin patch.

The post Why Bowen Coking Coal, Domino's, Sayona Mining, and Strategic Elements are rising appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

The Allkem share price is up 6.5% to $15.01. This appears to have been driven by a strong night for lithium shares on Wall Street after investors responded positively to Albemarle's quarterly update. The world's largest lithium producer delivered a result ahead of expectations thanks to strong demand and pricing for the battery making ingredient.

Block Inc (ASX: SQ2)

The Block share price has jumped almost 12% to $97.62. Investors have been buying this payments company's shares after it released a strong quarterly update. For the three months ended 30 September, Block recorded total net revenue of US$4.52 billion for the period. This was up 17% over the prior corresponding period and ahead of the consensus estimate of US$4.47 billion.

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is up 9% to 30 cents. This morning analysts at Morgans retained their speculative add rating with a 48 cents price target. The broker sees the current quarter "as a defining catalyst as investors await positive operating cashflow."

CSR Limited (ASX: CSR)

The CSR share price is up 4.5% to $4.74. This follows the release of the building products company's half year results this morning. CSR reported a net profit after tax (before significant items) of $110 million, up 27% over the prior corresponding period. CSR's key Building Products segment delivered a 15% increase in earnings. Management advised that this reflects good execution across end markets, price discipline, and cost management.

The post Why Allkem, Block, Bowen Coking Coal, and CSR shares are racing higher 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 dropping:

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

The Allkem share price is down 1.5% to $14.68. This follows the release of the lithium miner's quarterly update this morning. Although Allkem reported strong revenue and cash margins thanks to sky high lithium prices, investors appear concerned by rising project costs.

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is down 14% to 32.2 cents. This has been driven by the coal miner announcing the successful completion of an $85 million placement at discount of $0.30 per share. The funds raised from the placement will be applied to infrastructure guarantees and prepayments, growth and working capital.

Pantoro Ltd (ASX: PNR)

The Pantoro share price is down 16.5% to 14.2 cents. This has also been caused by the completion of an equity raising this morning. The gold miner revealed that it has received firm commitments for an institutional placement to raise $28.5 million at a discount of 14.5 cents per share. Proceeds will be applied to support the Norseman Project as it ramps up to full production, as well as for working capital.

Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL)

The Redbubble share price has continued its decline and is down a further 4.5% to 50.7 cents. Investors have been selling off this ecommerce company's shares this week following another poor update. As well as lacklustre top line growth, the company revealed a significant increase in its salaries and wages to $19.3 million for the quarter. This annualises at a massive $77.2 million.

The post Why Allkem, Bowen Coking Coal, Pantoro, and Redbubble are dropping today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

And with Russian coal unlikely to return to the market any time soon, coal miners look well-placed to generate big profits for some time to come.

While many investors will be well aware of giants New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) and Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC), one ASX coal share that could be flying under the radar is Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB).

But that may not be the case for much longer, with analysts at Morgans tipping Bowen Coking Coal to become a metallurgical coal force in the future.

What is Morgans saying about this ASX coal share?

According to a recent note, the broker has initiated coverage on the company's shares with a speculative buy rating and 54.6 cents price target.

Based on the current Bowen Coking Coal share price of 44 cents, this implies potential upside of 24% for this ASX coal share over the next 12 months.

Morgans has described the company as "an emerging force in met coal" and believes it is well-placed to become a significant producer. The broker explained:

Bowen Coking Coal (BCB) is transforming into a significant coal producer thanks to prescient acquisitions and the ability to leverage current coal price strength. BCB looks comfortably funded to refurbish its flagship asset at Burton, with coal sales now ramping up from Bluff and Broadmeadow (BME). We think BCB justifies a price premium to reflect its: 1) acquisition track record; 2) clear strategic/corporate appeal; and 3) scarcity value in a hot coal market. We initiate coverage with a Speculative Buy noting 38% [now 24%] upside to our 55cps target. Our valuation under a strong bull case price scenario rises to 71ps (80% [now 61%] upside).

Another positive is that the company has the option to add thermal coal into the mix if desired. Morgans highlights:

While predominantly a met coal asset (60% HCC), Burton has interesting optionality to sell a thermal product should a prolonged energy crisis support the current +40% arbitrage in thermal coal prices over HCC [hard coking coal].

The post Broker says this ASX coal share is 'an emerging force' appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But there's one ASX coal company that's standing apart from its peers today — that's Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB). Its share price rocketed 21.43% to close at 25.5 cents today.

The gain is in contrast to fellow Queensland coal miners that are reeling from the shock news that the Palaszczuk government is hiking coal royalty rates.

ASX coal miners getting burnt in Queensland

The South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price tumbled 1.7% to $4.09 while the Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price lost 1.67% to close at $4.70. Both have coal operations in Queensland.

But that is also true for the Bowen Coking with its flagship project in Queensland's Bowen Basin.

New Hope for the Bowen Coking share price

Having said that, the project is still some way away from shipping its first coal. Bowen Coking announced yesterday that it had secured a US$55 million debt facility to fast-track its Burton Mine.

The facility, provided by Taurus Mining Finance Fund No. 2, will primarily be for the rebuilding of the Burton infrastructure.

Further, the company signed a A$70 million secured performance bonding facility agreement with New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC), with an additional A$40 million via convertible notes.

The total funding of around A$190 million will enable the ASX small cap miner to complete the acquisition of 90% of the Lenton Joint Venture (JV). The JV owns the Lenton Project and the Burton Mine.

ASX coal miners up in arms

South32 and Whitehaven are less fortunate as they will feel the impact of the royalty hike announced on Tuesday.

Royalties could go up as much as 40% when ASX coal miners receive more than $300 a tonne for their coal.

Coal miners in Queensland have been scathing of the state government's decision which, they say, was implemented without industry consultation.

Windfall tax rattles industry

The higher royalty regime has three tiers. The first is a 20% tax for prices above $175 a tonne, then 30% above $225 a tonne, and 40% when it's more than $300 a tonne.

The windfall tax could reap the Queensland government an extra $4.5 billion in the next three months alone if current spot prices are maintained.

ASX oil and gas shares will also be watching nervously. There's debate about whether they too should be hit with extra taxes due to the surging prices of their commodities.

Is this a bullish sign for coal?

But it isn't all bad news for coal miners. Last year's power crisis in China due to a shortage of coal could repeat this year.

The Asian giant is trying to cap coal prices to avoid power blackouts this summer, according to reports by the Australian Financial Review. This is in response to surging demand and a lack of supply.

As we discovered the previous time Beijing tried that, price caps don't work. If anything, this could be a signal for ASX coal share bulls to keep betting on the sector.

Meantime, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will likely be rubbing her hands in glee.

The post Down 40% Tuesday, up 21% today, what's going on with this ASX coal share? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB)

The Bowen Coking Coal share price is down 17% to 28.5 cents. This morning this this coal miner revealed that it has executed a series of funding arrangements totalling approximately $190 million. These funds will be used to support the company's development of its portfolio of development-ready coking coal assets.

Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE)

The Lake Resources share price has crashed 17% to $1.12. This lithium developer's shares have fallen heavily this week following the announcement of the shock exit of its managing director, Steve Promnitz. In addition, there are concerns about rising short interest.

Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV)

The Premier Investments share price is down almost 2.5% to $19.67. This decline has been driven by the retail conglomerate's shares trading ex-dividend this morning. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving the Smiggle owner's 46 cents per share fully franked dividend on 27 July.

ResApp Health Ltd (ASX: RAP)

The ResApp share price has crashed 31% to 12 cents. This morning the digital health company revealed disappointing study results for its COVID-19 smartphone algorithm. This means that the takeover proposal from Pfizer Australia will be 14.6 cents per share instead of 20.7 cents per share. That's if the healthcare giant still goes ahead with the takeover following the poor results.

The post Why Bowen Coking Coal, Lake Resources, Premier, and ResApp shares are tumbling lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Motley Fool chats with fund managers so that you can get an insight into how the professionals think. In this edition, Glenmore Asset Management portfolio manager Robert Gregory explains why he loves two particular ASX shares at the moment.

Biggest convictions

The Motley Fool: What are your two biggest holdings?

Rober Gregory: So the two biggest holdings now would be MA Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MAF) and Stanmore Resources Ltd (ASX: SMR). 

Firstly on Stanmore. That's a company that I've followed for a long period of time. Funnily enough, the current management chairman of Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB), Nick Jorss, actually used to be heavily involved with Stanmore.

Stanmore is a company I've known for a long time. Back in about October last year, they announced the transformational acquisition where they bought two coal assets off BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). The two assets, South Walker Creek and Poitrel, they [are] both coking coal mines. BHP [were] going through a process of exiting certain coal assets and these two came up for sale. Stanmore acquired them at what I felt was a quite opportunistic price at around US$1.2 billion.

So what they did is to transform Stanmore into a small cap coal producer with assets of reasonable quality and suddenly vaulted them into a completely different investment proposition. 

South Walker Creek has a mine life of in excess of 25 years capacity of 6.3 million tons per annum. Poitrel, a bit smaller, 4.3 million tons per annum, [a] shorter mine life around 10 years, but still quite substantial.

The really positive part of these assets is actually where they sit on the cost curve. So South Walker Creek would be in the first quartile, Poitrel would be somewhere in the range between first and second. So what that means is that even obviously right now they're benefiting greatly from favourable coal prices but, even in periods of much weaker coal prices, we still believe that those mines will make money.

That's a really positive thing to think about for the future years. So post that deal, they will have debt of around $700 to $800 million, but we believe that will be amortised quite quickly over the six to 12 months, just coming from the very strong cash generation from those two mines.

It's worth pointing out that even though the deal was actually announced back in November last year, it was quite a protracted settlement. So Stanmore actually only took ownership and gained access to the cash flows on the 3rd of May this year. So there's been quite a period of months of waiting to see whether the coking coal price would stay robust once Stanmore took ownership but, increasingly, it has stayed at very healthy levels. So we're now in a situation where Stanmore is generating very significant free cash flow.

I really would stress that you shouldn't be looking at the valuation based on the current coal price because it's extremely high and it's not realistically going to stay at these levels. But for what it's worth, at current coal prices, it's trading on an [enterprise value] EV to [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation] EBITDA of around 1.3 times.

At a long term hard coking coal price of around $150, $160 per ton, we have the EV to EBITDA around five times. So that the valuation stacks up, there's going to be good amortisation over the next 12 months.

The other interesting thing with Stanmore is that now that it's the new owner of Poitrel, is that there's quite a bit of speculation that the next coal asset BHP will sell is Daunia. And if that does proceed, Stanmore is very well-placed to be the bidder that can bid the most for Daunia, on the basis that Daunia is adjacent to Poitrel. They certainly have the most scope for synergies versus other bidders.

So there's probably going to be more. South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) [is] talking about selling some coal assets. There's going to be some more coal assets to be sold, so that's something to watch.

At the moment, for the assets Stanmore has, it's quite an attractive price.

MF: And why do you like MA Financial?

RG: So that's a financial services company. It has operations in funds management, corporate advisory equity, capital markets, and more recently it bought the business of Finsure off BNK Banking Corporation Ltd (ASX: BBC) for $145 million back in December last year.

It listed in early 2017 and, in fact, the Glenmore Fund's actually been invested in the stock pretty much ever since [initial public offering] IPO and it's really generated a really strong track record of delivering [earnings per share] EPS growth. I think management's very good.

They started off mainly as a corporate advisory and corporate recovery-type business with a small asset management business, but they correctly identified that asset management is a high-quality earning stream. So they've expanded quite aggressively into that part of the business since that 2017 period. 

We're now at the stage where the asset management business is by far the dominant earnings contributor at around 70% of group EBITDA. 

Whilst its asset management… it's not really like a Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) or Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX: PNI) funds management business. It's more sort of niche products, such as real estate credit, hospitality funds, some venture capital, bit of private equity. It does have some equities, but a lot of the products it creates [are] quite niche products, designed specifically for high-net wealth investors.

And because they're quite niche in nature… the fee pressure is not as fierce as it is for say, more mature types of categories, such as long-only Aussie equities, for example.

So the fee structure is quite favourable and they've now got assets under management of about $7 billion. And I think there's a very significant performance fee capability from that $7 billion. I think even at this point, it's probably undervalued by the market, that performance fee capability or potential.

At the recent AGM, they called out their credit funds as getting the majority of their recent inflows, just due the defensive nature of these products and also the current equity market volatility. But generally speaking, all the various products they have in the asset management business are performing well. 

Corporate advisory and equities, that's doing well. That's probably a bit lower growth than the asset management business, but still generates very good cash flow and it provides a lot of good ideas, I think for their asset management business, in terms of where they can spot opportunities to add value for the client base.

Just on Finsure: So that's a business that they acquired last year for $145 million. It was founded in 2011 and provides a range of services to mortgage brokers based off its proprietary tech platform called Infinity. Infinity is essentially a platform that lets brokers select original process mortgages and other types of loans. Currently, [it] has about 12% market share, which has grown quite steadily over the last five years.

One favourable industry tailwind that Finsure has, is just that our mortgage brokers continue to win market share whilst the major big four banks are losing shares. So that should help their earnings. I think that the Infinity platform is very solid.

Lastly, MA Financial has its own lending division, including now owning a 100% of MKM, and I think some of the data and insights they get from owning Finsure are likely to be quite helpful in terms of tailoring certain products and for their own lending business. There's synergies for the lending business medium-term. 

[It] recently affirmed guidance for CY22 of 10% to 20% EPS growth. The valuation is still quite attractive at [price to earnings ratio] P/E about 16, 17 times.

MF: Yes, I was going to say the share price has dropped a bit this year, so is it a reasonably attractive entry point at the moment?

RG: Yeah, I think it is. 

I think some of the stock price declines come from just a general de-rating, the market, some of it from sell-off in financial services stocks.

I think [with] the asset management business performing very well. I suspect some investors may have concerns around Finsure just being vulnerable to weaker mortgage, home loan activity. That's a reasonable concern just given where the Australian home loan market is tracking right now with raising higher rates.

Realistically, that's probably produced a slightly softer earnings outlook for Finsure over the next 12 to 18 months, but I don't think it takes anything away from the medium-term opportunity from Finsure, which is still a very good business growing in a very big market, being the Aussie home loan market.

MF: What are the two best buys you're seeing at the moment?

RG: Well, look, to be honest, they're actually the two best buys.

The post 2 ASX shares I have supreme confidence in: fund manager appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Motley Fool chats with fund managers so that you can get an insight into how the professionals think. In this edition, Glenmore Asset Management portfolio manager Robert Gregory describes the philosophy behind his fund's industry-topping outperformance.

Investment style

The Motley Fool: How would you describe your fund to a potential client?

Robert Gregory: Glenmore Fund, it's market cap agnostic, so it can invest in any market cap — small, mid-cap, large. And it's only on Australian equities. And within the ASX, it's got a focus on small to mid-cap space… probably $200 [million] up to $2, $3 billion. That's where most of the outperformance has been identified.

I'm really a buy-and-hold type investor looking to buy stocks that I can see [are] undervalued, and then hopefully hold them for quite a few years, if possible.

In terms of the reasons why I see a stock as being undervalued, that can often just be the market underestimating that company's earnings potential. Or it might be the market's [underreaction] to an improving earnings outlook, or an acquisition that's been particularly positive. Or it might just be that stock is going through a temporary difficult period for its earnings, but I think it's temporary and not long-term. 

It's still neutral — so it's not really growth nor value. It probably has a slight bias towards what I'd call quality businesses, where I'm not really interested in early-stage development-type businesses. I'm really much focused on established businesses that have been profitable for a long period of time. Hence, you can have more confidence that they can sustain themselves through challenging economic periods.

The vast proportion of the fund would pay dividends, for example. So they're quite established businesses and companies that I've got to know over a long period of time and got to know the management over a long period of time as well. A lot of the companies know that they're in my fund, I've dealt with the CEOs and CFOs for many years now.

MF: Mercer ranked Glenmore as the best-performing fund in Australia for the year ending 31 March, with a 50.8% return. Congratulations, and can you tell us if there were any star performers that carried you to that amazing result? 

RG: It was probably four to five stocks that created a fair amount of the outperformance, but it was reasonably well spread even below that top five. 

But some of the top performers were Uniti Group Ltd (ASX: UWL), MA Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MAF), Bowen Coking Coal Ltd (ASX: BCB), and also Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC).

MA Financial and Uniti were really situations where they delivered very strong earnings and saw their stock prices and earnings multiples rebate accordingly.

Whitehaven… was coming from a very depressed period of coal prices and its valuation was very depressed. And then, as seen, the thermal coal price rallied quite significantly and, as such, it's earning some cash flow generation [and has] recovered very strongly.

At the small cap end, Bowen Coking Coal, which is a stock that I identified probably 18 months ago back when it had a very small market cap, was run by a management team that I had a lot of confidence in.

I saw their strategy of acquiring at very cheap, at very low cost and satellite deposits to get up and running and get into production, and build cash flow. And at that point in time, particularly when I first started buying BCB, the stock price was sort of 6, 7, 8 cents. It just looked [like] a very asymmetric situation where not much was in the stock price at all at the market cap, but I felt if they could opportunistically acquire some coal assets, then it would be worth significantly more than that market cap. 

So it's come from a range. Certainly, coal was definitely helpful, but there's also been a number of other stocks that have performed very strongly as well.

The post My fund just went up 51%: This is how I did it appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.