The S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) has clipped 0.37% lower today and sits at 7,343 points, whereas the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care index (XHJ) has dropped around 1% from the open.

Yet, these 3 ASX healthcare shares are soaring well ahead of their benchmarks today. Let's take a closer look.

Neuroscientific Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NSB)

Neuroscientific is concerned with the development of diagnostics and therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.

In today's trading, Neuroscientific's shares are changing hands at 48.5 cents each, which is a 10% gain from the open.

Two recent advancements made on the company's EmtinB drug label appear to have shot the company's shares to new highs. Neuro' is developing EmtinB as a treatment for all kinds of neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's and MS.

On 31 August, Neuro' had positive data readouts from a pre-clinical study that showed EmtinB's potential "as an effective treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS)". The results add to a list of data that points to it being a potential MS drug candidate.

Aside from this, on 3 September the company advised it had received approval from AusIndustry under the R&D tax incentive program to develop EmtimB as a "novel therapeutic treatment for ocular conditions" with (up to) $25 million in rebates.

Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO)

Bionomics shares are now changing hands at 17.5 cents each, which is a 6% gain in afternoon trade. At one point today, shares in the biopharma company were trading at over 18 cents each, up 10% from the previous close.

A recent announcement concerning the company's lead clinical compound, BNC210, appears to have spurred on recent gains for Bionomics.

Last week it announced a "planned (the) commencement" of a clinical trial for BNC210, further investigating its use in the "acute treatment" of social anxiety disorder.

The compound had previously shown promising signs in a Phase 2a clinical study, where it produced "significant anti-anxiety signals".

It is recruiting 150 patients in the US-based study, and intends to submit an application "by the end of this year".

Investors continue to push this ASX healthcare share into the green as we finish trading this week.

Dimerix Ltd (ASX: DXB)

Shares in clinical biopharma company Dimerix hit an intraday high of 31 cents at one point today, an 11% gain from the previous close.

They have since cooled off slightly in afternoon trade and now trade at 30 cents each. Dimerix shares have been on the move today since the company made a key announcement earlier.

The company advised it had been given the green light in India to start the "feasibility/Phase 3 clinical study" of its lead drug candidate, DMX-200.

DMX-200 will now be investigated in the "treatment of respiratory complications associated with COVID-19 imminently", after the Indian authorities met on 2 September to discuss the study.

This marks the "final regulatory agency approval required" to commence the phase 3 study, known as CLARITY 2.0. The first patient is "expected to be dosed in the next few weeks".

Aside from this, DMX-200 is also being investigated in a Phase 3 clinical study for a rare set of kidney disorders.

These 3 ASX healthcare shares have stepped ahead of the broad indices in afternoon trade on Friday.

The post These 3 ASX Healthcare shares have soared over 10% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This takes the Bionomics share price to more than a 950% gain when compared to this time last year. Surprisingly, in March 2020, the company's shares were swapping hands for as little as 2.8 cents.

Details of the offer

In its announcement, Bionomics updated shareholders advising of a pro rata non- renounceable entitlement offer on a 1:6 basis. This follows the company's recent subscribed underwritten placement to North American and European institutional and sophisticated investors.

The offer price will be issued at the same rate to the previous placement, at 14.5 cents apiece. Notably, this represents a 50% discount on the current Bionomics share price of 29.5 cents. Moreover, the new shares will rank equally with existing ordinary shares.

The record date for the entitlement offer is on Thursday 11 March, 6:00pm Australian Central Daylight Time (ACDT). Unless extended, the placement will close 30 March, 5:00pm ACDT. The new shares will be allotted on 8 April 2021.

The expected take-up of the offer is estimated to bring in around $20 million in capital for the company. This will be used to partly fund a Phase 2b Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder trial for mid-2021. Additionally, the remaining monies will be spent towards general working capital purposes.

Quick take on Bionomics

Founded in 1996, Bionomics is a biopharmaceutical company that develops drug candidates to treat central nervous system disorders. This includes anxiety, depression, and Alzheimer's disease.

The company has offices in Australia, the United States, and France.

About the Bionomics share price

Over the last 12 months, the Bionomics share price has been one of the best performers on the ASX market. Positive investor sentiment in the company picked up towards September, and particularly shot higher in February.

Based on current valuations, Bionomics has a market capitalisation of close to $250 million.

The post Up almost 1000% in 1 year, the Bionomics (ASX:BNO) share price moves higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, shares in the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company are up 2.2% to 22.5 cents. Today's movement follows major gains for the Bionomics share price recently, up 48% over the past week.

What's moving the Bionomics share price?

Bionomics advised that it has entered agreements for a placement with several North American and European institutional and sophisticated investors to raise almost $16 million.

Under listing rule 7.1, the company will use its 15% placement capacity to issue 110,287,132 ordinary shares to eligible investors. Each share price will be offered at 14.5 cents, reflecting a 20% discount on the 30-day volume-weighted average recorded on 5 February. Notably, the new parcel of shares is trading at a 55% discount based on the current Bionomics share price.

The company expects the placement to be completed before 26 February.

Once the capital raise is wrapped up, Bionomics will launch an entitlement offer to its existing shareholders. The share purchase plan will offer the same price of 14.5 cents apiece. Bionomics will release further details to the ASX market in due course.

In addition, Apeiron Investment Group will help fund Bionomics' BNC210 Phase 2b Clinical trials to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This was conducted with Apeiron underwriting a further raising of $15 million at a minimum price of 6 cents per share.

Management commentary

Bionomics executive chair Dr Errol De Souza welcomed the progress, saying:

We were pleased that a number of well-known specialist life sciences investment funds participated adding to a very strong shareholder base, which includes Apeiron Investments, Biotech Value Fund, Merck, Peter Thiel and Mike Novagratz.

We remain on track to the completion of our ongoing 7-day dosing pharmacokinetic study of our novel BNC210 tablet formulation in 1Q CY2021 and starting the Phase 2b PTSD trial in mid-2021.

Apeiron founder Christian Angermayer added:

We are pleased to support Bionomics both as an underwriter in this placement and as a long-term shareholder of the company. We look forward to participating in the entitlement offer alongside other investors.

PTSD and other mental health disorders are enormous burdens for those that live with them. Bionomics' lead drug BNC210 has already received fast track designation from the FDA and I am confident of the strong potential of the upcoming Phase 2b PTSD trial to drive value for both patients and shareholders.

Foolish takeaway

The Bionomics share price has accelerated over the past 12 months, gaining more than 228%. The company's shares hit a low of 3 cents in March, before moving on an upwards trajectory.

At the current share price, Bionomics commands a market capitalisation of $165 million.

The post Why the Bionomics (ASX:BNO) share price is climbing today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What's pushing the Bionomics share price?

The Bionomics share price has marched higher today after the company advised that it will exclusively licence BNC101 to Carina. The agreement will see the development of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy using Bionomics' flagship drug. CAR-T is known to harness the body's immune system to fight against cancer.

According to the company, BNC101 is a high-quality, humanised monoclonal antibody to LGR5, which creates copies in cancer stem cells. These occur within solid tumours including colorectal, breast, pancreatic, ovarian, lung, liver and gastric cancers. Bionomics reports that the drug has the potential to guide CAR-T therapeutic development.

Under the agreement, Carina will fund all research and development activities. Bionomics is eligible to receive up to $118 million in clinical and development milestones plus royalties. This is based on the terms that Carina can develop and market the new therapy.

Should Carina decide to sub-licence the CAR-T treatment, Bionomics will be eligible to share in the sub-licencing revenues in early clinical development. If later stages of development are reached, Bionomics has advised it will receive "a substantial double-digit portion of revenues".

Management commentary

Bionomics Executive Chair, Dr Errol De Souza, spoke about the new partnership. He said:

We are very excited to have entered into this agreement with Carina Biotech given the opportunity CAR-T therapy offers. This innovative approach has the potential to create a new cancer treatment.

Bionomics retains BNC101 for other types of therapies and is continuing to search for such opportunities. This is in keeping with our corporate strategy to leverage value for our clinical oncology assets by working with other companies bringing proprietary technology to the table and providing full funding to progress development of our assets.

About the Bionomics share price

The Bionomics share price has fallen from grace over the past few years. In 2018, shares in the biopharma company reached as high as 59 cents, with today's closing price representing nearly an 80% decline from these levels.

The company has a market capitalisation of $95.6 million. Only time will tell whether the Bionomics share price can regain its former glory.

The post Why the Bionomics (ASX:BNO) share price surged 8% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Bionomics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops treatments for central nervous system disorders, such as anxiety, depression and Alzheimer's disease.

Bionomics has a portfolio of drug candidates from early to mid stages of clinical development. This portfolio is fed by the company's proprietary technology platforms for each step in the drug discovery and development process.

Before we dig into the announcement, it's important to note that we're very much at the smaller end of the ASX here. Bionomics shares are currently changing hands at 5.6 cents per share, taking market capitalisation to around $30 million.

Why the Bionomics share price is jumping higher today

This morning, Bionomics announced it has entered into a subscription agreement with Apeiron Investment Group to recapitalise the company and assist in securing further equity capital.

Over the last few years, Apeiron has made investments in several European and US-based biotech companies, with a particular focus on the development of novel treatments for various mental health disorders.

Under the subscription agreement, Apeiron agrees to subscribe or procure subscriptions of 135.83 million shares at an issue price of 4 cents per share – raising $5.43 million. This is to proceed in 2 tranches of 81.5 million shares and 54.33 million shares, with the second tranche being subject to shareholder approval.

On top of this, Apeiron also agrees to underwrite further capital raisings by Bionomics within a 15-month period from an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (EGM) to be convened. This will have the effect that Bionomics will raise up to $15 million at a minimum issue price of 6 cents per share – subject to approvals from shareholders and the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

What does this mean?

Overall, if shareholder and FIRB approvals are received, Bionomics expects to raise between $20.4 million and $22 million. This would ensure that the company has significant funds to progress phase 2 clinical trials for its lead compound, BNC210, for the treatment of PTSD and other anxiety and stress-related disorders.

In November 2019, BNC210 received Fast Track Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of PTSD.

The recapitalisation will commence with the issue within Bionomics' existing placement capacity of 81.5 million shares – the first tranche raising $3.26 million. Following completion, Apeiron will own approximately 13% of Bionomics and will be invited to nominate a director to the board.

After this, Bionomics will then call an EGM seeking approval to place a further 54.33 million shares – the second tranche raising $2.17 million. If this proceeds, Apeiron will own approximately 19.9% of Bionomics and will be invited to nominate a second director to the board.

As part of the subscription process with Apeiron, after the completion of the second tranche, an entitlement offer will be launched for eligible shareholders to purchase up to 54.33 million shares at 4 cents per share – the same price as the Apeiron subscriptions across the 2 tranches.

Commenting on today's update, Bionomics chair Dr Errol De Souza said:

"We are pleased to have secured the support of a world-class and like-minded life science investor of the quality of Apeiron . . . The funding will ensure that we can initiate our second Phase 2b clinical trial in PTSD, which the Board believes will provide shareholders the best prospects to realise value in the Company."

The post Bionomics share price jumps 17% on subscription agreement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The clinical stage biopharmaceutical company's shares rocketed over 43% higher to 13.5 cents in early trade.

They have since dropped back a touch but are still up over 27% at the time of writing.

Why is the Bionomics share price on fire today?

Investors have been fighting to get hold of the company's shares this morning after the U.S. FDA granted Fast Track designation to the BNC210 development program for the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related and stressor-related disorders.

Fast Track designation is an FDA program intended to facilitate and expedite development and review of new drugs to address unmet medical need in the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition.

The company's executive chairman, Dr. Errol De Souza, appears to believe this is a big positive for BNC210.

He said: "FDA's decision to grant Fast Track designation is an important recognition of the high unmet medical need in PTSD and potential benefits of BNC210 with a novel mechanism of action in the treatment of this disorder."

"We are pleased with the progress that we have made over the last year in getting BNC210 back on track by carrying out extensive pharmacometric analysis and two pharmacokinetic studies demonstrating that the target blood levels predictive of efficacy in the treatment of PTSD can be achieved with our new solid dose formulation. We look forward to taking advantage of the Fast Track designation and working closely with FDA in the design and initiation of the next Phase 2b study in PTSD patients," he added.

Should you invest?

This certainly is a positive, but I would suggest investors wait to see how things develop over the coming quarters.

After all, just over a year ago Bionomics released the data for its phase 2 clinical trial of its BNC210 in patients with PTSD.

That trial did not meet its primary endpoint of a decrease in PTSD symptoms as measured by Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5) at 12 weeks.

Perhaps the new solid dose formulation will save the day, but for now, I intend to watch on from the safety of the sidelines.

In the meantime, fellow healthcare shares CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) might be better options for investors.

The post Why the Bionomics share price rocketed 43% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Making the case unusual is that the micro-cap biotech in question is ASX-listed Innate Immunotherapeutics Limited (ASX: IIL).

Since the scandal it has changed its name to Amplia Therapeutics Limited (ASX: ATX) perhaps in an effort to brush the episode under the carpet. 

According to reports in The Australian newspaper congressman Chris Collins was tipped off over the phone by the Innate Immunotherapeutics CEO that clinical trial results for one of its drugs were negative.

The congressman in possession of the inside information then tipped off his own son who proceeded to sell large amounts of  shares, while tipping off other associates to run for the hills as well. 

When the negative public announcement came the stock tanked 90% lower, with a journalist named Jerry Zremski working as the Washington Bureau chief of The Buffalo News first picking up the story of suspicious activity. 

Mr Zremski even contacted ex-Motley Fool writer and amateur sleuth Sean O'Neill who had also picked up and flagged the suspicious activity as outlined in the excellent article hyperlinked. 

It was lucky for the local regulator ASIC who had the whole affair picked up for it and pursued with gusto by the feared US regulator the SEC. 

For every case of insider trading picked up (in this case Mr Collins' son's greed in selling straight away appears to have given the game away) there are almost certainly dozens or perhaps hundreds of cases that go undetected or unproven.

Out of the around 2,300 companies listed on the local market the majority fall into the small-cap or speculative buckets. 

At this end of the market even if information is not legally 'inside information' different market participants are often acting on different amounts of information. While misinformation or false representations are also a big problem for retail investors to navigate.

Regulation also cannot be relied upon as the principle of 'caveat emptor' persists.

As Julius Caesar once said; "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves." 

I would not suggest punting on speculative stocks unless you are a highly-experienced investor well informed on a particular business.  

You can find some of the more popular speccy ASX stocks across all sectors including mining, healthcare, and biotechnology.

Some popular penny stock names with punters looking to get-rich-quick include Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: PAR), Fastbrick Robotics Ltd (ASX: FBR), Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ), Benitec Biopharma Ltd (ASX: BLT) and Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO). 

The post US congressman resigns over ASX insider trading penny stock scandal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

According to the company its patented drug Zilosul has been shown to inhibit 'nerve growth factor' (NGF) in bone cells in knee osteoarthritis patients and thus reduce pain. It reports that its research has been peer reviewed and published in the international scientific journal PLoS One.

The research also supports Paradigm's conclusions from its recent Phase II clinical trial into the treatment of pain and cartilage degeneration in knees and supports its regulatory submissions to the U.S. healthcare regulator the FDA. 

Paradigm will need to run a far larger, more expensive, and clinically comprehensive clinical trial into the drug in order to persuade the FDA of its clinical efficacy. 

The biotech also claimed the drug offered a "very attractive commercial opportunity" for 'big pharma' to partner with it in funding research and commercialisation. In part it claimed this is because the drug could help meet the need to treat the "opiate addiction" crisis in the US. 

If it can strike a partnership deal with "big pharma" this is likely to be a major positive for the business and stock. 

All this sounds exciting and Paradigm already has a market value around $488 million despite having no material revenues and expensive drug trials ahead of it. Thankfully it did have around $72 million cash on hand as at June 30, 2019. 

As we're not far from Melbourne Cup Day, Paradigm could be considered one of the 'favourites' amongst a field of speccy ASX biotechs looking for eternal glory.

Others include Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB), Opthea Limited (ASX: OPH), Next Science Ltd (ASX: NXS) and Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO). The first three already posting sales and looking worthy of more research for anyone seeking the next biotech blockbuster. 

However, as a word of warning biotech businesses' share prices can rise for a long time on the rumour or speculation before tumbling spectacularly on the fact.

Along the way different forces are jockeying for position often in possession of different information to turn profits, with any insider selling or unusual volume something to keenly watch for. 

If you've done your research on Paradigm then it might be worth a small punt, although I am not a buyer of shares myself. 

The post Paradigm reports "ground-breaking" osteoarthritis discovery: Is it the real deal? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

While a 41% gain might sound impressive it's worth noting the penny stock is only 2.4 cents higher to 8.2 cents on volume around 51.3 million shares traded. In other words only around $4.5 million worth of stock has been traded. 

Earlier in September the company also announced it had met with the US healthcare regulator the FDA to discuss how to design a potential Phase II trial for the PTSD drug. It also boasted that it had applied for a 'fast track' designation status for the application. 

It's worth noting Phase II trials themselves are generally quite early stage and partly to just demonstrate safety ahead of what is nearly always the largest and most expensive Phase III trial designed to actually test the clinical efficacy of a drug. 

As such it seems Bionomics has a long road ahead of it yet and I would not suggest buying shares. 

Other speccy biotechs maybe worth some more research include Paradigm Ltd (ASX: PAR) and Next Science Limited (ASX: NXS).

The post Why the Bionomics share price is up 40% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

However, this does not stop beginner investors or speculators regularly trading shares in the hope of a quick profit, or in the hope of buying that 1 in a 1,000 company that goes on to be a huge winner. 

It's true that this end of the market can produce massive winners returning say 5,000% in just 5 years or more like Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) or Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA), but finding these companies amongst today's contenders is a tough task that requires expertise and a little luck.

I don't propose to cover the below companies on the list below in much detail, but rather to make a couple of points around small or micro-cap speculating.

As you can see most of the companies below have lost around 95% of their value over the past year. 

If you lose 95% of your investment say from $100 to $5, you will need to make 1,900% just to get back to $100 again. An almost impossible task.

So speculating at this end of the market as a novice investor could permanently destroy your investment capital and end up excluding you from the real wealth creating mid and large-cap ends of the share market where small fortunes can be made without taking silly risks. 

The speculative end of the market is also lightly regulated and deliberately so, the principle of caveat emptor or "buyer beware" rules as most micro-cap companies are unprofitable or have little revenue. In other words they list to raise capital more than to allow 'mum and dad' investors to trade shares.

Raising capital is after all one of the two primary functions of stock markets.

As for most companies at this end of the market with little or no revenue bank debt is not an option. As bankers are definitely not foolish enough to lend.

This means every company at this end of the market will have an attractive story to sell to investors, but very few will go onto become big winners.

The light regulation also means this end of the market attracts plenty of dubious operators often perpetuating some of the oldest tricks in the share market scam book to profit for themselves. Anyone who loses money at this end of the market though has little recourse other than to blame themselves for their stupidity.

"The fault dear Brutus is not in the stars, it is in ourselves".

With Shakespeare's advice in mind let's take a brief look at the 10 worst small caps of FY 2019 according to Commsec.

Source: Commsec, July 3 2019.

Alderan Resources Ltd (ASX: AL8) is a copper mining explorer in Utah, USA. It raised $1.6 million from investors via a placement in May 2019.

Intiger Group Ltd (ASX: IAM) reports it operates a software development house to assist financial planners. The stock sits at 1 cent.

iBuyNew Group Ltd (ASX: IBN) is a residential property buying advisory group. The stock is down 94% in a year.

White Cliff Minerals Ltd (ASX: WCN) is a gold explorer focused in the Kyrgyz Republic and nickel-cobalt explorer in Western Australia. It raised $1.15 million (before costs) from investors earlier in 2019.

Change Financial Ltd (ASX: CCA) is in the "fintech" and payments technologies space. Investors appear unimpressed given the stock price.

Cycliq Group Ltd (ASX: CYQ) is a bicycle accessories business. It looks to have a long road ahead of it.

Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO) is a biopharmaceutical company researching treatments for anxiety, Alzheimer's and other common ailments. Speculative biotech stocks commonly bomb at the small-cap end of the share market on failed trial results.

Silver Chef Limited (ASX: SIV) is a kitchen equipment leasing business that ran into trouble in FY 2019 on the back of ballooning losses. 

Factor Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: FTT) is a speculative biotech researching wound care therapies.

Freedom Oil and Gas Ltd (ASX: FDM) is an oil and gas exploration company in Texas. Looking at the share price it's better at spending money than making it.

The post Warning: These are the 10 worst small-cap shares of FY 2019 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In morning trade the biopharmaceutical company's shares are down a massive 37.5% to a multi-year low of 3.5 cents.

This latest decline means that the Bionomics share price has now lost close to 94% of its value over the last 12 months.

Why is the Bionomics share price down 37% today?

Investors have been heading to the exits this morning after another disappointing study result for its BNC210 product candidate.

This morning the company announced the top line results of an exploratory trial of BNC210 for the treatment of agitation in elderly patients in a hospital setting.

According to the release, the results of the trial indicated that BNC210 treatment did not differentiate from placebo on the primary and secondary efficacy end points.

A comparison of the mean peak daily Pittsburgh Agitation Scale scores (observations of aberrant vocalisation, motor agitation, aggressiveness and resisting care) showed a gradual improvement for both BNC210 and placebo over the five-day treatment period, but without evidence of a treatment effect.

Professor Paul Rolan, Bionomics consultant chief medical officer, said: "Whilst the results of the trial do not support further development of BNC210 for treatment of agitation, given BNC210's consistent safety profile and the demonstration by pharmacometric exposure-response modelling of its potential to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, we remain confident in pursuing PTSD, provided that we can achieve the blood exposure levels predicted by the modelling analysis."

The company now intends to push ahead with a single ascending dose study in healthy volunteers to demonstrate that blood levels of BNC210 believed to be necessary to meet the primary endpoints for effectiveness in treating PTSD in any further trial are achievable using the new solid dose formulation.

The cost of this study is estimated to be $300,000 and results are anticipated to be available early in the fourth quarter of the calendar year.

After which, Dr Errol De Souza, Executive Chairman of Bionomics, revealed that Bionomics intends to proceed with the further formulation development and preparation for a second Phase 2 trial if "the proposed study with the solid dose formulation confirms that the required blood levels are achievable, and the FDA guidance supports a second Phase 2 trial of BNC210 in PTSD."

Elsewhere in the industry today, the CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price has pushed higher and the Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (ASX: MYX) share price is trading 1% lower at a multi-year low of 47.5 cents.

The post Why the Bionomics share price crashed 37.5% lower today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that have defied the market decline and pushed higher today are listed below. Here's why they are on the rise:

The Altura Mining Ltd (ASX: AJM) share price has jumped 5% to 14.2 cents after the lithium miner announced the achievement of commercial production at its 100% owned Altura Lithium Mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. According to the release, in recent weeks the company has achieved an average of 541 tonnes per day of production, which represents 84% of its nameplate capacity.

The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has pushed 5% higher to $23.30. Today's gain appears to have been triggered by a broker note out of Citi. According to the note, the broker has upgraded the market darling's shares to a buy rating with an increased price target of $28.04. The broker made the move after factoring the acquisition of Figure Eight into its forecasts. Though, it is worth noting that Citi handled the capital raising to fund the acquisition.

The Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO) share price is up 5.5% to 19 cents. This gain means that the biotech company's shares are now up 81% since the start of the year. The catalyst for this impressive gain was a recent update on its BNC210 drug candidate. Last year the company's shares were hammered after its PTSD trial results fell well short of expectations. However, in February the company revealed that further data analysis has shown the potential for significant patient benefit when the drug exposure is adequate.

The Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) share price has climbed 3% to $25.21 after the gold price pushed higher overnight following the weakening of the U.S. dollar. In addition to this, a note out of Citi reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and $29.00 price target on the gold miner's shares after its announced plans to acquire a 70% stake in the Canada-based Red Chris project from Imperial Metals Corporation.

The post Why Altura Mining, Appen, Bionomics, & Newcrest shares climbed higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Whilst this is an impressive gain, it is nothing compared to the gains made by the three shares listed below. Here's why these shares are up at least 70% since the turn of the year:

The Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO) share price has zoomed 71.5% higher since the turn of the year. The biotech company's shares have been on a tear since the release of an update on its BNC210 drug candidate. Last year the company's shares were crushed after its trial results fell well short of expectations. However, in February the company revealed that all was not lost for BNC210. Further data analysis of its disappointing Phase 2 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) trial has shown the potential for significant patient benefit when the drug exposure is adequate.

The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price has surged 92% higher this year thanks largely to an impressive half year result in February. In the first half of FY 2019 Nearmap achieved revenue of $36.3 million, up 46% on the prior corresponding period. This strong half was driven by growing demand for its offering in both the Australia and U.S. markets. The company finished the period with annualised contract value (ACV) of $78.3 million, 44% higher than the same time last year. The doubling of its ACV in the United States and a 23% increase in Australia drove the impressive ACV growth. This ultimately left Nearmap with a total subscriber lifetime value of $1.07 billion, which was an increase of 123% on the prior corresponding period. With the company looking at expanding into other territories, I suspect this strong growth could continue in the second half and into FY 2020.

The Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) share price has rocketed a massive 720% higher since hitting the ASX boards at the end of January. The payments company has caught the eye of investors who appear to believe it could be the next Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT). Splitit provides a cross-border credit card-based instalment solution to businesses and merchants. It allows consumers to pay for a product using their existing credit cards but divide the total purchase cost across as many interest-free monthly payments as they feel is necessary, up to a limit of 36 months. Debit cards can also be used, but consumers are limited to $400 of credit and must repay the balance through a maximum of three interest-free monthly payments. It certainly has had an incredible start to life on the ASX, but time will tell if it really is the next Afterpay.

The post Why Bionomics, Nearmap, & Splitit shares have smashed the market in 2019 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Bionomics is a pharmaceutical or biotechnology business conducting clinical trials into drugs that could help treat central nervous system disorders such as post traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression.

However, on October 2 the company's share price crashed around 68% in a single day after it admitted a clinical trial for its BNC210 drug to treat post traumatic stress disorder failed to meet its clinical endpoint.

However, the company is ploughing ahead with trials into its BNC210 drug to treat "elderly patients suffering from agitation" with the results expected in the first quarter of 2019.

For the quarter ending December 31 2018 it posted cash receipt of $2.66 million and had cash on hand of $27.35 million. The stock price is probably rising in hope of more promising trial results.

The post Why the Bionomics share price has rebounded 75% in 2019 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price has rocketed 20% to $32.47 following the release of its half year results. Investors appear to have been blown away by another impressive result from the electronic design software company. Altium posted half year revenue of US$78 million, EBITDA of US$28.4 million, profit after tax of $23.4 million, and earnings per share of 18 U.S. cents. This represented revenue growth of 26% and net profit after tax growth of 58% on the prior corresponding period.

The Bingo Industries Ltd (ASX: BIN) share price has bounced back from a heavy decline and is 5% higher at $1.23. The waste management company's shares were sold off on Monday when it downgraded its guidance for the full year. According to a broker note out of Macquarie, it was disappointed with the downgrade but believes the selling has been overdone. It has an outperform rating and $1.50 price target on its shares. This price target is down from $2.75 previously.

The Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO) share price has continued its ascent and is up a further 5.5% to 19.5 cents. The biotech company's shares rocketed higher on Monday after management revealed that all was not lost for its BNC210 drug candidate. Further data analysis of its disappointing Phase 2 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) trial has shown the potential for significant patient benefit when the drug exposure is adequate.

The IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) share price up almost 12% to $5.92 following the release of its half year results. Despite the impact of the Royal Commission, IOOF achieved a 6% increase in underlying net profit after tax from continuing operations in the first half of FY 2019.

The post Why Altium, Bingo, Bionomics, & IOOF shares zoomed higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they have started the week on a high:

The Automotive Holdings Group Ltd (ASX: AHG) share price has bounced back from Friday's selloff with a 6% gain to $1.73. On Friday the company's share price sank lower after it announced a $226 million non-cash impairment of its businesses. Management advised that the impairment charges relate to the company's Franchised Automotive business and its Refrigerated Logistics business and reflect a more conservative view of its balance sheet given current market conditions.

The Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO) share price has rocketed 67% to 20 cents. This morning the biotechnology company announced a promising new development for its key BNC210 drug candidate. Further data analysis of its disappointing Phase 2 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) trial has shown the potential for significant patient benefit when the drug exposure is adequate.

The Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) share price has continued its positive run and is up a further 5% to $14.74. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the appliance maker's shares since the release of a better than expected first half result last week. In the first half Breville posted a 19.7% increase in half year profit after tax to $43.5 million.

The GWA Group Ltd (ASX: GWA) share price has pushed 5% higher to $3.36 following the release of its half year results. Investors have responded positively to news that the supplier of building fixtures and fittings to households and commercial premises achieved a 7.3% increase in net profit from continuing operations excluding transaction costs in the first half.

The post Why Automotive Holdings, Bionomics, Breville, & GWA shares stormed higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In morning trade the biotechnology company's shares are up a massive 62% to 19.5 cents.

At one stage the Bionomics share price was up a remarkable 75% to 21 cents.

Why is the Bionomics share price on fire today?

This morning the company announced that further data analysis of its Phase 2 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) trial of its BNC210 candidate shows the potential for significant patient benefit when the drug exposure is adequate.

The release explains that the "variable absorption of the liquid formulation of BNC210 used in the PTSD trial and the requirement for the drug to be taken with food may be overcome through development of an improved solid dose formulation which has recently been evaluated in healthy human volunteers. The solid dose formulation of BNC210 is anticipated to be used in any future PTSD trials."

The Bionomics share price was smashed last year when the trial results were initially released and came in below expectations. So, this news is certainly a big positive for shareholders.

Management advised that it will now seek FDA guidance on next steps for BNC210 for PTSD, including the design of a further trial and whether BNC210 is eligible for Fast Track designation.

The company's advisor, Prof Karlsson, said "Exposure-response modelling has shown the potential for BNC210 to have significant benefit in PTSD provided that adequate blood levels are achieved. This analysis provides a basis for optimal design of future trials to demonstrate efficacy."

Should you invest?

Whilst this certainly is promising news for the company given how lucrative the PTSD market could be, I believe it is a little too soon to make an investment.

Instead, I would suggest investors keep an eye on its progress and in the meantime take a look at industry peers CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (ASX: MYX) or even small cap biotech star Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX).

The post Why the Bionomics share price rocketed 75% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that have defied the market and pushed higher today are listed below. Here's why they are ending the week on a high:

The Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO) share price has climbed 6% to 10.5 cents after the biotech company announced the commencement of an experimental phase II clinical trial. In combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb's nivolumab, Bionomics will trial its cancer drug candidate, BNC105, in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group is sponsoring the trial which is being supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) share price has pushed a further 1.5% higher to $2.75. Yesterday Healius, formerly known as Primary Health Care, revealed that it has received a non-binding indicative acquisition proposal from Jangho Hong Kong Limited. An indicative offer of $3.25 cash per share has been made, though the Healius board is not yet in a position to recommend it.

The iSelect Ltd (ASX: ISU) share price has risen 5.5% to 77.5 cents despite there being no news out of the price comparison website operator. However, last month Innovation Holdings increased its stake in the company to 22.6% from 19.6%. Investors may believe this is a sign that a takeover approach is coming in the near future. Innovation Holdings is the company behind rival Compare the Market.

The Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) share price is up 3% to $23.32. Australia's gold miners have been on the charge today after volatile markets led to a jump in the gold price overnight. The spot gold price is up 0.7% to US$1,289 an ounce over the last 24 hours. The S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index is up a sizeable 2.3% today.

The post Why Bionomics, Healius, iSelect, and Newcrest shares are ending the week on a high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

According to its website Bionomics is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to "making better treatments for cancer, central nervous system disorders such as anxiety, depression and Alzheimer's disease".

While the stock is up 13% today to 12 cents, back on October 2 2018 it crashed 69% after revealing that a Phase II trial for its BNC210 drug for the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder did not meet its primary endpoint.

For the quarter ending September 30 2018, Bionomics posted an operating cash loss of $8.25 million, but after placing some shares to private investors reports it now has "12 months cash runway".

The post Why the Bionomics share price is up 13% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Today I thought I would look at the shares that had gone the other way. Three that have fallen more than 50% this year are listed below:

The Bionomics Ltd (ASX: BNO) share price has crashed 71.5% lower since the start of the year. Investors were hitting the sell button in a hurry at the end of September after the biotech company announced disappointing results from the phase 2 clinical trial of its BNC210 novel drug candidate in patients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The trial did not meet its primary endpoint of a decrease in PTSD symptoms as measured by Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale at 12 weeks. As BNC210 had a lot of promise and was the main attraction to the company for most investors, this news has been a bitter blow.

The BWX Ltd (ASX: BWX) share price has dropped a massive 60% so far in 2018. The main catalyst for this decline was the withdrawal of a takeover approach from the Bain consortium. But in addition to this, the sudden slowing of sales of its key Sukin brand and the disappointing performance of its acquisitions has weighed heavily on its shares this year. While its shares do look reasonable value, I'm holding off an investment until I've seen a big improvement in its performance.

The Integrated Research Limited (ASX: IRI) share price has plunged 57% lower this year. The global provider of proactive experience management solutions for critical IT infrastructure, payments and communications ecosystems has been a consistently strong performer over the last decade. But all that came to an end this year after a surprisingly poor FY 2018 result. In addition to this, the surprise resignation of its CEO has weighed on investor sentiment. While I think that Integrated Research is a quality company, I feel it would be best to stay clear of its shares until there are signs that it has moved on from this difficult period.

The post These ASX shares are down over 50% in 2018 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.