The company said that it had posted record quarterly revenue of more than $1 million for the first time in the three months to the end of December, up 34% on the same quarter last year.

Long-term revenue

The company said increasing recurring revenues from its RentBond and RentPay products was driving the growth, with 67% of revenues coming from recurring sources.

Rent.com.au Chief Executive Officer Jan Ferreira said it was a solid quarter.

Exceeding $1 million in quarterly revenue for the first time is an important milestone for the Group. Achieving this result in a quarter that has historically been seasonally softer is exciting because it highlights the strength of Rent.com.au's evolving business model which prioritises customer solutions that have strong recurring revenue streams. With a well-capitalised balance sheet, the group remains on track to achieve cashflow positivity by the end of 2026.

Rent.com.au has two main products, one of which is RentBond, which is a "move now pay later" product designed to cover rental costs such as bond payments, rent in advance, and moving expenses.

The company's other product is RentPay, which is a "digital rent payment and money management app that offers renters greater control and flexibility while streamlining workflows for agents''.

Building on growth

In a trading update in December, the company said annuity revenue from RentBond was running at more than $100,000 in a month for the first time, "demonstrating accelerating product uptake and recurring revenue growth''.

Mr Ferreira said at the time that demand for new RentBond loans "continues to be very strong, highlighting the growing value of our offering for renters''.

He went on to say:

As our annuity revenue builds, seasonality is becoming far less relevant to our performance, giving us greater confidence in our ability to scale consistently throughout the year.

The company said on Tuesday it was well-capitalised, with $7.5 million in cash and $5 million in undrawn debt at the end of December.

Shares in the company were trading at 5.1 cents by noon, up 6.3%, after earlier trading as high as 5.7 cents, up 18.8%.

The shares have almost quadrupled over the past year from lows of 1.5 cents.

The company last year posted a net loss of $3.69 million on revenue of $3.34 million.

The company was worth $55.7 million at the close of trade on Monday.

The post This junior fintech's shares have rocketed almost 20% on good news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Rent.com.au share price was trading at 14.5 cents at the market close today, up 7.69% after hitting an intraday high of 15 cents. This means it has finished the previous 5 sessions more than 16% higher.

Let's take a look at the Rent.com.au share price and some of the news around its price action this year.

Rent.com.au share price trends

Despite there being no market-sensitive information specific to the company today, shares in the rental property website continue an impressive run this year to date.

Since 1 January, Rent.com.au shares have catapulted more than 190%, far outpacing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)'s return of 9.7% over the same time period.

Over the previous 12 months, the Rent.com.au share price has delivered a return of 311%, again outpacing the broad index's return of ~22% for the same period.

Much of this upside can likely be attributed to two key events in the company's growth narrative.

Firstly, Rent.com.au announced back in February that well-known Australian tech investor Bevan Slattery had made a $2.75 million investment in the company. The share price rocketed 218% higher on the day of the announcement.

Later in March, the company announced that its FinTech offering RentPay had secured an agreement with SkyCredit Ltd, effectively adding beneficial features to the RentPay platform. RentPay is an application that allows direct debit forms of rent servicing, all provided on a ledger for future rental reference.

Both announcments seem to have been welcomed by the market with the company's share price skyrocketing from 4 cents to a high of 39.5 cents.

Rent.com.au share price snapshot

The Rent.com.au share price is currently trading well off its 52-week high of 39.5 cents but is sitting above the 52-week low of 3 cents.

At the current share price of 14.5 cents, Rent.com.au has a market capitalisation of $57.7 million.

The company has negative earnings per share from the most recent filings and does not pay a dividend to shareholders.

The post The Rent.com.au (ASX:RNT) share price surged 11.5% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the company's shares are trading at 22 cents apiece, flat for the day so far. 

Rent.com.au states that RentPay gives tenants easy access to their payment history, flexible payment solutions and can help to build a positive credit score.

Let's take a close look at the rental property website's newest addition.

What is RentPay?

The Rent.com.au share price received a temporary boost this morning after the company officially launched its RentPay platform to the public. RentPay enables renters to pay their landlords using the app.

Users deposit their rent into the app, which will store it in an Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) account. RentPay will then transfer the funds to a landlord or rental agency.

The platform is customer-led, which means landlords or agents don't need to have the app installed in order for their tenants to pay through it. RentPay is compatible with BPAY, Visa, Mastercard, direct debit and more. 

According to the company, RentPay provides Rent.com.au with an entry point into the market beyond the signing of a rental agreement, extending customer relationships into the tenancy period. The company's aim is that this will expand its revenue from one-off payments to recurring payments.

Rent.com.au also states that its newly released platform allows for tenants to have more flexible payment schedules. Tenants can put their rental payments into the app whenever it suits them – such as on the day they're paid. They can then set the app to transfer the funds at a designated time in the future.

Tenants can also deposit more than the cost of their rent into the app, using it as a savings account for future rental payments. Rent.com.au says it plans to provide an investment return on money held in the app in the future.

The platform is now available as an app via both Apple and Google Play. 

To use RentPay, tenants will be charged a one-off $3 fee, then $2 each month thereafter.

Additional features

In today's release, Rent.com.au highlighted the additional features offered by RentPay beyond rent payments.

The platform has a feature called ScoreBuilder that, if activated, will allow Rent.com.au to send a tenant's rental history to Equifax, one of Australia's largest credit reporting agencies. The company says, over time, this could have a positive impact on a tenant's credit score. RentPay charges $3 to set up a tenant's account with ScoreBuilder, then an ongoing $1 monthly fee.

Further, RentPay has a SafteyNet feature, which works like a buy now, pay later service for rent. Using credit from SkyCredit, RentPay will provide tenants with a short-term loan if they are unable to meet their rental payments. Tenants who use the feature will pay their rent back in 4 equal fortnightly payments, each incurring a $4 fee.

Rent.com.au share price snapshot

Today's gains add to the fantastic performance of Rent.com.au shares on the ASX of late.

Currently, the Rent.com.au share price is up 340% year to date. It's also up 450% over the last 12 months.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $87 million, with approximately 397 million shares outstanding.

The post Why the Rent.com.au (ASX:RNT) share price jumped 14% this morning appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Having finished January trading at 4 cents, the company's shares reached 31 cents by 15 February – a massive 675% increase in the short time frame. Since then, however, the company's shares have dropped back to 24 cents at the time of writing, an almost 23% drop in little more than a month.

Let's take a look at what's been moving the company's share price.

Fintech and millionaires

Two significant happenings have been announced by Rent.com.au in recent months.

The first sparked intense interest amongst investors, as Australian technology entrepreneur Bevan Slattery invested $2.75 million into the company via a placement in early February. The placement included Rent.com.au issuing Mr Slattery with 55 million new fully paid ordinary shares, each costing the millionaire 5 cents.

Many investors believe a knowledgeable business identity investing heavily into a business is a sign of their faith in the company's future success. This seems to be the case for Rent.com.au. The week after news of Mr Slattery's investment hit headlines, the company's share price rose by 76.92%.

The second happening was announced only yesterday, as Rent.com.au unveiled its new FinTech product RentPay's agreement with SkyCredit Pty Ltd. The company said the agreement has given it the opportunity to add additional features to RentPay. Although, doing so has set its launch date back by 4 to 6 weeks.

RentPay is an app that allows renters easy management of their rental payments. It can be configured to automatically direct debit a tenant's rent and can be shown to prospective landlords as proof of a good payment history.

Yesterday's announcement was followed by a 13.8% drop in the Rent.com.au share price.

Rent.com.au share price snapshot

Today, the Rent.com.au share price is failing to recover from yesterday's falls and has dropped lower still.

However, over the last 12 months, the company's shares are up a whopping 700%.

Rent.com.au has a market capitalisation of around $99 million, with approximately 397 million shares outstanding.

The post What's up with the Rent.com.au (ASX:RNT) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

We take a look at three ASX shares that are benefitting from the rampant boom.

Browsing for your next humble abode?

The government's utilisation of various monetary assistance programs throughout the past year has provided protection to the downside. Meanwhile, ongoing record low-interest rates have maintained a low bar for loan serviceability.

Consequently, as the Australian economy rebounds and unemployment rates start returning to pre-pandemic levels, homebuyers have been stampeding to grasp the keys to a dwelling they can call their own.

In Australia, the two most likely places people will look for their new dream home are online residential property marketplaces realestate.com.au and domain.com.au. And these platforms are operated by none other than ASX shares REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) and Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG) respectively. 

In REA's most recent investor presentation, the company noted record audience levels. Monthly visits in the first half of FY21 spiked to 115 million, an increase of 36% compared to the year prior. Despite a slight dip in revenue, the group managed to drive a 13% increase in its earnings per share (EPS).

Comparatively, Domain holdings shaved 4% off the top-line, while growing its EPS by 52%. The company's residential revenue segment lifted by nearly 10% on a like-for-like basis during the first half.

Both platforms benefit from the heightened traffic to their respective sites through advertiser monetisation. However, the tight market supply works against them, given a large portion of revenue is derived from sale listing fees.

Notwithstanding this, the increased interest in property has led to impressive share price gains for these businesses. The REA Group share price has increased by 77% in the past year, while Domain shares are up an astounding 130%.

ASX small cap share taking on the renting niche

Not everyone wants to be a property owner. For some, renting fits their lifestyle. Roughly 32% of householders were recorded as renters in the 2016 Census. Rent.com.au Ltd (ASX: RNT) is targeting this demographic through its range of products specifically for renters. These include rental checks, rental resume help, payment options, etc.

During the half-year ended December 2020, the group experienced a 24% revenue increase. According to the half-year report, ongoing growth in organic traffic allowed the company to roll back marketing expenditure – leading to a reduced loss for the period.

This ASX share gained attention after it received a $2.75 million investment from tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery in February. Slattery made the investment to assist in accelerating the company's transformation of the renting experience.

Rental prices continue to rise at a record pace, as reported by CoreLogic. As a result, renters are searching for tools to help them find the right residences and then manage the costs associated with them. Rent.com.au offers such technology with products like RentPay and RentConnect.

National #rent prices reached the largest annual gain since 2016 in January, as supply and demand challenges in the for-sale market continue to fuel growth in the rental market.

Read more from the latest Single-Family Rent Index: https://t.co/LHXnjBsIOP pic.twitter.com/K9ABoKHacf

— CoreLogic (@CoreLogicInc) March 16, 2021

Whether or not the booming property market is responsible for the surge, the Rent share price has been skyrocketing. In the past 12 months, Rent shares have increased by more than 850%.

The post 3 ASX shares benefitting from a booming property market appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's the data:

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

This buy now pay later (BNPL) provider's shares were the most traded on the CommSec platform by some distance. Zip shares accounted for 3% of total trades last week. However, just 39% of these came from buyers. Unfortunately for the sellers, the Zip share price recorded a sizeable 19% gain over the five days. A new chair appointment and a strong BNPL update from PayPal helped drive its shares higher.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

This exchange traded fund (ETF) was popular with investors and accounted for 1.7% of trades on CommSec. A sizeable 78% of these trades came from buyers. They may have been buying the ETF in response to strong updates from Amazon and Apple.

Silver Mines Limited (ASX: SVL)

This silver-focused mineral exploration company's shares were heavily traded last week, accounting for 1.5% of trades by CommSec investors. Almost two-thirds of these trades came from buyers who appear to have been looking for exposure to the precious metal after Reddit tried to initiate a short squeeze.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

Afterpay shares were among the most traded shares again last week. They were responsible for 1.3% of trades on CommSec, with sellers accounting for 60% of these trades. As with rival Zip, these sellers will be disappointed to have missed out on a 12% gain over the five days. This appears to have been driven partly by a bullish broker note out of Bell Potter.

Rent.com.au Ltd (ASX: RNT)

This online rental listings company's shares were very popular with investors last week. Rent.com.au shares were attributable for 1.2% of trades on CommSec, with close to two-thirds coming from the buy side. Investors were fighting to get hold of its shares after renowned tech investor, Bevan Slattery, took part in an institutional placement. The Rent.com.au share price jumped almost 500% last week.

The post Afterpay and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

If you add the company's stunning 200% share price bump yesterday, things look pretty good for Rent.com.au shareholders. After today's rise, Rent's share price gains just this week amount to more than 330%. That means a $10,000 investment just last week would be worth as much as $33,000 today. Not a bad return for 5 days of waiting!

Today's Rent.com.au share price represents the highest valuation the company has traded at since June 2016. It gives Rent a market capitalisation of more than $63 million.

So what's going on here?

Bond, rental bond

Rent.com.au is an online marketplace that seeks to connect renters and landlords. The site is in a similar vein to REA Group Ltd's (ASX: REA) realestate.com.au. It allows landlords to list their properties for lease, and gives renters the opportunity to find their ideal property. The company also has various online tools like RentPay and RentQuotes that aim to assist these processes.

Yesterday, we covered the reasons behind Rent.com.au's sudden surge in value.

To recap, investors got very hot under the collar when the company announced that Australian tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery had made a $2.75 million investment in Rent.com.au. Mr Slattery received 55 million shares under the agreement, priced at 5 cents apiece.

Perhaps the biggest winner on the ASX this week has indeed been Mr Slattery. Since this investment is now worth more than triple what he laid out. As we discussed yesterday, Mr Slattery has a long track record of investing in early-stage companies. His resume includes names like NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) and Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1).

Why is the Rent.com.au share price rocketing again today?

There have been no major developments for Rent.com.au since yesterday.

That essentially means we can assume that investors might have noticed what went on with Rent shares yesterday, and are piling on to get a slice of the action.

As we saw with GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) shares last week, and the short-lived 'silver squeeze' this week, the current market conditions are certainly encouraging many investors to chase the chance of a quick return.

The post Millionaire maker! Rent.com.au (ASX:RNT) share price now up 300% in a week 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 surging higher:

Amcor CDI (ASX: AMC)

The Amcor share price is up over 5% to $15.16. Investors have been buying the packaging company's shares following the release of a solid half year update. Amcor posted a 16% increase in adjusted earnings per share to 33.3 U.S. cents for the six months. This stronger than expected performance led to management upgrading its earnings per share growth guidance. It now expects growth of between 10% and 14% in constant currency.

Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR)

The Carsales share price is up 5.5% to $21.12. This has been driven by the release of a bullish broker note out of Goldman Sachs this morning. According to the note, Goldman Sachs has upgraded the auto listings company's shares to a buy rating with a $22.60 price target. Its analysts believe recent weakness in the Carsales share price has created a buying opportunity. Especially given its attractive valuation and solid medium term growth prospects.

Rent.com.au Ltd (ASX: RNT)

The Rent.com.au share price is rocketing a further 27% higher to 16.5 cents on Wednesday. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the rental listings company's shares after Bevan Slattery became a shareholder. The well-respected tech investor grabbed $2 million worth of shares from a $2.75 million placement at 5 cents per new share.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

The Temple & Webster share price has bounced back from yesterday's decline and is up 4.5% to $11.02. Investors have been buying the online furniture and homewares retailer's shares after Goldman Sachs responded positively to its half year update. Although the company fell short of its estimates, the broker believes it remains very well-positioned for strong growth in the coming years. It has retained its buy rating and put a $12.45 price target on its shares.

The post Why Amcor, Carsales, Rent.com.au, & Temple & Webster are surging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

However, Rent.com.au opened this morning at 10 cents a share and have rocketed even higher since. At the time of writing, the Rent share price is trading at 12 cents a share, up a staggering 167%. It's the highest share price this company has touched since 2016.

So who is Rent.com.au? And why is it experiencing such a dramatic jump in value today?

Rent.com.au in a nutshell

Rent.com.au is an online provider of rental advertising for renters and landlords. It operates an online marketplace in a similar fashion to its far-larger rival REA Group Ltd's (ASX: REA) realestate.com.au website and Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG)'s domain.com.au.

According to the company, Rent.com.au's mission is "to deliver excellent services for renters and all marketers of rental properties". Additionally, the company aims to "become the home for renters with the widest possible choice of homes in one convenient location".

Rent.com.au also offers several "exclusive and industry-first products and tools" as well. These include Renter Resume, RentBond, RentConnect, RentCheck, RentPay and RentReports, amongst others. These products and tools collectively serve to "simplify the renting process for renters, landlords, and agents".

The company has delivered some head-turning numbers of late. Just last week, Rent.com.au released a quarterly update. In this update, investors were informed that the company brought in $734,000 in revenue (remember, this is a small company). That was a 27% improvement year on year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) also experienced a 55% improvement year on year. 

However, the company's earnings are yet to break even.

Paying the Rent

So why are shares of this little-known company exploding today?

Well, it's probably the result of an ASX market release the company put out this morning before market open. In this announcement, Rent.com.au informed investors that Australian tech entrepreneur Bevan Slattery has made a substantial investment in the company.

Rent.com.au tells us that Mr Slattery has received 55 million newly issued ordinary shares as a result of his $2.75 million investment. These shares were placed at a price of 5 cents a share (meaning he has already almost tripled his money on today's share price gains). Rent.com.au stated that it intends to use this funding injection to provide "additional capital to accelerate RNT's transformation of the renting experience".

Rent.com.au CEO Greg Bader had this to say on the deal:

Bevan has a well-earned reputation for innovation and disruption across the technology sector and having Bevan come on board as a major shareholder is fantastic. I am excited that Bevan shares our vision for the platform and this additional investment will allow us to maximise the potential of our upcoming RentPay launch and provide additional working capital for marketing and product development.

Mr Slattery has more than 20 years' experience in founding and investing in early-stage technology companies. These include forays with NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) and Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1).

The company's release also quoted Mr Slattery on his investment:

I love disruptive platforms that have the ability to scale and Rent.com.au has great potential to achieve that goal. I look forward to supporting the board and management team and am excited to be backing another innovative Australian technology platform.

Clearly, investors are more than on board with this vision, judging by the company's performance today.

The post ASX stock of the day: Rent.com.au (ASX:RNT) shares explode 218% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

These two shares, for example, more than quadrupled in value during the financial year.

I believe this demonstrate just how lucrative investing in small-cap shares can be.

While it is important to remember that not every small-cap share will deliver returns of this magnitude, here are three that I would suggest investors keep a close eye on in FY 2018:

Family Zone Cyber Safety Ltd (ASX: FZO)

As its name implies, Family Zone provides a selection of cyber safety products and services to consumers and businesses globally. As well as making inroads into the U.S. education sector in FY 2017, Family Zone also announced a potentially lucrative agreement with Indonesian telco company Telkomsel following a successful trial. This gives the company access to upwards of 165 million mobile phone subscribers. According to Parks Research, the addressable size of the cyber safety market could expand to US$100 billion per year for companies that can provide simple-to-apply protection that covers every connected device in the home. This is exactly what Family Zone provides.

GeoOp Limited (ASX: GEO)

This fast-growing cloud-based job management software provider for small businesses in the service industries is expected to land on the Australian share market at the end of September. Geo's software, which is used by companies including AGL Energy Ltd (ASX: AGL), Alinta, and Red Energy, allows its users to handle workforce job and costings management, create and schedule jobs, and invoicing. This year Geo has forecast pro-forma revenue of $4.2 million, which is double FY 2016's revenue of $2.1 million. I believe this strong growth can continue for some time to come thanks to its global opportunity driven by the ever-growing adoption of cloud-based products and services by businesses both large and small.

Rent.com.au Ltd (ASX: RNT)

Australia's number one website dedicated to rental property is flying largely under the radar at the moment. But considering the growth of its Rental Resume product and its guidance for reaching profitability this year, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Rent.com.au starts to gain attention from investors in FY 2018. Although it competes with industry giant REA Group Limited (ASX: REA), I think its intuitive and user-friendly website puts it in a great position to become the first port of call for renters. Especially with its Rental Resume product growing user number strongly. In just 10 months the company has exceeded 150,000 users of the resume service. I believe this product will give its website a sticky quality, keeping users coming back time and time again.

The post 3 exciting small-cap shares to watch in FY 2018 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Below you will find five little-known small-cap shares flying under the radar which I'm watching very closely. Although not all of these shares are investable right now, I think all deserve to be added to your watchlist today.

Cynata Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: CYP)

This stem cell and regenerative medicine company's Cymerus technology is able to produce an unlimited number of high quality stem cells at a low cost. These stem cells can then be used to treat a number of diseases including Graft versus Host Disease (GvHD). FUJIFILM has an exclusive worldwide license to market and sell its therapeutic MSC product CYP-001 for the treatment of GvHD. The Japanese-giant estimates the market of this product in GvHD will be around US$300 million at its peak. Ultimately, the double-digit royalties from these sales will fall straight to Cynata's bottom line.

LiveHire Ltd (ASX: LVH)

LiveHire is a growing talent technology company that provides a software platform which creates a pool of pre-qualified job candidates to access when companies need to recruit. By doing things this way, it saves recruiters both time and money. In the last few months the company has announced major deals with companies such a Roy Hill, Randstad (Singapore), and Queensland Health. These three join the likes of Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and Bupa as users of the software platform.

Rent.com.au Ltd (ASX: RNT)

Australia's number one website dedicated to rental property has been growing very strongly over the last 12 months. Perhaps the biggest highlight of all has been the rapid adoption of its Renter Resume service. In just ten months the company has exceeded 150,000 users of the service which allows renters to create a resume that can be presented to prospective landlords through its platform. I believe this particular service makes its platform sticky and should result in renters coming back time and time again.

Swift Networks Group Ltd (ASX: SW1)

This fast-growing telecommunications and digital entertainment company is one to watch in my opinion. Thanks to the growing demand for its services from the resources sector, student accommodation facilities, the hospitality sector, and the aged care market, I believe Swift Networks is in a strong position to grow at an above-average rate over the next few years.

Xtek Ltd (ASX: XTE)

I think that this small-cap defence technology company is well worth adding to your watchlist today. After all, Xtek is the primary contractor in the $100 million LAND 129 Phase 4 program for the supply of drones to the Australian army. From July 2018 the company will begin delivering a range of products worth approximately $42 million to the ADF over a three year period. This figure does not include the significant maintenance fees that the company can expect to generate over the period from the contract.

The post 5 small-cap shares flying under the radar appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Two which I think are well worth getting acquainted with are listed below:

GetSwift Ltd (ASX: GSW)

This morning this exciting delivery management software provider announced an exclusive commercial multi-year agreement with Bareburger.com. The New York-based restaurant chain is the latest in a growing number of companies using GetSwift's best in class last-mile platform. Other users include Lion Nathan, Red Rooster, Oporto, and Pizza Hut.

The company has been growing the number of deliveries handled by its platform at an explosive rate and announced last month that it had surpassed 2 million deliveries. Impressively, it took the company 17 months to reach its first one million deliveries and just 5 months to reach the second million. I suspect the third million will come even quicker.

Rent.com.au Ltd (ASX: RNT)

The shares of the operator of Australia's number one website dedicated to rental property have certainly been on the move in the last month. Thanks to the strong growth of its Renter Resume product and a positive quarterly trading update, Rent.com.au's shares have climbed over 16% since this time last month.

It's not hard to see why either. In just ten months the company has exceeded 150,000 users of its Renter Resume service. As the name implies, Renter Resume is a way for renters to create a resume that can be presented to prospective landlords through its platform. I believe this is just one of a number of features on offer that will cement Rent.com.au as the place to go for rental accommodation.

The post 2 exciting small-cap tech shares to watch appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's a quick recap:

• FTSE 100 (UK): up 0.19%
• DAX (Germany): up 0.06%
• CAC 40 (France): down 0.14%
• Dow Jones (USA): up 0.44%
• NASDAQ (USA): up 1.04%

The Bellamy's Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL) share price will likely remain in a trading halt this morning after the company announced that Chinese authorities had suspended a licence for its new canning facility. The shares could re-open for trade early if the company releases an announcement today.

The gold sector will receive some attention after the gold price slipped 1% to US$1,213 an ounce. That could weigh on the Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) share price and the Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price.

Similarly, the Brent oil price slipped 2.9% which could impact the BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) share price. Although the iron ore price did regain 1.4% to US$62.80 a tonne, according to The Metal Bulletin, which could provide the BHP share price with some support.

The Rent.com.au Ltd (ASX: RNT) share price soared 16% on Friday, suggesting that its shares could receive more attention today. The same can be said for Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS), which rocketed 15.5% higher.

And Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX: CCL) could be in focus after shedding 6% last week.

Before getting started on your day, be sure to check out these two articles:

1. Fortescue Metals Group Limited share price falls 5%: More declines to come?
2. Is Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd trying to buy its way to growth?

The post 7 shares you need to watch on Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In afternoon trade the real estate company's shares are up 23% to 6.5 cents.

What happened?

This morning the company announced record fourth-quarter revenue of $476,000. Pleasingly, this was driven by a record month in June, which saw revenue hit $188,000.

Key to the company's growth has been the growing adoption of its SmartPlan product by real estate agents.

According to today's release, SmartPlan is now used by 6% of all Australian rental properties and it isn't too hard to see why.

The company's data reveals that on average a rental property takes 36 days to rent, whereas using SmartPlan it takes on average 28 days.

Based on the median national weekly rent of $390, the eight days shorter time on market is worth almost $500 to the landlord according to management.

The post Why the Rent.com.au Ltd share price rocketed 23% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's a quick recap:

• FTSE 100 (UK): down 0.41%
• DAX (Germany): down 0.58%
• CAC 40 (France): down 0.53%
• Dow Jones (USA): down 0.74%
• NASDAQ (USA): down 1%

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price could receive some attention today after the company announced it had strengthened its emerging stable of in-destination travel experiences businesses, with it acquiring Olympus Tours in Mexico and Bespoke Hospitality Management Asia in Thailand. The company also recently issued a positive earnings announcement, putting it back in favour with investors.

The Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX: CCL) share price could also receive more attention today. Yesterday, it was reported that Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) would not stock its new Coca-Cola No Sugar product, which saw the Coca-Cola Amatil share price fall 3.4%.

Rent.com.au Ltd (ASX: RNT) provided a market update this morning. The company said it had enjoyed a record revenue month in June of $188,000 and $476,000 over the quarter.

The Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS) share price will receive some attention, as well. The company reported its quarterly results this morning, reporting record quarterly inflows of $554 million across its global platforms and funds, and $364 million for the Australia business.

And the Bellamy's Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL) share price has been placed in a trading halt this morning, pending an announcement by the company "in relation to a regulatory event regarding Camperdown Powder". Bellamy's recently acquired a 90% interest in a newly formed entity that holds all the issued capital of Camperdown.

Before getting started on your day, be sure to check out these two articles:

1. Top broker slaps buy rating on BHP Billiton Limited shares
2. Why the Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd share price is falling today

The post 6 shares you need to watch on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Domain – the resurgent Fairfax Media Limited (ASX: FXJ) website has continued to improve, and the results show as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins, revenues and other metrics grow.

Other players are entering the market too and pose a strong challenge for REA. Rent.com.au Ltd (ASX: RNT) has the second-highest average time spent on its website behind REA's premier site – as the chart below shows.

Source: Rent.com.au & AC Nielsen

Carsales.com Ltd (ASX: CAR) has the number 4 leading property site according to AC Nielsen's June 2016 Market Intelligence Report. Considering the site has not been around for long, achieving the number 4 position is quite astonishing.

REIWA.com.au is the Real Estate institute of Western Australia – and it too provides similar services such as browsing for sale and rental properties.

Realcommercial.com.au is a REA property website, while Allhomes.com.au is owned by Domain. Realestateview.com.au is owned by the state real estate institutes.

One factor that continues to hinder REA Group is that real estate agents fear its dominance – as they should – given the company's ability to push through price rises as the market leader with a huge competitive advantage.

As a result, it is in the agents' interests to have a number of competitors to realestate.com.au.

Foolish takeaway

REA Group is likely to leverage its existing strength to maintain its leadership in the sector. But the company needs to keep a close eye on competitors focusing on niche positions such as Rent.com.au – which could erode REA Group's overall competitive advantage.

The post Is REA Group Limited under threat? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Despite the index dropping slightly, there were four stocks in particular which have put on strong gains today. Here's why:

Collection House Limited (ASX: CLH) shares have climbed over 6% to $1.12 after the company provided the market with a trading update this morning. The company has been facing increased competition in the Purchased Debt Ledger (PDL) market, which had investors worried about its ability to generate revenue. But the trade update today allayed these fears, revealing the company's PDL acquisitions are improving.

Despite today's gain its share price is still down by 50% in the last 12 months.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) jumped almost 4% to $52.00 today following the announcement that the company had purchased flatmates.com.au for $25 million. Flatmates.com.au is Australia's largest share accommodation website with an estimated 2.6 million visits each month. As small an acquisition as it may be, the market clearly seems impressed with it judging by the buying pressure on its shares today.

REA Group's share price has now climbed just under 8% in the last 12 months.

Rent.com.au Ltd (ASX: RNT) has soared 24% today to 18 cents most probably on the back of news of REA Group's acquisition of Flatmates.com.au. It would appear as though the market believes that Rent.com.au will be the next acquisition on the list for REA Group. As pointed out in the linked article, there is also a chance that Fairfax Media Limited's (ASX: FXJ) Domain could also make a play for Rent.com.au. This will be welcome news for shareholders who have had to endure a terrible 2016 so far.

Despite the gains today Rent.com.au's share price is still down by over 47% year-to-date.

Slater & Gordon Limited (ASX: SGH) shareholders will be pleased to have seen the embattled law firm's share price climb a massive 14% today to just a touch over 30 cents. The rally in its share price appears to be related to reports suggesting that bankruptcy could be avoided by an agreement with Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB), which is thought to be close.

Slater & Gordon's share price is now up by over 20% in the last 30 days.

The post 4 shares surging higher on the ASX today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In a case of perfect timing, a marketing report for Rent.com.au was emailed to share trading forum Hotcopper members earlier today – at the same time that REA Group announced the acquisition of Flatmates.com.au – the market leading player in share accommodation in Australia – for $25 million, plus additional earn outs depending on financial performance.

Most readers would be familiar with REA Group and its flagship Australian website realestate.com.au. As the market leader of real estate classifieds, acquiring Flatmates.com.au was a no-brainer. Flatmates is Australia's largest share accommodation website, with 2.6 million visits and more than 9 million flatmate searches on average each month. Growth is extremely strong too according to REA Group CEO Tracey Fellows at over 50% year-on-year.

REA says the acquisition allows them to play a more active role in helping consumers, regardless of what phase of the property lifecycle they are in, to find a home. The acquisition of Rent.com.au would add a third string to REA's bow. While REA group does have a rental site, it appears to be small.

Rent.com.au has also tapped into a market that REA Group doesn't cover at all – rental properties not managed by a real estate agent – around 46% of all rental properties according to Rent.com.au.

The company would then cater to virtually every aspect of Australian accommodation. Share accommodation, rentals as well as buying and selling houses.

Rent.com.au recently said that it had more than 60,000 active property listings, over 7,300 real estate agents registered and over 600,000 visitors to the website each month. 7 million Australians rent according to the company – more than 30% of the total population – and there are more than 3 million rental properties. Given Australia's love affair with property investing, that's probably no surprise.

Rent.com.au has also diversified into rental bond financing, utility connections, suburb statistics as well as renter history checks. A 3-year partnership with credit agency Veda provides those checks.

Like REA Group and its first few years, Rent.com.au is still unprofitable and was recently forced to raise $5.5 million in new capital at 15 cents per share in order to fund its operations and marketing. Until the company becomes cashflow positive, shareholders might be asked on occasion to kick in more capital, so Rent.com.au is not an investment for those looking to make a quick buck. There's also the potential for competitors with bigger pockets like REA Group to target the same market, leaving Rent.com.au out in the cold.

Foolish takeaway

Like Flatmates.com.au, REA acquiring Rent.com.au seems like a no-brainer too. The other consideration is that REA's primary competitor, Domain – owned by Fairfax Media Limited (ASX: FXJ) could also make a play for Rent.com.au.

Investors might want to also remember that while Rent.com.au could pay off handsomely in future, it is still a high-risk investment.

The post Is Rent.com.au Ltd next on the REA Group Limited radar? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Unfortunately, this compounds the problem by forcing the company to raise capital at a discount to its last traded price, which is usually substantially lower than it was before the selling started.

Here's a quick look at how some of the most recent capital raisers have performed on the stock market:

As readers can see, and with the conspicuous exception of Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN), every one of these unprofitable, cash-burning tech stocks has been sold off heavily in recent months. iCar Asia Ltd (ASX: ICQ) is the second best performer, recovering from lows of $0.60 after it raised capital from investors last year.

Newzulu Ltd (ASX: NWZ) and Rent.com.au (ASX: RNT) are down in the dumps because they're currently raising capital, while 1-Page Ltd (ASX: 1PG) and Ziptel Ltd (ASX: ZIP) are possibly being sold off because the market suspects further capital raisings could be in the works.  iWebGate Ltd (ASX: IWG) was also sold off heavily as a result of its recent capital raisings.

Even tech stock XERO FPO NZX (ASX: XRO), the unprofitable accounting software wunderkind from New Zealand, has been sold off heavily as investors become uncomfortable with its dwindling cash balances and constant cash outflows. Xero shares are down 40% in the past year as a result, although longer-term shareholders might also remember that shares leapt higher last year after a US$100 million investment was made in the company in February.

Foolish takeaway

Without commenting specifically on the diverse prospects of these businesses, buying shares in an unprofitable company with a limited cash balance and ongoing cash outflows is not the ticket to a happy shareholder. There's nothing to say the business won't go on to become successful, but shareholders should be prepared to put up with potentially serious falls in the value of their shareholding in the meantime. As such, these shares are suitable only for investors with a high tolerance for risk.

The post Why investing in unprofitable tech shares can cost you a fortune appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

There's a darker side to this however, as outlined by companies such as Rent.com.au Ltd (ASX: RNT) and Newzulu Ltd (ASX: NWZ), which are in trading halts pending announcements about capital raisings later today.

When a company can't use the cash it raises to generate more cash, it's a one-way ticket downhill for its share price – and its shareholders. Newzulu Ltd is tapping the well for the umpteenth time, with the only semi-benefit being that it's usually venture capitalists taking the risk, rather than ordinary shareholders.

However, shareholders will still feel the sting of a share float that has ballooned out to 725 million shares – diluting their holdings, despite the company's market cap of just $17m.

Rent.com.au is a more attractive proposition, having exceeded all the milestones the company set for itself during its Initial Public Offering (IPO) prospectus. However, shareholders must still evaluate the likelihood of future growth eventually resulting in a positive cash flow to the business. Shareholders who bought in at 30, 40 and 50 cents per share recently will potentially be stung by today's capital raising, which could be conducted at a discount to the last traded price of 17.5 cents.

Even several months ago, a capital raising appeared likely as cash outflows far outstripped revenues and the company had a small cash balance. It's a similar story over at 1-Page Ltd (ASX: 1PG), whose share price has been crashing recently after the company announced an accelerating cash burn, on the back of still insignificant revenues. Future capital raisings could hurt the company's long term prospects, as lower share values will require a proportionately greater number of shares be issued to raise the same amount of funds.

There are scores of examples of tech stocks raising funds to stop-gap a cash haemorrhage, with iWebGate Ltd (ASX: IWG) another recent example. Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN) managed to do it successfully last year, raising capital to expand its operating cash-flow positive business.

I'm not saying that these businesses can't go on to be successful, but investors are taking a big risk by buying small, unprofitable growth companies with a limited cash balance. It's not hard to find yourself down 50% on your investment before your company announces a capital raising and increases the number of shares on issue at a discount to the last traded price.

These types of businesses are only suitable for investors with a high risk tolerance, and then only for a small part of your portfolio. It's best to pro-actively keep an eye on the company, check if it's hitting its targets and making progress towards positive cash flow – and ruthlessly cutting it if it keeps falling short.

There is one positive though – small companies are pretty dependent on goodwill among media and shareholders to attract support for their fundraising activities. So if you're not sure about something to do with a company – try sending them an email or giving them a call. You might be surprised at the quality of the response.

The post Why you should be wary of tech shares chasing handouts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.