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Kick Back: The 10 biggest stories you might have missed on Stockhead this week
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How’s this for an unusual problem — over in Florida iguanas are freezing and falling out of trees.
People think they are dead, but authorities are actually warning that they are not dead but in fact in a state of suspended animation — and if they wake up they will attack you.
Like one unfortunate man found out recently.
Iguana is actually a delicacy in Central America, according to Whiskey Riff. And this particular individual, who was originally from Central America and had moved to Florida, decided to take a car load of frozen iguanas home with him. You can’t go past free food… right?
Well, in this case he should have left well alone because when they warmed up in the car, they came back to life and caused an accident.
Lesson learned!
Now here’s what you might have missed on Stockhead this week, but everyone else didn’t, and liked the most.
1. The five key trends to watch for tech investing in 2020
Tech has long been a favourite of investors, probably because it’s a sector that can offer big returns – just look at Facebook, Apple and Google.
So how do you decide where to drop your cash?
Well, according to one analyst, making money and a willingness to spend it on R&D are two of the key traits a solid tech company should embody in 2020.
“The key focus for investors in 2020, in our view, is subscriber growth, sales growth and increasingly free cash flow generation,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Garry Sherriff said.
Find out just which companies he tips fit that criteria.
2. Is this nickel player Norm Seckold’s next payday?
This story definitely caught the eye of our readers, and why wouldn’t it – a relatively unknown explorer has bagged itself a project that has all the hallmarks of China’s largest nickel mine and is backed by successful mining investor Norm Seckold.
Seckold has had a lot of success in the mining industry, having sat at the helm of 18 companies, including Bolnisi Gold, which North America’s Coeur d’Alene dropped just under $1 billion on to acquire back in 2007.
More recently Seckold helped successfully complete the $200m float of Nickel Mines (ASX:NIC) — one of the biggest IPOs in several years — as the company’s deputy chairman. The nickel miner now has a market value of nearly $1 billion after less than 18 months on the bourse.
So, the magic eight ball says things are looking good for Santana Minerals.
3. Barry FitzGerald: These are the top 10 stocks expected to make big gains in 2020
Last year’s thumping 18.3 per cent gain in the Australian market (S&P/ASX200) has got investors wondering where they might be able to bag some big gains in 2020.
And Credit Suisse has kindly obliged with its top 10 picks for this year.
Resources take out nine of the top 10 positions and have projected price targets/total return gains ranging from 37 per cent to 293 per cent. Not bad at all.
Find out just who is on Credit Suisse’s list if you missed it.
4. Explorers Podcast: Understanding the 64 North opportunity, bouncing off Pogo’s progress and the musings of a mountaineer
Back into the swing of things in the new year, Stockhead regular Barry FitzGerald steps into the radio booth with Duncan Chessell, managing director of Resolution Minerals (ASX:RML).
Resolution (formerly Northern Cobalt) completed a deal for an 80 per cent stake in the 64 North, an under-explored gold project neighbouring the high-grade 10-million-ounce Pogo gold mine in Alaska.
5. This is how $3m market cap minnow Ramelius became an $850m gold miner
Who doesn’t love an inspiring success story?
And Ramelius fits the bill perfectly.
Between November 2018 and November 2019 Ramelius’ market cap grew by more than 151 per cent, clearly outperforming its peer group.
But back in 2003, Ramelius was just another newly listed nickel-gold explorer with a $3m market cap. How did this company succeed where so many have failed?
CEO Mark Zeptner reveals all in this one on one with Reuben Adams.
6. The rise of neobanks, fintechs and what sets them apart from the big banks
The tide in financial services is beginning to shift towards neobanks and fintechs and our readers can’t get enough of this particular trend.
The regulatory backdrop is in place, with new Open Banking laws set to foster increased competition in a sector long-dominated by the incumbent players.
And on the ASX, evidence suggests that a number of listed fintechs are beginning to get some serious runs on the board, if recent share price performance is anything to go by.
But just because momentum is increasing, can investors be sure they have a full grasp of what comes next? Do we really understand these new competitors and what their value proposition is?
To learn more, Stockhead spoke with Benjamin Weldon — Australia-New Zealand regional director at AppDynamics — about the rise of neobanks and fintechs and how they are different.
7. Sepsis has tripled in Australia and these small caps are tackling it head on
There were three times more sepsis cases in Australia than previously estimated.
For those who don’t know, sepsis is a blood infection that about 55,000 people contracted and 8,700 people died from in 2017. So yeah, pretty serious.
And Australia needs to do more to tackle it, according to the experts.
If you want to know which small caps are fighting the disease, read on.
8. The world has a massive waste problem, here’s how these ASX stocks are cleaning it up
This one is an 800,000-Olympic-sized swimming pool problem – so pretty damn big.
Waste is having a big impact on the environment, according to experts, and Australia needs to find a way to manage it a whole lot better.
So the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering has thrown out the challenge to industry to offer their ideas on what can be done to address this mountain of waste.
And there’s a bunch of small caps looking to make money from this challenge.
9. Hindsight’s a wonderful thing — these stocks could’ve got you the best returns in the past 10 years
With the benefit of hindsight, you really should have invested in Netflix 10 years ago, when $1000 would have made you a 4,030 per cent return today.
An IG Markets tally has listed the most popular companies that investors could’ve made the best 10-year returns from.
Meanwhile, over in Australia the companies you should have put a speccie $1000 into are still not household names or well known outside their industry.
And Rachel Williamson has compiled a list of the top 20 Aussie gainers over the past 10 years.
10. IPO Watch: Aspiring Kiwi dairy play Happy Valley Nutrition skids on ASX debut
While infant formula stocks have had a good run of late, aspiring Kiwi dairy play Happy Valley Nutrition didn’t enjoy the same warm welcome on its first day on the ASX.
The Waikato-based infant formula maker traded as low as 13c – a hefty discount to its 20c IPO price – not long after lighting up the boards on Thursday.
A bit of a slap in the face considering just six weeks ago, Nuchev (ASX:NUC), which specialises in goat infant formula, made a 23 per cent gain on its entry to the bourse.
It might have something to do with the fact that Nuchev is already importing and selling milk, while Happy Valley is still working on building its facility.
That’s all folks! Have a good weekend.
