Azzet reports on three ASX stocks with market-moving updates to share today.
Vulcan rallies on German funding deal
Shares in Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX: VUL) were up around 7% at the open after the mid-cap lithium and geothermal energy producer told the market it had been awarded up to €104 million ($186 million) in grant funding from the German Federal Government and the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse.
The funding is part of Berlin’s plans to boost electric vehicle output, reduce reliance on raw material imports and will assist with building Germany’s and Europe’s critical raw materials supply chain resilience.
Vulcan plans to use the cash to advance its German lithium raw material production plans, which have been on the drawing board for some time.
Last year the miner told the market it planned to invest €690 million in its Phase One large-scale industrial plant (Lionheart Project) which plans to extract lithium chloride which will be converted into lithium hydroxide - a key component for lithium batteries production - at a facility near Frankfurt.
According to a study by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources and the Fraunhofer IE, Germany could have enough lithium reserves to cover its domestic needs for several decades.
Vulcan expects annual output from its first large-scale industrial plant of 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide, enough for 500,000 electric vehicles is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2026.
Grants are conditional on Vulcan completing the project financing package by 1 September 2025, commencing construction by January 2026, and finalising a €150 million equity investment from Germany’s Raw Materials Fund by 31 March 2026.
The miner has also secured a €100 million grant for renewable heating and up to €500 million in financing from the European Investment Bank.
Commenting on today’s update, Vulcan Energy CEO, Cris Moreno told the market that tangible support from both the German federal and state governments will enable the miner’s Project to supply sustainable, domestically sourced lithium to the German and European battery EV markets.
“Lithium is the lifeblood of the energy transition and for EV production and is crucial to transitioning Germany and Europe’s auto industry into the electric age,” he said.
“We look forward to providing further updates on the progress of the Project, including planned completion of the overall financing package and start of construction, in the coming months.”
Earlier this month Vulcan confirmed the completion of a €30 million ($53.6 million) strategic placement, led by BNP Paribas’ Clean Energy Solutions Fund with a €15 million subscription.
Vulcan Energy Resources has a market cap of $1 billion; the share price is down 17% year-to-date.
While the stock is up 25% in the last week, it is currently trading close to a 50% discount to the $8.14 it was trading at in late November 2024.
Bell Potter recently initiated coverage of Vulcan with a speculative buy rating and a $6.10 price target.
“Lionheart's location, development-ready stage and novel technology position VUL to benefit as lithium markets rebalance over the medium term,” the broker noted.
The stock’s shares appear to be weak with little demand from investors.
Consensus is Strong Buy.
Telix Pharmaceuticals tumbles after SEC subpoena spooks investors
The decision by investors to dump Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX: TLX) in early morning trading is a sober reminder of how the fortunes of companies within this sector can turn on a dime.
Shares in the cancer diagnostic giant were trading around 12% lower heading into lunch after it told the market that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had issued it with a subpoena seeking information about disclosures related to the development of the company’s prostate cancer therapies.
The Melbourne-based company told the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) about the subpoena, which it regarded as a "fact-finding request".
“We cannot predict when this matter will be resolved or what (if any) action the SEC may take following the conclusion of its investigation,” Telix noted today.
While Telix had precious little else to say about the SEC subpoena, its attempts to dial down its significance have clearly not worked.
Telix attempted to appease the market by reminding it that the SEC request related to its “prostate cancer therapeutic candidates”, and did not impact commercial or late-stage assets including Illuccix which accounts for most of the company’s sales.
Today’s update follows yesterday’s release of the company’s unaudited revenue figures for the second quarter, showing a 63% jump year on year and a 10% rise quarter on quarter, to US$204 million ($311 million).
Meantime, the company reaffirmed its revenue guidance range of between $770 million and $800 million.
Telix has a market cap of $7.5 billion; the share price is up 9% on one year and down by 9% year to date.
The stock shares appear to be in a downtrend confirmed by multiple indicators.
Consensus is Strong Buy.
Paladin Energy tanks on mixed quarterly update
Shares in Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN) were down around 10% at noon after the release of the uranium stock’s mixed-bag June quarterly update.
Over the three months, Paladin produced 993,843 pounds of U3O8 (uranium oxide), bringing the full-year FY25 uranium production to 3,017,415 pounds – the miner’s highest production result since its restart in March 2024.
The quarter also saw Paladin mark its highest three-month crusher circuit throughput in the history of the LHM operations.
But what clearly irked the market today were Q4 sales which came in at 710,051 pounds, down from 872,435 pounds in Q3.
Equally disappointing, the average realised price Paladin received for its yellowcake was down 20.5% quarter on quarter to US$55.60 per pound.
“The production result and all-time record crusher performance have been achieved off the back of a successful restart of mining operations, with mining now well established in the G pit area,” said Paul Hemburrow (currently COO) who becomes the miner’s next CEO on 1 September.
“At the Patterson Lake South project, the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was formally accepted by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, and we have delivered exceptional winter drilling results, which enhanced our understanding of the Saloon Trend and reinforced the long-term strategic value of the project.”
Turning to its future outlook, Paladin told the market that it expects to produce between 4.0 million and 4.4 million pounds of uranium in FY26, while uranium sales are expected between the range of 3.8 million to 4.2 million pounds.
Production cost guidance for FY26 is between US$44 and US$48 per pound and management is forecasting capital and exploration expenditure of US$26 million to US$32 million.
Other highlights today included:
- FY 2025 uranium sales totalled 2,705,693 pounds.
- The average price across FY 2025 was US$65.70 per pound.
- Cash and cash equivalents of US$89 million.
- Undrawn US$50 million revolving debt facility as at 30 June.
Back in April UBS maintained a Buy rating on Paladin, lowering the target price slightly to $9.10 from $9.20.
The broker observed a significant drop in Paladin's share price earlier this year despite a smaller decline in uranium prices.
Paladin has a market cap of $2.9 billion; the share price is down around 38% on one year, while the uranium price has fallen by around 14% over the same period.
The stock appears to be in a medium-term rally confirmed by multiple indicators.
Consensus is Strong Buy.
The stock was trading at $7.37 this afternoon.
This article does not constitute financial or product advice. You should consider independent advice before making financial decisions.
