Sharesight20 top 20 trades on ASX & NZX - August 2019

Disclaimer: The below article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a product recommendation, or taxation or financial advice and should not be relied upon as such. Please check with your adviser or accountant to obtain the correct advice for your situation.

Welcome to the August 2019 edition of the Sharesight20 monthly trading snapshot (click here for July 2019’s Sharesight20), where we look at the top 20 trades on both the ASX and NZX made by Sharesight users during August, and dig a little deeper into the news behind these movements.

Let’s dive into August’s top trades.

Sharesight20 top 20 ASX trades August 2019

After a couple of months where Afterpay Touch (ASX: APT) was the most traded share, this month the crown went to ASX 200 index tracking ETF Vanguard Australian Shares (ASX: VAS). Some of the highlights in this month’s top 20 ASX trades include:

Afterpay Touch (ASX: APT)

• 'Like a debit card on steroids': Flexigroup seals Mastercard buy now, pay later deal
• Audit now, bonus later as for Afterpay execs amid AUSTRAC investigation
• Afterpay nailing its offshore growth strategy
• 12,500 new customers joining the platform each day

Appen Limited (ASX: APX)

• AI training data drives Appen's growth
• Appen and Lionbridge will have to compete against this latest unicorn startup
• August WAAAX Roundup: How have our top ASX tech shares fared this earnings season?

Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA)

• CBA to receive $150m less for life insurance arm under revised deal
• Invested $100 million in Swedish BNPL company Klarna
• CBA unveiled its new mobile banking app 4.0
• Rate cuts to intensify squeeze on profit margins
• Announced $1.2 billion loss related to royal commission findings
• Former Commonwealth Bank manager jailed for fraud

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

• Rural Funds Group equity 'ultimately worthless', says short seller
• Rural Funds Group declares accounts '100 per cent accurate' after short attack
• Lessons for investors from Rural Funds Group short-sell campaign
• Rural Funds Management announce EY report in response to Bonitas document
• Ernst & Young stands by Rural Funds after investigation into short selling report
• Rural Funds to "send a message" on short sellers by taking legal action

Telstra (ASX: TLS)

• CBA poaches Telstra's tech-savvy legal chief
• Eruption of fancy financing at Telstra
• A Telstra-owned NBN would be a threat to us all
• Telstra profit down 40 per cent, warns of big impact from NBN in 2020
• Telstra is forecasting a $500 million uplift in underlying earnings in 2020
• Telstra sees at least 59 exchanges broken into across Sydney

Sharesight20 top 20 NZX trades August 2019

The NZX Sharesight20 snapshot for August saw the return of Sharesight user favourite The a2 Milk Company to the top spot driven by interest around annual result announcements from the company. Some of the company stocks featuring in the NZX top 20 include:

The a2 Milk Company (NZX: A2M)

• a2 Milk boss says easy daigou sales are in the past
• a2 Milk: Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water
• a2 Milk's profit up 47 per cent, but shares hammered by investors
• Shares fall 15% as fast-growing dairy group flags slower earnings expansion
• 'Just clever marketing': a2 milk increasingly popular despite mixed research results

Napier Port Holdings (NZX: NPH)

• Napier Port shares priced at $2.60 each - top of range
• Napier Port lists on NZX, just the third company in two years to do so
• Napier Port shares push higher after strong debut on NZX
• Napier Port IPO a win-win case study for local government

PGG Wrightson (NZX: PGW)

• PGG Wrightson's profits up to $132m after sale of seeds business
• PGG Wrightson earnings slide as gloomy farmers cut spending

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FURTHER READING

• Subscribe to Sharesight20 updates for the ASX/NZX
• Blog – 3 reasons why you need to be tracking dividends
• Blog – 7 reasons why Sharesight is better than a spreadsheet