Nvidia, Manuka Resources, Aurora Cannabis - All the rage

Aurora Cannabis - Strong momentum after annual low

What chip producers are today, stocks from the cannabis industry were in 2018. Aurora Cannabis, a listed producer of cannabis and medical marijuana based in Edmonton, Canada, rose by no less than 3,600% to an all-time high of USD 1,476 between August 2016 and October 2018. What followed is well-known to every invested investor. In the years that followed, the share price began to plummet and lost 99.52% of its value, reaching an all-time low of USD 2.84 last Thursday.

However, the slide ended abruptly here, which could herald at least a short-term countermovement. Since then, Aurora shares have risen by almost 30% to USD 3.77 amid comparatively high trading volumes and have even broken through the short-term downward trend at USD 3.60. The next resistance lies in the area of the high for the year to date at USD 4.39. The 200-day line, which is still falling, is at USD 4.94.

The reason for the interim rally was due to statements by US Vice President Kamala Harris, who called on the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to expedite the downgrading of cannabis to a lower risk level. The Department of Health and Human Services has repeatedly asked the DEA to lower the classification of marijuana. Currently, marijuana, which has now been legalized in many US states for both medical and recreational purposes, is in the same risk category as heroin or the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Manuka Resources - Stronger support expected

Australia's newest gold producer is also receiving a strong tailwind from the newly elected New Zealand government. That is because, unlike its predecessors, it is increasingly focusing on mining. With the South Taranaki Bight Project, an offshore titanium and vanadium deposit, Manuka Resources owns a treasure that could be responsible for an annual production of 10,000 tons of vanadium in the future. China currently produces around 40,000 tons of vanadium, followed by Russia with 10,000 tons.

A total of around 3.2 billion tons are thought to be on the property. The net present value discounted at 10% (NPV10) is USD 1.8 billion, which is many times higher than the current valuation. Vanadium is a key raw material for the storage of renewable energies.

In addition to the VTM project, Manuka operates two projects in the precious metals sector in New South Wales. These include the producing Mt Boppy mine and the Wonawinta Silver project, one of Australia's largest silver deposits.

There should be some groundbreaking news in the coming days, as the New Zealand parliament will vote on the VTM project.

Nvidia - Still on trend

Chip shares have been among the high-flyers on the world's stock markets for months, with the Santa Clara-based company leading the way. Since the beginning of the stock market year, its performance has amounted to around 93%. Anyone who dared to add Nvidia shares to their portfolio at the coronavirus low in March 2020 can look forward to price gains of almost 1,800% to date.

In recent trading days, the chip company, which is benefiting from the new boom in artificial intelligence like no other, corrected by more than 10% from USD 974 to USD 862. However, it again built up enormous momentum and was able to leave the USD 900 mark behind. If the old highs are broken through, the next targets are likely to be prices in the USD 1,200 range.

The necessary boost could come from the upcoming GTC conference, which Nvidia holds once a year. Next Monday, this will be heralded by a two-hour opening speech by CEO Jensen Huang at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, which will provide insights into the year ahead. In previous years, Nvidia has used this event to showcase some of its most significant products to the public for the first time. Expectations are high that this year will see the unveiling of the successor models to Hopper and H100, which is expected to generate a lot of interest in the Company's products.

After a brief correction, Nvidia is chasing the magical USD 1,000 sound barrier. Aurora Cannabis is benefiting from statements by the US government, which intends to downgrade cannabis to a lower-risk category. At Manuka Resources, there is likely to be landmark news regarding the vanadium project in the next few days.