Tim Boreham: Meet the ASX team behind the teams
If sportspeople are to succeed, others need to be on the ball too. These ASX stocks – and their investors – are helping athletes and teams to kick on.
Terry McCrann
Don't miss out on the headlines from Terry McCrann. Followed categories will be added to My News.
As 36 nervous players line up (or lined up, depending on when you’re reading this) on the expansive green of the MCG for the AFL grand final, it’s worth remembering the myriad enterprises that enable sportspeople to leap higher and kick further – while also tending their wounds.
Unlike in the US or the UK, it’s not possible for fans to “own” a football team, with the exception of the ASX-listed National Rugby League club Brisbane Broncos (ASX:BBL). With the top 20 holders (including News Corporation on 68 per cent) accounting for 95 per cent of the register, liquidity is minuscule.
For the latest biotech news, sign up here for free Stockhead daily newsletters
Australian Football League clubs North Melbourne and this year’s grand final contestant Sydney Swans dabbled with public ownership in the 1980s, with underwhelming results.
Elsewhere on the bourse, there’s no shortage of stocks exposed to the behind-the-scenes activities that enable footballers – and sportspeople in general – to deliver a knockout performance.
Speaking of such, let’s start with Cogstate (ASX:CGS), which developed a more reliable concussion test than the old: “What day of the week is it?” routine.
A must-have device in a club doctor’s toolbox, the Cogstate test is a screen-based tool that can deliver a result within 15 minutes.
Footy codes have several billion reasons to take concussion more seriously, given the size of negligence payouts in the US.
Further refining measurement, HitIQ (ASX:HIQ) listed in June last year on the back of its concussion-detecting analytics, which are embedded in a mouth guard.
HitIQ has concussion management and detection tie ups with the AFL, as well as offshore codes including ice hockey, lacrosse, US football and mixed martial arts.
Visit Stockhead, where ASX small caps are big deals
The company is also “exclusive concussion management technology partner” for the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off on October 15.
In the days of yore, a decent performance used to be known as “kicking a bag” or “getting leather poisoning”, but the folk at Catapult Group (ASX:CAT), are more scientific.
Catapult was an early mover in wearable devices that capture players’ performance data for coaches to view either live or post-game.
Having signed up the Hawthorn Football Club as its first client in 2007, Catapult claims a customer base of 3400 professional sporting teams, across 40 sports.
When a player is cruelly felled by a knee or hammy injury, the paramedics will reach for the “green whistle”, which is not a reference to the umpires’ tool of trade but a device that dispenses the temporary pain killer Penthrox.
Medical Developments (ASX:MVP) owns the rights to Penthrox, a reformulation of methoxyflurane which has been used by ambulance services here since 1975.
Penthrox is now sold in dozens of countries, the US being a notable omission.
However, the Food & Drug Administration recently allowed a clinical trial that could pave the way for approval Stateside.
While sport is meant to be nourishing for the body and soul, it’s not exactly the case for knees, shoulders and ankles. Paradigm Pharmaceuticals (ASX:PAR) is lifting the hopes of superannuated footballers with its anti-inflammatory lead compound to treat knees and joints, pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS).
While PPS is yet to be approved, it hasn’t stopped dozens of former AFL players using the drug under a special access scheme.
The company this month completed a circa $50m capital raising, ahead of a global Phase 3 osteoarthritis trial that will determine whether the drug can be approved. As with game plans, usually the best medical devices are the simple one.
Take Rhinomed (ASX:RNO), which developed Turbine, a simple clip-like device that attaches to the nose and dilates the nostril, allowing athletes (typically cyclists) to inhale more air and fewer banned substances.
While Turbine remains on sale, Rhinomed has since found greater fortunes with variant devices for sleep apnoea and Covid testing.
Not all of these stocks have kicked on – Hitiq is worth a humble $6m – but it’s not over until the final siren.
This story does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
Get more Tim Boreham wisdom at stockhead.com.au
SUBSCRIBE
Get the latest Stockhead news delivered free to your inbox. Click here
Originally published as Tim Boreham: Meet the ASX team behind the teams
End of an era: McCrann’s snapshot of 46 years
It’s the end of an era as legendary business columnist Terry McCrann looks back at the past 46 years as he signs off on his last regular column.
Banducci leaves Woolies in top shape
Brad Banducci should feel pretty satisfied with the latest result at Woolies - his final mark on a stellar turnaround at Australia’s biggest supermarket group.