Lunch Wrap: ASX dips as Xero dives; Neuren soars after US patent nod

Xero has fallen on a $3.9 bn Melio deal funded by a capital raise, while Neuren advanced on a US patent for its Pitt Hopkins therapy.

The ASX has dipped on Thursday. Picture via Getty Images

• Xero tanks on $3.9b Melio acquisition

• Nvidia back on top as AI chips soar

• Neuren jumps on US patent nod

The ASX was wobbling at lunchtime in the eastern states on Thursday, down 0.2% with the tech sector underperforming others.

Tech was dragged down after accounting software heavyweight Xero (ASX:XRO) came out of trading halt and took a tumble of more than 5%.

Investors winced at Xero’s $3.9-billion proposed buyout of US fintech Melio Payments, with the cap raise set to water down their slice of the company.

Overnight in the US, Wall Street shrugged off nerves. The Nasdaq closed up 0.50%, and the real headline there was once again, Nvidia.

The AI chip king jumped 4% to an all-time high of US$154.31, reclaiming its throne as the world’s most valuable listed company with a market cap of US$3.77 trillion.

Gold, meanwhile is steady, sitting just under US$3,335 an ounce. Traders are still feeling out whether the Israel-Iran flare-up is truly over or just on pause.

On the ASX, the large caps headline this morning came from market darling Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX:NEU), which soared 11% after landing a major win from the US Patent Office.

The agency has green-lit Neuren’s patent for NNZ-2591, its experimental treatment for Pitt Hopkins syndrome, a rare and brutal childhood neurodevelopmental disorder with no approved treatment options. The patent will run through to 2040, giving Neuren a long runway.

Elsewhere on the ASX, DroneShield (ASX:DRO) kept buzzing higher, up another 6% after Wednesday’s 20% rocket ride. The reason is the juicy $61.6 million deal with a European military customer for its handheld anti-drone tech.

And finally, a bit of boardroom musical chairs over at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX:ANZ).

New CEO Nuno Matos has claimed his second scalp, with tech boss Gerard Florian calling it quits just a week after retail exec Maile Carnegie said goodbye. Florian had been at ANZ since 2017. ANZ's shares rose 1.3%.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for June 26 :

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
VML	Vital Metals Limited	0.002	100%	7,665,358	$5,895,067
ALR	Altairminerals	0.003	50%	168,333	$8,593,488
EEL	Enrg Elements Ltd	0.002	50%	354,475	$3,253,779
PAB	Patrys Limited	0.002	50%	513,085	$2,365,810
RCM	Rapid Critical	0.003	50%	19,855,666	$2,831,556
OVT	Ovanti Limited	0.011	38%	229,967,526	$24,044,120
AMS	Atomos	0.004	33%	4,718,113	$3,645,055
BP8	Bph Global Ltd	0.002	33%	100,000	$1,576,477
VN8	Vonex Limited.	0.024	33%	360,256	$13,546,863
WWG	Wisewaygroupltd	0.185	32%	140,498	$23,429,447
OPL	Opyl Limited	0.025	32%	7,623,322	$4,464,398
LKY	Locksleyresources	0.073	26%	10,041,926	$10,633,333
LOC	Locatetechnologies	0.220	26%	4,163,255	$40,307,564
ANX	Anax Metals Ltd	0.005	25%	1,939,566	$3,531,230
JAV	Javelin Minerals Ltd	0.003	25%	4,377,333	$12,252,298
TEG	Triangle Energy Ltd	0.003	25%	2,243,226	$4,178,468
XPN	Xpon Technologies	0.010	25%	4,324,811	$3,314,026
EUR	European Lithium Ltd	0.061	24%	11,643,657	$70,813,892
TMG	Trigg Minerals Ltd	0.100	20%	31,507,295	$77,297,250
CCO	The Calmer Co Int	0.003	20%	3,553,651	$7,528,383
CUF	Cufe Ltd	0.006	20%	350,000	$6,732,874
FCT	Firstwave Cloud Tech	0.012	20%	1,143,882	$17,135,187
GLL	Galilee Energy Ltd	0.006	20%	1,013,119	$3,535,964
LML	Lincoln Minerals	0.006	20%	7,410,000	$10,512,849
TSL	Titanium Sands Ltd	0.006	20%	250,000	$11,723,736

Rapid Critical Metals (ASX:RCM) has locked in $10.5 million from a strongly backed placement to fund its full takeover of the Webbs and Conrad silver projects up in NSW’s New England Fold Belt. It raised the cash at 2.4 cents a share. Major shareholder Strata Investment is tipping in $500k, subject to a vote. Once the deal’s done, Rapid will own 100% of both projects and plans to kick off drilling and geophysics at Webbs in June.

Opyl (ASX:OPL), the AI outfit re-wiring drug discovery, has just dipped into crypto, shelling out about $330k for roughly two Bitcoin via the ASX-listed DigitalX Bitcoin ETF (BTXX). The move, flagged in its 10 June strategic review, is meant to bulk up treasury diversification and set it up for future AI-infrastructure plays. The company is also tapping into seasoned crypto punter Tony G, also chair of CSE-listed SOL Strategies (HODL, ~C$375 m), to steer the digital-asset push.

In M&A land, Pointsbet (ASX:PBH) said it’s received a fresh takeover offer from Japan’s Mixi, after the company’s earlier scheme vote with rival bidder Betr Entertainment (ASX:BBT) went sideways. Mixi’s pitching an all-cash $1.20 per share offer, looking to take control of the ASX-listed bookie.

Humm (ASX:HUM) also continued its rally after the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company confirmed a takeover offer from the family office of chairman Andrew Abercrombie.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for June 26 :

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
AOA	Ausmon Resorces	0.001	-50%	515,819	$2,622,427
C7A	Clara Resources	0.002	-50%	5,408,687	$2,353,084
CZN	Corazon Ltd	0.001	-33%	400,000	$1,776,858
PIL	Peppermint Inv Ltd	0.002	-33%	133,692	$6,903,269
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	0.002	-33%	1,142,355	$3,930,987
WEL	Winchester Energy	0.001	-33%	1,312,051	$2,044,528
TML	Timah Resources Ltd	0.024	-31%	10,000	$3,106,592
ASP	Aspermont Limited	0.005	-29%	1,191,980	$17,312,314
FHS	Freehill Mining Ltd.	0.003	-25%	4,970,168	$13,655,414
HLX	Helix Resources	0.002	-25%	350,000	$6,728,387
MGU	Magnum Mining & Exp	0.003	-25%	2,481,100	$4,486,603
MTB	Mount Burgess Mining	0.003	-25%	4,843,886	$1,406,811
SFG	Seafarms Group Ltd	0.002	-25%	2,074,185	$9,673,198
TZL	TZ Limited	0.040	-20%	35,356	$14,030,705
ERA	Energy Resources	0.002	-20%	1,375,622	$1,013,490,602
ERL	Empire Resources	0.004	-20%	100,000	$7,419,566
PKO	Peako Limited	0.002	-20%	233,022	$3,719,355
NSB	Neuroscientific	0.073	-19%	650,993	$13,014,438
TGH	Terragen	0.018	-18%	50,000	$11,110,378
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.005	-17%	35,000	$7,068,458
DAF	Discovery Alaska Ltd	0.010	-17%	39,999	$2,810,816
DTI	DTI Group Ltd	0.005	-17%	116,699	$4,976,518
FBR	FBR Ltd	0.005	-17%	1,629,009	$34,136,713
TMS	Tennant Minerals Ltd	0.005	-17%	450,000	$6,395,342
D3E	D3 Energy Limited	0.110	-15%	327	$10,331,751

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Verity Resources’ (ASX:VRL) scout drilling has intersected bedrock gold mineralisation at the Triton prospect.

Andromeda Metals (ASX:ADN) has wrapped up commercial-scale ceramic glaze pilot trials, proving its Great White CRM to be a reliable, high-performance material for the ceramics industry.

Long Shortz with Rhythm Biosciences (ASX:RHY): Rhythm Biosciences outgoing chair and chair elect discuss the company's strategy moving forward after leadership changes.

Norwest Minerals (ASX:NWM) will launch a drilling campaign in mid-July to grow gold resources at its Bulgera project.

Indiana Resources (ASX:IDA) is moving full steam ahead at the Minos gold project in South Australia where drilling and scoping study programs are progressing.

Albion Resources (ASX:ALB) has kicked off several thousand metres of planned drilling in WA's highly prospective Yandal Greenstone Belt.

Investors have demonstrated their strong support for MTM Critical Metal’s (ASX:MTM) US-centric clean tech strategy by backing a $50m placement at 55c per share.

LAST ORDERS

Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) has listed to the OTCQB market under the ticker LKYRF, broadening exposure to North American investors and accessing a deeper pool of capital for its Mojave project in California.

The company says it’s looking forward to building relationships with US investors as it continues to advance its rare earth and antimony project at a time when US domestic demand is growing for critical minerals.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Locksley Resources is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article. 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as Lunch Wrap: ASX dips as Xero dives; Neuren soars after US patent nod