Stocks of the Hour: Coles, Whitehaven Coal, Sonic Healthcare, Seven West Media

Coles (ASX:COL) is stepping up its innovation game by $1.4 billion in a bid to reclaim missed growth opportunities during the pandemic. The new funding will bump up Coles’ total spend to $2.5 billion to enhance digital sales capabilities in the next two years. Furthermore, supermarket giant has entered into a partnership with tech developers Ocado and Witron to construct automated storage facilities. Shares in Coles Group (ASX:COL) are trading 4.1 per cent lower at $16.34.

Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) has trimmed its full-year production guidance to 20.4 million tonnes from its range of 20.6 to 21.4 million tonnes after “downtime” in the Narrabri mine. The miner said the guidance cut was following a pause in production due to the completion of engineering works after a recent geological event. This is the company's forth downgrade since the start of the year. Shares in Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) are trading 11.3 per cent lower at $1.81.

Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) is set to acquire Canberra Imaging Group in efforts to expand their imaging division footprint in the country. The Canberra based provider raked in approximately $60 million in annual revenue with branches in Goulburn and Queanbeyan in New South Wales. Settlement is expected in the first quarter of FY 2022 with the purchase price to remain private for the meantime. Shares in Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) are trading 0.7 per cent higher at $36.94.

Content producer Seven West Media (ASX:SWM) has released better-than-expected guidance for FY21’s underlying profit of $250 to $255 million. The media conglomerate attributes its performance to increased viewership and revitalised advertising income in the last quarter. Shares in Seven West Media (ASX:SWM) are trading 22.5 per cent higher at $0.49.

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Source: Finance News Network