Day: 31 October 2021

It’s finally happening.

After much scrambling this year, a cryptocurrency-themed exchange-traded fund (ETF) will list on the ASX on Thursday.

While several vendors are understood to be working on the concept, the first to market will be BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF (ASX: CRYP).

The Motley Fool has confirmed that shares for the fund will be publicly tradable on Thursday.

Mainstream acceptance has taken off this year

It was only in January that an expert declared it “unlikely” that a cryptocurrency ETF would debut this year on the stuffy old ASX.

“Many nations will look to the [US Securities and Exchange Commission] for leadership and it has a strong incentive not to rock the boat right now,” Kraken managing director Jonathon Miller said at the time.

“We will get there in the end, but it will be the growing understanding of cryptocurrency amongst progressive institutional investors that will make it happen.”

But industry developments have zoomed ahead at warp speed since, especially in the past month or so.

One massive milestone a couple of weeks ago was the listing of US ETF ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSE: BITO).

That fund tracks Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) futures contracts and became the second-most traded ETF on its debut day.

Such a fund traded on the NYSE had as much symbolic significance as financial.

It represented yet another step in ‘mainstream’ acceptance of cryptocurrencies.

Closer to home, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on Friday released its guidance on cryptocurrency-related investment products.

BetaShares chief Alex Vynokur welcomed the nod from the corporate watchdog for Australians seeking cryptocurrency exposure but afraid of trading on “unregulated exchanges”.

“ASIC has taken a significant step in providing a clear path for established cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether to be made available to Australian investors via a familiar ETF structure,” he said.

“In many ways, the inherent benefits of a regulated ETF — convenience, transparency and cost-effectiveness — are additive for many investors seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies.”

What does the BetaShares CRYP ETF invest in?

The new BetaShares fund, like the ProShares one in the US, will not directly plough its money into cryptocurrencies.

Instead, it will “aim to track” the Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators 30 Index before fees and expenses.

“CRYP’s index is designed to capture the full breadth of the crypto ecosystem by providing exposure to pure-play crypto companies, those whose balance sheets are held at least 75% in crypto-assets, and diversified companies with crypto-focused business lines,” states the BetaShares website.

According to Bitwise, the top 3 holdings in the index as of October 28 were:

• Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd (TSE: GLXY): 12.95%
• Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN): 11.15%
• MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR): 9.79%

The post ASX’s first cryptocurrency ETF is listing Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Shiba Inu crashes 28% as Dogecoin soars. What’s next for the dog coins?
• Bitcoin mania down under: Is the new crypto miners ETF (DIGA) listed on the ASX?
• Will an Ethereum ETF follow in Bitcoin’s footsteps?
• How this ‘systemic risk’ could take down Bitcoin: experts
• Why has the DigitalX (ASX:DCC) share price rallied 57% in a month?

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Bitcoin and Coinbase Global, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended MicroStrategy. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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With 2021 galloping ever closer to the finish line, we asked our Foolish contributors to compile a list of some of the ASX shares experts are picking as front runners in November.

Bernd Struben: Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ)

Aurizon Holdings is Australia’s largest rail-based transport company. It provides integrated logistics services for numerous miners and agricultural companies and holds a near-monopoly position in Queensland. The company recently acquired One Rail Australia for $2.35 billion.

The Aurizon share price has seen some big swings over 2021 and is currently down by almost 13% year to date. That leaves it trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of roughly 10.5. It also gives it a trailing dividend yield of around 8.4%, 70% franked.

Aurizon is listed on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), with a market capitalisation of approximately $6.3 billion. The Aurizon share price closed Friday’s session 1.75% lower at $3.37.

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben does not own shares of Aurizon Holdings Ltd.

Mitchell Lawler: Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

While the Nanosonics share price has largely gone nowhere for the better part of two years, the company’s operating conditions could be rounding a corner as vaccination rates reach reopening levels.

The infection prevention company’s flagship product is the trophon®2, an automated disinfection device for ultrasound probes. Nanosonics derives a large portion of revenue from the sale of consumables and services for the device.

Due to the widespread suspension of elective surgeries caused by COVID-19 over the past 18 months, there has been a significant reduction in the need for these consumables and services. Company shareholders will no doubt be hoping that the recent easing of restrictions will result in an increase in demand.

Broker Morgans has an add rating on Nanosonics shares with a price target of $6.97. Based on the Nanosonics share price of $5.92 at Friday’s close, this suggests an upside of more than 17%.

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler does not own shares of Nanosonics Ltd.

Sebastian Bowen: Australian Ethical Investment Limited (ASX: AEF)

Australian Ethical Investment is a rapidly-growing fund manager with a total portfolio worth more than $6 billion. Its products include managed funds, pensions and superannuation.

Just last month, the company reported the largest fund inflows in its history, with no signs of slowing down. The last few years have seen more and more investors seeking to put their money where their mouths (and ethics) are, and this trend appears to show no sign of abating anytime soon.

As long as ethical/ESG investing remains a concern for investors, this company appears well placed with a healthy tailwind. It also pays a small, but growing, dividend. The Australian Ethical share price closed 2.55% on Friday at $13.69.

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen does not own shares of Australian Ethical Investment Limited.

James Mickleboro: CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

This biotherapeutics giant’s shares could be a top option for investors in November. Although COVID-19 headwinds are expected to weigh on its profits in FY22, the company’s longer-term outlook arguably remains as bright as ever.

This is due to strong demand for its life-saving therapies and vaccines, easing plasma collection headwinds, and its lucrative product pipeline. The latter contains a number of exciting products with the potential to generate billions of dollars in sales over the long term.

The team at Morgans are positive on CSL. The broker currently has an add rating and a $324.40 price target on its shares. The CSL share price closed 0.22% higher on Friday at $300.49.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro does not own shares of CSL Limited.

Tristan Harrison: Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY)

Adore Beauty is a leading online-only beauty retailer that sells thousands of products across hundreds of brands.

Broker Morgan Stanley currently rates the company’s shares as a buy, with a price target of $6. The broker expects continuing higher levels of growth over the rest of FY22, even as lockdowns come to an end.

FY21 saw Adore Beauty’s revenue rise 48% to $179.3 million and its gross profit margin increase 1.2 percentage points to 33.1% — indicating growing profitability. The FY21 second quarter showed revenue growth of 25% to $63.8 million. The company says it continues to benefit from the ongoing shift to online sales.

The Adore Beauty share price closed Friday’s session 1.95% higher at $4.70.

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison does not own shares of Adore Beauty Group Ltd.

Brendon Lau: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ)

The ANZ Bank share price could be well-placed to outperform following the company’s better than expected full-year results.

Goldman Sachs noted that FY21 second-half cash earnings were 11% ahead of its expectations and the share price is trading at more than one standard deviation cheaper than the sector. Macquarie also believes the ANZ Bank share price is cheap as it’s trading around 11% to 34% below its peers. Both brokers rate the stock a buy.

The ANZ share price closed Friday 1.61% lower at $28.14.

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.

The post Top ASX shares to buy in November 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Brokers name 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy
• 2 leading ASX e-commerce shares that could be buys in November 2021
• The ANZ share price is up 24% so far in 2021. Here’s why
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• 3 explosive ASX tech shares to buy in November

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Australian Ethical Investment Ltd., CSL Ltd., and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited, Aurizon Holdings Limited, and Australian Ethical Investment Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Are you looking for some dividend shares to buy in November?

If you are, then you might want to look at the ones listed below. Here’s why these ASX 200 dividend shares could be in the buy zone:

Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ)

If you don’t already have exposure to the banking sector, then it may be worth considering ANZ.

The banking giant has recently released its full year results and outperformed the market’s expectations. For the 12 months ended 30 September, the bank reported a 72% jump in statutory profit after tax to $6,162 million and a 65% increase in cash earnings from continuing operations to $6,198 million.

This strong profit growth was underpinned by a significant reduction in provisions compared to the prior corresponding period, tightly managed expenses, and profit growth in Australia Retail and Commercial.

The team at Morgans were pleased with the result and remain positive on its outlook. The broker has an add rating and $31.00 price target on the company’s shares. In addition, it is forecasting a 147 cents per share dividend in FY 2022 and a 164 cents per share dividend in FY 2023.

Based on the current ANZ share price of $28.14, this will mean yields of 5.2% and 5.8%, respectively, for investors.

DEXUS Property Group (ASX: DXS)

Another ASX 200 dividend share to look at is this Australian real estate company. DEXUS has a focus on owning, managing, and developing office, industrial and retail properties.

The company has recently added to its portfolio with the acquisition of $900 million of industrial assets. This includes a logistics facility leased to Australia Post and a majority stake in Jandakot airport.

Analysts at Macquarie were pleased with the acquisitions. In response, the broker retained its outperform rating and lifted its price target on the company’s shares to $11.90.

As for dividends, Macquarie is forecasting dividends per share of 53.7 cents in FY 2022 and 58.1 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current Dexus share price of $10.87, this will mean yields of 4.9% and 5.3%, respectively.

The post Brokers name 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top ASX shares to buy in November 2021
• The ANZ share price is up 24% so far in 2021. Here’s why
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Leading broker says ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price is a buy
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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There are some high-quality ASX shares that may be worth pursuing in November 2021 according to some brokers.

Those brokers are always on the lookout for potential investments that they believe are opportunities.

Share prices are constantly changing, so it can open up a potential investment quite quickly, if investors are able to jump on them.

With that in mind, the below two ASX shares are highly rated by brokers at the moment:

Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT)

Nextdc operates as a data centre-as-a-service provider. It says that it is building the infrastructure platform for the digital economy, delivering critical power, security and connectivity for global computing providers, enterprise and government.

It’s currently rated as a buy by at least five brokers, including the analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), which currently rates it as a buy with a price target of $16.10. That suggests the broker believes that Nextdc could rise by around 37% over the next 12 months, if the broker is right.

Macquarie thinks that Nextdc may be able increase its profit margins and it also thinks that the ASX share may be able to expand offshore.

In FY21, Nextdc’s data centre services revenue grew by 23% to $246.1 million. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 29% to $134.5 million, beating the top end of management’s guidance.

The operating cashflow surged 148% to $133.2 million, whilst capital expenditure was down 18% to $301 million with a “strong ongoing focus on capital management”.

Contracted utilisation and the number of customers continues to increase as it makes progress developing its new data centres.

Nextdc is expecting more growth in FY22. Data centre services revenue is expected to grow to a range of between $285 million to $295 million. That means it’s expecting growth of at least 15.8%.

Meanwhile, underlying EBITDA is expected to be in the range of between $160 million to $165 million. That suggests an increase of at least 19%.

Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

Bapcor is one of the largest auto parts businesses in the Asia Pacific region. It has numerous businesses including Burson, Autobarn, Midas and a number of specialist wholesale businesses like Truckline. The ASX share also has a growing presence in Asia with the purchase of a quarter of Tye Soon as well developing a (currently) small network of Bursons in Thailand.

It’s currently rated as a buy by at least seven brokers. One of the brokers that likes Bapcor is Citi, which has a price target of $8.75 on the business. That suggests a potential rise of approximately 10% over the next 12 months.

Citi thinks the FY22 first quarter update showed how reliable Bapcor’s demand is. The broker points to various growth plans that Bapcor has in place including growing in Asia and its plans to keep increasing its network of outlets.

In that quarterly update, Bapcor said that it has seen a “solid” start to FY22, with the overall group revenue flat in the first quarter of FY22 compared to the first quarter of FY21. Whilst stores are/were affected by the lockdowns in NSW, Victoria, the ACT and NZ, management think the result demonstrated the “resilience and non-discretionary nature of Bapcor’s businesses”.

Margins have been slightly hurt at the start of the financial year, but it’s expecting margins to revert when lockdowns cease, which they predominately now have.

The ASX share itself said that it’s working on three core areas. It’s driving the expansion of its network footprint, both physical and online. Next, it is supplementing market-leading brands with Bapcor’s own brand products. Finally, the auto parts business is looking to realise the benefits and efficiencies across the company.

Based on Citi’s numbers, the Bapcor share price is valued at 20x FY22’s estimated earnings.

The post Brokers think these 2 top ASX shares are buys in November 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 explosive ASX tech shares to buy in November
• 2 ASX dividend shares rated as buys by brokers
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Why A2 Milk, Adairs, Bapcor, and Kogan shares are racing higher
• Why Bapcor, Cochlear, Novonix, and Zip shares are rising

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bapcor and Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished the week on a very disappointing note. The benchmark index sank 1.45% to 7,323.7 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to storm higher

The Australian share market looks set to have a very positive start to the week. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 68 points or 0.9% higher this morning.  This follows a solid end to the week on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.25%, the S&P 500 climb 0.2%, and the Nasdaq push 0.3% higher.

Westpac full year results

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price will be on watch today when it releases its full year results. According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts are expecting cash earnings of $5,237 million. But perhaps more importantly, the broker continues to expect the banking giant to announce a $5 billion off-market share buyback.

Oil prices rise

Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a solid start to the week after oil prices pushed higher on Friday night. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.9% to US$83.57 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 0.1% to US$83.72 a barrel. Oil prices were down over the week amid rising oil inventories in the US.

Gold price sinks

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could start the week in the red after the gold price sank on Friday night. According to CNBC, the spot gold price fell 1% to US$1,783.90 an ounce. A rallying US dollar weighed on the price of the precious metal.

Macquarie shares rated neutral

The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price could be fully valued according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. According to the note, the broker has retained its neutral rating and lifted its price target to $196.80. Goldman was impressed with its half year results but feels its shares are expensive at 21x forward earnings.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price tumbled 5% in October
• Could the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price be about to take off?
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Friday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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