If you’re wanting to bolster your portfolio with some blue chip shares then you may want to consider the two listed below.

Both are high quality companies and have been rated as buys recently. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

The first blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is Goodman Group. It is a leading integrated commercial and industrial property group. It has been growing at a solid rate over the last decade thanks to its successful strategy of focusing on investing in and developing high quality industrial properties in strategic locations. These are close to large urban populations and in and around major gateway cities globally.

Citi is a fan of Goodman. It currently has a buy rating and $27.50 price target on its shares. And while it acknowledges that its shares trade on high multiples, it notes that they are still lower than peers.

The broker explained: “We continue to see upside to FY22 guidance and now forecast FY22 EPS of 76.9c (+17% growth), 2% ahead of guidance. Importantly, our 3 year EPS CAGR lifts 200bps to ~16%, reflecting higher asset values, and development activity. We retain our Buy call with GMG now trading at ~30x FY22E PE, -3% to -25% below global peers, despite higher growth.”

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

Another blue chip ASX 200 share to consider buying is REA Group. It is the digital advertising company that operates Australia’s leading property website, realestate.com.au.

In addition, REA operates a range of complementary businesses in the Australian market and also internationally. All in all, together with new revenue streams, its good cost control, and a booming housing market, REA Group appears well-placed for growth.

Goldman Sachs is positive on the company’s outlook. It has a buy rating and $193.00 price target on its shares.

Following its first quarter update the broker commented: “Overall we revise higher our FY22 listing assumptions (+2% vs. -3% prior) but continue to expect declines in 2H22 (+7%/-3% in 1H/2H22 given the Fed election & tough comparable in 4Q21). Combined with higher yield growth & domestic opex assumptions, our FY22-24 core Australia EBITDA is +1% to +5%. When including the higher associate contributions our REA FY22-24 EPS +1% to +4% and our 12m SOTP-based TP increases +2% to A$193.”

This will ultimately mean EBITDA of $648 million in FY 2022, $730 million in FY 2023, and $815 million in FY 2024. Whereas for earnings per share, Goldman expects 294 cents, 337 cents, and then 387 cents.

The post 2 outstanding ASX 200 blue chip shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 recommended REA 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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The Novatti Group Ltd (ASX: NOV) share price is blasting ahead this week.

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) company’s shares closed today trading at 34 cents apiece, a 20% gain since the start of the week.

Let’s take a look at what might be happening at the buy now, pay later company.

Director confidence

The Novatti share price is surging ahead this week despite no news from the company. However, a recent show of confidence in the company by CEO and co-founder Peter Cook is worth noting.

Cook has bought $316,667 worth of shares, acquiring 1,666,667 shares at 19 cents each, a market announcement on 4 January revealed.

His purchase involved exercising options that were not due to expire until 30 November. Following this gain, he now owns 13,174,571 shares in the company.

The Novatti share price gained 20% on January 12 alone. This major movement came on the same day as fellow BNPL company Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) announced Bank of Spain has approved its takeover by Block Inc (NYSE: SQ). The Afterpay share price gained nearly 5% yesterday. As my Foolish colleague James reported, Afterpay may not be trading on the Australian share market much longer.

In April 2021, Novatti shares surged 32% on the back of an agreement with Afterpay. Afterpay chose Novatti to provide its services in New Zealand.

In October, Novatti announced it would acquire ATX, a payments fintech based in Malaysia.

Novatti proved to be one of the best performing ASX BNPL shares of 2021, gaining 15% over the year.

Novatti share price snapshot

The Novatti share price has soared around 39% in the past 12 months and 13% in the past month.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned more than 12% to investors in the past year.

The company commands a market capitalisation of roughly $117.75 million based on the current share price.

The post The Novatti (ASX:NOV) share price is up 20% so far this week. What’s going on? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the 5 top performing ASX BNPL shares of 2021

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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The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price has been up and down like a yo-yo this year but is in the green so far in 2022.

The company’s shares closed today at $4.41, up 3.52% since the start of the year. Today they held steady, gaining 0.23%.

Let’s take a look at what might be impacting investor sentiment.

What’s happening at IAG?

The IAG share price gained 4.69% between market close on 31 December and 4 January. However, it then fell 2.24% between market close on 4 January and 6 January.

On January 7, it recovered this loss, gaining 2.29% before sliding a further 1% to the current share price of $4.41.

News out of the company on its catastrophe reinsurance program on January 6 didn’t seem to get investors too excited.

The insurance company maintained its cap on gross reinsurance protection cover at $10 billion. Meanwhile, the cost of the catastrophe insurance program increased by “single digits”.

Commenting on the announcement, chief financial officer Michelle McPherson said:

Our catastrophe reinsurance program remains an intrinsic part of IAG’s capital management strategy.

The structure of the new program is similar to that of prior years, and we received strong support from our reinsurance partners with whom we have long-term relationships.

The IAG share price ended that day down 0.68% but recovered to post a 2.29% gain the following day.

A broker note out of Morgan Stanley may have also played on the minds of investors. My Foolish colleague James on Wednesday reported the broker thinks IAG needs to increase its insurance pricing to protect its margins from higher natural catastrophe costs including claims inflation.

Analysts at the company have a $3.75 target on the share, a 15% drop on the current price.

However, other brokers, including Morgans, Macquarie, and Credit Suisse, appeared bullish on the IAG share price last week.

IAG share price snap shot

The IAG share price has plummeted 12.5% in the past 52 weeks but is up 0.45% in the past month.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned nearly 12% to investors over the longer time frame.

The company commands a market capitalisation of roughly 10.9 billion on the current share price.

The post Why is the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price having a rollercoaster start to the year? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• What happened to the Insurance Australia (ASX:IAG) share price in 2021?
• What’s happening with the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price today?
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Could the IAG (ASX:IAG) share price be on the road to recovery in 2022?

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 and has recommended Insurance Australia Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia 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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The Immuron Ltd (ASX: IMC) share price soared again today, trading up 16.67% at 14 cents near the market close.

This follows a massive trading day as the company cemented its place as one of the best performers on the ASX yesterday with its share price seeing a whopping 31% increase.

So what happened with this Melbourne-based biotech company to make it reach such impressive prices?

Let’s take a look…

Diarrhoea drug to hit Europe

At its core, Immuron focuses on creating and commercialising oral immunotherapies that both prevent and treat gut-related ailments.

It has two main products — Travelan, an over-the-counter oral medicine used to treat traveller’s diarrhoea — and Protectyn, an immune supplement (sold by practitioners) supporting both digestive and liver function.

Today, the biotech company announced it had received a European patent for its treatment of traveller’s diarrhoea.

Immuron advised that European Patent 3159357 — the “composition and method for the treatment and prevention of enteric bacterial infections — would give it the exclusive rights in several European countries.

The company already holds an existing patent position in Australia, India, Canada and the United States.

Once the patent is validated, Immuron will be able to sell its drug composition in France, Spain, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Greece and the United Kingdom.

US military focus on Travelan

According to Immuron, traveller’s diarrhoea not only is the most common form of illness for visitors to developing countries but also afflicts US troops that are deployed overseas.

In fact, prevention of the illness is a high priority for the US Military.

“The morbidity and associated discomfort stemming from diarrhea decreases daily performance, affects judgement, decreases morale and declines operational readiness,” Immuron said in today’s announcement.

And its not just only the short term effects Immuron considers worrisome — the medical community is now recognising that the illness can have serious post-infectious after-effects, inducing irritable bowel syndrome and other autoimmune diseases.

As such, the biotech company was awarded a $6.2 million Travelan clinical trial agreement by the United States Department of Defence yesterday — the first of several trials expected to undertaken with the military this year.

After releasing the news, the Immuron share price jumped just over 30% before lunchtime trade.

Immuron share price snapshot

Despite its recent positive moves, the Immuron share price has dropped 36% over the past 12 months. In fact, it saw its 52-week-low on Tuesday, when it hit 9 cents.

Since then, shares in the company have rebounded an impressive 55%.

The biotech company has a market capitalisation of $31 million and more than 277 million shares issued.

The post Why the Immuron (ASX:IMC) share price rocketed another 17% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Immuron (ASX:IMC) share price is rocketing 31% today

Motley Fool contributor Alice de Bruin 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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