The small end of the Australian share market is home to a number of companies with the potential to grow materially in the future.

Three that investors might want to get better acquainted with are listed below. Here’s why they are rated highly:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

The first small cap ASX share to look at is this leading provider of enterprise mobility software to businesses globally. Bigtincan’s software provides businesses with new and more effective ways for their teams to perform at higher levels and deliver better results. This is because, as the company notes, its platform empowers sales and service representatives to maximise their use of sales collateral to engage with customers and prospects more effectively.

Morgan Stanley is bullish on Bigtincan. It has an overweight rating and $2.10 price target on its shares.

Symbio Holdings Ltd (ASX: SYM)

Another small cap to watch is Symbio. It specialises in the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology which is used to support services like teleconferencing, online business meetings, and digital data transfers. Symbio appears well-placed for growth over the long term thanks to increasing demand for VoIP technology, its expansion into Asia, and its strong balance sheet. The latter gives management opportunities to look at boosting its growth with acquisitions.

Ord Minnett currently has a buy rating and $7.15 price target on Symbio’s shares.

Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP)

A final small cap ASX share to watch is Whispir. It provides a leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) communications workflow platform that automates interactions between organisations and people. Whispir has been growing at a solid rate in recent years and management appears confident this will continue. This is due to the global mega trend of digital transformation which is providing strong tailwinds. Another positive is the low levels of churn the company is reporting (under 2%), which demonstrates the stickiness of its platform.

Ord Minnett is also a fan of Whispir. It has a buy rating and $2.85 price target on its shares.

The post 3 exciting small cap ASX shares for your watchlist appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 exciting small cap ASX shares for your watchlist
• 3 small cap ASX shares tipped for big things by analysts
• Down 35% in a month, why Motley Fool analyst Benny Ou says this ASX tech share is now a bargain buy

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. owns and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO, Symbio Holdings Limited, and Whispir Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO and Symbio Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Whispir 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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Looking for growth shares to buy in April? Well, here’s some good news!

Listed below are two growth shares that have recently been named as buys. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Allkem Limited (ASX: AKE)

Allkem could be an ASX growth share to buy in April. It is the top five global lithium mining company that was formed when Galaxy Resources and Orocobre merged last year.

The company owns a collection of high-quality assets including Olaroz, Mt Cattlin, and the Sal de Vida brine project.

Importantly, Allkem is already producing lithium in large quantities. This means that it is benefiting greatly from the record lithium prices being underpinned by the clean energy transition and the adoption of electric vehicles.

Morgans is very positive on Allkem and is forecasting strong earnings growth in the coming years as its production ramps up. It has an add rating and $14.83 price target on its shares.

Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

Another ASX growth share that is highly rated is Pro Medicus. It provides industry-leading software that facilitates the clinical assessment of medical images.

Pro Medicus has been growing at a rapid clip over the last decade thanks to increasing demand for solutions that can process, transfer and store medical images and associated data efficiently. This is particularly the case given that speed and accuracy is fundamentally linked to both treatment success and commercial incentives.

Pleasingly, the company’s strong form has continued in FY 2022. During the first half, Pro Medicus reported a 40.3% increase in revenue to $44.33 million and a 52.7% jump in net profit after tax to $20.68 million.

Analysts at Bell Potter were impressed and appear confident this strong form can continue. The broker is forecasting full year revenue growth of 36% in FY 2022, 19% in FY 2023, and then 33% in FY 2024.

Bell Potter has a buy rating and $55.00 price target on the company’s shares.

The post 2 stellar ASX growth shares analysts rate as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Growth will be back! Expert picks 7 ASX shares to buy now
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• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why Allkem, Firefinch, JB Hi-Fi, and Piedmont Lithium are charging higher
• Experts name 3 of the best ASX lithium stocks to buy now

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Allkem Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Pro Medicus 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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The Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB) share price has been climbing in the last month, but could it ascend further?

Webjet shares fell 2.61% today and finished trading at $5.60. It wasn’t the only ASX travel share to suffer, with the Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price slipping 0.95% and Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) dropping 2.04%.

However, overall March proved a good month for Webjet, with its shares jumping 5.26% since closing at $5.32 on February 28.

Let’s take a look at the outlook for this digital travel business.

What does the future look like for Webjet?

The team at Goldman Sachs sees Webjet as a “growth share” that could come out stronger on the other side of COVID-19.

Analysts are optimistic on the company’s future, my Foolish colleague James recently reported. Goldman sees growth potential for the travel company in the B2B and B2C spaces, along with being positive on the company’s balance sheet.

Goldman has placed a $6.90 price target on the Webjet share price, 23% more than the current price.

Webjet could also benefit from upcoming border relaxation in Australia and New Zealand in April. Health Minister Greg Hunt recently announced Australia’s biosecurity emergency will lapse on 17 April.

In practical terms, this means the end of restrictions on cruise vessels into and within Australian territory. Negative pre-departure tests for travellers entering Australia will also no longer be required.

Further, the New Zealand Government will be opening the borders to vaccinated arrivals from Australia from 12 April.

Commenting on easing restrictions internationally in a recent blog, Montgomery Small Companies Fund portfolio manager Dominic Rose said:

Both the UK and the European Union have scrapped COVID-19 testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers.

While recent commentary from numerous US airlines suggests that North American leisure activity is back at or near pre-pandemic levels with corporate improving to 25% to 30% behind.

Webjet may be an Australian and New Zealand company, but it has customers across the globe.

My Foolish colleague Aaron recently reported Webjet shares have more than doubled in the past decade despite the COVID-19 turbulence.

Webjet share price snapshot

The Webjet share price has ascended 8% year to date, while it has climbed 0.36% in the past year.

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained nearly 11% in the past year.

Webjet has a market capitalisation of about $2.1 billion based on the current share price.

The post Is the Webjet share price set to take off in April? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Finally! 4 travel ASX shares ready to take off: expert
• Despite the COVID crash, here’s what $10,000 invested in Webjet (ASX:WEB) shares 10 years ago would be worth now
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Analysts name 2 excellent ASX growth shares to buy and hold
• Why has March been such a lousy month for the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price?

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 Webjet 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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The Australian mining industry got some big news this week. The Australian trade minister Dan Tehan met with the US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington D.C. This was for the inaugural Australia-US Strategic Commercial Dialogue. According to the minister’s press release, Mr Tehan was joined by CEOs from “the critical minerals and rare earths sector to take part in a Critical Minerals Roundtable”.

In a joint statement, Mr Tehan and Secretary Raimondo said the following:

[We] highlighted the commercial potential for both Australian and U.S. industries and underscored the need to strengthen capabilities across all segments of the supply chain, including extraction and downstream processing. Australia and the United States will look at how their respective financing mechanisms could be better coordinated and leveraged to support private investment in supply chains.

So this indicates that the US and Australian governments are intending to work together to expand Australian production and processing of ‘critical minerals and rare earths’.

Critical minerals refer to the US Government’s list of minerals that have been identified to “play a significant role in our national security, economy, renewable energy development and infrastructure”. The list now totals 50 different elements and minerals. These include cobalt, graphite, magnesium, nickel, lithium, neodymium, vanadium and zinc.

Which ASX mining shares could benefit from focus on critical minerals?

So the government of both the US and Australia are now focusing on developing domestic mining and processing facilities for as many of these minerals as possible. That’s partly because many global supply chains presently run through China. This situation is increasingly being viewed as a strategic problem. This could have huge consequences for Australian mining shares.

Lithium shares are an obvious beneficiary. The ASX is home to many of these. The most prominent of which is Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS). But we also have Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) and AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ). 

The ASX is also home to some cobalt miners. Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX: COB) has been in the news recently after it was granted ‘major project status’ by the government earlier this month. 

Earlier today, we looked at some ASX vanadium miners. One such share is Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT).

Nickel shares like Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC) have also recently been drawing attention.

And then there is rare earths company Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC). Lynas is one of the only significant producers of rare earths elements like neodymium outside China. 

So all of these ASX resources shares have the potential to benefit over the medium-to-long term from the news out of the trade minister’s office this week. Many have already received assistance from governments. And many more might join them in the future. Critical mineral security is certianly a hot topic right now, given the current geopolitical climate. Thus, this is a space well worth keeping an eye on.

The post The US is backing Aussie critical minerals projects, and these ASX mining shares could be set to reap the rewards appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The ASX 200 just had its longest winning streak since 2017. What’s doing?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Thursday
• What’s driving the Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) share price higher today?
• What exactly is vanadium and which ASX shares have exposure?
• Here’s why the Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price is spiking today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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