Fortunately for growth investors, there are plenty of shares on the Australian share market with strong long term growth potential.

Two such shares are named below. Here’s why analysts are positive on them:

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

The first growth share that could be a buy is NEXTDC. It is a leading data centre operator which appears well-placed to benefit from the structural shift to the cloud. Particularly given its world class network of centres and expansion into edge centres (regional data centres) and the Asia market. The latter has seen the company open up offices in Singapore and Tokyo. These markets could provide NEXTDC with a long growth runway.

Citi is a fan and currently has a buy rating and $14.55 price target on NEXTDC’s shares.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Another ASX growth to look at is this cloud-based accounting solution provider to small and medium sized businesses. Xero has been growing at a quick rate in recent years and has continued this trend in FY 2022. During the first half, it reported a 23% increase in subscribers to 3 million and a 29% lift in annualised monthly recurring revenue (AMRR) to NZ$1,132 million. Positively, Xero’s subscriber numbers are still well short of its total addressable market of 45 million. This and its plan to monetise its growing user base give it a very long growth runway.

Goldman Sachs is bullish on Xero. Its analysts currently have a buy rating and $135.00 price target on its shares.

The post Analysts name 2 ASX growth shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Xero. 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 Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price increased by almost 4% today. The gain means that shares in the lithium miner have gone up by more than 20% since 15 March 2022.

The Pilbara Minerals share price has seen a lot of volatility since the start of 2022. It’s only down by 12% in the 2022 calendar year right now. However, it was down 33% from the 2022 high in January to the mid-March low.

While Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Pilbara Minerals are different businesses, it may be worth noting the electric vehicle maker has also seen a very sharp recovery of its share price in the last week or so. Since 14 March 2022, the Tesla share price has climbed by around 30%.

What’s going on with the Pilbara Minerals share price?

There hasn’t been any official news out of the company since it released its FY22 half-year result a month ago.

However, lithium prices have been climbing this year.

Pilbara Minerals said that since the end of its half-year, pricing has continued to increase, with price reporting agencies indicating spot spodumene concentrate (lithium) prices in the range of US$3,750 to US$4,500 per dry metric tonne.

In the half-year period, Pilbara Minerals achieved an average selling price of around US$1,250 per dry metric tonne, so there has been a substantial increase.

The broker Macquarie thinks there’s more upside to the Pilbara Minerals share price, with a price target of $3.50 and a buy rating. That implies an upside of more than 10%. Macquarie thought the impending loss of Pilbara Minerals CEO Ken Brinsden was a negative, but the high lithium price is helpful to the thesis.

The post Full charge ahead: The Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price lifts another 4% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Wednesday
• Elon Musk wants Tesla to be much, much bigger
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• The Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price has leapt 12% in 4 days. What’s happening?
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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. owns and has recommended Tesla. 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 Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price finished in the green today.

ANZ shares climbed 0.76% on Wednesday, closing at at $27.88. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) also finished ahead today, up 0.99%.

Let’s take a look at what news impacted ANZ on Wednesday.

Buyback bonanza

ANZ could be in for a massive buyback. Morgan Stanley predicts ANZ is among banks who may reward shareholders with more buybacks in coming months.

Analysts said:

We expect ANZ and NAB to announce new buybacks of $1bn and $2bn, respectively, at their first-half results in May.

ANZ has bought back $1.46 billion shares so far, the analysts said.

In other news, ANZ has just announced the launch of a new digital offering, ANZ Plus. The service is designed to help customers manage spending and achieve financial goals. Customers receive alerts on their spending and when they get paid.

Commenting on the launch, ANZ digital and Australia transformation executive Maile Carnegie said:

We have made significant progress on building the underlying platform in 2021 and it will soon be ready for our customers, which is very exciting. ANZ Plus will start with savings and transaction products and we will add to that progressively.

The bank described ANZ Plus as a “significant change” that will be available from early 2022.

The big banks all had a stellar day today. The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) climbed 1.57%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) jumped 0.76%, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) gained 1.3% and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) closed 1.25% ahead.

ANZ on the ASX snapshot

The ANZ share price has shed 0.43% in the past 12 months but in the past week alone, it has jumped 4.46%.

In comparison, the benchmark financials index has leapt 12% in the past 12 months, gaining 3.52% in a week.

ANZ has a market capitalisation of about $78.2 billion based on its current share price.

The post Own ANZ shares? Here’s why today was a big day for the bank appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Macquarie Group Limited and Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Uniti Group Ltd (ASX: UWL) share price surged to an all-time high before the company’s shares went into a trading halt late Wednesday afternoon.

Shares in the fibre broadband company rallied 10.7% to $4.67. This made it the top S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) performer on Wednesday.

In case you’re wondering, the Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) share price and the Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) share price took the second and third spots, respectively.

Let’s check what happened with Uniti today.

New Uniti bid just about confirmed

The big run in the Uniti share price comes on the back of rumours that Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) has made a higher bid for the telecommunications company.

Uniti was compelled to ask for a trading halt an hour before market close to address the media speculation. The company’s shares are expected to start trading again this Friday after management has time to provide further details.

The company didn’t say anything more, which is not unusual given it has been tight-lipped about takeover approaches.

Macquarie’s $3.6 billion bid for Uniti

But the trading halt has prompted some market watchers to see it as confirmation that Macquarie has lobbed a bid.

The Australian Financial Review certainly thinks so. It said Macquarie Asset Management and PSP Investments have made a $5 a share bid for Uniti. The offer values Uniti at around $3.6 billion in total.

The article didn’t cite any sources but said the pair have given the company a non-binding indicative bid. The proposal is similar in structure to the one offered by New Zealand fund manager HRL Morrison & Co.

As the Motley Fool has previously reported, Uniti has granted Morrison & Co exclusive access to undertake due diligence to support its $4.50 cash bid.

Awaiting more details on the Macquarie and PSP bid

This exclusive agreement includes a $5 million break fee that is payable to Morrison & Co. But it may have a fiduciary exemption that could allow Uniti to entertain a higher credible bid without penalty.

The Macquarie party would almost certainly fit the bill. Macquarie Asset Management acquired fellow telecommunications company Vocus Group in June 2021.

PSP is one of Canada’s largest pension funds with around $200 billion in assets, according to the AFR. It is also no stranger to Australia as it has made significant investments here.

Competitive auction to acquire Uniti

The question for investors is whether a third bidder could emerge. Regardless, Uniti’s board will be under pressure to run a competitive auction.

These are happy days for Uniti shareholders. But we are unlikely to get more details from management till late tonight or, more likely, tomorrow.

The post Uniti (ASX: UWL) share price surges 11% to record high as Macquarie bid appears confirmed appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• NAB, ANZ and CBA shares in focus as top broker tips extra $5b share buyback
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares this Wednesday
• Why investing in shares still offers the ‘best return potential’ in 2022: expert
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip jump, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare sinks
• Uniti (ASX:UWL) share price jumps amid rumoured Macquarie approach

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited, Pointsbet Holdings Ltd, and Uniti 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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