Are you interested in adding some more ASX shares to your portfolio?

Two ASX growth shares that could be worth considering are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The first ASX growth share to look at is Altium. It is a printed circuit board (PCB) design software provider which could be a top option due to its leading position in a market exposed to the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.

PCBs are found in almost all electronic devices. As such, the proliferation of electronic devices due to the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence markets is expected to lead to increasing demand for its software over the next decade.

Bell Potter is positive on Altium and currently has a buy rating and $38.75 price target on its shares.

The broker has been pleased with Altium’s shift to subscriptions and still sees the company as a potential takeover target. In respect to the latter, it said: “Altium has already received an unsolicited takeover offer from Autodesk at $38.50 which was rejected. Our view is Autodesk’s Fusion 360 platform is lacking a high powered ECAD offering so we believe Autodesk would still be very interested in Altium and may come back with a revised offer.”

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

Another ASX growth share to look at is Life360. This growing technology company is responsible for the Life360 mobile app, which is a market leading app for families.

It offers features such as communications, driver safety, and location sharing. As of its last update, the company’s user base had grown to over 30 million globally. This is generating significant recurring revenue and opens the door to material cross and upselling opportunities for its recently acquired businesses.

Bell Potter is also bullish on LIfe360’s future. It currently has a buy rating and $10.00 price target on its shares.

The broker believes the recent selloff of its shares has created a buying opportunity. It said: “[Life360] remains a key pick and we believe has been oversold as, despite currently being loss making, has ample cash to fund it through to cash flow breakeven or positive in 2023 or 2024 while maintaining strong top line revenue growth and realising the synergy benefits from the recent Tile acquisition.”

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

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Altium and Life360, Inc. 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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Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) is among many ASX energy shares enjoying a strong run in 2022 due to interrupted global supply chains and the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) is up by almost 22% year to date. The Whitehaven Coal share price has outperformed the index by a mile, up by 51% over the same timeframe.

Fellow ASX energy shares that have picked up major ground in 2022 include Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL), up 43%, and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) — both up by 19%.

Today, the Whitehaven Coal share price finished up 0.48% to $4.17 amid news that the NSW Independent Planning Commission has conditionally approved expansion plans for one of the company’s mines.

Narrabri mine expansion

The Narrabri Mine, located in the NSW north-west, is Whitehaven Coal’s only underground mine. It has been operating since 2012. It employs 500 people, mainly local residents. Whitehaven Coal has previously received approval to dig up 11 million tonnes of high-quality thermal coal per annum until 2031.

Now, Whitehaven Coal wants to extend the mine. In early 2021, the NSW Department of Planning and Environment commenced a whole-of-government assessment of the project. The department concluded its review in January and recommended approval for the expansion. However, the state’s planning minister asked the commission to conduct a public hearing before making a final decision on their behalf.

The expansion involves extending longwall operations to the south of the mine and extracting an extra 82 million tonnes of coal. Dubbed the Stage 3 Extension Project, it will extend the life of the mine to 2044.

Today, a commission panel announced it has given consent but is imposing 152 conditions. These include performance measures to reduce the intensity of Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions.

Whitehaven Coal will also have to complete an Emissions Minimisation Plan. The plan will investigate and implement innovative, economically-feasible ways to further cut Scope 1 emissions through technology.

Why the expansion got approved

In its Statement of Reasons for Decision, the commission said the approval was partly “in recognition of the importance of the continuation of the extraction and exportation of coal to the NSW economy”.

The commission said:

The community raised concerns in submissions … regarding subsidence, water, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, noise and Aboriginal cultural heritage. The Commission also received submissions in support of the Application, citing its positive social and economic benefits through the provision of employment for the local area and region.

The Commission finds that, on balance, the Project would achieve an appropriate balance between relevant environmental, economic and social considerations.

What else is happening at Whitehaven?

Whitehaven Coal updated the market today on its buyback of up to 10% of its shares.

Whitehaven said: “… The company’s on market share buy-back of up to 10% of shares and capped
at $400 million over a twelve-month period is progressing well. The Company is currently in a blackout period ahead of the release of its March Quarter Production Report scheduled for 20 April, after which Whitehaven’s share buy-back activities are able to re-commence.”

Whitehaven Coal began purchasing its own shares on 8 March. It spent $67 million acquiring 16.8 million shares over the month. This represents 16% of the maximum 103 million shares that it may acquire.

Whitehaven Coal share price snapshot

Whitehaven Coal shares are up 134% on the ASX over the past 12 months. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has risen by 8.8% over the same timeframe.

The post What boosted the Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) share price on Friday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen owns Woodside Petroleum Ltd. 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 Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price was trading lower today ahead of the closure of its share purchase plan (SPP).

At Friday’s close of trade, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares were down 1.01%, trading at $1.47.

All the important details regarding the SPP

Investors sent the Zip share price in negative territory through the day as time dwindled to be a part of the company’s SPP.

On 11 March, Zip advised it had opened its $50 million SPP to eligible shareholders. This followed the company’s successful completion of a $148.7 million institutional placement from an array of institutional, sophisticated and professional investors.

The SPP offers retail shareholders the chance to subscribe for up to $30,000 worth of new Zip shares.

Furthermore, the issue price is likely to be a 2% discount on the five-day volume-weighted average price to today.

While this may seem attractive as it is considerably lower than the $1.90 per share taken up in the institutional placement, Zip shares have been on a decline.

Over the month, the company’s shares have fallen 33% in value, trading near March 2020 lows when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Zip previously noted that the proceeds of the placement and SPP would go towards strengthening its balance sheet.

In addition, it is also looking to shore up funds to execute on the potential synergies from the upcoming transaction. This relates to the $491 million all-scrip acquisition of Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL).

Zip is expected announce the SPP results on Wednesday 6 April.

Settlement and allotment of the new shares will occur on 8 April, with normal trading commencing on Monday 11 April.

About the Zip share price

Despite making strides to grow organically, the Zip share price has fallen more than 80% in the last 12 months, with a 65% drop since the start of 2022.

Zip commands a market capitalisation of around $985.18 million based on today’s share price.

The post Zip share price backtracks ahead of share purchase plan closure appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• The Zip share purchase plan closes tomorrow. Here’s what you need to know
• Could the Zip share price turn over a new leaf in April?
• Why is the Zip share price launching 7% on Tuesday?
• Guess how many cents now separate the Zip share price from its market-crash low

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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 was a positive performer in March.

Over the period, the banking giant’s shares rose by a sizeable 6.1%.

Why did the ANZ share price storm higher in March?

The catalyst for the rise in the ANZ share price last month was commentary out of both the US Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Hawkish comments from both central banks have sparked hopes that interest rates could be rising quicker than previously expected to combat rising inflation.

This would be good news for ANZ and the rest of the banks as it would be a boost to their interest income, which has been under significant pressure with rates close to zero.

Can its shares go higher?

The good news is that one leading broker still sees value in the ANZ share price even after its solid gain in March.

A recent note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have a buy rating and $30.84 price target on the bank’s shares.

Based on the current ANZ share price of $27.18, this implies potential upside of 13.5% for investors over the next 12 months.

In addition, the broker is expecting fully franked dividend yields of ~5.4% and ~5.7% in FY 2022 and FY 2023, respectively. This increases its potential 12-month total return to approximately 19%.

Goldman commented: “Despite the weak [Q1] update we stay Buy rated on ANZ given i) ANZ appears to be on track to reach its FY23 cost target of A$8 bn, which should alleviate some of its revenue pressures, ii) ANZ is making progress to improve systems and processes for simple home loans with application times now in line with major bank peers, iii) ANZ is considering increasing the size of the current on-market buy-back ($1.5 billion announced in Jul-21), and iv) the stock is trading more than one standard deviation cheaper versus the sector on PPOP multiples.”

The post Here’s how the ANZ share price performed in March appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How did ASX 200 bank shares perform today?
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• What is the current dividend yield on ANZ shares?
• Is the new ANZ digital offering all it’s cracked up to be?
• Own ANZ shares? The ASX 200 bank just became the first to launch its own crypto

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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