If you’re wanting to invest in the small side of the Australian share market, then the three small caps listed below could be worth a closer look.

Here’s why these small cap ASX shares could be worth adding to your watchlist:

Adore Beauty Group Limited (ASX: ABY)

The first small cap to watch is Adore Beauty. It is a leading online beauty retailer which has been growing strongly over the last few years. This has been driven by a significant lift in customer numbers thanks to the shift to online shopping. The good news for Adore Beauty and investors is that this shift is only really getting started in the beauty category. This gives the company a long runway for growth as the shift continues and more sales move online.

Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC)

Another small cap share to watch is Alcidion. It is a growing informatics solutions company which provides software which has been designed to improve the efficacy and cost of delivering services to patients and reduce hospital-acquired complications. Demand has been strong for its offering, which is supporting strong sales growth. For example, earlier this week Alcidion revealed that year to date FY 2022 new sales had reached $42.9 million. This is up 93% on cumulative new sales at the same time last year.

Catapult Group International Ltd (ASX: CAT)

A final small cap to look at is Catapult. It is a global sports analytics company that provides elite sporting organisations and athletes with real time data and analytics to monitor and measure athletes. It has been a positive performer in FY 2022, with the company reporting a 13% increase in revenue to $37.5 million during the first half  This was driven by a sizeable 29% growth in subscription revenue, which reflects Catapult’s strategic shift to a focus on high quality recurring revenue SaaS deals.

The post 3 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch 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 positions in and has recommended Alcidion Group Ltd and Catapult Group International Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Catapult Group International Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited and Alcidion Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price has finished off a relatively rangebound month with a sharp drop in the latter part of April.

The mining giant’s shares have fallen by more than 5% in the past week alone, slipping just 0.02% to close at $48.01 on Friday.

What happened to BHP shares in April?

Weak investor sentiment drove the BHP share price lower this month following the company’s third-quarter trading update on 21 April.

BHP revealed a fall in production across most of its operations due to a variety of issues for each of its commodities. Its shares sank more than 13% in the three days after releasing the result to the market.

Notably, the miner’s shares hit a 52-week high of $53.72 just two days prior to the announcement.

In a positive light, the company noted that the proposed merger of its petroleum business with Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) was on track. However, this did little to appease investors, who appeared more interested in the results.

Despite the current slump, BHP advised that FY22 production guidance for iron ore, metallurgical coal and energy coal remained unchanged. However, total copper and nickel production guidance has been lowered due to COVID-related labour constraints.

What do the brokers think?

One broker weighed in on BHP’s shares after the release of its latest performance report.

Analysts at Macquarie cut its price target by 1.6% to $60.00 for the BHP share price. It appears the broker still remains bullish on the company despite some short-term headwinds.

UBS had a different tone, raising its outlook by 2.4% to $43.00 late last month. This implies a potential upside of around 11% based on the current share price.

BHP share price summary

Regardless of the recent BHP share price weaknesses, investors would be pleased with a 15.6% gain in 2022.

This is a stark contrast to its shares trading flat over the past 12 months.

BHP presides a market capitalisation of roughly $242.18 billion, making it the biggest company on the ASX.

The post April hasn’t been kind to the BHP share price. Here’s what went down appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. 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 Scott Phillips.

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Shares of Arafura Resources Ltd (ASX: ARU) lifted higher on Friday and finished 6.76% in the green at 39 cents apiece.

The Arafura share price also finished 6% higher for the week, bringing its total return to 100% since mid-March.

The company released its quarterly activities and operations update today. Let’s take a look.

Arafura Resources quarterly update

Key takeouts from the quarter include:

• Neodymium and Praseodymium (NdPr) pricing continued to increase to US$152/kg in the quarter
• Appointment of Societe Generale and National Australia Bank to execute export credit agency driven debt funding strategy
• Strong cash position of $33.5 million to continue Front-End Engineering Design (FEED)
• FEED works progressing in line with schedule
• Award of $30 million grant under Federal Government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative for Nolans rare earth separation plant

What else happened this quarter?

As NdPr prices continued to rise last quarter, this has reinstated a stroke of confidence for the company moving forwards.

“[P]ricing continued to increase… providing confidence of sustained higher prices and strong project economics,” the company noted.

At the Nolans NdPr Project, located in the Northern Territory, FEED works continued during the quarter across multiple fronts, Arafura says.

The company aims to develop the world’s second rare earth separation plant outside of China at the site.

Works included a range of updates, such as engineering design progress at the hydrometallurgical plant, and additional costs for a strategic pivot at the sulphuric acid plant.

The company noted in its report:

A review of the delivery strategy for the Nolans sulphuric acid plant recommended a move away from a modular solution

The impact of this strategy is an increase in up-front costs from A$1,056m to A$1,150m through the movement of A$93.4 million from sustaining capital expended in years one and two into pre-production capital. The overall impact of this movement on the financial return on the project is minimal.

Meanwhile, the company also made several preparations to advance on its project(s), with completion dates set around April and/or May 2022.

To engage the community, it held a roadshow throughout the Northern Territory to provide prospective stakeholders the opportunity to get involved with the project.

What’s next?

Arafura says that it is on track to execute its funding strategy, with the Nolans project aligning closely to the Government’s 2022 Critical Minerals strategy.

It also continued to engage in offtake discussions for “strategic investment with key parties who recognise the value of a de-risked NdPr value chain through long-term offtake and strategic investment in the upstream value chain.”

At this stage, the company has no certainty as to the timing and likelihood of securing strategic investment – these arrangements will be announced to the ASX if (and when) formal agreements have been concluded.

Arafura Resources share price snapshot

The Arafura share price has spiked 113% in the last 12 months after a strong gain this year to date, where its gained 88%.

During the previous month, it has lifted 16% and sits in the green across all time frames after running hot since March this year.

The post Arafura Resources share price extends gains on Friday, up 100% since March appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Guess which ASX rare earths share has rocketed more than 120% in a month

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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 Scott Phillips.

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Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had another leg up as numerous companies posted their quarterly updates. At the end of the session, the benchmark index finished 1.06% higher at 7,435 points.

Tech investors inhaled a breath of fresh air as the out of favour sector ended up being the best performing on Friday. Following closely behind were solid showings among the communications and consumer discretionary areas of the market. The refreshing end to the week followed a rebound in US stocks last night.

However, the question is: which shares delivered the biggest returns to investors on the ASX today? Here are the top ten stocks that came through for investors:

Top 10 ASX shares countdown today

Looking at the top 200 listed companies, Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC) was the biggest gainer today. Shares in the nickel miner posted raced 7.35% higher after releasing its annual report to shareholders today. In addition, the company reported a record quarter yesterday. Find out more about Nickel Mines here.

Sliding in as the second biggest gainer today was Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN). The uranium explorer added 6.49% to its share price after a negative reaction to its quarterly report yesterday. Uncover the latest Paladin Energy details here.

Today’s top 10 biggest gains were made in these ASX shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC)	$1.315	7.35%
Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN)	$0.82	6.49%
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)	$2.85	5.95%
Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN)	$6.95	5.78%
Stanmore Resources Ltd (ASX: SMR)	$2.37	5.33%
GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG)	$1.45	5.07%
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)	$16.31	4.75%
Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF)	$7.29	4.59%
Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL)	$33.66	4.21%
Seek Ltd (ASX: SEK)	$28.38	4.15%

Our top 10 ASX shares today countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 Challenger Limited and SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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