Buy, hold, sell: CAR Group, Judo Capital, and Worley shares

Looking for some investment ideas for July? Well, it could be worth hearing what Ord Minnett has to say about the ASX shares in this article.

Are they buys, holds, or sells? Let’s find out:

CAR Group Limited (ASX: CAR)

Ord Minnett has put a buy rating and $35.00 price target on this auto listings company’s shares.

While it is facing a tough period, the broker remains positive and highlights its strong track record of resilience. It said:

CAR Group (CAR) has a strong track record of resilience through macroeconomic cycles, but current conditions suggest some modest near-term pressure. Reflecting this, Ord Minnett has trimmed its forecasts slightly, with our EPS estimate for FY26 and FY27 by around 1% for FY26–FY27. Our changes imply slightly softer growth than the broader market is anticipating. Our central assumption is that growth in the second half of FY26 moderates compared to the first half, before re-accelerating into FY27 and beyond.

Overall, currency movements and these modest operational adjustments translate to only minor forecast changes. On a constant currency basis, CAR is still expected to deliver around 10–11% net profit growth in FY27, or approximately 9% after foreign exchange impacts. Importantly, these macroeconomic pressures are likely to be temporary, with scope for growth to strengthen again from FY27.

Judo Capital Holdings Ltd (ASX: JDO)

The broker isn’t feeling as positive on this small business lender. In response to a disappointing trading update, Ord Minnett downgraded Judo Capital shares to a hold rating with a heavily reduced price target of $1.60.

Commenting on the downgrade, it said:

The speed at which conditions for these three specific exposures deteriorated – none were on a watch list – is a significant concern for Ord Minnett and the broader market, raising questions as to just how rigorous and reliable Judo’s monitoring processes are, not to mention management’s credibility. We also highlight the large size of these particular loans – the combined exposure for Judo is $80 million, versus its average SME loan size of around $3 million – and question why Judo was making such large individual loans.

Post the trading update, we have cut our EPS estimates by 9.4%, 19.6% and 7.6% for FY26, FY27 and FY28, respectively, which drives a steep downgrade of our target price to $1.60 from $2.40. We also cut our recommendation on Judo to Hold from Buy despite the apparent value on offer, given uncertainty around the company’s processes and the time it will take for management to rebuild market confidence.

Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR)

Worley is another ASX share that Ord Minnett has downgraded. It has cut its rating on the engineering company’s shares to a hold rating with a reduced price target of $12.70.

Ord Minnett has concerns about its near-term earnings outlook. It explains:

There remains considerable uncertainty over short-term earnings for Worley and its peers. More broadly, we highlight the change in Worley’s business mix, with a modest shift to engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work, i.e. larger developments and responsibility for full project delivery, a business segment that is higher risk than traditional consultancy and advisory.

‍Worley does not have the same exposure as the EPC sector’s major operators, e.g. Italy’s Maire or France’s Technip Energies, but its risk profile has increased versus consulting and advisory peers such as US-based Jacobs Solution and Fluor Corp. There is apparent value on offer in Worley but the uncertainty around near-term earnings, and what we see as an increasing risk profile, mean we cut our recommendation to Hold from Accumulate.

The post Buy, hold, sell: CAR Group, Judo Capital, and Worley shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Forget CBA shares, I’d buy these ASX bank stocks instead
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Judo Bank shares rise despite Morgan Stanley price target cut
• 7 ASX shares downgraded by brokers this week

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 CAR Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.