Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares are marching higher today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) telco closed yesterday trading for $4.77. In late morning trade on Wednesday, shares are changing hands for $4.80 apiece, up 0.7%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.1% at this same time.

Taking a step back, Telstra shares have also modestly outperformed the benchmark index over the past year, with the ASX 200 down 1.5% in 12 months while Telstra stock has slipped a lesser 0.5%.

And we shouldn’t discount the passive income Telstra stockholders receive.

Over the last 12 months, Telstra has paid out two dividends, both franked at 90%, totalling 21 cents a share. The ASX 200 telco currently trades on a 4.4% trailing dividend yield.

Which brings us back to our headline question.

With the company’s full-year FY 2026 profits climbing to $2.4 billion, should you buy shares today?

Telstra shares: Buy, hold, or sell?

Red Leaf Securities’ John Athanasiou recently ran his slide rule over the ASX 200 telco (courtesy of The Bull).

“Telstra provides relatively defensive earnings and reliable cash flow during what has been a volatile period for equity markets,” he said.

Commenting on the company’s growth in FY 2026, Athanasiou noted:

Reported net profit after tax of $2.4 billion in full year 2026 was up 2.7 per cent on the prior corresponding period. Reported earnings per share of 19.9 cents were up 5.3 per cent. The company announced a further on-market share buyback of up to $1 billion in full year 2027 when releasing its full year results in August.

The mobile division remains the key earnings driver, while infrastructure assets add stability.

Connecting the dots, Athanasiou issued a hold recommendation on Telstra shares.

“However, expectations are already reflected in the share price, and recent network service concerns create reputational risk,” he said. “Hold for income rather than substantial near term capital growth.”

What’s happening with the new $1 billion share buyback?

Telstra released its FY 2026 results on 13 August.

After completing the previous $1.25 billion on-market share buyback in June, the company announced a new buyback of up to $1 billion on the day.

Commenting on the share buyback, Telstra CEO Vicki Brady said:

Buy-backs allow us to lower our cost of capital and manage our sources of funding more efficiently. This approach also supports earnings and dividend per share growth and, together with increased dividends, demonstrates our confidence in our financial strength and outlook.

Despite that news, Telstra shares closed down 3.2% on the day of the results release.

The post With $2.4 billion in FY26 profits, are Telstra shares a good buy today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Morgans says cryopreservation company Vitrafy Life Sciences Ltd (ASX: VFY) is at a crucial juncture in its development, with success likely to unlock significant value.

Vitrafy shares are already up 163% on a 12-month basis, but Morgans has an even more bullish price target on the company which I’ll get to shortly.

Firstly, let’s have a look at the business.

Major developments over the past year

Vitrafy said in its recently-released annual report that while it remained an early-stage business, progress made during the year had, “materially strengthened the foundation for the Company’s future”.

The company’s technology involves software and controlled freezing techniques, which it says “preserves biomaterial value, enhances reproducibility, and streamlines cryopreservation workflows at scale”.

The company said further in its annual report:

The clear highlight of the year was the successful completion of our Phase II in-vitro platelet study with the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (“USAISR”), part of the Defense Health Agency. Conducted across 20 donors at commercial volumes — our largest blood testing program to date — the study found that every protocol tested using the Vitrafy ecosystem met or exceeded the relevant regulatory and quality guidelines for platelet use. Our simplified “no-wash” protocol achieved a mean post-thaw platelet recovery of 94%, outperforming the wash-based standard on platelet recovery, clot strength and the retention of the platelet receptors critical to clotting function.

Vitrafy said its technology could provide “surge capacity” in settings where a reliable supply of platelets was constrained, such as regional hospitals, emergency response, or battlefield environments.

The company added:

With no FDA-approved no-wash cryopreserved platelet product currently available in the United States, the Board believes these results position Vitrafy to address a genuine unmet market need with a differentiated, first-line offering, supported by independent U.S. Army validation.

Vitrafy in FY26 grew revenues 80% to $3.6 million and made a net loss of $16.2 million.

Shares looking cheap, broker says

Morgans said in a research note to clients that the company had spent the year “turning a single commercially unproven cryopreservation platform into three separate, partially validated commercial pathways”.

The broker said this current year would turn on whether those pathways could be converted into material contracts.

They added:

Commercial success is far from a foregone conclusion, but strong scientific data, a forced re-equipment cycle, and a funded runway make VFY a viable contender, in our view, to become the replacement standard in US frozen blood infrastructure, with Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) and animal reproduction providing optionality on top of that core case.

Morgans has a 12-month price target of $5.06 on Vitrafy shares, compared with $3.43 currently.

Vitrafy is valued at $213.8 million.

The post This ASX biotech could rise almost 50%, Morgans says appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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.

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares are charging higher on Wednesday morning.

The Northern Star share price is currently up 8.12% to $25.18, after closing yesterday at $23.29.

At one stage, the gold miner climbed as high as $25.59, taking its gains over the past week to almost 15%.

There hasn’t been a new announcement from Northern Star today.

Instead, investors are reacting to reports that Gold Fields Ltd (NYSE: GFI) could sweeten its takeover proposal after being rejected.

Gold Fields may come back with more cash

The latest development comes after Northern Star revealed on Monday that it had rejected a $38.7 billion takeover proposal from Gold Fields.

The offer would have given Northern Star shareholders 0.3125 new Gold Fields shares and $7.25 cash for each share they owned.

That valued Northern Star at $27 per share when the proposal was made on 14 September, representing a 22% premium to its previous closing price.

However, around 73% of the consideration was made up of Gold Fields shares.

Northern Star wasn’t interested, arguing the proposal materially undervalued the company and would expose shareholders to greater jurisdictional and operational risks.

But Gold Fields doesn’t appear ready to walk away.

Bloomberg reports the South African miner is considering increasing the cash component of its proposal as it looks for a way to win over Northern Star’s board.

No decision has been made, and there’s no guarantee another proposal will arrive.

Still, today’s share price reaction suggests investors are betting that the first offer may not be the last.

Why does Gold Fields want Northern Star?

There is a pretty clear reason Gold Fields is interested.

The two miners have significant operations in Western Australia, creating plenty of opportunities to cut costs and make better use of existing infrastructure.

Gold Fields believes a combination could deliver between US$4 billion and US$5 billion in synergies.

The combined company would produce around 4.1 million ounces of gold annually.

That would make it the world’s second-largest gold producer behind Newmont Corp (ASX: NEM).

What happens next?

I think the next move from Gold Fields will be worth watching closely.

Northern Star has made it clear that $27 per share, with most of the consideration in Gold Fields shares, isn’t enough.

But with Northern Star shares now trading above $25, the gap between the market price and the rejected offer has narrowed considerably.

If Gold Fields wants to get Northern Star’s board to the negotiating table, it may need to put more cash and a higher price on the table.

And judging by today’s 8% jump, investors seem to think there’s a decent chance it will.

The post Why are Northern Star shares rocketing 8% on Wednesday? 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.