• REA shares fall 43% to a three-year low. Is it time to buy?

    A bored man sits at his desk, flat after seeing the latest news on the share market.

    REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA) shares have fallen further into the red in Tuesday morning trade.

    At the time of writing, the shares are down around another 2% and are changing hands for $133.12 a piece.

    Today’s drop is the latest of a long string of share price declines. 

    In fact, REA shares have suffered a gradual but relentless downturn since the company announced the appointment of a new CEO in August last year. 

    REA shares dropped from above $260 in August 2025 to around the $150-range by March 2026. And now they tumbled even further.

    The shares are now down around 28% year to date and roughly 43% lower than this time last year.

    What has happened to REA shares?

    REA was previously one of the more expensive stocks on the ASX. It was supported by strong profits, its dominant position in online property listings, and a robust property market.

    Investors were expecting years of strong growth. But indications that the Reserve Bank would begin another interest rate hike cycle in late 2025 saw many investors shy away from the high-growth property share. 

    Rising rates, softer lending demand, and concerns about tax changes affecting property investors have led the market to forecast weaker house prices and transaction volumes. 

    Given REA earns a significant portion of its revenue from property advertising, analysts and investors are concerned that a weaker housing market will translate to fewer homes for sale and therefore a lower advertising spend. This directly affects REA’s bottom line.

    The company’s latest financial results haven’t helped either.

    REA reported robust second-quarter FY26 results in early February. But the figures came in short of market expectations, and investors were spooked. 

    The company’s third-quarter results update in early May was a little more optimistic. But the small share price uptick was short-lived and quickly followed by huge losses.

    Is there any chance of a rebound ahead?

    Analysts are divided on their outlook for REA shares, but it looks like they mostly agree we’ll see some upside ahead.

    Market Index data shows that the majority have a hold rating on REA shares. But after the latest share price slump, the average $181.20 target price now implies an upside of around 36%, at the time of writing.

    Over on TradingView data, analysts are a little more positive. The majority (nine out of 16) have a buy or strong buy rating. Another six rate the stock as a hold. 

    The average $198.12 target price implies a potential 48% upside over the next 12 months, at the time of writing. However, some are tipping the share price to rocket another 86% to $249 a piece. 

    The post REA shares fall 43% to a three-year low. Is it time to buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in REA Group right now?

    Before you buy REA Group shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and REA Group wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 16 June 2026

    .custom-cta-button p {
    margin-bottom: 0 !important;
    }

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies 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.

  • Woolworths shares soar to new multi-year high: Buy, sell or hold?

    A man in a supermarket strikes an unlikely pose while pushing a trolley, lifting both legs sideways off the ground and looking mildly rattled with a wide-mouthed expression.

    Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares have climbed around another 0.2% to a three-year high of $38.60 on Tuesday morning.

    At the time of writing, the shares are up a huge 31% year to date. They’re also around 23% higher than 12 months ago.

    It’s been a bumpy ride for the ASX supermarket giant’s shares over the past 12 months, with its share price jumping anywhere between $25.51 and $38.55 a piece. 

    While the volatility has continued throughout the first six months of 2026, the shares have been generally trending higher.

    The latest dip came about after Woolworths posted its third-quarter sales update in late April. For the 13 weeks to the 5th of April, the supermarket major reported total sales of $18.1 billion, up 4.5% from Q3 in FY25. Its Australian Food sales were up 5.9% year on year to $13.8 billion. 

    The company said that underlying trading momentum remained solid, but management noted they have seen “some signs of increased customer caution”.

    Investors were spooked and quickly offloaded their shares.

    But the stock was quickly considered oversold and undervalued, and investors started buying back in. Over the past five weeks alone, Woolworths shares have rebounded nearly 19%.

    Why is everyone snapping up Woolworths shares again?

    There hasn’t been any price-sensitive news out of Woolworths since its third-quarter sales result in late April, but the retail giant has hit headlines recently.

    Two weeks ago, the AFR reported that Woolworths has outlined plans to offshore hundreds of corporate roles as part of a $400 million office cost reduction push. 

    The corporate jobs include staff in financial, human resources, and IT. It comes as part of the company’s plan to simplify operations and reduce costs to maintain its competitive advantage.

    A Woolworths spokesperson confirmed the outsourcing but declined to say how many workers would be affected. The corporate office employs almost 10,000 staff.

    It looks like investors were pleased with the news. The Woolworths share price ended the day in the green and has climbed higher since.

    The update comes on the back of the company’s better-than-expected first-half profit result, an upgraded outlook, and progress on its cost-savings plans.

    The question now is, can confidence keep building further?

    Are Woolworths shares a buy, sell, or hold now?

    Analysts are divided about the outlook for Woolworths shares over the next 12 months.

    Market Index data shows that the majority of brokers have a hold rating, but the $35.46 average target price implies a potential 8% downside at the time of writing.

    TradingView data shows something very similar. The majority of analysts have a hold rating on the supermarket stock. The average $35.02 target price also implies a 9% downside at the time of writing. Even the maximum $39 target price only implies a minor 1% upside after the latest price rally.

    The post Woolworths shares soar to new multi-year high: Buy, sell or hold? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Woolworths Group right now?

    Before you buy Woolworths Group shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Woolworths Group wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 16 June 2026

    .custom-cta-button p {
    margin-bottom: 0 !important;
    }

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies 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.

  • Guess which ASX 200 gold stock is jumping today on a 20% resource boost

    Woman with gold nuggets on her hand.

    S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock Catalyst Metals Ltd (ASX: CYL) is marching higher today.

    Catalyst Metals shares closed yesterday trading for $6.10. In early morning trade on Tuesday, shares are changing hands for $6.32 apiece, up 3.6%.

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

    Among the tailwinds helping lift the miner today is the overnight uptick in the gold price. Currently trading for US$4,191 per ounce, the gold price is up 1.2% since this time yesterday (according to data from Bloomberg).

    Here’s what else is grabbing investor interest.

    ASX 200 gold stock gains on resource boost

    Catalyst Metals shares are marching higher after the miner released an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its Trident underground gold deposit, located in Western Australia.

    The ASX 200 gold stock is currently developing the Trident mine, where it recently completed an open pit to enable development of an underground portal.

    Catalyst’s Trident underground will be the fourth mine to be developed on the Plutonic Belt. The other three are Plutonic East, Trident open pit, and K2.

    When Catalyst acquired Trident in 2023 to complete a consolidation of the Plutonic Gold Belt, the project had a resource of 524,000 ounces at 3.6 grams of gold per tonne.

    The miner noted that the resource now stands at 1.1 million ounces at 5.4g/t Au.

    Promisingly, Catalyst said that the more tightly drilled indicated resources have increased by 20% from prior estimates to 633,000 ounces at 6.3g/t Au. The company expects this will underpin a roughly 10-year mine plan at an average run-rate of some 60,000 ounces per year.

    The ASX 200 gold stock highlighted that Trident remains the second-largest deposit on the Plutonic Belt. The project is expected to form a second, higher grade base load ore source for the central Plutonic processing plant.

    That’s all part of Catalyst’s plan to increase its annual gold production from 100,000 ounces to 200,000 ounces.

    What did Catalyst Metals management say?

    Commenting on the updated MRE that is helping lift the ASX 200 gold stock in early trade today, Catalyst Metals managing director & CEO James Champion de Crespigny said, “Our exploration team continues to have success across the belt, meaningfully growing Trident, Plutonic Main, Cinnamon, K2 and Old Highway. “

    Champion de Crespigny added:

    This 145% increase in Trident’s indicated resources, and achievement of this 1-million-ounce milestone, is a testament to their persistence.

    A key focus now is on developing the Trident orebody. With the open pit completed, the successful development of the underground, and path to around 200,000 ounces, is becoming ever more likely.

    Catalyst expects the first stoping ore from the underground mine in the first half of calendar year 2027.

    The post Guess which ASX 200 gold stock is jumping today on a 20% resource boost appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Catalyst Metals right now?

    Before you buy Catalyst Metals shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Catalyst Metals wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 16 June 2026

    .custom-cta-button p {
    margin-bottom: 0 !important;
    }

    More reading

    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 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.