Australian sharemarkets have been chopping through the past seven months as investors come to terms with global uncertainty, interest rate changes, and soaring inflation.

When times are tough, investors tend to lean towards established ASX shares that have long track records.

Here’s what brokers expect from these three well-known ASX shares next.

Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)

Supermarket giant Woolworths has performed well this year. For the year to date, its shares are up around 32%, mostly trending higher over the past seven months. 

It looks like the steady increase was driven by renewed investor confidence. Many are confident that the retailer’s earnings are recovering after a difficult period in late 2025.

Earlier this year, in February, Woolworths posted a stronger-than-expected first-half result and confirmed it is actively pursuing cost-cutting initiatives to help support margins and earnings over time. 

It looks like the efforts are coming to fruition, too.

But now, after an incredible run, Woolworths shares look to have reached their peak and are trading around fair value. 

TradingView data shows that nine out of 17 analysts have a hold rating on the supermarket stock. Another four rate the shares as a buy or strong buy, and four rate Woolworths shares as a strong sell. The average $36.33 target price now implies a potential 7% downside over the next 12 months, at the time of writing.

Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD)

Elders is a high-quality mid-cap ASX 300 stock that is a leading supplier of fertiliser, agricultural chemicals, and animal health products to rural and regional Australia. It has strong agency positions in livestock, wool, and real estate.

The Elders share price is usually pretty stable, but in May this year it crashed 23% within a day after the release of its half-year results.

The company reported a 25% increase in operating revenue, a 19% increase in EBIT, and a 1% decrease in underlying NPAT. The figures came in well below expectations, and investors quickly sold off the shares.

The ASX shares tumbled even lower in the following few weeks, bottoming at an all-time low of $5 in late June. But they’ve now started rebounding, up around 12% to the time of writing.

It looks like many brokers think the rebound can keep going too.

TradingView data shows that the majority (five out of eight) have a buy or strong buy rating on the shares. The average $6.52 target price implies a potential 17% upside at the time of writing. 

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Wesfarmers shares had a difficult start to the year and slumped to an annual low in mid-May. But the retail conglomerate quickly recovered, and the shares are now around 24% higher than that point at the time of writing. For the year to date, Wesfarmers shares are around 8% higher.

The business benefited from an uptick in consumer spending and news that interest rates could start falling. Wesfarmers’ sheer scale and market dominance across several retail sectors have also helped reinforce the company’s competitive advantage.

Wesfarmers has been actively expanding too, including opening new Anko stores in the Philippines, and its Kmart segment is testing larger K Home stores locally.

But now, after a huge share price rebound, Wesfarmers shares look a little overpriced.

TradingView data shows that half (seven out of 14) of analysts have a strong sell rating on the stock. Another six rate Wesfarmers shares as a hold. Only one broker now holds a buy rating. The average $77.53 target price implies a potential 12% downside, at the time of writing.

The post Buy, hold, sell: Woolworths, Elders, Wesfarmers shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How much does Morgan Stanley think Wesfarmers shares will fall?
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• Up 29% since May, can Wesfarmers shares keep surging higher?

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 positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Elders and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) shares are climbing higher into the green today.

At the time of writing, the shares are up around 4% at $55.57 a piece.

The increase is great news for investors after a volatile run so far this year. The shares have swung wildly, ranging from $27.65 to $74.94 over the past 12 months. 

For the year to date, they’re roughly flat, and they’re around 81% higher than 12 months ago.

So if I bought $1,000 of Minerals Resources shares 12 months ago, what would they be worth today?

This time last year, the miner’s shares were close to a multi-year low and trading hands for $30.66 each. Today they’re trading 81% higher.

That means your $1,000 investment in July last year would now be worth closer to $1,810.

That’s a decent increase!

What’s ahead for Mineral Resources shares?

The experts are incredibly bullish about the upside for Mineral Resources shares over the next 12 months.

Market Index data shows that all brokers agree on a buy rating on the ASX mining share. The average $79.83 target price implies an upside of around 50% at the time of writing. 

The data is similar on TradingView. Sentiment is more mixed, but the majority (10 out of 16) have a buy or strong buy rating on the shares.

The average target price is lower at $69.68, implying a potential 26% upside at the time of writing. But more bullish analysts expect the shares to increase 55% to around $86 a piece over the next 12 months.

If analyst forecasts are correct, your $1,000 investment last year could be worth around $2,800 by July 2027.

What could drive the share price higher over the next 12 months?

It looks like the key driver of a share price increase over the next year is that the ASX mining stock is still considered oversold and below fair value.

Mineral Resources suffered a sharp share price crash in mid-2024, before bottoming at a five-year low in early 2025. Since then, there has been an impressive recovery. But it appears that the miner has a lot more to bring to the table.

Mineral Resources has major exposure to lithium and has ridden the wave of soaring lithium carbonate prices through early 2026. 

The miner confirmed plans to restart operations at its 100%-owned Bald Hill lithium mine in May, following a “significant and sustained recovery” in lithium prices.

Later the same month, site activity ramped up, and the first production blast was successfully completed in early June.

The initial shipment is expected to depart through the Port of Esperance in the first quarter of FY27.

The post If I invested $1,000 into Mineral Resources shares 12 months ago, guess what I’d have today! appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Experts name 3 big-name ASX 200 shares to sell
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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.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp (NASDAQ: SPCX) founder Elon Musk is on record as saying the newly listed company will be “worth more than Earth if we achieve our goals”. However, investors who bought shares in the initial public offering are now deeply underwater.

SpaceX shares plumbing new lows

SpaceX shares fell another 6.7% overnight to close at US$115.26, well below the US$135 initial public offer (IPO) price and more than US$100 lower than the high of US$225.64 achieved in the days following the company’s listing on the US NASDAQ exchange.

There has been no specific market-moving news putting downward pressure on the shares; however, the company’s IPO disclosures show that two of its three divisions continue to burn cash, with only the Starlink connectivity division making money.

With that in mind, investors will be focused on the company’s first earnings report, which it announced this week will be scheduled for August 4.

According to US business news outlet CNBC, this will also trigger the ability for insiders to begin trading a portion of their shares, which could put further downward pressure on the share price.

US news outlets have also widely reported that the company has been the target of short sellers, with as much as a third of its public float being shorted.

Mr Musk took aim at the short sellers in a post on X last week, where he declared, “The survival probability of firms who maintain a significant short position in SpaceX over time is very low”.

Market watchers see longer-term upside in SpaceX shares

Analysts are almost universally bullish about the company’s prospects, with Yahoo reporting that, of the 13 analysts following the stock, the lowest price target is US$200.

A UBS report published in Australia earlier this month put a price target of US$210 on the company.

The UBS team said that as the company brings its Starship rocket system into service, the total addressable market for the company could increase to US$30 trillion.

UBS added:

We view SpaceX as an unparalleled set of assets with a multifaceted return profile and multiple drivers of upside for long term, risk tolerant investors. Starship – the most advanced heavy-lift, re-usable rocket – is the foundational technology that unlocks opportunities in launch, communications and AI compute creating a total addressable market nearing US$30T. Starship would effectively give SpaceX commercial control over access to space for the next decade, and we expect revenues/EBITDA to grow at a ~70%/90% CAGR through ’31 to US$660B/US$512B as opportunities in AI and connectivity scale and rapid reusability drives the launch cost per kilogram to just $200 from $1K currently ($50K for the space shuttle).  

UBS said while it was not factored into their base investment case, SpaceX was “uniquely positioned to exploit off planet business models as they emerge, providing investors a call option as Elon Musk looks to fulfill his vision of making life multiplanetary”.

The post SpaceX shares continue to slide. What’s the next catalyst for a recovery? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 9 ASX 200 shares with refreshed buy ratings this week
• 3 ASX 200 stocks smashing new 52-week-plus highs today
• Why is this ASX lithium stock racing 9% higher today?
• Why Sandfire, Domino’s and Macquarie shares are making waves on Thursday
• 8 ASX 200 shares downgraded by experts this week

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.