Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) shares are pushing higher today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) health imaging company closed on Friday trading for $187.11. As we head into the Monday lunch hour, shares are swapping hands for $188.83 each, up 0.9%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.2% at this same time.

With today’s intraday lift factored in, Pro Medicus shares are now up an impressive 74.6% since notching a one-year closing low of $108.15 on 24 February.

That strong rebound followed months of heavy selling after the stock hit an all-time closing high of $330.48 a share on 17 July 2025.

As you may be aware, that selling pressure came amid a broader global sell-down of Software as a Service (SaaS) stocks.

The so-called SaaSpocalypse hit Pro Medicus and many other stocks dependent on their proprietary software amid concerns that artificial intelligence might replace the services these companies provide.

But with those concerns clearly fading for Pro Medicus over the past five months, is the ASX 200 healthcare share still a good buy today?

Should I buy Pro Medicus shares now?

Alto Capital’s Tony Locantro recently ran his slide rule over the ASX 200 stock (courtesy of The Bull).

“The company provides medical imaging software and services to hospitals and healthcare groups across the world,” he said.

Locantro noted:

The company recently delivered an outstanding first half result in full year 2026. Underlying earnings before interest and tax was up 29.7% and revenue was up 28.4% amid securing more than A$280 million in new contract wins.

But following the strong rebound in Pro Medicus shares since February, Locantro issued a sell recommendation on the stock.

He concluded:

Despite these exceptional fundamentals, the company’s premium valuation reflects high market expectations and leaves limited room for disappointment. While Pro Medicus remains a best-in-class business with strong long-term prospects, the current risk-reward balance supports a view to trim holdings at current levels.

What else did the ASX 200 healthcare share report for H1 FY 2026?

Atop the strong earnings and revenue growth Locantro mentioned above, Pro Medicus shares have also been grabbing investor attention amid surging profits.

The company reported first-half net profit after tax of $171.2 million, up 230.9% year on year.

“Our profits continue to grow strongly even though our biggest implementation during the period in Trinity Cohort 1 went live towards the end of October so had limited impact on the half,” Pro Medicus CEO Sam Hupert said on the day of the results release.

The post Up 75%, are Pro Medicus shares still a good buy now? 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 recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Despite turbulent world events, including the war in the Middle East, Australian superannuation funds have chalked up a fourth straight year of strong returns, with UniSuper Growth edging out its peers to be the best performer over the period.

Excellent superannuation returns once again

Data released by Chant West indicates that the median growth superannuation fund, which is 61% to 80% invested in growth assets, gained a healthy 9.5% during FY26.

Chant West said this followed returns of 9.2% in FY23, 9.1% in FY24, and 10.4% in FY25, “taking the cumulative return to an impressive 44% over the past four years”.

Members invested in higher-risk options would generally have enjoyed even better outcomes, the analytics company said.

Chant West Head of Super Investment Mano Mohankumar said the FY26 result was once again driven by international shares, but it also helped that nearly all asset classes generated positive returns over the period.

He added:

International shares surged 25.5% in hedged terms, supported by continued enthusiasm for AI and robust corporate earnings. Despite the Australian dollar’s appreciation against most major currencies, the return in unhedged terms delivered an impressive 17%. International shares have the highest allocation within a typical growth fund, accounting for about 31% on average. By comparison, Australian shares, which on average has a weighting of 24%, returned a modest 6.2% over the year.

Mr Mohankumar said generally speaking, funds with a higher allocation to international shares performed better.

He added:

Diversification also provided some benefit given the wide dispersion of returns across asset classes, though it would have helped if you had lower allocations to traditional defensive assets. Australian bonds, international bonds and cash returned 1.5%, 2.9% and 3.9%, respectively, making them among the weakest performing asset classes over the year. The only asset class to finish in negative territory was Australian listed property, which declined 1.8%. In contrast, international listed real assets performed exceptionally well, with international listed infrastructure and listed property returning 17.2% and 14.3%, respectively.

Which were the best-performing superannuation funds?

Among growth funds, the top-performing growth funds for the year were UniSuper Growth with 12.3%, NGS Super Diversified with 11.5%, CFS Firstchoice Growth with 11.5%, and Hostplus Balanced with 10.8%.

Mr Mohankumar said that while super funds had delivered four straight years of returns of 9% or more, that level of return shouldn’t be thought of as normal.

He added:

The typical long-term return objective for growth funds is to beat inflation by 3.5% p.a., which translates to roughly 6% p.a. Since the introduction of compulsory super, the annualised return is 8% and the annual CPI increase is 2.7%, giving a real return of 5.3% p.a. – well above that 3.5% target. Even looking at the past 20 years, which includes three major share market downturns – the GFC in 2007-2009, COVID-19 in 2020 and the high inflation and rising interest rates in 2022 – super funds have returned 6.9% p.a., which is still comfortably ahead of the typical objective.

The post Which superannuation fund outperformed its peers last financial year? 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.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) shares climbed as much as 2.5% at Monday’s open before easing to trade around 1.7% higher at $3.97 in early afternoon trade.

The mining giant has been a standout performer over the past year, with its shares gaining 31%, comfortably outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has risen just 1% over the same period.

So, what impressed investors?

South32 unveils strong operating update

South32 released its June quarter production report alongside details of a transformational portfolio reshaping.

The headline announcement of South32 shares was the sale of its aluminium value chain business – excluding Mozal Aluminium – to Alcoa in a deal worth up to US$5.6 billion. The transaction also transfers around US$1.2 billion of rehabilitation provisions and is expected to reshape South32 into a more focused base metals producer.

Operationally, the company also delivered several positive surprises. Copper production at Sierra Gorda exceeded FY26 guidance by 2% and generated record annual distributions of US$401 million. Manganese production also beat expectations, finishing 1% above guidance in Australia and 4% ahead in South Africa.

Group sales volumes rose 15% during the June quarter, unlocking around US$200 million of working capital and supporting stronger cash generation.

South32 also returned US$327 million to shareholders during FY26 through dividends and on-market share buybacks while continuing to invest in future growth, spending approximately US$710 million developing its Hermosa zinc-lead-silver project in Arizona.

What management said

The update also marked the company’s first production report under new CEO Matt Daley, who officially succeeded Graham Kerr on 1 July. Daley said:

We continued to deliver strong operating results, exceeding Group production guidance for FY26. We increased quarterly sales volumes by 15%, capturing the benefit of strong market conditions across many of our commodities, and releasing working capital which added to the Group’s cash generation. On 1 July, we announced a step change for South32, with the sale of our aluminium value chain business to Alcoa. Once complete, this sale will unlock significant value for shareholders and reposition South32 as a leading upstream base metals focused company. Our portfolio will be built around high-margin, long-life assets in favourable jurisdictions, with approximately 85% of pro-forma earnings from base and precious metals and approximately 55% production growth from approved projects.

What else should investors know?

Management highlighted continued strong production from Cannington, Sierra Gorda, and its manganese operations. Development at Hermosa remains on schedule, with key US permitting milestones achieved.

Despite higher freight and raw material costs linked to geopolitical disruptions, South32 said it maintained disciplined cost control across the business.

Looking ahead, the company plans to optimise its existing operations while progressing open-pit development at Cannington and managing water impacts at its Australian manganese business. Updated FY27 production guidance for Australia Manganese is expected with its upcoming full-year results on 27 August.

Daley added:

Looking ahead, our focus on operational excellence, a strong balance sheet and transformational growth in base metals leaves us well positioned to deliver value for shareholders.

The post Why South32 shares edge higher on strong results and landmark deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Marc Van Dinther has positions in South32. 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.