Author: openjargon

DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) shares are falling again in Thursday’s trade. 

At the time of writing, the counter-drone technology company’s shares are down around 1% and trading at $2.52 each.

Today’s decrease is just one of many in a long line of consecutive share price falls. 

DroneShield shares are down 24% year to date and 62% from an all-time high recorded in October last year.

What has happened to the share price?

There has been a significant shift in sentiment around DroneShield shares recently.

After a strong start to the year, when governments around the world hiked their defence budgets, and geopolitical volatility worsened, investors seem to have turned their backs on the stock.

There is now some concern that the company’s future growth may not be large enough to justify its share price. 

Even a flurry of contract wins hasn’t been enough to convince investors. 

At the same time, a combination of recent governance and regulatory issues and the cooling of conflict in the Middle East has dragged DroneShield’s shares down further.

The stock climbed higher during the first week of May, but then turned again after the company announced that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had requested DroneShield to provide reasonable assistance in connection with an investigation under the Corporations Act. The investigation relates to market announcements and share trading in November 2025. 

All this has happened amid a background of signs of easing conflict in the Middle East. While heightened conflict can increase interest in defence technology, particularly counter-drone systems, signs of easing will do the opposite.

So, is it time to buy in the dip or has the market now lost interest in DroneShield shares? 

Here’s what the experts think.

Is it time to invest in DroneShield shares? Or should I look elsewhere?

If analyst forecasts are anything to go by, I wouldn’t jump at buying $5,000 of DroneShield shares just yet.

TradingView data shows that analysts are sharply divided in their outlook for the counter-drone technology stock over the next 12 months, though they mostly agree there will be some upside ahead.

Out of four analysts, two have a strong buy rating, and two have a sell or strong sell rating.

The average $3.41 target price still implies a potential 35% upside at the time of writing. The maximum $4.80 target price implies that DroneShield shares could jump another 91%, while some are even more bearish, tipping the shares to fall around 9% to $2.28.

Canaccord Genuity is one analyst with a more bullish view on the shares. It renewed its buy rating on Droneshield shares earlier this month, with a 12-month price target of $3.75.

The post Should I invest $5,000 in DroneShield shares before the end of June? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Own DroneShield shares? Here’s some news you might have missed
• DroneShield shares lifting off on Monday amid big leadership news
• Here are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• 8 ASX shares with 30% to 220% upside ahead: Experts
• Own DroneShield shares? Here’s some big news

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 DroneShield. 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.

Industrial conglomerate Tasmea Ltd (ASX: TEA) is forecasting net profit to grow by 70% next financial year on the back of a record order book and the contribution from a number of acquisitions.  

Strong order book driving growth

The company said in a statement to the ASX that it expected underlying EBITA to be $202 to $208 million and underlying net profit to be $128 to $132 million.

Both figures would be a 70% uplift from the expected results for the current financial year.

The company said:

Guidance assumes a full 12 months’ contribution from the Maxim Group acquisition which is now unconditional and is expected to settle on 1 July 2026 and includes 11 months earnings from JPS Group, expected to settle on or around 1 August 2026.

Tasmea said it had consistently delivered compounding earnings growth since its initial public offer, “with a multi-year EBIT and NPAT CAGR of more than 50% from FY24 to forecast FY27″.

The company said there were a number of factors which had contributed to this, including growth in high-quality, recurring revenues “with an increasing number of master service agreements, facilities management agreements and long term contract with now more than 120 on foot following recent acquisitions and organic customer growth”.

There were also increasing synergies across the company’s portfolio, and the company said the underlying growth from the Tasmea base business was forecast to grow organically at 10% to 15%.

Tasmea also said there were:

Strong industry tailwinds across Australia’s key industries including mining and resources, data centres and infrastructure, oil and gas, electrification, power and renewables, waste and water, telecommunications, defence and retail.

The company added:

Tasmea’s contracted order book has reached record levels, providing strong forward earnings visibility and reinforcing the Company’s ability to deliver sustained organic earnings growth. Demand is underpinned by structural tailwinds across the Group’s core markets.

Of the company’s expected revenues, 62% would come from recurring revenues and another 17% from secured contracts. Another 12% was expected to come from tendered business.

Management have skin in the game

Tasmea Managing Director Stephen Young said:

We are proud to be providing FY27 earnings guidance that reflects the continued strength and momentum of our business. These results are only possible thanks to the outstanding efforts of our people across the country. I want to sincerely thank all Tasmea employees for their unwavering commitment to safety and operational excellence — the foundation of everything we do. Tasmea’s Executive Directors, Mark, Jason, Trent and I have together reinvested over $50 million in Tasmea since IPO—reflecting our continued confidence in the Company’s outlook, our strategy, and the strength of the team that’s driving it with our core purpose, to Deliver Value. Always!

Tasmea shares have more than tripled from $3.20 to $9.62 over the past 12 months.

The company is now valued at $2.52 billion.

The post This company’s shares have more than tripled. It’s now predicting 70% earnings growth 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.

Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) shares are sinking today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium miner and diversified resources producer closed yesterday trading for $65.86. In late morning trade on Thursday, shares are changing hands for $64.04 apiece, down 2.8%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.5% at this same time, while the S&P/ASX 200 Resource Index (ASX: XJR) is down 1.9%.

Despite today’s retrace, the Mineral Resources share price remains up an impressive 217.5% over the last 12 months, smashing the 2.5% one-year gains posted by the benchmark index.

Now, here’s what investors are mulling over today.

Mineral Resources shares slip amid closure update

In an update this morning deemed non-price sensitive to Mineral Resources shares, the miner reported that it is preparing to mothball its Western Australia-based Lucky Bay Garnet Project at the end of June.

The ASX 200 miner acquired Lucky Bay in September 2025 following an Asset and Share Sale Agreement with the administrators of Resource Development Group.

Today, management reported that fallout from the Middle East conflict has driven up costs, leading to their decision to shutter operations.

Mineral Resources stated:

The mine’s financial performance has been materially impacted by ongoing conflict in the Middle East, a region representing a significant proportion of Lucky Bay’s sales.

Combined with materially higher diesel and shipping costs, a strategic review of Lucky Bay has determined it is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders to cease operations and transition the project into care and maintenance, effective 1 July 2026.

The closure will affect some 110 employees. The miner said they will be offered redeployment opportunities at other work sites where possible.

As for the financial impact on Mineral Resource shares, management said they will assess all future options for Lucky Bay. That includes a potential divestment of the garnet mine.

Mineral Resources expects to book a non-cash impairment on the written down value of Lucky Bay of approximately $40 million for FY 2026.

What else has been happening with the ASX 200 mining stock?

Among the tailwinds sending Mineral Resources shares soaring this past year is the rocketing lithium price.

On 18 May, this led the company to report that it was restarting operations at its Bald Hill lithium mine. The Western Australian lithium mine was placed in care and maintenance in November 2024 amid tumbling lithium prices at the time.

Commenting on the decision to restart Bald Hill, Mineral Resources managing director Chris Ellison said:

With strong and sustained demand for spodumene concentrate driving a significant recovery in prices, the time is right to restart operations at Bald Hill…

Once production resumes at Bald Hill, MinRes will be the only company globally operating three hard rock lithium mines, each with their own spodumene concentrate facilities.

The post Up 218% in a year, Mineral Resources shares sinking today amid mine closure news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Up 200%: Can Mineral Resources shares keep rising?

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.

I’m sure most income investors dream of finding an ASX share with a big dividend yield and even bigger upside.

Well, Bell Potter thinks it has identified one this week.

Which ASX share?

This morning, Bell Potter has initiated coverage on Cash Converters International Ltd (ASX: CCV).

It provides unsecured lending and second-hand retail services in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and other international markets.

At the last count, it was operating through a network of 197 corporate owned stores and 459 franchised stores.

Bell Potter is feeling positive on the company’s global growth outlook and highlights its better-quality loan book as a reason to be bullish. It said:

CCV has embarked on an aggressive acquisition strategy, having bought back 120 franchises since FY21 across ANZ and the UK, with the company now controlling ~30% of the global Cash Converters branded store network. Each acquisition is accretive to the group, and we expect ~17 new store additions in the near-to-medium term (UK weighted) to add ~$5.3m in EBITDA pre-operational improvements, and a pipeline of 176 further global acquisitions identified, with management flagging Europe as the next expansion region.

The introduction of the new line-of-credit Cashies loan is progressively reshaping CCV’s loan book towards stronger credit quality customers, resulting in lower bad debt expense and improving Net Interest Margin’s (NIM), with the run-down loan book to be completed over the next 24-36 months.

Initiated with a buy rating

According to the note, the broker has initiated coverage on the ASX share with a buy rating and 34 cents price target.

Based on its current share price of 30 cents, this implies potential upside of 13% for investors over the next 12 months.

In addition, Bell Potter is forecasting fully franked dividends of 2 cents per share in FY 2026 and through to FY 2028. This equates to dividend yields of approximately 6.7%.

Commenting on its buy recommendation, the broker said:

We view CCV’s scale, global brand recognition and acquisition pipeline as competitive advantages that position its retail business to capitalise on growing demand for second-hand goods, supported by cost-of-living pressures and increasing consumer appreciation of the circular economy.

In consumer lending, we view the wind-down of legacy, lower-quality loan books as prudent, as it shifts portfolio exposure towards higher-quality borrowers with lower loss profiles and stronger margins, particularly as improved loan book quality supports a reduction in funding costs.

The post Top broker just put a buy rating on this ASX share with 6.7% yield appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• A deal with Pro Medicus has turned this ASX biotech into a 10-bagger, up more than 30% today
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• Up 129% in a year, guess which ASX All Ords gold stock just reported a big resource increase

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 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.

Shares in Echo IQ Ltd (ASX: EIQ) shot up more than 50% to record highs in early trade after the company announced a strategic investment from and a US commercial partnership with major imaging technology company Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME).

Shares hitting new highs

Echo IQ shares hit a high of $1.87, up 50.8%, before settling back to be changing hands for $1.72, up 38.7% by mid-morning. The shares have increased from lows of 16.5 cents over the past 12 months.

The company said in a statement to the ASX that Pro Medicus had agreed to invest an initial $10 million in the company through a subscription for secured convertible notes, with the right to subscribe for a further $10 million once Echo IQ had its EchoSolv HF product cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration.

EchoSolv HF is an AI-powered heart failure detection software.

Pro Medicus has also agreed to become a reseller for EchoSolv, “providing potential access to an extensive network of leading US health systems, academic medical centres and enterprise healthcare customers”.

Echo IQ said regarding the deal:

The proposed partnership represents a significant strategic milestone for Echo IQ. Beyond the proposed investment, the arrangement has the potential to provide exceptional validation for Echo IQ and access to a leading healthcare technology platform with an extensive US based customer network, supporting the Company’s strategy to accelerate adoption of its AI-powered cardiac diagnostic solutions across the US. Pro Medicus is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most successful healthcare technology companies and a global leader in enterprise medical imaging software. Through its Visage platform, Pro Medicus provides mission critical imaging solutions to many of the largest health systems, academic medical centres and integrated delivery networks throughout the US.

Access to markets a key element of the deal

Echo IQ Chief Executive Officer Dustin Haines added:

The execution of this binding Heads of Agreement with Pro Medicus represents a transformational milestone for Echo IQ and a significant validation of both our technology and long-term commercial strategy, while also providing exceptional financial flexibility to accelerate our commercialisation activities in the US. Importantly, this proposed partnership extends far beyond the investment itself. Through Pro Medicus, we have the opportunity to leverage an established healthcare platform, trusted customer relationships and a highly experienced commercial organisation with deep penetration into the US healthcare market. We believe this creates a compelling pathway to accelerate awareness, adoption and commercialisation of EchoSolv across a broad range of healthcare providers.

RBC Capital Markets said in a note to clients that the deal was also positive for Pro Medicus, as “the deal delivers both an economic interest and a product that deepens its cardiology value proposition through the embedding of an AI diagnostic capability directly onto Visage”.

Pro Medicus shares were 1.6% higher at $181.95. RBC has a price target of $195 on the shares.

The post A deal with Pro Medicus has turned this ASX biotech into a 10-bagger, up more than 30% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has positions in Pro Medicus. 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.

Now could be a good time to buy the small-cap ASX tech share in this article.

That’s the view of analysts at Bell Potter, who are tipping big returns from its shares for investors over the next 12 months.

Which small-cap ASX tech share?

Bell Potter is positive on WRKR Ltd (ASX: WRK). It is a regulation technology company for Australian employers across the employee lifecycle, with a core focus on managing superannuation compliance events.

While the broker has revised its estimates to reflect a slight slowdown, it remains very positive on the future. It said:

While iconic businesses are moving fast, the mid-market is seen to slow things down, extending beyond the July deadline. We revise FY27 revenue and include a cautious scenario, based on the lower end of the guidance range ($30-35m in exit rate ARR). There are a few good moving parts like: 1) $5m in float-based income, 2) $10m of different ARR attached to PaidRight (on track to do $4m), 3) another $5m opportunity tied to the small business clearing house, and 4) $2m from electronic service addresses.

However, we see fewer pathways to an immediate positive surprise, with the commercial terms between WRK and MUFG nearing renegotiation. A second look at AustralianSuper and its grassroots have resulted in changes. Our FY27 revenue is reduced from $36m to $32m from counterparty risk. At worst, we expect a three-month delay. The ATO should have a low tolerance for those showing little attempt to meet their obligations.

Big potential returns

According to the note, Bell Potter has retained its speculative buy rating on the small-cap ASX tech share with a trimmed price target of 15 cents.

Based on its current share price of 9.2 cents, this implies potential upside of 63% for investors with a high tolerance for risk over the next 12 months.

Commenting on its investment thesis, Bell Potter said:

Our Buy (Spec.) rating is unchanged. We risk up ahead of the quarterly update. While we expect strong early metrics from the platform, the outlook now reads less positive on closer look. WRK has mapped out $12m of insurance and detailed the next $10m expansion phase, which could grow into a similar sized standalone. Either this gains pace, Rest and AustralianSuper benefit in isolation, or new MUFG clients are signed.

The post Guess which small-cap ASX tech share could rise 60% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Up 218% in a year, Mineral Resources shares sinking today amid mine closure news
• Top broker just put a buy rating on this ASX share with 6.7% yield
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• Lendlease offloads Keyton stake in $525m deal
• Up 129% in a year, guess which ASX All Ords gold stock just reported a big resource increase

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 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.

The Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC)share price is in focus today after the company announced it will sell its 25.1% interest in the Keyton Retirement Living Trust to Aware Super for $525 million, with proceeds going towards reducing group debt. This key deal is part of Lendlease’s ongoing capital recycling initiative, which now totals $3.4 billion in announced and completed transactions.

What did Lendlease report?

• Sale of 25.1% interest in Keyton Retirement Living Trust for $525 million
• Transaction proceeds to be used to pay down group debt
• Deal aligns with HY26 book value
• Brings total announced/completed capital recycling to $3.4 billion from the Capital Release Unit
• Completion subject to regulatory approvals, targeted for 1H FY27

What else do investors need to know?

The sale to Aware Super is expected to complete in the first half of FY27, once conditions precedent—including regulatory approvals—are met. Today’s news follows a series of asset sales under Lendlease’s Capital Release Unit, with more than $3.4 billion in transactions either announced or completed since May 2024.

Management says further key transactions are in the pipeline for FY26 and early FY27, reflecting the company’s focus on recycling capital and strengthening its balance sheet. Outcomes for the rest of the Capital Release Unit portfolio will depend on market conditions and transaction timing.

What’s next for Lendlease?

Lendlease continues to pursue capital recycling as a way to realise value and support future growth. Management remains focused on balancing speed and execution with maximising value from its portfolio.

With several transactions still to be completed and others underway, investors can expect ongoing updates as Lendlease streamlines its business and manages debt levels in a challenging market environment.

Lendlease share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Lendlease shares have declined 44%, trailing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has risen 3% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Lendlease offloads Keyton stake in $525m deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart 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. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has gained 2.3% over the last year, with this ASX All Ords gold stock leaving those gains wanting.

The high-flying miner in question is New Murchison Gold Ltd (ASX: NMG).

New Murchison shares closed yesterday trading 4.4 cents. In early morning trade on Thursday, shares are changing hands for 43.5 cents apiece, down 1.1%.

Despite today’s dip, that sees the New Murchison Gold share price up an impressive 129% over the past 12 months.

Here’s what’s happening today with the ASX All Ords gold stock.

ASX All Ords gold stock expanding its WA footprint

New Murchison shares look to be under pressure today amid broader weakness in the gold sector.

Overnight, the gold price dipped below US$4,000 per ounce for the first time in 2026. The yellow metal has been in a downtrend over the past month amid rising inflation in Australia, the United States, and most nations.

That’s led to increased expectations of central bank interest rate hikes, particularly the highly influential US Federal Reserve. And gold, which pays no yield itself, tends to perform better in low or declining interest rate environments.

Over the past few hours, the gold price has recovered to US$4,011 per ounce (according to data from Bloomberg). But that hasn’t kept the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) from tumbling 3.9% today.

As for New Murchison Gold, in an announcement this morning that should offer longer-term support for the gold miner’s shares, the miner reported on a material Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) upgrade at its flagship Garden Gully Gold Project, located in Western Australia.

The ASX All Ords gold stock said the new estimates were compiled by independent consultancies, incorporating New Murchison’s updated structural interpretations and latest drilling data at the project.

Management noted, “This global update significantly expands NMG’s production pipeline and underscores the scaling potential of the Garden Gully goldfield.”

Indeed, the project’s MRE reportedly increased by 47%. This expands the total remaining resource to 4.42 million tonnes at 2.5 grams of gold per tonne for 359,000 ounces of contained gold.

The miner highlighted that this represents a 29% increase over the November 2024 MRE estimate. When including full, reconciled production mining up to April 1, 2026, it’s an even more impressive 47% total increase.

“The combined Measured and Indicated categories account for 71% of the global project ounces, ensuring excellent local grade predictability for near-term mine planning,” management said.

Since the 2024 Crown Prince MRE, the ASX All Ords gold stock has followed up on infill and extensional targets and carried out tighter spaced grade control campaigns to increase resource confidence.

The miner noted that the Measured Resource component of 39,000 ounces at 3.83 grams of gold per tonne at the Crown Prince Open Pit deposit, situated within Garden Gully, provides immediate, low-risk mill feed.

The post Up 129% in a year, guess which ASX All Ords gold stock just reported a big resource increase appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Up 218% in a year, Mineral Resources shares sinking today amid mine closure news
• Top broker just put a buy rating on this ASX share with 6.7% yield
• A deal with Pro Medicus has turned this ASX biotech into a 10-bagger, up more than 30% today
• Guess which small-cap ASX tech share could rise 60%
• Lendlease offloads Keyton stake in $525m deal

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.

Lotus Resources Ltd (ASX: LOT) shares have been out of action for a few days now.

And any hopes that they would be coming back soon have been dashed after the uranium developer requested an extension to its voluntary suspension.

The ASX uranium stock now expects to remain suspended until at least 16 July.

Why is this ASX uranium stock suspended?

The company has requested the suspension while it works to secure funding and resolve operational issues at its flagship Kayelekera uranium mine in Malawi.

According to the release, production at Kayelekera has been temporarily paused following disruptions to third-party sulphuric acid supplies and delays commissioning its on-site acid plant.

Lotus Resources said the disruption to acid supply has been linked to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which have affected the availability and cost of sulphur and sulphuric acid.

Compounding the issue, several refractory bricks in the mine’s sulphur furnace failed during commissioning, requiring repairs before the acid plant can resume normal operations.

As a result, steady-state production is now expected later in calendar year 2026, subject to both acid supply and funding.

Funding now a key focus

The company also acknowledged that additional funding is required.

The ASX uranium stock finished the period with a cash balance of US$26 million but said external funding will be necessary to support operations and complete the restart of Kayelekera.

The good news is that Lotus has signed a non-binding term sheet with global commodities trader Mercuria Energy Trading for a marketing agreement and a proposed US$30 million inventory prepayment facility. Binding documentation is now being negotiated.

In addition, the company is pursuing equity and quasi-equity funding options.

However, Lotus warned there is no guarantee any funding arrangements will ultimately be completed.

Production had been improving

Before the latest setbacks, Kayelekera had been showing encouraging signs of improvement.

Production increased from 47,300 pounds of uranium oxide in April to 73,600 pounds in May following operational optimisation initiatives and maintenance improvements.

The company also continues to make progress on export approvals and logistics, with first shipments now expected no earlier than September 2026, subject to remaining permits being secured.

Why the suspension?

The ASX uranium stock said it believes allowing its shares to trade before the funding process is complete could result in the market trading on an uninformed basis and potentially prejudice its ability to finalise financing.

Accordingly, it has asked the ASX to keep its shares suspended until the earlier of announcing a completed funding solution or the resumption of trading on 16 July.

While management maintains that Kayelekera’s long-term investment case remains intact, investors will no doubt want to see the funding package secured and production restart before confidence is fully restored.

The post What’s going on with this ASX uranium stock? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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 have fallen even further into the red in Thursday morning trade.

At the time of writing, the shares are down around 2% and changing hands at $20.22 a piece.

The latest decline means the ASX gold miner’s shares are now around 17% lower for the year-to-date but still roughly 5% above trading levels seen this time last year.

What happened to Northern Star Resources shares this year?

The shares had an incredibly strong start to 2026, climbing almost 30% to an all-time high of $31.73 in early March.

But investors quickly sold their shares in the ASX gold miner shortly after its operational update, causing a 46% share price crash. The shares are now trading around 36% below that peak.

The company also downgraded its FY26 production outlook on two separate occasions earlier this year. At the time, management flagged a weaker-than-expected performance across several key operations.

Gold price weakness also added further pressure. Throughout March, the price of the safe-haven metal crashed from around US$5,300 per ounce to around US$4,300 per ounce. The drop came on the back of inflation concerns and liquidity pressures, which resulted directly from an outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.

The outbreak of the Iran war led investors to sell liquid assets, including gold, to raise cash as broader markets declined. At the same time, rising oil prices increased inflation concerns and raised the prospect of higher interest rates, which is typically negative for gold.

As a gold producer, Northern Star’s revenue is heavily dependent on the price of gold. Falling gold prices, combined with a lower production outlook, have compressed the company’s share price this year.

The question now is, can they recover? Or is there more downside ahead?

Are the shares a buy, sell or hold now?

According to the experts, there is still plenty of potential for the ASX gold stock to recover over the next 12 months.

Market Index data shows that the majority of brokers have a buy rating on the Northern Star shares. The $27.74 target price implies a potential upside of around 37% at the time of writing.

On TradingView data, analysts are significantly more bullish. Out of 18 analysts, 11 have a buy or strong buy rating on the stock. Another five rate the gold shares as a hold, and two have a sell stance. 

The average $26.37 target price implies a potential 30% upside at the time of writing. But some think Northern Star shares could soar another 65% to $33.50 over the next 12 months.

Bell Potter is one of the more bullish brokers on Northern Star shares. It has a buy rating and $35 target price. It notes that while the guidance downgrades are disappointing, it still sees potential positives given the high capital and operating costs at some of the company’s sites.

Baker Young has a sell rating on the shares. He said that the miner has underperformed and that the team would seek alternative gold exposure.

The post Down 36%: Will Northern Star shares ever recover? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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.