Author: therawinformant

At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is off its morning lows but still trading notably lower. The benchmark index is currently down 1.2% to 5,853.3 points.

Here’s what has been happening on the market today:

Westpac hit with $1.3 billion penalty.

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has dropped lower today after revealing that it has agreed to a settlement with AUSTRAC. The banking giant has agreed to pay a penalty of $1.3 billion for its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism and Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF) contraventions. This makes it the largest fine in Australian corporate history. It was also more than the $900 million the bank was expecting to pay. The Federal Court still needs to approve the settlement.

Tech shares tumble.

It has been a disappointing day of trade for the tech sector. The likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) have come under pressure after a tech selloff on Wall Street led to the Nasdaq index dropping 3% overnight. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is down 1.7%.

Brickworks FY 2020 result.

The Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) share price is trading lower today after the release of its full year results. For the 12 months ended 31 July 2020, the building products and property development company posted a 4% increase in revenue to $953 million and a 38% decline in underlying net profit after tax to $146 million. This was driven largely by its Australian operations and its investments. This fell short of the market’s expectations.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers.

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF) share price with a gain of almost 4% despite there being no news out of the annuities company. Though, last week Credit Suisse upgraded its shares to an outperform rating with a $4.25 price target. The worst performer has been the Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price with a decline of almost 5%. This follows a sharp pullback in the spot gold price.

More reading

• BHP (ASX:BHP) share price falls despite new option agreement
• Crashing gold price could still rally to record high before year-end: Citi
• Why Afterpay, Evolution, Westpac, & Whitehaven shares are sinking lower today
• Why I would buy Altium (ASX:ALU) and these ASX growth shares
• The ASX stocks most leveraged to the Victorian economy re-start

James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks and Challenger Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Osprey Medical Inc (ASX: OSP) share price is on the move today as the company announced a deal with Regional Health Care Group to distribute Osprey products. At the time of writing, the Osprey share price is trading 4.17% higher at 2.5 cents.

What Osprey does

Osprey Medical aims to make heart imaging procedures safer for patients with poor kidney function. The company’s core technologies originated from research conducted by Dr David Kaye at Melbourne’s Baker Institute.

Its proprietary dye reduction and monitoring technologies are designed to help physicians minimise dye usage and monitor the dose levels of dye in real time throughout the procedure, potentially saving lives and money in the process.

Distribution agreement

This morning, the Osprey share price has shot up as the company announced a new distribution agreement. Osprey announced an agreement with Australian owned medical distribution company, Regional Health Care Group (RHCG). The deal will see RHCG exclusively distribute Osprey’s products across Australia and New Zealand.

The three year deal will result in Osprey’s technology being made available to healthcare professionals across both Australia and New Zealand for the first time. Furthermore, the contract has annual minimum sales volumes and a fixed transfer price over the term of the agreement providing sales security for Osprey.

This agreement complements the company’s strategic alliance with GE Healthcare which provides exclusive distribution of Osprey’s product portfolio.

Osprey’s President and CEO, Mike McCormick, said of the deal:

We are excited to enter this agreement with RHCG which will see the Australian developed technology coming to the Australian and New Zealand markets. Our technology originates from Australia and it has been a long-held desire to offer it to Australian healthcare professionals. This agreement is the first step in addressing the rising issue of CI-AKI as a result of heart imaging procedures in patients with CKD.

An alarming 25% of patients having heart procedures are at risk of having a CI-AKI event, which is sudden damage to the kidneys caused by the x-ray imaging dye. CI-AKI frequently leads to negative patient outcomes, longer hospital stays and, in some cases, kidney failure and death.

What now for the Osprey share price?

The Osprey share price has been on a steady decline since the initial announcement of the deal with GE Healthcare at the end of July. Shareholders will be hoping that as the company starts to reap the rewards of the partnership, it will have a change in fortunes.

The Osprey share price is currently up 4.17%, however it remains more than 60% lower than its 52-week high of 6.3 cents. The Osprey share price is down 16.67% since the start of the year.

More reading

• I waited 10 years before pouncing on this stock
• BHP (ASX:BHP) share price falls despite new option agreement
• Crashing gold price could still rally to record high before year-end: Citi
• New to investing? I would invest $500 into these exciting ASX shares
• ASX 200 down 1.2%: Westpac hit with $1.3bn penalty, Brickworks disappoints, tech shares lower

Motley Fool contributor Daniel Ewing has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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It has been a disappointing day of trade for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) on Thursday. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 1% to 5,869.3 points.

Four shares that have not let that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are pushing higher today:

The Iron Road Limited (ASX: IRD) share price has rocketed 59% higher to 17.5 cents. This morning the iron ore company announced that it has entered into a joint development agreement with Macquarie Capital and Eyre Peninsula Co-operative Bulk Handling. The agreement provides the framework to advance development and financing plans for the proposed $250 million Cape Hardy Stage I multi-user, multi-commodity port facility.

The Nuchev Ltd (ASX: NUC) share price is up 7% to $1.99. This morning the junior infant formula company announced a strategic partnership with Blue Ocean International. Blue Ocean is a top tier distributor and will manage the sales and distribution of Nuchev’s premium Oli6 goat infant formula brand across a number of key platforms and territories in China.

The Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) share price is up 3% to $1.83. Investors have been buying the biopharmaceutical company’s shares after it provided an update on its TLX591-CDx product. According to the release, Telix has submitted a New Drug Application to the United States Food and Drug Administration for the prostate cancer imaging product.

The Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price has climbed 1.5% to $9.04. The catalyst for this gain appears to be a broker note out of Credit Suisse. According to the note, the broker has upgraded the wine company’s shares to an outperform rating with a $12.30 price target. It made the move largely on valuation grounds but also on the belief that the Penfolds brand image has been unaffected by anti-dumping investigations in China.

More reading

• Telix (ASX:TLX) share price charges higher on FDA update
• Where I’d invest $20,000 into ASX shares right now
• 3 exciting small cap ASX healthcare shares to watch
• Smash low interest rates with these high yield ASX dividend shares
• Bubs share price trading at a 5-month low. Is this a buying opportunity?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) is the ultimate growth stock. That’s not just because it has a ton of room to grow in the huge retail and cloud computing markets, but also because it’s constantly working to invent big new businesses from scratch. No other company continuously surprises investors with unexpected value creation from new ventures. So where could Amazon be in 10 years?

Retail and cloud businesses  

It’s no secret that Amazon’s e-commerce business is a juggernaut, and it’s only been getting stronger because of the acceleration of e-commerce adoption due to COVID-19. There just aren’t a lot of compelling reasons to frequent physical retail stores in a post-COVID world when you can order online from your couch, usually at lower prices, and receive your order in a day or two. That’s especially true when Amazon offers such a great customer value proposition.

But what’s less appreciated is Amazon’s still tiny market share of the global retail market. The global retail market is a massive $25 trillion market. Over the last 12 months, Amazon’s e-commerce business had $202 billion of net sales, which is only about a 0.8% share of the retail market. So as much of a juggernaut as Amazon’s retail business is, it’s still a tiny – but rapidly growing – fish in a huge pond.

The same is true with public cloud leader Amazon Web Services (AWS), which also has a tiny market share of a huge market. AWS boss Andy Jassey said late last year that AWS was addressing the $3.7 trillion global enterprise IT market. If that’s the case, then AWS’s $40 billion of net sales over the last 12 months is only 1.1% of the opportunity.

Known and unknown emerging ventures

The most underappreciated aspect of Amazon is the company’s constant work to build additional big new businesses from scratch. The third-party marketplace and AWS were one-time development stage ideas that have grown into wildly successful businesses.

One newer initiative is Amazon’s interest in physical retail, specifically technology-enabled grocery stores. The company started out with the Amazon GO convenience stores with “just walk out” technology, where customers scan their phones on the way in, grab items off the shelves, and then just walk out. Amazon’s slew of cameras and sensors can tell what the customer left with, and informs the company what to charge the customer’s Amazon account.

This year, Amazon has parlayed that technology into Amazon GO Grocery stores, a full-size grocery store version with the same concept. And it’s recently launched a different grocery store concept altogether called Fresh, which uses the Amazon Dash Cart and Alexa-based technology to improve the grocery store shopping experience.

Amazon has a huge interest in the grocery segment because grocery stores are a massive $682 billion category in the US alone. That’s why the company is developing at least two different concepts in order to learn and optimise its approach. Given Amazon’s track record, it won’t be surprising if Amazon eventually captures a sizable share of the category. 

Amazon is also perfecting its drone delivery capabilities, and recently got approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin testing its drone delivery program. In the future, this should help Amazon deliver packages to more rural customers more efficiently by saving on last-mile delivery costs. 

In addition, the company’s rapidly growing advertising business has quickly become the No. 3 online advertiser in the U.S. after Alphabet subsidiary Google and Facebook. Amazon also acquired autonomous car technology company Zoox earlier this year, which could minimise transportation and fulfillment costs in the long term.

These are just a few of the newer initiatives, and there are almost certainly more that we don’t know about yet.

Much bigger and more profitable in 10 years

Amazon should be much bigger and more profitable just from the continued growth of the retail and AWS businesses. But it has so many additional irons in the fire that it should have surprising growth coming out of nowhere in the years ahead.

Not all of Amazon’s pioneering efforts work. Online auctions, the Fire phone, online travel, and high-end jewellery are a few examples of the company’s failures. But failures help the company learn, make adjustments, and change course. For example, the online auctions failure led to the development of the third-party marketplace, which now represents the majority of retail units sold.

Over the next decade, Amazon should grow enormously and could grow to 2% or 3% of global retail sales, 3% of the global enterprise IT opportunity, 25% of the online advertising market, and 5% of the U.S. grocery market. And it would still have a huge runway ahead.

Considering its still low market shares of these big categories, investors should consider the Amazon of 2030 to be just getting started.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

More reading

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• Warren Buffett’s 3 best-performing stocks so far this year: Are they buys now?
• Amazon invests in battery recycler founded by former Tesla exec
• MGM Wireless (ASX:MWR) share price bounces on Amazon deal
• 3 ASX shares to buy before this window of opportunity closes

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Andrew Tseng owns shares of Amazon and Facebook. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Facebook and recommends the following options: short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon and long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Facebook. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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In late morning trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to give back a good portion of yesterday’s gains. At the time of writing the benchmark index is down 1% to 5,861.6 points.

Four shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are sinking lower:

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is down almost 4.5% to $75.34. Investors have been selling Afterpay and other tech shares on Thursday following a tech selloff on Wall Street overnight. The likes of Apple, Amazon, and Tesla all fell heavily, leading to the Nasdaq dropping a sizeable 3%. This has led to the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) sinking 1.8% lower this morning.

The Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price has fallen 5.5% to $5.52. Evolution and other gold miners have come under pressure today after the gold price continued its slide. The spot gold price has dropped to a two-month low of US$1,862.30 an ounce amid a strengthening U.S. dollar. In light of this, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index is down a disappointing 4% at the time of writing.

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is down over 1.5% to $16.13. This follows an announcement by the banking giant this morning relating to its dealings with AUSTRAC. According to the release, Westpac has agreed to pay a penalty of $1.3 billion for its Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism and Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF) contraventions. This was more than the $900 million it previously estimated. The Federal Court still needs to approve the agreement.

The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price is 3% lower to 92 cents. Today’s decline appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Morgan Stanley this morning. Although the broker has retained its overweight rating on the coal miner’s shares, it has slashed its price target by almost a third. Morgan Stanley’s price target now sits at $1.30, down from $1.90.

More reading

• Why I would buy Altium (ASX:ALU) and these ASX growth shares
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price on watch after settling AUSTRAC case for $1.3 billion
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Buy these ASX dividend shares if the RBA cuts rates
• More pain ahead for savers and retirees as Westpac forecasts an October interest rate slash to just 0.1%

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The market may be dropping lower today but that hasn’t stopped the Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) share price from charging higher.

In morning trade the biopharmaceutical company’s shares are up 3.5% to $1.82.

Why is the Telix share price charging higher?

Investors have been buying Telix’s shares on Thursday after it provided an update on its TLX591-CDx product.

TLX591-CDx is a proprietary formulation of PSMA-11, a novel imaging agent targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). It was originally developed by the Heidelberg group of the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum.

The cold kit format of TLX591-CDx enables rapid radiolabelling at room temperature with high radiochemical purity and production consistency, optimised for the radiopharmacy setting.

What was today’s update?

This morning Telix revealed that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for TLX591-CDx.

This NDA submission includes clinical data from over 600 patients obtained from both prospective and retrospective clinical studies. It also builds on definitive peer-reviewed clinical research conducted at leading academic centres. These include the University of California, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia, and the Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany.

A significant milestone.

Telix USA President, Dr Bernard Lambert, commented: “We are pleased to have achieved this significant milestone with the submission of the first commercial NDA for PSMA imaging in the United States.”

“Telix has engaged with the FDA since July 2019, with valuable guidance resulting in what we believe to be a comprehensive submission. Subject to FDA approval, we look forward to bringing this product to market with our commercial partners to serve the needs of men living with prostate cancer,” he added.

Telix’s CEO, Dr Christian Behrenbruch, believes this submission is a “major commercial inflection point” for the company.

“The Telix team and our advisors have done an outstanding job of preparing this submission, which we believe is founded on compelling clinical evidence that supports broad diagnostic utility in the management of prostate cancer,” Dr Behrenbruch concluded.

No date has been given for when an FDA decision is likely to be announced.

More reading

• 3 exciting small cap ASX healthcare shares to watch
• Why IOOF, SKYCITY, Starpharma, & Telix shares are storming higher

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of TELIXPHARM DEF SET. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has moved into phase 3 development of its coronavirus vaccine candidate, which goes by the code name JNJ-78436735. The study, called Ensemble, will enroll up to 60,000 volunteers across three continents.

The company trails Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA), AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN), and the duo of Pfizer inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX), which are all in the process of finishing up enrollment in phase 3 clinical trials for their own COVID-19 vaccine candidates. It may also take Johnson & Johnson longer to reach full enrollment in its study given its larger size. Moderna plans to enroll 30,000 people in its trial, while AstraZeneca is shooting for 50,000 across multiple phase 3 studies, and Pfizer and BioNtech recently announced that they had increased their enrollment target from 30,000 to 44,000.

While Johnson & Johnson may lagging behind the pace-setters in this race, its one-dose format would give it a huge advantage over the leading vaccine candidates, all of which require a booster shot three to four weeks after the initial vaccination. The company is planning on running a separate phase 3 study to see whether two doses of JNJ-78436735 provide stronger protection than one, but the immune responses in participants receiving just one dose in the phase 1/2a study looked solid enough to continue testing under that dosing regimen.

The one-shot format will also mean that Johnson & Johnson will be able to get initial efficacy data more quickly — measured from the start of enrollment to readout — because it won’t have to wait until trial participants get booster shots before starting to count cases of COVID-19 among them.

Johnson & Johnson says it hopes to have enough data from the study to allow it to gain FDA emergency use authorization for the vaccine in early 2021. Investors should keep in mind that the healthcare conglomerate has committed to selling JNJ-78436735 on a not-for-profit basis, so regardless of how it might ultimately fare in the COVID-19 vaccine market, it won’t affect the company’s earnings.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

More reading

• Coronavirus vaccine trial adverse event was probably unrelated to treatment
• AstraZeneca resumes UK clinical trials of its coronavirus vaccine after a safety pause
• Pfizer says it could know if its COVID-19 vaccine candidate works in October
• The surefire vaccine winner following AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 trial pause
• What if more than one company wins the coronavirus vaccine race?

Brian Orelli, PhD has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Johnson & Johnson. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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In morning trade the Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) share price is edging higher following the release of its full year results.

At the time of writing the investment house’s shares are up almost 1% to $23.69.

How did Washington H. Soul Pattinson (WHSP) perform in FY 2020?

For the 12 months ended 31 July 2020, WHSP reported a regular profit after tax of $169.8 million, down 44.7% on the prior corresponding period.

Things were a lot better on a statutory basis, with its statutory profit after tax growing 284.3% to $953 million. Though, this was largely the result of the merger of TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG) and Vodafone Australia which triggered a significant one-off profit due to the revaluation of its investment to market value.

WHSP’s net cash flows from investments were strong in FY 2020. They came in 48.8% higher year on year at $252.3 million. Once again, this was due to the TPG Telecom-Vodafone Australia merger, which resulted in a special dividend of $121 million.

This allowed the WHSP board to increase its dividend for the 20th year in a row. It lifted its full year dividend by 3.4% to 60 cents per share.

A difficult year.

WHSP’s Chairman, Robert Millner, acknowledged that FY 2020 was a difficult year for the company but was pleased with its result.

He said: “FY20 was a difficult year with significant volatility across the market but I am delighted once again that WHSP’s diversified portfolio delivered another good year where the assets performed better than the market and generated a strong increase in cash flows from dividends and interest income.”

“During the year, TPG was finally able to merge with Vodafone to create a very attractive telecommunications company. That merger resulted in an uplift to the value of our shareholding and facilitated a special dividend of $121 million to WHSP and a demerger of Tuas in which WHSP remains a 25% shareholder,” Mr Millner added.

Outlook.

The company’s Managing Director, Todd Barlow, notes that COVID-19 has resulted in a highly uncertain economic environment.

Nevertheless, the managing director appears optimistic that the company can both ride out the storm and take advantage of this uncertainty.

He commented: “The outlook for the domestic and global economy remains uncertain and volatile. One of WHSP’s key advantages is a flexible mandate to make long-term investment decisions and adjust the portfolio by changing the mix of investment classes over time.”

“While the economic outlook is uncertain, we can be certain there will be some dislocation in a number of asset classes. With dislocation comes opportunity and WHSP is well positioned with adequate liquidity to take advantage of the right investment opportunities,” Mr Barlow added.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 3 great ASX blue chip shares I’d buy
• 4 ASX shares rated as strong buys by brokers
• Why everyone should have Brickworks (ASX:BKW) and 1 other ASX share
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 snaps 4 week losing streak… just

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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If you’re a growth investor, then you’re in luck. The Australian share market is home to a large number of quality shares that have the potential to grow their earnings very strongly in the coming years.

And thanks to recent pullbacks in their respective share prices, they are now trading at a discount to what you would have paid just a month ago. 

Four top growth shares I would buy right now are listed below:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The first growth share to consider buying is Afterpay. Due to the increasing popularity of the buy now pay later payment method with consumers and merchants and its international expansion plans, I believe Afterpay is well-placed for growth over the next decade. In respect to its expansion, the company is launching into Canada and Europe in FY 2021 and appears to have its eyes on the Asia market as well.

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The next growth share to look at is Altium. Thanks to its key Altium Designer product and its exposure to the rapidly growing Internet of Things and AI markets, I believe Altium can grow its revenue and earnings at a very strong rate over the next few years. Management is aiming to more than double its revenue to US$500 million by FY 2025/26. I believe it is well-placed to achieve this.

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

The next growth share to consider is Bravura Solutions. It is a fintech company providing software and services to the wealth management and funds administration industries. Bravura has a growing number of solutions in its portfolio, but the key one for me continues to be the Sonata wealth management platform. It is used by many large financial institutions to connect and engage with their clients anytime, anywhere, via computers, tablets or smartphones. This is especially relevant given the work from home trend.

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

A final option for investors to consider buying is ResMed. It is a medical device company focused on the growing sleep treatment market. Thanks to its industry-leading mask products, world-class software solutions, and massive addressable market due to the proliferation of sleep apnoea, I expect ResMed to continue its strong growth for many years to come.

More reading

• 3 mid cap ASX shares to buy for strong potential returns
• Why have ASX tech founders been unloading shares?
• Why Afterpay, Nufarm, PolyNovo, & Sezzle shares are racing higher today
• ASX 200 up 1.9%: Afterpay storms higher, Nufarm jumps, big four banks rise
• Where next for the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price?

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Altium. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bravura Solutions Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The market is set to crash this morning. But those wanting to hunt for bargains may want to take a look at ASX stocks leveraged to the Victorian economy.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) is tipped to fall by 1% due to the overnight slump in US stocks and weak commodity prices.

The pull-back in the ASX is only likely to be temporary and may represent a bargain hunting opportunity.

Cheap ASX stocks cast into the Victorian bargain bin

One discount bin that is worth taking a look at is for ASX stocks hammered by the second Victorian shutdown.

The state is the worst performer in the country as strict COVID-19 lockdowns brought the Victorian economy to its knees.

Turnaround in Victoria is neigh

But the tide may be turning with Victoria recording 12 new cases in the last 24 hours, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

This takes the 14-day rolling average to 26.7 for greater Melbourne, while the average for regional Victoria falls to just 1.1.

The 14-day average is now below Premier Daniel Andrews’ target band of 30 to 50 cases. This is a condition for loosening stage four restrictions.

ASX stocks to buy for the Victorian recovery

Case numbers are falling faster than what the state government was forecasting. This is igniting hopes that the state will reopen its economy sooner rather than later.

Investor sentiment towards Victoria is set for a rebound! This might be a good time to look at stocks that can benefit the most from the recovery.

I am not necessarily talking about retailers with a large presence in the state. Stocks like the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price and Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) share price are already doing well as they have benefited from the COVID fallout.

Two ASX stocks on UBS’ buy list

It’s the laggards that are likely to jump the most as the Victorian economy reopens. One stock that fits into this category is the Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price, according to UBS which rates it a “buy”.

The COVID-19 shutdown hit the casino operator’s Melbourne venue hard and there’s little good news priced into the stock.

However, the latest revelation that Crown was giving financial performance briefings to James Packer ahead of other shareholders could rattle the stock.

Another underachiever UBS thinks will see its fortunes turn with the Victorian economy is the Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price.

Shares in the insurer are hovering around an eight-year low. Any good news could see the stock bounce like a coiled-up spring.

UBS is also recommending IAG as a “buy”.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 jumps 2.4% higher, numerous shares rise
• Here’s why the Elders (ASX:ELD) share price is at a new high today
• Why the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price and Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price are taking off
• Plenti (ASX:PLT) share price crashes lower after its IPO

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Crown Resorts Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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