Author: therawinformant

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has been a hot commodity in 2020. In fact, shares in the buy-now-pay-later leader surged 51.96% last month as investors scrambled to buy in while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) jumped 4.22% higher.

Why did the Afterpay share price surge 50% higher in May?

The company announced it reached 5 million active customers in the USA during May. Afterpay now has nearly 9 million customers in the US with a 30-40% increase in the weekly run rate from January and February. 

More than 15,000 brands now offer, or are in the process of offering, Afterpay to their customers. Afterpay also reported 15 million app and site visits in April 2020 which was good news for shareholders and the company’s share price.

The positive update was just one factor pushing the group’s shares higher. Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings purchased a 5% stake in the Aussie company for $300 million. This could provide an opening to the lucrative Chinese market for Afterpay in the years ahead.

These were just a couple of the catalysts pushing Afterpay’s value past $12 billion. I also think momentum was a huge contributing factor following on from the strong surge its share price enjoyed in April 2020.

This momentum helped push the Afterpay share price to a new all-time high of $50.01 in May before it closed the month at $47.41 per share. If the strong growth continues in 2020, I can see Afterpay climbing inside the ASX 50 before the year is out.

Should you buy into Afterpay?

It’s hard to bet against an ASX 200 share that is up 435% since 23 March. However, the Afterpay share price is hot property right now and I think it could be dislocated from fundamentals.

This means I see Afterpay as a speculative buy. It could provide great growth potential and be a strong share to buy in 2020. However, there is still competition and regulatory risk that threaten Afterpay’s potential growth.

More reading

• 3 best stocks for ASX 200 investors in retirement to buy now
• Why these 3 ASX 200 blue chips could be set for growth this week
• Why the price of these ASX travel shares soared over 30% since mid-May
• 3 top ASX dividend shares to buy now
• 3 ASX 200 shares to watch this week

Ken Hall has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Xero. 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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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) investors in retirement will likely need dividend income to live off. Along with this, a priority should be protecting capital and de-risking your portfolio. However, it is important not to lose sight of the magical power of compounding at high rates of return. In my opinion, all ASX investors should target the maximum total return they can achieve for their risk profile.

Investors in retirement

As investors, we’re a motley crew. We all have motley goals, motley resources and motley risk appetite. Because of this, it is important to understand your own personal circumstances and invest accordingly. The below ASX stocks will be fantastic options for most investors in retirement, but not for all. 

I am a big fan of writing everything down so that you can refer back to your notes. Take the time to think about what you want to achieve by investing in ASX stocks. It will be much clearer if the following stocks are for you.

3 best ASX 200 stocks to buy now

Duxton Water Ltd (ASX: D2O)

Duxton Water is an alternative business, betting on the long-term value of water entitlements in Australia. The company owns a number of entitlements in various regions and leases these out to the agriculture industry. Management has forecast that the dividend can grow every 6 months for the next 2 years. 

Duxton is priced at a large discount to its monthly net tangible assets (NTA). At current prices, the stock should be able to weather more rain in the short term. Over the long term, the scarcity and price of water is expected to rise.

Duxton has a dividend yield of 4% or 5.7% grossed-up.

Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY)

This ETF holds a basket of 62 of the ASX’s best dividend-paying stocks. The composition of holdings has changed recently in line with market and economic conditions. The ETF has sold down the banks in order to buy more reliable dividend stocks.

Two of the top holdings now include BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES). Given the large number of delayed payments and cancelled dividends, a forward dividend estimate is more reliable than a trailing yield. Vanguard estimates a forward yield of 6.2% or 8.48% grossed-up.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)

Macquarie may perform better than the other big ASX banks given its diversified operations. The group has significant operations in investment banking and asset management. Investment banking is often the most profitable during downturns, where there is a lot of capital raising and takeovers.

For FY21, Macquarie offers investors an estimated 3.91% partially franked dividend yield.

Foolish bottom line

Retirement is an opportunity to benefit from all your hard work and sacrifices. Selling down a portion of your portfolio in high-valued markets, mixed with taking dividends in cash during bear markets is a great way to fund your lifestyle as an investor in retirement.

More reading

• Afterpay share price rockets 50% in May, is it in the buy zone?
• Why these 3 ASX 200 blue chips could be set for growth this week
• Why the price of these ASX travel shares soared over 30% since mid-May
• 3 top ASX dividend shares to buy now
• 3 ASX 200 shares to watch this week

Motley Fool contributor Lloyd Prout has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended DUXTON 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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In late morning trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has bounced back from a poor start and is pushing higher. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 0.25% to 5,770.9 points.

Four shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are charging higher:

The Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) share price is up over 5% to $3.52. Investors have been buying the shipbuilder’s shares after it upgraded its FY 2020 guidance at the end of last week. One broker that has responded positively to this upgrade was Citi. This morning the broker retained its buy rating and lifted the price target on Austal’s shares to $4.05.

The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price is up 3% to $284.46. Investors appear to be taking advantage of the biotherapeutics company’s recent share price weakness to top up positions. Even after today’s gain, CSL’s shares are down 17% from their 52-week high. Concerns over the pandemic’s impact on plasma collections has been weighing on the company’s shares.

The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is up 3% to $14.30. The catalyst for this gain has been a jump in iron ore prices on Friday night. The spot benchmark iron ore price climbed above US$100 a tonne amid concerns over supply disruptions in Brazil because of the pandemic. According to CommSec, iron ore rose by US$4.50 or 4.7% on Friday to US$100.90 a tonne.

The Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) share price has stormed almost 6% higher to $3.12. This follows the release of two announcements on Monday by the casino and resorts operator. The first was a new long-term gaming tax agreement with the New South Wales government. The other was the announcement that its Star Sydney business will reopen today. This will see private gaming rooms open and up to 12 food and beverage venues within the complex.   

More reading

• 3 top ASX dividend shares to buy now
• 5 ASX 200 winners and 3 losers from last week
• Why ASX iron ore miners may outperform this morning
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Surging bank shares push ASX toward 6,000
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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 Austal Limited and CSL Ltd. 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.

The post Why Austal, CSL, Fortescue, & Star shares are charging higher today appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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Last Friday, 3 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) blue-chip shares were included in the MCSI Australia Index. These were Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST). Notably, 2 of the 3 inclusions came from the gold mining sector. 

Once a share is included in an MCSI index it is automatically added to the portfolios of EFTs tracking that index. One example is the Vanguard MSCI Australian Large Companies Index ETF (ASX: VLF). With billions of dollars in play, any small change can cause large scale ripples.

Last week, all 3 companies saw their share prices rise considerably from a mid-week low point. In my opinion, they are positioned to enjoy a continued rise in share prices this week.

Blue chip winners

Afterpay is the most prominent and reported on ASX 200 share today. It is nothing short of a phenomenon. Last week, the company’s share price rose 4.98% from its low on Wednesday to Friday’s close. The current Afterpay valuation is a point of contention among investors. Nonetheless, its position as a growth share is clear. 

Northern Star has been the best growth share on the ASX 200 over the past 10 years. An initial investment on 1 January 2010 would have grown an amazing 490 times so far. From Wednesday’s low to Friday’s close last week, the Northern Star share price rose by 10.83%.

The company is known for increasing the gold reserves and production output of mines it acquires. It recently purchased 5% of the Kalgoorlie super pit mine site. This included the operating rights. In my opinion, it set to continue its share price rise.

Evolution Mining is another Australian blue chip gold miner that is known for its productivity. Its most recent acquisition, Red Lake, is likely to see an improvement in productivity. Evolution shares rose 10.37% from their low point on Wednesday last week to Friday’s close. 

Make room

In addition, 8 companies were dropped into the MSCI World Small Cap Index. These were Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC), Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN), Boral Limited (ASX: BLD), Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN), Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL), and Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR).

More reading

• Afterpay share price rockets 50% in May, is it in the buy zone?
• 3 best stocks for ASX 200 investors in retirement to buy now
• Why the price of these ASX travel shares soared over 30% since mid-May
• 3 top ASX dividend shares to buy now
• 3 ASX 200 shares to watch this week

Motley Fool contributor Daryl Mather has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Challenger Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group 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.

The post Why these 3 ASX 200 blue chips could be set for growth this week appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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The Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP) share price is starting the week off with a bang. Whispir shares are up 7.63% at the time of writing to $2.54 apiece on the back of an FY20 trading update.

Whispir is a software-as-a-service company that provides a communications workflow platform to help businesses automate their interactions with employees, customers, suppliers, job applicants, and other stakeholders.

Whispir operates globally and supports some of the world’s most renowned brands including Disney, Coca Cola and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN).

The company is on the smaller end of the ASX with a market capitalisation of $264 million and is relatively new to the market after listing in June 2019.

Why the Whispir share price is spiking

This morning, Whispir provided an FY20 trading update. The company now expects its FY20 result for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to be between negative $7.9 million and negative $7.4 million. This is well ahead of the prospectus forecast of negative $9.4 million.

Whispir attributed this material lift to a combination of stronger than forecast revenue and operating expenditure being lower than expected.

The company has set its sights on releasing its FY20 results on or around 26 August 2020.

The Whispir share price has been a standout performer in recent months, bouncing 274% from an all-time low of 68 cents in March.

Along with overall market sentiment, this has likely been due to the increased reliance on communication amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Back in April, Whispir reported an uptick in demand as customers used its platform to communicate in an effective and timely manner. Notably, the third quarter of FY20 ending 31 March saw the company report a record 49 net new customers, as well as increased platform use by existing customers.

The company had a total of 558 customers at the end of the quarter, including Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services who is using the Whispir platform to interact with Victorians as part of its coronavirus containment plan.

Importantly, the company remained well-positioned for stability and growth at the end of the quarter with a cash and cash equivalents balance of $16.7 million at 31 March 2020.

Despite being further up the risk curve, I believe Whispir is a small-cap ASX tech share to watch due to COVID-19 tailwinds and the company’s capital-light business model, large addressable market opportunity and high recurring revenue growth. 

More reading

• 5 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch in June
• Why Afterpay and these ASX shares just zoomed to 52-week highs
• 3 under the radar ASX tech shares to watch
• 3 small cap ASX tech shares that could be stars of the future
• Could these small cap ASX shares be the next Afterpay?

Cathryn Goh 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 Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Whispir Ltd and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $60 calls on Walt Disney and short July 2020 $115 calls on Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Walt Disney and Whispir Ltd. 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 Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price has been a positive performer on Monday.

In morning trade the healthcare imaging software and services provider’s shares are up 1.5% to $29.25.

Why is the Pro Medicus share price pushing higher today?

Investors have been buying the company’s shares on Monday after it announced a major contract win with Northwestern Memorial HealthCare.

According to the release, Pro Medicus has signed a five-year, A$22 million deal with the Chicago-based healthcare company for its Visage 7 technology.

Visage 7 is an enterprise imaging platform that delivers fast, multi-dimensional images streamed via an intelligent thin-client viewer.

Todays’ deal extends the company’s footprint in the U.S. academic hospital segment, as well as regionally based community hospitals.

An important deal.

Pro Medicus’ Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Sam Hupert, believes this is one of the most important deals the company has signed.

He commented: “This certainly ranks up there as one of our most important not only because of the size of the deal, but also because of Northwestern’s standing in the medical and medical research communities. It will also provide us with a key reference site in the Chicago area.”

The good news for shareholders is that there may be more deals on the way. Dr Hupert revealed that its pipeline remains strong.

Commenting on other potential deals that are in the works, he said: “Some are looking at multiple products such as using Visage 7 Open Archive in addition to our Viewer, and there are also those who have expressed a preference for Cloud, so it is a good mix.”

Though, he has warned that it can take time for deals to be closed. In some cases, the whole process can take two years or even longer.

Another positive was that Pro Medicus has not experienced any major disruption from the pandemic.

Speaking about the pandemic, Dr Hupert said: “Up to now, we have not experienced any material deferral or delay in progressing any of these opportunities, Northwestern being a case in point. Our pipeline remains strong and, subject to there not being a second wave, we have a number of good opportunities across various sectors of the market that are continuing to progress through the sales cycle.”

More reading

• These ASX healthcare shares could bring your portfolio to life
• 3 ASX 200 growth shares I want to buy for my portfolio
• 3 shares I’d buy if the coronavirus selloff gets worse
• Where I would invest $5,000 into ASX shares immediately
• How to make a $1 million share portfolio by investing $1,000 a month

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. 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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ASX 200 travel shares have been punished harshly since March. Both local and international air travel has essentially come to a grinding halt due to the harsh lockdown restrictions caused by the coronavirus crisis.

However, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has seen strong share price gains over the past two weeks, as general market sentiment continues to rise.

Growing hope for the ASX travel sector

In particular, increasing optimism is now flowing through to the ASX travel sector, as lockdown restrictions begin to ease.

It is now looking more likely that domestic travel will start to slowly pick up in the months ahead. There is also the possibility that a Trans-Tasman bubble may open up travel between Australia and New Zealand.

This is helping to strongly lift the share price of a number of the heavily sold off travel shares. This includes Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN).

Here, we look at two of those companies, Webjet and Flight Centre, that have seen a strong share price rise over 30% during the past two weeks.

Webjet

The ASX share price for Webjet has soared by over 33% since 11 May. Investors are now starting to feel more optimistic that domestic flight bookings could begin to ramp up again soon.

However, Webjet’s share price is still 50% lower than what it was back in February, despite the recent share price rally. Webjet’s shares were heavily sold off during the initial phase of the coronavirus crisis, with booking almost drying up completely.

I believe that Webjet is better placed than its rival, Flight Centre in the months ahead.

It has lower overall operating costs, due to its purely online business model. I feel that this places it in a better position to weather any further dark clouds that may be on the horizon for travel.

Flight Centre

Flight Centre has been hit very harshly during the coronavirus crisis.

The travel bookings provider recently raised $700 million from institutional and retail shareholders, in a capital raising.  This will provide it with additional funds to help it get through the remainder of the travel restriction period.

The company has also been forced to undertake a range of cost-reduction initiatives. These include the loss of around 6,000 support and sales roles and the closure of a number of its retail outlets.

Rising market optimism has seen a 30.8% rally in its share price over the past two weeks.  However, Flight Centre shares are still down by over 60% since February.

More reading

• Afterpay share price rockets 50% in May, is it in the buy zone?
• 3 best stocks for ASX 200 investors in retirement to buy now
• Why these 3 ASX 200 blue chips could be set for growth this week
• 3 top ASX dividend shares to buy now
• 3 ASX 200 shares to watch this week

Motley Fool contributor Phil Harpur owns shares of Corporate Travel Management Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group 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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