Category: Stock Market

It’s been a tough couple of years for many Australians, especially those with a mortgage.

The Reserve Bank of Australia raising interest rates 12 times in 13 months, or 13 times in 18 months, is a phenomenon that’s rarely seen.

It had to be done, to quell inflation from damaging levels.

But now that inflation seems to be settling down, there is great hope among economists and the public that we have seen the last of the rate hikes. 

Or maybe just one more, and that’s it.

While no one has a crystal ball to judge whether that’s true, in practical terms the rate increases have to come to an end sooner or later.

Then after that, there might even be a reduction in interest rates to get the economy kick-started again.

And when it does, there are certain businesses that will thrive much more than others.

Here are couple of stocks from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) that have the potential to rocket if rate cuts come:

‘Valuation compares favourably to its peers’

Iron ore is very much a mirror of how well the economy is going.

It is a material that is essential for construction, and that sector only gets going when consumers and businesses are confident.

So if global economies receive a stimulatory boost from interest rate cuts, the building industry could be cheering.

And that’s where Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) comes in.

Champion shares are 1.6% down on 12 months ago, and that makes the price tempting to buy now, according to Fairmont Equities boss Michael Gable.

“This Canadian-based producer is trading on valuations which compare favourably to its peers,” Gable told The Bull.

“We remain bullish regarding the outlook for iron ore in 2024.”

Other professionals are also fans, with all seven analysts covering Champion Iron rating it as a buy on CMC Invest.

This American mob can’t wait for interest rates to come down

Another victim of rising rates have been high-growth stocks, especially technology.

High interest rates harm the valuation of future-dependent companies, and Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2) was no exception.

Just in the first half of 2022, shares for the US fintech lost half its value.

Even within the tech sector, Block Inc was known to be profligate. Even its propensity to issue new shares to staff came into question as rates started creeping up.

But, to its credit, the company has listened to the markets and has made some changes.

“Block Inc outperformed in December following the release of its 3Q23 result the month prior, which exceeded investor expectations with respect to future cost discipline, and strong messaging about internal personnel productivity,” read an ECP memo to clients.

“The result is an expectation of faster operating leverage to emerge across business units, with a plan to hit Block’s ‘rule of 40’ in 2026.”

So, in a leaner and fitter state than a couple of years ago, once rates come down Block Inc could be in an enviable position.

According to CMC Invest, all three analysts who monitor Block Inc shares reckon it’s now a strong buy.

The post 2 ASX 200 shares that could surge in 2024 if the RBA cuts interest rates appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• How I’d invest $300 a month in ASX shares to target $22,000 annual passive income!
• Got a spare $1,000? I’d buy 10 shares of this ASX 200 stock to aim for a million
• ‘Consistent alpha generation’: 3 ASX 200 shares sitting pretty for the long run
• The 8 ASX mining stocks Goldman Sachs says are buys in 2024

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has positions in Block. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Block. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block. 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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Have you got $10,000 saved up that you could invest?

If so, you could utilise ASX dividend shares and the magic of compounding to build up a machine that will automatically generate $500 a month without you lifting a finger.

That’s six grand of passive income — enough for a nice overseas holiday for the entire family — every 12 months.

How can this be?

It’s possible because Australia is blessed with many of the best income-producing stocks in the whole world.

That is no accident. It has come about because of Australia’s tax rules, which dictate investors should not be “double taxed”.

That is, if a company has already paid corporate tax on its profits then distributes some of that cash to shareholders, it comes with franking. The recipient then does not need to pay income tax on that dividend.

This system provides a major incentive for public listed companies to hand back capital to shareholders using dividends, rather than other methods more popular overseas, such as buybacks.

How to invest $10,000 for passive income

Let’s get back to that $10,000 you had.

If we construct a well diversified portfolio full of quality ASX dividend stocks, we can reinvest the distributions each year to grow the pot.

With stocks like Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX: FBU) and Growthpoint Properties Australia Ltd (ASX: GOZ) handing out 8% to 9% dividend yield, there’s no reason why you can’t achieve 10% CAGR each year with the help of franking and capital growth.

If you can keep saving to buy $200 worth of shares each month, even better.

A quick calculation shows that $10,000 growing at 10% with $200 added each month will become $64,187 after just 10 years.

After that, instead of reinvesting the dividends each year, put it in your pocket.

That’ll work out to be about $6,000 annually, which is $500 per month.

Not bad, aye? 

If you want an even larger stream of passive income, just keep reinvesting past the 10-year mark.

After 20 years the portfolio will have reached a phenomenal $204,735.

Cashing in 10% of returns each year from that will provide you $20,000 of passive income.

Imagine what you could do with an extra $1,666 of cash each month.

Best wishes for your investments.

The post $10,000 in savings? Here’s how I’d try to turn that into $500 a month of passive income appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Automation era: Why I’m buying more Tesla shares despite margin decline
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Own Woolworths shares? Here’s a $15 billion piece of news
• Why has the Pilbara Minerals share price just tanked 6%?
• Buying ASX 200 shares? Here’s why Goldman Sachs expects a Fed interest rate cut in March

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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.

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Operating margins at the electric vehicle (EV) company have eroded amid aggressive price cuts. In the third quarter, margins sank to 7.6% from 17.2% in the prior corresponding period — some analysts are also expecting further falls in the upcoming Q4 result. Yet, I’m as eager as ever to buy more Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares.

I’m sure it sounds outrageous to want to invest more capital into a company with declining margins. However, below, I’ll explain my reasoning for this bullish sentiment at a time when most are convinced the EV maker is about to be consumed by competition.

Adding Tesla shares in anticipation of its iPhone moment

I’ve owned shares in Tesla for several years now. For much of this time, the choice to invest was led by my expectation of widespread electric vehicle adoption and the company being a leader in autonomous driving.

Although, I’m starting to think cars (autonomous or not) might be just the tip of the iceberg for Tesla. Much like Apple Inc‘s (NASDAQ: AAPL) first decades being dominated by Mac computers, the biggest opportunity might still be ahead of Tesla (aka, its iPhone moment).

Optimus folds a shirt pic.twitter.com/3F5o3jVLq1

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2024

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Last week, Tesla founder Elon Musk shared the latest demonstration of its autonomous humanoid robot. I was astounded. As shown above, the bot steadily folds a shirt without any assistance. Albeit slowly and while tethered (i.e. not through its onboard processing). Still, it illustrates the pace at which robotics is evolving at Tesla.

So why do I want to buy more shares after a basic demo?

Mature economies need it

The developed world is suffering a productivity drought. Australia and many other mature economies are seeing labour productivity growth decline. In recent years, Australia has experienced a fall in output per hour worked, shown below.

Ultimately, countries need innovation to continue increasing gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and maintain improving living standards.

Autonomous robots, such as those being developed by Tesla, might be the antidote. I see this being impactful in two ways:

1. Unlocking more time for people via household applications
2. Significantly reducing the cost of labour for manufactured goods

On the second point, labour is the largest cost component of physical goods. If a robot can operate for three times as long — at the same efficiency as a person — for half the cost, the deflation in the price of goods could be enormous.

This would mean immense quality of life improvements for the populous.

Adapt or die

If Tesla can commercialise the Optimus Bot, the flywheel effect could rapidly kick in. During the Industrial Revolution, you implemented machine tools or went out of business.

When an invention greatly increases productivity, there is no way of competing using old methods. The Howe’s sowing machine of the early 1800s performed 640 stitches per minute versus the 23 achieved by hand.

This is a possible scenario if autonomous bots are created. If one company in an industry uses them, all companies will likely scramble to roll it out. The likely alternative is to stick with costlier methods, driving customers away to cheaper options.

Thinking long-term about Tesla shares

I firmly believe an individual investor’s greatest advantage is to think in decades and not quarters — as do many ‘professional’ analysts.

There might be some weaker results ahead for Tesla. However, the rate of innovation inside the company gives me confidence that the next decade could be bright.

In addition, my assigned probability of the Tesla Bot coming to fruition has increased following the latest snippet. I’m not saying commercialisation is guaranteed — far from it… but it looks more likely now than a year ago.

The post Automation era: Why I’m buying more Tesla shares despite margin decline appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Own Woolworths shares? Here’s a $15 billion piece of news
• Why has the Pilbara Minerals share price just tanked 6%?
• Buying ASX 200 shares? Here’s why Goldman Sachs expects a Fed interest rate cut in March
• Why I think CBA is one of the best ASX bank shares

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has positions in Apple and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple. 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 post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why 4DMedical, A2 Milk, QBE, and Zip shares are charging higher today
• Here’s why these ASX 200 growth shares could be top buys
• Why Reece shares look like a hidden gem of the ASX 200
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Block, Idp Education, Life360, and PolyNovo. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block and Steadfast Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk, Aub Group, and Idp Education. 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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As a mature, blue-chip ASX 200 share, Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) is one of the most widely held stocks in Australia. No one can question Woolworths’ dominance of the grocery sector and its presence in the everyday lives of most Australians.

So if you are one of Woolworths’ numerous shareholders, you might be delighted with some recent news about the company.

Regular readers here at The Motley Fool might have spotted a fantastic piece by my colleague Bernd last week, concerning another blue chip Australian stock.

That stock is Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN). As we covered at the time, the 2023 brand ranking report from Brand Finance Australia found that Qantas is now the 41st strongest brand in Australia. That’s down from 1st place back in 2019.

However, the company that defended its pole position among the most valuable brands in Australia in 2023? It was none other than Woolworths.

Own Woolworths shares? You own a $15 billion brand

Brand Finance found that the Woolworths brand was worth $15.4 billion, albeit 5% lower than where it was valued last year. Not bad for a company with a market capitalisation of $43.57 billion.

Following Woolworths was Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), with a brand value of $13 billion (down 1%) year on year). Then there was Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). CBA’s brand value stood at $10.6 billion (down 7%).

Woolies’ arch-rival Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) came in at fourth place. That was with a brand value of $9.8 billion. In some potential schadenfreude for Woolies shareholders, the value of Coles’ brand fell by a far more drastic 9% from where it was in 2022.

Brand Finance noted that the retail sector (which the report lists Woolworths shares under) was “severely affected by inflation in 2023 which led to a reduced growth rate”.

It also addressed Woolworths directly:

…while the Australian economy managed to avoid a recession in 2023, the retail sector faced other challenges. For instance, real retail spending experienced a decline for three consecutive quarters due to consumers tightening their discretionary purchases amid rising living costs. This impacted brands such as Woolworths, Coles and Bunnings.

Bunnings is of course owned by Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).

So Woolworths shareholders certainly have something to feel good about today. It’s quite the feather in the cap to own the most valuable brand in Australia.

The post Own Woolworths shares? Here’s a $15 billion piece of news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Goldman Sachs says these blue chip ASX 200 shares are top buys
• Will a competition review hurt Woolworths and Coles shares?
• Here’s why brokers are very bullish on these ASX 200 blue-chip shares
• Buy these high-quality ASX 200 shares for your retirement portfolio
• Buy these ASX retirement shares in 2024

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Telstra Group and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Coles Group, Telstra Group, and Wesfarmers. 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’s been a rather positive start to the trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and most ASX 200 shares this Monday. At present, the ASX 200 has put on a rosy 0.65% and is back to around 7,470 points. But it’s a very different story when it comes to the Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price.

Pilbara shares are having a not so good, very bad day, to put it politely. The ASX 200 lithium stock closed at $3.47 a share last week. But Pilbara is currently down a hefty 4.76% to $3.31 a share after falling as low as $3.25 earlier this afternoon. At the time, that was a fall worth more than 6%.

So what’s got up Pilbara’s proverbial goat to warrant falls of this magnitude this Monday?

Well, it’s not entirely clear. There’s been no official ASX news out of Pilbara for a while now. However, this fall is part of a broader trend in the ASX lithium sub-sector.

ASX lithium woes drag down the Pilbara share price

Almost all ASX lithium shares are having a day to forget today. Take Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO). It’s down 3.8% right now at 20 cents a share. Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) has dropped 6.7% to 4.2 cents, while Arcadium Lithium plc (ASX: LTM) has shed a coincidental 7.48% down to $7.48 a share.

But it’s Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) that is making the news. Liontown shares are having a shocker, having tanked by 19.25% down to 96 cents apiece. That’s after dropping as low as 88 cents earlier this morning, a new 52-week low for the company.

This price collapse follows a poorly received update that we discussed earlier today. As my Fool colleague went into at the time, this update informed investors that Liontown is considering shelving expansion plans at a major lithium mine. It also revealed that a recent funding facility has been cancelled due to poor lithium pricing.

Brokers and shorters bet against lithium

The continued presence of Pilbara shares on the ASX’s most short-sold shares list might also be contributing as well. As my Fool colleague discussed just this morning, Pilbara continues to top the list of the ASX’s most-shorted shares.

Investors can be wary of investing in a company that has significant capital wagered against its shares rising. So this could also be at least partly to blame here.

Another factor we can also point to is a recent broker revision. ASX broker Bell Potter has just come out with a revised opinion on Pilbara shares. The broker has downgraded its 12-month share price target for Pilbara shares from $3.90 to $3.60. Hardly a vote of confidence.

So seems likely that it is this combination of events that is weighing on the Pilbara share price, as well as the entire ASX lithium space today.

Let’s see if the rest of the week holds anything better in store for the Pilbara Minerals share price and the company’s lithium peers.

The post Why has the Pilbara Minerals share price just tanked 6%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Mineral Resources shares tumble 9% on unfavourable broker rating
• How I invest and make money from ASX mining shares
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Are Pilbara Minerals shares a buy for that 7% dividend yield?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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.

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares are enjoying a good run on Monday, up 0.6% in afternoon trade.

The benchmark index is enjoying some tailwinds blowing from the United States after the S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) closed up 1.2% on Friday to set a new record high.

And today’s advance comes atop the 1.0% gains posted by the ASX 200 on Friday.

US and Aussie stock markets have moved higher over the past two trading days despite slumping expectations that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will begin cutting interest rates at its next meeting in March.

As of Friday, consensus expectations for a March Fed interest rate cut had fallen below 50%.

Despite minutes from the central bank’s December policy meeting revealing that FOMC members think the improving outlook for inflation in the US will usher in lower rates, they also noted that the first rate cuts might not occur until “the end of 2024”.

Higher rates for longer would not only pressure US stocks, but also many ASX 200 shares vulnerable to elevated interest rate levels in the US.

In potentially good news to investors, however, Goldman Sachs believes the world’s most watched central bank is indeed likely to begin easing in March.

ASX 200 shares could get a March boost from the Fed

According to the analysts at Goldman Sachs (courtesy of The Australian Financial Review), “Despite a modest bump in December, inflation news remains very favourable, with global core inflation averaging just 2.0% annualised over the last three months.”

The broker is forecasting that core inflation figures will average an annualised 1.9% for the second half of 2023, ushering in rate cuts that should help support ASX 200 shares in 2024.

Goldman stated:

With the labour market and inflation expectations also back in balance, we expect the Fed to start cutting the funds rate soon, probably in March. We expect consecutive 25 basis point [0.25%] cuts in March, May, and June, followed by quarterly cuts from Q3 onwards (for a total of five cuts in 2024).

And with the US Fed having led other central banks in the charge towards higher rates, Goldman now expects those banks will follow the Fed’s lead lower.

“We expect both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to closely follow with per-meeting cuts beginning in Q2, and to cut by 150bp each this year,” the broker said.

“Our expectation of significant cuts combined with resilient activity and falling inflation supports our above-consensus growth views in most major economies,” Goldman added.

The broker did not make any forecast for the RBA. But falling interest rates in the US and across Europe may at least keep Australia’s central bank for pushing through with another rate hike on 6 February.

Which would certainly be welcome news for investors in ASX 200 shares.

The post Buying ASX 200 shares? Here’s why Goldman Sachs expects a Fed interest rate cut in March appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why I think CBA is one of the best ASX bank shares
• Why Appen, Baby Bunting, Cooper Energy, and Liontown shares are sinking today
• Why 4DMedical, A2 Milk, QBE, and Zip shares are charging higher today
• ASX 200 mining stocks underperforming as Andrew Forrest shutters WA nickel mines
• Mineral Resources shares tumble 9% on unfavourable broker rating

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.

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Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are often seen as one of the best ASX bank shares. I’d agree with that assessment for a few different reasons, which I’ll explain in this article.

Investors have a lot of choice between banks on the ASX, such as ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB).

There are three key reasons why I think CBA is great.

Strong return on equity

For a bank, CBA has a solid return on equity (ROE). The ROE doesn’t directly say how good the CBA share price returns or dividends are going to be, but it’s a useful indicator.

The ROE tells us how much profit the business is making for how much shareholder money is retained in the company. If the ROE is increasing, that’s showing the business is making more profit for how much shareholder money is within the company, which is a promising sign.

In the 2023 annual result, CBA reported its ROE improved 130 basis points (1.30%) to 14% thanks to higher profits and lower share count. If CBA continued seeing an ROE of 14%, it’d suggest CBA would make a 14% return on the additional profit it retained, which is a good return.

Compare this to Westpac – in FY23 it reported ROE of 10.1%, considerably below CBA’s.

Good dividend record

CBA isn’t known for having a huge dividend yield compared to other ASX bank shares, partly because of its higher price/earnings (P/E) ratio.

But, I think the past four years have shown CBA’s ability and commitment to maintaining and growing the dividend as much as it can. The COVID-impacted year of 2020 saw a dividend cut of around 31%, but most years since 2010 have seen an increase, with the rest seeing the dividend maintained.

At the current CBA share price, it has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 5.6%. That’s better than what someone can get from a term deposit from CBA.

Business growth

CBA has built up a large market share in household lending and deposits.

The biggest ASX bank share is looking to grow in business lending. The commercial banking side of the Australian loan system is large and offers a lot of growth potential for CBA, if it can grow its market share here.

This was evident when CBA reported in the first quarter of FY24 when it said that its business lending grew by 11.4% or $14.5 billion in dollar terms. This was 1.4 times the overall lending system, which means it’s gaining market share in that sector.

If CBA can keep growing at a good pace in this area, it means the business can unlock stronger profits and put money towards an area where it can leverage its scale.

Foolish takeaway

There is a lot to like about CBA shares, but the one thing I’m wary of is the valuation. It’s now valued at 20 times FY24’s estimated earnings. That seems excessive, even if we allow for a bit of a premium between CBA and other ASX bank shares. I’d be happier to buy NAB shares for now because of their quality and lower valuation.

The post Why I think CBA is one of the best ASX bank shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• I’m buying cheap ASX shares to build my wealth in 2024 and beyond
• Top ASX shares to buy in 2024 instead of investing in a term deposit
• Forget term deposits and get rich with ASX shares the Warren Buffett way
• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares I think you could safely hold for decades
• ANZ shares breach 52-week record amid merger expectations

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having another solid session on Monday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.6% to 7,465.8 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market’s lead are listed below. Here’s why they are falling:

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The Appen share price is down 39% to 28 cents. Investors have been selling this artificial intelligence (AI) data services provider’s shares after tech giant Google terminated its contract with the company. This contract generated almost a third of its revenue in the recently completed FY 2023. Investors appear concerned that this could be the nail in the coffin for the struggling company.

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

The Baby Bunting share price is down 5% to $1.72. This morning, this baby products retailer released a half year trading update. It expects to report a 2.5% decline in sales to $248.5 million and a 31.3% reduction in pro forma net profit after tax to $3.5 million.

Cooper Energy Ltd (ASX: COE)

The Cooper Energy share price is down 26% to 10.7 cents. This follows the release of an update on the costs related to the BMG wells decommissioning programme. Management notes that the mid case cost estimate is increased to $240 million to $280 million (from $193 million to $198 million).

Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)

The Liontown share price is down 21% to 94.2 cents. Investors have been selling this lithium developer’s shares following the release of a disappointing update on the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project. Due to weak lithium prices, the company has commenced a review of the planned expansion and associated ramp-up of Kathleen Valley to preserve capital and reduce the near-term funding requirements of the Project. In addition, a recently announced $760 million debt funding package has been terminated due to lithium price weakness.

The post Why Appen, Baby Bunting, Cooper Energy, and Liontown shares are sinking today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Mineral Resources shares tumble 9% on unfavourable broker rating
• Why are Liontown shares crashing 26% on Monday?
• Appen shares crash 37% on huge Google blow
• 3 ASX small-cap shares I’d buy for the long-term
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. 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 positions in and has recommended Alphabet and Appen. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet. 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 afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another decent gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.6% to 7,465.8 points.

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

4DMedical Ltd (ASX: 4DX)

The 4DMedical share price is up 4% to 64.5 cents. This morning, the respiratory imaging technology company announced a commercial agreement with leading global healthcare company, Koninklijke Philips N.V. (NYSE: PHG). The two parties will establish a strategic collaboration to advance solutions to evaluate Veterans with deployment-related respiratory disease (DRRD), interstitial lung disease (ILD), and other respiratory illnesses in North America.

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

The A2 Milk share price is up 4% to $4.50. This appears to have been driven by a positive broker note out of Citi this morning. Its analysts are feeling positive about the infant formula company’s upcoming half-year results. So much so, it sees upside risk to sales expectations. Citi has a buy rating and $4.81 price target on its shares.

QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)

The QBE share price is up 2% to $15.60. This morning, Goldman Sachs retained its buy rating and $18.52 price target on this insurance giant’s shares. The broker highlights that industry peer Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE: TRV) smashed expectations during the fourth quarter. It believes this bodes well for QBE’s performance during the quarter.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)

The Zip share price is up 13% to 71.7 cents. Investors have been buying this buy now pay later provider’s shares after it delivered a strong quarterly update. Zip reported an 8.5% lift in transaction value over the prior corresponding period to $2.8 billion. And thanks to an improvement in its revenue margin to 8.2%, Zip’s revenue was up 26.1% to $225.6 million for the quarter. Management also revealed that first half group cash EBTDA is expected to be between $29 million and $33 million.

The post Why 4DMedical, A2 Milk, QBE, and Zip shares are charging higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Zip shares rocket 17% on ‘outstanding’ quarter
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 3 ASX dividend stocks to boost your income portfolio in 2024

Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. 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 positions in and has recommended Zip Co. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk. 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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