Category: Stock Market

The News Corporation (ASX: NWS) share price is tumbling on Friday despite posting its highest March quarter revenue numbers in its history.

The company’s revenue hit $2.49 billion in 3QFY22, which is 7% ahead of the previous corresponding period. This takes its year-to-date FY22 revenue to $7.7 billion, or 12% ahead of the same period last year.

But the news could not save the News Corp share price from diving over 10% this morning to $25.80. That is its lowest point in 16-months. At the time of writing, News Corp shares are trading at $25.92.

News Corp shares caught up in market sell-off

The market is in a dramatic sell-off with all sectors trading in the red following big falls in the US last night.

Perhaps investors were also not too impressed by the headline growth rates as they have been bolstered by one-off items. If you excluded these, like acquisitions, the normalised revenue growth rate would be a more modest 6%.

Most divisions reporting quarterly growth

At least shareholders can take some comfort that just about every division under the group delivered growth. The only outlier was Subscription Video Services, which declined 6% in the quarter to $494 million.

This is despite higher revenues from its video streaming services BINGE and Kayo. The gains were offset by fewer residential broadcast subscribers.

Leveraged to the residential boom

The segment that did the best was Digital Real Estate Services. Its quarterly revenue jumped 19% to $65 million. The division includes News Corp’s holding in REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) and home loan brokering network, Mortgage Choice.

The next best division was Dow Jones with its 16% uplift in quarterly revenue to $487 million. Acquisitions contributed to the gain. These include Investor’s Business Daily and the Oil Price Information Services business and related assets.

The group’s Book Publishing and News Media segments also grew quarterly revenue by 5% each to $515 million and $580 million, respectively.

How the News Corp share price compares to its peers

Net income and total earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also improved with the higher revenue. Net income in the quarter increased 8% to $104 million and EBITDA jumped 20% to $358 million.

“News Corp revenues and profitability set new records for the third quarter, building on the momentum of preceding record quarters,” said its chief executive Robert Thomson.

“We have now achieved more in profitability through the first three quarters of fiscal 2022 — at over $1.3 billion and rising 27 percent compared to the prior year — than in any entire fiscal year since our rebirth in 2013.”

The New Corp share price has fallen 19% since January. Its rivals are faring better with the Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) share price down 15% and Seven West Media Ltd (ASX: SVM) gaining 3% in 2022.

The post News Corporation share price crashes despite posting record quarterly result appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Betmakers share price halted amid reports of major News Corp deal

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau 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 recommended REA Group Limited. 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 looking like this Friday will prove a very disappointing end to the week for ASX shares. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has shed a nasty 2.6%, which puts it back under 7,200 points. Unfortunately for enthusiasts of the Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price, the news is even worse.

Macquarie shares are currently down a depressing 7.78% at $186.88 each. This steep fall comes after the ASX bank reported its full-year results for the 2022 financial year this morning.

As my Fool colleague James covered earlier, Macquarie reported a 56% increase in profits to $4.71 billion. It also announced a 36% rise in operating income to $17.32 billion, with $774.8 billion in assets under management.

But let’s check out Macquarie’s dividend announcement in more detail.

Macquarie dividend: everything you need to know

Macquarie doesn’t have the same kind of dividend income reputation as its peers in the ASX banking sector. But the bank still announced a final dividend for FY 2022 of $3.50 a share this morning. This represents a slight 4.5% increase on last year’s final dividend of $3.35 per share. Like most of Macquarie’s dividends of recent years, this payment will also come partially franked at 40%.

Macquarie shares will trade ex-dividend for this payment on 16 May, so any investor who wants to receive it will have to own Macquarie shares before then. It will then hit investors’ bank accounts on 4 June.

Macquarie is operating its dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) for this dividend too. So investors have the option of receiving Macquarie shares instead of cash for this dividend if they so wish. In this case, Macquarie’s DRIP allows a 1.5% discount rate for shares received if an investor opts for the reinvestment plan.

Macquarie‘s previous dividend was the interim payment of $2.72 per share that was doled out back in December. Together with the newly announced final dividend, this means Macquarie shares would have a forward dividend yield of 3.32% on current pricing.

Macquarie shares have been a poor performer in 2022 so far. The ASX investment bank has lost almost 12% of its value over the year to date. However, it is still up by 17% over the past 12 months.

At the current Macquarie share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $72.48 billion.

The post Everything you need to know about the latest Macquarie dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: Macquarie and REA updates disappoint
• Macquarie share price in focus amid FY22 profit surge
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the share market’s volume charts on Thursday

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 recommended Macquarie Group Limited. 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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At lunch on Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week deep in the red. The benchmark index is currently down 2.5% to 7,178.5 points.

Here’s what is happening on the ASX 200 today:

Macquarie full year results

The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price is falling on Friday. This follows the release of the investment bank’s full year results. Although Macquarie reported a profit surge in FY 2022, this still fell short of the market’s lofty expectations. The company reported a second-half net profit of $2,663 million, up 31% over the prior corresponding period. This compares to Goldman Sachs’ estimate of $2,800 million. Macquarie’s $3.50 per share final dividend was also short of Goldman’s forecast of $4.40 per share.

Block misses on earnings but outlook impresses

The Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) share price is trading lower but faring better than most in the tech sector today. This follows the release of a first quarter update that revealed softer than expected revenue and earnings. However, a strong start to the second quarter has offset this and prevented a much greater selloff.

REA shares sold off

The REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) share price has crashed to a 52-week low after the property listings company’s third-quarter update disappointed. For the three months ended 31 March, REA delivered a 23% increase in revenue to $278 million and a 27% increase in EBITDA to $155 million. However, this was 7% and 6% lower, respectively, than Goldman Sachs’ estimates.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Friday has been the PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price with a 4% gain. This follows news that insiders have been buying the medical device company’s shares. Going the other way, the News Corp (ASX: NWS) share price is the worst performer on the index with an 11% decline. This follows the release of the media giant’s quarterly update.

The post ASX 200 midday update: Macquarie and REA updates disappoint appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• REA share price sinks 9% to 52-week low following Q3 update
• Macquarie share price in focus amid FY22 profit surge
• Block share price on watch amid Q1 earnings miss
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

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 Block, Inc. and POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and REA Group Limited. 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 Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) share price is sinking today. It’s currently down 13.77% to $4.26, adding to the declines of recent times.

It’s down 30% since 28 April and it has fallen around 60% since the start of the 2022 calendar year.

But, it’s not just Temple & Webster that is suffering today. The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 2.49%, with fellow retail shares Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT) slumping 10.5% and Peter Warren Automotive Holdings Ltd (ASX: PWR) tumbling 7.7%.

There is currently a lot of market attention on the level of inflation that’s happening globally and how central bankers will need to raise interest rates to tackle this.

Recent trading update

Earlier this week, Temple & Webster told investors how its business is performing in an update.

In the second half of FY22, its trading was in line with management’s expectations with year-on-year revenue growth of 23% for the period of 1 January 2022 to 30 April 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. When compared to the same period in 2020, the business reported revenue growth of 116%.

Despite this growth, the Temple & Webster share price has been falling since this update.

The furniture and homewares retailer said its diversified supply chain “continues to hold up well” and underpin growth.

The company is also investing in areas that are helping it grow its competitive position, such as its private label offering.

Temple & Webster also recently launched the home improvement website The Build. It wants to become a sizeable digital competitor in the space.

The post The Temple & Webster share price is being crushed, down 14% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why ANZ, ARB, Janus Henderson, and Temple & Webster shares are falling
• Are these 2 compelling ASX shares buys in May 2022?
• Wesfarmers share price slips as Bunnings competition heats up
• Why ARB, AVZ, Temple & Webster, and Zip shares are sinking
• Temple & Webster share price tumbles despite launching into $26bn home improvement market

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 positions in and has recommended Cettire Limited and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cettire Limited and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. 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.

What happened

Shares of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB), and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) were plunging today, down 5.6%, 6.8%, and 7.9%, respectively, as of 2:05 p.m. ET. There wasn’t any material news out of these companies today, although Apple did announce it was leading an initiative to implement passwordless sign-in open standards for the web. In addition, news out of the European Union suggested stiffer rules for big tech, and potential penalties could be in the offing.

More likely, these companies fell in sympathy with an overall market decline, with the S&P 500 index falling 3.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite down a whopping 5.2% as of 2:06 p.m. ET.

So what

One could probably chalk today’s market decline to a reversal from yesterday’s big rally. Yesterday, the Federal Reserve released its minutes for its May meeting. The Fed hiked interest rates 50 basis points, as expected, and also announced plans for a gradual reduction in its balance sheet of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities.

The market likely rallied because Chairman Jay Powell said the Fed was not yet considering a higher 75 basis-point hike at the next meeting, which some had feared. In addition, perhaps the gradual ramping up of balance-sheet reduction calmed the nerves of the markets, which were expecting the Fed to slam even harder on the brakes.

After a relief rally, there’s usually a reversion back to skepticism. Investors are now likely turning their attention to the next inflation reports, which come out next week. If inflation stays high, the Federal Reserve may have to move faster, which could increase risks of a recession.

A first-time jobless-claims number also came out today, showing first-time claims ticked up above 200,000. That was higher than expected, although unemployment is still very low by historical standards. Still, the above-consensus number likely alerted some investors that the Fed could be hiking into a slowdown.

High inflation and higher interest rates also hurt the intrinsic value of high-growth stocks with their earnings well into the future. So even as bad as Apple, Meta, and Salesforce were today, the high-growth Cathie Wood-like stocks were down even more.

Still, often times, “tech” is painted with a broad brush, even though Meta Platforms trades at a bargain-basement valuation of 15.9 times earnings and Apple trades at a reasonable 25 times earnings. It’s not surprising that Salesforce is down more than the others, as it trades at 116 times earnings, although just 37 times earnings based on forward estimates.

There could also be some hedge fund liquidations today. This could occur if funds are now forced to sell stocks due to higher rates on margin loans or a tidal wave of investors are asking for redemptions.

In terms of the news, Apple, in conjunction with Alphabet and Microsoft, announced they would work together to expand support for passwordless sign-ons across websites and apps. This is based on standards created by the FIDO Alliance (the Fast Identity Online non-profit for web security) and the World Wide Web Consortium. The consortium aims to grow more secure solutions such as fingerprint, face, or device PIN number sign-ins, as passwords have become cumbersome and a growing security liability in recent years.

European lawmakers also recently proposed regulations that could force Apple to open up its devices to other third-party payments systems besides Apple Pay. The EU is even contemplating a large fine on Apple for failing to provide access to other digital wallets in the past. European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said, “We have indications that Apple restricted third-party access to key technology necessary to develop rival mobile wallet solutions on Apple’s devices.”

Big tech has regularly been subjected to hefty fines from the European Union, and it looks like another could be coming. It’s obviously not a great time for Apple and other tech companies for that to happen, given recent supply chain woes and fears over a consumer device demand slowdown.

Now what

It’s hard to know what to do with all-star large-cap tech companies today. They’re not unprofitable, like so many high-growth software, electric-vehicle, and meme stocks. The three I’ve previously mentioned are also reasonably priced, given their scale and growth potential as the world continues to digitize.

Today and the upcoming months could continue to be volatile, as every month will bring new inflation data, which will spur a debate over whether or not we might have a recession. And the ongoing war in Ukraine provides even more uncertainty.

However, for highly profitable, cash-rich tech companies with large moats and solid growth outlooks, such as these three names, this marketwide pullback is likely going to turn out to be a good long-term buying opportunity. Investors in these names should probably hold on over the summer, while those without a position who have a longtime horizon may wish to think about scaling gradually into owning these stocks. 

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

The post Why Apple, Meta Platforms, and Salesforce stocks plunged today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• Why Meta Platforms stock charged sharply on Thursday
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• Why Facebook’s Meta stock is soaring 18% in after-hours trading
• Which ASX 200 shares have historically performed well during rising inflation?

Billy Duberstein has positions in Alphabet (C shares), Apple, Meta Platforms, Inc., and Microsoft and has the following options: short June 2022 $145 puts on Microsoft. His clients may own shares of the companies mentioned. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, 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. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Apple, Meta Platforms, Inc., Microsoft, and Salesforce.com. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Apple, Meta Platforms, Inc., and Salesforce.com. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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

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Shares of Incannex Healthcare Ltd (ASX: IHL) are on ice today pending a company announcement. Before being placed on the backburner, the Incannex share price rested at 38 cents apiece.

Zooming out, shares of the cannabis player have faltered more than 39% this year to date, amid a violent selloff in growth-type shares in 2022.

In wider market moves, the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) has crumbled today and is now more than 3% in the red, bringing losses to 12% this year.

Meanwhile, in the US, the Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq) fell sharply overnight, marking its largest single-day drop since 2020.

Investors sold off shares in the tech-biased Nasdaq after US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell raised the Fed’s base interest rate by 0.5 percentage points, in an effort to control inflationary pressures.

Why is the Incannex share price halted?

The company requested its shares be put on ice in lieu of a market-sensitive announcement regarding upcoming study readouts.

“[Incannex] requests a trading halt to be applied to its securities…pending an announcement by the company regarding results of its extensive preclinical study assessing IHL-216A in a sports concussion model,” it said in the filing.

“The Company requests that the trading halt remains in place until the earlier of the commencement of normal trading on May 10, 2022 or the release of the announcement.”

Naturally the ASX awarded Incannex its request and, as such, investors must now wait until the company posts its next update on or before May 10.

Earlier in the year, investors appeared rattled by Incannex’s decision to acquire APIRx Pharmaceutical USA, LLC for US$93 million.

Even though it now claims a total addressable market of more than US$400 billion globally, investors didn’t appear as thrilled.

As such, losses have continued into May and shares have stooped from a high of 70 cents in March.

Incannex Healthcare share price snapshot

In the last 12 months, the Incannex Healthcare share price has held a 24% gain. However, it has collapsed into the red on each of the shorter time frames.

The post Down 25% in a month, the Incannex share price is now halted. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• How have ASX cannabis shares been performing so far in 2022?

Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price cratered overnight, falling as much as 11% to hit US$35,612.

At time of writing, the world’s biggest crypto by market cap is down 9% over the past 24 hours, currently worth US$36,509.

The last time the Bitcoin price fell as much in a single day was when Russian troops crossed into Ukraine, sending global markets into turmoil in late January.

And it’s not just Bitcoin. CoinMarketCap tells us that all but one of the top 100 cryptos by market cap are well into the red today (stablecoins aside).

So, what’s going on?

Bitcoin price succumbs to rate fears

The finger of blame looks to be pointing squarely at surging global inflation figures. Figures that are forcing central banks the world over to begin ratcheting up interest rates more aggressively than most analysts had expected.

The US Federal Reserve restrained itself this week with a 0.50% rate hike rather than the feared 0.75%. But investors are all too aware that further rises are just around the bend from the Fed and other central banks the world over.

Following a big relief rally on Wednesday, yesterday (overnight Aussie time) US markets tanked. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way down, plummeting 5%.

And as we’ve seen throughout this year, the Bitcoin price tends to move in close alignment with risk assets like high growth tech shares.

What the experts are saying

Commenting on the crypto rout, Jason Lau, chief operating officer of Okcoin exchange said (quoted by Bloomberg), “Investors are jittery about the Fed continuing to raise interest rates after yesterday’s 50 bps hike. The potential of additional rate hikes makes the trajectory of the global economy uncertain.”

Digital asset fund manager Valkyrie Investments head of research, Josh Olszewicz added:

Bitcoin has become increasingly correlated with US trading hours and US traditional market indices, likely due to a combination of increasing US institutional presence as well as the absence of China after the sweeping bans last year.

Since March this year, most of the large selloffs in Bitcoin have kicked off during US market open, potentially suggesting a market participant continues to sell every bullish rally.

Following the latest round of selling, the Bitcoin price is down 23% so far in 2022.

The post Bitcoin price plunges 11%. What’s going on? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Another country adopts Bitcoin as legal tender. What does this mean for investors?
• ‘Stupid and evil’. Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger unload on Bitcoin
• Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Coinbase Jumped Today
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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Bitcoin. 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 WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price has fallen a lot over the past month. Could the ASX tech share now be a major opportunity?

For readers that aren’t sure what WiseTech does, it describes itself as a leading provider of software to the logistics execution industry globally. It has over 18,000 global logistics companies as customers across 165 countries, including 42 of the top 50 global third-party logistics providers and 24 of the 25 largest global freight forwarders worldwide.

Its key platform is called CargoWise.

What’s happening to the WiseTech share price?

Lots of ASX shares, particularly ones that are often labelled as ASX growth shares, have seen price declines in 2022 amid high inflation and commitments by central bankers that they will keep increasing interest rates to bring inflation back to a more normal level.

Since the start of 2022, the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price has fallen nearly 40%, the Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price has dropped 31% and the Seek Limited (ASX: SEK) share price has fallen around 25%.

The WiseTech share price has not been missed in the sell-off by investors, falling by around 30%.

Why do interest rates matter for asset valuations? Billionaire Ray Dalio once explained:

It all comes down to interest rates. As an investor, all you’re doing is putting up a lump sum payment for a future cash flow.

However, WiseTech continues to see growth, with rising profit margins.

FY22 half-year earnings wrap

The first half of FY22 saw total revenue rise 18% to $281 million, with CargoWise revenue up 29% to $193 million, driven by new customer wins, price and increasing existing customer usage.

It said that market penetration momentum is continuing, with two new global rollouts secured in the first half of FY22, including FedEx.

The company is also working on improving its efficiencies. An organisation-wide efficiency and acquisition synergy program is ‘well-progressed’ with $20.2 million of gross cost reductions in the first half of FY22. It said it’s on track to achieve a cost reduction run-rate of around $45 million for FY22, beating its previous target of around $40 million.

Operating leverage saw the business grow its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) by 54% to $137.7 million and underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) went up by 77% to $77.3 million.

In FY22, the company is expecting revenue growth of between 18% to 25%, representing revenue of between $600 million to $635 million.

It also upgraded its FY22 EBITDA growth guidance to a range of 33% to 43%, up from 26% to 38%. The new guidance represents a range in dollar terms of between $275 million to $295 million.

Is the WiseTech share price a buy?

Despite the decline, Citi has just affirmed its neutral target on the business with a price target of $46.35 because of the recent slowing of freight volumes, which could impact WiseTech’s revenue because it generates revenue from the number of transactions. Therefore, revenue may be at the lower end of the FY22 revenue guidance, which is stated above.

However, Ord Minnett rates the business as a buy with a price target of $52.

Both brokers are expecting growth in the short-term for WiseTech.

The post The WiseTech share price has tumbled 20% in a month. Is it a bargain? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Appen share price is soaring 5% on Thursday. Could this be why?
• Why are ASX tech shares having such a dire run on Monday?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Why are ASX 200 tech shares having such a dire day?
• Why Andromeda Metals, ARB, BCI Minerals, and WiseTech shares are tumbling lower

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Altium, WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SEEK Limited. 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 Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price is tumbling by more than 7% on Friday.

Its woes follow a disastrous session for the US stock market. That appears to be plaguing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this morning with the index’s tech sector bearing the brunt.

At the time of writing, the Xero share price is $88.41, 7.13% lower than its previous close.

However, at its lowest point of the day so far the business and accounting software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider’s stock was trading at $87.89 – representing a 7.67% drop and a new 52-week low.

For comparison, the ASX 200 is currently down 2.52%.

Let’s take a closer look at what could be weighing on the SaaS provider’s stock today.

Xero share price sinks

The Xero share price is suffering on Friday after the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) plunged 4.9% overnight.

The tech-heavy index was weighed down by some of its biggest names, with the NASDAQ-100 (NASDAQ: NDX) recording a 5% tumble.

That’s likely dragging on the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ). It has dumped a whopping 4.07% at the time of writing.

That makes it the worst-performing ASX 200 sector on Friday. Though, it’s worth noting that none of the ASX 200’s 11 sectors are trading in the green right now.

However, Xero’s stock isn’t the tech sector’s biggest weight today. That unfortunate crown is worn by Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) – its share price is exhibiting a 9.3% fall.

Looking to the broader ASX technology sector, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) has dipped 4.15%. That leaves it almost 29% lower than it was at the start of 2022.

Though, that’s outperforming the Xero share price. The SaaS provider’s stock has fallen 39% year to date.

The post Xero share price plummets 7% as tech sector struggles appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Analysts rate these ASX growth shares as buys in May
• Why are ASX tech shares having such a dire run on Monday?
• Why is the Xero share price sinking 6% today?
• Here’s why ASX 200 tech shares are having such a stellar end to the week
• Why the Xero share price is a buy right now: experts

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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 Life360, Inc. and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Xero. 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 National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is trading lower on Friday.

In morning trade, the banking giant’s shares are down 1% to $31.90.

This is a relatively positive outcome given that the ASX 200 index is currently down a sizeable 2.2%.

This appears to have been driven by a positive response to NAB’s half-year results from a leading broker.

What did the broker say about the bank’s results?

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts were reasonably pleased with NAB’s half-year results. Although, it acknowledges that the bank’s earnings growth was a touch slower than it was forecasting, it was pleased with its net interest margin (NIM).

The broker commented:

NAB’s 1H22 cash earnings grew by 4% on pcp to A$3,480 mn, 2% below GSe, driven by lower-than-expected Trading non-interest income and higher operating expenses. The interim DPS of A73¢ was slightly above GSe (A72¢), reflecting a payout ratio of 68%.

NAB’s 1H22 NIM was down 6 bp hoh to 1.63%, which was 2 bp above our expectations (GSe 1.61%). NAB expects a moderate positive NIM impact from the rising rate environment on replicating portfolios in 2H22.

Is the NAB share price good value?

After reviewing its half-year results, Goldman Sachs believes the NAB share price is good value at the current level.

As a result, the broker has retained its conviction buy rating and lifted its price target to $34.17.

Based on the current NAB share price, this implies a potential return of 7.1% for investors over the next 12 months before dividends and 12% to 13% including dividends.

Why is Goldman bullish?

Goldman is bullish on NAB due to its balance sheet mix. It feels this gives NAB the best exposure to the domestic system growth.

In addition, the broker is positive on NAB’s NIM outlook, strong franchise performance, and feels the NAB share price is attractively priced.

The broker explained:

We reiterate our Buy rating (on CL) on NAB and it remains our preferred sector exposure given: i) NAB’s balance sheet mix provides the best exposure to the domestic system growth we foresee over the next 12-18 months, which should favour commercial lending over mortgage lending, ii) NAB’s franchise is performing strongly, growing at or above system growth in most segments, iii) NAB’s disclosure on NIM leverage to higher rates is even more optimistic than our own assessment, iv) while valuations are no longer cheap, our revised TP continues to offer c. 13% TSR. We therefore reiterate our Buy recommendation (on CL).

The post What’s the outlook for the NAB share price following the bank’s latest results? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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