Category: Stock Market

Due to the market crash this year, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has recorded a 7.5% decline over the last three years.

While this is disappointing, not all shares on the market are down over the period. In fact, some have generated mouth-watering returns over the three years.

Three top ASX 200 shares that are up over 1,000% in three years are listed below:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price is up a remarkable 1495% over the last three years. The driver of this strong gain has been the success of its buy now pay later offering in the ANZ market and particularly the US market. Over the three years Afterpay has grown its active customer numbers at an extraordinary rate. For example, as of the end of March, Afterpay had 8.4 million active customers. This was up 122% over the 12 months and comprised 3.2 million customers in the ANZ market, 4.4 million customers in the US, and 0.8 million customers in the UK. From these customers the company delivered quarterly underlying sales of $2.6 billion. As a comparison, just under three years earlier on June 30 2017, Afterpay had 840,000 active customers and was generating quarterly underlying sales of $271 million.

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The Appen share price has zoomed 1028% higher since this time in 2017. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the artificial intelligence company’s shares due to its explosive earnings growth. This has been driven by the increasing demand for its data services due to the growing importance of machine learning and artificial intelligence models for big business. Appen is exposed to these growing markets as its million-strong crowd-sourced team prepare the high quality data used in these models. Many of the largest tech companies in the world such as Facebook and Microsoft have been customers during the period.

Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)

The PolyNovo share price is up a massive 1059% during the last three years. The driver of this strong gain has been the enormous promise of the medical device company’s NovoSorb product. It is a dermal scaffold for the regeneration of the skin when lost through extensive surgery or burn. The company is also looking to extend the use of NovoSorb into the hernia device and breast augmentation markets. Combined, these three markets have an addressable opportunity worth an estimated $7.5 billion per year.

More reading

• Is Santos the best ASX 200 energy share?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: New ASX bull run continues
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Which is the cheapest ASX bank stock on the market?
• 3 ASX 200 shares to buy before the market rebounds

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and Appen 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.

The post These ASX 200 shares are up over 1,000% in just 3 years appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has continued its recent form and delivered investors another week of bumper gains last week with a 2.78% rise. It’s the second week in a row that the ASX 200 has risen, although last week was a much more enthusiastic performance than the week prior.

It comes off the exciting news that governments around the country are beginning to ease restrictions surrounding the coronavirus, with cafes and restaurants reopening for in-room dining as soon as last Friday and small social gatherings now permitted in many states.

We also had some positive news on the share markets that added to the bullish sentiment.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) reported its earnings for the 12 months to March 31. Although the company announced a 10% drop in earnings per share, an 8% decline of net profits and a 25% haircut to its dividend, investors were in a very forgiving mood, pushing Macquarie’s share price up 5.67% to $105.19 on Friday and up 9.57% for the week.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) was also (once again) the star of the weekly ASX show. After it emerged last weekend that Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings had built up a ~5% stake in Aftrpay over March and April, investors were bracing themselves for some of that volatility that Afterpay is famous for. And it didn’t disappoint.

Afterpay shares opened 30% higher last Monday morning before briefly falling over 8% after the bell, before again rocketing back nearly 5% afterwards. All in all, it was a 37% week for the buy now, pay later pioneer. What’s more, last week’s moves mean that Afterpay shares are up close to 400% since the lows we saw in March. Got FOMO yet?

We also heard from Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) last week when it delivered its half-year earnings result on Monday. Investors had been expecting the worst and the bank didn’t disappoint. Westpac reported a 70% collapse in cash earnings and an interim dividend ‘deferral’. Investors must have been bracing for even worse numbers though – Westpac shares ended up over 3% higher for the week on Friday.

How did the markets end the week?

As we’ve already alluded, the markets had a very healthy week. The ASX 200 opened last week at 5,245.9 points and ended the week at 5,391.10 points – pinning this week’s gains at 2.78%.

Monday and Tuesday were the strongest days last week, with 1.4% and 1.6% rises respectively. Wednesday and Thursday both saw mild falls, and a mild rise of 0.5% followed on Friday.

Meanwhile, the ALL ORDINARIES (INDEXASX: XAO) had an even better week than the ASX 200, rising from 5,325 points on Monday to 5,488 points on Friday – up 3.06% for the week.

Which ASX shares were the biggest winners and losers?

As always, let’s have a look at the biggest ASX winners and losers for the week. Let’s take the bins out and get rid of the bad news first with the losers:

Worst ASX losers	% loss for the week
Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE)	6.5%
Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING)	6.5%
Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC)	6.2%
Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)	6.1%

As you can see, lithium miner Orocobre topped the losers last week. There were no major announcements or news out of Orocobre that might easily explain this share’s wooden spoon, but Orocobre did recently report some delays with capital works at one of its mines due to the coronavirus.

Investors weren’t too wild about poultry producer Inghams last week either. The company did deliver a market update on Monday in which it warned that the current economic environment would make it difficult for the company to issue accurate guidance in 2020.

Former dividend heavyweight Alumina also made the list, as did Qantas. Regarding the latter, perhaps investors were spooked after Warren Buffett revealed Berkshire Hathaway has sold out of all its US airline holdings last weekend.

Now we’ve discussed the losers, let’s now take a look at which stocks made investors the happiest last week.

Best ASX gainers	% gain for the week
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)	37%
EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)	28.7%
Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)	28.1%
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)	18.3%

As we have discussed earlier, Afterpay was the clear ASX winner of the week with an eye-watering 37% gain. Investors are clearly very excited to have a company of the size and reputation as Tencent throwing its weight behind the company.

It was a great week for payment stocks across the board, with the smaller EML Payments also seeing a healthy surge in buying. There was no major news out of EML this week, so it’s possible that investors were getting a bit carried away with Afterpay and some of this sentiment has spilled into EML. The coronavirus is also seeing a big surge in cashless payments, so this paradigm might also be adding some fuel to EML’s fire.

Healthcare wunderkind Polynovo and WAAAX investing favourite Appen also saw healthy bumps this week.

What is this week looking like for the ASX?

The news of potential further easing of coronavirus restrictions is clearly an exciting news piece for investors to contemplate and it’s possible that this might translate into higher ASX share prices this week. We are starting to get a clearer insight into how the ASX’s biggest companies are being affected by the coronavirus lockdowns with earnings trickling through, which is certainly helping ease some of the fears of the unknown (although I maintain it’s far too early to ascertain all of the damage just yet).

Over in the US, we got some awful news on Friday. According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs in April and the US unemployment rate now stands at 14.7% – a level not seen since the Great Depression almost 100 years ago. We’ll have to see if this news flows through to US investor sentiment on Monday night (our time).

Back home, there’s a third-quarter update from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) due out on Wednesday. CBA is the only ‘Big 4’ bank that hasn’t yet reported any post-coronavirus earnings, so that will certainly be interesting viewing and one most ASX investors will be keeping an eye on this week.

Before we go, here’s how the major ASX blue-chips are looking as we start a new week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, here is the lay of the land for some leading market indicators:

•     S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) at 5,391.1 points
•     ALL ORDINARIES (XAO) at 5,488 points
•     Dow Jones Industrial Average at 24,331.32 points
•     Gold (Spot) is swapping hands for US$1,700.60 per troy ounce
•     Iron ore is asking US$87.18 a tonne
•     Crude oil (Brent) is trading at US$30.97 a barrel
•     Crude oil (WTI) is going for US$24.74 a barrel
•     Australian dollar buying 65.29 US cents

Foolish takeaway

The strong momentum the ASX has shown since late March was on full display last week. Although I am just as excited as every other Australian at the prospects of restrictions being lifted, I am still cautious that the current levels we are seeing on the ASX boards are not leaving a lot of wiggle room if the economy rebounds in any other fashion than a sharp ‘V’. Therefore, I would still recommend investing with caution in the current market, with one eye ever on the horizon.

As always, stay safe, stay rational and stay Foolish, fellow investors!

Returns as of 7/4/2020

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of National Australia Bank Limited, Newcrest Mining Limited, and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. and Emerchants Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO, Appen Ltd, COLESGROUP DEF SET, Transurban Group, Wesfarmers Limited, and Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Emerchants 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.

More reading

• 3 top ASX dividend shares to buy right now
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Which is the cheapest ASX bank stock on the market?
• 3 ASX 200 shares to buy before the market rebounds

The post ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: New ASX bull run continues appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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According to the latest weekly economic report by banking giant Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), its economics team continues to believe that the cash rate will remain on hold until at least the end of 2023.

It commented: “We do not expect the cash rate to be increased before end 2023 with our forecast for an unemployment rate still holding around 6% by that time.”

In light of this, I continue to believe the Australian share market is the best place to go to earn a passive income.

Three dividend shares that I would buy are listed below. Here’s why I like them:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

Accent Group is the footwear focused retail group behind store brands such as HYPE DC and Platypus. The company’s FY 2020 result is likely to be impacted greatly from store closures and its final dividend may be cancelled in August. However, I’ve been impressed with its online sales growth during the pandemic, which just goes to show that demand is still there. As a result, I’m confident that its retail stores will bounce back strongly in FY 2021 when trading conditions return to normal. Based on this, I estimate that its shares offer a fully franked 5.5% FY 2021 dividend yield.

Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY)

I think the current crisis and the impact it has had on dividend payments by many companies shows that it pays to maintain a diverse portfolio. For this reason, I think the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF would be a good option for income investors. This is because it provides investors with exposure to many of the highest yielding blue chip shares on the ASX through a single investment. At present I estimate that its units offer a forward dividend yield of at least 5%.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

A final dividend share I would buy is Wesfarmers. I like the conglomerate due to its high quality portfolio, solid growth potential, and sizeable cash balance. The latter is likely to be used by the Bunnings owner to bolster its portfolio in the coming years and drive further growth. For now, I estimate that Wesfarmers’ shares will provide a dividend yield of approximately 4% in FY 2021.

More reading

• Which is the cheapest ASX bank stock on the market?
• Top broker urging you to buy this ASX 200 retail stock next week
• 2 high yield ASX dividend shares to hold for a decade
• Highlights from the week: ASX 200 rises 2.75%
• The first personal finance thing Warren Buffett would do

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. 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 3 top ASX dividend shares to buy right now appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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At the start of each week I like to look at ASIC’s short position report in order to find out which shares are being targeted by short sellers.

This is because I believe it is worth keeping a close eye on short interest levels as high levels can sometimes be a sign that something isn’t quite right with a company.

With that in mind, here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX this week according to ASIC:

• Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) remains the most shorted share on the ASX with short interest of 14%. Short sellers may regret not closing their positions sooner. The Myer share price rocketed 52% higher last week amid optimism that stores will reopen soon.  
• Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) has seen its short interest fall week on week to 13.4%. The lithium miner has been one of the most shorted shares for some time due to concerns over supply outstripping demand for the battery making ingredient.
• Speedcast International Ltd (ASX: SDA) has short interest of 13.2%. Things look very bleak for the communications satellite technology provider. Last month it revealed plans to declare itself bankrupt after failing in its efforts to recapitalise.
• Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) has seen its short interest drop lower again to 11.9%. As with Galaxy, short sellers have been targeting Orocobre due to a collapse in the price of lithium. In addition to this, Orocobre recently advised that its development plans at its Argentine operation have been delayed by the pandemic.
• JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) has seen its short interest reduce week on week to 10.2%. Unfortunately for short sellers, last week the retailer released an update which revealed that its sales were very strong during the third quarter.
• Pilbara Mineral Ltd (ASX: PLS) has short interest of 9.5%, which is down slightly week on week. As with the other lithium miners, short sellers have been going after Pilbara Minerals due to weak lithium prices and concerns that a recovery could be delayed because of the pandemic.
• Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) has seen its short interest remain flat at 9.4%. As with Myer, short sellers may be regretting this one. Last week the buy now pay later provider’s shares jumped 50% higher after positive industry news and a strong April update.
• Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING) has short interest of 9.3%, which is down sharply week on week. With the country on the verge of reopening, short sellers may believe the worst is behind the poultry company.
• Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) has seen its short interest slide to 9.3%. The biopharmaceutical company’s shares trade at a significant premium to the market average. Short sellers may believe Clinuvel won’t be able to deliver the level of growth that justifies this.
• Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) has seen its short interest fall to 8.8%. Short sellers may be concerned that some of the retailer’s brands, such as Macpac, will not fare well during the coronavirus crisis.

More reading

• 3 top ASX growth shares to buy with $3,000 after the market crash
• Top broker urging you to buy this ASX 200 retail stock next week
• These are the star ASX shares of the week
• ASX shares and investing trends that could boom post COVID-19
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week

James Mickleboro owns shares of Galaxy Resources Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Super Retail 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 These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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