It’s funny to call an ASX stock that’s rocketed 217% in the past year a “bargain”.

But that’s precisely the situation we have with Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU), according to the experts at Blackwattle.

Let’s check out their rationale:

‘A pause for breath’

The Neuren share price has plunged 8.2% since late December.

But the simple fact is that the Blackwattle team is not worried.

“Neuren fell 5% in January, which we saw as a pause for breath, after rising 115% over the previous 3 months,” read its memo to clients.

The steep climb in the preceding quarter was due to multiple factors.

“The rise over the previous three months was driven by the release of strong revenue growth from Daybue, their sole approved drug treating Rett Syndrome in the US and positive phase 2 trial results for their new drug NNZ-2591.”

The new drug development is critical in the Blackwattle team’s continued bullishness.

“The phase 2 results for NNZ-2591 were particularly exciting and provide strong confidence for NNZ-2591 to progress towards a phase 3 trial.”

A huge 2024 expected for this ASX stock

Blackwattle experts are far from the only ones not at all put off by either the massive rise in the past year or the diving stock price over the past six weeks.

Broking platform CMC Invest shows all five analysts covering Neuren still rating the stock as a buy.

“We continue to retain a large position in the company given the multiple value accretive upcoming catalysts in 2024,” read the memo.

“The key drivers for the portfolio tend to be fundamental company updates which give high quality companies the opportunity to demonstrate their ongoing strength and the market can reassess the outlook and what to pay for it.”

Neuren Pharmaceuticals is scheduled to release its preliminary financial results on 23 February.

The post A hot ASX stock with ‘multiple catalysts’ looming is 8% down. Time to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Inghams, IAG, Neuren Pharmaceuticals, and Pro Medicus shares are sinking today
• This ASX 200 healthcare share is diving 13% as short sellers take aim
• If you’d put $20,000 in this ASX healthcare stock in December 2021, you’d have $257,000 now
• Top ASX shares to buy in February 2024
• Is now the right time to buy this ASX 200 stock? Here’s my take

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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I believe that buy and hold investing is the best way to grow your wealth.

By investing over the long term, investors are able to benefit fully from the power of compounding. This is what happens when you generate returns on top of returns.

It explains why a return of 10% per year turns $10,000 into $11,000 in one year but almost $70,000 in 20 years.

The only problem is that some readers may not be fans of stock picking or can’t decide which ones to buy and hold.

But don’t let that hold you back. Not when there are exchange traded funds (ETFs) out there that make life easy for investors.

For example, the two ASX ETFs listed below provide investors to large and diverse groups of shares in one fell swoop. This means you’re not exposed to individual stock risk.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

The BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF provides investors with access to the 100 largest non-financial companies on the famous Nasdaq index. These are global behemoths such as Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla.

Given the positive long-term outlooks of many of its holdings, it would not be surprising to see this ETF outperform the market again over the next decade or two.

VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

Warren Buffett is a big fan of buy and hold investing and it certainly has served him well over multiple decades.

If you want to follow in its footsteps, then you could look at the VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. This ETF invests in the types of companies that the Oracle of Omaha would normally buy. These are companies with attractive valuations, strong business models, and competitive advantages.

The post Buy and hold these ASX ETFs for 10 years or more appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• How this rocketing ASX ETF is tapping into the billionaire-making AI revolution
• 3 ASX ETFs for smart investors to buy
• 2 excellent ASX ETFs I’d buy for retirement
• Shares vs. property: Beginner investors choosing Aussie shares, ASX ETFs and rentvesting
• 3 excellent ASX ETFs for beginner investors

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet, Apple, BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet, Apple, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. 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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Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) shares are definitely worth a spot in my ASX dividend income portfolio in 2024. The recent FY24 first half-year result was a real reminder of the quality of the business.

There are some wonderful businesses in the Wesfarmers portfolio such as Kmart, Bunnings, Officeworks, Priceline, InstantScripts and so on.

When it comes to ASX dividend shares, I like the idea of getting a good dividend yield. But there’s more to it than just that – I want to see dividend growth over time, profit growth and the potential for more growth in the future.  

Wesfarmers shares tick all of the boxes, in my opinion.

Dividend growth

In the FY24 half-year result, Wesfarmers’ board decided to increase the dividend per share by 3.4% to 91 cents. While that dividend growth isn’t as strong as recent inflation has been, it’s solid enough considering the business can deliver capital growth of the Wesfarmers share price.

This payment represented a dividend payout ratio of 72.3% of its net profit after tax (NPAT). I think this is a fairly generous amount, but it also leaves more than a quarter of the profit inside the business to invest for more growth.

Dividend growth is something that Wesfarmers is aiming to provide shareholders – it has grown its dividend each year since FY21.

Net profit growth

Wesfarmers pointed to Kmart as the key business that helped deliver good financial performance in the HY24 result.

Despite all of the difficulties faced in the current economic environment, Wesfarmers managed to deliver revenue growth of 0.5% to $22.7 billion, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) growth of 1.6% to $2.2 billion and NPAT growth of 3% to $1.425 billion.

Bunnings saw total sales growth of 1.7% to $9.95 billion and generated earnings before tax (EBT) of $1.28 billion, which was a a growth of 0.3%.

Kmart saw sales growth of 7.8% to $4.88 billion and EBT grew by 26.5% to $601 million.

Wesfarmers says its strong focus on providing good value for households is resonating and enabling it to win market share.

Why I’m confident on Wesfarmers shares

The long-term for the company looks very promising. Kmart’s Anko products are doing so well that it’s expanding the distribution of the business into new markets globally, such as Canada.  

Bunnings is also a very strong business that is steadily growing organically and from its acquisitions, with Beaumont Tiles being one of the more recent buys.

I am a big believer in businesses having the investment flexibility to buy other companies, particularly when it diversifies their earnings. Wesfarmers has a long track record of moving into (and out of) industries if it thinks the long-term outlook is worth making a move.

For example, I really like the company’s efforts to invest in healthcare because of the long-term tailwind of ageing demographics.

According to Commsec, the business could pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.4% and it could reach 5.3% by FY26.

I think this business is definitely worth a spot in my ultimate ASX dividend income portfolio in 2024.

The post Why I’d put Wesfarmers shares in my ultimate ASX dividend income portfolio in 2024 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• If I could buy only one ASX stock this February earnings season, it would be…
• Everything you need to know about the new Wesfarmers dividend
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• What can Wesfarmers’ results tell us about the future of ASX lithium shares?
• Why Altium, Goodman, Magellan, and Wesfarmers shares are storming higher today

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 Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended 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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ASX earnings season is now in full swing on the Australian share market. We’ve already heard from some big names so far, including Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES). Next week, Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) will join them

Yes, Medibank is scheduled to drop its latest earnings, covering the six months to 31 December 2023, next Thursday, 22 February.  It’s a report I’ll be watching like a hawk.

I am interested in all of the financials the company is set to give investors a look at. Last year, my Fool colleague Tristan covered how the insurer expected to “achieve total resident policyholder growth in FY24 of between 1.5% to 2%”. It will be interesting to get a report card on how that’s going.

I’m also keen to see how Medibank’s investment portfolio is faring. After all, higher interest rates have boosted the company’s investment returns in the past.

But I’ll be paying special attention to what Medibank has to say about its next dividend.

Why I’ll be watching the next Medibank dividend

I’ve long regarded Medibank as a leading candidate in the ASX healthcare space for dividend investors. It has something that most ASX shares don’t. That’s explicit support from the Australian government.

There are many government policies that herd customers towards Medibank and its private health insurance offerings. The Medicare surcharge, lifetime health cover loadings, private health insurance rebates… not too many other ASX shares benefit from this kind of customer encouragement.

This has helped shape Medibank into a reliable dividend payer. As such, it’s the dividend announcement from Medibank that I’ll be paying the closest attention to next week.

In 2023, Medibank showered investors with its largest dividends since the company was privatised in 2014. Shareholders enjoyed a March interim dividend worth 6.3 cents per share, and a final dividend in October of 8.3 cents per share. Both payments came fully franked. And both payments were increases over 2022’s interim and final dividends of 6.2 cents and 7.3 cents per share, respectively.

These dividend payments have resulted in Medibank shares offering a generous fully-franked dividend yield of 3.86% at current pricing. If Medibank announces an even higher dividend next week, my belief that this company is a fantastic income stock for dividend investors will only solidify.

The post Here’s why I’ll be watching the Medibank results like a hawk appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Beyond ASX 200 bank shares: 3 insurance plays with nice dividends
• I’d buy these two resilient ASX dividend shares for big income
• Want a large and growing dividend? Medibank shares might be the answer
• The 3 best ASX dividend shares for 2024
• Top ASX shares to buy in 2024 instead of investing in a term deposit

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in CSL, Telstra Group and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL. 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 was a memorable week for a number of S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) stocks as reporting season picked up speed.

Here’s why these three companies led the Motley Fool’s headline news this week.

Three ASX 200 stocks leaping into the Motley Fool’s headlines

First up, we have mining giant BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP).

The biggest of the ASX 200 stocks grabbed the Motley Fool’s headlines on Thursday after the miner got caught up in the fallout from plunging nickel prices.

This saw BHP announce an impairment of the carrying value of Nickel West along with West Musgrave (Western Australia Nickel).

The impairment for its Western Australia Nickel assets saw the carrying value drop by US$2.5 billion.

BHP also recognised an income statement charge of US$3.2 billion relating to the 2015 Samarco dam failure in Brazil.

The BHP share price closed down 1.7% on the day.

The second ASX 200 stock leading the Motley Fool’s headlines this week is Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS).

Australia’s biggest telco company reported its half-year results on Thursday.

Highlights included a 1.2% year-on-year increase in total income to $11.7 billion, and net profit after tax (NPAT) was up 11.5% to $1 billion. This saw Telstra declare a fully franked interim dividend of 9 cents per share, up 5.9% from the prior interim dividend.

While these are some solid results, they fell short of consensus expectations.

The Telstra share price closed down 2.3% on the day.

Which brings us to the third ASX 200 stock leaping into the Motley Fool’s headlines this week: our nation’s biggest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

CBA announced its half-year results on Wednesday.

Among the highlights, CBA saw it operating income edge up 0.2% year on year to $13.65 billion. But with operating expenses ticking up by 4%, the big four bank’s cash net profit after tax slipped 3% year on year to $5.02 billion.

And CBA pleased passive income investors with a fully franked interim dividend of $2.15 a share, up 2.4% from last year.

But with investors apparently concerned about falling net interest margins (NIMs), the CBA share price closed down 1.7% on Wednesday.

As of Friday’s close, shares in the ASX 200 bank stock remain up around 14% over 12 months, not including the two dividend payouts.

The post Why these 3 top ASX 200 stocks grabbed the Motley Fool’s headlines this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 steps to becoming a milionaire with ASX shares
• Why ASX nickel shares are ending the week with a spring in their step
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
• ASX mining shares up amid Labor plan to spend multibillions on renewables revolution
• 7 ASX 200 shares with ex-dividend dates next week

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 positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. 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 Australian share market has made countless millionaires over the years.

The good news is that there’s nothing to stop you from becoming one of them in the future.

Here are five easy steps to take if you want to grow your wealth with ASX shares:

Step one: Start early

Time is one of your greatest assets when it comes to investing. The longer you are in the market, the more you can benefit from the power of compounding. In respect to compounding, legendary investor Warren Buffett once said: “My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest.”

Step two: Make regular investments in ASX shares

The next step is to make regular investments. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that by investing regularly, you are able to reduce the impact of volatility on your purchases. This is because you will be purchasing more ASX shares when the price is low, and fewer shares when the price is high. In addition to this, investing in this manner lets you benefit fully from compounding. It also means that you don’t miss out on new opportunities when they arise.

Step three: Focus on quality

It can be tempting to buy into small cap ASX shares that are being hyped up on message boards. The promise of getting rich quickly is very alluring. However, most of the time people will lose money on these investments when they turn out to be all hype and no substance. Instead, investors would be better off focusing on quality companies that have strong business models, sustainable competitive advantages, and solid growth prospects. These types of investments have been the key to Warren Buffett’s success over multiple decades.

Step four: Take a long term perspective

As mentioned above, time is a great asset when investing. So, when you’re picking ASX shares to buy, it is arguably best to imagine that you are buying with the intention of holding onto them for at least a decade. Buffett once quipped that his favourite holding period was “forever.” In addition, by taking a long term approach, you can be patient with your investments. After all, it’s important to remember that shares don’t go up in a straight line. There are many ups and downs. But if you become impatient and jump out at the wrong time on a down period, you could sacrifice significant future gains.

Step five: Reinvest your dividends

The dividends paid by the likes of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) are a great source of income. But if you don’t need these funds immediately, then it is well worth reinvesting them back into the share market. By doing so, you allow the dividends to compound and grow into something larger in the future. So, when you do need them as income, you’ll be receiving a lot more than if you had withdrawn them throughout your investment journey.

Combining all steps

If you combined all these steps and invested $1,000 per month from now onwards and generated an average 10% per annum return, you would grow your portfolio to be worth $1 million after 23 years.

Investing more each month or generating larger returns would get you there even sooner.

For example, $2,000 per month and an average return of 12% per annum would get you to $1 million in just over 15 years. Though, beating the market is no easy feat and far from guaranteed.

The post 5 steps to becoming a milionaire with ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why ASX nickel shares are ending the week with a spring in their step
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
• ASX mining shares up amid Labor plan to spend multibillions on renewables revolution
• 7 ASX 200 shares with ex-dividend dates next week
• Down 12% from their highs: Are Telstra shares a post-results bargain buy?

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 positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. 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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With ASX earnings season now in full swing, investors have heard from several big ASX 200 names. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) and CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) have now all shown investors their latest report card covering the most recent six months in their reporting calendar.

But for those owning Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL) shares, you’ll have to wait a little longer.

Soul Patts shares are scheduled to deliver the company’s latest earnings report on 21 March next month, well at the back end of this earnings season. But I can’t wait to get a look at this latest report from this ASX 200 investing house.

What does Washington H. Soul Pattinson do?

As has been long documented here at the Fool, Soul Patts shares are one of my favourite ASX investments. I’ve held the company for many years now and continue to be delighted by its presence in my portfolio.

Soul Patts is a company that operates in a rather unusual manner compared to other ASX 200 shares. It runs a portfolio of investments on behalf of its shareholders, making it more similar to a listed investment company (LIC) or managed fund than a traditional ASX share.

Soul Patts owns many different types of investments in this portfolio, which span multiple asset classes. It holds a huge portfolio of blue-chip shares, as well as significant stakes in a small number of quality ASX companies. These include Brickworks Ltd (ASX: BKW), TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG) and New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC).

But you’ll also find other investments like private credit, emerging companies, infrastructure and unlisted assets in the company portfolio.

So why can’t I wait for Soul Patts to drop its latest earnings report next month?

Why the next update from Soul Patts shares has me excited

Well, I’m looking forward to seeing if the company can enter its 24th year of annual dividend increases. Soul Patts is the only ASX share that has a record of increasing its annual dividend every single year since 2000. Back in that year, the company doled out 10.5 cents per share in ordinary dividends. But by 2023, the company was forking out 87 cents per share.

As we recently covered, this would see an investor who bought in in 2000 enjoying a dividend yield-on-cost of more than 22% today.

So I’m very excited to see what the next dividend from this income-producing machine will look like.

I’m also excited about a possible portfolio performance update. In December, Soul Patts reiterated that its portfolio had achieved an impressive total shareholder return (including dividends) of 12.5% per annum over the 20 years to 31 July 2023. That figure holds at 12.4% per annum over the past ten years, and 11.3% over the past five.

I’d like to see an update with these figures, hopefully covering the back end of 2023.

So all in all, I’m very keen to get an update from one of my favourite ASX 200 dividend shares next month. I’m optimistic that it will reaffirm my love for Soul Patts.

The post Here’s why I can’t wait for Soul Patts’ shares to report next month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX dividend shares: What’s better, growth or consistency?
• Soul Patts shares: Here’s how some investors are getting a 22% yield
• How can I make $1,000 a month from ASX shares?
• Retirees: 2 Top ASX dividend shares I’d buy now for passive income in 2024
• Why I’m buying Soul Patts shares over the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS)

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in CSL, Telstra Group, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Brickworks, CSL, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Brickworks, Telstra Group, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL and Tpg Telecom. 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 an eventful February earnings season thus far. We’ve seen some stellar results and supersized share price gains from ASX consumer shares like Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT), Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK), Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW), and IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL).

ASX 300 tech stock Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8) also delivered good news for investors, with its share price rocketing more than 20% on Monday this week following a record half.

On the dividend front, there have been some healthy boosts to shareholder payouts from the industrial sector, with Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) and Computershare Ltd (ASX: CPU) upping their interim dividends by 13% and 33%, respectively.

ASX blue-chip stocks and investor favourites CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), and Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) also rewarded investors with dividend hikes, although the resulting impact on their share prices was mixed.

Elsewhere in the big end of town, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares took a tumble on Wednesday this week after the ASX big four bank reported a 3% profit dip.

Despite plenty of reporting action still to come, including from the big ASX miners, there has been a great deal for investors to chew on so far.

On that note, we asked our Foolish writers which ASX stock they’d buy if they could choose only one so far this earnings season. Here is what they told us:

6 ASX shares to run the ruler over right now (smallest to largest)

• Camplify Holdings Ltd (ASX: CHL), $169.46 million
• Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC), $545.13 million
• Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW), $1.43 billion
• Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL), $15.25 billion
• Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), $71.40 billion
• CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), $137.20 billion

(Market capitalisations as at 16 February 2024).

Why our Foolish writers rate these ASX companies

Camplify Holdings Ltd

What it does: Camplify is an online platform for owners of recreational vehicles to hire them out to other users.

By Tony Yoo: Camplify is best described as an AirBnb-type app for caravans and motorhomes. It allows owners to hire their recreational vehicles out on a peer-to-peer platform, to provide an income when they’re not in use.

From humble beginnings in Australia, the company has now expanded — via acquisitions and organic growth — to New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Netherlands and Austria.

While analyst coverage is sparse for the $175 million small cap, the stock has rewarded investors in recent times with a 35% climb since last April. It’s no wonder, with 2023 financial year revenue 133% up from the prior period.

Camplify is due to release its interim financial report on 21 February.

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Camplify Holdings Ltd.

Pacific Current Group Ltd

What it does: Pacific Current invests in fund managers and helps them grow their businesses with its capital and expertise.

By Tristan Harrison: This ASX company’s biggest asset is a position in fund manager GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG). The GQG share price and funds under management (FUM) have soared in the last few months, but the market hasn’t been as excited about Pacific Current.

We’ve heard that many of Pacific’s other fund managers are also performing well — experiencing inflows and winning new commitments for more investment. Plus, markets and asset prices have soared in the last few months, providing a strong tailwind for further FUM growth and perhaps encouraging more potential new clients.

I think Pacific’s outlook is stronger than the market is giving it credit for, and the company’s dividend outlook also looks promising.

Pacific Current is due to release its FY24 first-half result on Friday, 23 February.

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison does not own shares of Pacific Current Group Ltd.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd

What it does: Temple & Webster is Australia’s top online-only furniture and homewares retailer. The company offers more than 200,000 products that customers can buy 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

By Bernd Struben: Temple & Webster’s online platform has delivered sales growth throughout the year despite the high inflationary and interest rate environment.

For the half year to 31 December, the company reported record revenue of $254 million, up 23% year on year. And I like the balance sheet, with cash holdings of $114 million and no debt.

As of Friday’s close, the Temple & Webster share price is up 221% in 12 months at $11.63 cents. And I’m in agreement with Citi’s analysts who believe there’s more outperformance ahead. The broker has a target price of $13 a share on the stock, representing a potential upside of 12% from current levels.

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben does not own shares of Temple & Webster Group Ltd.

Sonic Healthcare Ltd

What it does: Sonic Healthcare is a private pathology and laboratory service provider with operations worldwide, including in Australia, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Sonic and its subsidiaries are often involved when a test or scan needs to be carried out and analysed.

By Mitchell Lawler: I believe Sonic Healthcare is among the highest-quality businesses on the Australian Securities Exchange due to its services’ non-discretionary nature and defendable moat. 

It requires an incredible amount of money to reach an efficient scale in pathology services. As a result, competitors are unlikely to risk billions of dollars to carve off a slither of market share. Sonic has used this to its advantage over the years by acquiring its way into market dominance across multiple geographies. 

Additionally, I suspect Sonic might surprise the market on Tuesday, 20 February, when it releases its half-year results. 

The company’s last two reports have cycled large contributions from COVID-19 testing. However, having only constituted 6% of total revenue in FY23, the stage might now be set for a solid result unobstructed by the dwindling segment.

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Sonic Healthcare Ltd.

Wesfarmers Ltd

What it does: Wesfarmers is one of the most dominant companies on the ASX. It owns a huge array of different retail and industrial businesses under its name, the most prominent of which include Bunnings, Kmart, Officeworks, and Target.

By Sebastian Bowen: Wesfarmers is a holding that I’ve been hoping to add to for a while now and just might after the company’s latest earnings. I was very happy to see Wesfarmers report higher revenues, earnings, profits and dividends for the six months ending 31 December.

Given the rising cost of living and stubborn interest rates, I think this is a great result for a company that would traditionally be described as cyclical and discretionary.

As such, I would be happy to buy Wesfarmers shares if I had to choose just one company this earnings season. It’s quality is on display for all to see.

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Wesfarmers Ltd.

CSL Ltd

What it does: CSL is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies and the name behind the CSL Behring, Seqirus, and CSL Vifor businesses.

By James Mickleboro: I think CSL delivered a strong half-year result this week. And were it not for the failure of the CS112 product key trial a day earlier, I think the market would have reacted very positively.

As a reminder, CSL reported an 11% increase in revenue to US$8.05 billion and a 13% jump in net profit after tax before amortisation (NPATA) to $2.06 billion. The latter was ahead of the market’s expectations.

In addition, management reiterated its guidance for NPATA growth of 13% to 17% for the full year and its belief that CSL “is in a strong position to deliver annualised double-digit earnings growth over the medium term.”

I’m confident that management will deliver on this even without CSL112, making CSL shares a very attractive proposition for investors, especially following this week’s pullback.

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of CSL Ltd.

The post If I could buy only one ASX stock this February earnings season, it would be… appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Everything you need to know about the new Wesfarmers dividend
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• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
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Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Audinate Group, CSL, Goldman Sachs Group, Idp Education, Temple & Webster Group, Transurban Group, and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Audinate Group, Telstra Group, and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL, Cettire, Idp Education, Nick Scali, Sonic Healthcare, and Temple & Webster Group. 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 global gold market is going strong but there is one miner of the precious metal that’s struggling.

The share price for Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) has nosedived 31% since 28 December.

But fear not, the team at Blackwattle reckons that presents a buying opportunity for the ASX gold stock.

Superb asset quality

The latest business update was what prompted investors to flee Gold Road like it was a burning building.

“Gold Road Resources fell 22.6% in January following a poor December quarterly update, and a downgrade to CY24 guidance,” read the Blackwattle memo to clients.

Its production had a shocker in recent months.

“Volumes unexpectedly fell in the final quarter of the year due to labour availability issues in drill and blast, resulting in higher costs and lower cash/earnings.”

However, gold prices remain buoyant.

According to TradingEconomics, gold hit US$2,000 an ounce on Thursday. Only 16 months ago it was languishing at US$1,525.

Perhaps that’s why the Blackwattle experts are backing Gold Road Resources in the long run from here.

“While disappointing, the labour issues should be temporary, while the asset quality of Gruyere — long life, open pit, 300koz per annum in a tier-1 jurisdiction — remains lasting.”

The only gold stock not requiring huge capex

Plenty of Blackwattle’s peers agree on Gold Road’s outlook.

According to CMC Invest, a whopping 10 out of 15 analysts believe the gold stock is a strong buy at the current price.

“With Gold Road Resources the only name in our coverage without significant upcoming growth capex spend/lower capex risk, we reiterate our buy rating,” reported Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) analysts.

The Blackwattle team warned that the market is skittish at the moment, so long-term investors must hold their nerve.

“The strong market performance over recent months and heightened valuations have increased the susceptibility to a pullback for companies that disappoint. 

“The guidance provided by companies will be crucial, especially given the weaker economic conditions.”

The post This ASX gold stock just fell 31%. It’s time to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group. 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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Technology led the ASX 200 market sectors, gaining an impressive 6.2% over the past five trading days.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by 0.42% over the week to finish at 7,658.3 points on Friday.

Seven market sectors finished the week in the green.

Let’s review.

Tech shares led the ASX sectors this week

The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price screamed up the charts this week to gain 27.1% in total.

Most of that gain came yesterday on news that the electronic design software company has accepted a takeover offer from Japan’s Renesas Electronics Corporation.

Renesas will acquire Altium by way of a scheme of arrangement for $68.50 cash per share. That was a 33.6% premium to the stock’s last closing price and valued Altium at $9.1 billion.

Altium shares closed at $66 on Friday.

However, Altium wasn’t the only tech share skyrocketing on takeover news this week.

ASX tech small-cap Ansarada Group Ltd (ASX: AND) has also accepted a takeover offer. The deal with US company Datasite sent the stock 30% higher this week, finishing at $2.43 per share on Friday.

Ansarada shareholders will receive $2.50 cash per share. The deal valued the virtual data room and document management software provider at $236.3 million.

Tech stocks took a dip on Wednesday after United States inflation numbers came in higher than expected.

This led to a 1.8% fall in the Nasdaq Composite Index (INDEXSP: .INX) and a consequent 1.44% fall in the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ).

Tech shares are sensitive to interest rates. Any bad inflation news makes investors worry about a potential delay in the start of rate cuts.

Tech stock earnings reports this week

As earnings season continues, we saw mixed results in the tech sector this week.

Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8) shares climbed 15.6% after the media networking solutions company reported a 137% increase in EBITDA for 1H FY24. The Audinate share price closed at $20.64 on Friday.

Conversely, Data#3 Limited (ASX: DTL) shares crashed 22.5% despite the business technology solutions company reporting a 25.5% bump to net profit after tax (NPAT) in 1H FY24. The Data#3 share price closed at $7.69 on Friday.

Among the other large-cap ASX tech shares, Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) gained 4.3% to finish at $117.50 on Friday and Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT) rose 4% to $15.03.

The largest ASX 200 tech share, Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), rose by 2.47% to $80.01 this week.

ASX 200 market sector snapshot

Here’s how the 11 market sectors stacked up this week, according to CommSec data.

Over the past five days:

S&P/ASX 200 market sector	Change this week
Information Technology (ASX: XIJ)	6.2%
Consumer Discretionary (ASX: XDJ)	4.5%
A-REIT (ASX: XPJ)	2.62%
Industrials (ASX: XNJ)	1.76%
Utilities (ASX: XUJ)	1.46%
Financials (ASX: XFJ)	0.79%
Consumer Staples (ASX: XSJ)	0.42%
Materials (ASX: XMJ)	(0.7%)
Communication (ASX: XTJ)	(2.02%)
Energy (ASX: XEJ)	(2.15%)
Healthcare (ASX: XHJ)	(4.86%)

The post Here’s how the ASX 200 market sectors stacked up this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen 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 Altium, Audinate Group, WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Ansarada Group, Audinate Group, WiseTech Global, and 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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