National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares have made a name for themselves over the past year or two as the frontrunner of the ASX banking sector.

Consider this. The NAB share price has gained a pleasing 9% over 2022 so far, and a similar amount over the past 12 months. In contrast, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are up less than 1% year to date, and down 3.5% over the past 12 months.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) shares are doing slightly better in 2022, with a gain of 10%. But that still leaves this bank down almost 9% over the past year.

And Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares are down 9% over the year to date, and have lost 11% over the past 12 months.

So that leaves NAB as a clear winner, at least over these periods.

Traditionally on the ASX, CBA has commanded the largest pricing premium over its rivals. But have these outsized gains from NAB stolen CBA’s crown?

Are NAB shares more expensive than CBA?

Well, there are a couple of ways to measure a company’s ‘expensiveness’ in its sector. A favourite method is the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio.

At present, CBA’s P/E ratio is sitting at 18.8. NAB’s is at 15.95, with Westpac and ANZ at 17.42 and 11.44, respectively. So using that metric, NAB doesn’t even make second place.

But there is another method that can be used, which is perhaps more potent in valuing a bank specifically: the price-to-book (P/B) ratio.

This measures a company’s market capitalisation (price) against its book value. Book value is basically the value of all of a company’s assets on its balance sheet, minus its liabilities.

Book value is especially useful for a bank, given most of its assets (loans, mortgages etc.) and liabilities (deposits) are very easy to accurately account for.

So when it comes to the P/B ratio, ANZ again comes out on the bottom, with a P/B ratio of 1.1. Westpac is just ahead with a P/B of 1.2.

But NAB again is playing second fiddle to CBA. Its current ratio is 1.6, whereas CBA boasts a far more impressive 2.4.

So we can comprehensively conclude that NAB’s recent run of share price gains still puts it nowhere near the ‘most expensive’ ASX bank share. No matter which metric we use, that title remains the property of Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The post Are NAB shares the most expensive of the big four banks? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here’s what’s putting CBA shares in the headlines this week
• If CBA is right, ASX 200 coal shares should keep the good times rolling
• Why CBA is much more upbeat on Rio Tinto shares than the government
• If the government has this right, the BHP share price could come under some serious pressure
• 3 ASX 200 shares to weather a bear market: fund manager

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in National Australia Bank Limited. 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 Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price had a day to forget on Friday.

The mining giant’s shares ended the day over 8% lower at $14.76.

This means the Fortescue share price is now down over 25% since the start of the year.

Where next for the Fortescue share price?

Unfortunately, one leading broker believes the Fortescue share price hasn’t bottomed yet.

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have downgraded the miner’s shares to a sell rating and slashed the price target on them by almost 19% to $14.09.

This price target implies potential downside of 4.5% for investors from current levels.

What did the broker say?

Like many brokers, Bell Potter has concerns over the company’s decarbonisation/Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) plans. It commented:

[T]he capital being committed to FFI is increasing significantly, as is the timeframe over which it is being committed. FMG has announced an investment in its decarbonisation strategy of US$6.2 billion through to 2030, or ~US$775m pa. The objective is the elimination of fossil fuel across its operations by 2030 and annual savings of US$818m once fully implemented. While the energy independence and savings guidance is attractive, much of the technology remains to be commercially developed and quantifying the benefits remains problematic.

The increased expenditure commitment to FFI and FMG’s decarbonisation strategy is the key driver of a 19% reduction to our NPV-based valuation, from $17.33/sh to $14.09/sh. […] We downgrade our recommendation to Sell, largely on the impact of the increased FFI investment commitment.

This sentiment is echoed by analysts at Goldman Sachs, which are even more bearish on the Fortescue share price.

Last week, the broker reiterated its sell rating with a $13.80 price target. This suggests potential downside of 6.5% from current levels. The broker said:

We continue to think FMG is at an inflection point on capital allocation, and to fund the ambitious strategy, we assume the company raises ~US$5bn of new debt, reduces the dividend payout ratio from the current ~75% in FY22 to ~50% from FY24 onwards, and increases gross gearing to 30-35% by FY26 (in-line with the company’s target of 30-40%).

The post Brokers say there’s more pain ahead for the Fortescue share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Brainchip, Calix, Fortescue, and ResMed shares are sinking
• Could Fortescue be on the hunt for an ASX lithium acquisition?
• The Fortescue share price has dumped over 10% since Monday. What’s going on?
• 5 big ASX announcements making news this week
• Fortescue share price lifts on record first quarter operating performance

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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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.

Last week, electric vehicle pioneer Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) turned in a third-quarter report that was strong overall, though revenue came in a little lighter than Wall Street had expected.

Revenue grew 56% year over year to a quarterly record of $21.45 billion, driven by a 55% increase in automotive segment revenue, which came in at $18.7 billion. The Street was looking for total revenue of $21.96 billion. 

Tesla also set quarterly records for vehicle production and deliveries, which jumped 54% and 42%, respectively, year over year. It also set records for operating profit and free cash flow, among other metrics. Moreover, its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) soared 69% year over year to $1.05, beating the $1.00 analyst consensus estimate. 

Earnings releases tell only part of the story. Here are two key things management shared on Tesla’s Q3 earnings call that investors should know. 

Aiming to produce 50,000 Tesla Semi trucks in North America in 2024

From CEO Elon Musk’s remarks:

So we’ll be handing over our first production Tesla Semis to Pepsi on December 1. … We’re tentatively aiming for 50,000 units in 2024 for Tesla Semi in North America. And obviously, we’ll expand beyond North America.

The Tesla Semi is an all-electric heavy (Class 8) truck that the company unveiled in 2017. It had originally planned to begin producing this vehicle in 2019, but it pushed the date back so it could focus for some time on manufacturing Model 3 sedans, which have garnered tremendous demand from consumers.

Earlier this month, Musk tweeted that the company had begun producing the Semi and would deliver the first batch to PepsiCo Inc (NASDAQ: PEP) on December 1. He didn’t specify in that tweet or on the earnings call how many units would be in the initial delivery. The food and beverage behemoth reportedly reserved 100 Semi trucks soon after Tesla unveiled this vehicle.

On the call, Musk clarified that the Tesla Semi’s range of 500 miles was with the cargo and travelling on a level road. Yes, that invites a question about how much cargo weight it can carry and still achieve that 500-mile range.

But regardless of the exact weight, the main point holds that a fully electric heavy truck with a range in the ballpark of 500 miles should garner significant demand. That is, assuming this truck operates well overall and its price is not astronomical.

Energy storage business has the potential to grow 150% to 200% per year

From Musk’s remarks:

[To transition to sustainable energy,] you need solar [and] wind with the stationary battery pack to buffer the power so you have 24/7 power. [That’s] because the wind doesn’t blow all the time and the sun doesn’t shine all the time.

We actually see the energy storage business, stationary storage, growing more like 150% to 200% a year, much faster than cars by a lot.

For context, in the third quarter, Tesla’s energy generation and storage segment’s revenue rose 39% year over year to $1.1 billion, or about 5% of total revenue. By comparison, the core auto segment’s revenue surged 55% year over year. 

Growth in the energy generation and storage segment was driven by a 66% increase in energy storage capacity deployments to a record 2.1 gigawatt hours (GWh).

However, it’s important to note that demand for Tesla’s energy storage products has been greater than the company’s ability to produce them. The global semiconductor shortage has hurt its energy storage business more than its auto business, according to Tesla’s Q3 shareholder letter. 

On the call, Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn said that the energy segment achieved its highest gross profit ever in the third quarter, driven primarily by record volumes of the Megapack and Powerwall stationary storage products. That metric was $104 million, according to my calculations. This is just 1.9% of Tesla’s total Q3 gross profit of $5.38 billion, but at least the energy segment had a gross profit. This has not always been the case. 

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

The post 2 Elon Musk quotes from Tesla’s earnings call that investors should see appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Musk finally swoops on Twitter and casts CEO out of the nest. What now?
• Why Tesla stock topped the market on Thursday
• If ASX lithium shares are soaring, why is the ACDC ETF down 9% in 2022?
• Why did Tesla stock rise today?
• Why Tesla and other EV stocks popped today

Beth McKenna 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 Tesla. 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.

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

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So far this year the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has lost 12% of its value. Rising inflation and interest rates as well as fears of a global recession have been dragging the market down all year.

But guess what these ASX shares are doing? They’re going the opposite way — and by a long shot, too.

Which ASX shares are leading the market in 2022?

According to data from S&P Capital IQ, these are the top five performing shares in 2022:

• Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) shares up 277%
• New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) shares up 183%
• Stanmore Resources Ltd (ASX: SMR) shares up 177%
• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares up 134%
• Silex Systems Ltd (ASX: SLX) shares up 129%.

Why are they shooting the lights out?

You’ll note that four of these ASX shares are in the materials and resources sectors. That means their share prices have a direct relationship with commodity prices.

Commodity markets have been going gangbusters this year.

Whitehaven, New Hope, and Stanmore Resources are ASX coal mining shares. The Newcastle coal price hit an all-time high of US$440 per tonne back in March. Today it’s at US$385 per tonne — still well above historical highs.

Coal prices have been spurred higher by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with European and other nations now seeking alternative suppliers for the future.

Core Lithium, as you might have guessed, is an ASX lithium share. The company is a lithium explorer. The price of lithium carbonate hit a record high this month at US$77,767.49 per tonne.

Core Lithium is now reportedly only months away from first production at its Finniss Lithium Project in the Northern Territory.

Investors are bidding up the share price because they think the company has a bright future.

As my colleague Bernd writes, the Australian Industry Department forecasts lithium exports to rise by more than 180% to $13.8 billion in 2022-23. This compares to $4.9 billion in 2021-22.

What about the non-mining star performing share?

In the case of Silex, it looks like the share price has been rising on the back of exciting company developments in 2022.

Silex Systems is an ASX tech share. It’s an Australian research and development company that is creating laser uranium enrichment technology for the global enrichment industry.

The company reported strong FY22 full-year results in August, which lifted its share price by 11.75% on the day.

As my colleague Matthew wrote, Silex reported progress with its global laser enrichment commercialisation project for uranium and utilising nuclear energy.

Among this year’s highlights, Silex responded to a request from the United States Department of Energy (DoE) for information on its high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) project back in February.

The post 5 ASX shares that have crushed the market this year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here were the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• Are non-producing ASX lithium companies now way over-priced?
• If CBA is right, ASX 200 coal shares should keep the good times rolling
• If ASX lithium shares are soaring, why is the ACDC ETF down 9% in 2022?
• If I’d spent $5,000 buying this ASX 200 coal share a year ago, here’s what I would have now

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 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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Are you looking for dividend shares to buy for when the market reopens?

If you are, you may want to take a look at the two listed below that have been rated as buys by brokers. Here’s what they are saying:

Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH)

The first ASX dividend share to consider is furniture and homewares retailer, Adairs.

Goldman Sachs is very positive on the company and recently retained its buy rating and $2.65 price target. Its analysts believe the company’s shares have been oversold and created a buying opportunity for investors. It commented:

We view the re-affirmed guidance as a key positive for ADH, and we believe the market is pricing in EBIT that is 11-21% below the guidance range, and 12% below GSe. We view the core Adairs business as resilient in the current environment and do not believe the c.40% discount to discretionary retail peers is justified.

As for dividends, Goldman is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 17 cents in FY 2023 and 20 cents in FY 2024. Based on the latest Adairs share price of $2.05, this will mean yields of 8.3% and 9.75%, respectively.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

Another ASX dividend share for income investors to consider is supermarket giant, Coles.

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts are bullish on Coles and have recently put an add rating and $19.50 price target on them. The broker feels its shares are great value at the current level, particularly given its defensive qualities. Morgans commented:

Trading on 20.6x FY23F PE and 4.0% yield, we continue to see COL as offering good value with the company’s solid balance sheet and defensive characteristics putting it in a good position to navigate through a weaker economic environment. The unwinding of local shopping should also help further market share gains.

In respect to dividends, Morgans is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 64 cents in FY 2023 and 66 cents in FY 2024. Based on the current Coles share price of $16.27, this will mean yields of 3.9% and 4.1%, respectively.

The post Brokers name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Broker says the Coles share price is great value post-Q1 update
• How I’d build a portfolio by investing in top ASX shares now
• Goldman Sachs says these are the ASX dividend shares to buy
• Why Codan, Coles, Medibank, and Pilbara Minerals shares are sinking
• Coles share price struggles despite ‘strengthening sales trajectory’

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 ADAIRS FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended ADAIRS FPO and COLESGROUP DEF SET. 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 AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) share price gained 1.95% in Friday trade, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which trailed in 0.87% lower at the close.

Shares in the energy and telco giant closed at $6.80 apiece. Earlier in Friday’s session, they fetched a high of $6.92 and a low of $6.66.

The utilities sector was the strongest performer for the day, and the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) finished with a gain of 1.27%.

It might not be surprising to hear then that two of AGL’s peer companies also finished in the green on Friday.

Meridian Energy Ltd (ASX: MEZ) gained a healthy 6.33% and Infratil Ltd (ASX: IFT) ended the day 2.15% higher.

What might be surprising is that there was no news today to spearhead AGL’s price movement. But what we can do is recap some of the company’s recent events to figure out what led to it.

What’s going on with the AGL Energy share price?

AGL received positive coverage from Morgans Investment advisor Jabin Hallihan on 25 October. The broker gave the company a buy recommendation and a price target of $8.81. This suggests a possible 29.5% upside at the time of writing.

More positive sentiment came from AGL board hopeful John Pollaears who described the company as having a “huge, huge upside for shareholders” provided that its transformation plan goes through.

A broker echoed this sentiment at Credit Suisse which gave AGL shares a price target of $8.20.

AGL said it would stop using coal entirely in its strategic review update posted on 29 September. For the company to stop burning coal it will cost around $20 billion and see its emissions drop from 40 million tonnes to net zero.

AGL Energy share price snapshot

The AGL share price is up 10.75% year to date. Meanwhile, the ASX 200 is down 8.84% over the same period.

The company’s market capitalisation is around $4.57 billion.

The post Why did the AGL share price outperform the ASX 200 on Friday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here were the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why AGL, Mirvac, PeopleIn, and SkyCity shares are charging higher
• Why did this ASX All Ordinaries share crash 18% today?
• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares you may have overlooked: Wilsons

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended the week with a disappointing fall on Friday. By market close today, the ASX 200 had shed 0.87% of its value, putting it down to 6,785.7 points.

But rather than dwelling on that sad end to the trading week, let’s instead check out the shares that topped the ASX 200’s share trading volume charts, according to investing.com.

The 3 most traded ASX 200 shares by volume this Friday

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Fist up this Friday was ASX 200 lithium share Pilbara Minerals. A hefty 24.90 million Pilbara shares traded on the ASX today. 

There wasn’t any news from the company itself during this session. However, we still saw a big drop in the value of Pilbara shares. The lithium producer finished up at $4.87 a share, down a nasty 4.70% for the day. It’s this fall that probably elicited so many Pilbara shares finding a new home.   

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

Next up is another lithium company in Core Lithium. Today’s session saw 23.80 million Core Lithium shares exchanged. This company didn’t have any news out today either.

Saying that, we did have the big announcement yesterday, revealing that the supply deal Core Lithium had with Tesla was off, to consider. Combined with Core Lithium’s further 2.90% slide today, this is probably the cause of these elevated volumes we have seen.

BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

Our third, final and most traded ASX 200 share is tech company BrainChip. A whopping 43.79 million BrainChip shares changed hands today by the market close. This was almost certainly pushed along by the poorly-received quarterly update the company put out this morning.

As my Fool colleague covered at the time, this revealed the company banked $118,000 in revenue over the quarter in question. Investors weren’t impressed and sent the company down 21.18% to 67 cents a share. No wonder so many shares were flying around.

The post Here were the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Are non-producing ASX lithium companies now way over-priced?
• Why Brainchip, Calix, Fortescue, and ResMed shares are sinking
• Why are ASX 200 tech shares getting bashed around today?
• Why did this ASX All Ordinaries share crash 18% today?

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) fell 4% on Friday, but it wasn’t such a bad day for all ASX mining shares.

The Cobre Ltd (ASX: CBE) share price rocketed 46.7% this morning from 15 to 22 cents before pulling back. The company’s share price finished the day at 18 cents, a 20% jump on Thursday’s closing price.

Let’s take a look at what this ASX mining share reported to the market today.

Cobre share price soars on copper discovery

Cobre discovered a high-grade copper zone at the comet target at the Ngami project. This is located in the Kalahari Copper Belt in Botswana.

Drill hole NCP20A intersected with a 45m zone of visible copper mineralisation.

Visual estimates revealed “significant mineralisation” at the lower 30m of the zone.

This grew in abundance from about 0.6% to 1% chalcocite at the top of the zone to more than 10% chalcocite at the base of the zone.

Cobre said the results prove high-grade zones are present within the comet target. These resemble other known deposits within the Kalahari Copper Belt.

Commenting on the results that boosted the ASX mining share today, executive chairman and managing director Martin Holland said:

Cobre is delighted with the latest copper discovery intersection which has both the
thickness and grade to move the economics on the Comet Target.

Importantly, these results provide further evidence for the team’s current exploration model by demonstrating that high-grade zones of mineralisation occur along this extensive target.

Holland highlighted the company has been “moving rapidly” to drill the potential of this new copper district.

Cobre share price snapshot

Cobre shares have soared 89% in the past year, while they have gained 91% year to date.

For perspective, the ASX 200 Materials Index has gained 1.68% in a year.

This ASX mining share has a market capitalisation of about $36.7 million based on the current share price.

The post Guess which ASX mining share exploded 20% on a new discovery today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Are non-producing ASX lithium companies now way over-priced?
• Musk finally swoops on Twitter and casts CEO out of the nest. What now?
• Why is the Lake Resources share price sinking 6% today?
• Why is the A2 Milk share price having a better end to the week than the index?

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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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Today saw the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) break its four-day winning streak following an earnings shocker on Wall Street last night. Australia’s share market barometer — the benchmark index — slipped 0.87% lower to 6,785.7 points.

Leading the market lower on the final day of trade this week were the big names of the materials sector. Of those, Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) and Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) were the worst hit, both taking more than 6% worth of skin off their noses amid tumbling iron ore prices.

Similarly, the tech section of the ASX 200 tripped over and went for a roll lower. Investors looked to sell down their holdings in various tech companies after US tech stalwarts Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) were dealt disastrous blows to their valuations.

With all of those negative vibes, let’s take a refreshing glance at the portion of the ASX that rocked it today.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Finishing the week in style, the Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX: QUB) share price took out the top spot as the best-performing share in the ASX 200. This follows the release of the logistic services company’s FY23 trading update and outlook yesterday.

Meanwhile, it appeared to be a positive day for the ‘groups’ of the ASX on Friday — many of which operate in the real estate sector.

Today’s biggest gains were made by these shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX: QUB)	$2.69	5.08%
Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX)	$1.95	4.28%
Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS)	$0.74	4.23%
Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)	$2.88	3.97%
Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC)	$8.78	3.91%
APA Group (ASX: APA)	$10.42	2.86%
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)	$62.08	2.73%
Arena REIT (ASX: ARF)	$3.83	2.68%
Home Consortium Ltd (ASX: HMC)	$4.45	2.30%
Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR)	$2.00	2.30%

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why did this ASX All Ordinaries share crash 18% today?
• 3 ASX 200 dividend shares you may have overlooked: Wilsons
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• This ASX 200 lithium share was Auscap’s best performer in the last quarter. Here’s why the team expects even more progress
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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One of the top five best-performing ASX shares of 2022 is a lithium explorer yet to produce a single gram of the commodity.

But this isn’t unusual. The share market is forward-looking and investors tend to make decisions based on the future prospects of younger companies in hot sectors like lithium mining.

What’s the hottest lithium stock on the market today?

For now, investors are just loving Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO). Its share price is up around 130% in the year to date. Investors are clearly excited about its future.

Like all ASX lithium shares, Core Lithium is benefiting from a record lithium carbonate price. It may not be producing any as yet, but it’s reportedly only months off first production at its Finniss Lithium Project in the Northern Territory.

For now, Wilsons equity strategist Rob Crookston is bullish on lithium shares but sceptical about non-producers.

Crookston writes on Livewire:

We prefer lithium miners, like Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE), who are currently producing lithium. We are more sceptical about the small-cap non-producers. We believe there is more exuberance in the non-producers, and valuations may have overshot fair value.

While Crookston does not refer to any specific non-producers, you can understand his logic, right?

The price of lithium carbonate hit a new record high this month at US$77,767.49 per tonne. It just keeps on setting new benchmarks as demand for electric vehicles around the world continues to surge.

So, of course, it makes sense that companies who are already getting lithium out of the ground and taking it to market right now are best placed to capitalise on the record commodity price.

Wilsons team likes Allkem best

Allkem is the Wilsons team’s preferred ASX lithium share. Crookston explains:

AKE is one of the world’s top 5 lithium producers, with operations in brine, spodumene, and hydroxide. Business operations are spread across Argentina, Australia, Canada and Japan.

The company has deep brine and hard rock lithium resources and a depth of experience in these fields. AKE brine production is low cost relative to the Western Australia spodumene (hard rock) mines.

We believe consolidation is likely in the pipeline for AKE, one of the biggest players in South America’s ‘Lithium Triangle’. The company could acquire smaller explorers to increase its capacity.

Allkem shares closed on Friday at $14.07, down 2.76% for the day and up 26% in 2022.

What other ASX lithium share does Wilsons back?

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) is another lithium favourite of the Wilsons team.

Crookston says:

[Pilbara is a] pureplay lithium miner. Owns 100% of the Pilgangoora hard-rock lithium mine in Western Australia, as well as 18% of a downstream joint venture with POSCO with an option to increase to 30%.

Spodumene production is expected to increase to ~1mt by FY28, up from 360kt in FY22.

While PLS screens attractively on near-term valuation multiples, the company appears to offer less valuation appeal over the medium-term.

Pilbara Minerals shares ended Friday’s session at $4.87 apiece, down 4.7% for the day and up 38% in 2022.

The post Are non-producing ASX lithium companies now way over-priced? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 big ASX announcements making news this week
• If ASX lithium shares are soaring, why is the ACDC ETF down 9% in 2022?
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Thursday
• Why ‘long-term lithium prices are far too low’: Wilsons
• Why ANZ, Australian Clinical Labs, Core Lithium, and Kogan are sinking today

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Allkem Limited. 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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