There is no doubt 2022 has been distressing.

Innocent people are fighting a war in Ukraine, the most vulnerable folks in society are devastated from skyrocketing energy and food prices, and investment portfolios have plunged deep into the red.

As investors, it’s instinctive to get caught up in the negativity. We are all just humans, after all.

But for our ASX shares portfolio, it is prudent to remember that stocks have no memory and no awareness of world events.

They are simply pieces of ownership in a company.

So when there are rational reasons for a business to have a bright outlook for the 2023 financial year, perhaps it’s worth considering buying stocks in it.

With this philosophy in mind, here are two ASX shares that one expert reckons are ripe to buy now:

‘A strong market update’

Ord Minnett senior investment advisor Tony Paterno reckons National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR) is a buy at the moment.

“The big self-storage provider recently posted a strong market update for fiscal year 2022,” he told The Bull.

“Net tangible assets are expected to increase to $2.34 a share, a 13% increase on December 31, 2021.”

As a comparison, National Storage shares closed Monday at $2.38.

Paterno likes the outlook for the coming period.

“It upgraded underlying earnings guidance to a minimum of 10.5 cents a share,” he said.

“The update, on the back of a strong operating performance, positions it well for growth in the new financial year.”

National Storage is handing out a dividend yield of 4.2%, according to Google Finance.

Paterno’s peers aren’t quite as convinced yet about the storage provider. According to CMC Markets, only two out of 10 analysts are rating the stock as a buy.

‘Expect continuing growth’

Four-wheel drive accessories maker ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARB) is another that Paterno is urging his clients to buy.

The company’s share price has dropped almost 41% so far this year. However, it has gained in excess of 5.4% over the past month.

Paterno believes in the company’s long-term expansion.

“We expect continuing growth in 4-wheel drive markets in the medium term,” he said.

“We expect the ARB store network to grow in Australia. Company products should also expand in overseas markets.”

Other professionals are more in agreement with Paterno for this pick than National Storage.

Six out of nine analysts surveyed on CMC Markets currently rate ARB shares as a buy.

A Market Matters report last month identified the stock as one that’s probably passed its worst conditions.

“It’s starting to feel like things are as bad as they can get for ARB,” the report read.

“It’s now trading on 19.6x FY22 earnings compared to a 5-year average of 27.5x… This is one retailer we like into excessive weakness.”

The post 2 ASX shares ready for growth in FY2023: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are top 2 ASX dividend shares with great yields
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Why Ardent Leisure, Michael Hill, National Storage, and WiseTech shares are rising
• 4 ASX dividend shares to buy that aren’t banks or miners: expert
• This is the latest ASX 200 sector to be hit by downgrades

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 recommended ARB Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Ask A Fund Manager

The Motley Fool chats with the best in the industry so that you can get an insight into how the professionals think. In this edition, Alto Capital investment advisor Tony Locantro reveals how he went from a police uniform to a suit and tie.

Investment style

The Motley Fool: How would you describe what you do to a potential client?

Tony Locantro: I’m Tony Locantro, I’ve been in the financial advice industry since 1998. I’m a former New South Wales police officer. I taught myself the stock market on night shift or on my time off. I’ve been advising clients on speculative stocks, micro caps, since 1998. 

I look after mainly mums and dads in building a portfolio of micro-cap stocks, and this involves portfolio selection, extensive research, going to conferences, webinars, and every other aspect of trying to find these stocks.

The other benefit I have for my clients is to hold their hands during extreme market volatility, help them take windfall profits, and just basically keep effective use of capital, to keep that capital moving, realising that all these small companies don’t necessarily turn into big ones. 

I’m also involved in the IPO [initial public offer] of small-cap mining and biotech shares. I do a lot of financial media, and I just keep heavily involved in the industry.

MF: As you say, your job does involve a bit of hand-holding of clients through volatile times. This year’s a perfect example of that, isn’t it?

TL: Oh God, yeah. Well, humans are wired to buy high and sell low. They are often influenced by news articles. A lot of clients have a certain threshold to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJX: .DJI). The Dow Jones, if it falls over a thousand, you’ll have a lot more people selling, than if it falls say 900. 

So they’re always prone to the indices, and during times of market volatility, a lot of existing shareholders do not feel like buying. They’ll back off. You have others panic sell and you get huge percentage declines. 

Interestingly, this tax loss selling [last month], in my 24 years, has been the worst I’ve ever seen.

MF: Indeed. June was pretty ugly for Australian stocks, wasn’t it?

TL: Yeah. I think you could almost cue the Benny Hill theme song to a lot of the selling. A lot of ruthless shareholders just exited and it was like lemmings off a cliff. So this had provided some of the best buying opportunities, because, as you know, every sign of market weakness with hindsight is an opportunity. Existing weakness, or future, is a threat.

MF: How do you see the state of play at the moment and where do you see the market going?

TL: I think we’re definitely in a bear market for the major indices. What normally happens is that during a bear market, the bear market rallies [and] bull traps are quite powerful. 

The Dow Jones did go below 30,000. It’s now around 32,000, but I think that with the inflationary and interest rate environment, that both the Australian market and US major indices, I think, are going lower, but it won’t be in a straight line. We will have some bad nights on both markets. I just can’t see any real impetus to drive valuations higher. 

I think there’s enormous economic headwinds in Australia. The RBA [previously] said it was plausible no rate rises before 2024 — that’s not happening. We’re seeing the fastest increase in interest rates. This will decimate the east coast property market. It will lead to a significant decline in consumer confidence. And there’s a decent chance we’ll go into a recession or a stagflationary environment where it’s an inflationary recession.

MF: Considering that outlook, even if there are bargains out there, are you advising clients to wait?

TL: No, I never wait. 

I accept the fact I’m going to get beaten up in some of these stocks, but you’ve got to know who your enemy is. 

So, there’s always going to be a list of winners at the end of the year. You might have the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) down 10%, but there’s going to be stocks that go up 200%, 300%. 

The other interesting aspect is that these mineral explorers that are quality, exploration discovery always outperforms any market and a lot of these stocks actually overshoot to the upside.

And there’s pharmaceutical companies out there with billions of dollars that don’t care what markets are doing. All they care about is the science. So if biotech companies can get through their trials, there’s big pharmas there with big expenditure just to take them out. 

So my theory is life is too short [to wait], because markets can correct from oversold levels to hideously oversold, and they can correct from high levels. 

And at the moment the world’s awash with negativity. There is justification for that. But as a small-cap investor, you block out all the noise — you become laser focused on each individual company, and that’s where the real upside lies. And that’s a model I’ve developed over my 24 years.

The post From chasing criminals to ASX gems, why this ex-cop keeps buying in a bear market appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why is the AFIC share price outperforming on Monday?
• Experts predict 2 companies heading for the ASX 20 (and 2 that will get kicked out)

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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On Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week with a very small decline. The benchmark index fell 1.6 points to 6,789.9 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market is expected to open the day higher on Tuesday despite a mixed start to the week on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 28 points or 0.4% higher. On Wall Street the Dow Jones rose 0.3%, the S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher, and the NASDAQ dropped 0.4%.

Flight Centre rated neutral

The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price continues to be rated as neutral by Goldman Sachs despite the travel agent’s guidance upgrade. This morning the broker reiterated its neutral rating with a $20.90 price target. Though, it is worth noting that Goldman’s price target still implies upside of almost 19% for investors.

Oil prices rise

It could be a good day for energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) after oil prices pushed higher again overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 2.1% to US$96.71 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 1.85% to US$105.10 a barrel. A softer US dollar and supply concerns boosted commodity prices.

South32 a strong buy

The South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price could be great value according to Goldman Sachs. This morning the broker responded to the miner’s quarterly update by reiterating its conviction buy rating with a $4.90 price target. Goldman notes that the mining giant’s “FCF [is] set to jump in FY23 despite higher costs.”

Gold price falls

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL) could have a tough day after the gold price dropped overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.6% to US$1,716.8 an ounce. Traders were selling the precious metal ahead of the US Federal Reserve interest rate meeting this week.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why is the AFIC share price outperforming on Monday?
• Why Damstra, Flight Centre, IAG, and Pantoro shares are pushing higher

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 recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Are you interested in adding some ASX growth shares to your portfolio this week? If you are, you may want to look at the two listed below that have recently been named as buys.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The first ASX growth share to look at is Altium. It is a printed circuit board design software (PCB) provider.

PCBs are the boards you find in almost all electronic devices. And as they come in all shapes and sizes and with all kinds of different functions, the design of them is an extremely complex process and requires specialist software.

Through its Altium Designer and Altium 365 software, the company owns industry-leading software which is used by many of the biggest companies and organisations in the world such as NASA and Tesla.

Bell Potter is very positive on Altium and continues to forecast strong earnings growth over the coming years. It also sees upside for the Altium share price with its buy rating and $34.00 price target.

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

Another ASX growth share to look at is ResMed. It is a medical device company which has a focus on sleep treatment solutions.

Over the last decade, ResMed’s revenue and earnings have grown at a strong rate thanks to the quality of its products and its large and growing market opportunity.

In respect to the latter, management estimates that there are almost one billion people with sleep apnoea globally (with only ~20% diagnosed) and a little under half a billion people suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This gives it a long runway for growth over the 2020s and beyond.

Morgans is a fan of ResMed and currently has an add rating and $37.95 price target on its shares.

The post 2 outstanding ASX growth shares brokers rate as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 fantastic ASX tech shares experts say are buys
• Own Altium shares? Here’s what to expect from its FY22 results
• Up 14% in a month, is the Resmed share price just getting started?
• 3 blue chip ASX 200 shares experts say are buys
• Broker names 2 ASX growth shares to buy now

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 Altium and ResMed Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended ResMed Inc. 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) has fallen in the year, but experts have tipped three shares that could rise in a high-interest rate environment.

The benchmark ASX 200 index has lost nearly 9% in the year to date and more than 8% over the past 12-months.

So let’s take a look at three ASX 200 shares the experts recommend right now.

What shares are worth investing in?

According to some analysts, shares in CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) and Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) could be worth considering.

QBE shares leapt 1.14% on Monday, while Transurban shares were up 1.64% at the close and CSL shares fell 0.84%.

Analysts have named multiple shares that could climb despite higher interest rates, with Investors Mutual senior portfolio manager Hugh Giddy saying in a livewire interview that CSL “might do really well”.

Giddy said that CSL was “a very high margin business” with many research and development costs already “expensed”. He added:

Then they’ve got the plasma donation cost, but that actually could come down because we are heading into harder times.

Meanwhile, Atlas Funds Management chief investment officer Hugh Dive recommended QBE Insurance and Transurban. Commenting on QBE, he said:

I think the insurance companies will do well particularly, for example, QBE. It’s got a US$29 billion float, which has earned close to zero for the last 10 years.

Dive also earmarked Transurban, citing the fact that tolls went up when inflation jumped. Dive noted:

… every year with inflation, the tolls go up. For the next four years, Transurban has said that every 1% increase in inflation equals another US$50 million in profit. So there are companies that do quite well in this environment.

The post Expert prediction: 3 ASX 200 shares that can ‘do well’ in volatile times appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why these blue chip ASX 200 shares are rated as buys by experts
• Up 10% so far in July, is the CSL share price heading back above $300?
• 3 ASX shares for ‘predictability’ through tough times: expert
• 2 ASX shares in healthcare ripe to buy right now: experts
• 3 blue chip ASX 200 shares experts say are buys

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 positions in and has recommended CSL Ltd. 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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With so many blue chip ASX shares to choose from, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy over others.

To help narrow things down, I have picked out two top blue chip ASX shares that experts rate as buys right now. They are as follows:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

The first blue chip ASX share to consider is CSL. It is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, comprising the CSL Behring business and the Seqirus business.

The CSL Behring business is the global leader in a plasma therapies industry worth a massive ~US$30 billion per year. Whereas Seqirus is the number two player in the ~US$6 billion global influenza vaccines industry.

While COVID-related plasma collection headwinds have been weighing on CSL’s performance, this headwind is now easing. In fact, industry data appears to show that collections are back to pre-COVID levels at long last. This should be supportive of its margins in the coming years, especially as the company rolls out its new collection technology which is expected to collect plasma more efficiently.

In light of this, investors may want to focus more on the long term, which remains very positive for CSL thanks to strong demand for its portfolio of life-saving therapies and vaccines, its lucrative research and development pipeline, and the impending acquisition of Vifor Pharma.

Citi is positive on CSL and currently has a buy rating and $330.00 price target on its shares.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

Another blue chip ASX share to look at is Goodman Group. It is a leading integrated commercial and industrial property company.

Management has expertly developed its portfolio to give it exposure to key growth markets such as ecommerce and logistics. This has been a huge success and been a key driver of Goodman’s stellar growth in recent years and again in FY 2022.

For example, in FY 2022, strong demand has led to the company upgrading its earnings guidance numerous times. So much so, it now expects earnings per share growth of 20%+ this year.

The team at Citi is also positive on Goodman. Its analysts continue to believe that Goodman’s guidance is conservative and that the company will outperform it. The broker is also forecasting earnings per share growth of almost 20% in FY 2023.

In light of this, it will come as no surprise to learn that Citi has a buy rating and $22.00 price target on Goodman’s shares.

The post Why these blue chip ASX 200 shares are rated as buys by experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Up 10% so far in July, is the CSL share price heading back above $300?
• Brickworks share price higher on record earnings, Goodman deal
• 2 excellent ASX 200 shares to buy right now according to experts
• 2 ASX shares in healthcare ripe to buy right now: experts
• Down 28% so far this year, could the Goodman share price be ready to take off?

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 CSL Ltd. 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 Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) share price fell more than 10% on Monday. At market close, it finished trading at $2.95.

Pointsbet describes itself as a corporate bookmaker, with operations in Australia, the US, Canada and Ireland.

The small-cap ASX share is scheduled to hand in its FY22 fourth quarter update on 29 July 2022. However, it has been a while since the company released a price-sensitive announcement.

However, it’s not the only small ASX share that is down today. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.1% and the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index (ASX: XSO) is down 0.75%.

Some of ASX’s other growth shares are also down. The Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY) share price is down 4%, the Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) share price is down 3.4%, the Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT) share price is down 14%, the Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price is down 15% and the Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP) share price is down 7.8%.

What’s going on with the Pointsbet share price?

Aside from simply matching the decline of other small cap ASX shares, there could also be an element of profit-taking from some investors.

The Pointsbet share price is still up 10% over the last week and it’s up 18% in the past month.

According to reporting by the Australian Financial Review, bond investors are betting that there is going to be an economic slowdown in the US (and the world), but interest rates may still need to go up to control inflation.

The post Here’s why the Pointsbet share price tumbled 10% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why has the Pointsbet share price launched 7% today?
• Why did the Pointsbet share price leap 7% on Thursday?
• What is sending the PointsBet share price 6% lower today?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares

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 Appen Ltd, Cettire Limited, Pointsbet Holdings Ltd, Temple & Webster Group Ltd, and Whispir Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited, Cettire Limited, Pointsbet Holdings Ltd, Temple & Webster Group Ltd, and Whispir Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares fell slightly today amid falling oil prices.

Woodside shares dropped 0.81% to $30.72 in today’s trade. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell 0.02% today.

Let’s take a look at what has been happening at Woodside lately.

What’s going on at Woodside?

Woodside shares are slightly in the red today after oil prices dropped. International benchmark Brent crude oil is down 0.62% at the time of writing, while WTI crude oil is 0.77% in the red, according to Bloomberg energy.

In recent news, Woodside has ended the “current sell-down process” for the Sangomar oil project. Woodside currently has an 82% interest in the project. This project is worth US$4.6 billion, or $6.67 billion Australian dollars.

Woodside said in its recent second quarter report last week, it will ditch this sell-down – at least for now. CEO Meg O’Neill said:

Following extensive discussions with potential new partners, we have decided to discontinue the sell-down of equity in Sangomar.

The company had been planning to cut its interest in the project, located about 100 km south of Dakar, Senegal, to less than 50%.

In comments cited by The Australian Financial Review, O’Neill highlighted the two parties have not been able to arrive at a saleable price due to high oil prices. She said:

When we’ve got oil that’s going to be coming to market in the very near term, our
expectation of what fair value is is quite attractive, and in a high price environment,
sometimes it’s hard for buyers and sellers to come home to alignment on what price is
appropriate

Woodside reported last week revenue increased by 44% in the second quarter of this year, up 44% from the previous quarter. Production also increased 60% on the first quarter of this year.

Recap of Woodside shares

Woodside shares have surged 38% in the past year, jumping 40% in the year to date.

However, in the past month, Woodside shares have jumped just 0.36%.

For perspective, the benchmark ASX index has declined about 8% in the past year.

Woodside has a market capitalisation of over $58 billion based on today’s share price.

The post Own Woodside shares? Here’s why this $7 billion deal could be at risk appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Why Leo Lithium, Rio Tinto, Santos, and Woodside shares are dropping today
• Woodside share price slips despite 44% revenue boost
• ‘Not enough’: Could Europe’s gas woes bolster ASX 200 energy shares?

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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended Monday’s session in the red, weighed down by tech shares. At market close, the index was 0.02% lower at 6,789.9 points.

The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) dumped 1.5% following Friday’s poor performance on Wall Street.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) slumped 1.9% on Friday’s session overseas while the S&P 500 (SP: .INX) fell 0.9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJX: .DJI) recorded an 0.4% slip.

Telecommunication and healthcare shares also suffered today, with their sectors slipping 1.2% and 1%, respectively.

Looking into the green, though, utilities and materials outperformed. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) lifted 1% following a slight uptick in base metal prices, as well as iron ore futures and gold futures.

All in all, four of the ASX 200’s 11 sectors were recording gains at the closing bell.

So, which ASX 200 shares outperformed all others on Monday? Let’s take a look.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Today’s top performing ASX 200 share was Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG). The stock bounced back from its recent lousy performance to post a 6% gain today. Find out more about what the insurer has been up to here.

Today’s biggest gains were made by these ASX 200 shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)	$4.46	5.94%
Steadfast Group Ltd (ASX: SDF)	$5.32	3.91%
Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)	$2.43	3.85%
Nickel Industries Ltd (ASX: NIC)	$1.03	3%
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)	$17.62	2.98%
Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)	$18.77	2.91%
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)	$7.31	2.67%
Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN)	$11.30	2.63%
Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC)	$11.95	2.4%
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)	$18.25	2.36%

Our top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays 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

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why is the AFIC share price outperforming on Monday?
• Why Damstra, Flight Centre, IAG, and Pantoro shares are pushing higher
• Is the Evolution share price a buy after falling 40% this year?
• Experts predict 2 companies heading for the ASX 20 (and 2 that will get kicked out)

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Steadfast Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Insurance Australia Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited, Flight Centre Travel Group Limited, and Steadfast Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Damstra Holdings Ltd (ASX: DTC) share price rocketed 26% today following the release of the company’s report for the June quarter.

After opening 10.5% higher at 21 cents, the workplace management solutions provider’s stock surged to trade at an intraday high of 26.5 cents – representing a 39% gain. At market close on Monday, the Damstra share price finished at 24 cents, a rise of 26.32% from the previous close.

Damstra share price takes off on positive cash flow

• $8 million of unaudited revenue – the highest quarterly revenue of financial year 2022 (FY22)
• The company has now reported three consecutive quarters of revenue growth
• $1.3 million of operating cash flow – first quarter of positive cash flow in FY22
• The company boasted 953 clients at the end of June – a 12.5% quarter-on-quarter improvement

A strong June quarter’s performance saw Damstra’s revenue for the second half increase 25.2% on the first half of financial year 2022.

The company’s operating cash flow ended in the green. However, when also considering investing outflows, it reports an outflow of $1.2 million. That was an improvement on the March quarter’s $4.7 million outflow.

The ASX tech company ended the quarter with $10.1 million in cash and $5 million of undrawn funding.

What else happened in the last quarter?

Damstra’s bottom line improved through the June quarter, but its share price wasn’t so lucky. The stock tumbled 42% last quarter despite news of a three-year agreement with Barrick Gold worth at least US$1.2 million.

The company also signed a three-year agreement with Capstone Copper alongside smaller North American client wins expected to help drive its international expansion.

Finally, the company’s cost optimisation project is now targeting savings of $8 million, up from $5 million in April.

Around half of those savings had been realised on a run rate basis at the end of June. It’s expecting to achieve its final target by the end of the December quarter.

What did management say?

Damstra CEO Christian Damstra commented on the results driving the company’s share price higher today:

Q4 has been a breakthrough quarter for Damstra in many ways… our international business is now showing the benefits of our significant investment and we believe Damstra has the critical mass to grow at scale.

We continue to see a growing sales pipe of opportunities in [Australia and New Zealand] but also internationally.

Our much-improved cash flow outcomes are pleasing in the current environment, with a material and structural reduction in cash outflows in Q4.

What’s next?

Damstra hasn’t provided guidance for FY23 just yet, but there is good news regarding its outlook.

The company believes it will be free cash positive in the second half of this financial year as long as markets don’t materially decline between then and now. It noted its focus on free cash flow, rather than operating cash flow, will likely meet investors’ focus on the net cash position of technology companies.

Damstra share price snapshot

The Damstra share price has underperformed through 2022 so far.

It has slumped 29.4% year to date. It’s also currently 78.9% lower than it was this time last year.

For context, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) has fallen 28.5% since the start of the year and 26% over the last 12 months.

The post Damstra share price soars 26% following ‘breakthrough quarter’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Damstra, Flight Centre, IAG, and Pantoro shares are pushing higher
• Why Chalice Mining, Damstra, Link, and Pinnacle shares are storming higher
• Why is the Damstra share price soaring 26% on Thursday?

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

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