The ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD) share price is trading around $31.89 on Friday.

For a global healthcare business with a long runway still ahead, I think that price is becoming difficult to overlook.

A huge amount of the market remains untreated

ResMed is already one of the world’s leading providers of sleep apnoea treatment, but the potential market is far from mature.

The company estimates that more than one billion people globally have sleep apnoea. Yet fewer than 20% of patients in the US are diagnosed or treated, with penetration below 10% across the rest of the world.

That puts the growth opportunity into perspective. ResMed does not need to discover an entirely new market. There is already an enormous population that could benefit from treatment but has yet to receive it.

The company also expects the number of US adults with obstructive sleep apnoea to reach around 77 million by 2050.

I think improving awareness, diagnosis, and access to treatment could keep bringing new patients into the market for many years.

More patients can mean years of spending

ResMed’s opportunity does not finish when somebody receives their first machine.

Treatment generally involves masks and other products that need replacing over time, giving the company an ongoing relationship with patients.

ResMed says the global device market is growing at a mid-single-digit rate, while the market for masks is growing at a high-single-digit rate.

I like that combination. The company can benefit from more people beginning treatment while continuing to serve the large group already using its products.

ResMed is also expanding more broadly into sleep health, including areas such as restless legs syndrome following its acquisition of Noctrix.

The valuation looks attractive

According to CommSec, consensus earnings per share forecasts stand at $1.69 in FY27, $1.84 in FY28, and $1.98 in FY29.

At $31.89, the company trades on a PE ratio of just under 19 times forecast FY27 earnings.

By FY29, today’s ResMed share price represents a little over 16 times expected earnings.

I think that looks cheap for a business expected to keep growing earnings while pursuing such an underpenetrated global market.

There are still risks. Competition, changes in treatment methods, healthcare reimbursement, and weaker-than-expected patient growth could all affect the outlook.

Foolish takeaway

What attracts me at $31.89 is the combination of a cheap valuation and a growth opportunity that still looks substantial.

ResMed already has global scale, but treatment penetration suggests there are many more patients still to reach.

With earnings also forecast to rise over the next few years, I think the current share price offers an attractive entry point for long-term investors.

The post Is the ResMed share price too cheap to ignore? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Grace Alvino 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 ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is edging higher again on Friday after a choppy start to September.

At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.12% to 9,031 points, after briefly climbing above 9,060 earlier this morning.

That follows Thursday’s 0.46% gain, which snapped a 3-day losing streak and helped the market recover some of Wednesday’s 0.97% fall.

The positive start is being seen across much of the market. At the latest check, 126 ASX 200 shares were trading higher, compared with 57 fallers and 17 unchanged.

So, what is driving the market higher today?

US markets set the tone

The biggest support came from Wall Street, where US stocks finished higher overnight.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) rose 1.18%, while the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) lifted 1.06% and the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) shot up 1.40%.

The rally came after US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he would support keeping interest rates unchanged this month if upcoming data shows inflation is continuing to cool.

That saw markets reduce the chance of a September rate hike to around 50%, down from more than 63% a day earlier.

But investors will get another important piece of data tonight when the latest US jobs report is released.

Economists expect the US economy added around 56,000 jobs in August, with the unemployment rate holding at 4.1%.

Banks and gold stocks move higher

Back home, the major banks are helping push the market higher this morning.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are up 0.85% to $161.95, while ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) is 0.97% higher at $38.38.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares have gained 0.56% to $39.49, and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) is up 0.63% to $35.13.

Gold miners are also having a strong morning after the gold price rose around 2.54% overnight to roughly US$4,480 an ounce.

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares are up 1.99% to $23.63, while Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) has gained 1.50% to $15.24.

BHP and Rio Tinto weigh on ASX 200

Not everything is moving higher today, with weakness among the big miners holding the ASX 200 back.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares are down 1.73% to $62.68, despite its US-listed shares pointing to a stronger start before the opening bell.

Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) is also down 1% to $175.34, although Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) is moving the other way, up 1.65% to $17.23.

The post What’s driving the ASX 200 higher today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

If I had $15,000 ready to invest today, I would spread it evenly across three ASX shares I think can keep finding new ways to grow.

Here are three shares I would buy with the money.

Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)

Netwealth would be my first pick.

This ASX share provides the investment platform and technology financial advisers use to manage client portfolios and superannuation.

I think the opportunity is increasingly about helping advice practices operate better. Advisers have to manage investments, reporting, administration, tax information, client communication, and an expanding range of products. A platform that can bring more of that work together can become increasingly important to how the practice runs.

Netwealth can keep improving those capabilities while competing for more advisers and client assets.

It also operates in a market with a strong long-term tailwind. Australia’s pool of superannuation and investment wealth should continue expanding over the years ahead.

For me, $5,000 invested in Netwealth would be backing a company that could potentially capture more of that wealth while becoming more valuable to the people managing it.

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

I would put another $5,000 into home appliance manufacturer Breville.

What I like here is the repeatability of the growth model. Breville can develop a strong product, build a reputation around it, take it into more countries, and then introduce those customers to other products across the kitchen.

Coffee has become a major strength, but I do not think the investment case needs to stop with espresso machines.

Breville has spent years building expertise in product design and a premium brand that can extend across many kitchen categories.

If the company keeps producing products people are willing to pay more for and expands its presence across international markets, I think it has a straightforward path to becoming a much larger global consumer business.

Catapult Sports Ltd (ASX: CAT)

My final $5,000 would go into Catapult Sports.

Professional sports organisations now generate enormous amounts of information from athlete tracking, video, training, and competition. The challenge is turning all of that information into better decisions.

Catapult is building technology around that entire process. Its products can help coaches and performance teams understand how athletes are moving, review matches, prepare tactics, and increasingly connect information that previously sat in separate systems.

I think that could make the company much more deeply involved in how sporting organisations work.

New areas such as athlete development, strength training, and scouting also give Catapult room to expand beyond the products it first became known for.

With professional sport played at enormous scale around the world, I think there is plenty of territory left for this ASX share to pursue.

Foolish takeaway

With $15,000 to invest, I would be comfortable giving each of these ASX shares $5,000.

The common thread for me is the ability to keep expanding what they already do well.

That gives me enough confidence to buy today and let the businesses, rather than short-term share price movements, determine the outcome over the years ahead.

The post Where I’d invest $15,000 in ASX shares now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 40 ASX shares with ex-dividend dates next week
• How to build an ASX portfolio you can stick with for 10 years
• 3 ASX growth shares to buy in September
• 4 ASX shares scoring upgrades in the final week of earnings season
• Buy, hold, sell: Netwealth, Sigma Healthcare, and Wesfarmers shares

Motley Fool contributor Grace Alvino 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 Catapult Sports and Netwealth Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Catapult Sports and Netwealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.