Investors often focus on ASX 200 shares for the perceived security compared to ASX small-cap stocks. 

But even extending a lens to just the ASX 300 can lead to more growth-focused opportunities.

That is exactly the case with ASX 300 stock Catalyst Metals Ltd (ASX: CYL). 

Company overview 

Catalyst Metals is a mid-tier Australian gold producer and developer. It holds 100% ownership of two key projects.

The first is the Plutonic Gold Operation in Western Australia, an operating, multi-mine gold production centre targeting 100,000 to 110,000 ounces of gold in FY26.

The second is the Bendigo Gold Project in Victoria, an advanced exploration project.

Its share price has hovered between $4.40 and $9.80 over the past 12 months. Right now, it sits in between these yearly highs and lows. 

However the team at Bell Potter is bullish this ASX 300 stock could explode over the next 12 months.

The broker provided updated guidance on the company following its FY26 results. 

Solid results 

According to Bell Potter, this ASX 300 stock delivered a solid FY26 operational result. It reported revenue of A$632m, EBITDA of A$303m and NPAT of A$171m. 

While these earnings were below Bell Potter’s expectations, the EBITDA shortfall was largely due to a A$49m legal settlement; excluding this, underlying EBITDA of A$352m was only about 5% below forecast.

The company also made good progress on growth projects and exploration. 

The Trident underground resource increased to 1.1Moz at 5.4g/t, while the Cinnamon discovery provides additional exploration upside. Cash and bullion increased by A$101m to A$331m, with no debt, and liquidity was subsequently strengthened to A$531m after the revolving credit facility was doubled to A$200m.

Overall, Bell Potter’s message is that FY26 was a building year: operational performance was broadly on track, the balance sheet strengthened, and significant investment was made in future production growth. 

The key upcoming catalyst is the September FY27 guidance and 10-year plan, which should provide greater clarity on how quickly Catalyst can move toward its ~200kozpa production ambition.

89% upside for this ASX 300 stock

Based on this guidance, Bell Potter has retained its buy recommendation along with an updated price target of $12.80. 

From current levels, this indicates an upside potential of 89%. 

FY26 was a significant year for CYL, building operationally and financially YoY, achieving guidance. Our FY27 outlook remains unchanged (128koz for $2,833/oz AISC), subject to the September 2026 guidance and strategy release.

The post This exciting ASX 300 stock has 89% upside: Broker appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Bell 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.

With earnings season now over, brokers have updated their ratings on hundreds of S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares.

Let’s take a look at three new ratings from experts this week (courtesy The Bull).

Greatland Resources Ltd (ASX: GGP)

The Greatland Resources share price rose 19.1% over the August earnings season, and is up 94% over 12 months. 

Jonathan Tacadena from MPC Markets has a buy rating on this ASX 200 gold share. 

Tacadena said:

GGP is a gold and copper producer. The company produced 329,000 ounces of gold in full year 2026, comfortably beating guidance.

All in sustaining costs were also below guidance. It held cash of $1.289 billion at June 30 and had no debt.

It has full upside exposure to the gold price via put options.

A reserve upgrade at the Telfer mine in Western Australia is also encouraging. The company is enjoying favourable momentum.

The gold price has increased 9% over the past month and 3% in the calendar year to date.

Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG)

The Origin Energy share price increased 8% during August, and is down 9% over 12 months. 

Remo Greco from Sanlam Private Wealth has a hold rating on this ASX 200 utilities share. 

Greco said: 

This major electricity retailer posted a statutory profit of $1.574 billion in full year 2026, up from $1.481 billion in the prior corresponding period.

Adjusted free cash flow increased by $867 million to $2.074 billion, driven by strong cash flow from energy markets and Australia Pacific LNG.

The company is supported by a strong balance sheet, enabling it to deliver consistent returns to share holders.

The company was recently trading on an appealing dividend yield above 5 per cent.

PEXA Group Ltd (ASX: PXA)

The PEXA share price fell 1.5% during earnings season, and is down 53% over 12 months. 

Tacadena has a sell call on this ASX 200 real estate share following PEXA’s FY26 report. 

He explained: 

PEXA operates a leading digital property platform and settles most transactions in Australia. It also operates in the UK.

A concern is a weaker housing market in Australia impacting PXA’s performance moving forward.

In Australia, a draft report proposes about a 20 per cent reduction in PXA’s regulated revenue requirement via reductions to certain transfer transaction fees over a year.

The independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) in New South Wales is reviewing electronic lodgement network operator (ELNO) service fees. PEXA has submitted formal objections to the IPART draft proposal.

The shares have fallen significantly since March and still remain under pressure.

The post Buy, hold, sell: Greatland Resources, PEXA Group, Origin shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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.

AI shares are among the hardest things to buy on the Australian market, because the obvious names are all listed somewhere else.

For example, there is no ASX-listed Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA)

That does not mean Australian investors are locked out.

How to buy AI shares on the ASX

There are three sensible routes.

You can own the infrastructure that artificial intelligence runs on, you can own a business using the technology to widen its own moat, or you can buy a global fund listed here.

Each carries a different risk, and the mistake most investors make is treating them as interchangeable.

The infrastructure AI shares

NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) is the purest local play on computing demand.

The company’s FY26 result delivered net revenue of $405.0 million, up 16%, and underlying EBITDA of $248.8 million.

The number that really matters is contracted utilisation, which more than tripled to 740.1 megawatts against built capacity of just 288 megawatts.

Hyperscale and artificial intelligence workloads now account for 95% of contracted megawatts.

FY27 guidance is for revenue of $615 million to $640 million.

The risk is written into the same document.

Capital expenditure guidance for FY27 was between $5.25 billion to $5.75 billion, against a market capitalisation of $10.49 billion.

NextDC shares closed Monday at $13.23 and have fallen 19.66% over twelve months.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) is the larger and steadier version of the same theme.

Its FY26 operating profit rose 15.7% to $2,675 million, with operating earnings per security up 10.1% to 129.9 cents.

Data centres are now roughly $15.4 billion of work in progress, or 78% of the total.

The group controls a global power bank of 6.4 gigawatts across 16 cities, with management guiding to 9% operating earnings per security growth in FY27.

The AI shares that use the technology

Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) is not usually filed under artificial intelligence, but it probably should be.

Its Visage platform is where radiology algorithms have to run, and FY26 revenue grew 28.4% to $261.7 million on an underlying EBIT margin of 74.9%.

The company signed $407 million of new contracts across ten deals and retained 100% of renewals at higher fees.

Forward contracted revenue now stands at $1.34 billion over five years.

The stock’s valuation is the primary argument against it.

Pro Medicus trades on a price-to-earnings ratio of 72 at $176.42, and the shares have still fallen 40.99% over the past year.

That fall tells you how brutally the market punishes any wobble in a stock priced this way.

The simplest option of all

Global X Artificial Intelligence ETF (ASX: GXAI) solves the geography problem in a single trade, and is the fastest way to add AI shares exposure to an Australian portfolio.

The ETF tracks the Indxx Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Index across more than 100 companies, with Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: PLTR), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) among its largest weights.

The ETF’s management fee is 0.57% a year, and the fund held roughly $271 million in assets as at 28 August 2026.

Foolish takeaway

I would not build a portfolio out of only one of these shares and ETFs.

NextDC gives you the cleanest exposure and carries the heaviest capital risk.

Goodman offers the same theme inside an ASX 200 business that actually pays a distribution.

Pro Medicus is the highest quality of the three and comfortably the most expensive.

For most investors, a global ETF alongside one or two local names is the best way to own AI shares while limiting downside risk.

The post Want to invest in AI shares? Here’s how to do it on the ASX appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven 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 Goodman Group, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Goodman Group, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.