Shares in Web Travel Group Ltd (ASX: WEB) have made a strong recovery in recent months but remain more than 10% down over the past 12 months.

The analysts at UBS believe the recovery is set to continue, however, and they have just upgraded their price target on the company, which I’ll get to shortly.

Trading update solidly positive

First, let’s have a look at the company’s recent announcements about how the business is travelling.

In late August, Web Travel Group upgraded its guidance, now expecting first-half FY27 revenue to be up 14% to 16%, compared to previous guidance of 11% to 15%.

The company said it also expected its margins to be at least 6.7%, up from 6.5% for the same period last year.

And on the earnings front, the company expected underlying EBITDA to be $85 to $89 million, up from previous guidance of $80 to $86 million.

Web Travel Group Chief Executive John Guscic said of the changes:

The decision to upgrade guidance is due to the increased velocity of bookings and improved margins in trading. The Americas continues to see extremely strong growth. The performance of Europe, MEA and APAC have improved in the second quarter. 1H27 is on track to be the third consecutive 6-month period where TTV margins have improved over the prior corresponding period. The demonstrable operating leverage is a direct result of the optimisation initiatives and investments we made in FY26 that are delivering earlier than expected.

Shares looking like a good buy at these levels

UBS said Web Travel Group’s new strategy appeared to be paying off.

They added:

In our view, the strategy to further build WEB’s directly contracted hotel inventory (higher margin) is allowing WEB to continue to take share – whilst maintaining healthy net margins. Should the normal seasonal skew unfold, we see a further 5% upside to eanrings per share in FY27. Given 70% of costs are fixed, our analysis suggests WEB has also potentially implemented some cost initiatives. If WEB once again proves it can hold or improve margins at 1H27, we believe this should warrant a re-rate.

UBS said it was only factoring in $60 million of a potential $90 million in share buybacks into its valuation of the company.

UBS upgraded its price target on Web Travel Group from $4.60 to $4.85, compared to $3.71 at the time of writing.

If achieved, this would constitute a 30.7% return.

Web Travel Group is valued at $1.4 billion. The company is expected to release its first-half results on November 25.

The post This buy-rated ASX travel stock could deliver a 30% return: Broker appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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.

Now could be the time to buy the ASX 200 stock in this article.

That’s because the team at Bell Potter has just reaffirmed its buy rating on the stock.

Which ASX 200 stock?

The stock that is getting attention from Bell Potter is agricultural chemicals company Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF).

Bell Potter points out that recent peer reporting highlights continued margin recovery and trade flows suggesting a solid level of inventory rebuild ahead of major selling windows. It said: 

Key highlights from reporting season include: (1) Average reported selling prices were down -2% YoY and volumes were down -2% YoY; and (2) Gross margins (where reported) were up +180bp YoY. Like recent quarters, peer results continue to imply FY26e is a year of margin recover (as lower inventory moves through COGS) more so than top line growth.

Sector trade flows demonstrated -were down -3% YoY in volume terms and were down -18% YoY in value terms in 3Q26. The YoY change in sell through was stronger than the refill in value terms, implying formulators have not restocked with expensive stock, noting the volatility in China actives in the quarter

It also highlights that omega-3 oil pricing indicators have been firm. The broker adds:

Pricing indicators for omega-3 oil have remained firm and at levels consistent with previous peak pricing levels. South American fishoil prices are up +70-180% from Mar’26 levels, with bulk fishoil (the product most comparable to NUF Omega-3 products) last trading at US$4,650-8,250/t.

Time to buy

According to the note, Bell Potter has retained its buy rating on the ASX 200 stock with an improved price target of $3.75 (from $3.60).

Based on its current share price of $3.29, this implies potential upside of 14% for investors over the next 12 months. A 1% dividend yield is also expected over the period.

Commenting on its buy recommendation, Bell Potter said:

Our Buy rating is unchanged. Trading trends continue to infer FY26e is a year where improved gross margin (on lower COGS) and cost out are the main driver of profit growth. The[re] is the potential for surprise is omega-3, where Peruvian fishoil stock is in short supply and pricing indicators are reaching levels consistent with previous peaks.

There are modest EBITDA changes (<-1%) largely reflecting FX mark-to market. Our target price lifts to $3.75ps (prev. $3.60ps) on model roll forward.

The post Bell Potter says this ASX 200 stock is a buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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.

Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) shares may be the single best thing an ordinary Australian investor could have owned over the past decade.

The medical imaging software company was a modest small-cap in 2016.

It is now a business worth close to $18 billion.

The share price has fallen 39% over the past twelve months, however, this hasn’t seemed to have impacted the long-term picture much.

Here is exactly what $10,000 would have become.

The maths on Pro Medicus shares over a decade

Pro Medicus shares traded at roughly $5.00 a share through the second half of 2016.

A $10,000 investment would have bought around 2,000 shares.

Those shares closed on Tuesday at $173.15.

The initial investment is now worth approximately $346,000. That is a gain of close to 3,360% before dividends.

Speaking of, dividends improve the number again.

Pro Medicus has paid a fully franked dividend across the entire period.

To illustrate, the FY26 payout alone came to 69 cents per share.

Measured against the original $5.00 purchase price, that single year of income represents almost 14% of what the investor paid back in 2016.

What actually drove the returns

The business did the work, not the market.

Visage is the platform radiologists use to view, store and share medical images.

The platform wins long contracts with large North American hospital networks, and it keeps them.

Revenue has compounded relentlessly while margins widened as the company scaled.

That combination is rare anywhere on the ASX and close to non-existent in healthcare.

Inside the FY26 result

FY26 was another strong year by almost any measure.

Revenue rose 22.9% to $261.7 million and underlying EBIT climbed 24.4% to $196.1 million.

Underlying net profit after tax increased 24.1% to $144.7 million.

Reported net profit jumped 130.3% to $265.3 million.

The company signed ten new contracts worth more than $407 million, including a ten-year agreement with UC Health Colorado.

Six existing contracts were renewed on five-year terms at higher fees.

Cash and financial assets grew 19.7% to $252.3 million, and the balance sheet still carries no debt at all.

Chief executive Dr Sam Hupert was satisfied with how the year finished.

We were aiming for 30% increases in EBIT and NPAT, and we exceeded both on a constant currency basis.

Why Pro Medicus shares have fallen 40% anyway

None of that stopped the share price falling hard.

Pro Medicus shares have dropped from a 52-week high of $321.57 to $173.15. The stock still trades on a price-to-earnings ratio of roughly 67.

That is a high multiple, and it leaves no room for a slower quarter of contract announcements.

Anyone who bought at the high is down more than 45%, which shows how important timing can be.

The valuation question facing new buyers

Buying a wonderful business at any price is not a strategy.

Pro Medicus needs to keep growing near 25% a year to justify what the market pays for it.

The addressable market in North American radiology is large, though it is not infinite.

Competition from larger imaging vendors is there, and contract timing is lumpy by nature.

Foolish takeaway

A $10,000 parcel bought a decade ago is worth around $346,000 today, not including dividends, which is a life-changing outcome from a very ordinary sum of money.

The lesson is not that Pro Medicus shares were an obvious buy in 2016, because they were nothing of the sort.

I would not chase the stock at 67 times earnings today.

But I would also not sell away a decade of compounding simply because the share price has had a difficult twelve months.

The post How much would $10,000 invested 10 years ago in Pro Medicus shares be worth today? 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 recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.