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.

What happened 

The cryptocurrency market had a bad start to the day Wednesday and values dropped across the board. A broad sell-off caught almost every cryptocurrency and volatility continues to be normal for the industry. 

As of 12:05 p.m. ET, the value of Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) was down 10.5% over the last 24 hours, Polkadot (CRYPTO: DOT) had fallen 8.9%, and Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) had fallen 7.6%. 

So what 

The stock market is down sharply today and growth stocks are tumbling as well. Cryptocurrencies have been correlated with growth stocks for most of the last year and so when there’s a big sell-off it’s not surprising to see cryptocurrencies drop. 

One of the reasons the stock market is down is because interest rates are rising. In the U.S., the 10-year Treasury rate is up 5 basis points today to 2.59% and rates in developing countries are up even more. Brazil’s 10-year rate was up 18 basis points to 11.54% and Mexico was up 6 basis points to 8.49%. Cryptocurrencies are traded globally, so the increases around the world will cause investors to flee to “safer” assets. 

There’s also news that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed expanding its definition of an exchange and may require more traders and businesses to register with the agency. The industry has been in regulatory limbo for years and at times there are signs regulations will be light and at other times it seems like burdensome regulations are coming. This news would fall in the latter camp and for now it’s causing cryptocurrencies to lose value overall. I wouldn’t be surprised to see regulation be a cause of volatility throughout the year.

Now what 

There are a lot of macro factors driving cryptocurrencies today but fundamentally I don’t see any major changes to the long-term investment thesis. The disruptive nature of crypto and blockchains still exists and money is flowing into the industry. 

What also hasn’t changed is that cryptocurrencies remain extremely volatile, especially on the interest rate and economic news. With rates on the rise and the economy uncertain for the next year it’s understandable that there’s a pullback in valuations. 

What I will point out about each of these cryptocurrencies is that they’re utility cryptocurrencies that enable developers to build functionality in decentralized finance, non-fungible tokens, and other markets. Long-term, this should be the best place for investors and as development grows the value of cryptocurrencies should rise as well. 

For now, uncertainty has taken hold of the market and that’s what’s causing today’s pullback. But it’s nothing to be concerned about long-term because the crypto industry is maturing and becoming more valuable everyday. 

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

The post Why Solana, Polkadot, and Cardano are down big today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 rising cryptos that are up more than 10% over the past week

Travis Hoium owns Solana. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Solana. 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 Bruce Jackson. 

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

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Last month was a rough one for most ASX buy now, pay later (BNPL) shares.

While the broader market ended the month in the green – the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) and S&P/ASX 200 Index(ASX: XJO) each gained 6.3% in March – nearly all ASX-listed BNPL stocks slipped lower.

In fact, the market’s favourite pureplay BNPL stock, Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), recorded the biggest tumble of the month.

So, what dragged on some of the sector’s biggest players in March? Let’s take a look.

What drove ASX BNPL shares lower in March?

While ASX BNPL shares might have been hit with talk of inflation and interest rate rises, there were plenty of concrete happenings that weighed many down last month.

Firstly, shares in Zip and Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) both entered March fresh from the freezer after the former made a takeover bid for the latter.

The all-scrip deal – quickly accepted by Sezzle’s board – will see investors receiving 0.98 shares in Zip for each Sezzle stock they own.

The Zip share price tumbled 6% on 1 March, while that of Sezzle gained almost 10%.

Zip also underwent a $148.7 million institutional placement to strengthen its balance sheet last month. Finally, it opened a share purchase plan that could raise $50 million.

Additionally, Sezzle made more headlines in March when it announced it would dump 20% of its workforce to save around US$10 million annually.

Over the course of last month, the Zip share price tumbled 32.5% while that of Sezzle fell 24.1%.

Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) was one of the only ASX BNPL shares to record a gain last month. It is, of course, the owner of former market favourite, Afterpay.

The Block share price gained 19.3% in March despite no news being released by the company. However, it was removed from the S&P/ASX 20 Index (ASX: XTL).

Speaking of index movements, shares in Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LFS) entered the All Ords last month. Meanwhile, those of Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) were booted from the benchmark index.

Novatti Group Ltd (ASX: NOV)’s stock also went through an index shakeup – it was dumped from the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX).

The share prices of Latitude, Novatti, and Splitit fell 5.7%, 4.1%, and 11.1% respectively last month.

Finally, ASX BNPL shares Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) and IOUPay ltd (ASX: IOU) also slipped lower last month. They fell 2.2% and 5.5% respectively.

The post March was a lousy month for ASX BNPL shares. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Andromeda Metals, Block, Paladin Energy, and Zip shares are dropping
• Zip share price sinks following share purchase plan results
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip sink, Paladin Energy raises $200m
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: IGO dealt blow, Block’s data breach, Xero jumps
• Why are ASX tech shares having such a stellar day?

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. owns and has recommended Block, Inc. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Humm Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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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.

What happened

The price of several of the most popular cryptocurrencies fell today as investors evaluated moves by the Federal Reserve, which is desperately trying to rein in surging inflation.

The price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), has fallen roughly 3.5% over 24 hours as of 10:46 a.m. EST. Meanwhile, the price of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), has fallen 5.4%, Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) is down 6.8%, and Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) is down roughly 6.2%. 

So what

Bond yields on U.S. Treasury bills continued to tick up this morning as the market awaits minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting, where the Fed for the first time since 2018 increased its benchmark overnight lending rate, the federal funds rate. Those minutes are due out at 2 p.m. today. The market is currently expecting the Fed to raise its benchmark rate at each of its next six meetings this year.

In the Fed’s minutes, investors, analysts, and investors will also be looking for hints at how aggressively the Fed plans to shrink its balance sheet, which has ballooned to close to $9 trillion. 

Yesterday, the market sold off after Fed governor Lael Brainard said publicly that the Fed needs to move fast on balance sheet reduction, which would effectively remove liquidity from markets. The statements came as a surprise because Brainard normally favors a low federal funds rate and loose Fed policy.

“The [Federal Open Market Committee] will continue tightening monetary policy methodically through a series of interest rate increases and by starting to reduce the balance sheet at a rapid pace as soon as our May meeting,” said Brainard.

She added, “Given that the recovery has been considerably stronger and faster than in the previous cycle, I expect the balance sheet to shrink considerably more rapidly than in the previous recovery, with significantly larger caps and a much shorter period to phase in the maximum caps compared with 2017-19.”

The broader crypto market had been rallying last week, and many see Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, but since last October cryptocurrencies have not fared well amid a hawkish Fed. This may in part be because surging inflation, a higher cost of debt, and removing liquidity from the market simply leave investors less money for highly speculative investments like cryptocurrencies. 

Now what

Cryptocurrencies are all quite volatile, as evidenced in recent years and weeks. While I don’t know if Bitcoin is truly a hedge against inflation, I generally like Bitcoin and Ethereum in the long term. Bitcoin is the pioneer of cryptocurrencies, which continue to get more and more ingrained into the financial system every day.

Ethereum is essentially the pioneer for smart contract capabilities and decentralized applications. Furthermore, the network has been in the midst of a massive set of upgrades over the last two years, which are supposed to make the network more scalable and secure. The official transition to the new network is scheduled for this year, an event that analysts say could lead to a rally for Ethereum. 

I’ve never really been a fan of Dogecoin or Shiba Inu because they don’t seem to have any kind of unique competitive advantage among the thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence. However, there is no denying the innate interest in these two cryptocurrencies, so they tend to move up and down with the broader crypto markets. 

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

The post Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu are down today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• What’s the outlook for the Bitcoin price in April?

Bram Berkowitz owns Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson. 

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

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The first few months of 2022 have been volatile for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). But what is the outlook for the Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) share price?

Recent history has been a strange period for BOQ shares. The past month shows an 11% rise for the challenger bank. However, it’s only up by 2% since the start of 2022. Looking further back, the BOQ share price has fallen 13% in the past six months.

At the time of writing, it is down 0.35% in early trade today to $8.44.

What next for the BOQ share price?

It’s impossible to know what’s going to happen in any given week, month, or even year for an investment. Just look at how COVID-19 turned the world upside down over the past two years.

However, two brokers recently downgraded their ratings on the bank. Ord Minnett downgraded its rating to a hold, and Macquarie downgraded its rating to neutral. The Ord Minnett price target is $8.90, and the Macquarie price target is $9.

Those two brokers suggested that BOQ’s net interest margin (NIM) could come under pressure. Competition continues to be strong in the lending space and is expected to remain like that. Macquarie doesn’t think the upcoming result will impress the market due to the NIM challenges.

However, one positive note from a broker about BOQ this month came from Morgan Stanley. The broker believes the bank can achieve the ‘positive jaws’ that it has been aiming for. It has a price target of $10.20 on the business.

BOQ is now a larger business after the acquisition of ME Bank.

The bank recently said that it was revising its accounting policy in relation to costs relating to software-as-a-service arrangements. The change led to a $25 million decrease in retained earnings as of 1 September 2021.

BOQ share price valuation and dividend expectations

Based on Morgan Stanley’s numbers, the Bank of Queensland share price is valued at 12x FY22’s estimated earnings with a potential FY22 grossed-up dividend yield of 7.8%.

Looking further ahead to FY23, Morgan Stanley’s estimate put the BOQ share price at 11x FY23’s projected earnings. The FY23 grossed-up dividend yield is expected to be 8.6%.

Interestingly, Macquarie actually thinks BOQ will generate more profit in FY22 than what Morgan Stanley has pencilled in. Macquarie’s estimates put the BOQ share price at under 12x FY22’s estimated earnings. The projected FY22 grossed-up dividend yield could be 7.6%.

Macquarie has also estimated some numbers for FY23 for the bank. The BOQ share price is valued at 11x FY23’s estimated earnings with a possible grossed-up dividend yield of 8.1%.

New chief financial officer

BOQ announced this morning that it has appointed Racheal Kellaway as its new chief financial officer (CFO). She will succeed the current CFO on 1 July 2022.

The bank said this transition period would ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities.

Kellaway has been the deputy CFO for the past three years. BOQ said Kellaway has been instrumental in BOQ delivering sustainable, profitable growth. She will become the first female CFO in the bank’s 148-year history.

The bank said the appointment and transition period positions the bank to maintain momentum in executing its transformation plan, strengthening the balance sheet, and managing costs.

The post What’s the outlook for the Bank of Queensland share price in April? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) shareholders should check their accounts today to see if they received the company’s latest dividend payout.

The mining outfit distributed a fully-franked interim dividend of US 8.7 cents (A$0.1194) per share to eligible shareholders.

At Wednesday’s market close, the South32 share price finished 1.95% lower to $5.02.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) also fell yesterday with a 0.5% loss to 7,490.1 points.

Let’s take a look at all the details regarding the company’s dividend.

How did South32 perform for the first half of FY22?

In the half year report for the 2022 financial year, South32 reported strong performance across key metrics.

In summary, group statutory profit after tax increased by US$979 million to US$1,032 million in H1 FY22. The company benefited from portfolio changes completed in FY21, as well as a broad recovery in commodity prices.

Underlying earnings jumped by US$868 million to US$1,004 million through higher average realised prices for commodities, particularly metallurgical coal. The latter attributed US$526 million over the period to South32’s coffers.

The group also achieved a US$704 million increase in free cash flow from operations, excluding EAI, to US$840 million.

Overall, the company finished the first half with net cash of US$975 million, up from US$406 million in the prior year.

The board declared a fully franked interim dividend of US 8.7 cents per share. This represents a 621% jump from the US 1.4 cents declared in H1 FY21.

Management noted that the latest dividend equates to a payout ratio of 40% of cash earnings.

The company’s dividend policy is to distribute a minimum of 40% of its cash earnings in any 6-month period.

It is worth noting that there is a capital management program that has been active since FY18. This returns excess capital efficiently through an on-market share buyback.

The board further expanded its capital management program by US$110 million to US$2.1 billion, leaving US$302 million to be returned by 2 September 2022.

South32 share price snapshot

Adding to its impressive gains, the South32 share price has surged around 78% in the last 12 months. This has predominantly been driven by its gains achieved in 2022, up 25%.

South32 has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 29.88 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $23.32 billion.

The post The S32 dividend is being paid today. Here’s what you need to know 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 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price has been struggling in 2022.

Since the start of the year, the electronic design software company’s shares have fallen 22%.

Is the weakness in the Altium share price a buying opportunity?

While the pullback in the Altium share price this year has been disappointing for shareholders, it could be a buying opportunity for others.

According to a note out of Bell Potter this week, the broker has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $41.25.

Based on the current Altium share price of $34.69, this implies potential upside of 19% for investors over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Bell Potter notes that there have been a couple of recent developments which the market may be interpreting as headwinds.

The first is the war in Ukraine and the negative impact this could have on revenue out of Russia and on its research and development activities in Ukraine. However, Bell Potter notes that Russia only accounts for 1%-2% of Altium’s revenue and the majority of staff in Ukraine have been relocated to its office in Poland.

The other potential headwind is the recently announced strategic partnership between Cadence Design Systems and Dassault Systèmes. This partnership will see the two companies combine platforms and provide a joint solution. However, once again, the broker doesn’t believe this is a material headwind.

It explained: “In the case of the Cadence/Dassault strategic partnership this is not new – the two have already been working together for some time – and is focused on the high-end enterprise area of the market (where Altium does not tend to compete). We therefore do not see much if any impact on Altium from these two developments in the current half or in future periods.”

In light of this, it continues to forecast strong profit growth in the coming years and sees a lot of value in the Altium share price at the current level.

The post Broker says the Altium share price weakness is a buying opportunity 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. owns and has recommended Altium. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price will be in focus early next month when the banking giant releases its half year results.

Ahead of the release, let’s take a look to see what the market is expecting from the bank.

What is expected from ANZ?

The team at Bell Potter has been busy looking through industry data and has laid out its expectations for ANZ during the six months ending 31 March.

According to the note, the broker expects ANZ to report a first half cash profit of $2.84 billion. This will be down 5% from the $2.99 billion cash profit reported in the prior corresponding period and down 11% from the $3.21 billion reported for the second half of FY 2021.

Bell Potter explained: “While no cash NPAT figure was given in 1Q22, there is enough evidence to suggest things will continue to be bad until at least after 2H22. This is due to lower NIM in 1Q22 (-8bp, underlying -5bp, driven by lower full year exit rate and ongoing structural headwinds) despite some tailwinds in New Zealand and deposit price changes, and still poorer Markets business outcome in October (trading conditions to impact 1H22 performance).”

What about shareholder returns?

The broker is expecting ANZ to declare a 71 cents per share fully franked interim dividend. This will be 1 cent per share higher than last year and represents a 71% payout ratio.

As for other capital returns, Bell Potter isn’t expecting any further share buybacks to be announced, though it sees scope for more in the future.

It commented: “As for Level 2 CET1, we forecast 12.3% in 1H22 but this will fall to 11.5% at the end of 2H22 mainly due to ongoing share buy-backs (and helped by organic capital generation of 0.4-0.8% p.a.).”

“While ANZ should continue to drive towards APRA’s minimum requirement of 10.5%, we figure a benchmark of 11.5% would appear to be the norm. Medium-term, the buyback of $1.5bn still remains in place and the bank can take up a further $1.8bn (the difference between 12.2% and NAB’s 11.75%, all else being equal).”

Are ANZ’s shares in the buy zone?

Bell Potter isn’t currently recommending ANZ shares as a buy.

The broker has a hold rating and $29.00 price target on them. This compares to the latest ANZ share price of $27.36, implying only modest upside potential of 6%.

The post What to expect from the ANZ half year result appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Here’s how the ANZ share price performed in March
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• What’s the outlook for the ANZ share price in April?
• What is the current dividend yield on ANZ shares?

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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price has been flying in recent weeks.

Since this time last month, the mining and mining services company’s shares have risen a sizeable 25%.

Can the Mineral Resources share price keep rising?

The good news for investors is that one leading broker doesn’t believe it is too late to invest.

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on the company’s shares by 21% to $74.35.

Based on the current Mineral Resources share price of $60.35, this implies potential upside of 23% for investors over the next 12 months. This potential return increases to approximately 24% including dividends.

What did the broker say?

Bell Potter made the move in response to Mineral Resources’ decision to increase its lithium production plans materially due to unprecedented demand.

The broker highlights that this means that the company will be a major player in the lithium space, with production greater than Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) in 2022.

It commented: “MIN’s expansion and restart plans are in response to strong market demand for lithium products. MIN’s share of the expanded equivalent 6% spodumene concentrate (650 ktpa) equals around 100 ktpa of LCE (by lithium units). For context, Allkem Ltd’s (AKE) targeted FY22 production capacity is 50 ktpa LCE (on a 100%), and FY26 capacity is 145-to158 ktpa LCE.”

All in all, the broker believes the Mineral Resources share price is great value at the current level and sees a number of catalysts to taking it even higher.

It said: “We consider that MIN maintains an excellent portfolio of operating and development minerals assets, with a number of outstanding catalysts to provide additional news flow throughout the year ahead, including announcements relating to the conclusion of renegotiating the MARBL JV (and the anticipated increased downstream lithium processing capacity), and, iron ore project development in the Pilbara.”

The post Lithium boom: Broker tips Mineral Resources share price to jump 23% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The volatility this year may scare novice investors, but experienced folk know there are plenty of opportunities.

After the earlier market plunge amid inflation panic and a war in Ukraine that’s still in progress, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has recovered most of its losses and could even set new records this month.

“Over the last 10 years the average gain for April, usually the second strongest month of the year, is +2.7%, which would take us to a new milestone high,” said Market Matters portfolio manager James Gerrish.

“[That’s] Market Matters’ call since the start of 2022, with the ‘fun’ just about to start in earnest.”

Gerrish told his newsletter subscribers that it’s currently an “exciting time” for active investors.

“We fully expect to rotate between cyclical and defensive stocks, growth and value sectors and high and low cash levels, to name a few, through the remainder of the year.”

One rotation candidate is the technology sector, which has been brutally sold off the past few months. With valuations now dirt cheap, there could be some upside.

Excellent risk-reward

In response to reader questions, there were a couple of tech ASX shares that Gerrish found value in:

• Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8)
• NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

Data centre operator NextDC, according to Gerrish, looks like a one-way bet.

“We actually think NextDC looks great from a risk-reward perspective with stops below $11, less than 8% downside with significant upside.”

The NextDC share price closed Wednesday at $11.81.

The team at Citi is also bullish on the stock, rating it as a “buy” with a price target of $14.55.

According to CMC Markets, 12 out of 17 analysts rate NextDC as a “buy”. Eleven of them even label it as a “strong buy”.

Meanwhile, audio tech provider Audinate has seen its shares plummet almost 40% since mid-December as it struggles with supply constraints.

“We haven’t had an update from the company since [February] around chip supply,” Gerrish said.

“The stock has continued to drift lower with chip supplies likely to be weighing on investors confidence along with the stock being associated with the out-of-favour growth sector.”

He was asked how Audinate shares might perform in a climate of increasing inflation.

“A rising inflation environment has been a headwind for virtually all growth stocks and this is likely to continue until inflation and bond yields reach a new period of equilibrium.

“We believe this can happen shortly on a short-term basis.”

Four out of five analysts surveyed on CMC Markets rate the stock as a “strong buy”.

Medallion Financial managing director Michael Wayne has been a long-time fan of the company, and has kept his faith through the stock price plunge.

“The fact that it’s basically a monopoly in that space at the moment, growing many multiple times the nearest competitor, we think it’s worth persisting.”

Audinate shares finished Wednesday at $6.32.

The post 2 ASX tech shares that are cheap enough to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns AUDINATEGL FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended AUDINATEGL FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended AUDINATEGL FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price took off last month despite no news being released by the company.

After slumping 58% over the 12 months leading up to the start of March, the medical device company’s stock launched 10% higher and was swapping hands for $1.10 apiece by the end of the month.

Not a bad finish for the Polynovo share price after tracking at a multi-year low of 83.5 cents early in the same month.

That means the company’s stock outperformed the broader market by nearly 4%.  

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) both gained 6.3% in March.

So, what might have helped boost the ASX 200 healthcare stock higher? Let’s take a look.

What’s happened to Polynovo’s stock in March?

While there was no word from Polynovo to explain its share price gains, a few happenings could have helped boost the stock higher.

Firstly, while the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) ended the month only 1.89% higher than it started, the sector recorded some notable single-day gains.

That may have helped boost Polynovo’s shares at specific points throughout March.

Additionally, brokers have been bullish on the stock lately.

As The Motley Fool Australia’s Zach Bristow recently reported, 50% of analysts covering the stock were bullish on its future last month, believing it was one to buy. The other 50% had it down as one to hold.

Interestingly, Polynovo retained its position as one of the ASX’s most shorted shares last month. That means short-sellers are betting its share price will continue to slump.

Polynovo ended last month with a short position of 9.48%, which is relatively flat compared with where it ended in February.

Polynovo share price snapshot

Last month’s gains weren’t enough to boost the Polynovo share price back into the long term green.

The company’s stock ended the month 29% lower than where it started in 2022. It was also 59% lower than its closing price on 31 March 2021.

The post March was a stellar month for the Polynovo share price. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why CBA, Kelsian, PolyNovo, and Weebit Nano shares are pushing higher
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block and Zip sink, Paladin Energy raises $200m
• Why is the PolyNovo share price surging 13% higher today?
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• What’s driving the Polynovo (ASX:PNV) share price higher today?

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. owns and has recommended POLYNOVO FPO. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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