• Top 5 stocks mentioned on Reddit’s WallStreetBets right now

    A hand chalks the word Top 5.

    If you can believe it, it’s now one year since the GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) short squeeze exploded into the public consciousness.

    That episode, which saw shares for the video game retailer rise 1,500% in just a fortnight, brought mainstream attention onto the Reddit forum r/wallstreetbets.

    The group plan to buy up GameStop stock to inflate its flagging share price was allegedly hatched in that discussion channel.

    The term “meme stock” had well and truly arrived.

    Crowd-picking stocks on social media and online chats has become so influential that institutional investors are now reportedly keeping a close eye on these forums.

    As such, it’s always interesting to keep tabs ourselves.

    So let’s take a look at the 5 most-discussed stocks on WallStreetBets as of Tuesday January 11 Australian time, thanks to statistics from Swaggy Stocks:

    1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)
    2. GameStop Corp
    3. Tilray Inc (NASDAQ: TLRY)
    4. Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: QQQ)
    5. Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)

    Electric cars, cannabis and computer chips

    Electric car maker Tesla needs no introduction, and regularly features among the most-discussed shares on Reddit.

    After multiplying its share price 8-fold in 2020, punters were certainly interested in whether Elon Musk’s company had become overvalued.

    The bulls won out in 2021, seeing their shares increase another 50%.

    The debate apparently still continues in 2022.

    Tilray is a Canadian cannabis company that grows the plant in Canada and Europe and then sells it into the fast-growing US market.

    The company listed on the NASDAQ in July 2018 with an initial public offer price of US$17 per share.

    Many of those original investors may have left by now, with the share price languishing at US$7.29. It has lost 41% of its valuation just in the past 12 months.

    Are the Redditors planning a crowd-induced surge?

    Invesco QQQ Trust is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the NASDAQ-100 (NASDAQ: NDX) index.

    With a heavy technology bias, the ETF has lost about 4.5% since the start of this year, so there may be some debate on WallStreetBets about buying the dip.

    Rounding out the top 5 is chipmaker Nvidia.

    Despite its origins in graphics processing units, the company has seen spectacular growth thanks to its innovations in artificial intelligence and data analytics.

    Shareholders have enjoyed a marvellous ride, with the Nvidia stock price surging more than 10-fold over the past 5 years.

    But despite still doubling over the past 12 months, the stock has cooled considerably in recent weeks. Since 7 December, Nvidia shares have lost 15.5%.

    No wonder there is some discussion on Reddit as to whether it’s a buying opportunity.

    It’s worth noting that Reddit is itself planning to list publicly this year, confidentially filing for an initial public offer last month.

    No doubt Reddit shares will also make an appearance soon as one of the most-discussed shares.

    The post Top 5 stocks mentioned on Reddit’s WallStreetBets right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of August 16th 2021

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    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 Nvidia. 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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  • Attention Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) shareholders: Here are the key dates to note in 2022

    A man wearing a shirt, tie and hard hat sits in an office and marks dates in his diary.

    The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price has continued to climb throughout the new year.

    In the past couple of weeks, the company’s shares have risen 6.25% in value. By contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fallen 0.73% to 7,390.1 points over the same timeframe.

    At Tuesday’s closing bell, Rio Tinto shares finished the day up 0.36% to $106.37.

    With the new year upon us, we take a look at what’s ahead for the mining heavyweight.

    The dates to watch for in 2022

    Late last month, Rio Tinto provided investors with its key dates for the 2022 calendar year.

    The most important date to circle in your diary is the company’s announcement of its 2021 full-year results on 23 February. Rio Tinto will report how it performed for the last 12 months along with its final dividend.

    Following the release, Rio Tinto shares will trade ex-dividend on 10 March. This is when investors must have purchased the company’s shares to be eligible for the upcoming dividend payment.

    In addition, eligible shareholders can elect to participate in the dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) with the deadline being 29 March.

    The payment date for the final dividend is scheduled for 21 April, when investors will collect a portion of the company’s profits. Rio Tinto traditionally rewards its shareholders with 60% of its profits as dividends.

    In FY20, the board declared a final dividend of $5.17 per share, its third-biggest payout to date.

    Moving ahead, the company will hold its 2022 annual general meeting on 5 May. This will likely recap the events over the last 12 months, as well as the near-term outlook for the mining outfit.

    Rio Tinto’s half-year results for FY22 are set to be disclosed to the ASX on 27 July. This will also comprise an interim dividend for the six-month period.

    Rio Tinto shares will again trade ex-dividend on 11 August. The final date for elections under the DRP will fall on 1 September.

    Shareholders who are eligible to receive Rio Tinto’s distribution of profits will collect payment on 22 September.

    Rio Tinto share price summary

    Despite travelling higher in 2022, it has been a disappointing 12 months for Rio Tinto shareholders. The company’s shares have lost around 13% for the period.

    Based on valuation grounds, Rio Tinto has a market capitalisation of $39.49 billion and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 13.56.

    The post Attention Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) shareholders: Here are the key dates to note in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Rio Tinto right now?

    Before you consider Rio Tinto, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Rio Tinto wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of August 16th 2021

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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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  • Why Cardano is on the move higher today

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

    Cardano cryptocurrency coin.

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

    What happened

    Today, investors in top cryptocurrency Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) are finally seeing some green. As of 11:15 a.m. ET, Cardano has appreciated 4.8%, reversing part of its losses from the past week.

    Over the past seven days, Cardano remains down 12.1%, as investors price in headwinds relating to transaction issues on key exchanges such as Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN). As was reported yesterday, transfers to and from the crypto exchange had been disabled for at least a portion of a few trading days, but these issues appear to be resolved at the time of this writing.

    The resolution of these issues, along with strong price action in the crypto market today, appear to be propelling investor sentiment higher. Currently, the entire crypto market has gained 2.9% over the past 24 hours, with beaten-up tokens such as Cardano seeing outsized gains today.

    Cardano investors are beaming today thanks to news that the Cardano Forest, a project run by Cardano Foundation, a non-profit linked to managing the Cardano network, has officially planted more than 1 million trees. As a proof-of-stake network, Cardano’s validation protocol is already among the greenest in the crypto world. Via planting trees, Cardano has sought to become a carbon-negative network, a goal that appears to be closer to reality today than ever before.

    So what

    Overall, investors in Cardano have a number of reasons to be bullish today. Retail investors are able to trade ADA tokens, and sentiment in the overall crypto market is improving. Cardano is making big strides toward being the “greenest” blockchain network on the planet. What’s not to like?

    However, serious headwinds continue to batter the crypto sector, mainly driven by an increasingly hawkish Fed. This environment has led to a de-risking of investor portfolios, with cryptocurrencies and higher-growth equities seeing marked declines this year. In fact, the past 10 days have been the worst start for the crypto market since its inception.

    Now what

    Is now the time to be bullish or bearish on cryptocurrencies? That’s the key question many investors are asking right now.

    The answer probably depends on each individual investor’s time horizon. As with any sort of disruptive technology, the growth we’re likely to see coming out of the crypto world won’t be linear. In fact, digital currencies are likely to remain among the most volatile assets anywhere. Accordingly, those with risk-averse mindsets may want to avoid this sector altogether.

    However, those with a little more appetite for risk may consider adding a portion of their holdings to cryptocurrencies such as Cardano. This network has a number of token-specific catalysts that look attractive right now. Over the long term, there’s reason to believe these catalysts could prevail over shorter-term knee-jerk responses to macro catalysts by the market. Of course, only time will tell.

    Today’s price action in the crypto market is a nice reprieve for investors who have seen sharp declines over the past month or so. However, it’s likely that volatility will continue from here. Accordingly, fastening the seatbelt and getting ready for a bumpy ride should be the mindset investors have from here. 

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

    The post Why Cardano is on the move higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of August 16th 2021

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    Chris MacDonald has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and recommends Coinbase Global, Inc. 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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  • What happened to the Coles (ASX:COL) share price in 2021?

    A supermarket worker with a clipboard

    The Coles Group Ltd  (ASX: COL) share price finished slightly in the red in 2021 amid Omicron COVID-19 disruptions.

    Shares in the supermarket giant shed 1.1%, dropping from $18.14 a share to $17.94 during the calendar year. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 13% during the year.

    Let’s take a look at what impacted investor sentiment in the company’s share price.

    How did the Coles share price perform?

    The Coles share price had a topsy-turvy year marked by its dramatic fall in February, a massive recovery to a yearly high in August, and more drama in September.

    Early in the year, the Coles share price plummeted more than 17% between market close on 27 January and its yearly low of $15.33 on 26 February.

    Despite promising financial results in February, management warned of potential sales declines in the second half of the year due to COVID-19 uncertainties. Coles reported a 14.5% spike in net profit to $560 million in these half-year results.

    Between 12 July and 23 August, the supermarket’s shares surged more than 13% to a 52-week high of $18.84.

    During this time, Goldman Sachs forecast strong dividend growth for Coles in FY2021 and FY2022.

    As my Foolish colleague Tristan reported on 23 July, ASX supermarket shares, including Coles, performed well during Australia’s lockdowns.

    In August, The company also released promising financial results, showing sales revenue increased 3.1% to $38.6 billion.

    Then, between market close on 23 August and 28 September, the Coles share price collapsed more than 12%. A broker note from UBS placed a sell rating on the company. Also, during this time, the retailer replaced existing debt facilities with sustainability-linked loans worth $1.3 billion. An end to lockdowns also weighed on investors’ minds.

    A recovery was now on the cards. In between market close on 28 September and 23 November, the share price soared more than 10%.

    Positive first-quarter sales results showing a 48% boost in eCommerce sales in the first quarter of FY22 was a highlight during this time. At its AGM, the company also highlighted some of its technological advances improving its business.

    Finally, to end the year, between market close on 23 November and 31 December, the Coles share price shed 1.54%. In what was the only market announcement in December, Coles informed the market the Fair Work Ombudsman was investigating the company’s pay arrangements.

    Also, news from Coles’ supermarket competitor Woolworths that its first half of FY22 was “one of the most challenging in recent memory” may have weighed on the minds of investors.

    Foolish takeaway

    The Coles share price performed roughly 14 percentage points below the benchmark index in 2021.

    In the past month, the company’s shares are down 6.77%, and 7.19% lower in the past week. Omicron fears seem to be weighing on investors’ minds in recent days, with supply shortages prompting the company to warn of challenges in the next few weeks. The Coles share price dropped 2.46% on Tuesday.

    The supermarket giant has a market capitalisation of roughly $22.2 billion based on its current share price.

    The post What happened to the Coles (ASX:COL) share price in 2021? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Coles right now?

    Before you consider Coles, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Coles wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of August 16th 2021

    More reading

    The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET. 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 NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) share price has tumbled 12% so far this year. Is it a buy?

    nextdc share price

    Like many tech shares, the NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) share price has had a very tough start to the year.

    Since the start of 2022, the data centre operator’s shares have fallen 12%.

    This means the NEXTDC share price is now in negative territory on a 12-month basis.

    What’s happening with the NEXTDC share price?

    Investors have been selling down the NEXTDC share price along with other ASX tech shares this year following a selloff on the Nasdaq index.

    That selloff has been driven by the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve, which indicated that the increasingly hawkish central bank may remove its support for financial markets sooner than anticipated. This includes increasing interest rates quicker than previously expected.

    Rising interest rates are bad news for shares that trade on high multiples. That’s because they form part of the financial models that valuations are based on.

    When interest rates are low, valuations are higher. The opposite happens when interest rates rise, which is the scenario we are facing right now.

    According to a recent note out of Citi, it is expecting NEXTDC to deliver earnings per share of 3 cents in FY 2022, 8 cents in FY 2023, and then 16 cents in FY 2024. This means the NEXTDC share price is trading at approximately 71x FY 2024 earnings today, which is significantly higher than the market average.

    Though, it is worth highlighting that NEXTDC is investing heavily in its future growth, so these earnings estimates are not truly indicative of its actual earnings power.

    Is this a buying opportunity?

    While buying into the tech sector right now carries a lot more risk because of the hawkish Fed, Citi appears to believe that patient investors will be rewarded.

    The broker has a buy rating and $15.40 price target on its shares. Based on the current NEXTDC share price of $11.36, this implies potential upside of almost 36% for investors.

    The post The NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) share price has tumbled 12% so far this year. Is it a buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in NEXTDC right now?

    Before you consider NEXTDC, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and NEXTDC wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of August 16th 2021

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns NEXTDC 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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  • Brokers name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy today

    A happy male investor turns around on his chair to look at a friend while a laptop runs on his desk showing share price movements

    Given how low interest rates are, dividend shares remain a very popular way for investors to generate a passive income.

    Fortunately, the Australian share market is not short of companies that share their profits with investors in the form of dividends. Two such shares are listed below. Here’s why analysts have given buy ratings to these dividend shares:

    Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING)

    The first ASX dividend share to look at is Inghams. Australia’s leading poultry producer is having a very tough time at the moment because of COVID-19 headwinds. This led to the release of a disappointing trading update earlier this week.

    However, the team at Goldman Sachs has suggested that this could be a buying opportunity for investors. This morning it retained its buy rating with a trimmed price target of $3.90.

    It commented: “We remain Buy-rated on ING as we are attracted to its relatively defensive revenue stream; duoploy industry structure; strong balance sheet and undemanding valuation. ING is trading at 13.4x our revised FY22 EPS (vs peers on an average 15.2x) and attractive 5% fully franked yield. Our revised TP offers 23% total return over 12 months.”

    Goldman is then forecasting dividend yields of 6.2% in FY 2023 and 7.2% in FY 2024.

    Jumbo Interactive Ltd (ASX: JIN)

    Another ASX dividend share to consider is Jumbo Interactive. It is the growing online lottery ticket seller behind the OzLotteries business. In addition, it has the Powered by Jumbo software as a service business which has a significant global opportunity.

    Analysts at Morgans are very positive on the company. They currently have an add rating and $20.20 price target on its shares.

    Morgans commented: “While JIN has recovered strongly since its August result, we remain attracted to the strong cash generation and balance sheet optionality afforded from its core LR business (+ Oz Lotto refresh upside) and long-term growth potential of its SaaS and Managed Services business, which remain exposed to large, global addressable markets.”

    The broker is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of 45 cents in FY 2022 and 52 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current Jumbo share price of $18.35, this will mean yields of 2.5% and 2.8%, respectively, for investors.

    The post Brokers name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

    When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for more than eight years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    Scott just revealed what he believes could be the five best ASX stocks for investors to buy right now. These stocks are trading at near dirt-cheap prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now.

    *Returns as of August 16th 2021

    More reading

    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 Jumbo Interactive Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Jumbo Interactive 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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  • Up 480% in a year: Is it too late to invest in Cettire (ASX:CTT) shares?

    a woman with lots of shopping bags looks upwards towards the sky as if she is pondering something.

    The Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT) share price has surged 480% over the past year. But is it now too late to invest?

    Cettire shares were actually up even more in mid-November 2021 when it reached $4.75. It has declined by approximately 33% since then.

    What does Cettire do?

    Readers may not be familiar with this business. It isn’t really a household name yet.

    Cettire is an e-commerce business which sells a very wide range of luxury personal goods. It has over 200,000 products of clothing, shoes bags and accessories from around 1,700 luxury brands. It describes itself as a global retailer.

    How fast is it growing?

    In FY21, Cettire delivered growth that it called “exceptional”, which significantly outperformed both the FY21 prospectus forecast and upgraded guidance.

    The e-commerce ASX share reported that sales revenue rose by 304% to $92.4 million. The increase was 352% in constant currency terms.

    Active customers rapidly increased, with growth of 285% to 114,830. More customers are coming back. In FY21, 40% of gross revenue was from repeat customers (up from 26% in FY20).

    Profitability was higher than expected. The adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was $2.1 million, whilst the statutory net loss was just $0.3 million. It managed to generate $12.7 million of positive operating cashflow thanks to its capital-light model.

    Is it too late to invest for growth?

    Cettire’s management certainly don’t think that the growth has finished. With the release of the FY21 result, the founder and CEO Dean Mintz said:

    There is a significant market penetration opportunity ahead for Cettire. A key objective in pursuing our initial public offering (IPO) was to unlock new and incremental growth opportunities…Our number one priority is to maximise the global revenue potential of the company by taking a long-term view. We will continue to invest in opportunities aligned to our strategy, with a near-term focus on customer acquisition, technology enhancements and building organisational capability.

    Our focus in FY22 is on continuing to enhance our customer proposition, centred around our vast range of luxury products, value and rapid fulfilment, all of which are enabled by our deep and diverse supply chain and world class, proprietary technology.

    Triple digit growth has continued into FY22. For the four months to 31 October 2021, sales revenue was up 172% to $57.8 million, active customers increase 220% to 158,260 and the number of orders rose 209%.

    October monthly traffic was up 379% year on year and Cettire said it’s seeing very positive early signs from the migration to its proprietary storefront, with sales growth in “migrated” markets outpacing the company’s other markets.

    Cettire share price snapshot

    With Cettire shares dropping by a third since the middle of November, the company’s market capitalisation is now $1.2 billion according to the ASX.

    The post Up 480% in a year: Is it too late to invest in Cettire (ASX:CTT) shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Cettire right now?

    Before you consider Cettire, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Cettire wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of August 16th 2021

    More reading

    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. owns and has recommended Cettire Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cettire 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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  • Afterpay-Block takeover approved: Here’s what happens to your shares

    A smartly-dressed businesswoman walks outside while making a trade on her mobile phone.

    The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price won’t be trading on the Australian share market for much longer.

    This follows the release of an update on its takeover by Block Inc (NYSE: SQ) (previously named Square) this morning.

    What was announced?

    This morning Afterpay announced that Block has received approval from the Bank of Spain for its takeover of the buy now pay later giant.

    This means that the takeover is now fully unconditional and will be implemented without the need for further shareholder or court approval in accordance with the implementation timetable.

    Afterpay’s Chair, Elana Rubin, commented: “Afterpay, its leadership and team have shown that groundbreaking fintech innovation built in Australia can reach global proportions. The team are incredibly excited at the prospect of beginning an extraordinary next phase with Block, Inc. and look forward to implementation on 1 February 2022.”

    “On behalf of the Board and management, thank you to our shareholders, customers, merchants, broader stakeholders and regulators, for recognising the potential of this incredible company and for sharing in the vision of fairness and financial freedom for all,” she added.

    What’s next?

    With this approval now received, Afterpay shareholders will have a decision to make if they haven’t done so already.

    By 17 January, shareholders will need to decide whether they want to receive US-listed Block shares or new Block CDIs listed on the Australian share market. The latter is the default option for local investors if no decision is made.

    Two days later on 19 January, the Afterpay share price will be suspended from trade at the close of play.

    After which, the following day, Block’s CDIs will commence trade on the Australian share market under the ticker SQ2 on a deferred settlement basis. Finally, on 2 February, SQ2 shares will commence trading on a normal settlement basis.

    The post Afterpay-Block takeover approved: Here’s what happens to your shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Square right now?

    Before you consider Square, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Square wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of August 16th 2021

    More reading

    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 Afterpay Limited and Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Afterpay 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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  • 2 ASX 200 shares that could be top buys for dividends

    man placing business card in pocket that says dividends signifying asx dividend shares

    These S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares offer attractive dividend yields for investors.

    Businesses that have a relatively high dividend payout ratios and attractive valuations can have good yields on offer.

    There are plenty of ASX 200 shares that pay dividends such as Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO).

    However, these two income stocks could be particularly interesting for dividend investors:

    Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV)

    Premier Investments is one of the leading ASX 200 shares involved in the retail industry. It has a number of apparel brands within its portfolio such as Just Jeans, Peter Alexander, Jay Jays, Dotti and Portmans. It also owns Smiggle, as well as sizeable investments in Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) and Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR).

    In FY21, Premier Investments’ board declared a final fully franked dividend of $0.46 per share (up 27.8%), taking the full year fully franked dividend to $0.80 per share (up 14.3%).

    The trailing full year dividend of $0.80 per share, translates to a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.2%.

    The ASX 200 dividend share experienced a large rise in profitability during FY21, which included strong online growth. FY21 retail global sales rose 18.7% to $1.4 billion with Peter Alexander sales rising 34.7% to $388.2 million. Overall online sales jumped 36.4% to $300.7 million. FY21 net profit rose 97.3% to $271.8 million.

    Despite widespread lockdowns for many of its stores in the first 17 weeks of FY22, Premier Investments’ sales were only down by 3.5% and had improved nicely from the update given in September 2021 when its FY22 was only a few weeks old.

    According to Commsec, the Premier Investments share price is valued at 20x FY22’s estimated earnings with a projected grossed-up dividend yield of 4.7%.

    Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR)

    Dicker Data claims to be Australia’s leading distributor of IT hardware, software, cloud and internet of things solutions for reseller partners. It helps business clients transition customers through technological change.

    The IT business is benefiting in a number of areas, with strong growth since the onset of COVID as more businesses need cloud infrastructure and home office capabilities.

    On top of that, the continuing global chip shortage and consequent supply constraints have contributed to an overall improvement in “margin quality”. This is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

    Dicker Data is experiencing strong demand with a backlog of orders to fulfil and as supply improves, it’s expecting to meet this demand in the final quarter of 2021.

    The ASX 200 dividend share notes that the role of technology in business success continues to proliferate and the evolving hybrid and modern workforce becomes increasingly dependent on more intelligent, faster and collaborate tech solutions.

    Cybersecurity is another area that Dicker Data can generate growing earnings from.

    In the company’s latest update for the nine months to September 2021, it reported that total revenue was up 16.1% to $1.72 billion and profit before tax had increased by 26% to $76.6 million.

    The last 12 months of dividends amounts to a grossed-up dividend yield of 4%. According to Commsec, the Dicker Data share price is valued at 27x FY23’s estimated earnings.

    The post 2 ASX 200 shares that could be top buys for dividends appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Dicker Data right now?

    Before you consider Dicker Data, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Dicker Data wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of August 16th 2021

    More reading

    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. owns and has recommended Dicker Data Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Dicker Data Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Premier Investments 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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  • Down 10% already in 2022. Is the Altium (ASX:ALU) share price now a buy?

    ASX 200 shares broker downgrade origami paper fortune teller with buy hold sell and dollar sign options

    The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price has fallen by around 11% in the early stages of 2022. But does the decline of the ASX tech share make it an attractive investment opportunity?

    Altium is one of the world leaders when it comes to electronic PCB software providers. However, it is offering an increasing number of services these days. For example, Octopart is a leading search engine for electrical parts.

    Is the Altium share price an opportunity?

    Losing a tenth of its market capitalisation could be a significant decline in investors’ eyes

    However, the decline may not be enough for some analysts. A fairly recent rating from Citi is ‘buy’, but the price target is $35.40. That means the broker thinks that Altium shares could decline by another 10% during this year.

    The brokers at Macquarie have an even lower price target of $27.10. That implies the Altium share price could fall by more than 30% during the next several months. Analysts suggest that the Altium share price may have run too hard for what the company is expecting for the shorter-term.

    How confident is the company right now?

    Altium is focusing on a number of areas so that it can deliver on its goal of transforming the electronics industry.

    One of the ways that Altium is looking to win over new subscribers and retain current ones is with its cloud platform called Altium 365, a first for the global industry. At the time of the mid-November AGM, Altium 365 had 17,300 active users and 7,300 active accounts.

    During the AGM it revealed that 15% of seats are on a cloud subscription, with 40% in transition.

    For readers that haven’t heard of Altium 365 before, it aims for be a platform for all software engineering disciplines to collaborate, design and build electronics for manufactured products.

    Altium claims to be at the heart of the digital engineering ecosystem as the increasingly dominant provider of electronic design tools. Altium Designer is now the most widespread professional PCB design tool used by 100,000 engineers worldwide.

    In FY22, the business is looking to accelerate adoption, scale enterprise sales through strategic partnerships, roll-out its digital sales platform and expand the Octopart total addressable market with its integration into Nexar.

    One factor that could be helpful for the Altium share price could be growth of licence compliance in China and, in time, recurring revenue through Altium 365 China.

    Finally, it’s launching Altimade and laying the foundation for smart manufacturing with a high profit margin.

    The first four months of FY22 were “strong” and it’s on track to achieve its guidance. That guidance is for revenue to grow by between 16% to 20%, an underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of between 34% to 36% and annualised recurring revenue (ARR) growth of 23% to 27%.

    Long-term expectations

    Altium notes that it’s estimated that the number of active internet of things (IoT) devices will pass 25.4 billion in 2030. This could be a good tailwind for Altium.

    By 2025, Altium is looking to achieve US$500 million of revenue. The ASX tech share says that delivering value to shareholders is a hallmark of Altium.

    Describing its approach to executing on its goals, Altium said:

    Altium innovates and disrupts aggressively while consistently delivering a strong financial performance more typical of a blue chip company.

    Altium share price valuation

    Looking at the estimates for the next couple of years, Citi’s numbers put Altium shares at 82x FY22’s estimated earnings and 68x FY23’s estimated earnings.

    The post Down 10% already in 2022. Is the Altium (ASX:ALU) share price now a buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Altium right now?

    Before you consider Altium, you’ll want to hear this.

    Motley Fool Investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Altium wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for nearly a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.* And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that are better buys.

    *Returns as of August 16th 2021

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Altium. 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.

    from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3qfNYWK