If you’re looking for some investment options then you may want to look at the two listed below.

Here’s why analysts think these highly rated ASX 200 shares could be in the buy zone:

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

The first ASX 200 share to look at is Goodman Group. This integrated commercial and industrial property company owns a portfolio of in-demand properties with exposure to key growth markets such as ecommerce and logistics

The good news is that demand remains very strong and its development pipeline is filled to the brim with properties that look set to support its growth over the next decade.

In the meantime, Goodman recently upgraded its FY 2022 earnings guidance. Instead of 10% growth, the company now expects to deliver operating earnings per share growth of at least 15%.

The team at Citi still believe management is being conservative and could outperform this guidance. As a result, the broker recently retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $27.50.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

Another ASX 200 share for investors to look at is NEXTDC.

It provides scalable on-demand services to support outsourced data centre infrastructure and cloud connectivity from a collection of world class Tier III and Tier IV data centre facilities in key locations across Australia.

Thanks to the ongoing structural shift to the cloud, which is driving increasing demand for capacity in its data centres, NEXTDC appears well-placed to continue growing its earnings at a solid rate long into the future.

The team at Goldman Sachs expects this to be the case and is forecasting strong earnings growth over the coming years. The broker has pencilled in operating earnings growth of ~20% per annum through to at least FY 2024.

Goldman has a buy rating and $14.40 price target on the company’s shares

The post Analysts rate these ASX 200 shares as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 10 ASX shares to buy in 2022
• Here’s why the Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) share price just hit an all-time high
• ASX shares to buy for the Omicron COVID outbreak
• 2 high-growth ASX shares profiting from the e-commerce boom
• Why these ASX 200 shares could be strong buys

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of 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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If you’re interested in adding some small caps to your portfolio, then you may want to check out the ones listed below.

These small cap shares are rated highly by analysts and have been given buy ratings recently. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Australian Clinical Labs Ltd (ASX: ACL)

Australian Clinical Labs could be a small cap share to buy. It is a leading Australian private provider of pathology services through 86 NATA accredited laboratories.

From these sites, the company performs a diverse range of pathology tests each year for a range of clients. These include doctors, specialists, patients, hospitals and corporate clients.

Outside the current increased demand for its services from COVID-19 testing, Goldman Sachs believes Australian Clinical Labs is well-placed for growth over the long term. This is due to demographic volume drivers, the prevalence of chronic diseases, and the growing trend for doctors to use pathology services to recognise, prevent or treat diseases earlier.

Goldman Sachs currently has a buy rating and $5.90 price target on the company’s shares. This compares to the most recent Australian Clinical Labs share price of $4.34.

Booktopia Group Ltd (ASX: BKG)

Booktopia could be another small cap ASX share to buy. It is an online book retailer which has been growing at a very strong rate in recent years. For example, in FY 2021, Booktopia reported a 26% increase in shipments to 8.2 million units and a 19% lift in active customers to 1.8 million. This underpinned very strong revenue growth again.

The good news is that with the shift to online shopping continuing and its new distribution centre able to ship more books that ever before, the future looks bright for Booktopia.

Analysts at Morgans are very positive on the company’s outlook. They believe Booktopia is well-placed to win market share and continue its growth.

Morgans currently has an add rating and $3.72 price target on its shares. This compares to the most recent Booktopia share price of $1.99.

The post Analysts are tipping huge gains for these small cap ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 exciting small cap ASX shares named as buys
• 2 ASX healthcare shares rated as buys

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 recommended Booktopia Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Australian Clinical Labs 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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ASX growth shares increasing in size quickly could be contenders for an investor’s portfolio.

There is growing volatility in the ASX share market. This may open up some better value opportunities for people to find.

Share prices regularly change, but lower prices give the chance getting exposure to quality companies at the best prices.

Here are two of them:

Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC (ASX: DOC)

Doctor Care Anywhere is a UK-based telehealth company that is committed to delivering the best possible patient experience and clinical care through digitally enabled, joined up, evidence-based pathways on its platform. It has relationships with health insurers, healthcare providers and corporate customers to connect with a range of telehealth services.

It also recently completed the acquisition of Australian telehealth and tele-mental provider GP2U Telehealth. This gives the business another avenue for growth and geographical diversification. The ASX growth share has also entered the self-pay market in the Republic of Ireland through its channel partner Boots.

It’s expecting to report 2021 revenue growth of at least 100% compared to FY20, excluding the acquisition.

The three months to 30 September 2021 saw growth with a number of metrics. Quarter on quarter revenue growth was 21.6% to AU$10.7 million. Consultations grew by 30.6% to 116,800 with over 65% of consultations delivered to returning patients.

Activated lives reached 603,200 during the quarter – up 8% quarter on quarter. An activated life is the total number of people who have signed up for Doctor Care Anywhere’s service and entered their personal details.

Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)

Volpara describes itself as a health technology software company with an integrated platform which assists in the delivery of personalised breast care.

The ASX growth share grew its subscription revenue by 35% to NZ$11.8 million in the first half of FY22. Its revenue comes with a very high gross profit margin of 91.4%.

Its market share of women who have at least one Volpara product used on their image is around 34%.

Volpara says that its strategic commercial partnerships will help it achieve greater reach in not only genetic testing for breast cancer but expansion into the US lung cancer market where AI and software offer the prospect of saving many more lives.

It has partnered with a number of different organisations, including in lung, with RevealDx, Riverain Technologies, Natera and Invitae.

The company has a number of areas of focus for growth such as expanding the electronic health record (EHR) sales channel. It’s also working on building its data platform in a key effort to change from screening for detection to prevention.

It’s expecting to reach revenue of between NZ$25 million to NZ$26 million in this financial year.

Volpara management said the next few months is going to be “incredibly busy and exciting” as it heads to Chicago for the large radiology conference RSNA. The third and fourth quarters of the year are traditionally the biggest quarters for the business.

The post 2 fast growth ASX shares that could be buys in December 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Best-ever result: Volpara Health (ASX:VHT) share price jumps on half-year update
• Have money to invest? Here are 2 ASX shares that could be potential buys
• 3 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch
• 2 ASX shares that may be too good to ignore
• 2 ASX healthcare shares rated as buys

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 shares of and has recommended Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC and VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC. 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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If you’re wanting to add some ASX dividend shares to your portfolio, then it could be worth considering Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares.

Why could Telstra be a dividend share to buy?

Telstra could be a dividend share to buy due to its outlook being the best it has been in over a decade. This is being underpinned by the successful execution of its transformative T22 strategy and the growth targets included in its new T25 strategy.

In respect to the latter, Telstra is aiming for sustained growth and value by targeting mid-single digit underlying EBITDA and high-teens underlying earnings per share compound annual growth rates (CAGR) from FY 2021 to FY 2025.

Telstra’s CEO, Andrew Penn, commented: “T22 has been one of the largest, fastest and most ambitious transformations of a telco globally and today we are a vastly different company.”

“This means we are poised for growth as our society and economy increasingly digitises and we all work, study, transact and get our entertainment online. These fundamental shifts, together with T25, will underpin our future growth and shareholder value,” he added.

The response

These plans went down well with analysts, and particularly the team at Goldman Sachs. The broker believes Telstra is well-placed to grow its dividend in the coming years and is forecasting its first increase in almost a decade.

Goldman has pencilled in fully franked dividends per share of 16 cents for FY 2022 and FY 2023, before an increase to 18 cents in FY 2024 and then 19 cents in FY 2025.

Based on the current Telstra share price of $4.02, this implies yields of 4%, 4.5%, and then 4.7%, respectively.

Goldman also sees upside potential for the company’s shares. The broker has a price target of $4.40, which suggests the Telstra share price could rise almost 10% from current levels.

The post Hold the phone! Why Telstra (ASX:TLS) could be a dividend share to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Friday
• The Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price keeps rising. What happened in November?
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts on Thursday
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Wednesday
• Will its energy expansion drive the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price to new heights?

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 owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation 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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Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) wants to buy the Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API) business. But there could be some roadblocks for that deal.

Woolworths has come in with a bid of $1.75 per API share, which is a 12.9% premium compared to the price that was agreed with Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).

The supermarket business said it was willing to explore potential alternative control transaction structure options, such as a takeover bid with a minimum acceptance condition of 50.1%. Woolworths noted that the board of API has determined the proposal is, or is reasonably likely to be, a superior proposal.

The CEO of Woolworths, Brad Banducci, said:

There is a compelling strategic rationale to support Woolworths Group’s acquisition of API. Health and wellness is a large, fast-growing category and API would be a fantastic addition to our food and everyday needs ecosystem.

If successful, we will continue to support API’s community pharmacy partners to deliver better experiences for both customers and pharmacists. We will also work to strengthen API’s wholesale and distribution business to ensure that all Australians continue to have timely, cost-effective access to a full range of PBS and other medicine, via their community pharmacy, regardless of where they live.

Woolworths also said it expects to achieve material shared benefits and synergies from the combination if it went ahead.

What’s the problem with the takeover?

As reported by my colleague Brooke Cooper, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia is not enthusiastic about the deal. The Pharmacy Guild said:

Why is a company with interests in the alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and nightclub industries wanting to move into healthcare?

How does it hope to convince Australians that it is serious about their health and welfare?

How will it ensure the successful community pharmacy model, which is custodian of the PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme), is protected and maintained?

Analysts agree that it could be harder for Woolworths to get its offer across the line compared to Wesfarmers.

The Australian Financial Review reported that UBS analyst Shaun Cousins could face a lot of scrutiny because of the overlap between pharmacy sales and the and the health and beauty products that are sold by Woolworths. Whilst Mr Cousins thinks the deal could be approved by the ACCC, it could take time. He said that the Pharmacy Guild concerns looks greater for Woolworths than Wesfarmers.

Craig Woolford, a MST Marquee analyst, was also quoted by the newspaper, who said that a Woolworths deal is “likely to make the influential Pharmacy Guild nervous.”

Jefferies analyst Michael Simotas said that Wesfarmers could come back with a higher bid and that the ACCC could also have concerns as well. The AFR reported he said synergies should be bigger for Woolworths, but Wesfarmers had a better track record of executing in non-food retail categories.

Time will tell whether Wesfarmers comes back with an improved bid and which retail giant is ultimately successful at expanding into the pharmacy space.

The post Could this be a fly in the appointment for Woolworths’ (ASX:WOW) push into healthcare? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Can Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) win the battle to take over API?
• Why API, Chalice Mining, GUD, and Worley shares are charging higher
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Afterpay sinks, Woolworths bids for API
• API (ASX:API) share price rockets 16% higher after Woolworths launches takeover approach
• Why the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price lost momentum in November

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 owns shares of and has recommended Wesfarmers 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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The AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) share price continued its downward trend in November, falling to a decade low of $5.10 last month. Investors dumped the energy company’s shares despite no price-sensitive announcements from AGL.

For the month of November, the company’s share price backtracked 5.6%.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) also ended November in the red, shedding around 1% over the same time frame.

At market close on Friday, AGL shares managed to claw back some of their losses, finishing up 1.46% to $5.55.

What’s the latest with AGL?

It’s been a relatively quiet couple of months for the company with its last market-sensitive news being its full-year results in August.

However, a catalyst dragging down the AGL share price might be tough conditions for the national electricity market along with unstable electricity prices.

The company previously noted that a sharp decline in wholesale prices for electricity and renewable energy certificates affected its financial performance. AGL regarded the 2021 financial year as one of the most difficult energy markets on record.

In addition, the increased demand to decarbonise its operations has impacted Australia’s largest carbon emitter. Nonetheless, management plans to turn around its fortunes for AGL to become a more agile business towards renewable energy.

At its annual general meeting (AGM) in September, AGL recognised the disappointing result and aimed to change its fortunes around.

As such, management has focused on reducing operating costs by $150 million by the end of FY22. Also, the sale of non-core assets for $400 million by the end of FY22 is expected to provide ample firepower to the company’s balance sheet. The AGL share price climbed amid the news.

More than half of shareholders voted in favour of AGL setting emission targets ahead of its demerger. This is in accordance with the Paris Agreement which sets out a global framework to limit climate change.

The soon-to-close Liddell coal-fired power station could be a sign of greener pastures. AGL plans to transform the site with a hydro and solar energy facility after Liddell’s shutdown in 2023.

The company is aiming to split into two separate businesses by June 2022. They are bulk power generator AGL Australia, and a carbon-neutral energy retailer, Accel Energy.

About the AGL share price

In 2021, the AGL share price has continued to plummet in value, losing more than 50% for investors. When looking at the last 12 months, its shares are down almost 60%.

Based on valuation metrics, AGL presides a market capitalisation of approximately $3.65 billion, with approximately 658.38 million shares outstanding.

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

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Why is the AGL (ASX:AGL) share price having such a stellar day?
• Own AGL (ASX:AGL) shares? Here’s how the company could be set to raise $500m
• Why is the Origin (ASX:ORG) share price outperforming AGL in November?
• Here’s why this top broker is tipping 40% upside for the AGL (ASX:AGL) share price

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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form again last week and recorded its fourth consecutive weekly decline. The benchmark index fell 0.5% to end the period at 7,241.2 points.

Fortunately, that couldn’t stop some ASX 200 shares from storming higher last week. Here’s why these were the best performing shares on the index over the period:

Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR)

The Worley share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with a gain of 10%. This follows the release of its investor day presentation in the middle of the week. One broker that was pleased with what it heard at the event was Morgan Stanley. In response, the broker upgraded the engineering company’s shares to an overweight rating with an improved price target of $12.00. Morgan Stanley expects Worley to benefit from the clean energy transition.

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

The Lynas share price wasn’t far behind with a gain of 9.4%. This appears to have been driven by the rare earth producer’s annual general meeting update. At the meeting, management spoke positively about demand for rare earths. It notes that its volume forecast for NdPr demand has increased to an average 10% annual growth rate from 7.5% previously.

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

The Collins Foods share price was on form and climbed 7.9% over the five days. The quick service restaurant operator’s shares stormed higher after investors responded positively to its half year results. Collins Foods reported a 9.5% increase in revenue to a record of $534.2 million and a 31.6% jump in underlying net profit after tax to $28.9 million. A strong performance from the KFC Europe business helped drive its growth.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price was a positive performer and rose 5.9% last week. This follows a positive week for the resources sector and news that the mining giant plans to proceed with its unification. This will see BHP make its ASX listing the primary listing. The Big Australian’s Board believes unification is in the best interests of shareholders. It will result in a corporate structure that is simpler and more efficient, reduces duplication and streamlines BHP’s governance and internal processes.

The post These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Friday
• 5 best ASX 200 resource shares to hold in November
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BHP higher on unification plans, TPG tumbles

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Collins Foods 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 recommended Collins Foods 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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With the end of the year fast approaching, now could be a good time to look at your portfolio and see if there is room for any new additions for 2022.

To help you along your way, I have picked out 10 ASX shares that are highly rated and could offer strong returns next year. They are as follows:

Adore Beauty Group Limited (ASX: ABY)

Adore Beauty is a leading online retailer in the Australian beauty and personal care (BPC) market. It currently has almost 1 million active customers and generated revenue of $63.8 million from them during the first quarter. This is still only a small slice of the $11.2 billion BPC market. UBS is a fan of the company and currently has a buy rating and $6.00 price target on its shares.

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

Breville is a leading appliance manufacturer responsible for a number of popular brands. These include Sage and the eponymous Breville brand. Thanks to its global expansion, burgeoning product pipeline, and favourable consumer trends, it has been tipped to grow strongly over the long term by the team at Macquarie. As a result, the broker has put an outperform rating and $34.37 price target on its shares.

Hipages Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: HPG)

Hipages is a leading Australian-based online platform and software as a service (SaaS) provider connecting consumers with trusted tradies. At the last count, there were over 31,000 tradies using the platform, underpinning strong revenue growth. Goldman Sachs expects this strong growth to continue as it grows into its huge market. The broker currently has a buy rating and $4.95 price target on its shares.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

Life360 operates in the digital consumer subscription services market, with a focus on products and services for digitally native families. Its eponymous app currently has over 30 million active users across the globe. Bell Potter is very bullish on Life360’s future and sees a lot of value in its shares at the current level. The broker has a buy rating and $14.75 price target on them.

Lovisa Holdings Limited (ASX: LOV)

Lovisa is a fast-fashion jewellery retailer with a growing store network. It recently appointed Victor Herrero as its new CEO. Mr Herrero was previously the Head of Asia Pacific and Managing Director Greater China for Inditex (Zara, Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti), the CEO of Guess, and the CEO of Clarks. Macquarie notes that Mr Herrero has experience in China and India, which will be a key focus for Lovisa. It sees scope for the company to open as many as 1,400 stores in these markets alone. Macquarie has an outperform rating and $25.00 price target on its shares.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Megaport is a technology company that offers scalable bandwidth for public and private cloud connections, metro ethernet, and data centre backhaul. It has networking equipment in hundreds of data centres around the world, creating a software layer that provides an easy way for users to create and manage network connections. Macquarie is a fan of the company. It recently put an outperform rating and $24.00 price target on its shares.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

NEXTDC is a leading data centre operator with a collection of world class centres across key locations throughout Australia. Combined with its potential expansion into Asia, NEXTDC appears well-placed to benefit from the structural shift to the cloud. Citi is a fan and currently has a buy rating and $15.40 price target on NEXTDC’s shares.

Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE)

Orocobre is a top five global lithium mining company with a collection of high-quality assets including Olaroz, Mt Cattlin, and the Sal de Vida brine project. Unlike many lithium explorers and developers, Orocobre is already benefiting from the sky high lithium prices being underpinned by the clean energy transition and the rapid adoption of electric vehicles. This bodes well for its growth in the coming years. Macquarie is bullish and has an outperform rating and $12.00 price target on its shares.

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

PointsBet is a sports betting operator and iGaming provider. It offers innovative sports and racing betting products and services via a scalable cloud-based platform in the ANZ and US markets. While 2021 hasn’t been a good year for its shares, Goldman Sachs believes 2022 will be better. It notes “the significant upside opportunity ahead in what will likely be a transformational CY22 year as it expands its North American footprint as well as ongoing M&A attractiveness to peers.” Goldman has a buy rating and $12.79 price target on its shares.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

South32 is a diversified mining and metals company producing bauxite, alumina, aluminium, copper (soon), energy and metallurgical coal, manganese, nickel, silver, lead, and zinc. Thanks largely to its exposure to a number of in-demand commodities such as aluminium, Goldman Sachs has a conviction buy rating and $4.40 price target on its shares. The broker is also expecting double digit dividend yields for a number of years.

The post 10 ASX shares to buy in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Winning shares for 2022: the companies experts are backing revealed at Sohn
• Why this fundie thinks Megaport (ASX:MP1) shares are ‘the most exciting tech adventure of this decade’
• 2 ASX shares with strong long term growth potential
• Could South32 (ASX:S32) shares be poised to deliver monster dividends?
• Goldman sees “significant upside opportunity” for the PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Life360, Inc., NEXTDC Limited, and Orocobre Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Hipages Group Holdings Ltd., Life360, Inc., MEGAPORT FPO, and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited, Hipages Group Holdings Ltd., Lovisa Holdings Ltd, MEGAPORT FPO, and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. 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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It was another disappointing week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The benchmark index recorded its fourth consecutive weekly decline after falling 0.5% over the period to 7,241.2 points.

While a good number of ASX 200 shares fell with the market, some fell more than most. Here’s why these were the worst performing shares on the index over the period:

Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL)

The Regis Resources share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 12.7% decline. Investors were selling its shares following a pullback in the gold price after the US Federal Reserve continued with its hawkish rhetoric despite the Omicron threat. For the same reasons, a host of other gold miners including Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) and Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) fell heavily.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price was out of form and tumbled 10% over the five days. This was driven by weakness in the Square share price, which the Afterpay share price is intrinsically linked to due to its takeover. Last week Afterpay advised that it would be delaying the shareholder vote on the takeover until early next year. It explained that this was due to regulatory delays.

IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)

The IDP Education share price wasn’t far behind with an 8.9% decline last week. Investors were selling this language testing and student placement company’s shares following the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Investors appear concerned that IDP Education’s performance could be negatively impacted by this latest development.

GUD Holdings Limited (ASX: GUD)

The GUD share price was out of form and dropped 8.6% over the period. This diversified products company’s shares tumbled lower after raising funds to acquire Auto Pacific Group for approximately $744.6 million. GUD raised gross proceeds of approximately $290 million through an institutional placement and institutional entitlement offer at $10.40 per new share. This represented a 13.5% discount to its last close price.

The post These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Friday
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: BHP higher on unification plans, TPG tumbles
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

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 shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and Idp Education Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T 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 COVID-19 pandemic triggered some lifestyle changes that will stick with us permanently.

One of these revolutions is working from home. 

Already many companies have indicated they would adhere to a “hybrid” model going forward — come into the office one or two days a week and telecommute the rest.

It’s no wonder that residential internet connections have become even more critical than they already were before the coronavirus first arrived.

Wilson Asset Management equity analyst Sam Koch certainly thinks there’s huge growth potential in the telecommunications industry.

“The sector’s been on a tear recently,” he said in a Wilson video.

“We believe that investors are attracted to the organic and inorganic within the sector at the moment.”

Koch said there are 3 ways that ASX telco companies are growing, and named 5 shares that fit the bill for his team:

3 ways ASX telecommunications companies are growing

The first way telcos are growing is through “rapid organic expansion into new markets”.

Koch named Tuas Ltd (ASX: TUA) and MNF Group (now known as Symbio Holdings Ltd (ASX: SYM)) as two businesses exhibiting this growth.

Tuas is going gangbusters, with its stock price soaring 16.49% higher on Friday. The shares have now gained a stunning 201% for the year so far.

Symbio shares aren’t going so badly either, returning 60% for the year so far.

The second growth strategy is through mergers and acquisitions, according to Koch.

“These are companies that are rolling up a fragmented space, which is Swoop Holdings Ltd (ASX: SWP) and Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB).”

Aussie Broadband has been one of the darlings of the ASX in 2021, returning around 150% since the start of the year.

It dropped 3.65% on Friday to close at $5.02, which could present a buying opportunity, according to Shaw and Partners portfolio manager James Gerrish.

“We think that’s a clear, outstanding ‘buy’ around that $5.20 mark,” he said in a Market Matters video.

“It’s certainly a stock that we like in the portfolio.”

The third way the Wilson team is investing in the telco sector is betting on turnaround stories like Superloop Ltd (ASX: SLC).

“Superloop is an interesting one. It’s backed by Bevan Slattery, who is a doyen in the telco sector,” said Koch.

“They’ve sold 2 of their underperforming assets in Hong Kong and Singapore at a 30% premium to the book value.”

He added the proceeds from that sale will be re-invested in a way that’ll be beneficial for investors, by way of “capital management or accretive acquisitions”.

Superloop shares have gained 20% for the year to date.

The post 5 ASX telco shares this expert loves right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Aussie Broadband Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Aussie Broadband Limited and SUPERLOOP FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aussie Broadband 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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