Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their estimates and recommendations once again. This has led to the release of a number of broker notes.

Three broker buy ratings that have caught my eye are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $57.00 price target on this mining giant’s shares. Although the iron ore price has pulled back notably from recent highs, the broker remains positive on miners with exposure to the steel making ingredient. Particularly given the strong free cash flow that BHP is generating at current prices even after recent weakness. This is expected to support generous dividend payments. The BHP share price is currently fetching $46.90.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have retained their overweight rating and $3.20 price target on this aerial imagery technology and location data company’s shares. According to the note, the broker was pleased to see Nearmap provide more colour on rival Eagleview’s legal claim. It notes that Eagleview’s patent infringement claim relates to roof-management techniques and not all elements of its product. Morgan Stanley estimates that this accounts for less than a quarter of its US business. In addition to this, it points out that the company hasn’t experienced any material sales impacts because of the claim. The Nearmap share price is trading at $1.85 this afternoon.

Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG)

A note out of Ord Minnett reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this translation services company’s shares to $2.46. This follows the release of a strong full year result by Straker earlier this week. Ord Minnett believes the company is well placed for growth as trading conditions improve. Particularly given its Lingotek acquisition, which provides cross-selling opportunities. It also sees opportunities for the company to grow through further acquisitions as the industry consolidates. The Straker share price is fetching $2.11 on Thursday.

More reading

• ANZ and BHP among ASX 200 shares aiming for 40% female leadership
• The Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) share price lifts on 419% profit news
• The ASX dividend party’s here: how to get yours
• ASX miners on edge as investors ask how low can the iron ore price go?
• Broker tips Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price to climb 77%

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The Dacian Gold Ltd (ASX: DCN) share price is in reverse today following the completion of its fully underwritten placement.

During afternoon trading, the gold miner’s shares are down 4.92% to 29 cents. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 0.38% at 7,359 points.

Details of the placement

Investors are fleeing today as the company is set to add more shares to its registry, diluting shareholder value.

According to its announcement, Dacian advised it has successfully completed its fully underwritten two-tranche institutional placement of $40 million. The offer received strong support from both existing and new domestic and international investors.

The placement sees approximately 142.9 million ordinary shares issued at a price of 28 cents apiece.

The funds raised will be put towards a number of company initiatives to drive its growth strategy. These include:

• Accelerating a 300-kilometre drill program across Mt Morgans and Redcliffe, targeting new base load opportunities
• Advancing the high-grade Redcliffe deposits into production
• Re-starting underground production from the Greater Westralia Mining Area
• Funding general working capital.

Dacian managing director Leigh Junk commented:

We are very pleased with the equity raising result and thank our existing shareholders for their ongoing support and welcome the new shareholders to the register. Dacian looks forward to pursuing its three-pillar growth strategy, focused on exploration success and advancing further deposits into production.

In addition to the completed placement, Dacian launched a Share Purchase Plan (SPP) for eligible investors. The SPP will be offered on the same terms as the placement, and will seek to raise $5 million.

About the Dacian share price

It has been a rollercoaster ride for Dacian shareholders. The Dacian share price hit a 52-week high of 56.5 cents in early January following positive results from its phase 2 drilling campaign at McKenzie Well, but its shares have lost more than 36% year to date.

At the current share price, Dacian has a market capitalisation of roughly $235 million, with around 811 million shares outstanding.

More reading

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• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX whipsaws in volatile week

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The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) twittersphere is blowing up today, after Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) posted a job advertisement for a business development manager in “alternative payments”. A specific mention of cryptocurrency has led to speculation spreading like wildfire.

Ironically, it all sounds quite cryptic – so let’s have a look at the details.

Partnerships, not development

The ad, which was posted yesterday on Apple’s website, states that the role is for a person to help lead the charge in partnering with alternative payment partners. That addresses one area of speculation: Apple still doesn’t plan to create its own cryptocurrency.

Instead, Apple’s wallets, payments, and commerce team is seeking to partner with alternative payment providers. What kind of payment providers? Well, the ad requests more than 5 years of experience working in or with the likes of digital wallets, BNPL, fast payments, and cryptocurrency.

Retweet if you want @Apple to integrate #Bitcoin wallets into the iPhone!

— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) May 26, 2021

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

It’s probably no coincidence that Apple is rumoured to be working with Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) to offer Apple Pay integration. An article from Apple Insider on 28 April reported that code found in the Coinbase app indicated that Apple Pay support for its debit card might be coming soon.

The most recent job listing may relate to working on similar partnerships in the future. However, unfortunately for crypto-enthusiasts, it doesn’t necessarily spell out Bitcoin adoption by Apple.

Other Bitcoin developments outside Apple

While the Apple and Bitcoin news is mere speculation, the latest update from Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) regarding the cryptocurrency is factual.

Paypal will allow users in the near future to withdraw their Bitcoin to move to third-party wallets. While the payments giant has offered purchasing cryptocurrencies since October 2020, withdrawals have not been supported.

Paypal vice president Jose Fernandez da Ponte said:

They want to bring their crypto to us so they can use it in commerce, and we want them to be able to take the crypto they acquired with us and take it to the destination of their choice.

At the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin is hovering around A$48,886. Despite a resurgence in the last week, Bitcoin is still more than 40% off from its all-time high of A$83,819.60 set on 14 April 2021.

More reading

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• Why 1 analyst thinks the recent crypto collapse is not so different from 2017
• This tech ETF has returned 30% for ASX investors in the past year
• A cracking year so far for Super, and where to for Bitcoin? Motley Fool CIO Scott Phillips on Sunrise
• Here are the US shares ASX investors were buying last week

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Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) are among the first 10 signatories of the 40:40 Vision gender diversity initiative. The 40:40 Vision initiative aims to see women make up at least 40% of leadership roles in S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) companies. Signatories must commit to reach the goal by 2030.

They’ve also agreed to publicly set gender targets for 2023 and 2027, disclose plans made to meet said targets, and report their progress each year.

 Also included in the 40:40 Vision’s first 10 ASX 200 signatories are:

• BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL)
• Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)
• IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO)
• Ramsay Health Care Limited Fully Paid Ordinary Shares (ASX: RHC)
• SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited (ASX: SKC)
• South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
• Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH)
• Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB).

Let’s take a closer look at the 40:40 Vision initiative.

ASX 200 companies aiming for 40% female leadership

According to industry super fund HESTA, which oversees the 40:40 Vision initiative, last year, the WGEA and the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre found increasing the amount of female senior managers by 10% led to a 6.6% increase in an ASX-listed company’s market value.

BHP is already kicking goals gender diversity goals, with 50% of its executive leaders being women.

Currently, only 4 of ANZ’s 11-strong executive committee are women.

HESTA’s CEO and 40:40 Vision steering committee chair, Debby Blakey, today welcomed the ASX 200 signatories, saying:

Changing our national culture cannot be achieved without courageous leadership. This must involve more women in leadership as well as men who value the perspective they bring…

By creating more equitable and inclusive workplaces, these companies will reap the rewards, because there’s compelling evidence that better gender balance in leadership is not just fairer, but also good for business – resulting in better performance, better profits and better corporate governance.

ANZ’s CEO Shayne Elliott commented on the bank’s involvement in the 40:40 Vision initiative, saying:

[By including more women in ANZ’s senior executive team], not only will we continue to attract great talent to our organisation, but our team will better reflect the community we live in, including more women in leadership roles, and committing to the 40:40 Vision helps reinforce that focus

BHP’s CEO Mike Henry also commented:

Inclusive, diverse teams are safer, more productive, and make better decisions. They improve performance… BHP has a balanced senior executive team and we support the 40:40 Vision and the goal of achieving gender balanced corporate leadership in Australia.

More reading

• The Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) share price lifts on 419% profit news
• The ASX dividend party’s here: how to get yours
• ASX miners on edge as investors ask how low can the iron ore price go?
• Mosaic Brands (ASX:MOZ) share price rockets 21% on business update
• Is the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price a buy for June 2021?

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Brokers have been searching the ASX for potential opportunities. The two ASX shares in this article have rated as buys.

Businesses that multiple brokers like could be interesting to look at. The below two stocks are liked by several analysts:

Reject Shop Ltd (ASX: TRS)

Reject Shop has been rated as a buy by at least three analysts. The discount retail store ASX share is rated as a buy by the broker Morgan Stanley, which has a price target on Reject Shop of $10.

The broker likes Reject Shop for its roll-out targets, careful management of money and improving margins. After seeing the FY21 half-year result, the Morgan Stanley decided to increase its expectations of FY21 earnings by more than a third.

Looking at that actual interim result, Reject Shop reported flat comparable store sales and a overall sales decline of 0.3% to $434.3 million. However, before AASB 16 lease accounting, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 20.8% to $31.1 million, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew 44.9% to $23.3 million and net profit after tax (NPAT) grew 46.5% to $16.3 million.

The ASX share is currently working on the “fix” phase of its strategy as it looks to reduce costs, exit expensive store leases and make stores more efficient.

Once the cost base has been established, the business will open more stores and work on an online offering. Management believe the discount variety sector presents a significant opportunity for growth over the medium to long term.

According to Morgan Stanley, the Reject Shop share price is valued at 17x FY22’s estimated earnings.

Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA)

Bega Cheese is one of Australia’s largest dairy businesses. It sells a variety of products including cheese, butter, peanut butter, vegemite, ZoOsh dips, mayonnaise and dressings.

It’s currently rated as a buy by three brokers including UBS which has a price target on Bega Cheese of $6.80 over the next 12 months.

The broker was pleased by the HY21 result thanks to the bulk business. It noted the comments by management that seemed positive.

In the first six months of FY21, the ASX share normalised EBITDA grew 51% and profit after tax rose 98%.

The dairy business said that it has made significant progress in its ambition to develop the branded segment of its business. That’s why it spent $534.1 million on acquiring Lion Drinks and Dairy which expanded it into other categories including yoghurt, white milk and flavoured milk.

Bega Cheese believes that the acquisition will create the opportunity for significant synergies. The company also said that the international branded food business continues to grow despite COVID-19 affecting some key export markets. The acquisition provides a platform for further growth in international markets according to management.

According to UBS, Bega Cheese is valued at 19x FY22’s estimated earnings.

More reading

• The ASX’s China problem is getting worse… and quickly
• 3 ASX shares to buy in May 2021

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The Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) share price is leading the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) in losses on the market today.

The Costa share price is down 22.07% at the time of writing to $3.46 a share. That comes after Costa shares closed at $4.46 each yesterday, and opened at $3.74 a share this morning.

The Costa Group share price has been on something of a wild ride over the past 5 years.

Shares in the fruit and vegetable company last peaked in mid-2018, when the price got up to a high of more than $8 a share.

Deteriorating growing conditions and supply issues then battered the company, and by December 2019, Costa was down to just $2.44 a share.

In the year-and-a-half since, Costa had been on something of a recovery.

The company rose close to 100% by the middle of April this year, and topped out at $4.89 a share on 16 April. After today’s move, shares are down close to 30% from those highs.

So what’s going on today?

As we discussed this morning, Costa’s slide seems to have been in response to the company’s annual general meeting.

The highlights (or in this case, lowlights) were released to the markets this morning before open.

Costa told investors its guidance for 2021 would need to be revised.

While berry and avocado sales have reportedly been solid, the company warned its domestic mushroom, citrus and tomato productions were all experiencing issues.

Even so, Costa expects its 2021 first-half performance to be slightly ahead of the same period in 2020. Still, the markets were evidently expecting a bit more, and have seemingly punished Costa as a result.

Are Costa shares a buy today after the dip?

A share price fall of this magnitude might have some investors wondering if this is a buy-the-dip kind of opportunity today.

Well, one broker who agrees is investment bank Goldman Sachs. According to CommSec, Goldman has reiterated a ‘buy’ rating on Costa after today’s announcement, with a 12-month price target of $5.35 a share.

Goldman thinks Costa will manage to improve its domestic production in the second half of the year, which will supplement strong international markets.

That target would imply a share price upside of roughly 54% on today’s Costa share price.

More reading

• Why ALS, Costa, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, & Ramsay shares are falling
• ASX 200 flat: Costa crashes & Fisher & Paykel Healthcare tumbles
• Costa (ASX:CGC) share price crashes 23% on AGM update
• The ASX’s China problem is getting worse… and quickly

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ASX lithium shares made another run between late March and early May into multi-year highs. But early May soon became the tipping point for many lithium shares, with heavyweights Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS), Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) and Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) all falling roughly 20%.

However, ASX lithium shares are on the move again today, with the Pilbara share price up 6.60% to $1.21, the Galaxy Resources share price up by 6.44% to $3.80 and the Orocobre share price up 5.28% to $6.58 (at time of writing).

Elsewhere, US-based Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX: PLL) has edged 0.87% higher to 81 cents, soon-to-be producer Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) has dipped 2.08% to 24 cents and Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) shares are running hot again, up 4.90% to $7.50 after announcing another key project milestone.

A winding road for ASX lithium shares

The run from multi-year lows to multi-year highs for ASX lithium shares has been filled with healthy pullbacks.

Take the Galaxy share price, for example. Its shares have run from lows of around 70 cents in May 2020 to highs above $4 in May 2021. During this time, its shares have experienced 4 pullbacks greater than 20%. These pullbacks occurred during June and September last year, and January/February and May this year. Since then, Galaxy shares have been trending strongly.

Commodity prices continue to edge higher

The resurgence and hype behind ASX lithium shares hasn’t just come out of thin air. Both explorers and producers have been supported by a sharp increase in lithium spot prices.

Fastmarkets provides regular lithium price updates across major regions including China, Europe and the US. Its more recent update observes higher lithium hydroxide prices in China on “tight supply and robust buying appetite” and higher prices across Europe and US.

Lithium in demand on all fronts

The tailwinds for ASX lithium shares continue to come from both countries and companies alike.

In Vulcan’s project milestone announcement, its managing director Dr Francis Wedin noted:

With the International Energy Agency last week declaring the need for annual battery production of 6,600 GWh by 2030, implying an annual lithium chemicals requirement of 22 times current total global production, Vulcan is leading the charge to reduce large carbon emissions currently embodied in the traditional production of lithium.

Elsewhere, ASX lithium shares could benefit from US President Joe Biden’s US$2.3 trillion infrastructure project with a focus on renewable energy. According to Mining.com.au, the program includes US$174 billion to promote electric vehicles, which could see Australia and other countries becoming the US’ battery metal suppliers.

On Wednesday, the Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) share price jumped 8.55% after the company announced the acceleration of its electric vehicle efforts. The company expects approximately 40% of its sales to be electric vehicles by 2030 and plans to lift electric vehicle investment to more than US$30 billion by 2025.

More reading

• Why AMP, Champion Iron, EOS, & Vulcan shares are storming higher
• Stock markets stay strong; can Ford and Tesla both win?
• Up 5%, here’s why the Vulcan (ASX:VUL) share price is running higher
• Why the Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price jumped 7% today
• 3 ASX shares that could benefit from Biden’s Aussie electric vehicle swing

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Shares in Advanced Human Imaging Ltd (ASX: AHI) are trading modestly today despite news the company’s DermaScan AI has received European medical device approval. In earlier trade, the Advanced Human Imaging share price jumped more than 6% but has since retreated. At the time of writing, the company’s shares are fetching $1.495, up 0.34%.

Today’s news means the company’s DermaScan AI device can now be used in 27 European Union (EU) countries.

Advanced Human Imaging developed the smartphone-based skin scanner in partnership with Canadian company Triage Technology Inc. It uses Triage’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology to identify 588 skin conditions. The company claims the program is, on average, more effective than dermatologists.

Advanced Human Imaging also announced Triage has signed a distribution agreement with SkinHealth Canada. The agreement will see more than 2,000 Canadian healthcare professionals use the program.

Let’s take a closer look at the news.

DermaScan AI approval

Having received EU approval, DermaScan AI will be available to more than 20,000 clinicians and dermatologists in Europe. It’s already used by more than 20,000 medical professionals worldwide.

Advanced Human Imaging expects the technology will also receive US Food and Drug Administration approval later this year.  

The company plans to release DermaScan AI as a part of its smartphone-based CompleteScan platform in the third quarter of this year.

CompleteScan is a group of programs that use images from smartphone cameras to analyse a person’s risk of health conditions and monitor existing health conditions.

Currently, the CompleteScan platform includes BodyScan and FaceScan. BodyScan analyses a person’s body composition and chronic disease risk, while FaceScan analyses a person’s vital signs, such as blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate.

Once DermaScan AI is incorporated into CompleteScan, it will be available in 200 countries worldwide.

Commentary from management

Advanced Human Imaging CEO Vlado Bosanac commented on DermaScan AI’s EU approval, saying:

This opens up the market significantly for AHI and Triage… More importantly it validates the Derma AI as credible, allowing medical practitioners access to the technology in their day-to-day practices… We are combining the Derma AI into the CompleteScan platform, which will allow our partner’s users an ability to perform an extensive number of health checks via the CompleteScan platform.

Advanced Human Imaging share price snapshot

Advanced Human Imaging shares are having a strong year so far on the ASX.

Currently, the Advanced Human Imaging share price is sitting around 24% higher than it was at the end of 2020. It’s also gained a whopping 740% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $204 million, with approximately 136 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Why the Advanced Human Imaging (ASX:AHI) share price is jumping 15%
• Advanced Human Imaging (ASX:AHI) share price is sinking, but why?
• Advanced Human Imaging (ASX:AHI) share price sinks despite positive update

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The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has made it clear what it expects the monetary policy framework to look like in Australia for the next several years.

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic shuddered the global economy last year, the RBA has insisted interest rates will stay at the record-low level of 0.1%. It says this will remain as long as it takes to get the economy running hot again. 

Just this month, the RBA’s minutes revealed it sees no reason to change its predictions, despite the strengthening economy, and signs of substantial inflationary pressures over in the United States.

Here’s some of what the RBA said in a statement on 7 May:

The board is committed to maintaining highly supportive monetary conditions to support a return to full employment in Australia and inflation consistent with the target.

It will not increase the cash rate until actual inflation is sustainably within the 2 to 3 percent target range.

For this to occur, the labour market will need to be tight enough to generate wages growth that is materially higher than it is currently. This is unlikely to be until 2024 at the earliest.

Will interest rates stay low forever?

Case closed, then? Well, perhaps not.

If economic changes force its hand, the bank could have no choice but to hike rates earlier than it had flagged.

Another big factor at play is what the rest of the world is doing. One of the reasons rates are at record lows is because they are also at record lows across most other advanced economies.

Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan all have an official interest rate that looks similar to ours.

And that includes New Zealand, which has an interest rate of 0.25%.

But our brothers and sisters across the ditch may be the first country to move on interest rates. 

According to a report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) this week, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) has signalled it might start raising New Zealand interest rates far sooner than the RBA.

Rate hike across the ditch?

The statement the RBNZ released yesterday stated the following:

The Committee agreed to maintain its current stimulatory monetary settings until it is confident that consumer price inflation will be sustained near the 2 percent per annum target midpoint, and that employment is at its maximum sustainable level. Meeting these requirements will necessitate considerable time and patience.

However, the AFR report notes that forecasts released alongside this statement show the bank is pencilling in a cash rate of 0.67% by December 2022. And one close to 1.5% by December 2023.

Now that’s a whole lot different from what the RBA is saying.

So if New Zealand does indeed hike its interest rates along these lines, it could well signal some pressure on the RBA’s own timeline.

All investors should be watching these developments closely since interest rates have a very real effect on asset valuations like ASX shares.

The general rule is higher rates equal lower share prices. That’s something we all might have to deal with if the RBA ends up following the RBNZ.

More reading

• ASX 200 flat: Costa crashes & Fisher & Paykel Healthcare tumbles
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX miners on edge as investors ask how low can the iron ore price go?
• Here’s why gold shares are up on the ASX 200 today
• ASX 200 up 0.2%: CBA share price cracks $100, ALS result impresses

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The Life360 Inc (ASX: 360) share price has been a very strong performer in 2021.

Since the start of the year, the technology company’s shares have stormed 49% higher.

What is Life360?

Life360 is a San Francisco-based technology company. The company’s core offering is the Life360 mobile app. It is a market leading app for families providing features such as communications, driving safety, and location sharing. At the end of March, it had more than 28 million monthly active users globally.

Despite facing tough trading conditions during COVID-19 (lockdowns, lower mobility), Life360 still delivered a 39% increase in normalised revenue to US$81.6 million during the 12 months ending 31 December.

Positively, with COVID-19 headwinds starting to ease, management is confident that its growth will continue in FY 2021. It is targeting Annualised Monthly Revenue in the range of US$110 million to US$120 million, which will be a 23% to 34% increase year on year.

Is the Life360 share price in the buy zone?

Although the Life360 share price has been on fire this year, Bell Potter remains bullish. The broker currently has a buy rating and $7.00 price target on its shares.

Based on the latest Life360 share price, this implies potential upside of 20% over the next 12 months.

It was pleased with its recent acquisition of Jiobit and believes it has a long runway for growth. Bell Potter also suspects that more acquisitions could be coming.

The broker explained: “When Life360 announced the proposed acquisition of Jiobit in late April it also said “the company will continue to evaluate both strategic and financial opportunities” and “this includes larger acquisitions … with a focus on companies in the insurance vertical”. We therefore believe another acquisition is likely in the coming months in the insurance space but it is unclear exactly what type of company this will be (i.e. an insurance carrier, a managing general agent (MGA), an insurance agent?).”

“Our view is the most logical acquisition for Life360 in the insurance vertical is a digital insurance agent in the US given this is consistent with where the insurance market is heading (i.e. online sales) and is in the tech space. It is also compelling given the large and very engaged user base of Life360 in the US which serves to significantly lower the typically high customer acquisition cost for an insurance agent.”

More reading

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• 2 ASX tech shares with bags of potential
• 2 highly rated mid cap ASX shares given buy ratings
• 2 exciting ASX tech shares that have been tipped as buys
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now

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