On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fought back from a heavy morning decline to finish the day just a touch lower. The benchmark index fell almost 0.1% to 7,301.2 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set to push higher on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 25 points or 0.35% higher this morning. This follows a reasonably positive night of trade which saw the Dow Jones and S&P 500 rise slightly and the Nasdaq push 0.2% higher.

Oil prices push higher

Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could be on the rise on Wednesday after oil prices pushed higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.65% to US$73.40 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 0.6% to US$75.11 a barrel. Oil prices rose after demand hopes offset concerns the Delta variant of COVID-19 reducing mobility globally.

Telstra rated as a buy

The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price could be heading notably higher from here according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. This morning the broker has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $4.20. The broker suspects that Mobile ARPU growth could positively surprise over the coming years. It also sees opportunities for Telstra to introduce inflation linked pricing across fixed and mobile plans.

Gold price sinks

It could be a tough day for gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) after the gold price sank overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 1.1% to US$1,761.40 an ounce. The precious metal fell to an 11-week low amid concerns that a strong U.S. jobs report this week could cement the Federal Reserve’s recent hawkish stance.

Nuix insider trading allegations

The Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) share price will be on watch today amid allegations of insider trading at the embattled investigative analytics and intelligence software. According to the SMH, the company’s recently sacked chief financial officer, Stephen Doyle, is the subject of a criminal investigation into insider trading and dealing with the proceeds of crime over Nuix shares. Mr Doyle’s brother and father are also being investigated according to the report.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nuix Pty 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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went down by around 0.1% to 7,301 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

The Collins Foods share price dropped around 5.7% after revealing its FY21 report. It was the worst performer in the ASX 200. 

It reported that total revenue increased 12.4% to $1.07 billion, with KFC Australia revenue rising 13.8% to $900.4 million. KFC Europe same store sales (SSS) declined 0.6% whilst Taco Bell revenue rose 57.4% to $28 million.

Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from continuing operations (before AASB 16) went up 12.4% to $136.3 million. Underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) (before AASB 16) increased 18.2% to $56.9 million.

The ASX 200 share’s board declared a final dividend of 12.5 cents per share. That brings the total FY21 fully franked dividend of 23 cents per share, up 15%.

Collins Foods CEO Drew O’Malley had these comments on the outlook and Taco Bell:

With continuing strong cash generation and a healthy balance sheet, Collins Foods is well positioned to continue to pursue strategic organic and acquisition growth opportunities across the group in the year ahead.

Taco Bell is on track for accelerated development in FY22, supported by ongoing consumer demand for Mexican in Australia, and a refined marketing approach. With nine to 12 new restaurants in the pipeline in the year ahead, we remain committed to our strategy of achieving scale within three to five years. New restaurants will be opened in tightly concentrated clusters in Queensland and Victoria and we expect to open our first Perth restaurant in late 2021. Increased points of presence support brand visibility and will be complemented by a simplified marketing strategy that emphasises the core product range and everyday value, as we continue to brand drive awareness and trial.

Kathmandu Holdings Ltd (ASX: KMD)

The Kathmandu share price dropped 4% today after giving an update.

A number of its stores have suffered disruption because of the latest lockdowns of stores in NSW and WA. There was also the impact of the Victorian lockdown at the start of June.

Kathmandu’s sales for FY21 are expected to be below original expectations at approximately $930 million and underlying EBITDA is estimated to be approximately $120 million.

The impact of the NSW and Victorian lockdowns is estimated to be around $13 million of EBITDA.

Kathmandu did say that its stores had a positive start to winter, with trading broadly in line with pre-COVID-19 levels before Australian lockdowns began to cause impacts.

However, Rip Curl has continued to trade strongly according to the company. Despite COVID-19 disruptions, the North American and Europe regions have been “well above” pre-COVID-19 levels. Wholesale orders received for FY22 continue to show double digit growth compared to FY19.

Oboz has seen record sales performance in the second half of FY21, with wholesale orders for FY22 significantly above both FY19 and FY20.

Regional Express Holdings Ltd (ASX: REX)

The regional airline, which calls itself Rex, announced it had signed a letter of internet (LOI) with a lessor for the lease of two Boeing 737-800NGs.

The two aircraft are expected to arrive in late August, increasing the 737 fleet to eight, and are scheduled to enter service on Rex’s domestic network in September.

Rex said that the two additional aircraft will provide Rex with the ability to launch new routes to other capital cities, large regional centres and popular leisure destinations. The new routes will be announced shortly.

The post ASX 200 dips, Collins Foods drops, Kathmandu falls appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are 3 ASX 200 shares making market moves today
• Why Collins Foods, Genworth Mortgage Insurance, Kathmandu, & ResMed are sinking
• ASX construction shares like Brickworks (ASX:BKW) are falling today
• ASX 200 down 0.9%: Big four banks drop, Metcash charges higher
• Collins Foods (ASX:CKF) share price hits record high after reporting strong FY 2021 growth

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended 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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While the Australian tech sector may not be anywhere near as large as its US equivalent, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any quality options for investors to choose from.

Three ASX tech shares that are highly rated are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The first tech share to look at is Altium. It is an electronic design software provider best-known for its Altium Designer and Altium 365 platforms. These platforms dominate the electronic design market, which continues to expand due to the growing Internet of Things and artificial intelligence industries. Management is confident in its growth prospects. So much so, it is aiming to more than double its revenue to US$500 million within five years.

Analysts at Credit Suisse are positive on the company. Earlier this month they retained their outperform rating on its shares and lifted their price target on them to $42.00. The Altium share price is currently fetching $36.36.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

Another ASX tech share to look at is San Francisco-based app maker Life360. Its eponymous app offers families a wide range of safety solutions for the modern world. This includes real-time location sharing and notifications, driving safety features like Crash Detection and Roadside Assistance, and messaging. At the last count, the company had a massive 28 million monthly active users.

This morning Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on the company with an overweight rating and $8.60 price target. This compares to the current Life360 share price of $6.25.

Whispir Limited (ASX: WSP)

Whispir is a software as a service (SaaS) communications workflow platform provider. Its popular platform is used by 750 businesses globally to automate interactions between them and their people and customers. Among its users are the Australian Government, Changi Airport, Monash University, Nespresso, and Takata. Management estimates that it has a total addressable market of US$4.7 billion in just United States. This compares to its current annualised recurring revenue (ARR) of $50.3 million.

Ord Minnett has a buy rating and $4.25 price target on Whispir’s shares. This is notably higher than the latest Whispir share price of $2.49.

The post Here are 3 ASX tech shares tipped for big things appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Altium and Whispir Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Altium. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Whispir 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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There are a group of ASX shares that are growing at a very fast pace. Some are growing revenue by double digits, or even triple digits.

Businesses that are producing fast revenue growth may be able to generate profit growth and benefit from increasing scale.

Here are two businesses that are growing really quickly:

Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

This business has the goal of being the leading auto parts business in the Australasian region.

It has a number of operating segments include Bapcor Trade (which includes Burson), Bapcor New Zealand, retail (including Autobarn and Autopro), specialist wholesale (such as commercial vehicles and electrical), and service (like Midas and ABS).

In the first six months of FY21, the ASX share reported it had grown revenue by 25.8% and it saw net profit growth of 49.7%.

One of the main ways that Bapcor is looking to grow revenue and profit is by increasing its network footprint, both physical and online. It has plans to grow its number of stores, rolling out improved ‘concepts’ to differentiate against competitors. Bapcor wants to provide customers with an online offering to supplement its physical stores. The company also wants to grow its existing store sales and geographic expansion in Asia.

In Australia, it’s looking to grow its trade network by 10 to 12 stores per annum to a total of 260 over the next five years, up from 200. For Australian retail, it currently has 133 stores and will add around 12 new stores a year as it targets 200 Autobarn stores for the longer-term.

In Asia, the ASX share is targeting more than 60 stores in Thailand, it currently has six stores. This may translate into $100 million of annual revenue. Overall, Bapcor is targeting $500 million of Asian revenue thanks to its Tye Soon stake purchase.

Bapcor is also consolidating 13 distribution centres in Victoria into one located in Tullamarine.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

Temple & Webster is an online homewares and furniture business that sells many thousands of products by suppliers which ship directly to customers. That saves on inventory costs for the ASX share and makes delivery quicker.

In the third quarter of FY21, Temple & Webster said it continues to exceed expectations with revenue growth of 112%. Active customers reached around 750,000.

April 2021 revenue was up more than 20%, despite April 2020 having a large amount of sales because of the nationwide lockdowns.

The ASX share said it has a growth strategy to grow its online market leadership, utilising its strong balance sheet and capitalising on the significant market opportunity as more people buy homewares online.

In the short-term, the business is expecting a lower earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin, but then it expects to achieve higher profit margins from greater scale benefits.

Temple & Webster CEO and co-founder Mark Coulter said:

You only need to look at the US to see how the e-commerce market is playing out, and why we remain bullish about the shift from offline to online. We are at the start of this once in a generation shift, and now is the time to put our foot down to secure market leadership and ensure we are the brand for the next generation of future shopper.

The post 2 ASX shares that are rapidly growing appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Temple & Webster share price surges with other ASX COVID winners

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 Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bapcor. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Temple & Webster Group 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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ASX copper shares have been enjoying some strong tailwinds since March 2020 as the price of the red metal has rocketed to near record highs.

At the time of writing, copper is trading for US$9,388 (AU$12,353) per tonne. While down from early May’s US$10,417 per tonne, that’s still almost double the US$4,790 per tonne copper was fetching on 20 March 2020.

And it’s not just ASX copper shares enjoying the higher price of the commodity they dig or grow from the dirt.

The global commodity sector has now gained for 5 quarters in a row. And more gains could be in the pipeline.

More tailwinds ahead for ASX copper shares

Saxo Market’s Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy, forecasts continued growth for the commodity sector. Though not at the same blistering pace witnessed since the recovery from the pandemic led market meltdown last year.

In Saxo’s Q3 2021 Quarterly Outlook report, released this afternoon, Hansen writes:

Since the pandemic and global lockdown lows in March last year, the Bloomberg Commodity Spot index, which tracks the front-month futures performance of a basket of raw materials from energy to metals and agriculture, has surged higher by 75% to reach a ten-year high.

Hansen notes that many analysts are speculating that the world has entered a new commodity super-cycle. The commodity sector is prone to occasional super-cycles because, “Supply and demand imbalances take time to correct due to high start-up capex for new projects, along with the time needed to harness new supply.”

The copper sector offers a good example. Hansen says it can take 10 years from decision to production in the copper industry. He adds, “Such long periods often cause companies to postpone investment decisions while waiting for rising prices, at which point it is often too late to avoid further price gains.”

The most recent commodity super-cycle was driven by China’s rapid growth and subsequent massive new demand for raw materials, which “helped drive the Bloomberg Commodity Spot index up by almost 350%”. That super-cycle didn’t come to an end until the GFC crippled financial markets in 2008.

As for the demand for metals like copper?

Narrowing in on copper and other metals, Saxo’s outlook remains decidedly bullish for the upcoming quarter.

According to Hansen:

In metals, the combination of increased government spending on infrastructure and decarbonisation will continue to drive strong demand for metals including copper and iron ore – the key ingredient to make steel – as well as aluminium, zinc and even semi-industrial metals such as silver and platinum.

Also supporting commodity prices (and offering tailwinds to ASX copper shares) is Saxo’s forecast that inflation will rise faster than most central bankers are predicting. And that higher prices will be longer lasting rather than a flash in the pan.

Hansen says this will create “continued demand from investors as they will need real assets such as commodities to hedge their portfolios”.

2 leading ASX copper shares

There are a number of quality ASX copper shares investors can research.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on 2 of the top copper producers.

First up, Oz Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL). Oz Minerals is part of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and has a market cap of $7.44 billion. It also pays a dividend yield of 1.1%, fully franked.

The Oz Minerals share price has far outperformed the benchmark, with shares up 104% over the past 12 months and up 16% year-to-date.

Our second leading ASX copper share is Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR), which has a market cap of $1.22 billion. Sandfire pays a dividend yield of 3.2%, fully franked.

The Sandfire share price has also outperformed, with particularly strong gains in 2021. Over the past 12 months, Sandfire shares are up 34%, with shares up 25% year-to-date.

The post How Saxo Market’s Q3 outlook is good news for ASX copper shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) share price was a strong performer on Tuesday.

The wholesale distributor’s shares jumped 6% to a multi-year high of $3.92 before closing the day at $3.90.

This means the Metcash share price is now up an impressive 43% over the last 12 months.

Why did the Metcash share price race higher?

Investors were bidding the Metcash share price higher today after brokers responded positively to yesterday’s full year results release.

In case you missed it, on Monday the company reported a 9.9% increase in revenue to $14.3 billion and a 27.1% jump in underlying profit after tax to $252.7 million. This allowed Metcash to increase its full year fully franked dividend by 40% to 17.5 cents per share and announce a $175 million share buyback.

What did brokers say?

A number of brokers have responded to the results release and have suggested that the Metcash share price is in the buy zone. One of those is Goldman Sachs, which retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $3.97.

Commenting on the result, Goldman said: “MTS produced a strong performance in FY21 with Revenue growth of 10.1% (despite annualisation of customer losses in Food) and EBIT growth of 19.9%, reflecting the company’s exposure to COVID driven categories and solid execution.”

And while the broker notes that its Food business disappointed by failing to demonstrate operating leverage over the period, it highlights that the Metcash thesis remains a good one. This is thanks largely to its Hardware business.

The broker explained: “While we have pulled back expectations for Food earnings, Hardware has been revised up as Total Tools earnings annualise into FY22 and store rollout accelerates. Overall, we revise group EBIT forecasts by +1.9% and +1.8% respectively over FY22e and FY23e. Underlying NPAT is revised by +0.8%. We are forecasting a three year EBIT CAGR of 3.4% for MTS, with Hardware at 8.7%, driving ~90% of earnings growth out to FY24.”

What about the rest?

Elsewhere, analysts at Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley are a touch more bullish than Goldman Sachs.

This morning Credit Suisse retained its outperform rating and lifted its price target to $4.16, whereas Morgan Stanley retained its overweight rating and increased its price target to $4.15.

This could mean that the Metcash share price still has a little further to run despite hitting a multi-year high today.

The post Bullish brokers drive Metcash (ASX:MTS) share price to multi-year high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The  S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has clawed its way up from a -0.91% fall by lunchtime to a close of -0.08%.

Most sectors opened in red this morning, as new COVID-19 cases around Australia continued to pressure states into lockdown.

The S&P/ASX 200 Info Tech (INDEXASX: XIJ) index was the only sector in the green this morning, extending its gains to 0.66% by market close.

Pleasingly, sectors including healthcare, consumer staples, consumer discretionary and financials managed to finish Tuesday’s session in positive territory — but only barely.

With the market moving in a volatile fashion, let’s take a look at which ASX 200 shares managed to stand tall.

Top performing ASX 200 shares today

Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) was the best performing ASX 200 share on Tuesday, up 5.69% to $3.90.

The wholesale distributor announced its full-year results on Monday. They highlighted a solid 9.9% increase in revenue to $14.3 billion and a $175 million off-market share buy-back.

The Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price was also pushing higher, up 3.47% to $5.67. Shares in the world’s second-largest rare earth producer have been chopping back and forth around the mid $5 level since the company’s quarterly results in April.

Aside from Metcash and Lynas, there was a strong tech theme among the top performing ASX 200 shares.

High profile players including WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) all managed to eke out gains between 0.90% and 1.43%.

The ASX 200 tech index has staged a resurgence in June, after sliding about 26.4% between 10 February and 13 May.

The post Which ASX 200 shares are standing tall after today’s volatile session? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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, Appen Ltd, WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Appen Ltd, WiseTech Global, and Xero. 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 Washington H. Soul Pattinson (ASX: SOL) share price set a record high today, reaching a top of $33.62 intraday, before dropping down to $33.50 at market close.

Today’s trading volume of 348,200 is also 60% more than the 20 day average of 316,580 shares changing hands.

With no specific news out today, let’s take a look at what the diversified investment house has been up to recently.

Recent news

On 22 June 2021, the company announced its merger with investment manager Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT).

The proposed merger will see Milton shareholders given a combination of Soul Pattinson’s scrips and three fully franked dividends worth up to 45 cents per share.

Combined, the offered scrips and dividends are worth $6 per share. Together, the two companies will create an ~$10.8 billion investment company. 

The Soul Patts share price had a muted reaction on the day of the news, lifting by 0.83%, but the following day rocketed by a substantial 8.46%.

Soul Pattinson share price snapshot

Soul Patts shares have a 52-week trading range of $19.10–$33.62. The company’s 52-week low occurred on 29 June 2020.

At the time of writing, the Soul Patts share price has climbed 10.36% year-to-date, and has jumped 9.7% over the past 5 days.

These capital gains have outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s year-to-date return of 9.2%.

With a share price of $33.50 at the time of writing, Soul Pattinson has a market capitalisation of $7.92 million, and a price-to-earnings-ratio (P/E) of 8.09.

The post Soul Patts (ASX: SOL) share price hits all-time high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company 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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We all know the ASX as a place to trade shares in some of Australia’s largest companies, but what about small-cap stocks?

The truth is that there are many small-cap shares you may not have even heard of before on the ASX. While these companies come with more risk to invest in than larger companies, often there’s greater opportunity for high growth.

These four ASX-listed small caps might not be as well known as their larger counterparts. However, their rapid sales growth in recent years is worth pointing out. Here they are…

4 ASX small-cap shares with high growth

Alicidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC)

Alcidion is a small-cap company that offers a range of software products for use in the healthcare sector. Now boasting a market capitalisation of $440 million, the Melbourne-based company has undergone a period of significant growth over the past few years.

Over the past five years, Alcidion’s sales have grown an impressive 435% as it acquired complementary companies and expanded its product suite. More recently, contracted revenue to be recognised in FY21 was $24.7 million — exceeding the previous year by 33%.

This ASX small cap share is currently up 118% year-to-date (YTD).

Family Zone Cyber Safety Ltd (ASX: FZO)

Next on the list is Family Zone Cyber Safety. This small-cap company offers a range of products and services catering to the cybersecurity needs of families as well as schools — including cyberbullying protection for kids, parental monitoring software, as well as internet filtering solutions.

During the past five years, Family Zone’s revenue has increased from around $5,000 to more than $7 million. The company hopes to keep its high-growth engine running in the United States following the $5.8 million acquisition of Net Ref.

Family Zone is currently up 23.5% YTD with a market capitalisation value of $239 million at present time.

Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL)

Shifting gears, Calix has been developing patented solutions to address global sustainability challenges. These solutions range from wastewater treatment, CO2 mitigation, and renewable technologies.

In terms of its five-year growth trajectory, Calix’s revenue has increased 468% to $19.6 million during the 2020 calendar year. The underlying mission of the company is well-positioned if the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) trend continues.

For example, Adbri Ltd (ASX: ABC) entered into an agreement with Calix in March to co-develop a calciner for lime production with CO2 capture. A potential crackdown on emissions in the future would necessitate the kind of technology Calix works to develop.

This ASX small cap share is up 151% YTD with a market cap of $409 million.

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

That brings us to the last company on the list… Bigtincan. This small Australian company is a provider of sale enablement software. Its platform gives sales teams the toolset to increase performance and improve customer interactions.

In the last 5 years, Bigtincan’s revenue has grown roughly 409% to $35.7 million during the 2020 calendar year. This has been achieved via numerous acquisitions, each expanding the company’s product offering and client base.

Earlier this month Bigtincan announced the acquisition of augmented and virtual reality systems company, Vidinoti. At the same time, the software provider announced it had hit $53 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

Despite ARR growing 48% year-over-year, this ASX small cap share has only gained 5.5% YTD. At the time of writing, Bigtincan’s market cap is $462 million.

The post 4 fast-growing ASX small cap shares that you may have overlooked appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 Alcidion Group Ltd and BIGTINCAN FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alcidion Group 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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Most weeks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)’s share trading platform CommSec tells us the most popular US shares that its Australian user base has been buying and selling during the previous week.

Since CommSec is one of the most used ASX brokerage platforms in the country, its data can give us an interesting insight into the minds of Aussie investors. So here are the top 10 US shares that CommSec users were trading last week. This week’s data covers June 21-25.

Tesla back on top

1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 4% of total trades with a 59%/41% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) – representing 3.7% of total trades with a 93%/7% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 2.3% of total trades with a 56%/44% buy-to-sell ratio.
4. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC) – representing 2.3% of total trades with a 65%/35% buy-to-sell ratio.
5. Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO) – representing 1.3% of total trades with a 73%/27% buy-to-sell ratio.
6. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
7. ContextLogic Inc (NASDAQ: WISH)
8. Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: GOOG)
9. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA)
10. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)

What can we learn from these trades?

That electric vehicle and battery manufacturer Tesla has regained its most popular US share crown, for starters. For many, many months, it seemed nothing could knock Tesla shares off of their perch on top of the most traded US shares list.

But over the past month or so, we’ve seen ‘meme stocks’ like AMC and GameStop usurp Tesla at the top of the pile. No longer it seems. Tesla is back on top with 4% of total trades last week.

This might be a by-product of the Tesla share price’s recent performance. Tesla shares are up more than 10% over the past month and nearly 15% since 15 June.

Turning to other shares, it seems that meme stocks remain popular, even if they’re not at the top of the pile. We continue to see interest in GameStop, AMC, Nio and ContextLogic. That’s despite GameStop losing around 30% of its value since 9 June.

But AMC continues to rocket. It’s still up 35% since 10 June and 81% over the past month. Other than these ‘hot stocks’, we continue to see solid interest in the US blue-chip tech companies like Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon.

The US-listed Chinese giant Alibaba also saw an uptick in popularity for Aussie investors last week.

The post Tesla back on top as the most popular US share for ASX investors appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Alphabet (A shares) and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, NIO Inc., and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $1,920 calls on Amazon, long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple, short January 2022 $1,940 calls on Amazon, and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Apple. 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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