The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose 0.4% today to 7,303 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)

The Woolworths share price rose more than 0.5% today after it was approved for its acquisition.

Woolworths acknowledged the decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that it will not oppose its strategic investment in PFD Food Services, which is described as one of Australia’s leading food service suppliers.

The ASX 200 share can now acquire a 65% equity interest in PFD Food Services, with completion expected by the end of June.

Brad Banducci, CEO of Woolworths, said:

We’re pleased to have approval to invest alongside the Smith family in PFD Food Services. They are a great Australian success story and a well respected business with both suppliers and customers in the food service industry.

This investment is a logical adjacency for Woolworths Group and further supports the evolution of the group into a food and everyday needs ecosystem.

PFD will continue to operate independently under CEO Kerry Smith. A separate board and governance structure will now be implemented.

Austal Limited (ASX: ASB)

This morning the shipbuilding company advised that civil penalty proceedings have been commenced by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) against the business and its former CEO Mr David Singleton.

The proceedings allege that Austal was aware as early as 4 June 2016 of the need to make a material write back of work in progress attributable to the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program.

Austal disclosed that ASIC is seeking civil declarations that Austal contravened its continuous obligations as well as the relevant misleading and deceptive conduct provisions of the law.

The proceedings against the former CEO allege he was involved in the company’s contravention of its continuous disclosure obligations and failed to discharge his duty to exercise due care and diligence in relation to matters concerning the disclosure of the earnings write back.

Austal said it will consider the documentation provided by ASIC before deciding its next steps. The Austal share price fell over 2% in response. 

Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)

Boral released its target statement in response to the off-market takeover offer made by Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) of $6.50 per share.

The Boral independent board committee appointed Grant Samuel & Associates Pty Limited as the independent expert to give an independent opinion about whether the offer was fair and reasonable for Boral shareholders not associated with Seven.

That independent expert concluded that the offer was neither fair nor reasonable for the ASX 200 share and is below the independent expert’s estimated fair market value of $8.25 to $9.13 per share. The independent board committee unanimously recommended that shareholders reject the offer.

Kathryn Fagg, the Chair of Boral, said:

The Boral independent board committee has carefully considered the SGH offer to assess whether it is in the best interests of Boral shareholders and believes that the SGH offer materially undervalues your Boral shares.

Ms Fagg went on to say that the board believes that any proposal to acquire control of Boral should be at a fair value.

The post ASX 200 rises, Woolworths acquisition approved, Austal in rough waters appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• M&A rumour fires up the Iress (ASX:IRE) share price today
• ASX company, ex-CEO accused of failing to reveal massive earnings downgrade
• The ASX shares benefiting the most from the company spending boom
• Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price on watch after ACCC approves PFD deal

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 Austal Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Woolworths 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 not ideal for those trying to earn on cash, ultra-low interest rates have been a cornerstone reason to borrow. However, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) believes the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) might need to crash the party sooner than planned.

This month, the RBA maintained it wouldn’t be lifting interest rates from their historic 0.1% level until 2024 – at the earliest. But with economies bouncing back to pre-COVID levels, ANZ is sceptical.

Economic recovery prompts interest rate debate

In its latest research note, ANZ has upgraded its economic forecasts for Australia. According to its analysis, the country’s economic boom is shaping up to be even better than originally expected.

Based on ANZ’s estimates, the Australian economy is expected to grow by 5% this year and 3.5% next year. That level of growth would likely result in a reduction in unemployment, typically correlated with wage growth.

Consequently, ASX-listed ANZ expects the RBA will be forced to lift rates across two increments. Its forecast points to these increases occurring during the second half of 2023. However, the economist team added:

It is possible that the conditions for rate hikes arrive even earlier than the second half of 2023 if the recent trend of rapid improvement in the economy continues.

Risks of ultra-low interest rates

Low-interest rates are not a new phenomenon. Australia has had sub-5% rates since the global financial crisis. More recently, rates have sat at their historic low of 0.1% since November 2020.

However, there are risks that come along with prolonged low rates. While propping up the economy by providing cheap credit, they can also lead to devastation later. Cheap credit can increase risk taking and, with the housing market booming, a rate increase could topple the risk takers.

While an increase to 0.5% on paper looks innocent, it would be 5 times more than today’s rate.  

The post ANZ (ASX:ANZ) expects RBA to act on low-interest rates earlier than planned 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. 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 Globe International Limited (ASX: GLB) share price took off today following the company’s latest performance report.

At market close, the apparel company’s shares finished the day at $5.40, up 9.76%.

How is Globe International performing in FY21?

Investors were fighting to get a hold of Globe International shares in late afternoon trade after the company provided exciting results.

According to the release, Globe International advised that sales growth has been robust despite facing challenges with the supply of goods. This relates to the impact of COVID-19 on global logistics routes, particularly from China where most of its apparel is sourced.

The company stated that it has so far managed to overcome the significant delays reported on freight. As a result, this has led Globe International to achieve first-half sales well ahead of expectations. Furthermore, sales in the second-half are expected to double from the prior corresponding period.

In total, the company is forecasting full-year sales for FY21 to be more than $250 million. This is more than a 60% uplift of the $152.8 million that was recorded in last year’s financial scorecard.

Pleasingly, Globe International is also projecting profitability to be greater than what was originally assumed during its February half-year results.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in terms of percentage return on net sales are predicted to be in the mid-teens. Again, this compares with EBIT returns of just 4.8% in FY20 and 16.8% in H1 FY21.

The company is scheduled to release its full-year results sometime in mid-August.

Globe International share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, investors would be pleased with the company’s share price performance, up 330%.

Based on today’s price, Globe International has a market capitalisation of roughly $206 million, with around 41 million shares outstanding.

The post Globe International (ASX:GLB) share price jumps 9% on sales update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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The Mainstream Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: MAI) share price jumped after management backed a takeover bid by Apex Group.

The specialist fund administrator for the financial services industry has now determined that the $2.80 a share offer from Apex is superior to a rival bid.

But investors are betting that the bidding war for Mainstream isn’t over. This is why the Mainstream share price jumped 2.2% to retest its record high of $2.84 in the last hour of trade.

Betting on a higher offer for the Mainstream share price

The higher bid is assumed to come from SS&C Technologies, Inc and SS&C Solutions Pty Ltd (together, SS&C).

SS&C and Mainstream signed a Scheme Implementation Deed (SID) that was amended on 11 April this year. Under the terms of the deed, Mainstream has notified SS&C of Apex’s superior offer that’s made on more favourable terms.

SS&C has until next Thursday to match or better the Apex proposal.

Six times is never enough

“Mainstream is continuing to work with SS&C in relation to the proposed scheme of arrangement under the terms of the SS&C SID and the Mainstream directors have not, as at the date of this announcement, withdrawn their recommendation of the scheme of arrangement with SS&C,” said Mainstream.

“Mainstream has not entered into any scheme implementation deed, conditional or otherwise, with Apex.”

Little wonder that the market is confident of a higher bid from SS&C. The suitor exercised its matching rights six times before!

Multiple bids sees Mainstream offer price surge 133%

The previous occasion saw Apex making a $2.75 a share offer for the Mainstream share price on 26 May. SS&C beat that offer by 1 cent on 1 June.

But SS&C has come a long way from its original $2 a share offer in April. It’s nice to be wanted!

The takeover drama didn’t even start with SS&C. The first suitor that came knocking was from Vistra Group.

First bid for the Mainstream share price

Vistra was first to sign a SID with a offer price of $1.20 a share before SS&C entered the rink.

Vistra had the right to match the offer but elected not to. It didn’t walk away empty handed though as it got a $1.7 million break fee from Mainstream. Small price to pay given the latest offer for its shares!

Boom times for M&A

Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activity is hotting up on the ASX. As reported earlier today, the Iress Ltd (ASX: IRE) surged on rumours that a bidder is close to showing its hand for the financial services group.

Ultra-low interest rates and rebounding economic activity are giving cashed up buyers a case of FOMO.

It isn’t only home buyers that are afflicted with this syndrome. But Mainstream shareholders won’t be complaining.

The post Bidding war for the Mainstream (ASX:MAI) share price intensified today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Brendon Lau does not own shares mentioned in this article. Follow me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended MainstreamBPO Limited. 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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While small cap shares carry a lot more risk than blue chips, the potential returns on offer are vastly superior. This could make it worth dedicating a small portion of a portfolio to them if your risk profile allows.

With that in mind, I have picked out two small cap ASX shares that are highly rated. Here’s why they could be worth a closer look:

Doctor Care Anywhere Ltd (ASX: DOC)

Doctor Care Anywhere is a growing UK-based telehealth company that is aiming to deliver high-quality, effective, and efficient care to its patients.

It has been a very strong performer over the last 12 months. This has been driven by the pandemic accelerating the adoption of telehealth services globally.

Pleasingly, even though the worst of the pandemic is behind us and economies are reopening again, the company continues to report solid growth in signups and revenue.

For example, in April, Doctor Care Anywhere released its first quarter update and reported a 16.5% increase in unaudited underlying revenue to 4.4 million pounds (A$6.87 million). This was underpinned by a 14.7% increase in signups to the platform to 500,000 and a 21.9% increase in quarterly consultations delivered to 90,500.

One broker that is a fan is Bell Potter. It currently has a buy rating and $1.95 price target on the company’s shares.

Over The Wire Holdings Ltd (ASX: OTW)

Another small cap share to watch is Over The Wire. It is a telecommunications, cloud, and IT solutions provider,

As with Doctor Care Anywhere, it has been a positive performer in FY 2021. In February, the company reported a 17% increase in revenue to $50.3 million and a 28% jump in EBITDA to $10.5 million.

One key highlight from this result was its recurring revenue. Almost all of Over The Wire’s revenue is now classed as recurring, which gives it a firm foundation to build on in the coming years.

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity are positive on its growth prospects. The broker currently has a buy rating and $4.85 price target on its shares.

The post 2 small cap ASX shares that are highly rated appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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James Mickleboro does not own any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC and Over The Wire Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Doctor Care Anywhere Group PLC and Over The Wire 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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The Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW) share price remained unchanged today despite announcing the extension of its debt maturity profile.

At the closing bell, the real estate investment trust (REIT) share finished the day at $4.91.

Charter Hall Long extends debt maturity profile

Investors appear unmoved by the company’s latest update, sending Charter Hall Long shares nowhere.

According to its release, Charter Hall Long announced it has secured $200 million of Australian dollar medium term notes. The notes were originally priced at a fixed coupon rate of 2.66% before being swapped to a floating exposure. This provides Charter Hall Long with a weighted average cost of debt of 1.3% per annum.

The notes are expected to settle next Thursday 17 June, increasing the company’s investment capacity to $330 million. In turn, this allows Charter Hall Long to shore up its balance sheet and have significant flexibility in pursuing growth investment opportunities.

Once issued, the notes will have an 8.5-year duration attached, maturing in December 2029.

The weighted average debt maturity profile for the company will be extended to 5.6 years.

Charter Hall Long WALE REIT fund manager, Avi Anger commented:

We are very pleased that CLW was able to complete a repeat issuance in the Australian dollar medium term note market and further extend our debt maturity profile at a competitive funding cost.

CLW’s sector leading long WALE of 13.8 years together with the maturity profile and diversity of our debt are important features that contribute to the investment proposition that CLW offers. The additional investment capacity provides scope for further accretive deployment to drive earnings growth.

The company has staggered maturities arising from FY24 through to FY31.

Charter Hall share price review

The Charter Hall Long share price has moved in circles for the past 12 months, up 10% over the period. The company’s shares reached a high of $5.26 in October last year, before moving sideways.

Based on valuation grounds, Charter Hall Long presides a market capitalisation of roughly $3 billion, with approximately 628 million shares outstanding.

The post Charter Hall REIT (ASX:CLW) share price flat on notes issuance appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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Centuria Capital Group (ASX: CNI) has had a busy day today, having announced that its takeover of Primewest Group Ltd (ASX: PWG) is now unconditional and its unlisted fund is undertaking Australia’s largest single asset capital raise in 15 years.

At the time of writing, the Centuria share price is $2.73 ­– 1.49% higher than yesterday’s close.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news out of the real estate funds management company.

Primewest takeover bid

Centuria launched an off-market takeover bid for fellow real estate funds management company Primewest on 19 April.

Today, it announced that the takeover is now wholly unconditional and the merger process will begin later this month, having been pushed back by a week.

The takeover will see Primewest shareholders receiving $1.51 per share, made up of 20 cents in cash and 0.473 Centuria shares. The value of the shares is based on the Centuria share price as of 16 April.

Australia’s largest single asset capital raise in 15 years

In other news from Centuria today, the company’s unlisted Centuria Government Income Property Fund (CGIPF) is undertaking a $133 million capital raise.

The cash will go towards the purchase of a high rise building in Melbourne’s Footscray.

The fund will spend a total of $224 million for the 14-storey office building.

The entire building is currently leased, mostly to Victorian Government departments and agencies.

Centuria’s joint CEO Jason Huljich commented on the CGIPF’s capital raise:

Centuria has a 22-year track record for delivering successful fixed-term unlisted funds. This will be our largest capital raise to date for a single asset unlisted fund with a target of approximately $133 million.  

With rising white-collar employment and workforces increasingly returning to the office, we believe office asset investments will increasingly deliver strong results. Already within the past few months, we’ve witnessed several large office transactions in the domestic market.

Centuria share price snapshot

Today’s gains have given the Centuria share price a boost.

Currently, the Centuria share price is up 5.4% in 2021. It has also gained 35.1% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of about $2 billion, which will soon increase when it merges with Primewest, which is valued at around $590 million.

Centuria has approximately 740 million shares on issue.  

The post Here’s why the Centuria (ASX:CNI) share price is gaining 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 MedAdvisor Ltd (ASX: MDR) share price is on the rise today after the company announced a US business update.

The medication management platform provider’s shares are currently up 12% to 32.5 cents.

Why did the MedAdvisor share price push higher?

MedAdvisor has provided a business update 6 months after its acquisition of US-based patient management solutions platform, Adheris.

In today’s statement, MedAdvisor advised that its revenue had growth 40% on a like-for-like basis for the 9 months year-to-date for FY21.

MedAdvisor is leveraging Adheris’ extensive network of approximately 25,000 pharmacies and 2.2 billion scripts annual to bring additional scale to its digital capabilities.

The rollout of MedAdvisor’s digital solutions through the Adheris network is well underway. In June, 17% of the Adheris pharmacy network was scheduled to be digital, and a further 13% is expected in the September quarter.

Pleasingly, this will bring the company’s profile of digitally contactable patients in the US to approximately 42 million, or 20 times its present digital reach in Australia.

Additionally, MedAdvisor has rolled out 7 digital programs for pharmaceutical companies in the US. The company says that on average, patients who join the digital program demonstrate an improved adherence of up to 30%, leading to 1–2 extra script fills per year. The company says this results in improved health outcomes for the patients and more consistent revenue for the pharmacy.

Management commentary

MedAdvisor US President, John Ciccio comments on the company’s achievements in the US:

We’ve invested in providing the sales and marketing team with the resources required to go deeper with existing clients and expand our customer base. We’ve added new customers and brands to our network in the past 6 months and we’re selling more multi-tactic programs that include digital.

By expanding its digital offering, MedAdvisor is able to significantly boost the attractiveness of its product suite to its client base. As an example, one top ten pharmaceutical client who has averaged USD$125k p.a. with Adheris over the last 2 years has now signed a multi-channel deal for USD$1 million for CY21.

The post Why the MedAdvisor (ASX:MDR) share price jumped 12% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 MedAdvisor. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MedAdvisor. 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’s been a long road back for IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) after the education provider was hit hard by COVID-19 last year.

IDP provides international student placement services and English language testing services.  Although the company has been starved of its staple — international students — the IDP Education share price has climbed almost 33% in the past 12 months.  

One school of thought among analysts says that the longer the pandemic drags out, the stronger the IDP Education market position will be at the end of it. This is because many smaller competitors will fail to survive the crisis. Commentators are confident that the industry will rebound for those with strong balance sheets.

Foundations there to take advantage of a rebound

Although down on most performance metrics, IDP Education’s half-yearly report said that English language testing volumes were broadly in line with those experienced in the final month of 2019 before the pandemic. In fact, International English Language Testing System (IELTS) volumes rebounded from April/May lows to record a 49% increase.

The company told the recent Macquarie Australia Conference presentation that IELTS performance was an indicator for the health of the industry.

IDP Education also noted that a strong balance sheet of $299m and undrawn working capital facilities provided the foundations for further investment. The company is also planning to expand staff and increase marketing spend to drive future performance.

IDP Education stated that: 

With unmatched services, global footprint and data insights, our teams are ready to lead the industry rebound.

Brokers back IDP Education

Morgans is expecting IDP Education to grow its market share meaningfully once the pandemic passes. The broker remains positive for the company, placing an add rating and $28.48 price target on its shares.

Goldman Sachs also believes that IDP Education will be in a strong position when conditions return to normal thanks to its strong balance sheet and access to capital markets.

IDP Education share price snapshot

It’s been a long road back for IDP Education shares after the price crashed to $11.56 in March last year. The IDP Education share price peaked at $28.41 in February 2021 and is trading at $22.81 at the time of writing.

Despite the optimism for a rebound, IDP Education currently has a price to earnings (PE) ratio of 86.43, which means that the share is priced at an optimum. The Australian Consumer Services industry average PE ratio is 22.

The post Why has IDP Education (ASX:IEL) share price risen 33% in the last 12 months? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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With populations around the world ageing and technologies and treatments improving, demand for healthcare services is expected to grow strongly over the next few decades. In light of this, the healthcare sector could be a good place to consider investing with a long term view.

But which ASX healthcare shares should you buy? Two that are rated as buys right now are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

Nanosonics could be a good option for investors in the healthcare sector. It is a leading infection control specialist which provides the industry-leading trophon EPR disinfection system for ultrasound probes.

If demand for healthcare services increases, there’s a likelihood that ultrasound usage will increase in line with this. This, combined with further market share gains, would bode well for Nanosonics’ growth over the next decade and beyond.

At present, management estimates that 80,000 patients are protected from the risk of cross contamination every day because the ultrasound probe has been high-level disinfected with trophon. This is driving strong recurring revenue growth from the consumable products the system requires.

Positively, management isn’t resting on its laurels and is aiming to launch several new technologies that are targeting unmet needs. These are believed to have similar addressable markets to the trophon product. If successful, this could provide Nanosonics with a significant runway for growth, especially in a post-pandemic world heavily focused on infection prevention.

Analysts at UBS are positive on the company. They currently have a buy rating and $7.20 price target on its shares.

Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

Another healthcare share to consider is Pro Medicus. It is a healthcare technology company that provides healthcare organisations with radiology information systems, picture archiving and communication systems, and advanced visualisation solutions.

Pro Medicus has been a positive performer again in FY 2021 despite the pandemic. In February, the company reported a 7.8% increase in revenue to $31.6 million and a 25.9% jump in underlying profit before tax to $18.76 million.

Since then, the company has won a number of lucrative long term contracts with major healthcare institutions. In addition to this, it still has a large pipeline of sales opportunities that could be converted in the near future.

And thanks to the quality of the company’s technology and the structural shift away from legacy systems, Pro Medicus appears very well positioned for growth over the long term. This could be bolstered by its recent collaboration with healthcare giant Mayo Clinic.

That agreement will serve as the framework for collaboration between the two parties to facilitate development and commercialisation in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), leveraging the company’s Visage AI Accelerator platform.

In response to the news, Goldman Sachs retained its buy rating and $53.80 price target on the company’s shares. It commented: “We believe the strategy of partnering with the leading academics helps to maximise the value and competitive advantage of PME’s technology proposition.”

The post 2 quality healthcare options for ASX investors appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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James Mickleboro does not own any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Nanosonics Limited and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Nanosonics Limited and Pro Medicus 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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