• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now

    asx buy

    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:

    Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV)

    According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $31.00 price target on this retail conglomerate’s shares. The broker has been looking at the UK market and was pleased to see strong retail sales growth following the reopening of the economy. Overall, it believes this demonstrates how Premier Investments is well-placed to benefit from a combination of the global economic reopening and organic growth. The Premier Investments share price is fetching $25.56 today.

    REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

    Another note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on this property listings company’s shares to $179.10. According to the note, the broker was pleased with REA Group’s third quarter update. And while it feels that the Australian property market is losing a bit of steam and buyers are becoming more cautious, it remains very positive on its medium term growth prospects. This is thanks to its sales mix shift and depth products growth. The REA Group share price is fetching $155.89 today.

    Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

    Analysts at Ord Minnett have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this telco giant’s shares to $4.10. According to the note, the broker is expecting Telstra’s average revenue per user (ARPU) metric to increase in FY 2022 thanks to mobile plan price increases from both it and rival Optus. In addition to this, due to Telstra’s leadership position in 5G, the broker is predicting market share gains in the post-paid market. The Telstra share price is trading at $3.46 today.

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  • Nasdaq slump: will ASX tech shares face selling pressure today?

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    A defensive rotation continued overnight with the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) falling 2.55%. This compares to the 1.04% fall from the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) and the unscathed Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) which was down just 0.10%. 

    The contrasting performance of the tech-heavy Nasdaq could once again put pressure on S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) tech shares on Tuesday. 

    Why ASX200 tech shares could face more selling pressure 

    It’s been a challenging market for tech investors with the S&P/ASX200 Info Tech (INDEXASX: XIJ) sliding ~9.5% this month, compared to the broader ASX 200 which is up ~2%.

    A similar narrative is taking place on Wall Street where the S&P 500 and Dow Jones are hovering all-time record highs, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq has slumped 5.6% in quick succession from record territory. 

    Last night, sectors including consumer cyclical, communication services and technology all slumped between 1.95% to 2.30%. While defensive sectors including materials, consumer defensive and utilities closed the session between 0.20% and 0.75% higher. 

    US tech mega caps experienced heavy selling across the board with household names including Tesla Inc, Facebook IncApple IncAmazon.com Inc, Netflix IncMicrosoft Corporation and Alphabet Inc all falling between 2% to 6.50%. 

    This could see a follow-through for ASX 200 tech shares on Tuesday, placing local tech-heavyweights such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) and Wisetech Ltd (ASX: WTC) under pressure. 

    Why are tech shares suddenly selling off? 

    One theory is that investors might be diverting attention to the prospect of higher inflation as the economy comes out of the coronavirus pandemic.

    The pent-up demand could drive an increase in prices, which could eventually prompt central banks to take the brakes off record low interest rates. This could in turn weigh on the valuations of richly valued shares including ASX200 tech shares. 

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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. 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 recommends Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares in Wisetech, Xero and Afterpay and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon, short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple, short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, and long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended 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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  • Pendal (ASX:PDL) share price slips on capital raising efforts

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    The Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL) share price is backtracking today after providing an update on its equity raise.

    At the time of writing, the fund manager’s shares are swapping hands for $7.17, down 2.3%.

    What did Pendal announce?

    Investors are heading for the hills after Pendal shares come out of a trading halt today.

    In this morning’s release, Pendal advised it has completed a fully underwritten institutional placement. The offer received significant interest in which both new and existing institutional investors participated to raise $190 million.

    Pendal will issue around 27.9 million ordinary shares under the placement, representing about 8.6% of its entire issued capital. The price for each share is set at $6.80 apiece, reflecting a 5.2% discount to the dividend-adjusted last closing price of $7.17.

    The newly created shares will be issued using the company’s existing placement capacity. Under listing rule 7.1, this allows up to 15% of its shares to be issued without shareholder approval. The company noted that the issued shares would not be eligible for the H1 FY21 interim dividend declared yesterday.

    The monies raised from the placement will partly fund the acquisition of Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley LLC. Pendal has agreed to take over the investment management firm for a price of US$320 million. This will be paid through a combination of equity, debt and existing capital reserves from Pendal.

    Pendal Group CEO Nick Good commented:

    The response represents a clear endorsement of Pendal’s strategic acquisition of TSW, a business which is highly complementary to Pendal. The acquisition will accelerate our growth opportunities in the US market and delivers scale and diversification benefits for Pendal across investment capability, asset classes, geographies and distribution channels.

    It is expected to deliver significant benefits for Pendal shareholders, strengthening the diversity of earnings and growth in shareholder returns.

    Settlement of the placement is planned for this Thursday, with the new shares available for trading the day after.

    Pendal share price review

    It’s been a mixed year for Pendal shares, moving in circles for most of the 12-month period. Recently, however, the company’s shares reached a 52-week high of $7.80 before treading lower as a likely result of profit-taking.

    The Pendal share price is roughly 20% higher since this time last year and is up 12% on year-to-date performance.

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  • The Arafura (ASX:ARU) share price is rocketing 11% this morning. Here’s why

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    Shares in Arafura Resources Limited (ASX: ARU) are soaring in early trade today after the company unveiled its Nolans Project’s feasibility study.

    The Arafura share price is up 11.1% at the time of writing, trading at 20 cents apiece.

    Nolans is a neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) project, located in the Northern Territory. It’s 100% owned by Arafura.

    Let’s take a look at the project’s feasibility.

    Nolans Project

    The Nolans Project will include a mine and processing plant, as well as other related infrastructure. It will mine NdPr and produce NdPr oxide on-site.

    The feasibility study found Nolans has a mine life of 38 years and the ability to produce 4,440 tonnes of NdPr oxide each year.

    It expects the project’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to be $354 million a year.

    According to Arafura, Nolans operating costs could be ultra-low – costing US$24.76 per kilogram of NdPr oxide.

    Nolans has been assessed by both the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority and the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy. It’s now the only NdPr-focused project in Australia with environmental permits for mining, beneficiation, extraction, and separation of rare earths.

    Arafura expects the feasibility study will be the basis for securing finance, with the company targeting a final investment decision in August 2022.

    Front-end engineering and design (FEED) activities are expected to start at the Nolans Project next quarter.

    Commentary from management

    Arafura managing director Gavin Lockyer commented on the feasibility study, saying:

    The size of the Nolans deposit will provide our customers security of supply for their critical raw materials and our ‘ore to oxide’ at a single site provides provenance that their product is being derived from processes aligned with their ESG priorities.

    With the forecast demand growth for NdFeB magnets to support the manufacture of electric vehicles amongst other applications, the rising imperative for nations to shore up sustainable supply chains and the lack of alternative NdPr sources outside of China, Arafura is moving ahead with greater confidence than ever before.

    Arafura Resources share price snapshot

    The Arafura Resources share price has performed well on the ASX lately.

    Currently, the Arafura share price is up 38% year to date. It’s also gained 157% over the last 12 months.

    The company has a market capitalisation of around $210 million, with approximately 1.1 billion shares outstanding.

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  • Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price higher on PFD acquisition news

    The last piece of the jigsaw being fitted, indicating good news for a share price on merger or acquisition

    The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price is pushing higher again on Tuesday.

    In morning trade, the retail conglomerate’s shares are up 1% to $41.00.

    What is moving the Woolworths share price today?

    This morning the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) provided an update on its thoughts on Woolworths’s proposed acquisition of leading foodservice supplier PFD Food Services.

    This followed the receipt of responses from Woolworths and PFD in relation to the ACCC’s statement of issues in December. That statement outlined preliminary competition concerns.

    According to the release, Woolworths and PFD have offered a draft behavioural undertaking designed to maintain a degree of separation and independence between the two parties for three years after the acquisition, but the duration could be shorter in certain circumstances.

    The ACCC is now seeking views on a proposed undertaking offered by Woolworths and PFD.

    ACCC Chair, Rod Sims, said: “The release of an undertaking for public consultation should not be viewed as a sign that we will ultimately accept it, or any other form of undertaking.”

    “We are seeking feedback from market participants about whether the proposed behavioural undertaking is likely to address competition concerns raised by Woolworths’ acquisition of PFD.”

    What are the temporary measures?

    The release explains that Woolworths and PFD have indicated that the temporary measures in the draft undertaking are designed to preserve the current market dynamics and enable market participants, such as independent suppliers, to continue to do business with Woolworths and PFD independently.

    They believe that this will allow the market to adjust to Woolworths and PFD ceasing to be independent of each other.

    The proposed undertaking would also place obligations on PFD’s board and governance structure and impose confidentiality protocols regarding certain supplier information.  These obligations are intended to last three years, unless certain early termination clauses are triggered.

    In addition, PFD would be required to implement a charter in dealing with suppliers which reflects certain principles of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct. This will need to be in place for five years, with any changes to the charter needing to be approved by the ACCC.

    Mr Sims concluded: “The undertaking is behavioural in nature and imposes obligations on the companies to act in certain ways and not undertake certain actions. It will be important to get feedback from market participants on whether the undertaking provides a sufficient remedy to address the competition concerns.”

    Judging by the Woolworths share price performance today, investors appear optimistic this development will be enough to get the deal over the line.

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  • Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price lower despite joint venture news

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    The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is dropping on Tuesday morning.

    At the time of writing, the lithium miner’s shares are down 3% to $1.26.

    Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price lower?

    Investors have been selling the company’s shares today despite it announcing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with multi-award-winning Australian technology company Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL).

    According to the release, the MOU covers the development of a joint venture project to develop a midstream lithium chemicals refinery.

    The two parties will undertake a scoping study to assess a new refining process incorporating Calix’s unique calcination technology and subsequent production of a concentrated lithium salt midstream product for lithium batteries.

    The release explains that Pilbara Minerals currently processes its ore to produce a spodumene concentrate which is then shipped to customers overseas for conversion into lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide. This is ultimately used for in the production of lithium ion batteries.

    However, should this midstream lithium chemicals refinery be developed, it could cornerstone a full battery production supply chain in Australia.

    Management notes that the project is in strong alignment with Government strategies to on-shore processing and manufacturing, more sustainable mining and processing, and critical minerals strategies for battery materials.

    Furthermore, with spodumene-derived lithium salts from Australian producers potentially hitting 500kT by 2030, and with current lithium carbonate prices well in excess of US$10,000 per tonne, the two companies believe this represents a considerable licensing opportunity for the joint venture and a multi-billion-dollar export value opportunity for Australia.

    The scoping study will run until late 2021. If positive, Pilbara Minerals and Calix intend to form a joint venture to build a demonstration facility, starting with a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS).

    Management commentary

    Pilbara Minerals’ Managing Director, Ken Brinsden, said: “Firstly, the conventional calcination of fine ore incurs increased losses via dust. Secondly, legacy calcination techniques are very energy and carbon intensive, using fossil fuels in an environment of significant heat losses. And lastly, the lack of uniform temperature control can lead to either incomplete phase change or partial melting of the concentrate impurities, both of which hinder the recovery of lithium in subsequent extraction processes.”

    “Calix and Pilbara Minerals have conducted calcination trials of Pilgangoora spodumene in its electrically fired BATMn reactor, at Calix’s Bacchus Marsh facility, and it successfully demonstrated high conversion rates, zero dust emissions and avoided any partial melting concerns. With these promising results, we will now move to a scoping study phase to investigate installing a calciner and downstream demonstration processing plant at Pilgangoora to allow the processing of fine, low grade ore to produce lithium salt material for export overseas.”

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  • Telstra (ASX:TLS) ‘on track’ to meet ambitious 5G targets

    Green tipped arrows in bullseye with green dollar sign

    Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) announced yesterday that it’s “on track” to cover 75% of Australians with its 5G network by June this year. The Telstra share price finished yesterday’s session up by 0.58% to $3.49 per share.

    Telstra operates Australia’s largest 5G network and began rolling out 5G home internet coverage at the end of last year. It announced in August 2020 that it aims to cover 75% of Australians by June 2021 and says it’s “well on track” to reach the target.

    Telstra’s 5G coverage

    Telstra believes it now has enough customers connected to the faster network speeds to attain an accurate picture of how fast its services will be for the average consumer.

    The telco says it has improved download speeds across its network by 19% since the beginning of the 5G rollout, and now offers average speeds within peak evening periods of between 50 – 600 megabits per second (Mbps). The average speed is 378 Mbps. 

    It’s also planning to double the included download data limits on its 5G home internet plans to one terabyte per month, in response to consumer feedback.

    mmWave internet technology

    mmWave – pronounced as millimetre wave – is a short-range, high-frequency network technology that offers more bandwidth than standard frequency network connections. Telstra also announced it has recently acquired the “mmWave spectrum we need across Australia to power the next evolution of our 5G network.”

    The company said in its update that it would make a significant difference to the internet speeds of its customers.

    We have already begun deploying 5G mmWave in selected sites in 5 capital cities and have achieved record-breaking download speeds using this technology in testing earlier this year.

    Implementing mmWave on our 5G network will be like adding more lanes to a freeway, making it even faster while allowing more people on the network at the same time.

    Telstra share price snapshot

    Having fallen to a multi-year low of $2.66 in November last year, the Telstra share price has since rebounded and now sits almost one dollar higher. Telstra shares are currently up by around 17% in 2021 so far and have gained almost 14% over the past year. 

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    Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra 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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  • IGO (ASX:IGO) share price on watch as new gold drilling joint venture announced

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    The IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price will be on watch today after the company announced a new joint-venture diamond drilling gold project.

    IGO is an exploration and mining company with a portfolio of operating and exploration assets across Australia. It’s partnering with small-cap Australian miner Moho Resources Ltd (ASX: MOH) on its new Crossroads gold drilling prospect.

    IGO and Moho ready to go

    The companies announced this morning that they’re preparing to undertake diamond drilling at their Crossroads Project joint gold exploration venture, located in the West Australian wheat belt.

    In the release, Moho noted that a geochemical review had identified a “broad zone of gold mineralisation” at the Crossroads prospect. The company will start drilling in four separate target holes, with assays expected in the third quarter of 2021.

    The initial drilling projects will largely aim to learn more about the site’s geology and lithology. The company aims to determine the orientation of potential gold deposits within the ore in Crossroads to inform further drilling projects. 

    The company also noted a “halo” around the surveyed gold mineralisation site of tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo) and arsenic (As) deposits.

    Moho management comments

    Moho Managing Director, Shane Sadleir, said the initial surveys are exciting.

    The association of a geochemical halo of W – Mo – As anomalism with the recently identified gold mineralisation from RC drilling at the Crossroads prospect is very encouraging. We are looking forward to testing the extension of this mineralisation and the relationship with lithology and structures with the upcoming diamond drilling program.

    IGO share price snapshot

    The IGO share price is up double-digits in the past month after bullish notes from broker Macquarie on 6 May.

    IGO shares have been significant climbers over the past few months, rising by more than $1 per share since the beginning of April. Overall, it’s up 72% over the past 12 months and 23% since 2021 began.

    The IGO share price finished yesterday’s trading 2.3% higher at $7.86.

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  • Is the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price cheap? Here’s what brokers think

    On Monday the A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price continued its disappointing run with another sizeable decline.

    The fresh milk and infant formula company’s shares plunged 13% to $6.10.

    This means the a2 Milk share price is now down a whopping 70% from its 52-week high.

    Why did the a2 Milk share price crash lower?

    Investors were selling the company’s shares on Monday after it downgraded its FY 2021 guidance for a fourth time.

    Back in August 2020, a2 Milk was guiding to “strong revenue growth” on the NZ$1.73 billion it achieved in FY 2020 and an EBITDA margin of 30% to 31%.

    Whereas management now expects revenue of NZ$1.2 billion to NZ$1.25 billion with an EBITDA margin of 11% to 12%. This implies EBITDA of just NZ$132 million to NZ$150 million, which will be down 73% to 76% year on year.

    What do brokers think?

    Given the significant weakness in the a2 Milk share price, investors will no doubt be wondering whether its shares are cheap now. Well, opinion is divided in the broker community.

    One broker that doesn’t think its shares are cheap is Credit Suisse. This morning the broker retained its underperform rating and cut its price target to $5.00. It estimates that its shares are changing hands for 34x FY 2022 earnings at present.

    Morgans is a little more positive. It has retained its add rating but slashed its price target to $6.65. Based on its forecasts, it estimates that its shares are trading at 26x FY 2022 earnings.

    Elsewhere, Bell Potter has retained its buy rating and cut its price target to $8.50, Morgan Stanley has a $7.10 price target, and UBS has a buy rating and lofty NZ$13.50 (A$12.52) price target. All three targets offer meaningful upside from the current a2 Milk share price of $6.10.

    In respect to the latter note, UBS believes the actions management is taking will restore inventory to healthy levels by the first quarter of FY 2022. It appears optimistic that this will avoid any brand damage.

    Time will tell which broker makes the right call.

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  • Boral (ASX:BLD) share price in focus as it rejects Seven Group (ASX:SVW) takeover bid

    Boral takeover Seven Group asx share price movements represented by street signs stating mergers and acquisitions bluescope share price

    The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price will be in the spotlight after it gave the takeover bid from Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) the thumbs down.

    Seven Group lobbed a $6.50 a share offer to acquire all the shares of Boral it doesn’t own. This is a nil-premium offer as it’s priced the same as Boral’s last closing price.

    The takeover of the building products group is seen as being opportunistic, if not sincere. This isn’t only because of the lack of a takeover premium and a string of other conditions.

    Opportunistic takeover bid for Boral

    Seven Group’s offer was probably made to circumvent “creep rules”. Under the Corporations Act, the industrial conglomerate is unable to increase its 23.2% stake in Boral unless it makes a takeover offer.

    The bidder also stated it would be happy if the offer allowed it to increase its holdings in Boral to around 30%.

    It sounds like a half-hearted takeover in my view.

    Conditional takeover bid from Seven Group

    Just to cover itself, Seven Group made the proposal conditional upon no material adverse change in relation to Boral or the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO).

    The first condition is commonly seen in takeovers, but the second less so. If our share market were to take a spill for whatever reason, Seven Group reserves the right to walk away.

    Other conditions in the deal include the receipt of consent from the majority of lenders under Seven Group’s corporate loan facility in addition to other customary conditions.

    It sounds like the bidder hasn’t sorted its finances even before it made the bid!

    Boral shareholders asked to snub offer

    It’s little wonder that Boral’s board is recommending investors reject the bid.

    Seven Group’s interest in Boral is an open secret since the Kerry Stokes linked conglomerate bought a significant stake in struggling Boral a little over a year ago.

    The takeover bid came a little quicker than many expected, although it’s in good company. There has been a number of high-profile takeover attempts currently being played out.

    High profile M&As to hit the market

    The Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price was dominating headlines yesterday after it got a merger proposal from Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR).

    Investors also got excited by the Tabcorp Holdings Limited (ASX: TAH) share price after a suitor came knocking for parts of its business.

    The takeover bid for the Boral share price has more chapters to play out. I also suspect we will see more mergers and acquisitions in the wings this year.

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    The post Boral (ASX:BLD) share price in focus as it rejects Seven Group (ASX:SVW) takeover bid appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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