The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price has been a pretty unrewarding performer over the past few months. Since topping out at more than $20 a share last August, the A2 Milk share price has spent the months since slowly going sour. Hit by a seeming avalanche of earnings downgrades (4 so far), investors have been hitting the sell button on A2 Milk. Just this week, the company hit a new 52-week (And multi-year) low of $5.04 a share. That’s a good ~75% off of its high from last year.

Bad and worse

A2 was hit on multiple fronts. The coronavirus pandemic and the cessation of tourism around the world caused the daigou trade to come to a shuddering halt. Daigou is when customers buy products (in this case, A2 Milk products) in Australia, and then have them sent to a secondary market in China. Due to import restrictions and the complex politics of the Chinese economy, daigou is often the only way some Chinese customers get to enjoy A2 products. Or at least, it was. The pandemic caused this lucrative sales channel for A2 Milk to dry up. Although things have been loosening up slowly, the ongoing diplomatic spat between the Australian and Chinese governments has been hindering daigou resumption as well.

Long story short, A2 has had to downgrade its earnings expectations for FY2021 and beyond largely due to these concerns. It’s also flagged some inventory issues in its latest downgrade. Needless to say, investors have been less than impressed. As a result, A2 hit its lowest share price since 2017 this week.

But yesterday and today have seen a sharp reversal of this sentiment. A2 shares rose roughly 2% yesterday, and are up a robust 6.99% today (at the time of writing) to $5.58 a share.

So why have the tides of sentiment suddenly changed on this company?

Are A2 Milk shares a buy today?

Well, as my Fool colleague Brendon Lau reported this morning, A2 Milk has received some love from a broker. UBS has reportedly given A2 a ‘buy’ rating. That comes with a 12-month price target of NS$13.50. This translates roughly to $12.50 in AUD terms on today’s exchange rate. UBS cites tightening inventory, as well as market share, for its optimism for A2. That’s probably exactly what investors wanted to hear on A2 after the week the company just had. This price target implies a future upside of more than 120%.

More reading

• Why a2 Milk, EML Payments, Webjet, & Xero shares are pushing higher
• ASX 200 down 0.25%: Kogan sinks, EML & A2 Milk jump
• Top brokers pick these 3 underperforming ASX shares as their latest buy idea
• Is the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price too cheap to ignore?
• Is the a2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price a bargain or value trap?

The post Why is the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price up 7% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The telecommunications watchdog has issued a formal warning to Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) for inadequate identity checks during number porting requests.

For many years, Australians have been able to switch mobile providers but still retain their phone number by a process called “porting”.

Unfortunately in the past, scammers had hijacked victims’ numbers to port it to their own phone — then would use the assumed identity to steal money.

In early 2020, new rules were implemented that required telcos to rigorously check people’s identities before granting porting requests.

“Historically it has been too easy to transfer phone numbers from one telco to another. All a scammer needed to hijack a mobile number and access personal information like bank details was a name, address and date of birth,” said Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) chair Nerida O’Loughlin.

“These new rules help prevent scammers from taking control of people’s identities to commit serious financial crimes.”

On average, mobile number porting identity theft victims lose more than $10,000. But the time and psychological cost is greater, with years of stress to regain control of their identity with finance providers and credit ratings agencies.

Telstra’s identity sins 

Despite the new rules, ACMA found that Telstra breached ID verification processes at least 52 times in mid-2020.

Its big rival Optus broke the rules on one occasion, and smaller player Medion Mobile dropped the ball on 53 instances.

All three companies copped a formal warning from ACMA this week.

“We are cracking down on telcos that don’t follow the rules and leave customers vulnerable to identity theft,” O’Loughlin said.

A Telstra spokesperson told The Motley Fool that the company is a “big supporter” of the new rules.

“Unfortunately when these rules first came into effect, we didn’t have all our processes in place to implement some of the changes as quickly as we should have,” said the spokesperson.

“That meant in a small number of cases we let customers down, and we apologise to anyone affected. Since then we have put these new processes in place and seen a dramatic reduction in fraudulent port-ins.”

At the time of writing on Friday, the Telstra share price is trading 0.87% lower at $3.41.

According to ACMA, the 2020 reforms have seen the volume of ID theft drop “dramatically”.

“Some telcos are finding that fraudulent porting has stopped completely, and others report a drop of more than 90 per cent,” said O’Loughlin.

“It is important that telcos remain vigilant about protecting their customers through these verification processes.”

Telstra blocked customers from porting their numbers

It seems Telstra just can’t get a handle on number porting.

Earlier this month, the company paid an infringement penalty of more than $1.5 million. This was after an ACMA investigation that found the telco stopped number porting in late March 2020.

The result was that Telstra customers who wanted to leave for another provider couldn’t do so without giving up their mobile number.

The telco blamed COVID-19 for the disruption that eventually impacted 42,000 services. It didn’t resume porting operations until July, and didn’t clear the backlog of requests until October.

“It is clear Telstra, for a sustained period, did not have sufficient plans in place to comply with an important consumer safeguard that promotes competition in the telco market,” said O’Loughlin at the time.

“Australian consumers must have the freedom to change their telco provider to take up services that best suit their needs. This includes keeping your own phone number even if you take your business elsewhere.”

More reading

• 2 ASX dividend shares that could offer yields of 5% or more today
• Why this expert is urging you to buy these ASX defensive shares even in a bull market
• 2 buy-rated blue chip ASX 200 shares for investors in May
• Forget Dogecoin! Here are 2 ASX dividend shares to buy for income today
• Why is the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price falling today?

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The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is up 12% over the past 24 hours.

That will come as welcome news to crypto investors, who watched the world’s largest token by market cap tumble more than 30% on Wednesday.

Leveraged investors, in particular, may have noticed a few more grey hairs following the slide. Depending on your gearing level, a fall of 30% can mean you’ve not only lost all of your investment…you’ve lost a lot more.

One Bitcoin is currently worth US$41,711 (AU$53,476).

While that’s well up from the near US$30,000 trough it dipped to on Wednesday, it’s still 19% below the price last Saturday. And well below mid-April’s all-time high of US$64,830.

Why the big price crash?

Analysts are pointing to a number of factors combining to drive the Bitcoin price lower over the past week.

First, the digital token’s skyrocketing price over the 12 months through 14 April this year was already looking overheated and ready for a retrace. Remember, as recently as 15 March 2020 Bitcoin was trading for as little as US$5,300.

Second, the United States Treasury is threatening to wrap all cryptocurrencies in some serious red tape. The Treasury is pressing for businesses to report any crypto transactions in excess of US$10,000. In other words, less than a quarter of one Bitcoin.

Third, and likely the primary driver for this week’s huge crash and subsequent bounce back, is leverage. The big exchanges now offer eye-watering levels of leverage to both institutional and retail investors, sometimes exceeding 100-times your actual investment.

According to Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia Pacific at Luno Pte (quoted by Bloomberg):

What causes such deeper pullbacks are a case of system overload, liquidations, and such factors. Crypto is still a much ‘wilder West’ than any other asset class where you can trade on some exchanges for up to 50-100X leverage. [And] what we’ve seen is a big funding reset across exchanges due to overleveraged traders.

Martin Green, CEO at crypto fund Cambrian Asset Management, added, “The selloff was greatly exacerbated by a lot of leverage. Now that the excess leverage has been liquidated, we have seen longs and leverage starting to be placed once again.”

Justin d’Anethan, sales manager at crypto exchange EQUOS, (run by Diginex) said, “You got all those bearish news and eventually you hit the point where a lot of the leveraged positions were getting liquidated. When that happens, it’s just a cascading fall.”

What’s next for Bitcoin?

No one can say for sure whether Bitcoin will soar to new record highs once more or fall to single digits.

Making the bullish case is Steve Ehrlich, chief executive officer of the cryptocurrency brokerage Voyager Digital (quoted by CoinDesk), “Crypto is here to stay and the volatility we’re currently witnessing is creating an attractive entry point to add to and create new positions.”

Sounding a note of caution is Jean-Marc Bonnefous, managing partner of investment firm Tellurian Capital, “There are definitely still some downside risks left short term, and markets rarely rebound in one single move up. Political noise, with news of tax rules tightening, is still weighing on a prompt recovery.”

Whether you’re bullish or bearish on the outlook for Bitcoin, think twice before making any leveraged bets on the next price moves.

More reading

• Bitcoin bounces back, but is it smooth sailing from here?
• Forget bitcoin, why it might be time for gold to shine
• Crypto crash sends Bitcoin 30% lower to under US$40,000
• Bitcoin price woes continue as China cracks down on cryptocurrency
• 56% of Aussies think Elon Musk invented Bitcoin

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The Oceania Healthcare Ltd (ASX: OCA) share price is edging lower today, down 1.5% trading at $1.25 at the time of writing.

Below we look at the latest results from the aged care facilities company, covering the 10-month period ending 31 March.

Why a 10-month reporting period this year? Because Oceania changed its balance date from 31 May to 31 March.

What results did Oceania report?

Oceania’s share price is moving lower, despite the company reporting an 8% increase in unaudited underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

Unaudited underlying EBITDA came in at $56.2 million, up from $52.1 million in the previous corresponding 10-month period.

The company also reported a 26% increase in sales volumes at its independent living apartments, villas and its care suites. Despite the COVID-19 headwinds, occupancy levels increased to 92.4%, up from 91.7% on the prior corresponding period.

During the 10-month reporting period, Oceania completed 217 units and care suites. The valuation of its total assets increased 22% to $1.9 billion. The company pointed to improved valuations following the initial COVID-related downgrades, as well as capital expenditures, for driving the increase.

Operating cash flow slipped to $96.0 million for the 10-month period, down from $99.4 million for the 12 months to 31 May 2020.

Oceania also completed a $100 million capital raise during the reported period, with a $20 million retail offer and an $80 million placement.

Management commentary

Oceania chair Liz Coutts advised that the board had declared a final dividend of 2.1 cents per share, unfranked. The record date is 8 June, and the dividend will be paid on 22 June. The company advised its dividend reinvestment plan will apply.

Commenting on the past 10 months of operations and the capital raise, Oceania’s CEO Brent Pattison said:

We increased our investment in the business, demonstrating our commitment to building an even better future for Oceania, our residents, their families and our staff…

Oceania is well positioned to leverage its established platform, with gearing under 25% as at 31 March 2021. We were delighted with the strong support from our existing and new shareholders for our highly successful and oversubscribed $100.0 million capital raise, comprising of a $80.0m placement and a $20.0m retail offer.

Oceania said it would use the money from the capital raise to acquire Waterford at Hobsonville Point in Auckland, New Zealand. Waterford is “a retirement village comprising 64 independent living villas and 36 independent living apartments, and our leasehold site in Franklin (Auckland), together with adjacent bare land”.

Oceania share price snapshot

Oceania shares have gained 68% over the past 12 months. By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 29% since this time last year.

So far in 2021, however, the Oceania share price has headed in the other direction and is currently down 4%.

More reading

• Billion dollar losses expose dangers of leveraged Bitcoin investing
• 2 ASX dividend shares that could offer yields of 5% or more today
• Why a2 Milk, EML Payments, Webjet, & Xero shares are pushing higher
• Why ASX gold miner Red 5’s (ASX:RED) share price is tumbling 10% lower
• 2 ASX tech shares sold off amid legal concerns

The post What’s going on with the Oceania (ASX:OCA) share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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When it comes to ASX dividend shares, income (preferably fully franked) is the name of the game. And yet, many ASX shares that pay a dividend have not been fantastic income shares to own. Especially when you take into account last year with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and all.

With record low interest rates seemingly here to stay for a while, finding income on the share market has arguably never been more important from an investing perspective. So here are 2 ASX dividend shares that offer up a trailing dividend yield of 5% or greater today.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

Coles is the first ASX dividend share to consider today. This grocery giant was one of the few ASX shares that actually managed to raise its dividend last year, a feat that managed to evade even its arch-rival Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW).

Coles potentially offers a lot of value as a dividend share due to its inelastic nature. We all need food, drinks and household items, and all of the time at that. As such, since that’s what Coles sells, its earnings base is very stable and somewhat immune to economic downturns.

The last two dividends that Coles paid out amounted to a September final dividend of 27.5 cents per share, and a March interim dividend of 33 cents per share, both fully franked. That gives the current Coles share price a trailing yield of 3.68% today. That grosses-up to 5.26% with full franking credits.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX :TLS)

Telstra is another ASX dividend share to consider today. This ASX telco has long held a reputation as an income juggernaut, despite the infamous payout slash of 2017. That reputation continues today, largely thanks to Telstra’s ability to keep its rather generous dividend payouts steady last year at 2019 levels, despite the pandemic.

Telstra shares have actually had a few very successful months, share price wise. Telstra is up close to 30% since late October last year, and made a new 52-week high earlier this month.

Investors have been appreciating the company’s plans to structurally separate by the end of the year. Telstra’s successful (so far) and ongoing 5G rollout probably isn’t hurting sentiment either. That has dragged Telstra’s trailing dividend yield down a little. But the company’s 16 cents per share annual dividend still translates into a 4.68% trailing yield on current pricing. That grosses-up to 6.68% with Telstra’s full franking.

More reading

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• Woolworths and Coles sign ANZPAC plastic pact
• Top brokers name 3 ASX dividend shares to buy today

The post 2 ASX dividend shares that could offer yields of 5% or more today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week on an underwhelming note. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.1% to 7,014.2 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are pushing higher:

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

The a2 Milk share price has jumped 6% to $5.54. Investors have been buying the fresh milk and infant formula company’s shares following the release of a broker note out of UBS. According to the note, the broker believes there are signs that its turnaround is working. Importantly, it believes this is being achieved without any brand damage. In light of this, UBS has put a buy rating and NZ$13.50 (A$12.50) price target on its shares.

EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

The EML Payments share price has stormed 15.5% higher to $3.36. Investors have been buying the payments company’s shares after another leading broker weighed in on its recent issues that saw it crash 46% lower earlier this week. UBS has retained its buy rating and cut its price target down to $5.30. This implies potential upside of 58% even after today’s stellar gain. EML Payments’ shares were sold off amid Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing compliance concerns for its European operations.

Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB)

The Webjet share price is up 5% to 5% to $4.90. This also appears to be related to a broker note. This morning Goldman Sachs reaffirmed its buy rating and $6.40 price target on this online travel agent’s shares. The broker doesn’t appear concerned by news that Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) is cutting international travel agent commissions. It notes that this was already partially anticipated in its forecasts.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

The Xero share price is up 5% to $128.59. Investors have continued to pile into the tech sector on Friday following another positive night of trade on the tech-focused Nasdaq index. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index(ASX: XTX) is up a solid 1.5%.

More reading

• 2 ASX tech shares sold off amid legal concerns
• ASX 200 down 0.25%: Kogan sinks, EML & A2 Milk jump
• Top brokers pick these 3 underperforming ASX shares as their latest buy idea
• Is the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price good value?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

The post Why a2 Milk, EML Payments, Webjet, & Xero shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Red 5 Limited (ASX: RED) share price is tumbling lower in morning trade, down 8% at the time of writing after earlier posting losses of more than 11%.

Below we take a look at the ASX gold miner’s latest production guidance for its Darlot Gold Mine.

What production guidance did Red 5 report?

Red 5’s share price is moving lower after production guidance for its Darlot Gold Mine for the 2021 financial year (FY2021) was revised downward while costs were forecast to be higher.

The new production guidance comes in at 74,000–78,000 ounces, down from the previous estimate of 80,000­–85,000 ounces. Meanwhile All In Sustaining Costs (AISC) nudged higher, to $2,240–2,290 per ounce, up from the previous $2,150–2,280 per ounce.

Red 5 reported that it was struggling to find enough labour at its Darlot underground mine and its Great Western open pit mine. The labour shortages continue to hamper production.

At the Great Western mine, it said a shortage of machine operators and truck drivers meant the contractor could not increase mining activities as fast as planned, following commencement of mining in the March quarter.

Commenting on the company’s gold operations, Red 5’s Managing Director, Mark Williams said:

Red 5 continues to make excellent progress on the King of the Hills Gold Project, however we continue to face challenges at our Darlot Gold Mine. The difficulty of sourcing skilled labour for both Darlot and for our new Great Western mine has impacted our ability to achieve our FY21 production guidance.

As previously announced, King of the Hills remains on schedule and budget and is expected to commence gold production in the June Quarter 2022.

The company said it is reviewing its Darlot gold mining operations and will provide production and cost guidance for the 2022 financial year in the September quarter this year.

Red 5 share price snapshot

It’s been a difficult year for Red 5 shareholders, with shares in the ASX gold miner down 39% over the past 12 months. By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 29% in that same time.

Year-to-date the Red 5 share price is down 31%.

More reading

• Could it be time to give ASX gold shares another chance?

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Tech shares have had a rough time of it so far this year. Many of the companies that saw massive share price gains during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 – like Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH) and Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP) – have been sold off heavily this year as investors rotate out of growth shares and into value stocks and beaten-down blue chips.

In this environment, the last thing a tech company needs is a regulator crackdown or an allegation of copyright infringement. This is the kind of news that can send already spooked investors running for the hills. And yet this is what has happened to two ASX tech companies recently.

Let’s take a look at the allegations made against the two companies.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

Nearmap is an aerial imagery company that provides high-resolution images and geospatial data to business and government clients. This allows people working in fields like engineering, infrastructure, mining and construction to plan and analyse complex projects and even conduct virtual site visits.

The Nearmap share price was rocked earlier this month when the company announced that a copyright infringement complaint had been filed against its American subsidiary, Nearmap US, Inc. in the United States District Court. The complaint has been made by two companies, Eagle View Technologies, Inc. and Pictometry International Corp, and alleges that Nearmap’s roof-estimation technology infringes on their patent.

In the announcement, Nearmap attempted to reassure investors that the complaint didn’t relate to the company’s core proprietary technology. Commenting on the news, Nearmap CEO and managing director Dr Rob Newman stated that “the allegations are without merit” and that “the business remains unaffected by the complaint.”

However, investors still fled in their droves. The Nearmap share price plunged over 20% on the day of the announcement and is now down by around 21% for the year.

EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

EML is a payments solution company. Broadly speaking, EML operates in three key segments: branded gift cards, general-purpose reloadable cards (notably for bookmakers like Ladbrokes and BetEasy), and virtual account numbers that facilitate transactions between businesses and their suppliers.

Despite the impacts COVID-19 lockdowns had on the retail sector last year, the EML share price climbed steadily over the second half of 2020 and into 2021. In fact, as recently as early April this year, the company’s shares were trading at a record high price of $5.89.

But that all changed this week when EML announced that the Central Bank of Ireland had raised “significant regulatory concerns” over the operations of its Irish subsidiary PFS Card Services (Ireland) Limited. The concerns centre around the subsidiary’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks.

Any company announcements that mention money laundering and terrorism, whether proven or not, do not sound good to shareholders. And while EML stated the regulatory concerns do not affect its North American or Australian operations, it also revealed that 27% of its total revenues over the period 1 January 2021 to 31 March 2021 came from programs facilitated by PSF.

The EML share price collapsed on the day of the announcement, falling a whopping 46% to just $2.80. EML shares have since posted a partial recovery, trading at $3.38 as at the time of writing. However, this still means EML has lost around 42% of its market capitalisation in the last two months.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.25%: Kogan sinks, EML & A2 Milk jump
• Why the EML Payments (ASX:EML) share price is bouncing 16% higher
• Why Afterpay, EML Payments, Qantas, & Sezzle are charging higher
• ASX 200 up 0.95%: Qantas update, Nufarm’s profits surge
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now

The post 2 ASX tech shares sold off amid legal concerns appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Over the past few years, the five FAANG stocks — Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google parent company Alphabet — consistently generated big gains for investors.

Each of these companies dominates its respective markets. Facebook owns the world’s largest social network, Amazon is the top e-commerce and cloud platform company, and Apple is currently the No. 1 smartphone maker. Netflix owns the largest premium streaming video platform, and Google owns the largest online search engine, free streaming video site, mobile OS, and web browser.

The FAANG stocks are often considered growth stocks, but their deep pockets, wide moats, and recession-resistant businesses also make them reliable defensive plays during market downturns.

But this year, only two of those stocks — Facebook and Alphabet — have outperformed the S&P 500 so far as the rotation from growth to value slammed the tech sector. Are the FAANG stocks still good investments in this shifting market, or should investors buy more conservative stocks instead?

A history of beating the market

Three of the FAANG stocks have lost some steam this year, but all five have remained ahead of the S&P 500 over the past five years.

Data source: YCharts.

Facebook’s audience, which includes users of its namesake platform, Instagram, and WhatsApp, continued to expand and supported the growth of its core advertising business. Amazon’s business also fired on all cylinders as Prime subscription plans locked in more retail customers and Amazon Web Services (AWS) maintained its lead in the cloud infrastructure market.

Apple’s annual iPhone shipments dipped after hitting a historic high in 2015, but the expansion of its services segment, stable sales of iPads and Macs, and newer product lines like Apple Watches and AirPods all cushioned the blow. Apple’s iPhone shipments are expected to soar again this year as the iPhone 12, its first family of 5G devices, sparks a fresh wave of upgrades.

Netflix’s subscriber base continued to expand, even as aggressive new streaming rivals, like Walt Disney and AT&T‘s HBO Max, entered the market. Google’s advertising revenue continued growing as it maintained a near-duopoly in digital ads with Facebook across many countries. Alphabet’s cloud platform, which ranks third globally after AWS and Microsoft‘s Azure, also gained more enterprise customers.

But can they stay ahead of the market?

Investors should note that past performance never guarantees future gains. All these companies, with the exception of Netflix, currently face antitrust challenges.

Regulators are scrutinizing Facebook’s role in spreading “fake news,” its usage of personal data, and its dominance of the social media market. They’re examining Amazon’s e-commerce strategies, as well as Apple’s and Google’s high app store fees.

These tech titans also face new competitive threats. Younger social platforms like ByteDance’s TikTok, Snap‘s Snapchat, and Pinterest are all growing their niche platforms at faster rates than Facebook, which serves 3.45 billion people with its family of apps.

The digital transformation of resilient big-box retailers like Target and Shopify‘s self-serve tools could threaten Amazon’s e-commerce business, while AWS — its main profit engine — is still growing at a slower pace than Azure.

Apple’s strong iPhone sales should enable its biggest business to generate double-digit sales growth this year, but the global chip shortage is already throttling sales of iPads and Macs. Apple’s clashes with developers over its App Store fees and its recent privacy changes to iOS could also generate unpredictable headwinds for its growing services segment.

Netflix’s subscriber growth missed expectations last quarter, indicating that rivals like Disney were gaining ground, and it plans to spend up to $17 billion on new content this year to maintain its lead. Google seems poised for a strong recovery this year as its advertising business stabilizes, but the aforementioned antitrust challenges and Apple’s iOS privacy changes could still impact its search and advertising divisions.

Forecasts and valuations

These five companies all face some near-term uncertainties, but I believe their core businesses will remain resilient for years to come. All five companies could generate double-digit revenue and earnings growth this year, and they all seem reasonably valued compared to other high-growth tech stocks. Check out what analysts are predicting and what the companies’ have for price-to-earnings ratios based on those estimates.

Company	Estimated Revenue Growth (Current Fiscal Year)	Estimated EPS Growth (Current Fiscal Year)	Forward P/E Ratio
Facebook (NASDAQ: FB)	35%	30%	20
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)	27%	33%	44
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)	29%	58%	23
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX)	19%	73%	38
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL)	30%	50%	24

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

I prefer Amazon, Apple, and Alphabet over Facebook, which could hit a ceiling as newer platforms lure away its users, and Netflix, which might struggle to hold the House of Mouse at bay.

That being said, I still believe all five stocks are better investments today than many of the unprofitable “hyper-growth” tech stocks which are trading at nosebleed price-to-sales ratios. I’m not sure if all five FAANG stocks will outperform the S&P 500 over the next five years, but I think they’ll all be trading at higher levels than today.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

More reading

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• Here are the US shares ASX investors were buying last week
• Learning to love share price falls
• Australians are opening their wallets, says CBA report
• Amazon could skyrocket 83% by 2023, analyst says

The post Are the FAANG stocks still good buys today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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At lunch on Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back its morning gains and more. The benchmark index is currently down 0.25% to 7,001.3 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Kogan update disappoints

The Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price is crashing lower again on Friday following the release of an update. The ecommerce company advised that its adjusted EBITDA was going to fall short of consensus estimates in FY 2021 at $58 million to $63 million. This compares to first half adjusted EBITDA of $51.7 million. Inventory issues, promotional activities, and cost inflation have been weighing on its margins. Management expects its inventory levels and marketing spend to return to normal levels in the coming months.

EML rebound continues

The EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price is continuing to rebound on Friday. The payments company’s shares were given another boost today from a leading broker. This morning analysts at UBS retained their buy rating but slashed their price target down to $5.30. This compares to its current share price of $3.29. EML Payments’ shares were sold off earlier this week amid Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing compliance concerns for its European operations.

A2 Milk shares jump on broker note

The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price is charging higher today in response to a broker note out of UBS. According to the note, the broker believes there are signs that its turnaround is working without any brand damage. It has put a buy rating and NZ$13.50 (A$12.50) price target on its shares. This is more than double the current A2 Milk share price.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Friday has been the EML Payments share price with a 16% gain. Bargain hunters appear to be swooping in again today. The worst performer has been the Kogan share price with a 13% decline following its trading update.

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• Why the EML Payments (ASX:EML) share price is bouncing 16% higher

The post ASX 200 down 0.25%: Kogan sinks, EML & A2 Milk jump appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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