At lunch on Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record another solid gain. The benchmark index is currently up 1.1% to 6,839 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Amcor deliver solid half year results

The Amcor CDI (ASX: AMC) share price is charging higher today after releasing its half year results. The packaging company delivered a 16% increase in adjusted earnings per share to 33.3 U.S. cents for the six months ended 31 December. This stronger than expected performance led to the company upgrading its FY 2021 earnings per share growth guidance to between 10% and 14% in constant currency.

Silver shares sink lower

A number of mining shares with exposure to silver are dropping lower today. Chief among them is the South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price which has fallen 4.5% today. Investors have been selling their shares after the silver price crashed back down to earth after the Reddit short squeeze started to unwind.

Carsales share price races higher

The Carsales.Com Ltd (ASX: CAR) share price is racing higher today after being the subject of a bullish broker note. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have upgraded the auto listings company’s shares to a buy rating with a $22.60 price target. Goldman believes recent weakness in the Carsales share price has created a buying opportunity for investors. It commented: “Despite consensus earnings upgrades since vaccines emerged, CAR multiples have compressed to the extent it now trades at a 21% 12mf EV/EBITDA discount to AU classified peers, its greatest level in recent history.”

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the Virgin Money UK CDI (ASX: VUK) share price with a 15% gain. This follows the release of its first quarter trading update on Tuesday. The worst performer has been the South32 share price with a 4.5% decline following the weakness in the silver price.

More reading

• ASX coal stocks increasingly isolated with rise of start-ups like MGA Thermal
• Carsales (ASX:CAR) share price on watch following broker upgrade
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for dividends
• ASX 200 jumps 1.5%, RBA doubles QE, Afterpay soars

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Amcor Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended carsales.com 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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The Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund (ASX: FSF) share price will be in focus after the dairy co-operative this morning advised lifting its farmgate milk price range for New Zealand farmers. Despite the positive news, Fonterra shares have remained flat so far in morning trade.

Why has the co-op raised its milk price forecast?

The Fonterra share price has failed to respond to this morning’s announcement advising the co-op has raised its expected farmgate milk price for the 2020-2021 season from NZ$6.70–7.30 (AU$7.05–7.68) per kilogram of milk solids (kgMS) to NZ$6.90–7.50 per kgMS.

The company said the midpoint range, which is what farmers receive, had increased to NZ$7.20 per kgMS.

Explaining the roughly 3% increase in the milk price outlook, Fonterra’s CEO Miles Hurrell pointed to strong demand for dairy. Global Dairy Trade (GDT) prices have continued to increase since Fonterra revised its milk price in early December.

According to Hurrell:

In particular, we’ve seen strong demand from China and South East Asia for whole milk powder (WMP) and skim milk powder (SMP), which are key drivers of the milk price.

This lift in our forecast Farmgate Milk Price is good news for New Zealand farmers. It would see the Co-op contribute almost $11 billion to the New Zealand economy through milk price payments this year, which helps support the wellbeing of rural communities.

New Zealand exports some 95% of its milk production, with Fonterra playing a large role in collecting the milk. That lack of domestic competition for supply means there is no set market price for dairy.

For this reason, Fonterra calculates a farmgate milk price. This enables total returns to be distributed between payments for milk and returns on the share capital invested by shareholders.

With a nod to various uncertainties remaining in the year ahead, Hurrell added:

Now that we’re through the peak of the 2021 milking season, the impact of any changes in global market dynamics is reducing and our view of the season is firming up. However, we are continuing to keep a close eye on a number of factors. These include New Zealand weather conditions, expected challenges from further waves of COVID-19 and increasing milk production in the Northern Hemisphere.

Fonterra is due to announce its half year results on 17 March, when the Co-op will also offer updated full year earnings guidance.

Fonterra share price snapshot

The Fonterra share price has remain unchanged by today’s announcement. This compares to a 1.9% gain on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Over the past 12 months, however, Fonterra shares are up 10.4%, easily outpacing the All Ords 0.9% gain in that same time.

Based on the current Fonterra share price of $4.25, the co-op pays a 0.9% dividend yield, unfranked.

More reading

• LiveTiles (ASX:LVT) shares placed in trading halt
• Where next for the Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price?
• Why the Paradigm (ASX:PAR) share price is jumping higher today
• Why the GenusPlus (ASX:GNP) share price is surging 7% today
• Why the Sky Network (ASX:SKT) share price will be on watch today

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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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Shares in LiveTiles Ltd (ASX:LVT) are in a trading halt this morning following an announcement from the company.  Let’s take a look at the announcement and what that means for the LiveTiles share price. 

What did LiveTiles announce?

Earlier today LiveTiles released an announcement informing investors that securities in the company have been placed in a trading halt.

According to the company’s announcement, LiveTiles requested an immediate trading halt. This request was in response to an article published in The Australian Financial Review overnight.

LiveTiles informed investors that shares in the company will remain in a trading halt until the commencement of trading on the 5^th of February 2021 or following the release of another announcement from the company.

What prompted LiveTiles to enter a trading halt?

Securities in LiveTiles were placed in a trading halt in response to an article published in The Australian Financial Review.

The article, which was published overnight, speculated a potential buyout of LiveTiles by offshore private equity funds. According to the article, LiveTiles has engaged Credit Suisse’s investment bankers as defence advisers, after receiving approaches from specialist software buyout funds.

Despite the interest, the article acknowledged that no formal process was underway, with LiveTiles reportedly exploring options.

According to the article, LiveTiles has received attention from private equity funds given the company’s struggling share price. In the past 12 months, the LiveTiles share price has fallen more than 16% to around 20 cents. Meanwhile, the ASX all-tech Index is up 40% for the period.

How has the LiveTiles share price performed?

LiveTiles is a global software company that allows users to create intelligent workplace experiences. The company’s cloud-based software management systems allow clients to use popular online software tools like Microsoft 365, Google Drive, communications through Slack and use Expensify for financial reporting.

Late last month LiveTiles released a positive update for the second quarter. The release was highlighted by a 10.2% increase in annualised recurring revenue (ARR) of $58.1 million. The software company generated $64.7 million in ARR at December 31 from more than 1100 customers and reported $19.2 million cash on hand.

At the time of writing, shares in LiveTiles are still in a trading halt after closing yesterday’s trading session at 20.5 cents per share.

More reading

• Why Bigtincan, Bubs, LiveTiles, & Treasury Wine shares are storming higher
• Why the LiveTiles (ASX:LVT) share price is avoiding the market selloff
• What’s in store for the ASX tech sector in 2021?
• How to invest in ASX shares in a post-COVID world 

Nikhil Gangaram has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of LIVETILES FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended LIVETILES FPO. 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 Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) share price is back on form again on Wednesday after dropping lower yesterday following its half year update.

In morning trade, the online furniture and homewares retailer’s shares are up 5% to $11.10.

What happened in the first half?

As I covered here yesterday, Temple & Webster delivered very strong growth during the first half of FY 2021.

The company reported a 118% increase in revenue to $161.6 million and a 556% jump in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to $14.8 million.

This was driven by the doubling of its active customers to 678,000, higher repeat use, a 6% increase in the average spend per active customer, and operating leverage. In respect to the latter, over the last 12 months the company’s fixed costs as a percentage of sales decreased from 11.6% to 7.5%.

A chat with management

I spoke to management following the release and CEO, Mark Coulter, appeared very pleased with half.

He pointed out that while the shift to online shopping during the pandemic has undoubtedly benefited the company, Temple & Webster was a high growth company before COVID and is expected to remain one post COVID. 

This is due to the tailwinds the company is experiencing from the structural shift to online shopping and favourable changes in demographics. In respect to the latter, tech-savvy millennials are now entering its core demographic.

In addition to this, Mr Coulter took me through the company’s private label business and the incredible amount of work that goes into it. Private label sales accounted for 25% of total sales during the half, up from 18% a year earlier. Management is now aiming to grow this to 30% of sales.

And finally, while customer acquisition costs are trending higher, this is being comfortably offset by the increasing revenue per user the company is generating thanks to a higher repeat customer rate.

Is the Temple & Webster share price in the buy zone?

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, it believes the Temple & Webster share price is in the buy zone right now.

Although its half year result fell short of the broker’s revenue and earnings expectations, it has started the second half stronger than the broker was expecting.

It explained: “TPW’s 1H21 result was below our forecasts, largely driven by a higher cost base than our assumptions. This results in downgrades to our forecasts but, in our view, the investment case for TPW remains largely unchanged.”

Though, it has warned that uncertainty could make its shares volatile in the near term. It said: “We acknowledge there will be elevated uncertainty as to how TPW cycles strong comparative bases through calendar 2021. This could drive a higher level of volatility in its share price over the very-near term.”

Nevertheless, the broker remains positive on the investment opportunity here, commenting: “We remain attracted to the structural tailwind of online commerce penetration and note that TPW has a leading position within its category which itself has a significant room for further online commerce growth. This should deliver well above market revenue growth and solid operating leverage over our forecast period,” it added.

Goldman Sachs has a buy rating and $12.45 price target on its shares.

More reading

• 3 reasons why the Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price could be a buy
• ASX 200 jumps 1.5%, RBA doubles QE, Afterpay soars
• Why Bubs, Huon, Temple & Webster, & Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield are dropping lower
• Why the Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price is sinking 5% lower today
• Why Afterpay, ResMed, Temple & Webster, & Worley shares are dropping lower

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

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It has been a positive day of trade for the Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: PAR) share price.

In morning trade, the biopharmaceutical company’s shares jumped 8% higher to $2.70.

Why did the Paradigm share price jump higher?

The catalyst for the jump in the Paradigm share price this morning was the release of an announcement in relation to its Zilosul product.

The company is currently undertaking a treatment program for osteoarthritis (OSA) under the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Special Access Scheme (SAS).

This morning Paradigm released further data from the program, which revealed positive results for its Zilosul product in treating OSA.

After 89 SAS treated patients, the pain reducing effects of Zilosul in subjects with knee OA shows a very consistent reduction in pain of nearly 50%. This is a slight improvement on the data it had at the 76-patient mark. At that point, the mean reduction in pain stood at 47.3%.

In addition to this, the company advised that the drug remains well tolerated across SAS and Paradigm’s other development programs.

Management commentary

Paradigm’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Rennie, was pleased with the data.

He said: “It has been pleasing that as we have had additional patient data reported, we have seen consistent reduction in WOMAC pain with each group of patients with average WOMAC pain reduction across the 89-patient cohort being just under 50%.”

“We are seeing consistent clinically meaningful reduction in pain and improvement in joint function in OA patients who have failed to respond to other medications,” he added.

Looking ahead, Mr Rennie advised that the company is now focused on submitting its Investigational New Drug Application (IND) to the US Food and Drug Administration during the current quarter and recruiting for key trials.

“It is very important as Paradigm moves into its Pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial (PARA-002) that we are seeing real world evidence in subjects with knee OA responding in such a positive manner,” he concluded.

More reading

• Why the GenusPlus (ASX:GNP) share price is surging 7% today
• Why the Sky Network (ASX:SKT) share price will be on watch today
• Tesla finally recalls 134,951 vehicles for defective touchscreens
• Why the Botanix (ASX:BOT) share price is rocketing 31% higher today
• 3 forgotten ASX stocks left behind in the car sales recovery

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 GenusPlus Group (ASX: GNP) share price is flying today following the announcement of two contract awards. At the time of writing, the company’s shares are up 6.93% to $1.08.

Based in Perth, GenusPlus is an end-to-end service provider for essential power and telecommunications infrastructure, and technical services. Its major clients include BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS), and Optus.

What’s driving the GenusPlus share price higher?

In this morning’s release, GenusPlus advised it has secured construction contracts within the resource and power industry.

The company’s subsidiary, ECM, will conduct a number of works on two separate projects. It estimated that the combined value of the contracts is around $20 million.

Working alongside Ahrens Group, the first deal will see ECM deliver a range of services to BHP’s South Flank Project. This includes electrical, communications, technology and fire works for non-process infrastructure. ECM will begin work on the project immediately, with an expected completion date before mid-2021.

The second contract is for the Kwinana Waste to Energy Project built by Acciona Construction Australia & John Beever. ECM will conduct electrical and instrumentation works at the site, due to be finalised by the end of the year.

Jointly developed by Phoenix Energy and Macquarie Capital, the Kwinana Waste to Energy Project will be Australia’s first thermal waste-to-energy facility. Located in Perth, the project will turn around 400,000 tonnes of household and industrial waste into clean energy. The electricity generated will be able to power roughly 50,000 households, while offsetting 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

What did management say?

GenusPlus managing director David Riches welcomed the deal, saying:

It’s particularly pleasing to see ECM be awarded the Kwinana Waste to Energy Project. It is a major milestone in the consolidation and re-positioning of ECM and reinforces the Genus strategy of a broader offering in its key markets.

More reading

• Why the Sky Network (ASX:SKT) share price will be on watch today
• Tesla finally recalls 134,951 vehicles for defective touchscreens
• Why the Botanix (ASX:BOT) share price is rocketing 31% higher today
• 3 forgotten ASX stocks left behind in the car sales recovery
• Here’s what could really feed a stock market bubble

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras owns shares of Telstra Limited. 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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The Sky Network Television Limited (ASX: SKT) share price will be on watch this morning. This comes after the company announced provided a business update in regards to its full year 2021 performance.

At market close yesterday, the Sky Network share price finished the day at 14.5 cents.

Sky upgrades guidance

The Sky share price will be in focus this morning after the company provided investors with a positive update.

According to its release, Sky advised that strong trading conditions have continued to run throughout the second-half of FY21. Management noted that it has diligently implemented cost saving measures as well as seen an uptick in satellite and streaming revenues.

As a result, the company upgraded its guidance again for the full year from its November earnings forecast announcement. The company projects revenue for FY21 to be in the vicinity of $695 million to $715 million. This is an increase on the previous $680 million to $710 million in revenue estimated.

In addition, earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is expected to come between $170 million to $182.5 million. On November forecasts, Sky was anticipating EBITDA to be in the range of $140 million to $155 million.

Net profit after tax (NPAT) is assumed to increase around $37.5 million to $45 million. Originally NPAT planned to lay between $20 million to $30 million.

Capital expenditure is expected to remain unchanged at $45 million to $55 million.

As a whole, Sky revealed that the revised guidance includes the proposed sale of its OSB assets to NEP New Zealand. Indeed, the one off transaction cost is sure to bump up the Sky’s coffers. Completion of the deal is currently with New Zealand’s government agency, Commerce Commission. It’s assumed that the sale process will be given the green light in the near future.

The company is scheduled to release its full year results on 23 February, 2021.

Management commentary

Sky Chief Executive, Sophie Moloney, hailed the continued positive momentum, saying:

It is particularly encouraging to see improvements in our satellite customer loyalty alongside further growth in our streaming revenues. Reducing Sky’s ongoing operating costs remains in sharp focus while we continue to deliver the content that our customers value in ways that work for them.

How has the Sky share price performed?

The Sky share price has tumbled over the past 12 months, reflecting losses of almost 80% for shareholders.

The company’s shares reached a high of 67 cents this time last year, and has treaded lower ever since.

In March, its shares fell to an all time low of 11.5 cents due to COVID-19 disrupting Sky’s revenues and outlook.

Based on the current share price, Sky commands a market capitalisation of roughly $257 million.

More reading

• Tesla finally recalls 134,951 vehicles for defective touchscreens
• Why the Botanix (ASX:BOT) share price is rocketing 31% higher today
• 3 forgotten ASX stocks left behind in the car sales recovery
• Here’s what could really feed a stock market bubble
• Here’s why the Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT) share price is zooming 30% higher

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

After years of bickering with regulators, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has finally begun recalling over 100,000 vehicles with faulty touchscreen systems. 

Tesla has begun the process of notifying owners of Model S sedans made between 2012 and 2018, and Model X SUVs made between 2016 and 2018 — 134,951 vehicles in all — that it will replace the vehicles’ touchscreen systems with upgraded parts. 

The news was first reported by Electrek, which obtained a copy of the email Tesla sent to vehicle owners. 

Owners of older Teslas have reported issues with the touchscreens that control many of their vehicles’ functions. (Tesla calls the touchscreen systems “MCUs,” for “media control units.”) Over time, the screens can become slower to respond, sometimes freezing up while underway — and occasionally, failing entirely.

Tesla’s touchscreen systems incorporate key vehicle functions, including the backup cameras and climate-control systems like defrosters. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determined last month that the MCU defect is a safety issue and asked Tesla to recall the affected vehicles.

The email from Tesla said that the problem is with an 8 gigabyte MultiMediaCard, or eMMC, built into the MCU that can malfunction over time. The company said that it will replace the affected vehicles’ MCUs with upgraded units that incorporate a 64 gigabyte eMMC. However, owners will have to wait until the upgraded parts are available, the company said. 

Tesla had not yet disclosed the estimated cost of the recall at press time. 

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

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John Rosevear 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 Tesla. 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 Botanix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: BOT) share price has returned from its trading halt with a bang on Wednesday.

In morning trade, the clinical stage synthetic cannabinoid company’s shares are up 31% to a record high of 19 cents.

Why is the Botanix share price rocketing higher?

Investors have been fighting to buy Botanix shares this morning following the release of an announcement in relation to its BTX 1801 Phase 2a nasal decolonisation proof of concept study.

According to the release, top-line data from the study shows that two different BTX 1801 formulations (ointment and gel containing synthetic cannabidiol) were safe, well tolerated, and successful at eradicating Staphylococcus aureus (Staph) bacteria from the nose of healthy participants that were nasally colonised with Staph.

The release explains that the primary objectives focused on evaluating safety and tolerability, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of two different candidate formulations of BTX 1801.

Each formulation was applied twice daily for five consecutive days to the inner surface of the nose and compared to respective vehicle or placebo formulations without synthetic cannabidiol.

At day seven, Staph eradication was demonstrated in 76.2% and 68.8% of the participants in the BTX 1801 ointment and gel groups respectively, compared with just 27.8% of participants in the combined vehicle groups.

On day 12, which was seven days after the end of the treatment period, BTX 1801 demonstrated Staph eradication in 38.1% of participants in the ointment group and 25% in the gel group. This compares to 16.7% for the combined vehicle groups.

Why is this important?

The company notes that antibiotic resistance is a significant global challenge in the context of public health. In fact, the UN is forecasting that drug resistant diseases could cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050 and result in an annual economic loss of US$100 trillion if new solutions are not found.

Furthermore, Staph and methicillin-resistant Staph (MRSA) are the leading cause of Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) and approximately 80% of SSIs are caused by the patient infecting themselves from their own nose.

Antibiotics used for nasal decolonisation, such as Bactroban, have seen a significant increase in the development of resistance, with some hospitals restricting its use after recording resistance rates as high as 95%.

This opens the door for new treatments to be developed to tackle these issues. Botanix appears hopeful synthetic cannabidiol could be the answer.

Botanix President and Executive Chairman, Vince Ippolito, commented: “We are very pleased to announce this top-line data that demonstrates synthetic cannabidiol (CBD) is a safe and effective nasal decolonisation agent. Moreover, this is the first time that synthetic CBD has been shown to have clinical utility as an antimicrobial agent in humans.”

“These results support continued development of BTX 1801 for the treatment of a variety of infections, in addition to the prevention of post-surgical infections,” he added.

More reading

• Why the Botanix (ASX:BOT) share price is flying 6%
• Why the Botanix (ASX:BOT) share price rocketed 22% to a record high today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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ASX auto stocks have zoomed ahead of the market in the COVID-19 recovery trade but there’s one group that’s been left behind.

These stocks are also leveraged to the rebound in car sales – a theme that sent the Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) share price and ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARB) share price soaring.

Car dealership Eagers Automotive raced ahead by 50% over the past year.  Four-wheel drive accessories group ARB did even better. The ARB share price doubled in value over the same period.

ASX novated stocks next to be on upgrade cycle

But many investors seem to have overlooked ASX novated leasing stocks. The McMillan Shakespeare Limited (ASX: MMS) share price is trading flat while the Eclipx Group Ltd (ASX: ECX) added around 12%.

This valuation gap may not last, according to Morgan Stanely. It isn’t only demand for cars that’s driving its bullish take on the sector.

The broker believes ASX novated stocks are on the cusp of an upgrade cycle and they are sitting on undemanding valuations.

Regulatory risk drag is easing

“Regulatory risk has been an overhang on the novated group in recent years, but we see clarity,” said Morgan Stanley.

“The passage of the deferred sales model legislation de-risks novated earnings and removes regulatory uncertainty.”

The proposed legislation is unlikely to have a material impact on earnings of novated leasing companies.

3 drivers boosting the sector

Morgan Stanley highlights three factors that make the sector a buy. It noted that that car sales cycle is stabilising and starting to turn after three years of consecutive monthly declines. Car sales suffered its worst year in 17 years in 2020.

The sector is also trading on FY22 forecast price-earnings (P/E) of between 10 and 11 times. That’s low given that earnings are recovering.

Finally, the broker thinks the recent earnings guidance provided by McMillan Shakespeare and Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ) marks the start of the earnings upgrade cycle for the sector.

If anything, Eclipx Group and SG Fleet Group Ltd (ASX: SGF) could issue a profit upgrade later this month.

ASX stocks to buy today

Morgan Stanley is recommending investors buy the ECX share price, MMS share price and SGF share price.

The broker rates the SIQ share price as “equal weight” (equivalent to a “hold”).

More reading

• Why these brokers think today’s Eagers Automotive (ASX:APE) share price is a bargain
• McMillan (ASX:MMS) share price on watch today. Here’s why
• Brokers list the latest ASX shares to buy in this market meltdown
• Why the Eagers Automotive (ASX:APE) share price is on watch today
• ASX 200 falls 0.6%

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ARB Limited and SMARTGROUP DEF SET. 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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