It wasn’t that long ago that tech stars Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) were classed as small cap shares and flying under the radar of most investors.

Today they are multi-billion-dollar companies and can be found in countless portfolios across the country.

But even more importantly, those investors that got in early are sitting on some incredible gains.

I believe this demonstrates why having a little exposure to the small side of the market can be a good thing for a portfolio.

With that in mind, I have picked out three small cap ASX tech shares which I feel have the potential to become much larger in the future. Here they are:

ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO)

ELMO is a $435 million cloud-based human resources and payroll software company providing a unified platform to streamline processes. These include employee administration, recruitment, on-boarding, remuneration, and payroll. Management estimates it has a $2.4 billion opportunity in the ANZ market and a $6.8 billion opportunity in the UK market. The company also has $140 million on its balance sheet to use for acquisitions.

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

Nitro Software is a $430 million software company aiming to drive digital transformation in organisations around the world across multiple industries. Nitro’s core product offering is the Nitro Productivity Suite. It provides integrated PDF productivity and electronic signature tools to customers through a horizontal, software-as-a-service, and desktop-based software solution.

Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP)

A final small cap share to watch is Whispir. It is a $390 million software-as-a-service communications workflow platform provider. Whispir provides an industry-leading software platform that allows governments and organisations to deliver actionable two-way interactions at scale using automated multi-channel communication workflows. I believe it could be a big winner from the rise of remote working. 

More reading

• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price facing new competitive pressure
• ASX 200 down 0.95%: Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) CEO exits, Nearmap (ASX:NEA) sinks lower
• Should you buy these beaten down ASX 200 shares?
• Why Afterpay (ASX:APT) and Domino’s (ASX:DMP) are smashing the market in 2020
• This ASX tech share is still cheap to buy

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Altium, Elmo Software, and Whispir Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Elmo Software, Nitro Software Limited, and Whispir Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Could these exciting small cap tech shares be the next Afterpay (ASX:APT) and Altium (ASX:ALU)? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/32gwjlM

Before 2020, there was nothing too extraordinary about an ASX dividend share offering a yield of 4% or higher. You could easily go to the big four ASX banks and bag yourself a 5% to 6% yield for a start. And plenty of other dividend shares offered yields in this ballpark as well.

Yet 2020 has changed that paradigm, perhaps irrevocably. The big four are now offering yields ranging from not-a whole-lot to nothing. Scores of other former dividend heavyweights have slashed and cancelled dividends in 2020 so far. These include Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) and Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC), among others.

So in September 2020, a solid 4% yielder is starting to look pretty dang good. Especially if you consider that interest rates remain at virtually zero. So here are 2 ASX shares offering just that!

2 ASX shares with yields over 4%

1) JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX: JBH)

JB Hi-Fi has been one of the surprise performers of 2020. Along with many other ASX retail shares, JB was heavily sold off in the March market crash. But the company’s astonishing FY2020 earnings report, in which JB reported a 33% surge in profits, quickly made investors reassess this case. Since 23 March, The JB Hi-Fi share price is up nearly 100%.

But JB is also an underappreciated dividend share as well, in my view. Its FY20 earnings report also included a 76% rise in the company’s final dividend over FY19’s payout. JB now offers a trailing yield of $1.89, which translates into a 4.02% yield today. If we include JB’s full franking, this grosses-up to 5.74%. Not a bad deal in the current environment!

2) WAM Global Ltd (ASX: WGB)

WAM Global is one of my favourite ASX dividend growth shares. This listed investment company (LIC) only started life in 2018. But since then, it has already hit the ground running with its dividends, which have rapidly increased from 2 to 3 to 4 cents per share over the past two years. If we take the last two payouts of 4 and 3 cents per share respectively, we arrive at a trailing dividend yield of 3.33%. WAM Global also provides full franking, so including that the company offers a grossed-up yield of 4.76%.

This LIC invests in a portfolio of global shares. It tends to focus on what it perceives as ‘undervalued growth shares’. As of 31 August, some of the holdings in its portfolio include Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) and Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA).

If WAM Global can continue to grow its dividend at anywhere near the rate it has managed over the past two years, I think it will be a dividend powerhouse in no time at all. And given the  company has a profit reserve of 32.9 cents per share (as of 31 August), I’m confident it will do so.

More reading

• Where to invest your JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) dividends today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• ‘We could be heading for a lot of pain’
• ASX 200 rises 1%, CSL (ASX:CSL) leads the way
• Top ASX growth shares to buy in September 2020

Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Ramsay Health Care Limited and WAMGLOBAL FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Microsoft and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft and short January 2021 $115 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Transurban Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ramsay Health Care Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares with fully franked yields over 4% appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3ilhF2f

The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price is the worst performer on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) by some distance on Friday.

In afternoon trade the aerial imagery technology and location data company’s shares are down 14% to $2.47.

Why is the Nearmap share price crashing lower?

Investors have been selling Nearmap’s shares on Friday after it announced the successful completion of its fully underwritten institutional placement.

Nearmap raised $72.1 million at a 4.2% discount of $2.77 and will now seek to raise a further $20 million via a share purchase plan.

Why is it raising funds?

Management advised that it launched the capital raising so that it can capitalise on the momentum of the business and the tailwinds in the industry.

It has identified a number of areas of investment. These include scaling its investment in sales and marketing, accelerating the roll out of the HyperCamera3 systems, and expanding its product solutions to high-value use cases.

Why have its shares fallen so hard?

Given that Nearmap’s capital raising was undertaken at a 4.2% discount, investors may be wondering why its shares have fallen a further 10% on top of this.

I suspect this decline could be the result of a broker note out of Goldman Sachs this morning. According to the note, the broker has downgraded its shares to neutral rating with a $2.95 price target.

Goldman commented: “While we remain attracted to the long-term potential of NEA (technology leadership, large market opportunity) and this capital raising should offer NEA a strong margin for safety (we forecast its Net Cash position to trough at A$81mn in FY22E), strong operating leverage is unlikely to be in evidence until FY23E. In order to return to a more positive stance, we would need to see ACV growth trending materially above our forecasts and driving stronger operating leverage than we currently assume.”

While I agree with Goldman Sachs on the above, I think the pullback in its share price today has created a buying opportunity. In light of this, I feel it could be a great buy and hold option at the current level.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.95%: Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) CEO exits, Nearmap (ASX:NEA) sinks lower
• Why BrainChip, Evolution, Nearmap, & Zip shares are tumbling lower
• Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price tumbles 11% following capital raising
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• ASX 200 rises 0.5%, gold miners glitter

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 Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Leading broker downgrades Nearmap (ASX:NEA) shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2RdSR0f

The Lithium Australia NL (ASX: LIT) share price has edged lower today despite the the company announcing it has strengthened IP protection for its battery recycling process.  At the time of writing, the Lithium Australia share price has edged 1.85% lower to 5.3 cents.

What does Lithium Australia do?

Lithium Australia, formerly known as Cobre Montana, is a developer of disruptive lithium extraction technologies. It has strategic alliances with a number of companies, potentially providing access to a diversified lithium mineral inventory.

Lithium Australia strives for energy-efficient recovery of lithium from mine waste to create primary battery chemicals. It aims to convert primary battery chemicals into cathode materials through recycling of energy metals from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIB) and alkaline batteries.

Lithium waste is growing at an exponential rate and there is an ever increasing shift towards the use of electric vehicles around the world. Lithium Australia aims to capitalise on these trends and may also see some upside from the recycling of other battery components, such as nickel, cobalt and manganese. Shareholders will be hoping the Lithium Australia share price can hitch a ride on Europe’s lithium bandwagon.

What did the company announce?

The Lithium Australia share price is flat today despite the company advising it has filed two provisional patent cooperation treaty applications relating to the recycling of battery materials, specifically with regard to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The first application involves the recovery of electrode materials and electrolyte from spent LIBs. The second involves the selective separation of mixed metal sulphates.

These processes are ideal for the efficient recycling of end-of-life electric vehicle batteries in that they generate high value chemicals for return to the circular battery economy.

Lithium Australia MD, Adrian Griffin, was pleased as he announced:

Lithium Australia, through its recycling subsidiary Envirostream Australia Pty Ltd, is a leader in the field of battery recycling technologies. With our recent successful capital raising, we’re in a strong position to accelerate commercialisation of the technologies discussed here. Indeed, the first of those has already been implemented on a commercial scale at our Melbourne processing plant.

Foolish takeaway

While the majority of hype regarding electric vehicles and batteries has been surrounding companies such as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA) and, closer to home, Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX), Lithium Australia provides an alternate entry point. Nonetheless, shareholders have been left wanting with the Lithium Australia share price experiencing a 12% decline so far this year. 

More reading

• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now
• BHP’s climate plan is rubbish: shareholder group
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price facing new competitive pressure
• These fund managers are buying the dip, should you?
• Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) share price higher on major contract win and research agreement

Daniel Ewing owns shares of Nikola. 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. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT) share price falls despite added patent protection appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/35r45qg

Australia’s top brokers have been busy adjusting their estimates and recommendations again, leading to the release of a large number of broker notes this week.

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:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have retained their overweight rating and lifted the price target on this mining giant’s shares to $39.45. The broker has upgraded its iron ore forecasts to reflect stronger steel production in China. It also notes that it prefers BHP over its peers due its ability to generate strong free cash flow even when iron ore prices fall to more sustainable levels. I agree with Morgan Stanley and would be a buyer of BHP’s shares right now.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

A note out of the Macquarie equities desk reveals that its analysts have upgraded this data centre operator’s shares to an outperform rating with a $12.30 price target. The broker made the move largely on valuation grounds after a recent pullback in the NEXTDC share price. Outside this, it likes the data centre operator due to its belief that it is one of only a handful of companies that stand to benefit from the COVID-19 crisis both in the short and long term. This follows the acceleration of digital transformation plans by businesses globally. I think Macquarie is spot on and NEXTDC would be a great long term option.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

Analysts at Morgans have upgraded this enterprise software company’s shares to an add rating with a slightly reduced price target of $8.76. According to the note, the broker is confident that TechnologyOne is well-positioned to deliver on expectations in FY 2020. In light of this, it feels a sharp pullback in its share price is a buying opportunity for investors. Especially given the strength of its business model and its well-funded and large customer base. I think Morgans makes some good points and TechnologyOne could be worth considering.

More reading

• BHP’s climate plan is rubbish: shareholder group
• IGO share price surges on potential sale of Tropicana
• Why the Rio Tinto share price is outperforming its peers
• An all-weather ASX resources shares strategy
• 3 quality ASX shares that could provide monster returns

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3ifk7Ho

A shareholder group has panned BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)’s climate change plan.

The mining giant this week revealed its plans to reduce its operational greenhouse gas emissions by at least 30% from 2020 to 2030.

Investor advocacy body Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) stated BHP needs to “go back to the drawing board”.

“BHP fails to deliver any meaningful outcomes in terms of actual emissions reduction. It needs to try harder,” said ACCR climate director Dan Gocher.

“BHP should be aiming for a 40-60% reduction in all of its emissions by 2030.”

While BHP chief executive Mike Henry claimed the targets are in line with the Paris Agreement, the ACCR didn’t share that view.

Gocher said “most climate scientists” would also disagree.

“BHP is… cynically using FY2020 as a baseline, rather than a historical, lower number,” he said.

“BHP may have finally given up on thermal coal but it and its industry associations are still betting heavily on gas — which is proven to have the same, if not worse emissions than coal once fugitive methane emissions are factored in.”

BP did it, so why can’t BHP?

The method of reducing emissions was also criticised.

“BHP continues to rely on unproven and horribly expensive carbon capture and storage (CCS) to decarbonise its Scope 3 emissions, rather than simply leaving fossil fuels in the ground.”

British energy conglomerate BP plc (LON: BP) promised last month that it would no longer explore for oil and gas in new countries. Gocher said that this showed it’s possible.

“Anything less than a commitment from BHP to cap then reduce production of fossil fuels over the coming decade is simply inadequate,” he said.

“BHP’s US$400 climate investment program hasn’t changed since July 2019, and is dwarfed by the $US8 to US$9 billion it was planning to spend on oil and gas projects before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.”

BHP also announced that executive remuneration would be tied to the delivery of its climate plan.

“We must focus on what we can control inside our business, and work with others to help them reduce emissions from the things that they can control,” Henry said.

“Our actions must be of substance.”

More reading

• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now
• IGO share price surges on potential sale of Tropicana
• Why the Rio Tinto share price is outperforming its peers
• An all-weather ASX resources shares strategy
• Why you should use the market sell-off to buy these ASX stocks

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post BHP’s climate plan is rubbish: shareholder group appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3hkbXwa

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is the latest to muscle in on the booming BNPL space that sent the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price rocketing to the moon.

Australia’s largest listed bank launched a zero-interest credit card that’s aimed to win market share from Afterpay, reported News.com.au.

CBA’s move comes a day after National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) issued a card with the same benefits.

Afterpay share price under pressure

The Afterpay share price slumped 2.9% to $73.42 during lunch time trade, although I don’t think CBA’s offering if really hurting sentiment.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) lost 0.7% of its value on weak overnight leads from Wall Street. The CBA share price and NAB share price have also lost more than 1% at the time of writing.

How big a threat is CBA and NAB?

The buy-now pay-later (BNPL) solutions from the big banks aren’t likely to be as popular as Afterpay, in my view.

For one, the bank cards just lack the “cool” factor that is vital to younger spenders who are driving growth in BNPL.

The other issue is that CBA product attracts a monthly fee, according to the news report. Consumers have to pay $12 a month for a $1,000 limit, $18 a month for $2,000 and $22 per month for $3,000.

What this means is that you are in fact paying an annual “interest rate” of 14.4% if you fully utilised the $1,000 credit limit on the cheapest plan. The NAB solution also charges a monthly fee. So much for zero-interest!

High interest in zero-interest

The banks will argue the maintenance fee is not interest and that consumers can earn rebates at select merchants. The rebates could allow you to recoup the fee (and maybe more), but in my eyes this is an interest charge.

I am not an advocate for Afterpay, but it’s worth noting that the fintech doesn’t charge any fees unless you miss a payment. Afterpay makes money by charging the merchant, while I suspect the big banks collect payment from both consumers and merchants.

Bigger threat to Afterpay and friends

But there is a more sinister rival Afterpay and its peers like the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price. This is Elon Musk’s previous baby, PayPal, which revolutionised online peer-to-peer payments.

PayPal is very popular and is the dominant payment of choice for online shoppers. It already has the customers and networks to get its BNPL product off to a flying start.

The global market is certainly big enough for several large players to emerge, and Afterpay may cement itself in one of those spots.

But the real question is whether Afterpay can sustain its lofty market premium in the face of stiffening competition.  

More reading

• What I’ve learned writing for The Motley Fool
• ASX 200 down 0.95%: Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) CEO exits, Nearmap (ASX:NEA) sinks lower
• Why BrainChip, Evolution, Nearmap, & Zip shares are tumbling lower
• IGO share price surges on potential sale of Tropicana
• A guide to using the dollar-cost averaging strategy

Brendon Lau owns shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank Limited. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price facing new competitive pressure appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2ZpUZXd

Buy the dip.

Sound investment advice, or a mug’s game?

Depending on your approach, it could fall to either side of that line.

Timing the market to buy at the lows, or sell at the highs, is educated guess work at best. Which is why you’ll be hard pressed to find a single fund manager who’s managed to do so successfully over the long term.

With that said, it’s hard not to look back to 23 March, when the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) hit its post COVID-19 selloff low, as prime buy-the-dip territory. And with the benefit of hindsight, of course, we know it was. The index of the top 200 listed Aussie shares is now up 29% from that low.

But the buy-the-dip question is again beginning to percolate.

Like United States share markets, most ASX companies have seen their share prices slip over the past few weeks, with the ASX 200 down nearly 5% since 25 August. And it’s down around another 1% in early afternoon trade today.

That was to be expected, with all the major US and European indices losing ground yesterday (overnight Aussie time). The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) again led the way down, losing 2.0%. That puts the Nasdaq down 9.5% from the all-time highs it hit on 2 September.

You can blame US politicians for that. Yesterday, Democrats and Republicans failed to reach agreement on a new, and much needed, stimulus bill. The Republican package is worth around US$600 billion (AU$822 billion), while the Democrats were spruiking stimulus worth more than US$2 trillion.

At the end of the day, US businesses and households got $0.

That’s politics for you.

Share price tug of war

Whether you choose to wait and see how things play out or find some shares you believe are trading at a bargain, fund managers opted to swoop in after the Nasdaq’s big falls.

Goldman Sachs’ data (as reported by Bloomberg) showed that “professional managers that make both bullish and bearish equity bets scooped up internet and software companies on Friday and Tuesday at the fastest rate in five months.”

Addressing the fundies’ bargain hunting spree, Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank, said, “They’re just riding the wave and believe that with interest rates low and inflation non-existent and with the Fed saying, ‘We’ll let it run a little hot,’ there’s more room to run. Is it a bubble and do we continue to inflate that bubble? I think that it can continue to inflate.”

Rick Meckler is a partner at Cherry Lane Investments. When it comes to buying the dip, he points out that you’re currently competing with traders selling at near record high share prices. Meckler says (as quoted by Reuters), “It’s going to be a battle for the next couple of days from investors who are trying to pick spots to get back in to technology and traders who are using some of these sharp rallies to take profit.”

Alec Young, chief investment officer at Tactical Alpha LLC, says central bank support has been supporting buy-the-dip investors (from Bloomberg), “You’d probably need to see a lot more pain inflicted before you started to see more hesitance on the part of the retail crowd. There’s been a pattern where buying the dip has been working ever since the Fed stepped in aggressively back in March and April. It’s been such a successful strategy.”

Foolish takeaway

Lacking a functional crystal ball, I have no more insight into how the share markets will move over the short term than anyone else. Which makes consistently timing the precise lows in the market impossible.

That’s where longer-term investors have the advantage.

While share prices could well fall further from here, there are a lot of tailwinds in place to send them back up in the mid term.

First, though there are no guarantees in life, it’s hard to imagine that US politicians won’t break through the current gridlock over the next tranche of stimulus spending. One way or another, that’s likely to come through over the next few weeks…if not sooner.

Second, as Chris Gaffney and Alec Young pointed out above, the US Fed — and indeed central banks across the developed world, like our own RBA — will keep rates at record lows and prime the quantitative easing (QE) pumps for as long needed. And there’s nothing share markets like more than easy money.

Then there’s the looming promise of a vaccine. There’s no guarantee here either about the timing or the eventual effectiveness. But the world’s top biotech shares are pouring everything they have into being the first to knock down the coronavirus.

Failing that, we have advances in treatment and the promise of accurate rapid testing to minimise the economic damage caused by social distancing and lockdowns.

On the testing front, Australian company Anteotech Ltd (ASX: ADO) is leading the charge.

On Wednesday, Anteotech announced it had completed the second phase of its high sensitivity COVID-19 antigen rapid test sooner than originally expected. The company is now moving into the third phase with an eye on moving toward full commercialisation. Anteotech estimates that could happen within the next 5 to 8 months.

Year to date, the Anteotech share price is up 100%.

If you’d bought the dip in Anteotech’s share price back on 13 July, you’d be sitting on a gain of 200%.

Where was that crystal ball when we needed it?

More reading

• Anteotech (ASX:ADO) share price rockets 19% on COVID test announcement

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. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post These fund managers are buying the dip, should you? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/35qZjsM

The Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price has rebounded higher following a morning decline.

At the time of writing the health imaging company’s shares are up 2.5% to $26.60.

Why is the Pro Medicus share price storming higher?

Investors have been buying Pro Medicus’ shares after the release of two announcements just before lunch.

The first announcement reveals that the company has signed a seven-year contract with NYU Langone Health. Management advised that NYU Langone Health is one of the largest health systems in the state of New York and one of the most respected and innovative healthcare institutions in North America.

The contract, which is based on a transaction-based licensing model, will see the company’s Visage 7 technology implemented across all of NYU Langone’s radiology and subspecialty imaging departments. This includes breast imaging and replaces all existing legacy PACS with a single centralised instance of the Visage 7 Enterprise Imaging Platform.

The implementation will span six hospitals and numerous additional locations across the NYU Langone healthcare network, with the first sites expected to go-live in the third quarter of FY 2021.

Pro Medicus CEO’s, Dr Sam Hupert, commented: “NYU Langone completed a thorough selection process that required the final round of vendors to perform extensive on-site pilots. This enabled NYU to assess the differences between systems and, importantly, do so in their production environment, which is the ultimate test of how a product will perform.”

“Winning this deal further validates our belief that we have a unique and highly differentiated offering. We stream the pixel data, unlike others who still compress-and-send the images,” he added.

Research agreement.

In addition to the above, the company announced that it has also signed a multi-year research collaboration agreement with NYU Langone Health.

The agreement will see the two parties work together to design and develop next-generation products for enterprise imaging. This includes areas such as workflow optimisation, integration with multi-vendor reporting platforms, as well as integration of artificial intelligence technology.

NYU Langone will also become a member of the Visage AI Accelerator program.

Dr Hupert believes that this agreement could extend the company’s technological lead over the competition even further.

He explained: “This is a major milestone for our company. We changed the paradigm of what a diagnostic imaging (PACS) product should be by natively integrating 3D and advanced visualisation into a single platform. We believe this, combined with our proprietary streaming platform, has given us an 18 to 24 month technology lead.”

“We are now looking at what is next, what a system would look like in say 3 to 5 years, and are starting to do the research and development to make that a reality and then be the first to commercialise it,” Dr Hupert concluded.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 2 ASX shares I’d buy if this crash gets worse
• Broker picks best ASX small cap stocks to buy from the reporting season
• Here’s how to make a $1 million portfolio by investing $1,000 a month
• Buy and hold these fantastic ASX healthcare shares until at least 2030

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) share price higher on major contract win and research agreement appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/35qbt5q

Shares for beginners… it’s not as easy as it sounds. There are literally thousands of shares on the ASX and tens of thousands of shares around the world to choose from. Thus, it’s easy for a beginner investor to be overwhelmed with choice or paralysed with indecision if they are just starting out on their investing journey. That’s why I’ve found 2 ASX shares today that I think are perfect for a beginner investor. I’ll lay out why below.

2 ASX shares perfect for beginner investors

1) Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)

Our first share for beginners is a company everyone would be familiar with – Woolies, you know, the fresh food people one. I’ve chosen Woolworths, not for its growth potential or ‘shoot the moon’ possible returns. Far from it. Woolies is a steady, mature, dividend-paying business that is probably unlikely (in my view anyway) to significantly outperform the market over the long term.

Saying that, I still think it’s a good choice for a starter investor. It’s relatively easy to understand as a business, and it’s easy to go and visit a Woolies store and get a feel for how ‘your company’ works and how it makes money — invaluable experience for a beginner in my view. As mentioned earlier, you’ll also get a biannual dividend, which on current prices signals a yield of around 2.57%. I think Woolies is a company you can comfortably buy to get a handle on investing, and leave in the bottom drawer.

2) Magellan Global Trust (ASX: MGG)

Our second share today is this listed investment trust (LIT) from Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG). Magellan has steadily built a reputation as one of the best global fund managers in Australia. The Global Trust is designed so you as the investor don’t really have to do anything apart from buy the shares. A management team picks the actual shares held within the trust for you and buys and sells them on your behalf.

MGG focuses on a well-diversified portfolio of global companies. As of 31 July, some of the companies it currently holds include Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), Visa Inc (NYSE: V) and Tencent Holdings (OTCMKTS: TCEHY). MGG also aims to pay a cash distribution of 4% annually, which you can choose to reinvest at a 5% discount. All in all, I think this LIT is a top choice for a beginner. And just like Woolies, I think you can easily put MGG in the bottom drawer and forget about it if you so wish.

More reading

• 3 ASX shares that are trading at bargain prices
• Here’s why some ASX dividend shares just go nowhere
• Latest ASX stocks top brokers are urging you to buy today
• Why Magellan, Nufarm, Opticomm, & Scentre shares are storming higher
• Magellan share price up after reporting increased FUM for August

Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Facebook and Visa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Facebook, Microsoft, and Visa and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft and short January 2021 $115 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Facebook. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post 2 top notch ASX shares for beginners appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2Zmi50P