Tag: Motley Fool

Quality ASX shares could be the way to see through all of the market’s volatility right now.

It has been a tough year for shareholders of some the ASX’s most well-known growth names, such as Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO). They have seen hefty declines since the start of the year.

Share prices moving up and down is meant to happen on the ASX share market. But a lower price could open up opportunities for investors.

These two are quality candidates:

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

This exchange-traded fund (ETF) is based on companies deemed to have strong competitive advantages that are expected to endure for many years to come.

Economic moats, or competitive advantages, can come in many different forms including brand power, intellectual property, or a superior cost base.

According to Morningstar analysts, the businesses in this ASX share’s portfolio have competitive advantages which are expected to last at least a decade — and more likely than not to two decades.

For one of those quality businesses to make it into the MOAT ETF’s portfolio, it must be trading at a good value compared to Morningstar’s fair value estimate.

Some of the names in the portfolio include Compass Minerals, Merck & Co, Constellation Brands, Medtronic, Kellogg, Campbell Soup, Western Union and Mercado Libre.

This ETF has an annual management cost of 0.49%. At 31 March 2022, the MOAT ETF had produced an average return per annum of 16.5% over the prior five years.

Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

Brickworks is a building products company that also owns other assets.

In Australia, it produces a wide array of products, including bricks, paving, masonry, precast and roofing. In the United States, it is a major brickmaker in the northeast of the country.

Brickworks owns a chunk of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL) shares. Soul Pattinson is an experienced investment conglomerate with investments across different sectors like resources, telecommunications and agriculture. Its total shareholder return has outperformed the ASX share market over the long term.

Brickworks also owns a 50% share of a joint venture industrial property trust with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG). This trust continues to grow its net rental income – in the first six months of FY22, it saw 7% net trust income growth to $17 million.

The property trust owns several high-quality industrial properties that are leased to major tenants. For example, it recently completed a state-of-the-art facility for Amazon.

After including borrowings of $974 million, the total net asset value of the trust was over $2.5 billion, with the ASX share’s holding worth almost $1.3 billion – up by 38% over the period.

Brickworks said the trust had already secured 221,100sq m of lease pre-commitments, and another 176,400sq m was available for development at the existing estates.

Based on current demand, Brickworks estimated those estates would be fully built out within three years, resulting in additional gross rent of around $60 million and additional leased asset value of $1.5 billion, taking total leased assets to around $4.5 billion.

The post Is it time to buy these 2 quality ASX shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are 2 fantastic ETFs for ASX investors to buy
• Why is the Brickworks share price sliding on Monday?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Here’s a look at some ASX shares with ex-dividend dates coming up in April
• 3 top ETFs for ASX investors in April

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Brickworks, Xero, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Brickworks and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. 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.

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

During Alphabet‘s (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 earnings call on Feb. 1, the company announced that its board of directors approved a 20-for-1 stock split, effective on July 15. Alphabet is just one of many big tech companies to announce stock splits in recent years. In 2020, FAANG leader Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) completed a stock split, as did Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). In 2021, semiconductor pioneer Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) completed a stock split, and recently both Amazon and Shopify announced stock splits for later this year.

If you are one of the many investors considering buying into Alphabet stock right now, the announced split raises the question of when to make the purchase. Let’s take a look and see if Alphabet is worth an investment now, before the split, or if waiting until after the split occurs better fits your investment profile. 

It might help to take a look at big tech counterparts

Stock splits are generally not meant to change the market value of a company. Rather, when a stock split occurs, the number of outstanding shares increases by a pre-determined multiple. Subsequently, the share price drops in proportion to this ratio such that the overall value of the company doesn’t change.

But while the intrinsic value doesn’t change, sometimes emotion can outweigh logic in the capital markets, causing stock prices to rise before a stock split occurs. Some investors will choose to buy a stock before the split occurs, hoping that after the split goes into effect and the shares appear less expensive, more investors will buy the stock, thereby boosting the stock price in a short period of time. In essence, these investors are riding the momentum in an effort to generate a short-term profit. Although there is merit to this trading strategy for some types of investors, let’s dig into a few examples of why buying before a split, and holding throughout the split event, may be more profitable in the long term.  

As Mark Twain is rumored to have said, “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” When it comes to recent stock splits, more often than not investors have experienced similar paradigms in trading activity.  

Apple completed a stock split on Aug. 31, 2020. On a split-adjusted basis, Apple stock closed at roughly $129 per share following the split. Roughly one month later, the stock price had declined by 10%, closing around $116. However, had an investor held the stock, they would have appreciated a 28% return, as Apple’s current stock price is around $166 per share.

Similarly, Tesla completed a stock split on the same day as Apple in 2020. On a split-adjusted basis, Tesla stock closed around $498 per share following the split. Approximately one month later, Tesla’s stock had decreased by 14%, closing around $429 per share. Just like with Apple, had investors held Tesla stock throughout the short-term volatility and momentum trading, they would have earned a 96% return, as Tesla now trades at roughly $975 per share.

Then there’s Nvidia, which completed a stock split in July 2021. On a split-adjusted basis, the company’s stock closed at $186 per share following the split. Roughly one month later Nvidia stock had increased by 12%, to $208 per share. But had you held onto the stock until today, you would have an 18% return, as the stock currently trades for $219 per share.  

The overarching theme in all of these examples is that the stock price has typically increased in the long term, and shown resilience even with short-term momentum traders buying and selling in and out of the stock during these pivotal events. 

Impressive profitable growth 

For the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2021, Alphabet generated $257.6 billion in revenue, up 41% from 2020. The company reported impressive growth across all of its business segments, in both revenue and operating profits. Alphabet’s total operating income was $78.7 billion in 2021, up a staggering 91%. These operating profits have had a direct impact on the company’s cash flow, and Alphabet has wasted no time deploying these profits into future growth drivers.

So far in 2022, Alphabet has announced two meaningful acquisitions, both in the cloud cybersecurity space. Most recently, the company announced its proposed takeover of Mandiant for $5.4 billion. This deal is particularly interesting because the company stated that Mandiant’s products and services will be layered into Alphabet’s existing cloud offering, Google Cloud Platform. In 2021, Google Cloud generated $19.2 billion of revenue, but it remains unprofitable as this division lost nearly $3.1 billion. 

Investors should be encouraged that Alphabet’s leadership has identified and is actively pursuing future growth catalysts that can be integrated into existing business segments. As investments in digital transformation, and the cloud market more broadly, begin to take shape, Alphabet is well-positioned to benefit from these tailwinds and grow an already impressive business to even bigger heights. 

Identify your investment profile

It is important to remember the time spent in the market is more important than trying to specifically time the market. When it comes to stock splits, there are many different strategies that can result in lucrative profits depending on how you invest. We can see that investors who owned stock in Alphabet’s big tech cohorts typically performed better in the long run when compared to investors with short holding time frames.

Between impressive top-line growth, expanding profit margins, and strategic investments in future growth catalyst, Alphabet has given investors several reasons to buy the stock now, before the split, as opposed to waiting until after when the shares appear less expensive but are basically the same. 

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

The post Should you buy Alphabet before the stock split? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Shopify, Alphabet, Amazon, and Tesla stocks are splitting — which ones are the best buys?
• Could Amazon help you become a millionaire by 2032?

Adam Spatacco owns Alphabet (A shares), Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, Shopify, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Alphabet (C shares) and has recommended the following options: long January 2023 $1,140 calls on Shopify, long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple, short January 2023 $1,160 calls on Shopify, and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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It has been another busy week for Australia’s top brokers. This has led to the release of a large number of broker notes.

Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have reiterated their buy rating but trimmed their price target on this regional bank’s shares to $9.34. This follows the release of the bank’s half year results, which revealed cash earnings 17% ahead of the broker’s estimates. This was driven by a better-than-expected performance on bad and doubtful debts. And while Goldman has trimmed its longer term earnings estimate to reflect lower interest earning assets and net interest margin assumptions, it remains positive on its outlook and sees plenty of value in its shares. The Bank of Queensland share price ended the week at $7.99.

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating but trimmed their price target on this pizza chain operator’s shares to $100. The broker has updated its model to take account of recent inflationary pressures and a more cautious view on near-term sales growth in Japan. This has led to a reduction in its earnings estimates for FY 2022. However, it still expects Domino’s to outperform the consensus estimate and continues to see a lot of value in its shares. The Domino’s share price was fetching $81.13 at Thursday’s close.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Analysts at Citi have upgraded this lithium miner’s shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $3.60. According to the note, the broker made the move largely on valuation grounds due to a recent pullback in its share price. In addition, Citi has bumped its lithium price forecasts higher on the belief that it could be a couple of years until the lithium market balances. The Pilbara Minerals share price ended the week at $2.96.

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

More reading

• Why Bank of Queensland, Iluka, New Hope, and Zip shares are falling today
• Why Allkem, Domino’s, Qantas, and Uniti shares are racing higher
• Bank of Queensland share price sinks 6% on half-year update
• Why is the Pilbara Minerals share price having such a stellar end to the week?
• Which ASX lithium shares does Macquarie tip to outperform?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises 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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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.

Crypto fans were loading up on Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) after Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD) announced trading availability on Monday morning. The token initially soared as much as 30% on the news, and 12 hours later Shiba Inu was still trading a healthy 17% above where it was when the news broke.

It’s obviously not bad news for Shuba Inu to find its way onto a new exchange. It also helps that Robinhood only had seven digital currencies available before adding four new denominations, including Shiba Inu, on Tuesday.

I’m still not convinced that the initial rally will stick. Let’s go over some of the reasons availability on Robinhood isn’t a game-changer for Shiba Inu fans.

1. Robinhood isn’t as relevant as you might think

There’s no denying that Robinhood Markets shook up the brokerage industry a couple of years ago. Would most of the leading platforms be offering commission-free trading otherwise? The problem now is that the platform has lost its grip on its young trading base.

Robinhood lost traction as 2021 played out. There’s no shortage of metrics that prove it.

• The number of monthly transacting users slipped from 21.3 million in the second quarter to 18.9 million in the third quarter, and then 17.3 million in the fourth quarter.
• Average revenue per user has fallen in three consecutive quarters. Robinhood has gone from generating $137 per user during the first quarter to $64 in the fourth quarter.
• Assets under custody were lower by the end of the year than where they were at the midpoint of 2021.

The pressure points are everywhere. Fewer people are trading, and people are trading less. That’s a bad look for a trading platform, and we haven’t even gotten to the most problematic metric.

Robinhood isn’t just about crypto. It’s also a hotbed for options and stock trading. Stock and options trading has held fairly steady through the final three quarters of 2021, but the same can’t be said for crypto. Robinhood reported transactions-based crypto revenue of $233 million in the second quarter, followed by $51 million in the third and $48 million in the fourth quarter. Put another way, Crypto transactions revenue went from 52% of Robinhood’s business in the second quarter to just 18% by the end of the year.

2. Every spike is different

If being added to Robinhood’s select number of crypto choices is so praiseworthy, shouldn’t all of the digital currencies added to Robinhood experience the same pop? In the same 12 hours of Shiba Inu’s 17% ascent, two of the three other cryptocurrencies rose less than 4%. One has a higher market cap than Shiba Inu, and the other one is lower.

Is there any reason for Shiba Inu to be the one to surge higher? Is it just because Shiba Inu’s a meme coin? There is a bullish case to be made for Shiba Inu; I’m just pointing out that Tuesday’s pop is more based on hype than on the sustainable merits accorded to a crypto that’s been added to Robinhood. You might also want to check in on the uninspiring returns from some of the seven cryptocurrencies that have been trading on the platform for longer.

3. It’s too late for Robinhood to be taken seriously in crypto

Robinhood is trying to make up for the lost time it squandered. It’s finally rolling out a crypto wallet to make its digital currencies easier to move away from the platform, but as we’ve seen in recent quarters, crypto traders have already cleared out.

Investors are smart enough to see through the “free” crypto trading that Robinhood offers, and the folks sticking around the once trailblazing platform tend to be small players these days. Having Shiba Inu coin now available is not detrimental to the crypto, but it’s also not going to matter beyond Tuesday’s initial buzz.

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

The post 3 reasons Robinhood’s addition of Shiba Inu doesn’t matter appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Solana is rising today
• Why Shiba Inu is soaring today
• Why Shiba Inu is plummeting today
• Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu are down today
• Shiba Inu’s ride higher accelerates as the token surges 18%

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

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

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If you’re interested in adding some growth shares to your portfolio in the near future, then the two listed below could be worth considering.

These ASX growth shares have been named as buys and tipped to generate strong returns for investors. Here’s what you need to know about them:

NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

The first ASX growth share to look at is NextDC. It is a data centre operator with a collection of world class centres across key locations throughout Australia.

But NextDC isn’t settling for that. It is also aiming to grow its data centre network with edge centres in regional areas and by expanding into the Singapore and Tokyo markets. Overall, this is positioning the company to capture the increasing demand for data centre capacity thanks to the ongoing structural shift to the cloud.

Citi is a fan of the company. It has a buy rating and $14.55 price target on NextDC’s shares. Based on the latest NextDC share price of $11.17, this implies potential upside of 30% for investors.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

Another ASX growth share to look at is enterprise software provider TechnologyOne.

It is in the process of transitioning from a traditional software company into a software-as-a-service (SaaS) focused business. Pleasingly, this transition is going very well and is positioning TechnologyOne to deliver strong recurring revenue growth over the coming years.

In fact, management believes it is on track to achieve its annual recurring revenue (ARR) target of over $500 million by FY 2026. This is almost double its current base ARR of $257.5 million.

Bell Potter is very positive on the company and has been pleased with the transition. The broker has a buy rating and $14.00 price target on its shares at present. Based on the latest TechnologyOne share price of $10.92, this suggests that there is potential upside of over 28% for investors over the next 12 months.

The post Analysts name 2 ASX growth shares to buy with ~30% upside potential appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are 2 excellent ASX 200 shares analysts rate as buys
• 2 ASX tech shares that are cheap enough to buy now
• A growing ASX 200 tech share to buy now: fund manager
• 2 ASX tech shares expecting a lot of long-term growth
• 2 highly rated ASX 200 shares analysts are tipping as buys right now

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

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The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price finished the session in the green on Thursday at $264.95, up 0.76%. For many years, this blue-chip behemoth has been a star performer of the ASX. Over the five years leading up to the COVID-19 market meltdown in March 2020, CSL stock ascended by almost 200%.

The pandemic has sent this ASX biotech share on a rollercoaster ride. In the past 12 months, CSL shares reached a 52-week high of $319.78 in November 2021. They then took a tumble to a 52-week low of $240.10 in February. In the year to date, the CSL share price is down by 9%.

Which begs the question: Should you buy the dip?

A 9% discount year-to-date

A 9% dip might not sound significant for an expensive stock like CSL but consider this. Before the pandemic, the CSL share price peaked at an all-time high of $342.75 — which might make today’s price of $264-ish look a little different in terms of a potential buying opportunity.

And here’s what the experts have to say.

Analysts at Citi recently retained their buy rating on CSL and valued the company at $335 per share. That’s an enormous price target that signifies a 26% total shareholder return if it were to eventuate.

“Over the next six months, we expect the market to focus on the strong underlying plasma market demand, and the closure of the Vifor deal, both of which should lead to strength in the share price,” the broker commented in a recent note.

Citi joins an extensive list of analysts advocating CSL, with 87% of coverage saying buy and just 12.5% saying sell. The consensus price target is $316.60, so Citi sits above the consensus with its analysis. So does Macquarie.

What does Macquarie think of the CSL share price?

The broker is bullish on CSL and reckons there will be a strong growth trajectory until FY24, given a variety of catalysts.

It recently noted that CSL’s acquisition of Vifor Pharma lends the biotech giant opportunities in the iron deficiency and kidney disease segments. Not only that, but the Vifor buy enables CSL to diversify into new markets whilst adding new opportunities for research and development (R&D).

It prices CSL at $327 per share on a buy rating, aloft consensus, but not too far off the share’s 52-week high of $319 in November.

The post Should ASX investors buy the dip in the CSL share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 blue chip ASX 200 shares analysts rate as buys this month
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• ASX 200 healthcare shares were chronically ill last quarter. Take a look
• How is the CSL share price performing against its sector in 2022?
• 2 of the highest quality ASX 200 shares analysts are tipping as buys

Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group 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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Looking for investment ideas for after the Easter break? Listed below are two high quality ASX 200 options to consider right now.

Here’s what you need to know about these ASX 200 shares:

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

The first ASX 200 share to look at is Goodman Group. It is a leading integrated commercial and industrial property company with a portfolio of high quality properties.

These properties are in high demand with end users because they have exposure to key growth markets such as ecommerce and logistics and are found in key locations close to gateway cities.

Thanks to this strong demand and its material development pipeline, Goodman has been tipped to continue its solid growth in the coming years. In fact, the team at Citi believe that Goodman will outperform its upgraded guidance in FY 2022 and continue its strong growth thereafter.

It said: “We continue to see guidance as conservative, with our EPS estimates rising 5% in FY22 and c. 6% thereafter. We now forecast c. 23% EPS growth in FY22 and c. 19% EPS CAGR from FY21-FY24. Our TP increases 5% on higher asset values and higher earnings. GMG remains OUR top pick in the sector.”

Citi has a buy rating and lifting its price target to $29.50 on its shares.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

Another ASX 200 share to consider is property listings company REA Group. It is best-known for the realestate.com.au website, which has been dominating the ANZ market for years.

This domination has continued in FY 2022, with the company reporting 3.3 times more visits than its nearest rival. This includes a record 13.2 million people visiting its local site in October.

In light of this dominance, the robust housing market, and new acquisitions and revenue streams, REA Group has been tipped to continue its growth in the coming years by the team at Goldman Sachs.

Its analysts said: “With a strong start to 2H (i.e. listings +14% in Jan), and continued pricing/depth residential tailwinds, we expect solid 2H momentum. […] We forecast FY23 EBITDA growth of +7%, assuming (1) -5% listings headwinds (-7% adj. for non-repeat of Fed Election) offset by +6% price and +3% depth/new products (such as Audience Max/Connect).”

Goldman has a buy rating and $167.00 price target on the company’s shares.

The post 2 highly rated ASX 200 shares analysts are tipping as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 of the highest quality ASX 200 shares analysts are tipping as buys
• E-commerce is booming. Which ASX shares have exposure to warehouses?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Carnage in 2022: Are these 2 top ASX 200 tech shares now buys?
• Why Bank of Queensland, Block, Premier Investments, and REA shares are dropping

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group 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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Leading brokers are always on the lookout for opportunities that look good. ASX growth shares could be the answer after the recent sell-off.

Some business valuations are much lower amid volatility after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the talk of rising interest rates.

With that in mind, here are two businesses that those leading analysts like:

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Xero is a world leader when it comes to cloud accounting software. It has a global subscriber base, with significant numbers in Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Since the start of 2022, the Xero share price has declined by around 30%.

The broker Ord Minnett has called Xero a buy, thinking it’s not the same sort of company as the no-profit businesses that have been sold off heavily this year.

Ord Minnett believes that Xero can benefit from the tailwinds that the ASX growth share is seeing. The price target is $107.

The Xero CEO Steve Vamos himself acknowledged how the environment benefited Xero when he commented in the FY22 half-year result release:

Small businesses around the world increasingly recognise the critical importance of digital tools to help them adapt to, and succeed in a change operating environment. This is reflected in Xero’s half-year 2022 performance, where we delivered strong revenue and subscriber growth.

That result saw operating revenue growth of 23% to NZ$506 million, subscriber growth of 23% to 3 million and the gross profit margin increased 1.4 percentage points to 87.1%.

ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO)

ELMO is another software company that helps businesses. It provides HR and payroll software to small and medium businesses in Australia and the UK.

Morgan Stanley currently rates ELMO as a buy with a price target of $7.80. That implies an upside of approximately 80%.

The company continues to launch new modules that can provide more services to customers, increase customer loyalty, and make more revenue.

For example, it launched the ‘hybrid work’ and ‘wellbeing’ modules to customers a few weeks ago to manage the new way of working.

In the first six months of FY22, the company continued to report growth. HY22 revenue rose by 41% to $43.1 million year on year. Annualised recurring revenue (ARR) was up 35% to $98.3 million compared to 30 June 2021.

The ASX growth share also made positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $0.3 million.

The company said its UK acquisitions were performing “exceptionally well and provide a solid foundation” to increase market share in the region.

ELMO said that it was continuing to experience increased demand as more organisations adopt cloud-based technology to manage different workforces.

FY22 ARR is expected to be between $107 million to $113 million. It’s also expected to generate between $1.5 million to $6.5 million of EBITDA in FY22.

The post 2 top ASX growth shares leading brokers say ‘buy’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 top ASX growth shares that experts say are buys
• Why are brokers talking about the Xero share price? Let’s take a look
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are 3 small cap shares analysts rate as buys
• Cloud zero: Xero share price is down 5% in 2 days

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Elmo Software and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Elmo Software and Xero. 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 uranium shares have been getting plenty of investor attention recently.

That’s because leading uranium companies have been massively outperforming the benchmarks.

Over the past month, for example the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 5.2% and the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) has gained 6.6%.

Certainly not a shabby month’s performance.

But check out the returns from these 3 ASX uranium shares.

ASX uranium shares charging higher

The Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) is up 13.6% since this time last month. That gives the company a current market cap of $945 million. Boss Energy shares are now up 152% over the past 12 months.

Rival ASX uranium share Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) is also enjoying a stellar month, with the share price up 16.9%. Paladin has a market cap of $2.7 billion and has gained 135% over the past full year.

And the third booming uranium company is Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL). With a current market cap of $436 million, Deep Yellow shares are up 18.4% over the last month and 76% since 14 April 2021.

What’s driving investor interest?

Atop some likely tailwinds from momentum investors, ASX uranium shares are the clear beneficiaries of rising energy costs.

It’s not just oil, gas and coal trading at multi-year highs.

According to data from Trading Economics, the price of uranium is up 1.2% over the past 24 hours to US$64.50 a pound. That puts uranium prices up more than 113% over the past year and at the highest levels since Japan’s post-earthquake Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.

And many analysts believe uranium prices are likely to remain elevated.

As The Australian reports, Canaccord Genuity says that the world moving away from sourcing Russian energy supplies will also aid uranium. “Yes, this will mean more liquefied natural gas, but in our view, it will also lead to more nuclear in the longer-term mix,” Canaccord stated.

According to Minelife director Gavin Wendt:

Energy security is the driving force, with Japan indicating that it is looking at reactivating plants shuttered since Fukushima, France committing to six new plants over the next decade, and Germany suggesting a delayed closing of its plants.

Uranium I believe could be an outperformer, because for several modern industrialised economies, like Japan, Germany and France, it will be a relatively easy go-to means of ensuring energy security, and reducing exposure to elevated fossil fuel prices, while still maintaining green credentials.

Judging by the recent performance of ASX uranium shares, a lot of investors seem to have a similar outlook.

The post Why are ASX uranium shares getting so much attention right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price has failed to outperform the market in recent times.

This follows the company’s largely disappointing half year result in February despite announcing an earnings upgrade for FY22.

It appears that the insurance giant is struggling with positive investor sentiment for the time being.

At market close on Thursday, IAG shares fetched $4.35, up 0.46%.

What’s happened to IAG recently?

Investors have taken the IAG share price to levels stretching back to October 2020.

Recently, the company provided an update regarding the heavy rains impacting Australia’s east coast.

During early March, IAG advised it received more than 24,000 claims across southeast Queensland and New South Wales. Although that was the latest figures, management noted that the number of claims was expected to rise in due course.

While strong weather continued to hit the eastern seaboard, IAG reassured investors that it has extensive reinsurance protection in place.

Current estimates of the net claims cost from the storm and flooding event were projected to be approximately $74 million. Pleasingly, this is lower than the $95 million forecast disclosed in early March due to development on previous claims.

As such, IAG has utilised roughly $95 million of the $236 million of aggregate cover following the weather-related event.

Consequently, the company has increased its expectation for FY22 net natural perils claims costs to approximately $1.1 billion. Previously that number stood at an estimate of $1.045 billion.

Nonetheless, IAG reaffirmed its reported margin guidance range between 10% to 12% for FY22.

However, given the increase in estimated net natural perils claims costs, the lower half of the guidance range is more likely.

How does the IAG share price compare to the financial sector?

Over the last three months, the IAG share price has moved 3% lower, with year to date up almost 2%. The company’s shares hit a multi-year low of $4.17 in March 2022, before moving in circles.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) has gained 3% from this time 12 weeks ago and is up 4% in 2022. This is a sharp contrast to when the sector registered a 52-week low of 6,017 points also in early March.

Undoubtedly, IAG shares are lagging behind the Financial Index which has continued to rebound over the past 3 months.

Based on today’s price, IAG commands a market capitalisation of roughly $10.69 billion, with approximately 2.47 billion shares on issue.

The post How did the IAG share price compare to its sector in the March quarter? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How did the IAG share price stack up in the March quarter?
• The IAG share price has dumped 5% in 2 weeks. What’s happening?
• Why did the IAG share price underperform the ASX 200 by 11% in March?
• Owns IAG (ASX:IAG) shares? Here’s your outlook for April
• Have IAG shares been a good investment? Here’s what $10,000 invested 4 years ago looks like now

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Insurance Australia Group 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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