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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.

What happened? 

The value of major cryptocurrencies fell on Thursday as the stock market dropped and investors worried about inflation and the continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine. This follows a day when prices shot higher after President Joe Biden signed an executive order to study digital assets and investors hoped US regulators would finally define rules for cryptocurrencies. 

As of 1pm ET, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) had fallen as much as 8% in the previous 24 hours, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) was off as much as 6.3%, and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) was down 7.4%. 

So what? 

Multiple headwinds have hit the crypto market today. The most notable was a report from the Labor Department that said inflation hit 7.9% annually in January, the highest rate in 40 years. High inflation could mean that the Federal Reserve will be more eager to increase interest rates in an effort to cool off the economy, which could mean lower asset values. Cryptocurrencies generally trade with risky assets, so that’s why they’re off sharply in trading today. 

Inflation is also being driven by an increase in commodity prices like oil, partly as a result of bans on Russian oil imports around the world. High commodity prices can pull spending away from other parts of the economy, leading to a recession. So, investors are trying to balance the risk of a commodity-driven recession and the need for higher interest rates to control inflation. 

As an asset class that’s been correlated with the stock market for the last six months, it’s no surprise that cryptocurrency values are dropping along with the market on today’s uncertainty. 

Now what?

Volatility continues to be commonplace for cryptocurrency investors and that’s actually undermined some of the cases for cryptocurrency. Bitcoin specifically has proven not to be a very good hedge for inflation (see today’s reaction) or a safe-haven asset like gold. In fact, it’s traded more like a growth stock than anything else in the last year. 

I still think the case for cryptocurrencies is the utility they can bring to markets. Financial transactions can happen in an instant, digital assets can be traded and verified on the blockchain, and more innovations will be built over time. That’s where the true value will come from and frankly doesn’t have much to do with the price of cryptocurrencies day to day. 

As much as today’s move hurts, I think the executive order from the White House yesterday is far more consequential. It could pave a path to more digital asset ownership, cross-border transactions, and even the U.S. government creating its own digital currency. That’s very bullish for the industry long-term, which is why I’m holding cryptocurrencies and don’t plan on selling even on down days like this. 

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

The post Why Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin dropped today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Travis Hoium owns Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Bitcoin and Ethereum. 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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The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price could be close to being fully valued.

That’s the view of the team at Bell Potter, based on a note released this morning.

What did the broker say about the Westpac share price?

According to the note, the broker has retained its hold rating and $24.00 price target on the bank’s shares.

Based on the current Westpac share price of $22.65, this implies modest potential upside of 5.9% for investors over the next 12 months.

This isn’t deemed enough of a potential return to warrant a rating any better than a hold.

Why isn’t Bell Potter more positive?

The note reveals that Bell Potter has been looking over Westpac’s bold cost cutting plans and has doubts that it will achieve its targets.

In case you’re not familiar with the bank’s plans, Westpac is aiming to reduce its cost base down to $8 billion by 2024. If it achieves this, it will be a big boost to its earnings growth in the coming years. However, Bell Potter has been crunching the numbers and doesn’t think this target is achievable. It explained:

“Back in FY21, total costs were $5.24bn in the first half and $5.70bn in the second half. The cost increase in the second half is 9%, made up as follows: 1) +$138m BAU including lower leave utilisation from COVID-19 restrictions; 2) +$131m investment; 3) +$140m investment mainly in financial crime capabilities and systems, product governance, data and regulatory capital charges; and 4) +$55m mortgage related volumes and COVID-19 support.”

“BAU is business as usual, so there is no need to factor this one out. The same can be said for structural productivity (i.e. efficiencies, thus the negative numbers), investment (we take this to mean activity to overcome erosion or similar in premises and equipment) and the usual risk and compliance. We have however excluded COVID-19 and similar items, being one-offs in a way. While the main increase is only -$10m in 1H20/2H20, it now jumps to +$409m in the next year.”

“In summary, this amounts to roughly $4.99bn on average (with a low of $4.60bn and a high of $5.65bn) or $9.98bn for the full year and compares with the $8.00bn cost expectation in FY24e. Even with a $4.50bn low or $9.00bn for the full year, there is still a sizeable gap of $1.00bn. In terms of costs as a % of average assets, we will assume a low of say 0.50% even with a denominator of $900bn. This works out to be $4.50bn again for the costs or $9.00bn for the full year, thus a gap of $1.00bn as well.”

All in all, it appears to feel that investors that believe the Westpac share price is dirt cheap right now because of its cost reduction plans, may want to think again.

The post Why this broker has big doubts over Westpac’s (ASX:WBC) cost cutting plans appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) share price has been one of the best performers on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Just this week, the energy producer’s shares accelerated to a multi-year high thanks to record high prices for coal.

With the war between Russia and Ukraine closing in on its third week, commodity prices have soared.

At yesterday’s market close, Yancoal shares finished 1.20% higher to $5.05 apiece.

Why are investors paying attention to Yancoal shares?

It appears investors are buying up Yancoal shares to get in on the commodity boom, as well as trading ex-dividend next week.

Investors need to buy Yancoal shares before market close on Monday to be eligible for the final dividend. The ex-dividend date is on Tuesday 15 March.

It’s worth noting though that historically when a company reaches its ex-dividend day, its shares tend to fall in proportion to the dividend paid out. This is because investors tend to sell off the company’s shares after securing the dividend.

When can Yancoal shareholders expect payment?

For those who are eligible for the Yancoal dividend, shareholders will receive a payment of 70.4 cents per share on 29 April. This comprises the 2021 final dividend of 50 cents per share and a special dividend of 20.4 cents per share.

Both dividends are unfranked which means shareholders will miss out on any imputed tax credits from this.

Management noted that the special dividend is a direct result of Yancoal benefiting from record coal prices in 2021.

The $930 million final dividend represents a payout ratio of 118% of profit after tax.

Yancoal share price snapshot

Since the beginning of 2022, the Yancoal share price has almost doubled in value.

When looking at the last 12 months, its shares have further accelerated, up around 115%.

Yancoal shares touched a multi-year high of $5.30 on Monday 7 March off the back of rising coal prices.

Yancoal commands a market capitalisation of roughly $6.69 billion with roughly 1.32 billion shares on its books.

The post Want to secure this monster ASX coal share dividend? Here’s what you need to do next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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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One of the hottest areas of the market over the last 18 months has been the lithium sector.

But given the strong gains that have been generated over this time, investors may be wondering whether it is too late to invest in lithium shares.

The good news is that it doesn’t appear to be, based on what analysts are saying about the shares listed below.

Here are three buy-rated lithium stocks:

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

The first lithium share to look at is Allkem. It is a lithium giant which owns a collection of world class operations and projects across Western Australia, Argentina, and Canada. The team at Morgans is very positive on Allkem and recently named the company as its top pick in the sector. The broker expects electric vehicle demand to remain strong with geopolitical events and a potentially tight oil market accelerating the shift towards electrification. Morgans has an add rating and $14.83 price target on its shares.

Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE)

Another ASX lithium share that is rated as a buy is Lake Resources. It is developing the Kachi lithium brine project in north-western Argentina. This is a huge project which is aiming to deliver base case production of 50,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate once operational. But it doesn’t stop there. Including its Olaroz and Paso projects, management is targeting annual production of 100,000 tonnes of high purity lithium by 2030. Bell Potter is a fan of the company and has a speculative buy rating and $1.82 price target on its shares.

Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR)

A final ASX lithium stock to consider is Liontown. It is the company behind the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project in Western Australia. This project will be producing 500,000 tonnes per annum of spodumene when it commences in 2024. Pleasingly, it has already signed deals with LG Energy Solution and Tesla for over half of this offtake. This appears to have gone down well with Bell Potter, which has put a speculative buy rating and $3.06 price target on its shares.

The post 3 ASX lithium stocks that brokers rate as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Allkem 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 Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) deputy governor, Guy Debelle, has resigned from his position and is going to work for Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) instead.

But he’s not about to start working at a mine.

Dr Debelle is taking up the position as the new chief financial officer (CFO) of Fortescue Future Industries (FFI).

What’s Fortescue Future Industries?

Fortescue was set up to be a major iron mining business. It’s now one of the biggest in Australia and the world. help

However, the company is now pivoting.

In December it officially announced that it was transitioning from a pure-play iron ore and future-facing metals exploration group, to a vertically integrated green energy and resources group.

Its focus is a major green, fully renewable hydrogen initiative. It boasts of having the largest portfolio of green hydrogen, green ammonia, green iron ore and other green product developments, in the world.

FFI is also working on the decarbonisation of Fortescue through the development of a green fleet and the supply of green energy.

One of the latest moves by Fortescue has been to acquire Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) for US$221 million. This will provide technology and expertise in high-performance battery systems and helping Fortescue’s operational efficiency, lower maintenance costs and accelerate the decarbonisation of its mining operations.

The WAE deal will also establish a “significant new global battery growth business opportunity for Fortescue”.

So how does Dr Debelle fit into this?

Fortescue Chair Andrew Forrest said in an announcement:

Bringing in someone of Dr Debelle’s economic credibility goes to the heart of our vision for FFI. Not only are we committed to arresting climate change, we are also committed to creating economic growth, increasing jobs and growing our business profitability.

Dr Debelle, with the leadership team, will drive the most optimal financial solutions for FFI’s vast technology and energy portfolio. This will be instrumental in Fortescue’s journey to become the best green hydrogen, energy, and resources company in the world.

We will prove that going green has a profitable future for companies the world over. We will demonstrate this so that other heavy emitters, like us, will follow our efforts and go green too. Further, we will produce the green energy and ammonia to enable them to do it.

Dr Debelle was touted as a lead candidate to be the next boss of the RBA, but he and his family are reportedly passionate about climate change.

Dr Debelle comments

In a statement on the RBA website, Dr Debelle said:

I am honoured and privileged to have worked at the Bank for the past 25 years and contributed to improving the welfare of the Australian people. The Bank is a great institution which serves Australia well, including most recently through the policy response to COVID which has helped the country come through the crisis in a strong position. I have often spoken about the opportunities for business to help address climate change. This new position gives me the opportunity to make a significant contribution in this area.

Fortescue share price snapshot

Over the last month, the Fortescue share price has fallen around 20%. In the 2022 calendar year to date it has declined over 8%.

The post Own Fortescue (ASX:FMG) shares? Here’s why the miner has just hired the RBA’s deputy governor appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns Fortescue Metals Group 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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With all the crazy events going on around the world, many ASX shares have been hammered this year regardless of how the underlying business is going.

And that’s exactly the disappointment Cyan portfolio manager Dean fergie relayed to his clients in a memo this week.

“Market sentiment, in the short-term, is a powerful force and the recent inflation fears (and associated rate rises), exacerbated by the invasion of Ukraine and the uncertainty and concerns around energy prices and the potential economic impact, has created almost the perfect storm for many of the fund’s holdings.”

However, Fergie told his clients that short-term shocks like this still doesn’t shake his longer-term faith in the stocks that he’s backed.

“In times of turmoil, it is valuable to focus on the underlying operational performance of our investments, particularly when the disconnect between the share prices and business performances has been stark,” he said.

“We remain particularly positive given the optimistic results recently released.”

Fergie examined 3 ASX shares that plunged in February despite the company performance still remaining strong:

Drink away the world’s woes

Shares for craft drink provider Mighty Craft Ltd (ASX: MCL) fell a hair-raising 18% over last month.

Fergie noted that this freefall happened at the same time as it reported spectacular numbers.

The first-half saw revenue of $30 million, which is up 132%, and a “wildly successful launch” of its Better Beer brand.

“With the economy reopening and increased scale of the business post its acquisition of The Adelaide Hills Group, the company moved into profitability in the last quarter of the calendar year — a milestone that looked a pipedream only a few months ago.”

According to Fergie, that was not just a fluke half and the outlook remains strong.

“We continue to back management to deliver on their aggressive growth ambitions which include posting revenues in excess of $70 million for FY22,” he said.

“Despite these important financial milestones being achieved, the share price did not, in the short-term, reflect the company’s underlying achievements.”

Mighty Craft shares closed Thursday at 30 cents, which is almost 30% down from the start of February.

Wealth managers in the firing line

Fergie has publicly backed micro-investment platform Raiz Invest Ltd (ASX: RZI) for a while now.

Similar to Mighty Craft, the company reported excellent numbers in February but the share price sunk like a stone.

“Investment platform business Raiz delivered strong growth metrics period-on-period, including active customer growth of 73% to 595,000, funds under management growth of 71% to $1 billion and group revenue growth of 77% to $9.3 million (the vast majority of which is recurring),” said Fergie.

“Again, this was not reflected in share price movement with the stock falling 17% in February.”

He suspected general market sentiment went against listed fund managers, with huge selloffs seen in sector stalwarts Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) and Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX: PNI).

Raiz shares closed Thursday at $1.14.

The software maker that set a new company record 

Healthcare software provider Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC) reported “solid” half-year results, according to Fergie.

But guess what, its share price plunged 17% in February.

Fergie noted the contracted revenue of more than $27 million was a company record, despite COVID-19 delaying purchasing decisions in UK hospitals.

“As such we expect some material short-term catalysts by way of new contracts out of the region,” he said.

“Alcidion is building a very strong position in the healthcare industry which is expected to rapidly expand as the digitisation of the healthcare industry accelerates.”

The Alcidion share price finished Thursday at 18 cents.

Deals galore in February, but share price didn’t match the news

Fergie has also been a longtime fan of games developer Playside Studios Ltd (ASX: PLY), which saw its shares lose 9% in February.

Again, Fergie is consoled by an excellent half-year report.

“This Australian-based game developer delivered a great interim result which clearly illustrated its strong growth and a healthy outlook,” he said.

“Revenue grew 61% half-on-half to $9.4 million.” 

In the same month, Playside revealed it booked $8.4 million in revenue in just one week after it launched Beans NFT.

“Further good news was released when Playside signed a material work-for-hire contract with Activision Blizzard Inc (NASDAQ: ATVI), one of the world’s most successful interactive entertainment companies and maker of iconic games such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, Guitar Hero and Candy Crush.”

The share price movement in February confounded Fergie.

“Through the month the share price of PLY rallied from $1.02 to $1.40 before, disappointingly, ending the month at $0.93 — a head-scratching outcome given the materially good news.”

Playside shares closed Thursday at 94 cents.

The post 4 fallen ASX shares that are still awesome businesses: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Activision Blizzard, Alcidion Group Ltd, and PINNACLE FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended PINNACLE FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Activision Blizzard and Alcidion 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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The Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) share price has dropped over 20% since the beginning of 2022.

Looking further back, it has sunk even further. The past six months show a decline of almost 50%.

This ASX tech share offers churches a number of useful tools relating to electronic donations and church management.

It’s not too long until investors get an insight into the company’s full-year result, but the market gained a number of insights in the half-year result a few months ago.

Digital giving is here to stay?

During COVID-19, the company experienced a significant increase in the number of people donating electronically in the era of social distancing and lockdowns.

Pushpay provided the tools that churches needed to stay connected with their congregations.

But what about when the US started opening up?

When the company announced its result for the first six months of FY22 it said that it “has not seen any material change in digital giving reverting to non-digital means” and that could mean that customers in the US faith sector “may have undergone a fundamental technological shift as a result of the current environment”.

Pushpay said that digital giving and engagement is now a mission-critical factor within a church’s engagement strategy.

Increasing payment volumes and profitability

Despite the HY22 slowdown of growth compared to prior recent results, Pushpay continued to see growth of the business.

For the first six months of its financial year it said that payment volumes were up by 9% to US$3.5 billion. It’s expecting continued growth over time.

The growth of its top line helped the company’s profit margins.

The ASX tech share reported that its gross profit increased from 68% to 69%.

Whilst there can be various impacts on the net profit after tax (NPAT) from year to year, Pushpay reported another big jump in profit. HY22 NPAT rose by 43% to US$19.1 million. Profit can be a key influence on the Pushpay share price.

Growth plans

Pushpay continues to work on its growth plans.

It wants to win more large and medium churches in its main customer base. The ASX tech share also hopes for more adoption of digital giving by people who attend those churches.

But a new focus is on winning a market share of 25% of the Catholic church management system and donor management system market over the next five years.

The Catholic Church also has connections with education institutions which could unlock more growth avenues.

Pushpay is keeping geographical expansion under consideration as well.

Is the Pushpay share price a buy?

There are a few different brokers that currently rate the business as a ‘hold’ or a similar rating like ‘neutral’.

Macquarie has a price target of NZ$1.70 on the business, though it was disappointed by the half-year growth slowdown. UBS has a price target of NZ$1.90. Ord Minnett has a price target of $1.90.

On Ord Minnett’s numbers, the Pushpay share price is valued at 16x FY23’s estimated earnings.

The post Down 20% in 2022, is the Pushpay (ASX:PPH) share price a clear buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. 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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If you’re looking for some ASX dividend shares to add to your income portfolio, then you might want to look at the ones listed below.

Here’s what you need to know about these highly rated dividend shares:

Centuria Industrial Reit (ASX: CIP)

The first ASX dividend share to consider is Centuria Industrial. It is the largest domestic pure play industrial REIT, with a high-quality portfolio of properties across key metropolitan locations throughout Australia.

These assets include in-demand areas such as distribution centres, cold storage, and transport logistics.

Macquarie is a fan of the company. Its analysts believe its shares are attractively priced and note that its portfolio is well-placed for growth thanks to tailwinds being experienced in the industrial sector.

The broker currently has an outperform rating and $4.27 price target on its shares. And as for dividends, Macquarie is forecasting a 17.3 cents per share distribution in FY 2022 and a 17.8 cents per share distribution in FY 2023.

Based on the current Centuria Industrial share price of $3.83, this will mean yields of 4.5% and 4.6%, respectively

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

Another ASX dividend share that could be in the buy zone right now is NAB.

It has been tipped as a buy by the team at Goldman Sachs. Its analysts like the banking giant due to its position as the largest business bank. The broker believes this will allow NAB to benefit more from the continued economic recovery.

Goldman also highlights that NAB’s cost management initiatives are further progressed relative to most of its peers. This has freed up investment spend to be more directed towards customer experience rather than infrastructure.

All in all, the broker is expecting this to lead to a growing stream of fully franked dividends. It is forecasting 145 cents per share in FY 2022, 154 cents per share in FY 2023, and then 163 cents per share in FY 2024. Based on the current NAB share price of $29.99, this will mean yields of 4.8%, 5.1%, and 5.4%, respectively.

Goldman has a conviction buy rating and $31.33 price target on its shares.

The post 2 excellent ASX dividend shares analysts rate as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 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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On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was a strong performer and stormed higher. The benchmark index rose 1.1% to 7,130.8 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Friday and end the week on a high? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to fall

The Australian share market looks set to end the week in the red following a poor night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 23 points or 0.3% lower this morning. In late trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones is down 0.5%, the S&P 500 is trading 0.6% lower, and the Nasdaq is down 1%.

Oil prices fall

Energy producers including Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a subdued finish to the week after oil prices dropped again. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 1.8% to US$106.87 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 1% to US$110.06 a barrel. Optimism over a potential supply boost is weighing on prices.

Westpac shares given hold rating

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price could be close to being fully valued according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning the broker retained its hold rating and $24.00 price target. Bell Potter has doubts over Westpac’s FY 2024 cost cutting targets.

Gold price rebounds

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) could have a decent finish to the week after the gold price rebounded. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.7% to US$2,002.70 an ounce. Weakness in equities and a high US inflation reading boosted the safe haven asset’s appeal.

Tech shares on watch

Tech shares such as Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) could have a rough day after US tech stock pulled back on rate hike concerns. This follows news that inflation in the United States has hit its highest level in 40 years. According to CNBC, US inflation reached 7.9% in February due largely to shelter, gasoline, and food costs.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Block, Inc. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Block, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking Corporation. 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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If you have room for some new portfolio additions, then it could be worth considering the three ASX growth shares listed below.

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

Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)

The first ASX growth share to consider is Allkem. It is a top five global lithium miner that is benefiting greatly from sky high lithium prices thanks to its Mt Cattlin and Olaroz operations. In addition, the company has a collection of projects that could come online in the near future and support strong production growth in the coming years. It is for this reason that Allkem is the top lithium pick for analysts at Morgans. The broker currently has an add rating and $14.83 price target on its shares. The Allkem share price ended the day at $10.09.

Lovisa Holdings Limited (ASX: LOV)

Another ASX growth share to look at is Lovisa. It is a fast-fashion jewellery retailer with a growing global store network. Lovisa is another company that Morgans is positive on. Its analysts rate the retailer highly thanks to its significant expansion potential and highly experienced management team leading the charge. All in all, the broker believes Lovisa has the potential to be one of the biggest success stories in Australian retail. And while it accepts that investment will be needed to expand its network in the US and Europe and to take the brand into new markets, it believes the returns could be “stellar.” Morgans has an add rating and $24.00 price target on its shares. The Lovisa share price is currently fetching $18.64.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

A final ASX growth share to consider buying is Xero. It is a leading cloud-based business and accounting software provider. Xero’s successful evolution into a full service small business solution has led to millions of small to medium sized businesses globally subscribing and running their businesses through its platform. This has underpinned strong revenue and profit growth in recent years and, pleasingly, the team at Goldman Sachs expects this trend to continue for a long time to come. This is thanks to its global expansion, the ongoing shift to cloud solutions, and its burgeoning app ecosystem. Goldman Sachs has a buy rating and $135.00 price target on the company’s shares. This compares to the latest Xero share price of $98.56.

The post 3 excellent ASX growth shares analysts believe have huge upside potential appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Morgans picks its top 3 ASX retail shares to buy today
• 3 beaten-up ASX tech shares that ‘tick all the boxes’: fundies
• Here’s why the Lovisa (ASX:LOV) share price is sliding 5% today
• Lovisa (ASX: LOV) share price falters 10% but brokers still say buy
• Get ready! The ASX shares set for a decade-long tailwind: expert

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Allkem Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Lovisa Holdings 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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