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With so many shares to choose from on the ASX, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.

Three top ASX shares leading brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here’s why they are bullish on them:

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their buy rating and $74.00 price target on this private healthcare operator’s shares. Goldman notes that Ramsay has signed an agreement to acquire UK based mental health services provider Elysium for $1.4 billion. The broker highlights that the transaction fits with Ramsay’s stated focus on mental health. Outside this, Goldman believes Ramsay is one of the more attractive recovery trades across its coverage. The Ramsay share price is trading at $68.54 on Monday.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

A note out of Ord Minnett reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this energy producer’s shares to $8.45. This follows its merger with Oil Search, which became effective late last week. Ord Minnett is a fan of the merger and sees a lot of value in the Santos share price at the current level after reworking its valuation model to incorporate the Oil Search business. The Santos share price is fetching $6.60 on Monday afternoon.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

Analysts at Citi have retained their buy rating and $13.80 price target on this wine company’s shares. According to the note, the broker was pleased to see US rival Duckhorn Portfolio recently release a strong first quarter update. Citi feels this points to strong demand for luxury wine from consumers in the key US market, which has positive implications for Treasury Wine’s performance. The Treasury Wine share price is trading at $12.07 this afternoon.

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

More reading

• What’s the outlook for ASX healthcare shares in 2022?
• Ramsay (ASX:RHC) share price lower after announcing $1.4bn Elysium acquisition
• $22 billion of newly merged Santos shares are fronting the ASX this morning. Here’s what you need to know
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Morgans names 2 ASX 200 shares to buy

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 Ramsay Health Care Limited and Treasury Wine Estates 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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Shares in Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT) are catching bids today and now trade 6.22% higher at $1.11 apiece.

Investors are driving up the Neometals share price following a company announcement on a new commercial agreement with a Portugal-based chemical company. Here are the details.

What did Neometals announce?

Neometals advised that its co-owned company, Reed Advanced Materials Pty Ltd, has entered into a binding co-operation agreement with Portugal’s largest chemical producer, Bondalti Chemical.

Reed, a holding company that is 70% owned by Neometals with the remaining 30% claimed by Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN), is also the holding company for the ELi processing technology.

Neometals says that ELi replaces conventional, carbon-intensive chemical conversion of lithium chloride solutions with electrolysis to produce lithium chemicals, potentially utilising renewable energy.

ELi substantially reduces the requirement and transport of reagents. This presents the opportunity to improve sustainability, operating and capital costs for both spodumene and brine lithium projects.

To date, the process has successfully produced battery quality lithium hydroxide from operating spodumene and brine operations, according to the announcement.

The company has agreed to terms with Bondalti to evaluate commercialisation of its ELi lithium process in Europe. A proposed 25,000 tonne-per-annum (tpa) lithium refinery in Portugal will be the first ELi deployment to produce battery-quality lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, per the release.

Under the agreement, Bondalti and Reed will co-fund construction and operation of a pilot plant in Portugal. The companies will complete evaluation studies over 18 months at a shared cost of US$4 million.

The pilot plant and proposed commercial refinery will be integrated with Bondalti’s existing chlor-alkali operations,
which share “significant processing commonalities with the ELi process.”

If the agreement plus ongoing feasibility and evaluation studies are successful, the parties may establish a new entity called JVCo. Reed would then provide JVCo with a royalty-free licence to use the ELi process in the refinery operation.

Management commentary

Speaking on the announcement, managing director of Neometals Chris Reed said:

We are eager to take another step towards commercialising our ELi® process and building a globally competitive, high purity ‘battery quality’ lithium chemical facility. Bondalti is a highly credentialed chemical producer and operator of chlor-alkali facilities which use electrolysis to produce sodium hydroxide. Moreover, Bondalti’s existing by-product hydrogen and chlorine gases provide a ready market for the by-products of the ELi® process.

Reed added:

The synergies of first-class technical skills and infrastructure at Estarreja maximise the probability of technical success in the full scale pilot plant trials and enhance the potential financial metrics of its first commercial application. This is another demonstration of our ability to secure strong operating partners to co-fund the commercialisation of our project pipeline. The co-operation is an exciting milestone for Neometals and its ELi co-owner, Mineral Resources Ltd, who have been steadfast supporters of this potentially game-changing technology since its genesis in 2012.

Neometals share price snapshot

In the past 12 months the Neometals share price has soared over 436%. It has rallied 328% just this year to date.

It has reversed course in the past month, however, and is 1.32% down in that time. Furthermore, it has slid another 4% in the last week of trading.

The post Here’s why the Neometals (ASX:NMT) share price is surging 6% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Minerals Resources (ASX:MIN) share price wobbles on lithium agreement
• The Neometals (ASX:NMT) share price is up 350% in a year and this fund manager says there’s more to come
• The pros and cons of shorting and one ASX tech share to go long revealed: fund manager
• Why is the Neometals (ASX:NMT) share price sinking today?

The author has no positions 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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Johns Lyng Group Ltd (ASX: JLG) shares are rocketing in early afternoon trade, up 19% to $8.52 per share.

This comes as the integrated building services company exits the ASX trading halt it entered last week on Tuesday 7 December.

Below we take a look at the company’s capital raising announcement that looks to be spurring ASX investor interest.

What capital raising announcement was reported?

Johns Lyng shares are charging higher after the company reported it had completed the institutional component of its equity raising.

The institutional placement and institutional entitlement offer together raised a combined $221 million.

According to the release, the capital raised will be used to fund the acquisition of Reconstruction Experts and to ensure Johns Lyng and Reconstruction Experts “maintain financial flexibility to fund their near-term growth initiatives”.

96% of eligible institutional shareholders took part in the institutional entitlement offer. This raised $34 million with new Johns Lyng shares priced at $6.80.

The fully underwritten placement raised the remaining $187.5 million. New shares were issued via a variable price bookbuild, and with strong demand, cleared at the top of the range at $7 per share.

A total of 26.8 million new shares will be issued under the placement. The company expects settlement to occur Monday 20 December, with the issue of those new shares to occur the following day, when shares are also expected to commence ordinary trading.

Commenting on the equity raising, Johns Lyng’s CEO, Scott Didier said:

We believe the Reconstruction Experts acquisition is the perfect fit for us to unlock the US market. The existing management are extremely motivated and excited to join our partnership model and the business represents exciting growth opportunities. The recognition and support of investors through the institutional component of the equity raising signals a clear endorsement from the market of our strategy.

Shareholder approval is not required with the issue of the new shares under the placement.

Johns Lyng shares could also be getting a boost today from the company’s announcement that retail shareholders “who have a registered address in Australia or New Zealand as at 7 pm” today can participate in the entitlement offer at the same offer price as under the institutional entitlement offer.

The retail entitlement offer opens this Wednesday and closes at 5 pm on Thursday 30 December.

How have Johns Lyng shares been performing?

Johns Lyng shares are up a whopping 162% in 2021. That trounces the 11% year-to-date gains posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Over the past month, the Johns Lyng share price is up 20%.

The post Johns Lyng (ASX:JLG) shares surge 19% out of trading halt. Here’s why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Johns Lyng (ASX:JLG) share price in focus amid capital raise and major US acquisition
• What’s going on with the Johns Lyng (ASX:JLG) share price today?

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 Osteopore Ltd (ASX: OSX) share price is surging today after the company announced it has signed a new research deal.

The medical technology company’s share price soared 33% higher to 28 cents in early trading, before retreating slightly to 26 cents apiece at the time of writing. That’s still 23.81% higher than the previous closing price.

Osteopore engineers and commercialises products that regenerate the tissues in the bones.

What did the company announce today?

In today’s release, Osteopore advised it has signed an agreement for an $18.7 million project with two major research institutes in Singapore.

The company will work with the National Dental Research Institute and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research to develop jaw implants.

As part of the study, the company said it would test some of its patented products for potential use in dental applications.

Osteopore would use the research results to help develop jaw implants that would ultimately simplify future dental procedures.

If this research proved successful, the company said it could tap into a global market worth an estimated $1.26 billion.

Osteopore will commit $1.8 million towards the project over three years.

Management comment

Welcoming the announcement, Osteopore CEO Goh Seng said:

We are very thankful to participate and lead this grant and for the support of all the institutions involved in this research.

We strongly believe in developing and commercialising regenerative technologies for the well-being of patients.

Company chair Mark Leong added:

We are constantly developing new and better applications for our technology as well as growing addressable markets. This partnership project is a significant step for Osteopore.

Osteopore share price snap shot

Osteopore investors have experienced a turbulent year in 2021, falling 50% since January. In the past 12 months, the Osteopore share price has also dropped by around 50%.

Osteopore reached a yearly high of 53 cents in April, before dropping to a yearly low of 20 cents last week.

The company’s total market capitalisation is around $30 million, based on the current share price.

The post Osteopore (ASX:OSX) share price rockets 24% on major new deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Here’s why the Neometals (ASX:NMT) share price is surging 6% today
• Johns Lyng (ASX:JLG) shares surge 19% out of trading halt. Here’s why
• Why are ASX ETFs getting so much attention today?
• What is the better buy: Bitcoin vs. Ethereum

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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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.

Many investors are weighing their options in the cryptocurrency market these days. The two biggest names in the sector draw more attention and analysis than most. We asked two of our cryptocurrency writers to determine whether Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) or Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) would be the better choice for an individual investor today.

Read on to see the pros and cons of picking one of these household names over the other.

Bigger is just better this time

Anders Bylund (Bitcoin): Most investors in the cryptocurrency space are probably best served by holding both some Ethereum and some Bitcoin. But if I had to choose just one of these sector giants, it would have to be Bitcoin. There are two main reasons for this conclusion.

First, many cryptocurrencies are trying to do the same thing as Ethereum, and some of these alternatives come with significant technology improvements. I count three Ethereum rivals among the top 12 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) runs through smart contract transactions much faster than Ethereum. So do Avalanche (CRYPTO: AVAX) and Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA). All three also use more environmentally friendly blockchain structures, giving decentralized app developers another reason to select a different smart contract platform over the leading Ethereum solution.

Taken together, this trio is already worth 25% of Ethereum’s total market value. All have also outperformed Ethereum in 2021, often by a large margin:

Ethereum Price data by YCharts

Bitcoin has rivals but the simpler value-storage and money-moving functions of this cryptocurrency leave less room for disruptive challengers. Add up the five largest digital currencies not named Bitcoin in this part of the cryptocurrency sector, and you get a total market value of $107 billion — a mere 12% of Bitcoin’s dominant footprint.

That’s where my second reason to prefer Bitcoin comes in. The cryptocurrency industry’s grandfather holds an important first-mover advantage.

The long-term winners in this subsector must work to gain acceptance by (deep breath): consumers, governments, banks, investment managers, financial services, retailers, subscription services, charitable institutions, street-corner acrobats, and birthday party entertainers. And more, of course — those are just the most obvious money-handling categories off the top of my head.

Bitcoin is already working its way into most of these segments (except the party clowns, who may drag their color-spangled feet more than most). Other digital currencies are trying to follow suit but Bitcoin is setting the pace for the industry as a whole. For example, any retailer that accepts Litecoin or Dogecoin is guaranteed to take Bitcoin, too. And that’s not a two-way street.

So, Ethereum faces massive competition in a sector where better functionality is more important than tradition and early adoption. Bitcoin has fewer and smaller rivals in a target market where a single early winner could very well make any other solutions irrelevant in the long run. That’s an easy choice, assuming I can only pick one name.

Trying harder

Keith Speights (Ethereum): Years ago, Avis Budget (NASDAQ: CAR) was the No. 2 rental car company. It ran a highly successful marketing campaign centered on the theme: “Why go with us? We try harder.” I think this slogan is applicable to Ethereum.

Ethereum ranks as the No. 2 cryptocurrency based on market cap behind only Bitcoin. But it’s rapidly gaining ground. So far this year, Ethereum has outperformed Bitcoin by close to a sevenfold factor. Developers are choosing the blockchain platform because of its support of smart contracts that support non-fungible tokens (NFTs) SEO hubs and a long list of decentralized apps.

I look for Ethereum to pick up even more momentum in 2022. The second and third phases of a massive upgrade (called Ethereum 2.0, or Eth2) are planned for next year. This upgrade will make Ethereum much faster and much cheaper than it is today. All of the advantages that have attracted developers and buyers will remain intact, though.

Maybe Ethereum won’t bump Bitcoin out of the top spot anytime soon. But because its development community is trying harder, I expect it will be a bigger winner than Bitcoin will be.

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

The post What is the better buy: Bitcoin vs. Ethereum appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Polygon, and Terra fell today
• Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cardano continue to recover from late-week selloffs
• Here’s what crypto investors need to know about the metaverse
• Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) sinks again. Who’s going to catch that falling knife?
• Is the RBA about to join the digital currency revolution?

Anders Bylund doesn’t play favorites. He owns Bitcoin, Cardano, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Solana. Keith Speights has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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

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It doesn’t seem like there are too many days where exchange-traded funds (ETFs) aren’t getting a lot of attention on the ASX these days. As we’ve discussed many times on the Fool recently, 2021 has only seen the ETF sector continue to balloon to new highs, both in terms of funds under management (FUM) and in raw numbers. Today, it seems, is no different.

ETFs are the talk of the investing town again this week. It comes after a new report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) finds that global ETF inflows over 2021 have topped US$1 trillion for the first time ever. That’s already significantly above the US$735.7 billion of inflows that we saw across all of 2020 (and there’s still more than a fortnight of 2021 to go!).

Value of global ETFs doubles in 2 years

Global ETF assets, including ASX ETFs, now reportedly stand at close to US$9.5 trillion which the WSJ notes is “more than double where the industry stood at the end of 2018”. Staggering stuff. Most of those funds have found their way to low-cost index funds run by Vanguard, BlackRock (iShares) and State Street Corp. These providers reportedly control “more than three-quarters of all U.S. ETF assets”. It has certainly helped that the flagship US S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP: .INX) has risen more than 27% year to date.

Head of ETF and index product mangement at Vanguard Rich Powers told the publication: “You have this historical precedent where you have tumultuous equity markets, and more and more investors have made their way to index products.”

But that’s not to say non-index ETFs are losing popularity. The US alone reportedly saw a record 3800 ‘active ETFs’ launch. These ETFs act more like managed funds than index funds, actively selecting stocks for outperformance potential. Investors sent US$84 billion to these ETFs in 2021 so far. That’s 10% of all US ETF inflows, up from 8% last year.

But a warning for investors who might find these funds attractive. The report confirms that “roughly 10% of the 371 U.S. active ETFs with full-year performance data are beating the S&P 500”. Additionally, “more than a third are flat or negative for 2021”.

So it’s pretty evident that 2021 has been an exceptional year for ETFs across the board. Now for 2022, and whatever that brings…

The post Why are ASX ETFs getting so much attention today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• December has been a great month so far for the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price
• Resimac (ASX:RMC) share price leaps 13% on share buyback. Here’s what you need to know
• PolyNovo (ASX:PNV) share price tipped to double in value
• Invested in AFIC (ASX:AFI) shares? Here’s what to watch in 2022
• Brickworks (ASX: BKW) share price lifts 3% on record forecast property earnings

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price is relishing the holiday period, gaining 5% since the start of December. That’s despite the company releasing no news to the ASX.

At the time of writing, the NAB share price is $28.68, a 0.17% gain today.

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 2.1% so far this month.

The S&P/ASX 200 Bank Index (ASX: XBK) has gained 4.8% over the same period.

Let’s take a look at what’s been going on with NAB lately.

NAB share price gains in December despite FSU findings

The NAB share price has surged higher this month despite the release of a damning report from the Finance Sector Union. It also warned of potential Federal Court action.

Earlier this month, the union released the findings of a survey sent to NAB employees questioning their working hours.

The survey found 93% of Group 3 NAB employees work more than 38 hours a week. Another 79% of employees reported working on their weekends, while 87% stated the excessive hours had caused an increase in stress and anxiety.

NAB executive of people and culture Susan Ferrier addressed the report in a note to employees, stating:

Our first priority is the health and wellbeing of our people and we also believe that NAB colleagues should be fairly paid for the work that they do. There is no expectation that NAB colleagues work unreasonable additional hours…

We take seriously any instance where workload impacts a colleague’s health and life outside work.

Additionally, a more positive report on work at NAB was released by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) last week.  

The report marked the conclusion of Project Atom. The project saw NAB, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Perpetual, ConsenSys, and the RBA engaging in collaborative research.

Project Atom investigated the potential of a wholesale form of central bank digital currency using distributed ledger technology.

Including its December gains, the NAB share price is 27% higher than it was at the start of 2021. However, it is still more than 3% lower than it was a month ago.

The post December has been a great month so far for the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Could the CBA share price peak have been and gone?
• What is the outlook for the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price in 2022?
• Can NAB (ASX:NAB) shares ever close in on CBA’s market cap?
• Why ANZ Bank (ASX:ANZ) is losing market share to other big ASX banks
• Here are the 3 top-performing ASX 200 banks of November

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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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The Resimac Group Ltd (ASX: RMC) share price is racing higher today, up 13.15% at time of writing to $1.85 per share.

But that price doesn’t appear to please the Board of the non-bank lending company.

Below, we take a look at the details of the Board’s share buyback plans.

What are the Board’s share buyback intentions?

The Resimac share price is off to the races after the company reported it will undertake an on-market share buyback.

Why?

According to the release, “The Board considers that the company’s current share price does not accurately reflect the underlying value of the company’s assets and the share buy-back represents an opportunity to add value to the remaining shares on issue.”

Resimac said it plans to start its share buybacks on 29 December and continue for up to 12 months. It will instruct Bell Potter Securities, its broker, to buy shares “only where the position maximises the benefits of the share buy-back to the company”.

Of the 408.79 million ordinary shares outstanding, Resimac intends to buy back a maximum of 40.8 million, or 10%.

The shares will be bought back for a cash consideration in Aussie dollars. But the price to be paid remains to be determined.

The buyback does not require shareholder approval to move forward.

Resimac instructed its shareholders that it cannot guarantee it will acquire all, or indeed any, of the shares under its announced buyback program.

Resimac share price and company snapshot

Despite a strong showing in intraday trade today, the Resimac share price remains down 14% in 2021. That compares to a year-to-date gain of 13% posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Over the past month, shares in Resimac have edged up 3%.

The company was distinguished as Non-Bank of the Year by the Australian Mortgage Awards 2020. It originates, services and funds “prime, non-conforming residential mortgages and asset finance products” in Australia and New Zealand.

The post Resimac (ASX:RMC) share price leaps 13% on share buyback. Here’s what you need to know appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• PolyNovo (ASX:PNV) share price tipped to double in value
• Invested in AFIC (ASX:AFI) shares? Here’s what to watch in 2022
• Brickworks (ASX: BKW) share price lifts 3% on record forecast property earnings
• Charter Hall (ASX:CHC) share price pops 5% to record high on earnings upgrade
• What’s the outlook for ASX biotech shares in 2022?

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 PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price has continued its poor run on Monday.

In afternoon trade, the medical device company’s shares are down a further 1% to $1.36. This means the PolyNovo share price has lost almost two-thirds of its value in 2021.

This poor form has been driven by a weaker than expected performance in FY 2022 and the unceremonious exit of its CEO last month.

All in all, this has attracted high levels of short interest, making PolyNovo shares one of the most shorted on the Australian share market.

Where next for the PolyNovo share price?

While short sellers clearly believe the PolyNovo share price can go even lower from here, there is reason for shareholders to be a little optimistic.

According to a recent note out of Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), its analysts are sticking with the company.

That note reveals that Macquarie has an outperform rating and $2.85 price target on the company’s shares.

Based on the current PolyNovo share price, this implies potential upside of greater than 100% for investors over the next 12 months.

Although Macquarie acknowledges that PolyNovo is underperforming its expectations so far in FY 2022, which has led to a sharp reduction in its earnings estimates, it remains positive on the future.

This is due to its belief that PolyNovo is well-positioned for growth over the medium to long term thanks to the NovoSorb product. Particularly as the company looks to expand its use into other areas such as the hernia repair and breast augmentation markets.

These are much larger opportunities than its current target market of dermal scaffolds (worth $1.5 billion per annum) and are estimated to be worth US$3 billion per annum each at present. Overall, this gives the company a $7.5 billion per annum market opportunity to grow into in the future if all goes to plan.

Though, judging by the PolyNovo share price performance, investors aren’t feeling overly confident about its prospects at this point. Time will tell whether short sellers or Macquarie made the right call.

The post PolyNovo (ASX:PNV) share price tipped to double in value appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• This fundie shorted Polynovo (ASX:PNV) shares in 2019. Here’s how much he would have made
• Why Appen, Cooper Energy, PolyNovo, and Sigma shares are falling
• These were the 5 worst performing ASX 200 shares in November
• Here’s why the PolyNovo (ASX:PNV) share price is attracting increased short interest

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. owns and has recommended POLYNOVO FPO. 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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The Australian Foundation Investment Co. Ltd (ASX: AFI) share price has had a pretty good start to this week’s trading session. At the time of writing, Australian Foundation Investment Co (AFIC for short) shares are up a healthy 0.48% at $8.39 a share. That’s slightly underneath the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which is currently up 0.54%. 

2021 has been kind to AFIC shares as well. Year to date so far, this Listed Investment Company (LIC) is up 15%,  besting the ASX 200, which has gained a still-impressive 12% year to date. But now that we are nearly through with 2021, what should investors watch out for in 2022 with their AFIC shares?

What does 2022 hold for AFIC shares?

Well, let’s take a look at AFIC’s portfolio to start with and see what we see.

So AFIC has recently released its ‘Top 25 Investments’ list for its portfolio as of 30 November. It tells us that AFIC’s top holdings are as follows:

1. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)
2. CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)
3. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)
4. Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)
5. Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Following these 5 shares, we have Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), and National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB).

So as you can see, AFIC’s top holdings are not too different to those of the ASX 200. So if we want to plot AFIC’s potential course through 2022, we need to start with these shares. And since they are not too different to the ASX 200’s, we can say that whatever the ASX 200 does next year will likely determine how AFIC shares perform overall.

But remember, AFIC also has a small international shares portfolio that we discussed a few months ago. AFIC doesn’t tell us which of these shares it holds month to month. But as of its FY2021 annual report, it included Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA), McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD), PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX). These shares likely remain a small part of AFIC’s portfolio. But they could still give this LIC an edge if these companies enjoy a lucrative 2022.

Don’t forget about the NTA

The final factor to mention is AFIC’s present share price premium to its underlying assets. The company tells us that its net tangible assets (NTA) per share was $7.55 as of 30 November. Since AFIC shares closed at $8.25 each on 30 November and are currently asking for $8.39, we can conclude that AFIC shares are trading at a significant premium to their underlying value right now (around 10%).

It’s likely that for AFIC shareholders, this premium will need to be maintained for AFIC to at least match the ASX 200’s returns. Say if the ASX 200 and AFIC’s share portfolio hypothetically both return 10% in 2022. If AFIC’s NTA premium falls away and AFIC’s share price returns to its NTA, its share price could go nowhere.

So we don’t yet know how the AFIC share price will go in 2022. But how the ASX 200 itself fares next year will give us a good indication of how AFIC shares will perform.

The post Invested in AFIC (ASX:AFI) shares? Here’s what to watch in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why has the AFIC (ASX:AFI) share price had such an average start to December?
• AFIC (ASX:AFI) aims to grow its dividends faster than inflation. Is it delivering?

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns Mastercard, McDonald’s, National Australia Bank Limited, and Starbucks. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon, Apple, Macquarie Group Limited, Mastercard, Netflix, PayPal Holdings, Starbucks, and 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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