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The Bitcoin (CRYTPO: BTC) price, unlike ASX shares, doesn’t move on quarterly financial reports. But it sure does move.

But as we’ve been running our slide rules over the performance of ASX companies in the quarter just gone by (Q1 FY22), we thought we’d see how the world’s number one crypto by market cap stacks up.

How did the Bitcoin price perform in Q1 FY22?

The digital token commenced the last quarter trading for US$33,572 on 1 July, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Three months later, on 30 September, that same virtual coin was worth US$43,790, a gain of 30%.

While that’s a handsome gain, investors weren’t spared the Bitcoin price volatility that’s part and parcel when investing in most cryptos.

Bitcoin hit a quarterly low of US$29,807 on 20 July and reached a quarterly high of US$52,633 on 6 September. That’s a price range of more than 76%.

What moved investor sentiment during the quarter?

The Bitcoin price was pushed and pulled on various fronts over the quarter.

Increasing inflation concerns was one of the factors helping drive prices higher. According to a recent survey by global crypto platform Gemini, “59% of respondents believe cryptocurrencies will offer better long-term growth potential than the Aussie dollar”.

Then there was China.

The Chinese government’s move to stamp out crypto mining and discourage trading certainly put a short-term damper on the Bitcoin price.

As did global investor jitters about the potential financial ripple effects of China’s debt laden property giant China Evergrande Group (HKG: 3333). Jitters which brought 98 of the top 100 cryptos into the red on 21 September.

But it doesn’t take the world’s most populous nation and number 2 economy to move the Bitcoin price.

Bitcoin initially climbed on news that central America’s El Salvador was adopting it as legal tender. That measure was pushed through by the government, which enabled citizens to buy and sell items using the government’s cryptocurrency wallet, Chivo.

However, on 7 September, the day of the rollout, glitches in Chivo were partly responsible for seeing Bitcoin tank by 11% in 24 hours. Those glitches were fixed later that day.

In the wild world of cryptos, these were just some of the forces impacting on the Bitcoin price over the quarter just past.

The post What happened to the Bitcoin price in the FY22 first quarter? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Are NFTs a bubble awaiting a pin or the next big investment theme?
• Here’s what happened to the Bitcoin price in September
• How these top 3 cryptos performed in the first quarter of FY22
• What’s driving the Bitcoin price surge?
• Why the Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) price is trouncing Bitcoin’s gains

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Bitcoin. 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 Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) share price will be one to watch today.

This follows the release of the regional bank’s full year results this morning.

Bank of Queensland share price on watch after strong profit growth

• Statutory net profit after tax up 221% year on year to $369 million or 206% to $352 million excluding ME Bank
• Cash net profit after tax up 83% to $412 million or 73% to $389 million excluding ME Bank
• Net interest margin (NIM) of 1.92%
• CET1 ratio of 9.8%, up 2 basis points and ahead of 9% to 9.5% target
• Final fully franked dividend of 22 cents per share declared, bringing full year dividend to 39 cents per share

What happened in FY 2021?

Bank of Queensland returned to form in FY 2021 following a difficult and COVID-impacted 12 months in FY 2020.

The bank reported a 13% increase in total income to $1.26 billion for the year including the ME Bank acquisition or 5% to $1.18 billion excluding it. Management advised that this reflects growth in its net interest income thanks to quality asset growth and NIM improvement.

Things were even better for its cash earnings, which grew 83% year on year. This was driven by the ME Bank acquisition, increased net interest income, and a credit to its loan impairment expense. The latter reflects sound credit, a $71 million reduction in its collective provision from the improved economic outlook, and improvements in data quality relating to collateral.

Another positive from the result was its lending growth. Housing growth (excluding ME Bank) was 1.7x system with growth delivered across all channels. Its Business segment also delivered growth of $0.6 billion for the year as market conditions improved.

This ultimately led to the company finishing the period with a CET1 ratio of 9.80%. This was up 2 basis points compared to FY 2020 and is comfortably ahead of the target range of 9.0 – 9.5%. Management notes that this strong capital position leaves the bank well placed to support future growth and its transformation investment.

It also allowed the bank to declare a final fully franked dividend of 22 cents per share. This brings its full year dividend to 39 cents per share. Based on the current Bank of Queensland share price, this represents a fully franked 4% yield.

What did management say?

Bank of Queensland’s Managing Director and CEO, George Frazis, commented: “BOQ’s financial results for FY21 underscores the Group’s progress on strategic execution with strong cash earnings, an increase in NIM and cash EPS growth.”

“Our refreshed strategy announced in February 2020 set out a clear path to return the Group to sustainable profitability and today’s results show our momentum with four consecutive halves of improving performance. We have achieved this during a period marked by uncertainty, and also in a year where we executed the transformative acquisition of ME Bank. This transaction delivers further scale in retail, enhances our portfolio diversification, and we have accelerated capturing synergies from the integration,” he added.

Outlook

No earnings or dividend guidance has been given for FY 2022 due to the uncertain environment.

However, management advised that it is cautiously optimistic that Australia remains well placed for economic recovery, characterised by further house price rises and solid growth in consumer spending and business investment.

“BOQ remains focused on achieving sustainable profitable growth. In FY22, we are expecting at least 2% jaws, driven by above system growth in our BOQ and VMA brands, and by returning ME Bank to around system growth by year end. We expect NIM to decline by c.5-7bps in FY22, as competition continues and the low interest rate environment remains. We expect expenses to grow by 3% on an underlying basis to support business growth, which will be offset by accelerated integration synergies,” management stated.

The Bank of Queensland share price is up 29% in 2021.

The post Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price on watch after 83% cash profit jump appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Here’s what happened to the Bank of Queensland share price in the FY22 first quarter
• Own Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) shares? Here’s what to expect from its FY21 results
• Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price hits 52-week high on Friday
• Top broker tips Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price as a 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 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 Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price had a disappointing run in the first quarter of FY22. 

Since the beginning of July to the end of September, the iron ore producer’s shares tumbled about 36% in value. This makes the company by far one of the worst performers on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Fortescue’s closing price on 30 June was $23.34. By the close on September 30, this had fallen to $14.96. That’s a drop of 35.9% over the quarter.

At Tuesday’s market close, Fortescue shares finished down 1.4% on the day to $14.79.

What’s happened to Fortescue?

There are a number of factors that have caused Fortescue shares to fall in recent times.

First and foremost, the price of iron ore collapsed after reaching a record high of US$219 a tonne in mid-July. However, the price has rebounded this week, which could help the Fortescue share price going forward.

Chinese efforts to reduce reliance on Australian iron ore, along with the potential default of Chinese property behemoth Evergrande Property Services Group Ltd (HKG: 6666), have impacted the market. This has led to supply concerns as policymakers from China have imposed harsh penalties for steel mills that exceed production limits.

Furthermore, Fortescue could suffer more than its peers as it produces a lower grade of iron ore. Steel producers prefer higher quality iron ore, which miners Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) supply. Consequently, this puts a squeeze on Fortescue’s margins.

Fortescue share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Fortescue shares have declined around 11% in value. However, when looking year to date, its losses are magnified to a sizeable 40% for the period.

Fortescue commands a market capitalisation of $45.5 billion and has more than 3 billion shares on its registry.

The post Why did the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price have such a lousy FY22 first quarter? 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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There are analysts out there that believe that the A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price could be worth looking at.

What has happened to the A2 Milk share price?

It has been a difficult time for long-term investors.

Since the start of 2021, A2 Milk shares have fallen 50%.

The past 12 months shows a decline of 60%.

From the peak in July 2020, it has dropped around 70%.

Just this month, investors learned that the company is facing a class action in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The proceedings, filed by Slater & Gordon Limited (ASX: SGH), are said to be brought on behalf of shareholders who bought shares on the ASX or NZSX between 19 August 2020 and 9 May 2021.

Regarding the lawsuit, A2 Milk thinks that it has complied with its disclosure obligations, denies any liability and will vigorously defend the proceedings. The company said it remains confident in the underlying fundamentals of the business and growth potential.

Why has the A2 Milk share price dropped so much?

In 2020, A2 Milk was riding high from the strength of demand for infant formula and other products as customers looked to stock their pantries.

But things have gone south since then.

In FY21 it reported revenue was down 30.3% to $1.21 billion, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 77.6% to $123 million (including $109 million of stock write-downs) and net profit after tax (NPAT) dropped 79.1% to $80.7 million.

A2 Milk explained that it was impacted by a significant decline in cross-border English label infant nutrition and other nutritional sales through daigou/reseller and e-commerce channels. This created substantial demand and supply volatility, which caused “material excess inventory issues that exacerbated the impact.”

In response to the large shift in the trading environment, A2 Milk took “significant action”, particularly in the fourth quarter of FY21, to address the excess inventory issues, increase marketing spending to drive demand, commence a review of its growth strategy and review options to deploy available capital.

Is it an opportunistic buy idea?

Views are mixed about the business.

Analysts at Credit Suisse don’t think so. The broker has a price target of $5.50 for the A2 Milk share price, suggesting it’s going to keep declining.

But there are others that are rather bullish, such as Citi. The brokers there have a price target of $7.20 for the A2 Milk share price. Citi noted the growth that supplier Synlait Milk Ltd (ASX: SM1) is expecting in FY22. Synlait said that it expects to return to robust profitability in FY22 with improved infant base powder volumes. By the end of FY23, Synlait is expecting to return to similar levels of profitability and operating cashflows as the years leading into FY21.

The brokers at Citi believes that demand is going to improve for A2 Milk.

A2 Milk itself said:

The board and management are confident in the underlying fundamentals of the business and that the growth opportunity in core markets remains strong. Coupled with opportunities for product innovation, category expansion and new markets, and supported by a healthy brand and strong balance sheet, the long-term outlook is positive. However, the outlook for FY22 remains challenging and uncertain and it will take time to recover.

The post Is the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price a top 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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk. 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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September was undoubtedly rough for ASX shares.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was down 2.7% for the month as investors grew nervous about the lofty valuations and the prospect of rising inflation and interest rates.

But paddling in a sea of red, Cyan Investment Management portfolio manager Dean Fergie managed to make some money over September.

“Happily the Cyan C3G Fund did not follow the broader market lower, finishing September with a monthly rise of 3.4% and taking the return for the first quarter of FY22 to 6.1% (all after fees),” he said in a memo to clients.

A major contributor to this result was a tidy profit from a pair of ASX shares that the fund only recently bought into.

ASX company that’s the ‘Uber for deliveries’

Fergie bought shares in Zoom2u Technologies Ltd (ASX: Z2U) during its initial public offering only a couple of months ago. That would have been at 20 cents a share.

Investors have gone nuts for the software-as-a-service provider since its 10 September ASX listing.

The stock ended September more than double its IPO price, gaining a whopping 147%.

According to Fergie, Zoom2U is “a technology-driven gig economy courier platform” that is “analogous to Uber, but for deliveries”.

“Prior to listing, Z2U heralded major corporate clients such as DHL, Nespresso, and Pact Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: PGH),” he said.

“But shortly after its IPO the company announced a number of new client contracts with Bing Lee, A-Mart Furniture, and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS).”

The fund manager thought there were 3 reasons for the bullishness of Zoom2U shares.

“The market was no doubt beginning to appreciate the material tailwinds the business is enjoying due to the extended lockdowns in VIC and NSW, competitor StarTrack’s industrial action, and the mounting pressures on the Australia Post system,” he said.

“[This] is driving a huge increase in parcel volumes and is likely to result in a significant increase in Zoom2U’s FY22 revenues.”

A rejuvenated small cap?

Shareholders of little-known market research data provider Pureprofile Ltd (ASX: PPL) have had a torrid time since listing 6 years ago.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the stock had lost more than 81% of its value since its July 2015 debut.

But Pureprofile shares completely woke up in September, kicking up 106%.

Fergie bought the stock in July.

“The company had been completely out of favour since it listed,” said Fergie.

“But a recent change in management, reduction in debt, a partnership with Flybuys and a return to profitability, along with some targeted investor marketing, has seen the market embrace the stock.”

The post 2 ASX shares that doubled our money in a month: 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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation 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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Ask A Fund Manager

The Motley Fool chats with fund managers so that you can get an insight into how the professionals think. In this edition, Datt Capital principal Emanuel Datt picks the 2 most tempting buys at the moment and explains why they appeal to him.

Hottest ASX shares

The Motley Fool: What are the 2 best stock buys right now?

Emanuel Datt: Since June, approximately 50% of Dusk Group Ltd (ASX: DSK)’s store network has been closed due to the ongoing COVID-related restrictions in New South Wales and Victoria. But one thing we did notice that we felt was significant was that the company’s revenue actually fell by far less than this percentage of the store network falling. 

To us, that indicates really excellent customer loyalty and love. Accordingly, expect that, as social restrictions loosen in NSW and Victoria, the company will be able to benefit from this reopening.

In addition, the company has had plans to expand the chain internationally for some time now — but this has really been delayed due to the lack of international travel. But now, as we’re seeing, international travel’s opening up somewhat, and we expect that to move a bit quicker as the broader society reopens. 

We’re really expecting the company to really charge out of the gate on this front at some time in the very near future. 

MF: How early did your fund buy into it?

We first took a position just after the [initial public listing] IPO. It was, I would say, early this year. I think it was January or February this year, so it was sort of in the low $2s that we started to buy. 

[Editor: Dusk shares closed Monday at $3.26.]

We should point out that we still think Dusk, even after this price rise, still looks undervalued by some margin on a peer-to-peer comparison basis. That’s really just based on current operations, it’s not attributing any sort of value uplift or growth factor that’s usually achieved by these retail teams once they go international. 

Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) is a great example of what the growth multiple could potentially be over time.

MF: And your second-best buy at the moment?

ED: SelfWealth Ltd (ASX: SWF) is our second-best stock buy right now.

SelfWealth is an online broking and wealth platform that has grown to become the number 3 player in the local retail broking market, and that’s from a standing start in 2016.

MF: It’s number 3 already?

ED: Absolutely. It overtook NABtrade a few months ago. 

To grow to number 3 from literally zero in the space of 5 years is really a great achievement. Basically, the company has almost 100,000 active clients and continues to win an outsized proportion of market share. We feel that there’s a significant opportunity to continue to grow via the rollout of new product — also, the ability to cross-sell to a captive audience via the ecosystem.

There’s been a new management team that joined about 6 months ago, and they’re sort of all digital natives so they’ve found their feet fairly quickly. Accordingly, the company is continuing to expand and sell their product at a rapid pace. 

We consider the company to be undervalued on a peer comparison, on a transactional basis. We’ve seen all transactions of similar companies priced at around $2000 a user, or thereabouts. This sort of implies that the market has significantly undervalued the company, and notwithstanding the significant opportunity to expand into other ancillary business lines itself.

MF: SelfWealth is in an industry where there’s a lot of competition, so what makes it stand out for you?

ED: I think just the sheer brand power is quite incredible. You see other competing brokers, Superhero is probably one of the biggest competitors out there, but if you look at alternative forms of data like their web traffic, SelfWealth’s engagement rates are really significantly higher than their competitors. 

For example, SelfWealth’s engagement rate in the sense of time on the website has risen 35% over the last 90 days, whereas Superhero engagement has risen only about 5% or 6%.

Even though these competitor brands do like to spend a lot on their PR and marketing and all that sort of thing, SelfWealth is more or less just chipping away quietly in the background and getting runs on the board. 

And SelfWealth also does have a big advantage because all the stock is held within a customer’s HIN — their direct name — rather than a custodial model that a lot of these other discount brokers tend to operate using. That’s very important from a consumer protection angle, as well.

The post 2 best ASX shares to buy right now: fund manager appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 obscure ASX shares to boom from ‘revenge spending’
• These three ASX retail shares delivered double (and triple!) digit returns in 2021

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Dusk 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 recommended Dusk 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 to bolster your portfolio with some blue chip shares, you may want to look at the three listed below.

Here’s why these blue chip ASX shares are highly rated right now:

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

The first blue chip ASX share to look at is Goodman Group. It is a leading integrated commercial and industrial property company with a portfolio of in-demand properties. These properties have exposure to key growth markets such as ecommerce and logistics. Thanks to strong demand and a material development pipeline, Goodman has been tipped to continue its solid growth in the coming years.

The team at Citi are very positive on its outlook. Its analysts currently have a buy rating and $26.00 price target on the company’s shares.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

Another ASX blue chip share to look at is REA Group. It is a leading provider of property and property-related services via websites and mobile apps across Australia and Asia. It is best-known for the realestate.com.au website which is dominating the ANZ market with an average of 121.9 million monthly visits to its website in FY 2021. This was up 35% year on year and is 3.3 times more than its nearest competitor. Looking ahead, thanks to its dominant market position, the thriving housing market, and new acquisitions and revenue streams, REA Group appears well-positioned for long term growth.

Macquarie is very positive on the company’s outlook. The broker currently has an outperform rating and $185.00 price target on its shares.

SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK)

A final blue chip ASX share to look at is this leading job listings company. Like REA Group, it is the leader in its field in the Australian market. It was thanks to this leadership position and a rebound in listing volumes that SEEK delivered a strong result in FY 2021. It reported a 1% increase in revenue to $1,591 million and a 58% jump in net profit after tax excluding significant items to $141 million.

Macquarie is also very positive on SEEK and expects it to benefit greatly as Australia’s unemployment level falls. The broker currently has an outperform rating and $37.00 price target on SEEK’s shares.

The post 3 buy-rated blue chip ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of SEEK 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 recommended REA Group Limited and SEEK 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 hold shares in Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), you’ve invested in some exciting, and potentially lifesaving, artificial intelligence technology.

The bank has recently implemented artificial intelligence (AI) technology designed to detect domestic and family violence.

The technology, developed in the CBA AI Labs, can recognise technology-facilitated abuse through analysing millions of transaction descriptions.

It’s the latest of several methods the bank has recently employed to identify and protect victims of domestic violence.

Let’s take a closer look at the CBA’s initiative.

CBA’s AI technology protecting Australians from violence

Owners of CBA shares will likely be proud the bank is one of the first in Australia to use AI to detect abusive behaviour in transaction descriptions within its CommBank App and Netbank.

The new technology allows the bank to proactively identify instances of technology-facilitated abuse, a targeted form of domestic and family violence.

CBA’s general manager of community and customer vulnerability, Justin Tsuei, commented on the new initiative:

Technology-facilitated abuse is a serious problem, and completely unacceptable behaviour… With this new model in place, not only are we able to proactively detect possible instances of abuse in transaction descriptions, but we can do so at an incredible scale.

The use of AI technology and machine learning techniques to help us address a serious issue like technology-facilitated abuse demonstrates how we can use innovative technology to create a safer banking experience for all customers, especially for those in vulnerable circumstances like victim-survivors of domestic and family violence.

Although CBA’s new AI measures likely haven’t moved the bank’s share price, it’s an impressive show of how technology can be used to help customers.

CBA began blocking transaction descriptions that include threatening, harassing, or abusive language last year.

Between 1 May and 31 July this year, CBA’s AI filter blocked more than 100,000 transaction descriptions using offensive language.

From those transactions, the bank’s AI model recognised 229 individual senders of potentially serious abuse. CBA then reviewed those senders to determine the appropriate action required.

The latest advance is part of a wider range of interventions CBA has introduced to support customers impacted by domestic and family violence.

These include delinking bank accounts so perpetrators can’t send abusive transactions and setting up safe accounts for victim-survivors.

The bank is also able to send warning letters to perpetrators. Finally, in extreme cases, it will terminate a customer’s banking relationship.

CBA share price snapshot

At the time of writing, the CBA share price is $104.89.

That’s 27% higher than it was at the start of 2021 and 52% higher than this time last year.

Right now, CBA has a market capitalisation of around $178 billion.

The post Own CBA (ASX: CBA) shares? Here’s the latest on the bank’s AI technology appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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As inflation and rising interest rate fears grip the markets, technology shares have shed a lot of their valuation in the past few weeks.

In fact, since 7 September, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) has plunged a painful 8.3%.

But not all tech shares are the same.

There are some businesses that are post-COVID reopening beneficiaries and others that are growing so fast it matters little what the rest of the market is doing.

Two experts this week picked out a pair of ASX shares that have exactly these tailwinds.

Waving your cards on Freedom Day

Shares for fintech Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) have sunk 12% since 24 September.

But that might just make for a buying opportunity. As Burman Invest chief investment officer Julia Lee suggested, the business has a rosy outlook.

“Tyro has seen not only strong growth year-on-year, but the growth is likely ahead of it in the short term because of that reopening trade,” she told Switzer TV Investing.

“So I think from a short term, as well as a medium and long term basis, that it will do well.”

Tyro’s biggest business is providing card payment terminals to retailers, especially in the restaurant and takeaway sector.

Lee added that putting all tech stocks into the same basket is counterproductive, as each company has different real-world forces impacting them.

“With that reopening trade, you’d expect things like travel and hospitality to still do well despite that tech element being in there.”

Shaw and Partners senior investment adviser Adam Dawes said that the pandemic has shifted Australians well and truly onto card payments.

“Cashless society is continuing to happen now. I think I’ve had $20 in my wallet for the last 3 months and never had to spend it.”

The ASX tech stock that’s doubled this year

Yes, ASX tech shares are struggling. But try telling that to Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB) shareholders.

After starting the year at around $2, the stock price is up a whopping 140%. Aussie Broadbank shares were going for $4.81 at close on Tuesday afternoon.

But Dawes reckons there’s more to come from the internet service provider.

“I really like the stock. We’ve got a $5.50 price target on it… I think there’s a little bit of room to move on the upside on that one.”

With a market capitalisation of just above $1 billion, Aussie Broadband is still small fish compared to giant telcos like Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) and Optus.

But that’s its advantage, as far as Dawes is concerned.

“It’s taking a lot of market share from Telstra,” he said.

“Telstra is so big, so cumbersome, it can’t be nimble. Aussie Broadband is very, very nimble.”

Aussie last month raised $114 million from institutional investors then another $20 million from its retail shareholders.

Dawes expects this cash pool to go to good use.

“They are going to make some more acquisitions which will be EPS [earnings per share] accretive,” he said.

“As well, we expect them to announce some other deals with the NBN and some fibre stuff.”

The post 2 ASX tech shares that experts love right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Aussie Broadband Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Aussie Broadband Limited and Tyro Payments. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aussie Broadband Limited and Tyro Payments. 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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There are some ASX shares that are growing in size very quickly as they deliver rapid revenue growth.

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) blue chips are typically businesses that are experiencing slower growth than they used to because of how large they have become.

That’s not the case with the below ASX shares, which are increasing revenue at a triple digit rate:

Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

Pointsbet is a corporate bookmaker with operations in Australia and the US. The company says it has developed a scalable, cloud-based wagering platform through which it offers its clients innovative sports and racing wagering products. Its offering includes fixed odds sports, fixed odds racing, ‘pointsbetting’ and iGaming.

The company is focused on growth in the US with numerous agreements with US sports teams and steady expansion across different states. It also has an agreement with the broadcaster NBC. One of the latest agreements was with Austin FC from Major League Soccer, where Pointsbet was appointed as the exclusive sportsbook partner. Under the market access agreement, which is contingent on enabling legislation, Pointsbet is appointed the venue’s exclusive partner for sports betting operations in Texas.

The rapidly growing ASX share recently did a capital raising which aimed to raise around $400 million to provide funding to support North American marketing and client acquisition, technology and product development, US market access and government licensing fees, continued investment in talent and scale of operations, and balance sheet flexibility.

In FY21, the business saw its total turnover increase 228% to $3.78 billion, with US turnover rising 458% to $1.79 billion. Its total net win increased 154% to $208.5 million, whilst the US total net win increased 502% to $42.3 million.

Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT)

Cettire is a luxury online retailer that sells more than 160,000 products of clothing, shoes, bags and accessories from over 1,300 luxury brands. It recently announced it is expanding into the children’s luxury retailing sector too.

The management said with its FY21 result that the business has seen a substantial increase in active customers, very strong revenue growth, “robust” product margins and an increasing proportion of revenue coming from repeat customers.

In terms of the actual numbers it revealed, active customer growth of 285% to 114,830 was one of the statistics that it showed with triple digit growth. Reported sales revenue went up 304% to $92.4 million (it was an increase of 352% in constant currency terms).

The ASX share is already reporting profit at certain levels of its accounts. For example, it said in FY21 it made $2.1 million of adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) as well as $12.7 million of operating cashflow (up 131%). The statutory bottom line was a net loss of $0.3 million.

Cettire said that momentum has continued into FY22, with July 2021 unaudited gross revenue increased 181% year on year. Management said the company is looking to maximise its global revenue potential by taking a long-term view.

The post 2 ASX shares delivering rapid growth 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 shares of and has recommended Cettire Limited and Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cettire Limited and Pointsbet 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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