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If you’re looking for some growth shares to add to your portfolio this month, then you may want to look at the ones below.

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

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

The first ASX growth share to look at is Life360. It operates in the digital consumer subscription services market, with a focus on products and services for digitally native families, where all members of the household are connected by smartphones.

The company’s key offering is the increasing popular Life360 app. This app has been developed for families with features such as communications, driving safety, and location sharing. At the last count, the company’s Global Monthly Active User (MAU) base stood at a massive 32.3 million. In addition, Life360 has also just expanded into the wearables market via the acquisition of Jiobit. This gives it cross-selling opportunities to its large subscriber base.

The team at Bell Potter are very positive on Life360. As a result, they currently have a buy rating and $10.75 price target on its shares.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

Another ASX growth share to look at is NEXTDC. It is one of the Asia-Pacific region’s leading data centre operators. Due to strong demand for data centre capacity, which is being driven by the structural shift to the cloud, NEXTDC has been growing its sales and operating earnings at a solid rate.

For example, in FY 2021 the company reported a 23% increase in data centre services revenue to $246.1 million and a 29% jump in EBITDA to $134.5 million.

Pleasingly, this strong demand isn’t expected to soften any time soon. As a result, management is guiding to revenue growth of 16% to 20% and EBITDA growth of 19% to 23% in FY 2022.

And one leading broker doesn’t expect its growth to stop there. A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts are expecting NEXTDC to continue to grow its EBITDA at ~20% per annum through to FY 2024.

In light of this, the broker has a conviction buy rating and $14.40 price target on its shares.

The post 2 outstanding ASX growth shares named as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Broker names the 3 best ASX tech shares to buy
• Why the Life360 (ASX:360) share price could be heading higher
• Here are the 3 hottest ASX shares to buy right now: expert
• 5 ASX shares under $10 that have more than doubled in the past year
• 3 top ASX growth shares for investors in September

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Life360, Inc. 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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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, Tribeca Investment Partners Alpha Plus portfolio manager Jun Bei Liu reveals the conviction behind her 2 biggest ASX holdings.

Investment style

The Motley Fool: How would you describe your fund to a potential client?

Jun Bei Liu: I manage an Aussie equity long-short fund. We essentially invest all in Australia and our benchmark is S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which means we try to outperform our benchmark year in, year out, regardless of whether it’s an up market or down market. 

What does a ‘long-short fund’ mean? We can take advantage of a company that we think the share price will go up, and also we can short stocks where we take advantage where we think the share price will go down. We take both sides, which does make us much more defensive on the way down when the market goes down. 

When the market goes higher, it makes us just more active and finding more opportunities to buy. And our fund’s currently sitting just over $1 billion dollars. I think that has grown probably 3-fold since last time we spoke.

MF: Last year I remember you were a big advocate of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT). Now that the Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) deal has been revealed, how do you feel about it? Have you sold off or are you holding onto the shares?

JBL: We took some profit but we still remain a shareholder of Afterpay. 

The reason we took some profit is that though we believe it’s a really great thing for Afterpay to move to the next level, it does reduce that buy now, pay later exposure. Because it’s now part of a bigger group and Square does make quite a lot of money from Bitcoin and a lot of other things. That is quite different from what we used to invest in.

My view is that Afterpay needs to take this step to quickly move onto the next level. I think M&A will continue in the sector. I’m still not ruling out that there might be somebody else that will come in to bid for Afterpay — just simply because Afterpay is a first mover and is the market leader in this space. It’s the innovator and also is the one with the most active user within its ecosystem. 

Afterpay also is just at the cusp of monetising its substantial ecosystem now that they start charging for some of the display advertising and some of those redirection trades. There’s a lot of opportunity within its business and this would really take it to the next level.

ASX shares that are perfect post-COVID reopening plays

MF: What are your two biggest holdings?

JBL: One of them is Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD), believe it or not. 

Our view of that is we were quite fortunate. We knew this is a premium asset, it’s something that’s difficult to come by. It’s very unique in this sense that there are not many listed airports around the world. And then we knew just before the pandemic hit, Tasmania [Hobart] Airport was sold at a substantial premium to the listed price at the time.

We saw this as a very strong reopening trade, a high quality asset. It is very defensive and it’s very, very quality skew. We would have this as one of the largest positions and then a bid came through, it was a really good price. We were just waiting to see what the next step is. And we continue to think that the bid will probably come back probably closer to $9 at the end.

If you look at the consortium itself, it’s a very high quality consortium. They know the importance and the quality of this asset. It’s so rare. I just think it’s better to be patient at this point. But I do like to see the management engage once the bid comes back with a more realistic number.

[Ed’s note: Sydney Airport received a new $8.75 per share bid on Monday, after this interview.]

IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) is in my top 5 positions at the moment. 

The universities together previously held over 40% of the company. They sold down some parts of their stake and then we took advantage of it. We have always liked this company. It’s a very high quality company exposed to global student placements. 

Obviously, it was hit very hard when the students couldn’t travel, couldn’t come in. Also, the amazing thing about this company is that it’s not just students coming to Australia. It’s going global. It has huge exposure across the UK, Canada, and many other countries. Essentially just leveraged to that global movement from students wanting to be educated in some of the top universities. 

Short term earnings have been impacted because of the COVID and, ultimately, will move past this. Once we have all the vaccinations or vaccination passports, these students will return. 

MF: IDP shares have already gone up 57% this year. But you feel like there’s more growth left?

JBL: Yeah, absolutely. It has gone up a lot but, in terms of its earnings, it has yet to return. In the next 12 months, we do expect meaningful return coming for this company, as its earnings grow higher and its multiple continues to expand.

The post 2 ASX shares ready to explode after COVID: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• ASX 200 up, Sydney Airport flies, Nuix rises
• Is worst over for ASX gold shares as Macquarie upgrades sector?
• Here are the 3 heaviest trading ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Square and Sydney Airport Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Idp Education Pty Ltd, and Square. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) share price has been a strong performer over the last year, rising by 135%.

There are a few different reasons why this business could be a good one to hold for the long-term.

What is Pro Medicus?

If readers haven’t heard of Pro Medicus before, it describes itself as a leading medical imaging IT provider which was founded in 1983. The company provides a full range of radiology IT software and services to hospitals, imaging centres and healthcare groups around the world.

The company boasts that it offers one of the most comprehensive end-to-end offerings in radiology. It has offices in Melbourne, Berlin and San Diego.

That’s what the company does. These are some important reasons why investors may want to hold Pro Medicus in their portfolio:

Strong profit margins

Pro Medicus may be one of the most profitable businesses on the ASX when it comes to its profit margins.

The healthcare technology business recently reported its FY21 result which showed a sizeable amount of revenue growth at very high profit margins.

It generated a total of $67.9 million of revenue – an increase of 19.5% year on year. With that, the business saw underlying profit before tax growth of 41% to $42.6 million. Net profit rose 33.7% to $30.9 million. The net profit can be a key driver of the Pro Medicus share price.

Pro Medicus said that it had an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin of 63.2% for the year. The net profit after tax margin works out to be 45.4%.

The higher the profit margins, the more of the new revenue that Pro Medicus can turn into net profit.

Major partnerships, client wins and business progress

Pro Medicus has won announced a number of positive agreements over the last year or so.

There have been some large wins in both Europe and the US. For example, it won a 7-year deal with Intermountain Healthcare, the largest health system in Utah, worth $40 million.

Another example would be the $31 million, 7-year deal with the University of California (including all five academic campuses).

It has signed research collaboration agreements with NYU Langone Health and Mayo Clinic, which Pro Medicus said were two of the most prestigious academic healthcare institutions in North America. Those agreements were signed to provide a framework for collaboration to facilitate development and commercialisation in the field of AI, utilising the Pro Medicus Visage AI Accelerator platform.

Balance sheet and dividends

At the current Pro Medicus share price, its dividend only amounts to a fully franked dividend yield of 0.25%.

However, longer-term shareholders are benefiting from compounding growth of its dividend. It declared a final dividend of 8 cents per share, bringing the total for the year to 15 cents per share. That full year dividend was an increase of 25% compared to FY20. Shareholders are getting growing cash returns each year.

Pro Medicus’ balance sheet remains in a position of strength, it remains debt free. Its cash and other financial assets increased by 42.4% to $61.8 million. Management can use this cash for a variety of purposes like paying dividends, investing for organic growth or potentially making acquisitions.

The post Here are 3 reasons why Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) is a great ASX share to own appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Why BlueBet, Fortescue, Hansen, & Pro Medicus shares are sinking
• ASX 200 midday update: Fortescue & Pro Medicus sink, gold miners rise
• Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) share price down 5% on broker downgrade
• Top performing ASX 200 healthcare shares in August

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 Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Pro Medicus 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 good news for income investors in this low interest rate environment, is that there are countless dividend shares to choose from on the Australian share market.

But with so many options, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy.

To narrow things down, I have picked out two ASX dividend shares that are rated as buys by analysts. They are as follows:

DEXUS Property Group (ASX: DXS)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Dexus. It is an Australian real estate company focused on owning, managing, and developing office, industrial, and retail properties. The company’s areas of operation include a direct property portfolio, which directly invests in Australian office and industrial properties, and third-party fund management. The latter side of the business manages office, industrial and retail properties located across Australia.

The team at Macquarie are very positive on the company’s outlook. So much so, last week the broker upgraded the company’s shares to an outperform rating with an $11.67 price target. Macquarie is also forecasting dividends per share of 52.9 cents in FY 2022 and 57.3 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current Dexus share price of $10.54, this will mean yields of 5% and 5.4%, respectively.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

Another ASX dividend share to look at is South32. It is a diversified mining company with exposure to a range of commodities. One of those is aluminium, which the team at Goldman Sachs believe is in the early stages of a multi-year bull market. It is largely for this reason that the broker has a buy rating and $3.60 price target on the mining giant’s shares.

The broker is also expecting the favourable commodity prices to underpin big dividend payments in the coming years. Goldman has pencilled in dividends per share of 22.6 US cents in FY 2022 and 27.7 US cents in FY 2023. Based on current exchange rates and the latest South32 share price of $3.44, this will mean fully franked yields of 9% and 10.9%, respectively.

The post Analysts name 2 high yield ASX dividend shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 heaviest traded ASX 200 shares this Friday
• Why the South32 (ASX:S32) share price is leaping 5% today
• 2 excellent ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) mining shares that could be buys
• Why Afterpay, CBA, Omni Bridgeway, & South32 shares tumbled lower today
• Here are the 3 heaviest trading ASX 200 shares on Thursday

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 Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished the day with a late surge into positive territory. The benchmark index rose 0.2% to 7,425.2 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to fall

The Australian share market is expected to edge lower on Tuesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 20 points or 0.3% lower this morning. This is despite US markets starting the week on a positive note. On Wall Street the Dow Jones rose 0.75% and the S&P 500 climbed 0.25%, but the Nasdaq dropped 0.1%.

Iron ore price tumbles

It could be a difficult day for mining giants BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) after the iron ore price pulled back further. According to Metal Bulletin, the spot iron ore price has fallen 4.5% to US$123.84 a tonne. The steel making ingredient continues to slide amid steel production curbs in China.

Oil prices rise

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could have a good day after oil prices pushed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.3% to US$70.63 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 1% to US$73.64 a barrel. US supply concerns boosted prices to a one-week high.

Gold price rises

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch after the gold price edged higher. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.15% to US$1,794.7 an ounce. Weaker bond yields were behind the gold price rise.

Shares going ex-dividend

Another group of ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend on Tuesday and could trade lower. This includes appliance manufacturer Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG), poultry company Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: IGO), media giant News Corp (ASX: NWS), and telco TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG).

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

More reading

• 3 excellent ASX share ideas for investors this week
• ASX 200 up, Sydney Airport flies, Nuix rises
• Is worst over for ASX gold shares as Macquarie upgrades sector?
• Here are the 3 heaviest trading ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Fortescue (ASX:FMG) shares bounce off 9-month low as iron ore sell-off continues

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 TPG Telecom 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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Investors looking for ASX shares to buy this week may want to look at the ones listed below.

Here’s why these ASX shares could be good additions to your portfolio:

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

The first ASX share to look at is Breville. It is the leading appliance manufacturer behind a number of popular brands. In FY 2021, Breville was on form and reported a 24.7% increase in revenue to $1,187.7 million and a 39.6% jump in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to $136.4 million. The latter was ahead of management’s upgraded EBIT guidance of $136 million.

In response to its results, UBS retained its buy rating and $35.70 price target on its shares. Its analysts appear confident its solid growth can continue for some time to come. This is thanks partly to its global expansion.

Pushpay Holdings Group Ltd (ASX: PPH)

Another ASX share to look at is this leading donor management and community engagement platform provider to the faith sector. It has been growing its operating revenue at a strong rate in recent years thanks to a combination of organic growth and the benefits of acquisitions. The latter has continued in FY 2022 with Pushpay recently announcing the US$150 million acquisition of Resi Media. Management expects the strategically compelling acquisition of a market-leading faith-focused streaming platform to broaden Pushpay’s core product offering.

Jarden currently has a buy rating and NZ$2.10 (A$2.03) price target on the company’s shares.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

A final ASX share to look at is this online furniture and homewares retailer. Temple & Webster has also been growing at a quick rate in recent years. The catalyst for this has been the structural shift to online shopping and its strong market position. For example, last month Temple & Webster released its full year results and revealed an 85% increase in revenue to $326.3 million and a 141% jump in EBITDA to $20.5 million. The good news is the shift online is still only in its infancy, particularly for this category in Australia. This bodes well for its future growth.

Morgan Stanley is positive on the company. It currently has an overweight rating and $16.00 price target on its shares.

The post 3 excellent ASX share ideas for investors this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These 8 ASX shares are going ex-dividend this week
• 2 ASX shares that may be worth looking at this weekend
• 2 fast-growing ASX shares named as buys
• How have ASX retail shares performed during the August 2021 earnings season?
• The Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price is having a bad week but is up 3% today

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 shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Temple & Webster 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by 0.25% today to 7,425 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD)

The Sydney Airport share price rose 4.6% today after receiving another takeover offer from a consortium of investors including IFM Investors.

This new offer is $8.75 cash per Sydney Airport share. This is a higher offer than the previous offers of $8.25 per share and $8.45 per share. Those offers were rejected by Sydney Airport.

The terms of this new offer are consistent with the proposal from the consortium last month.

After taking advice and considering all of the relevant factors, the ASX 200 share has decided to grant the consortium due diligence access on a non-exclusive basis so that the consortium can put forward a binding proposal. The due diligence is expected to take four weeks from entry into a non-disclosure agreement.

In regards to accepting the offer or not, Sydney Airport said:

Should the consortium make a binding offer at $8.75 cash per stapled security then, subject to the parties entering into a binding scheme implementation agreement on terms acceptable to Sydney Airport (including as to the timeframe to implementation), and Sydney Airport having completed an assessment of the conditionality of the binding offer to its satisfaction, the current intention of the boards is to unanimously recommend that securityholders vote in favour of the proposal in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding that the proposed transaction is in the best interests of Sydney Airport securityholders.

The ASX 200 share noted that there is no certainty this will lead to a binding offer.

Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL)

The Nuix share price increased more than 3% today after announcing an acquisition.

Nuix said that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Topos Labs Inc business, which is based in Boston. It’s a developer of natural language processing (NLP) software that helps computer systems better understand text and spoken words at speed and scale.

The ASX 200 business said that Topo’s early-stage platform is already able to automate accurate analysis and classification of complex content in documents, electronic communications, and social media. Nuix said that NLP models can be defined directly by business users through the no-code user interface, reducing the time required to identify risk in an organisation’s data. Topos is then also able to present the risk assessment of confidential, sensitive, and regulated content in user-friendly dashboards.

The initial cost of the acquisition is US$5 million on financial close, with the potential for a further US$20 million comprised of $18.5 million cash and up to US$1.5 million in performance rights payable over 30 months.

Nuix engineering founder and chief scientist David Sitsky said:

The acquisition of Topos is an exciting evolution in Nuix’s journey. Integrating the Nuix engine’s ability to process vast quantities of unstructured data with the next generation NLP capabilities of Topos will be game-changing for Nuix’s product portfolio.

Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL)

The Incitec Pivot share price rose 1.5% after providing an update about its Waggaman ammonia plant in Louisiana and the impact of Hurricane Ida.

After running at “nameplate capacity” since the re-start at the end of May, the Waggaman plant was brought down on 28 August 2021 in anticipation of the hurricane to ensure the safety of its people and to protect the ASX 200 share’s plant against damage.

Inspections undertaken since the hurricane have not identified any material damage to the plant. The plant’s re-start has been awaiting restoration of high voltage industrial power and utilities from third party providers. Factoring in the anticipated restoration of power and utilities, the total outage is expected to be approximately four weeks from the date the plant was brought down.

Based on current market prices for ammonia, and the planned restart schedule, the loss of earnings before interest (EBIT) is approximately US$28 million, or $21 million in net profit after tax terms.

The post ASX 200 up, Sydney Airport flies, Nuix rises appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Is worst over for ASX gold shares as Macquarie upgrades sector?
• Here are the 3 heaviest trading ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• ASX 200 tech shares are dragging the market on Monday
• Why Energy Resources of Australia, Incitec Pivot, Sydney Airport, & Talga are rising

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 recommended Nuix Pty Ltd. 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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Things could finally be looking up for ASX gold shares after a top broker upgraded the sector.

This could help explain why these ASX miners have outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) on Monday.

The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price and Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price jumped more than 3% each.

The Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) was the relative laggard as it “only” increased by 1.9% to $24.45. But investors won’t be complaining as that’s still well ahead of the 0.3% gain by the ASX 200.

Outlook for ASX gold shares improves on upgrades

There could be more gains ahead too as worries about further big falls in the gold price are assuaged.

The analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) have upgraded their short- and medium-term gold price forecast. This is in light of their revised 10-year yield forecast for US government bonds.

Broker sees limited downside for gold price

The broker is expecting the gold price to average US$1,750 an ounce in the 2021 December quarter. That’s around a 4% increase in Macquarie’s previous CY21 forecasts.

The precious metal is currently trading just under US$1,800 an ounce, so the downside appears limited for this year.

The news will be a relief for gold investors. Since the price of the commodity tumbled from its record peak of around US$2,067 an ounce in August last year, investors have dumped ASX gold shares.

Why the gold price may not fall much further

The fear was that rising US government bond yields will diminish the appeal of gold. Both assets are regarded as safe-haven investments, but one doesn’t pay a distribution.

Hence, as the COVID-19 economic recovery takes hold, bond yields will rise. This makes buying US government bonds a more attractive proposition to gold.

But the delta variant of the virus is dampening the recovery outlook for the global economy. This is prompting some to question if US government bond yields can rise as much as earlier forecast.

ASX gold shares enjoying an upgrade

These doubts are a boon for ASX gold shares. And given that most of these miners have crashed into a bear market, which is a peak-to-trough fall of 20% or more, the sector could be fertile ground for bargain hunters.

This may be particularly so as Macquarie has upgraded its recommendation on the Newcrest share price to “outperform”.

The broker’s 12-month price target on Australia’s largest gold miner was increased by 7% to $29 a share.

Macquarie also upgraded its rating on the Evolution Mining share price to “neutral” from “underperform”. The price target for Evolution Mining was lifted by 3% to $4 a share.

Best ASX gold shares to buy now

The broker’s top pick for the sector is Northern Star. Macquarie reiterated its buy call on the shares and boosted the price target by 8% to $14 a share.

Macquarie is expecting the gold price to average US$1,625 an ounce in 2022 before bottom around US$1,500 the year after.

The post Is worst over for ASX gold shares as Macquarie upgrades sector? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 3 heaviest trading ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• ASX 200 tech shares are dragging the market on Monday
• National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) share price dragged lower by downgrade
• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price struggles amid broker sell rating

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Macquarie Group Limited and Newcrest Mining 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 owns shares of and 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 Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price has struggled to elevate from 10-month lows following the continued weakness in iron ore prices.

However, the iron ore giant could soon be making “one of its biggest strategic pivots” to lithium.

Rio Tinto to ramp up exposure to battery materials

Back in July, Rio Tinto confirmed its $2.4 billion commitment to fund its Jadar lithium-borates project in Serbia.

The move would “scale up Rio Tinto’s exposure to battery materials, and demonstrate the company’s commitment to investing capital in a disciplined manner to further strengthen its portfolio for the global energy transition.”

The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported that Rio Tinto’s new head of minerals, Sinead Kaufman, has just returned home from a trip to Serbia.

“While in the Serbian capital Belgrade, she met with Prime Minister Ana Brnabić to personally update her about how the project’s environmental impact assessment was progressing.”

One of Kaufman’s immediate challenges is to overcome the mounting local scrutiny of building a new mine.

According to the SMH, local conservation groups and protests have attracted 130,000 signatures. Reportedly it has even raised “the prospect of a referendum on whether it should go ahead”.

If successful, Rio Tinto believes it will emerge as the “largest source of lithium supply in Europe for at least the next 15 years.”

Rio Tinto said that Jadar will be one of the largest industrial investments in Serbia, “contributing 1% directly and 4% indirectly to GDP.”

Assuming all things go to plan, the first saleable production is expected in 2026. This will ramp up to full production in 2029. At full capacity, the mine will produce ~58,000 tonne of lithium carbonate, 160,000 tonne of boric acid and 255,000 tonne of sodium sulphate annually.

Kaufman told the SMH that “even with that [Jadar], we see that EV demand will require another 40 Jadars to be built.”

“We see a strong demand for lithium in batteries in particular,” she added.

Rio Tinto share price snapshot

The Rio Tinto share price is down 6.86% year to date after sliding ~16% in August.

The post Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price grounded as US$2.4b lithium mine faces local opposition appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• How have ASX resources shares performed during the August 2021 earnings season?
• Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) share price at 10-month lows. What’s next?
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Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 King Island Scheelite Limited (ASX: KIS) share price ended the day in positive territory following a company announcement.

At market close, the mining company’s shares finished at 18.5 cents, up 5.71%.

New offtake agreement

According to the release, King Island Scheelite advised it has secured an offtake agreement with physical commodity trader and merchant, Traxys.

Under the deal, 90,000 metric tonne units (equivalent to 10 kilograms) of tungsten trioxide will be supplied annually from King Island Scheelite’s Dolphin Tungsten Project. Combined with the Wolfram agreement, this represents around 70% of the total annual production output from the mine.

King Island Scheelite noted that the agreement is for a total quantity of 330,000 units of tungsten trioxide. The processing plant has been commissioned and will operate until the order is completely fulfilled.

The price received each month for the concentrate will be dependent on market prices for Ammonium Para Tungstate (APT). Currently, APT is fetching for up to US$315 per metric unit tonne. The price has accelerated approximately 35% in 2021, despite COVID-19 impacts on the automotive and aviation sectors.

With the current price and exchange rates, the agreement translates to revenue of around $100 million for King Island Scheelite.

Previously, the company had entered into an agreement for tungsten trioxide with Kalon Resources, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Noble Group. However, certain financial milestones were not met, and a termination notice has been served. It is expected this will take effect on 10 November.

About the King Island Scheelite share price

Since the beginning of 2021, King Island Scheelite shares have risen 90%. Although, when factoring in the last 12 months, these gains extend to over 200% for investors.

The company’s share price reached an all-time high of 35.5 cents in March this year before profit-takers swopped in. And even with today’s higher price, its shares have continued to gradually slide lower over the longer-term.

King Island Scheelite presides a market capitalisation of roughly $77.7 million, with 408 million shares on its books.

The post Why the King Island Scheelite (ASX:KIS) share price rose 6% today 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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