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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) charged to fresh all-time highs last week in what shaped up to be the ASX’s biggest week of the year so far.

Investors’ attention was immediately gripped by Monday’s news that the famous buy now, pay later (BNPL) pioneer Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) has received a takeover offer from the US payments giant Square Inc (NASDAQ: SQ) in an all-scrip deal. The Afterpay share price immediately exploded, of course, rising roughly 30% on Monday, and finishing the week up more than 36%.

The deal, if it goes ahead, would be the largest the ASX has ever seen, eclipsing other famous mergers like the buyout of the old Westfield Corporation by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CDI (ASX: URW) in 2018, or the legendary purchase of Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) by Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) back in 2007. The all-scrip offer of 0.375 shares of Square for every Afterpay share owned that is currently under Afterpay investors’ noses would equate to a deal worth almost $40 billion.

You can read all about Square, and the potential merger of these two payments giants here as part of the Motley Fool’s extensive coverage of this blockbuster ‘deal of the century’. But let’s check out how this news set the tone for the week.

So the ASX 200 was spurred to even greater heights after this news became public last Monday morning. The ASX 200 finished the week around 2% higher by Friday afternoon, actually closing at both a new intra-day and closing record high of 7,538.4 points on Friday afternoon. In addition to Afterpay’s obvious contribution to these gains, we also saw most ASX sectors rise healthily over the week.

The ASX banks led the charge, with all four majors rising steadily. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) was the standout performer, putting on a very robust 3.8% to finish the week at $103.75 per share. The other major ASX banks didn’t do quite as well as that, but all rose between 2% and 3% regardless. Despite the Afterpay deal not having much at all to do with its BNPL rival Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), we also saw Zip shares managing to rocket more than 16% over the week.

We also saw strong performances from other ASX blue chips too. Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) put up a healthy 3.33% rise to cross $40 per share for the first time since its Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV) spin off. Speaking of Endeavour, it was another strong performer, putting on 4.2% last week. Likewise, Coles and Wesfarmers also worked hard for their lodgings, both rising around 3% as well (Wesfarmers actually eeked out a 4.6% gain).

But the sector that has been so instrumental for the ASX 200’s recent highs – ASX resources shares – was the one dim spot on the share market last week. The big miners like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) all retreated between 1% and 2%.

How did the markets end the week?

As we’ve already established, the ASX 200 had a week to remember last week. Monday kicked things off on the right foot with a monster 1.3% gain. This was followed by a slight retreat of 0.4% on Tuesday, but Wednesday picked up where Monday left off with another 0.4% gain. Thursday built on that with a further 0.1% rise, which was supplemented by Friday’s 0.36% gain.

Overall, the ASX 200 started off the week at 7,392.6 points and finished up at 7,538.4 points – a rise of 1.97%.

Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) also stepped on the gas. The All Ords started the week at 7,664.2 points and ended up at 7,806.5 points – a rise of 1.9% for the week. It’s also a new record high for the All Ords, which has never seen the other side of 7,800 points before.

Which ASX 200 shares were the biggest winners and losers?

Time now for the Foolish gossip pages, our most salacious segment, where we check out the ASX 200’s biggest winners and poorest losers of the week. So get the coffee brewing as we, as always, start with the losers:

Worst ASX 200 losers	% loss for the week
Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA)	(12.2%)
PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)	(8.8%)
Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU)	(6%)
Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG)	(4.9%)

Well, the ASX 200 wooden spooner last week was a share that actually made the best winners last week – Champion Iron. Falling iron ore prices and nervousness about the Chinese economy drove all iron miners down last week. But Champion seemed to cop the worst of it, perhaps due to its recent share price performance.

Gaming company PointsBet was also in the wars last week. This company seemed to be shunned by the markets after announcing it has completed its share placement/entitlement offer for institutional investors. This raised $81 million at $8 per share, which the company intends to use for expansion into the North American markets.

Another miner in Perseus was also sold off last week. Unlike Champion Iron, Perseus is an ASX gold miner. However, gold prices also fell sharply last week, dipping back below US$1,770 an ounce after climbing as high as US$1,820 the previous week. This pulled Perseus and most other ASX gold miners lower during the week.

Finally, we had real estate advertiser Domain. Domain’s weakness seemed to stem from its rival REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) releasing its trading update for the month of July on Friday. This showed some potential major impacts from the rolling lockdowns that seem to be enveloping most of the country right now. Investors were, perhaps understandably, pessimistic on Domain shares as a result.

Now with the losers out of the way, let’s check out last week’s winners:

Best ASX 200 gainers	% gain for the week
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)	36.7%
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)	18.1%
Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)	16%
News Corporation (ASX: NWS)	11.3%

As you may have gathered by now, Afterpay was by far and away the ASX 200’s best performer last week, with its monster ~37% expansion of its market capitalisation.

Lithium miner Pilbara Minerals came next, with its still-impressive 18% gain. There wasn’t much news out of Pilbara last week, save from some bullish broker notes and news that US President Joe Biden hopes to see electric vehicles making at least half of all new American vehicles sold by 2023. Still, this company has been on fire in 2021 so far, now up an eye-watering 140% year to date.

Zip also saw a massive surge in attention, likely as a result of the Afterpay deal.

And lastly, we had News Corporation. The Murdoch-owned media giant delivered its full-year earnings results on Friday, which saw both revenues and profits surge. Investors responded as you might expect.

A wrap of the ASX 200 blue-chip shares

Before we… wrap things up, here is a look at how the ASX 200’s blue-chip shares are faring as we start on another week in paradise:

ASX 200 company	Last share price	Trailing P/E ratio	Trailing Dividend Yield	52-week high	52-week low
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)	$297.93	37.75	0.95%	$320.42	$242
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)	$103.75	23.08	2.39%	$106.57	$62.64
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)	$25.12	21.5	3.54%	$27.12	$16
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ)	$28.50	17.27	3.68%	$29.64	$16.40
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)	$26.69	20.49	3.37%	$27.84	$16.56
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)	$157.78	19.13	2.98%	$162.06	$118.36
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)	$23.05	8.27	10.72%	$26.58	$15.62
BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)	$52.10	28.04	3.97%	$54.55	$33.73
Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)	$130.05	8.34	6.97%	$137.33	$90.04
Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM)	$26.10	16.11	1.67%	$37.26	$23.08
Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL)	$22	–	2.34%	$27.60	$16.80
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)	$3.80	25.5	4.21%	$3.82	$2.66
Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)	$40.05	35.75	2.52%	$44.06	$35.96
Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)	$63.95	38.57	2.58%	$63.95	$43.50
Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)	$18.01	22.9	3.36%	$19.26	$15.28
Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)	$14.31	–	2.55%	$15.64	$12.36
Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD)	$7.72	–	–	$8.04	$5.02
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)	$132.15	–	–	$160.05	$69

And finally, here is the lay of the land for some leading market indicators:

• S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) at 7,538.4 points.
• All Ordinaries Index (XAO) at 7,86.5 points.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) at 35,209 points after rising 0.41% on Friday night (our time).
• Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) going for US$45,056 per coin.
• Gold (spot) swapping hands for US$1,764 per troy ounce.
• Iron ore asking US$172.35 per tonne.
• Crude oil (Brent) trading at US$70.70 per barrel.
• Australian dollar buying 73.54 US cents.
• 10-year Australian Government bonds yielding 1.19% per annum.

That’s all folks. See you next week!

The post ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Blockbuster Afterpay deal turbocharges ASX to new record highs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• If you invested $1000 in ANZ (ASX:ANZ) shares a decade ago, this is how much it would be worth now
• 2 ASX dividend shares named as buys
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Bitcoin, National Australia Bank Limited, Newcrest Mining Limited, Square, and Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, Bitcoin, CSL Ltd., Pointsbet Holdings Ltd, Square, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO, COLESGROUP DEF SET, Macquarie Group Limited, Telstra Corporation Limited, and Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended 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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The Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) share price will be one to watch on Monday.

This follows the release of its full year results for FY 2021 this morning.

Suncorp share price on watch after strong profit growth in FY 2021

• Revenue down 4% to $14,187 million
• Cash earnings up 42.1% to $1,064 million (vs Goldman Sachs estimate of $1,005 million)
• Net profit after tax up 13.1% to $1,033 million
• Final dividend of 40 cents per share and special dividend of 8 cents per share
• $250 million on-market share buyback

What happened in FY21 for Suncorp?

A key driver of the company’s solid performance during FY 2021 was its Australian Insurance business. It delivered its strongest top-line growth since 2013, with gross written premium (GWP) up 5.5%. This could bode well for the Suncorp share price today.

Management notes that as part of its focus on revitalising growth, its customer value propositions have been refined, new product features have been introduced, and an additional investment has been made in marketing.

The Suncorp Bank business’ performance improved, with home lending growing 0.8% during the second half of the year. This was driven by improvements in broker lodgements and settlements and improved approval turnaround times.

Positively, the company has made a net impairment release of $49 million, reflecting a $60 million reduction in its collective provision. This is due to the improvement in economic conditions since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Over in New Zealand, the company reported GWP growth of 9.2%. This was driven by a strong performance by the AA Insurance channel and growth in the intermediated commercial portfolios. However, this was partly offset by lower investment returns, the normalisation in working claims, and higher natural hazard costs.

Speaking of which, Suncorp notes that the La Nina weather pattern resulted in a higher number of events during FY 2021. This led to natural hazard costs of $1,010 million, which was $60 million above its FY 2021 allowance of $950 million.

What did management say?

Suncorp’s CEO, Steve Johnston, was pleased with the company’s performance given the challenging external backdrop of COVID-19 and the La Niña weather pattern.

He said: “While COVID-19 and the weather will continue to challenge our customers and our team, we know we have good momentum and a program of work that will further improve outcomes for our customers and shareholders.”

“We have been flexible and responsive in supporting our customers as we know the financial and emotional strain COVID-19 is inflicting on our communities. This includes a range of relief measures such as flexible premium options and loan deferrals. “

“A vaccinated population is key to building confidence and restoring movement between the two countries and the world. All members of our Board and our Australian-based ELT are either fully vaccinated or are awaiting their second vaccine,” he added.

What’s next for Suncorp?

Potentially weighing on the Suncorp share price today will be the company’s outlook.

While management notes that the operating environment has improved since the outbreak of COVID-19, it warned that the outlook remains uncertain, with lockdowns and restrictions currently in place in a number of states.

It also highlighted that approximately $115 million in GWP related to portfolios, which have been exited, will not repeat in FY 2022, and that its operating expenses are expected to rise due to project spending and restructuring charges.

However, management is a lot more positive on FY 2023, which could be the Suncorp share price’s saving grace today.

Commenting on its FY 2023 plan, management said: “The plan aims to deliver a growing business with a sustainable return on equity above the through-the-cycle cost of equity. To achieve this the Group is investing in 12 strategic initiatives, with the benefits of this program beginning to be realised in 2H22. Consequently, this implies the General Insurance business delivers an underlying ITR in FY23 of between 10-12% and the Bank cost-to-income ratio will fall to around 50%.”

The post Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price on watch after announcing FY21 result and $250m buyback appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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

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Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) shares have been in fine form in 2021.

Since the start of the year, the banking giant’s shares have risen 24%. This means the ANZ share price is now up almost 57% since this time last year.

While this is incredibly positive, has it been as positive on a longer time horizon?

What would have happened to a $1,000 investment in ANZ shares 10 years ago?

It certainly has been an eventful decade for the banking sector.

During this time the sector has dealt with a housing market downturn, a Royal Commission, and the global pandemic.

This has unsurprisingly led to ANZ shares underperforming the market during the period. But perhaps not by as great a margin as you might think.

For example, the ANZ share price is currently fetching $28.50. This compares to $19.50 in August 2011. This means ANZ shares have risen by 46% over the period.

But that doesn’t include the many dividends that ANZ has paid over the 10 years. If you were to include them, then you would have a total average return of 8.6% per annum.

Based on this return, if you had invested $1,000 into ANZ shares in August 2011, you would now have approximately $2,280 today. That’s a 128% total return.

How does this compare?

The Australian share market has provided investors with a return of 10.9% per annum over the last decade.

This means that investors earning the market return on a $1,000 investment would now have $2,800. This is ~$500 more than what you would have returned with ANZ shares.

While underperforming the market is always disappointing, considering what the sector has been through during this investment period, investors aren’t likely to be too upset with the return they have received.

And with analysts at Morgans recently slapping an add rating and $34.50 price target on the bank’s shares. There could still be plenty more gains to come in the near future.

The post If you invested $1000 in ANZ (ASX:ANZ) shares a decade ago, this is how much it would be worth now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX 200 bank shares rated as buys
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• Leading broker names 3 of the best ASX shares to buy in August
• Should you buy ANZ (ASX:ANZ) shares in August 2021 for the dividend yield?
• ASX 200 midday update: GUD results, Woodside update, ANZ appointment

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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Might the Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price be a buy today?

The business has been quite volatile in recent weeks. Over the last month, Altium shares are down almost 6% to $35.56. But it went as low as $32.60 in the week after the market learned that Autodesk had walked away from the negotiating table.

Failed takeover

Two months ago, investors learned that Autodesk had approached Altium with a takeover bid of $38.50 per share.

But, Altium rejected that bid. The Altium board said it appreciated the interested expressed by Autodesk (which had evolved from a dialogue about a strategic partnership). However, Altium’s leadership believed the offer “significantly” undervalued Altium’s prospects.

Altium said that it has a unique position in the electronics ecosystem and in the past unsolicited acquisition interest has developed from partnership dialogues with others in the ecosystem.

The company said that its strong track record of setting ambitious long-term goals and achieving them, gives the board confidence in its ability to pursue its transformation strategy for the electronics industry and to achieve its 2025 financial goals.

Altium believes it’s now well positioned to pursue market dominance and industry transformation. The adoption of Altium’s cloud platform is transforming Altium’s business model from maintenance-based subscription to capability-based software as a service (SaaS) subscription.

There was media talk that a somewhat higher bid from Autodesk was being talked about, but the US business has since walked away and Altium said that there hadn’t been another formal bid. The Altium share price fell 11% in the week after that announcement.

Trading update

In the middle of June, Altium said that it was expecting FY21 revenue to be at the low end of its guidance range of US$190 million to US$195 million. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin is also expected to be at the low end of its guidance range of 37% to 39% on an underlying basis.

However, Altium did say that momentum has returned to Altium’s business with double digit growth in the second half. However, the slow first half has impacted the overall FY21 result.

However, the company’s ‘renewal’ business is strong, Octopart is set for a record performance and China is delivering a “solid” performance.

Adoption of the Altium 365 cloud platform has increased and there are now more than 13,100 monthly active users and 6,300 monthly active accounts.

Is the Altium share price a buy?

The broker Credit Suisse certainly thinks so. It currently has a buy rating on the business with a price target of $42. That suggests a possible rise of almost 20% over the next 12 months if the broker is right. However, that was before Autodesk walked away.

Time will tell if Altium management are able to justify their confidence in knocking back Autodesk’s interest.

According to Credit Suisse, Altium shares are valued at 70x FY22’s estimated earnings right now.

The post Is the Altium (ASX:ALU) share price a buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Just like that… ASX back to record highs

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Altium. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Altium. 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 in the process of building an income portfolio, then you might want to look at the shares listed below.

Here’s why these ASX dividend shares could be in the buy zone right now:

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

The first ASX dividend share to consider is Scentre. Although its Australian Westfield properties struggled during the pandemic, its outlook is improving and a return to growth is being predicted in the near future.

Goldman Sachs is very positive on Scentre and is forecasting solid revenue, income, and dividend growth in the coming years.

The broker also notes that inflation expectations are currently at their highest level in years. This bodes well for Scentre as it is more positively leveraged to inflation than any other Australian real estate investment trust under Goldman’s coverage.

Its analysts are forecasting dividends of 14 cents per share in FY 2021 and then 17 cents per share in FY 2022. Based on the latest Scentre share price of $2.64, this equates to yields of 5.3% and 6.4%, respectively.

Goldman has a buy rating and $3.29 price target on the company’s shares.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Another ASX dividend share to consider is Westpac. Australia’s oldest bank has returned to form this year following a tricky period during the pandemic. This led to the company reporting a bumper profit result in the first half, which has positioned it to return significant funds to investors this year.

Morgan Stanley is bullish on the banking giant and has a buy rating and $29.20 price target on its shares.

It likes Westpac due to its attractive valuation and the prospect of significant capital management.

Morgan Stanley is forecasting fully franked dividends per share of $1.18 and $1.25 over the next two years. Based on the latest Westpac share price of $25.12, this will mean yields of 4.7% and 5%, respectively.

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

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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 Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished the week on a positive note. The benchmark index rose 0.35% to 7,538.4 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market is expected to continue its positive run on Monday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 30 points or 0.4% higher this morning. This follows a solid end to the week on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.4%, the S&P 500 climb 0.2%, but the Nasdaq tumble 0.4% lower.

Oil prices drop

Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could be under pressure today after oil prices dropped on Friday night. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 1.2% to US$68.28 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has fallen 0.8% to US$70.70 a barrel. This led to oil prices recording their biggest weekly decline in months amid demand concerns.

Telstra acquisition

The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price will be on watch today. This follows reports the telco giant has signed an agreement to acquire Australian patient management software company MedicalDirector. According to the AFR, the company is buying the business in a deal worth $350 million. MedicalDirector will be part of the Telstra Health business, which is the country’s biggest eHealth business.

Gold price tumbles

Australian gold miners such as Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could come under pressure today after the gold price tumbled on Friday night. According to CNBC, the spot gold price fell 2.5% to US$1,763.10 an ounce. A strong US jobs report sparked fears that the US Federal Reserve could begin tapering its economic support sooner than previously anticipated.

Suncorp full year results

The Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) share price will be one to watch this morning when it releases its full year results. According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts are forecasting cash earnings of $1,005 million for FY 2021. The broker expects this to support a full year fully franked dividend of 62 cents per share. Goldman has a buy rating and $12.87 price target on its shares.

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

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia 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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At the small end of the Australian share market, there are a number of companies with the potential to grow materially in the future.

Three that investors might want to get better acquainted with are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

BlueBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: BBT)

The first small cap share to watch is BlueBet. It is a mobile-first online wagering provider. It allows users to bet on all Australian and international racing and sports through its website and app. BlueBet has been growing very strongly thanks to the increasing popularity of mobile sports betting. This led to the company doubling its customer numbers over the last 12 months, underpinning strong wagering turnover growth. Positively, management is confident that this trend can continue and believes it is well positioned to substantially grow its current ~1.2% share of the market in Australia. It is also in the process of expanding into the massive US market.

Booktopia Group Ltd (ASX: BKG)

A second small cap ASX share to watch is Booktopia. This online book retailer has been growing at an explosive rate. For example, the company sold one item approximately every 4.7 seconds and shipped approximately 6.5 million items in the 12 months to 30 June 2020. Impressively, this has increased materially since then, with very strong growth reported in FY 2021. This has been driven by the shift to online shopping and its new distribution centre. The latter is allowing the company to capture the heightened demand and ship more books than ever.

Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP)

A final small cap share to watch is Whispir. It is a software-as-a-service communications workflow platform provider. Whispir’s platform allows businesses and governments to deliver actionable two-way interactions at scale using automated multi-channel communication workflows. While it has been growing its recurring revenue at a strong rate over the last few years, it is still only scratching at the surface of its overall market opportunity. For example, management estimates that it has a total addressable market (TAM) of US$4.7 billion in the just United States.

The post 3 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Whispir Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Booktopia Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Whispir 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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iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) might be a smart investment to consider for the long-term.

The S&P 500 is an index that is created by Standard and Poors. The index includes 500 leading companies and covers approximately 80% of available market capitalisation in the US.

There are quite a reasons to think about this exchange-traded fund (ETF) which is offered by Blackrock.

Here are three of those reasons to think it’s a smart potential investment:

Very low costs

Costs, or a lack of costs, can have a big impact on the long-term returns for investors. Some investment managers charge well north of 1% per annum. With plenty charging performance fees on top of that.

Compare that to iShares S&P 500 ETF, which has an annual management fee of 0.04%.

That is very, very low and allows almost all of the gross returns to be turned into net returns for investors.

High-quality holdings

The businesses in the iShares S&P 500 ETF have had to be the cream of the crop to get to the size they are. Plenty of them are still growing, not just in the US but around the world.

Companies like Microsoft, Alphabet, Apple and so on make huge amounts of profit around the globe – not just in the US. They have extremely strong competitive positions.

But there are plenty of businesses beyond the world’s biggest tech names in the S&P 500 portfolio like Tesla, Berkshire Hathaway, Nvidia, JPMorgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson, Visa, UnitedHealth, Home Depot, Proctor & Gamble, PayPal, Mastercard, Walt Disney, Adobe, Bank of America, Pfizer, Salesforce, Netflix, Nike and so on.

As a group, the S&P 500 has performed strongly over the last decade. However, past performance does not guarantee future results. The iShares S&P 500 ETF has returned an average of 19.9% per annum over the past decade.

Diversification

iShares S&P 500 ETF offers plenty of diversification. Geographically, the earnings come from across the world.

But the businesses also spread across various sectors as well. But tech gets the biggest weightings, which typically comes with higher margins and more profit growth.

iShares S&P 500 ETF, at 5 August 2021, had the following allocations of more than 5%: IT (27.85%), health care (13.4%), consumer discretionary (12.06%), communication (11.22%), financials (11%), industrials (8.31%) and consumer staples (5.76%).

But some of the businesses are classified in other sectors that could also count as tech like Facebook and Alphabet classified as communication, and Amazon and Tesla classified as consumer discretionary.

The post Why iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX:IVV) could be a really smart investment appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX investors could diversify their portfolios with these quality ETFs
• Best ASX ETF? This fund would be Warren Buffett’s top pick
• 2 top ETFs that might be buys in August 2021
• 3 high quality ETFs for ASX investors
• 3 reasons why the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX:IVV) could be a great investment

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 iShares Trust – iShares Core S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re looking to add some growth shares to your portfolio in August, then you may want to look at the shares listed below.

All three of these ASX growth shares have been tipped as buys recently. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG)

The first ASX growth share to look at is this leading appliance manufacturer. It has been growing solidly for years and has been tipped to continue this positive trend in the future. This is thanks to the popularity of Breville’s products, favourable tailwinds such as working from home, and its ongoing international expansion. The company also invests heavily in research and development to ensure it has a pipeline of innovative products.

UBS is bullish on its prospects and expects its growth to continue. The broker currently has a buy rating and $35.70 price target on its shares.

Hipages Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: HPG)

Another ASX growth share to look at is Hipages. It is a leading Australian-based online platform and software as a service (SaaS) provider. The company’s increasingly popular platform connects consumers with trusted tradies to simplify home improvement. At the end of June, Hipages had 31,200 tradie subscriptions on its platform and provided them with 353,000 job leads during the fourth quarter of FY 2021.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs are very bullish on the company’s prospects. They believe it has a huge growth runway ahead as its ecosystem builds. Goldman currently has a buy rating and $4.10 price target on its shares.

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

A final ASX growth share to consider is this logistics solutions company. WiseTech is the company behind the popular CargoWise One solution, which allows users to execute complex logistics transactions and manage freight operations from a single, easy to use platform. Demand has been growing strongly over the last decade, underpinning stellar sales and profit growth. Pleasingly, WiseTech appears well-placed to continue its strong growth long into the future. This is thanks to its high quality platform, strong market position, and growing freight volumes globally.

The team at Morgan Stanley are very positive on the company. They currently have an overweight rating and $35.00 price target on its shares.

The post 3 compelling ASX growth shares that could be buys in August appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 top ASX growth shares rated as buys
• Top ASX shares to buy in August 2021
• How China’s war on tech companies can hit ASX shares where it hurts
• 2 excellent ASX tech shares named as buys
• 3 stellar ASX growth shares rated as buys

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 Hipages Group Holdings Ltd. and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended WiseTech Global. 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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Last week saw a number of broker notes hitting the wires once again. Three buy ratings that caught my eye are summarised below.

Here’s why brokers think investors ought to buy them next week:

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

According to a note out of Citi, its analysts have retained their buy rating and $18.80 price target on this artificial intelligence data services company’s shares. It notes that Facebook and Google have reported an acceleration in advertising revenue again. Citi suspects that this could lead to the companies increasing their investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning activities. The Appen share price was trading at $12.55 on Friday.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $28.00 price target on this banking giant’s shares. This follows news that NAB will undertake a $2.5 billion share buyback. Macquarie was pleased with the news and believes it demonstrates the strength of the business despite current lockdowns. Positively, Macquarie doesn’t expect the buybacks to stop there. It suspects there could be $5.5 billion of capital returns for investors over the next three years. The NAB share price ended the week at $26.69.

Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG)

Analysts at Credit Suisse have upgraded this energy company’s shares to an outperform rating with an improved price target of $4.80. This follows the release of guidance for its Energy Markets business for FY 2022 and FY 2023. While the former is lower than Credit Suisse expected, it was pleased the latter is ahead of its forecasts. Overall, the broker believes FY 2022 is the bottom for its earnings and sees value in its shares at the current level. The Origin share price was trading at $4.27 at Friday’s close.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Origin (ASX:ORG) share price falls as climate goals put to shareholder vote
• How owning too much Afterpay (ASX:APT) was our biggest regret
• Should you buy NAB (ASX:NAB) shares in August 2021 for the dividend yield?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• How do you value the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price?

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 Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Appen 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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