Tag: Motley Fool

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by 0.1% today to 7,024 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:

Nuix Limited (ASX: NXL)

The Nuix share price dropped almost 10% today in response to media reporting by Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) mastheads including the Australian Financial Review.

There were reports of “inadequate risk disclosures in the Nuix prospectus about growth and understanding of accounting standards, as well as infighting which led a group of senior executives to try and push out the CEO Rod Vawdrey.”

The AFR quoted one previously large investor in Nuix, who said:

It looks like they did something funny with the IPO accounting… but I actually think it’s a very interesting situation because a customer I spoke to said their product is a must-have.

What they were aggressively pitching [in the lead-up to the IPO] was the growth profile. This wasn’t in the prospectus, this was verbally communicated. So the thing that’s most disappointing is they were suggesting their numbers were conservative.

That investor went on to say that there should be a new CEO.

Nuix issued a media release to the ASX in response. It said that it has robust processes in place to measure forward indicators of performance in order to ensure that it keeps the market fully informed and has done so on a timely and regular basis. Nuix said it’s committed to the highest standards of corporate governance.

The company also said it has operated across multiple jurisdictions over many years and has a proud history of working with regulators exercising the highest standards of probity.

Nuix was one of the worst performers in the ASX 200 today. 

Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD)

The Elders share price fell by 3.4% today in response to the company’s FY21 half-year result.

The agribusiness said that it delivered growth across all state geographies and product lines. Its retail products division was particularly strong according to management, due to both sales growth and margin improvement as Elders’ own brand share of crop protection and animal health product sales increased.

Half-year revenue increased by 22% to $1.1 billion. Underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased by 40% to $73.8 million whilst underlying net profit after tax rose 41% to $67 million. Statutory net profit after tax rose 31% to $68.2 million.

After favourable rainfall, Elders has a positive outlook for the winter crop. It’s expecting to see further strong demand for crop inputs, particularly fertiliser and crop protection products.

Carsales.com Ltd (ASX: CAR)

The Carsales share price was the worst performer in the ASX 200 today, falling by almost 12% after coming back to trade after its capital raising for the acquisition of Trader Interactive in the US.

It has successfully raised $428 million from institutions at the offer price of $17 with a take-up of approximately 83% by eligible institutional shareholders. A bookbuild for the shortfall of shares was done at $18 per new share.

Carsales CEO Cameron McIntyre said:

We firmly believe that this acquisition creates compelling value for our shareholders through accelerating our international growth strategy by providing us with exposure to a significant market in the United States across attractive non-automotive verticals.

More reading

• Here’s why the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price sank 5% today
• These 3 ASX ETFs are some of the cheapest on the market
• Why the Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price just hit its lowest level ever
• Why Carsales, Incitec Pivot, Infinity Lithium, & Nuix shares are sinking
• These ASX tech shares are down 50% from their 52-week highs

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended carsales.com Limited, Elders Limited, and Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post ASX 200 rises, Nuix drops, Elders falls appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3eQjMeT

The tech sector has been uncharacteristically out of form this year. While this is disappointing, every cloud has a silver lining. The silver lining here is that this weakness has dragged some tech shares down to very attractive levels for investors.  

Two ASX tech shares that are down heavily from their highs are listed below. Here’s why this could be a buying opportunity:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The Altium share price is down 39% from its 52-week high. This could make it one to consider for long term focused investors.

Altium is the electronic design software provider behind the Altium Designer and Altium 365 platforms. These platforms allow users to design the complex printed circuit boards found inside electronic devices.

Thanks to industry tailwinds that are underpinning growth in electronic devices globally, Altium appears well-positioned to benefit from increasing demand for subscriptions in the coming years.

And although the COVID-19 pandemic has softened demand, analysts at Citi believe investors should stick with the company. This is due to its belief that the downgrade cycle is now over and its growth will soon resume.

Citi recently retained its buy rating and $33.50 price target on the company’s shares. This compares to the latest Altium share price of $24.52.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

Another tech share to look at is this buy now pay later provider. The Zip share price may be up 25.5% year to date, but it is down 51% from its 52-week high. While the latter is disappointing, it could be a buying opportunity for buy and hold investors due to its strong growth potential.

Zip has been growing at a rapid rate in recent years thanks to the growing popularity of the buy now pay later method and its international expansion. Positively, this strong form has continued in FY 2021. For example, during the third quarter, Zip reported an impressive 80% increase in group quarterly revenue to $114.4 million.

This was driven by a combination of customer growth and repeat usage. In respect to the former, at the end of the period, Zip had 6.4 million active customers globally. This was up 88% from the prior corresponding period and 12.3% from 5.7 million at the end of December.

Its growth was strongest in the United States, with its QuadPay’ business reporting transaction volume growth of 234% to $762 million, revenue growth of 188% to $54.4 million, and customer growth of 674,000 or 153% to 3.8 million. The good news is that this is still only a tiny fraction of a $5 trillion market opportunity in the United States. This gives it plenty of room for growth in the future.

Citi is also a fan of Zip. Last month its analysts upgraded the company’s shares to a buy rating with an $11.30 price target. This compares to the latest Zip share price of $7.02.

More reading

• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down almost 25% this month
• These ASX tech shares are down 50% from their 52-week highs
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• Has COVID-19 killed the ASX WAAAX shares?
• Top broker tips Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price to more than double

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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Altium. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Altium. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Why Zip (ASX:Z1P) and this beaten down ASX tech share could be buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2RncRB7

The Earlypay Ltd (ASX: EPY) share price was flying higher today after the company announced record trading in a market update today.

At the market close, shares in the company were trading 8.64% higher at 44 cents.

Earlypay is a small-cap ASX-listed company that delivers financial management and payroll services. The company aims to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access to financing in order to grow and enable them to focus on their core activities.

Why the Earlypay share price was flying

In today’s update, the company announced record transactions in March with volumes for the month at $199 million, 34% higher than the same period last year. The company said it expected this momentum to translate to a material increase in earnings for FY22.

Earlypay also announced improvements to all three of its warehouse facilities, providing “cost savings and greater flexibility”. This in turn would support the continued growth of Earlypay’s loan book.

In addition, the company reconfirmed its FY21 guidance of $21m earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and NPATA of $8.5m.

Earlypay advised this would result in a minimum final dividend of 1.3 cents per share (cps), bringing the full year’s dividends to 2.3 cps, fully franked and giving the company a dividend yield of 5.23%.

Management comments

Earlypay CEO Daniel Riley welcomed the performance, saying:

Q3, which is seasonally our lowest quarter, ended with record volumes in March, underpinned by Earlypay’s online lending platform, which continues to deliver growth and momentum in client acquisition and client experience.

This growth is due to an increase in funding requirements from existing clients, as well as new clients coming on board as our organic growth continues to build.

The support from Earlypay’s senior funders, which is evidenced by the increase in facility limits, broadening of product parameters and an overall reduction in interest costs, further supports the strength of our business and outlook.

About the Earlypay share price

The Earlypay share price has enjoyed a solid run of late, rising by 55% over the last year and outpacing the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) 30% gain for the same period.

The financial company currently boasts a market capitalisation of $103.55 million.

More reading

• What’s with the Digital Wine (ASX:DW8) share price today?

Motley Fool contributor Daniel Ewing 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.

The post Why the Earlypay (ASX:EPY) share price is flying 8% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3w957RY

The Viva Leisure Ltd (ASX: VVA) share price is deep in the red today. The falling price comes after the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported a consortium of franchise owners are planning to sue the company over “unconscionable and unfair conduct”.

At the market close, shares in the health and leisure company were trading at $1.91 – down 9.05%.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news and what it means for the Viva share price.

Why the Viva Leisure share price is sinking

According to the AFR report, 53 franchise owners representing 64 outlets have sent a letter and draft statement of claim to Viva Leisure. These documents outline many concerns between the franchise owners and the ASX-listed company. Chief among those is a deteriorating relationship between the parties.

Representing about 33% of all Plus Fitness branded gym franchises, the complainants have delivered Viva Leisure a 28-day ultimatum to resolve their grievances before legal proceedings commence. 

In a response to the AFR article, Viva Leisure said this morning it was dealing with franchise owners “appropriately and in accordance with the law”.

The company revealed it has held confidential talks with some franchise owners. However, it did not disclose what those discussions related to or even if the allegations aired in the article were relevant to those discussions.

Key areas of dispute

The franchisees identified the following key areas of dispute:

• Cannibalising membership. Franchise owners allege Viva Leisure is harming their businesses with a clause in its contract that allows the company to open competing, corporate-owned outlets in close proximity to franchises. A franchise owner quoted by the AFR said franchisees were being “significantly financially impacted by the franchisor unfairly competing against them”.
• A breach of good faith. A second but related claim against Viva Leisure is a breach of good faith by the corporation to its franchisees. Owners allege they did not agree to buy gyms that would then be competed against by their own franchisor. One source told the AFR that Viva Leisure’s access to franchise owners’ financial and business information gave it an unfair advantage.

Viva Leisure share price snapshot

The Viva share price is down 7.73% over the past 12 months, and its shares have fallen in value by 34.8% since the beginning of the year. In December, shares in the company were trading for a record $3.66.

At its current valuation, Viva Leisure has a market capitalisation of $157.4 million.

More reading

• Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price hit by broker downgrade
• 3 ASX 200 gold mining shares that shone today
• Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down almost 25% this month
• Here’s why the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price sank 5% today
• These 3 ASX ETFs are some of the cheapest on the market

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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.

The post Viva Leisure (ASX:VVA) share price tanks 9% on impending lawsuit appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3uTrzOO

The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price was out of form on Monday despite a decent recovery in the tech sector.

The aerial imagery technology and location data company’s shares ended the day 3% lower at $1.69. This compares to a 0.4% gain by the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX).

This latest decline means the Nearmap share price is now down almost 50% from its high.

Why did the Nearmap share price tumble?

As well as being forced to explain the disclosure of its US legal battle by the Australian share market regulator (you can read that here), a broker note also appears to have been weighing on its shares.

This morning analysts at Citi responded to the aforementioned legal battle and made a change to their recommendation.

According to the note, the broker has downgraded the company’s shares to a neutral (high risk) rating and cut the price target on them by 37% to $2.00.

Based on the current Nearmap share price, this implies potential upside of 18% over the next 12 months. While this is a solid potential return, it is still notably lower than where its shares were trading immediately prior to the litigation announcement.

What did Citi say?

Citi has concerns that the litigation could negatively impact demand in the United States, which could in turn weigh on the Nearmap share price.

Citi commented: “While Nearmap is confident that it can successfully defend against Eagleview’s allegations of patent infringement and in our view, Nearmap can still be successful in the US even if it were to lose the lawsuit, we downgrade to Neutral/High Risk as we expect the legal proceedings will likely have a negative impact on demand in the US and this uncertainty could weigh on the share price. New target price is $2.00 (-37%).”

More reading

• Why the Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price continues to sink
• Why a2 Milk, Afterpay, Nearmap, & REA Group shares are sinking
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why Crown, Fortescue, Nearmap, & Tyro shares are charging higher
• Why the Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price is jumping 7% today

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 Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price hit by broker downgrade appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3tUqvbY

It’s been a great day’s trade for ASX 200 gold miners. Gold itself is sitting at its highest price since February, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 0.13% today.

Right now, an ounce of gold will cost a buyer US$1,853.40 after today’s 0.83% gain.  

These 3 ASX 200 gold mining shares are glowing from today’s good news.

The ASX 200’s golden children

De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG)

The De Grey Mining share price shot up by 8.73% today to close at $1.43 per share. De Grey shares are up 28% year to date, and up a whopping 256% over the last 12 months.

Currently, De Grey Mining’s focus is on its Mallina Gold Project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. 

De Grey has a market capitalisation of around $1.6 billion, with approximately 1.2 billion shares outstanding.  

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)

Despite not being the biggest mover out of the ASX 200 gold miners, the Northern Star share price put in a solid performance today.

It closed 6.55% higher than its previous closing price, swapping hands for $11.22.

2021 has been tough for Northern Star shares, which have lost 15% of their value since the year began. They’ve also dropped 23% since this time last year.

Northern Star has a splattering of gold-producing assets across Western Australia and one in Alaska.

On current prices, the miner has a market capitalisation of around $12.2 billion, with approximately 1.1 billion shares outstanding.

Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN)

Evolution Mining was also vying for the top spot amongst the ASX 200 gold miners today, closing the day up 5.35% at $5.12 per share.

Evolution has a number of gold projects across Australia and one in Canada.

The Evolution Mining share price has fallen 2.8% since the start of the year. It’s also down 15.6% over the last 12 months.

Evolution has a market capitalisation of around $8.3 billion, with approximately 1.7 billion shares outstanding.  

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.45%: Carsales sinks 10%, Aristocrat Leisure jumps
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Why is the De Grey (ASX:DEG) share price plummeting today?
• Why De Grey, GrainCorp, Pilbara Minerals, & Xero shares are dropping
• ASX 200 up 0.8%: Xero continues to slide, big four banks rise

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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.

The post 3 ASX 200 gold mining shares that shone today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3olkN1I

Its been a turbulent month for the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price, shedding close to 25% in just a month. This comes despite the company reporting a strong result for Q3 FY21 while surging ahead with its expansion strategy.

At the time of writing, the buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) company’s shares are fetching for $7.03, up 2.9% for the day.

What’s happened to the Zip share price?

It’s been a hard pill to swallow for investors, seeing their Zip holdings plummet in value.

The company reported outstanding figures across its global operating markets for the third quarter. However, as is the yearly tradition in May, an ASX market slump has continued the Zip share price onslaught.

Interestingly, just before the company’s shares fell further, Zip co-founders, Larry Diamond and Peter Gray sold some of their holdings. The news did not appease investors concerns, with 1.5 million and 500,000 shares sold by the co-founders on 15 April, respectively. The off-market trade price that sold of those shares, went for $9.18 a pop, a far cry from its current share price.

In further news, just 2 weeks after, both co-founders were issued almost 40,000 shares between each other for a price of $8.32. While it may be insignificant in the scheme of things, the allocation was ill-timed, with inventors dumping Zip shares from that day forward.

With no new news out of the company in the past 30 days, investors will no doubt be keeping a close eye on any updates.

Zip is projected to release their preliminary final report for FY21 in late August.

Foolish takeaway

Adding on today’s gain, the Zip share price has accelerated close to 130% when looking at the past 12 months. The company’s shares reached an all-time high of $14.53 after reporting its half-year results. However, severe profit taking swopped in dragging Zip shares lower over the following month.

Based on today’s prices, Zip commands a market capitalisation of around $3.9 billion, with approximately 554 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• These ASX tech shares are down 50% from their 52-week highs
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• Top broker tips Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price to more than double
• What’s driving the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price to 8-month lows?
• Is the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price a beaten-down buy?

Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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.

The post Why the Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price is down almost 25% this month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3hsWiyb

The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price was well and truly out of form on Monday.

The investment bank’s shares tumbled lower and ended the day with a 5% decline to $150.59.

Why did the Macquarie share price tumble on Monday?

There have been a couple of potential catalysts for the weakness in the Macquarie share price on Monday.

The first is the investigative report undertaken by the Fairfax press relating to analytics company Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL).

Nuix is regarded by some as Macquarie’s greatest investment. However, with the Nuix share price hitting a record low today, for many investors it will be among their worst.

As we explained here earlier, the report revealed the close ties between Macquarie’s Dan Phillips and David Standen and Nuix founder Dr Anthony Dante Castagna. The latter was jailed for tax fraud and money laundering while running Nuix before being acquitted.

The report also claims that Castagna left Nuix’s board the day that its ASX float prospectus was launched, meaning that few retail investors would have been aware that he was involved with the company.

Given how Nuix has fallen well short of its prospectus forecasts, this has raised eyebrows. Though, this morning Nuix hit back at the report, stating that it has robust processes in place to measure forward indicators of performance. It is also committed to the highest standards of corporate governance.

What else is weighing on its shares?

Also weighing on the Macquarie share price today was the fact that its shares were trading ex-dividend for its partially franked final dividend.

This $3.35 per share dividend will now be paid to eligible shareholders on 2 July.

With the Macquarie share price dropping $7.75 today, this dividend accounts for just over 40% of today’s decline or approximately 2.1% in real terms.

More reading

• Is there more upside to the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price following its recent results?
• Why the Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price just hit its lowest level ever
• Why Carsales, Incitec Pivot, Infinity Lithium, & Nuix shares are sinking
• These ASX tech shares are down 50% from their 52-week highs
• Could the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price have an edge against other banks?

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Here’s why the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price sank 5% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3eO4K9z

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are an extremely popular investment vehicle these days. 2020 saw record fund inflows for the ETF sector, continuing a trend that has been building for years. But these days, there is an ETF for everything and more. So how does one decide which ones are the best? Well, one factor that is highly influential on overall returns is the fee that an ETF charges. A difference of 0.5% for a fee can sound trivial. But that can make a dramatic difference to your returns over a number of years.

With that in mind, let’s check out 3 of the cheapest ASX ETFs available on the market today:

iShares S&P 500 ETF AUD (ASX: IVV)

This ETF from iShares covers the US S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX), which is an index covering the largest 500 companies over in the United States. That’s everything from Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) to Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO) and American Express Company (NYSE: AXP). The S&P 500 is one of the most popular indexes in the world for ETFs and for good reason. It simply houses most of the world’s largest and best businesses.

The IVV ETF that covers the S&P 500 charges a management fee of just 0.03%. That makes it one of the cheapest ASX ETFs on the market today, representing an annual cost of $3 for every $10,000 invested.

BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (ASX: A200)

There are many ETFs that cover the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). But this fund from BetaShares is the cheapest on the market today, with a management fee of 0.07%. That represents an annual cost of $7 a year for every $10,000 invested. As an ASX 200 fund, this ETF gives exposure to 200 of the largest public companies in Australia. That includes everything from Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) to Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH. A200 pays out dividend distributions quarterly as well. It currently has a trailing yield of 2.3%, which also comes with some franking credits.

Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF AUD (ASX: VTS)

VTS is our final ETF to examine today. It is very similar to IVV in terms of coverage. But rather than tracking the S&P 500, this ETF instead follows the CRSP US Total Market Index, which covers more than 3,780 American companies. As such, you get exposure to a far larger and diverse portfolio of US businesses.

VTS also charges a management fee of 0.03% per annum. This makes it, along with IVV, the cheapest ETF available on the ASX (to this writer’s knowledge, anyway).

More reading

• Why is the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price falling today?
• Is ASX 200 share market volatility always a buying opportunity?
• The latest ASX shares that top brokers have upgraded to “buy”
• Can China really crash the iron ore price?
• Why the Strike Energy (ASX:STX) share price is charging higher

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Alphabet (A shares), American Express, Coca-Cola, and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Apple. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and recommends the following options: short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple and long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Apple, and 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.

The post These 3 ASX ETFs are some of the cheapest on the market appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3eSJsrr

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has gone from strength to strength following the company’s third-quarter update on 12 May.

The bank’s shares are currently up another 1.53% today at $98.06 after setting another all-time record high of $98.40 in earlier trade. Many investors will be keenly wondering whether CBA shares can potentially break the $100 mark for the first time on record. 

With the Commonwealth Bank share price outperforming its big four peers in recent weeks, will it plateau or continue to run? Here’s what analysts at Macquarie are thinking. 

Where Macquarie thinks the CBA share price will go next 

Macquarie believes the recent performance of CommBank sets it apart from peers, delivering superior revenue growth with improving margins and the ability to sustain balance sheet momentum. 

Today’s broker note highlights the bank’s pro forma CET1 of 13.4%, which is approximately 60 to 100 basis points ahead of its peers. Macquarie believes that CommBank’s strong capital position combined with its franking credit balance could translate to a structured stock buyback in the first half of FY22. 

Despite CBA coming out ahead of expectations, Macquarie retained a neutral rating and an $86.00 target price. 

Why the CBA share price didn’t slump last week

The other big four banks, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) all went ex-dividend last week. A company’s share price typically falls on the ex-dividend date, to an amount that reflects the dividend paid. 

CBA, on the other hand, had already gone ex-dividend on 16 February for an interim dividend of $1.50.  

Foolish takeaway

The CommBank share price is the only share price out of the big four banks to break above both pre-COVID levels and set new all-time record highs.

In the case of Westpac, the bank would need to add another ~56% in value to contest its April 2015 highs of almost $40 per share. To a lessor extent, the ANZ share price needs another ~36% to match its April 2015 highs of $37. NAB needs to do the most legwork, with its previous record highs dating all the way back to late 2007 of $41 per share compared to the $26 its trading at now. 

This could be a reason why Macquarie has retained a neutral stance on CommBank shares, given the fact that the bank has run well ahead of its peers by a significant margin. 

More reading

• Here’s why the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price sank 5% today
• Why the Nuix (ASX:NXL) share price just hit its lowest level ever
• Could the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price have an edge against other banks?
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why I’m loving this ASX bank share at the moment: fundie

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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.

The post Is there more upside to the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price following its recent results? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3w8Zx1Y