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The Clean Teq Holdings Limited (ASX: CLQ) share price is flat today as the company announced its second quarterly report for the financial year.

Shares in the green materials company are trading at 30 cents at the time of writing, the same price level it was stting on at market open this morning.

Clean Teq is a Victorian company that aims to “empower the clean revolution” by providing specialty materials and clean solutions to a range of industries.

What is driving the Clean Teq share price

In today’s release, the company advised it continues to advance the development of its Sunrise battery materials complex in New South Wales. The company sees Sunrise as a potential beneficiary to the growing tailwinds surrounding electric vehicles.

Clean Teq has a range of works under way at the Sunrise plant to minimise the project restart time when funding is secured. To this tune, the company says the COVID-19 pandemic has presented difficult conditions for obtaining funding for the project.

However, engagement with the automotive and battery sectors for Sunrise remains ongoing. In particular, in the last quarter of 2020, Clean Teq saw “significant interest” from the automotive sector for its supply of both cobalt and nickel.

Also, during the quarter, the company completed the first three drill holes at its Phoenix Platinum zone in NSW. Despite the low grade of resource in the area, the mine remains “one of the largest platinum deposits in Australia”. Platinum has many uses in modern society including in jewellery, electrics and medical/laboratory instruments.

In addition, the company’s two new water treatment contracts in Australia and Oman also helped drive the Clean Teq share price this month.

Renewable energy push

Earlier this month, Clean Teq announced the completion of a study that confirmed the availability and cost of renewable energy to supply 100% of its external power for its Sunrise project. As such the proposal would completely eliminate one third of its total carbon emissions.

The study was undertaken in 2020 in partnership with AGL Energy Limited (ASX:AGL) to identify an alternative energy supply.

About the Clean Teq share price

With the company’s recent capital raising, Clean Teq currently has a cash balance of $44 million.

Looking ahead, the company is considering a demerger of its water division to focus more on battery materials. It has started a formal review of a potential demerger which will provide a recommendation to shareholders in due course. The review will consider taxation, structuring and other regulatory implications.

Despite the challenging conditions of last year, the Clean Teq share price is currently trading 15.38% higher over the last 12 months. And it’s outperforming the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) by 15%.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week
• Why ASX energy shares are under pressure right now
• Which ASX 200 shares have been slapped with price downgrades this week?
• The AGL (ASX:AGL) share price just hit a 12-year low
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell 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.

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The Noxopharm Ltd (ASX:NOX) share price launched up more than 7% today as the company released its report for the fourth quarter December 2020.

At the time of writing, the Noxopharm share price trading up 7.69% at 63 cents.

Let’s take a closer look at the clinical stage drug development company and what we learned from today’s announcement.

What’s lifting the Noxapharm share price today?

Noxopharm told the market today that it received $21.4 million net from the issue of shares during the December quarter. Another $201,000 was gained from shareholders exercising options. This resulted in cash reserves totalling $22.9 million at the end of the quarter.

The company spent a significantly less amount of money on operating activities for the period. Noxopharm reports that net cash used in operating activities during the December quarter amounted to $2.6 million, compared to $3.3 million in the September quarter.

Research and development (R&D) activity costs also dropped down in the December quarter coming in at $1.4 million, compared to $1.6 million for the September quarter.

Looking ahead, Noxopharm expects to receive a cash rebate in excess of $4 million coming from the Federal Government’s R&D tax incentive rebate scheme.

More about Noxopharm 

Noxapharm’s primary focus is on the development of Veyonda to boost the effectiveness of all 3 current methods of cancer treatment: immune-oncology therapy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The company currently has two major clinical programs under way – the DARRT program and the LuPIN program.

According to Noxopharm, the purpose of the programs is “to establish Veyonda as an essential adjunct to radiotherapy in the treatment of prostate cancer”.

The Noxopharm share price skyrocketed 14% earlier this month on news that Veyonda is emerging as a major new treatment based on its ability to support all current methods of cancer treatment.

In addition to the DARRT and LuPIN programs, the company is planning to recruit for a third study, IONIC. Furthermore, Noxopharm’s NOXCOVID-1 study has also been progressing.

More reading

• Why the Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) share price is jumping 14% higher today

Motley Fool contributor Gretchen Kennedy 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 Hammer Metals Limited (ASX: HMX) share price is flying today. This comes after the company announced that it has been approved an additional drilling program at the Trafalgar prospect at its Mount Isa East Joint Venture.

During morning trade, the Hammer Metals share price reached a multi-year high of 10.5 cents. However, some apparent profit taking led the company’s shares to retreat to (at the time of writing) 8.9 cents, up 18.6% for the session.

What did Hammer Metals announce?

The Hammer Metals share price is storming higher as investors digest the company’s latest news.

According to its release, Hammer Metals advised that it has been given the green light to drill extra holes at the Trafalgar prospect. This follows on from the recent discovery of copper and gold deposits notified to the market last week. They included:

• 55 metre strike at 1.12% copper (Cu) and 0.30 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) from 119m including 16 metres at 1.77% Cu and 0.49g/t Au from 149 metres in HMTRRC001; and
• 32 metre strike at 1.04% Cu and 0.25g/t Au from 64 metres including 6 metres at 2.38% Cu and 1.45g/t Au from 91 metres in HMTRRC002

The company is planning to commence drilling in opposite directions of the new holes. In addition, a third hole of 80 meters will be drilled north of its HMTRRC001 intercept.

Once the drilling operations have been completed, Hammer Metals will analyse the results, and continue drilling again in April. In addition, the company will also complete drilling works at its Shadow, Toby East, Alpha, Charlie and Juliett prospects.

A quick take on Hammer Metals and Mount Isa

Hammer Metal is a minerals exploration company that is focused on gold, iron ore, and copper projects within Australia.

The Mount Isa project covers an area of roughly 2,200 square kilometres within the district, holding a strategic tenement position. The Trafalgar prospect is part of a Joint Venture agreement whereby Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) is in the process of earning a 60% interest, in return for spending $6 million on exploration activities by March 2024.

About the Hammer Metals share price

The Hammer Metals share price has soared higher over the last 12 months, reaching gains of above 300% for investors.

Its shares hit an all-time low in March but quickly rebounded in the months following. The Hammer Metals share price broke a fresh multi-year high of 10.5 cents today on the back of positive investor sentiment.

More reading

• Why the Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) share price is bouncing up today
• Better buy: Amazon.com vs. Google
• 3 top ASX blue chip shares to buy
• 2 ASX healthcare shares to buy this week
• The Ecograf (ASX:EGR) share price is surging 9%. Here’s why

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) are two of the largest and most successful companies in the world. Google has become synonymous with search, and Amazon’s marketplace is the epitome of consumer convenience. And both of these titans have outperformed the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) over the last one, three, five, and 10 years — though Amazon’s stock soared 815% over the last decade, far outpacing Alphabet’s 235% gain. Which stock is the better investment today?

E-commerce and digital advertising

Alphabet’s primary source of revenue comes from its Google business, specifically the digital advertising segment. This is driven by Google’s utter dominance among search engines — Google’s market share has consistently been near 90% over the last decade. This has allowed the company to collect a tremendous amount of data, making its ad buying and selling tools immensely popular among marketers. As a result, Google consistently captures more than 30% of global digital ad spend.

By comparison, Amazon generates the majority of its revenue through its e-commerce business. The company commands roughly 39% of the e-commerce market in the U.S., while Walmart is the next-closest competitor with a mere 5% market share. While this business comes with much lower margins than Google’s ad business, Amazon’s highly profitable cloud computing business helps pick up the slack, giving the company a tremendous advantage over other online retailers.

Additionally, Amazon is aggressively moving into digital advertising, and the company appears to be taking market share away from Google. Investors should note that Amazon has many of the same advantages as leaders like Google and Facebook, including troves of consumer data, tools to help marketers buy ads and publishers monetize ad space, and various content platforms like Fire TV and Amazon.com where it can sell its own ad inventory. As a result, Amazon’s share of digital ad spend in the US jumped 2% in 2020, while Google’s fell 2%. 

Company	2019 Market Share	2020 Market Share
Google	31.6%	29.4%
Amazon	7.8%	9.5%

Data source: eMarketer.

Google is still the leader by a long shot, but Amazon has a history of disrupting the status quo. The company’s online marketplace and streaming platforms (Fire TV and Twitch) are popular content hubs, and could be powerful growth drivers for Amazon’s ad business in the coming years.

The cloud business

According to research firm Gartner, both Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are market-leading providers of cloud infrastructure and platform services. But while both companies offer storage, computing, databases, analytics, and other tools, Amazon launched its cloud computing service two years ahead of Google, and it has never given up that lead. Today, AWS still has a more comprehensive offering and has achieved wider adoption. In fact, AWS is the world’s leading cloud services provider, taking 32% market share in the third quarter of 2020 compared to Google Cloud’s 7% market share. As you might expect, this means AWS generates much more revenue, though Google Cloud is growing faster.

Company	First 9 Months of 2019	First 9 Months of 2020	Change
GCP revenue	$6.3 billion	$9.2 billion	46%
AWS revenue	$25.1 billion	$32.6 billion	30%

Data source: Alphabet and Amazon SEC filings. 

The future

Amazon could easily make a strong move into gaming and e-sports. Amazon Games is the company’s in-house game development studio, and with AWS for content delivery and Twitch as a way to engage gamers and monetize e-sports, it’s not hard to imagine Amazon as a serious competitor in this space.

What’s more, if Amazon does aggressively pursue this multi-billion dollar market, the company would likely be more profitable than other gaming companies — that’s because Amazon already owns the infrastructure and tools needed to build  games and host content, whereas 90% of the world’s largest public game companies actually rely on AWS for these services.

In other words, this could be a very high margin business for Amazon. To keep track of the company’s foray into gaming, investors should pay attention to Amazon Games’ upcoming release of New World in May 2021. 

Alphabet, on the other hand, has its “other bets” business, which includes Waymo, the company’s self-driving car company. According to Swiss investment bank UBS, the autonomous vehicle market could be worth $2.8 trillion by 2030, and Waymo is well positioned to take a good chunk. The company’s autonomous vehicles have already logged over 20 million real world miles, far outpacing the competition, and Waymo recently started offering ride hailing services to the general public in Phoenix. If this moonshot pays off, it could create another enormous revenue stream for Alphabet, perhaps even surpassing that of its Google business.

The verdict

Investors should pay attention to both companies’ ability to sustain revenue growth over the long run. Together, these titans are worth over $3 trillion, and growth tends to slow as businesses mature.

However, Alphabet and Amazon are both innovative, well-managed companies with deep pockets and bright futures — I don’t think investors can go wrong with either one. That being said, I think Amazon has an edge here. The company has two different market-leading businesses, which is an incredible accomplishment. Moreover, Amazon has a larger addressable market , and the company is growing faster than Alphabet as a whole. 

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

More reading

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• 3 biggest risks to ASX share investors right now
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Trevor Jennewine owns shares of Amazon. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Facebook and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Facebook. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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

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There are some ASX blue chip shares that could be good to consider at the moment due to the potential growth over time.

Here are those ideas:

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Wesfarmers is one of the biggest businesses on the ASX, it runs retail companies like Bunnings, Catch, Officeworks, Kmart and Target.

COVID-19 was a really disruptive period for the Australian economy last year, but Officeworks and Bunnings were two of the biggest beneficiaries as people looked to do home improvement projects, whilst also setting up their homes for working and learning.

Catch, as an online retailer, was another business that saw elevated levels of growth during FY20.

That growth has continued into FY21 for the blue chip ASX share. Wesfarmers gave a trading update that said that Bunnings total sales grew by 25.2% in the financial year to date to October 2020, whilst Officeworks sales went up 23.4%. Catch’s gross transaction value sales surged 114.4% over the same time, whilst Kmart sales rose 3.7% and Target sales dropped 2.2%.

There were different measures of online sales growth success. Excluding Catch, total online sales went up by 166%. Excluding online sales in metro Melbourne, online sales growth was 98%. Including Catch, total online sales across the group increased to $1.3 billion in the year to date.

Wesfarmers also said that the industrial divisions made a pleasing start to the year.

At the current Wesfarmers share price, it’s valued at 28x FY21’s estimated earnings.

APA Group (ASX: APA)

APA owns a large network of 15,000km of natural gas pipelines around Australia with a presence in every mainland state and the Northern Territory. It also owns or has interests in gas storage facilities, gas-fired power stations and renewable energy generation (wind and solar farms). APA owns, or manages and operates, a portfolio of assets and delivers half the nation’s natural gas usage.

Despite the national impacts of COVID-19, the blue chip ASX share managed to increase its revenue by 4.8% to $2.13 billion, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 5.1%, operating cashflow rose 8.3% and net profit after tax (NPAT) rose 10.1%.

The total FY20 distribution went up by 6.4% to 50 cents per share. The energy infrastructure giant recently increased its interim distribution by another cent, bringing the current annual distribution to 51 cents per share – the yield is 5.3%.

APA continues to invest in new projects, such as a new pipeline in WA, which increases its asset base and aims to unlock more annual cashflow.

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

A2 Milk is one of the largest food-related businesses on the ASX. It has a strong market position with infant nutrition and liquid milk in Australia and New Zealand. The company has its sights on a large international market in both Asia and North America.

The blue chip ASX share has suffered difficulties because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s seeing lower sales from the important local daigou channel, though the company continues to grow sales and gain market share in mother and baby stores (MBS) in China. It’s going to try to reactivate the daigou channel in 2021. 

In North America, A2 Milk continues to see good performance with its liquid milk sales and it’s starting to generate revenue from Canada thanks to an agreement with Agrifoods.

The A2 Milk share price has fallen by 48% over the past six months, reflecting the COVID-19 difficulties. According to Commsec, the A2 Milk share price is valued at 22x FY22’s estimated earnings.

More reading

• Here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Change in America spurs ASX 200 higher
• Got money to invest for dividends? Here are 3 ASX shares
• Why these ASX shares just stormed to 52-week highs or better
• 3 reasons why the A2 Milk share price could be a buy

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of APA Group and Wesfarmers 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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One area of the Australian share market which has generated consistently strong returns for investors over the last 10 years has been the healthcare sector.

Since this time in 2011, the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care index has generated a mouth-watering return of 380% for investors.

This strong gain has been underpinned by increasing demand, better technologies and treatments, and ageing populations.

The good news for investors is that these tailwinds are not going away any time soon. This could make it well worth considering an investment in the healthcare sector. But which healthcare shares should you buy? Here are two highly rated options:

Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)

One blue chip healthcare share to look at is Cochlear. It looks perfectly positioned to benefit from the growing number of over 65s globally. This is because Cochlear is a global leader in the development, manufacture, and distribution of cochlear implantable devices for the hearing impaired.

As hearing loss is typically a part of the ageing process, a growing number of over 65s globally is expected to lead to an increase in demand for hearing solutions in the next few decades. And thanks to its industry-leading products, significant investment in research and development, and the industry’s high barriers to entry, Cochlear appears well-placed for long term growth.

Macquarie is positive on the company and has an outperform rating and $241.00 price target on its shares. This compares to the latest Cochlear share price of $198.98.

Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)

At the small side of the market you will find Volpara Health Technologies. It is a growing healthcare technology company that offers cost-effective, mission-critical software that helps radiologists deliver high quality breast imaging services.

Volpara’s software leverages artificial intelligence imaging algorithms to assist with the early detection of breast cancer. The company estimates that it currently has a US$750 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) opportunity in breast cancer screening. This compares to the ARR of NZ$19.9 million it recorded in the first half of FY 2021.

Morgans is a fan of Volpara. It currently has an add rating and $1.71 price target on the company’s shares. According to the note, the broker has been pleased with its market share gains, growing SaaS revenue, and high gross margins. The Volpara share price is currently trading at $1.50.

More reading

• How to turn $20,000 into $250,000 in 10 years with ASX shares
• 2 exciting small cap ASX shares to buy
• 2 of the best blue chip ASX shares to buy today
• 2 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch
• 3 quality SaaS ASX shares to buy

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

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Shares in Ecograf Ltd (ASX: EGR) are storming higher today after the company announced positive developments regarding a project debt facility application. During the opening minutes of trade, the Ecograf share price reached an intraday high of 42.5 cents.

However, after some profit taking, the company’s shares have retreated to (at the time of writing) 41.5 cents, up 9.2%.

What’s driving the Ecograf share price?

The Ecograf share price on the rise today on the back of the company’s latest news.

Ecograf highlighted that during the recent quarter, it applied for a $45 million project debt facility from Export Finance Australia. The company submitted development reports and an engineering study report to secure funds to construct a new battery graphite facility.

According to its release, Ecograf is compiling additional reports to support its loan application. It expects that final credit approval will be received from Export Finance Australia within the next two months.

As a result, Ecograf has begun finalising plans for the construction of the new state-of-the-art processing facility in Western Australia. Once built, the battery graphite facility will manufacture graphite products for export to Asia, Europe and North America.

The company further revealed it has received considerable interest from anode cell, battery and electric vehicle manufacturers.

Quick take on Ecograf

Based in Australia, Ecograf is engaged in the exploration and development of graphite and nickel projects in Tanzania. The company uses innovative technologies to recover graphite from recycled batteries, thus reducing waste and environmental impact.

Ecograf share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Ecograf share price has accelerated over 425%. These strong gains reflect growing positive sentiment among investors regarding the lithium-ion industry with many of Ecograf’s fellow ASX-listed producers also posting whopping gains over this time.

In January alone, Ecograf shares are up more than 140%, reaching a new multi-year high of 44 cents last week.

Based on the current Ecograf share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $142 million.

More reading

• Top broker says the South32 (ASX:S32) share price is in the buy zone
• Why the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price is storming higher today
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• The K2fly (ASX:K2F) share price is soaring today. Here’s why
• Why the Hazer (ASX:HZR) share price is smashing its record high

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) share price has come under pressure on Monday and is dropping lower.

At the time of writing, the mining giant’s shares are down 1.5% to $2.73.

Is this a buying opportunity?

One broker that would see today’s weakness in the South32 share price as a buying opportunity is Goldman Sachs.

At the end of last week, the broker released a positive note which revealed that its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted the price target on South32’s shares to $3.10.

Based on the latest South32 share price, this price target implies potential upside of 13.5% excluding dividends. Including dividends, this potential return increases to approximately 16% over the next 12 months.

Why does Goldman Sachs think South32 shares can go higher?

According to the note, South32 delivered a reasonably mixed second quarter update last week.

It commented: “S32 reported an 8% drop in Cu Eq production for the Dec Q, 2% below GSe, with lower than expected coal production from both Illawarra and South Africa offsetting a very strong performance from the high margin Worsley alumina, Aus manganese and Cannington lead/zinc assets.”

And while the broker has reduced its FY 2021 earnings estimates to reflect this, it has upgraded its estimates for the medium term enough to warrant remaining positive on the company.

Goldman said: “Our FY21 EPS is down 13% (but just US$59mn) however, our FY22-24 EPS is up 15-50% after incorporating our commodity team’s recent nickel, zinc and aluminium price upgrades, along with a significant upgrade to Cerro Matoso nickel’s production following the development approval of the higher grade Q&P deposit.”

In addition to this, it believes South32’s shares are great value at just 0.85x net asset value. The broker also feels that its free cash flow is recovering and expects a free cash flow yield of 5% over the next two years.

The latter bodes well for dividends, with the broker forecasting ~3.8% dividend yields in both FY 2022 and FY 2023.

This could make the South32 share price one to watch over the coming years.

More reading

• 7 ASX shares to buy for 2021
• Goldman points to commodities super-cycle: Which ASX mining shares will benefit?

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

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The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price has started the week strongly.

In afternoon trade the iron ore producer’s shares are up 5% to $25.51.

This latest gain means the Fortescue share price is now up 120% since this time last year.

Why is the Fortescue share price charging higher today?

Investors have been buying Fortescue shares on Monday after a leading broker responded positively to its update at the end of last week.

That update revealed that Fortescue has been benefiting greatly from the sky high iron ore price.

So much so, the mining giant revealed that, based on unaudited management accounts, its net profit after tax for the month of December came to a whopping US$940 million.

To put that into context, that monthly profit is more than the market capitalisation of fellow iron ore miner Mount Gibson Iron Limited (ASX: MGX).

The company also provided guidance for the first half ahead of the formal release of its results on 18 February.

It advised that its net profit after tax for the six months ended 31 December 2020 on an unaudited basis will be in the range of US$4 billion to US$4.1 billion.

This will be an impressive 60% to 64% increase on the net profit after tax of US$2.5 billion it achieved in the prior corresponding period.

What did the broker say?

According to a note out of Ord Minnett, Fortescue’s guidance was in line with its expectations for the first half.

In light of this, the broker has retained its buy rating and $29.00 price target on the company’s shares.

Based on the current Fortescue share price, this price target implies potential upside of almost 14% over the next 12 months.

In addition to this, the broker is expecting the company to generate significant free cash flow this year. This is likely to be returned to shareholders through generous dividend payments.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Change in America spurs ASX 200 higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Here’s why the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price is edging lower
• What a dramatic day in the US could mean for ASX shares in 2021

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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With so many shares to choose from on the ASX, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy.

The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.

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

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

According to a note out of Ord Minnett, its analysts have retained their buy rating and $29.00 price target on this iron ore producer’s shares. The broker notes that Fortescue is expecting to report a first half net profit of US$4 billion to US$4.1 billion in February. This is in line with what Ord Minnett was forecasting. In addition to this, it notes that the company has plans to build a steel plant and is looking into clean energy opportunities. The Fortescue share price is trading at $25.46 this afternoon.

IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)

Analysts at UBS have retained their buy rating and lifted the price target on this student placement and language testing company’s shares to $23.00. According to the note, the broker believes trading conditions are improving for the company and has lifted its earnings forecasts to reflect this. Looking ahead, the broker believes IDP Education is well-placed for growth thanks to market share gains and its computer-based IELTS offering, which has higher margins. The IDP Education share price is fetching $21.53 on Monday.

Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB)

A note out of UBS reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted the price target on this online travel agent’s shares to $5.40. According to the note, UBS acknowledges that the travel sector is still facing COVID headwinds and international travel looks unlikely this year. However, it believes the company is well-positioned to win market share from its rivals and take advantage of the pent-up demand when conditions improve. The Webjet share price is trading at $4.78 this afternoon.

More reading

• Why IDP Education, Lake Resources, Mach7, & Tyro shares are shooting higher
• Here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Change in America spurs ASX 200 higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Here’s why the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price is edging lower

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 Idp Education Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Webjet 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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