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I think it is fair to say that it has been a year to forget for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Since the start of the year, the benchmark index has lost 13.5% of its value.

The good news is that not all shares on the index have dropped lower this year. In fact, a couple of shares are not only beating the market, they have more than doubled in value in 2020.

Here’s why they are on fire this year:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price is the best performer on the ASX 200 in 2020 with a whopping 161% gain. Impressively, this is despite the buy now pay later provider’s shares trading 20% lower than their 52-week high.

The catalyst for this strong gain has been the rapid growth in customer and underlying sales numbers during the pandemic. This has been driven by an acceleration in the shift to online shopping and the growing popularity of the payment method with consumers and merchants. Also getting investors excited is its expansion plans. Afterpay recently revealed plans to enter the European market and also has its eyes on the Asian market.

Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB)

The Mesoblast share price is up 141% since the start of the year. Investors have been buying this biotechnology company’s shares due to positive developments relating to its remestemcel-L product candidate. Remestemcel-L is being developed as a treatment for paediatric steroid-resistance acute graft versus host disease (paediatric SR-aGvHD).

In August the company had a meeting with the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) of the U.S. FDA to discuss remestemcel-L as a potential treatment for paediatric SR-aGvHD. Pleasingly, after some initial doubts, the ODAC was supportive of remestemcel-L and gave it the thumbs up. While this doesn’t guarantee FDA approval, it’s a huge step forward. In addition to this, there is excitement around the company’s trials of remestemcel-L in ventilator-dependent COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Phase 3 trials are currently underway in Australia and the United States.

More reading

• Is the Coles (ASX:COL) share price a buy after renewable energy deal?
• 2 stunning ASX growth shares to buy and hold
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• The next ASX stock to be rocked by board shakeup after Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO)
• ASX 200 falls 0.7%, UK and travel shares drop

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Why Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) and this ASX 200 share have doubled in value in 2020 appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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Are you looking for growth shares that you can buy and hold? Then you might want to consider the two listed below.

I believe both have the potential to grow very strongly over the next decade and could provide market-beating returns for investors.

Here’s why I would buy these stunning ASX growth shares:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The first growth share I would buy is Afterpay. I think the buy now pay later giant would be a quality long term option thanks to its leading position in an industry growing rapidly. More and more consumers, particularly younger ones, are turning away from credit cards in favour of buy now pay later products. And while this has unsurprisingly led to increasing competition in the industry, I believe Afterpay’s first-mover advantage and strong brand have given it an almost unassailable lead. 

Another positive is that despite Afterpay’s incredible growth over the last few years, it is still barely even scratching at the surface of its overall market opportunity. The company has a $5 trillion opportunity in the United States market and has recently announced plans to expand into Europe and test the waters in Asia. If everything goes to plan, I believe Afterpay has the potential to become a giant of the payments industry in the future.

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

Another stunning ASX growth share that I would buy is Appen. It is the global leader in the development of high-quality, human-annotated training data for machine learning and artificial intelligence. It has over 1 million crowd-sourced workers globally collecting and labelling high volumes of image, text, speech, audio, and video data. This data is then used to build and improve artificial intelligence models.

Artificial intelligence is arguably the next big thing in technology. Unsurprisingly, this means that billions and billions of dollars are being invested into the space by businesses and governments. This bodes very well for Appen, given its leadership position in its field. As a result, I believe it is perfectly positioned to continue growing its earnings at a strong rate long into the future.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Is the Afterpay (ASX: APT) share price a buy? 
• Where to invest your BHP (ASX:BHP) dividends
• BrainChip (ASX:BRN) and Afterpay (ASX:APT) were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week
• ASX 200 down 0.9%: Tech shares push higher, gold miners sink, New Hope results

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 Altium. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The four ASX shares I’m going to mention in this article are rated as ‘buys’ by several brokers.

It’s quite hard to find businesses that are both good businesses and trading at a good price. Even then, one person might say Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is a better choice and another could say that Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) is the right one.

Investment site MarketIndex regularly collates the ratings of brokers together to assess what the broker community collectively think are opportunities. Of course, this still isn’t a guarantee of success – they could all be herding together.

With that in mind, here are four ASX shares that brokers like:

Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN)

Crown is rated as a buy by at least nine analysts. It’s the owner and operator of two large casino entertainment complexes in Melbourne and Perth, with the Sydney complex currently under construction.

The casino business has been heavily affected by COVID-19. There have been lockdowns in Victoria which have severely hurt earnings. Even when Melbourne opens up again, there could still be a problem with international visitors being limited. That could mean VIPs won’t be able to make it back to the gaming tables of the ASX share for some time.

However, the Crown share price is still down almost 25% from the price it was at on 21 February 2020. So thid presents better value for investors to buy for the long-term. Crown Sydney is getting close to being finished too, which will be useful for its cashflow and long term earning power.

At the current Crown share price, it’s priced at 17x FY22’s estimated earnings.

Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)

Aristocrat is a gambling machine and gaming business. There are at least 12 analysts who think that Aristocrat is a buy.

The ASX share was being affected by COVID-19 impacts as operators were closed for social distancing reasons. However, many of the locations are now open for business.

The Aristocrat share price has soared 89% higher since the low on 23 March 2020.

In the recent FY20 half-year result to 31 March 2020, the company said normalised net profit was down 14.2% to $305.9 million.

Thankfully the business had been investing in its digital offerings which can partially offset any lost activity because of COVID-19 restrictions.

At the current Aristocrat share price it’s trading at 18x FY22’s estimated earnings.

Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR)

Star is in a similar situation to Crown, although it doesn’t operate in a fully locked-down state like Crown Melbourne is. It’s rated as a buy by at least 12 analysts.

The ASX share has also been affected by COVID-19 and it saw its earnings fall heavily in the last few months of FY20. Statutory profit before significant items was down 91.9% to $18 million and including those significant items it reported a net loss of $95 million.

When the casino operator reported its result it gave a trading update for the first half of FY21. July domestic gaming revenue was around 80% of the level of the prior corresponding period, with margins similar to the prior corresponding period excluding jobkeeper. Star said it was materially cash flow positive after investments in July, enabling debt reduction.

The Star share price is down 29% since the pre-COVID-19 crash price. It’s currently trading at 17x FY22’s estimated earnings.

Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW)

Brickworks is rated as a buy by at least six analysts.

The building products business could be one of the most promising industrial ASX shares right now. Construction has been hit by COVID-19 impacts, particularly with demand being hurt during the worst COVID-19 months.

I think that construction demand will return in 2021 as Australia exits the problems that COVID-19 has caused. Hopefully the US can also get through this COVID-19 period and that Brickworks’ US division can return to full activity sooner rather than later.

I like Brickworks other assets. Those assets are: a large position in investment house Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) and a 50% stake of an industrial property trust along with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG). They are defensive and generate reliable cashflow for Brickworks.

At the current Brickworks share price it’s priced at under 11x FY21’s estimated earnings.

More reading

• 3 ASX dividend shares to buy for 2021
• Macquarie says ASX value shares will outperform growth stocks from here
• Two ASX infrastructure shares to buy before the October budget
• ASX shares to buy for post COVID-19 profits
• Why everyone should have Brickworks (ASX:BKW) and 1 other ASX share

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On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form again and dropped to a three-month low. The benchmark index fell 0.65% to 5,784.1 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 futures pointing higher.

The ASX 200 index is expected to bounce back strongly on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the benchmark index is poised to storm 61 points or 1.06% higher at the open. This follows a very positive night of trade on Wall Street which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.5%, the S&P 500 climb 1.05%, and the Nasdaq index race 1.7% higher.

Tech share recovery to continue.

Australian tech shares such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) look set to continue their recovery on Wednesday after the tech-focused Nasdaq index stormed higher overnight. The highlight on the Nasdaq was arguably the Amazon share price, which surged almost 6% higher. Investors appear to believe the tech rout is now over.

Oil prices rebound slightly.

It could be a better day of trade for energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) after oil prices rebounded from Monday night’s sizeable declines. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 0.6% to US$39.55 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 0.6% to US$41.70 a barrel. Demand concerns have weighed on prices this week.

Gold price drops lower.

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch this morning after the gold price softened further. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has fallen 0.3% to US$1,905.00 an ounce. The precious metal came under pressure after the U.S. dollar strengthened again.

News Corp given conviction buy rating.

The News Corp (ASX: NWS) share price could be heading a lot higher from here according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. They have reaffirmed their conviction buy rating and $26.70 price target on the media company’s shares. Goldman notes that News Corp has a constructive earnings outlook and plenty of valuation upside within its portfolio.

More reading

• 2 stunning ASX growth shares to buy and hold
• The next ASX stock to be rocked by board shakeup after Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO)
• ASX 200 falls 0.7%, UK and travel shares drop
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price is one of the latest ASX buy ideas from brokers
• Is the Afterpay (ASX: APT) share price a 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 Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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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.

The stock market has been on edge, and that showed up in the way that major market benchmarks moved early Tuesday. For the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC), the news was a little bit better than for the broader market. The Nasdaq picked up about 0.2% shortly before noon EDT, compared to losses for the Dow and S&P 500.

Helping to lead the charge for the Nasdaq in 2020 has been Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA). The electric-vehicle pioneer never fails to make news, and with its Battery Day presentation imminent, investors can hardly wait to see what Tesla CEO Elon Musk has to show them. Yet as we saw a while back with a comment about Tesla’s stock price, Musk once again said something that seemed designed to try to tamp down some of the euphoria surrounding the company and its shares.

What moved Tesla lower

Tesla’s shares were down almost 6% on Tuesday morning. As investors prepare for this afternoon’s (Wednesday morning AEST time) Battery Day presentation, Musk tried to be realistic about what they’re going to see later today.

Musk specifically pointed to the long-term nature of Tesla’s work in a tweet late Monday. The technology that shareholders will see will have an important impact on Tesla’s long-term production plans, according to Musk. Moreover, it will help drive the development of the Semi, Cybertruck, and Roadster vehicles.

However, Musk warned that investors shouldn’t anticipate immediate ramping up of its innovative new technology. Rather, the announcement will only hit what he called “serious high-volume production” levels beginning in 2022.

That seemed to take the wind out of the sails of Tesla’s stock. Shares had held up well during Monday’s market sell-off, helping to support the Nasdaq and the broader stock market. The decline on Tuesday morning seemed to indicate some nervousness about the automaker’s ability to execute on a key aspect of its business.

A lot at stake

Musk’s comments flatly admitted some of the difficulties involved in scaling up production. Tesla plans to boost the number of battery cells it purchases from third-party providers like Panasonic and LG. However, even with those suppliers operating at full capacity, Musk still believes there’ll be big shortages starting in 2022. Tesla will have to act on its own accord in order to ensure a reliable supply of battery components and materials.

Tesla’s CEO appealed to investors to understand the difficulty of mass-producing new technology. As Musk put it, building “the machine that makes the machine is vastly harder than the machine itself.”

Even with those difficulties, Tesla appears to be doing well with its core business. Reports of a leaked email from Musk suggest that the car company could hit another record for quarterly deliveries.

Investors still want to see something encouraging from the Battery Day presentation. Now that the automaker’s stock has climbed so far so quickly, shareholders are counting not just on the success of the car business, but also on Tesla’s ability to capitalize on adjacent opportunities like battery technology. If Tesla lives up to its past record, though, then Tuesday’s declines might seem short-sighted in hindsight.

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

More reading

• ASX shares Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) needs to survive
• Leading fund managers name Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and these shares as buys
• Why Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock jolted higher on Tuesday
• Is value investing dead?
• Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) among most traded US shares last week

Dan Caplinger 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 Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Tesla Weighs on Nasdaq — Will Investors Believe Musk This Time? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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

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If you’re tired of dealing with low interest rates on term deposits, then you might want to look to the share market.

The ASX is home to a good number of shares that are providing investors with vastly superior yields.

But which ASX dividend shares should you buy today? Two that I’m a big fan of are listed below:

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

The first ASX dividend share I would buy instead of a term deposit is this supermarket giant. Defensive qualities are very important for dividend shares and Coles has proven to have them in vast quantities. I think this makes it a great option in the current uncertain economic environment.

In addition to this, I’m a big fan of Coles for its strong market position and positive long term growth outlook. Combined with its refresh strategy, which is aiming to cut costs materially, I believe the company is well-placed to grow its earnings and dividend at a solid rate over the 2020s. For now, based on the current Coles share price, I estimate that its offer investors a fully franked ~3.2% FY 2021 dividend yield.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Another ASX dividend share which has defensive qualities is Telstra. These were on display in FY 2020 when the telco giant delivered on its guidance and maintained its dividend. And while FY 2021 will be a little bit harder because of the pandemic’s impact on roaming revenues, I believe a return to growth won’t be far away once the crisis passes. This is due to the company’s T22 strategy, the easing NBN headwind, and the arrival of 5G internet. I’m expecting the latter to support its average revenue per user metric in the all-important mobile business in the coming years.

In addition to this, I’m optimistic that Telstra can avoid a dividend cut on FY 2021 if its switches its dividend policy to a free cash flow-focus. This is because its free cash flow guidance this year would be more than sufficient to maintain a 16 cents per share dividend. If the company does make the switch, based on the current Telstra share price, it would offer investors a very generous 5.7% yield.

More reading

• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price is one of the latest ASX buy ideas from brokers
• Buy these ASX dividend shares to beat low interest rates
• 2 dirt-cheap ASX shares I would buy today
• How to reinvest an ASX dividend payment
• Is it time to buy Telstra and these high quality ASX 200 shares?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Don’t look now fellow Fools, but embattled Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) share price could soon be hit by a new challenge.

The department store’s second largest shareholder looks to be withdrawing its support for Myer’s board. This leaves it vulnerable the next time Premier Investments Limited’s (ASX: PMV) chairman Solomon Lew comes rattling the cage.

Calls for board restructure

Fund manger Geoff Wilson is calling for Myer to shrink the size of its board and cut directors’ fees, reported the Australian Financial Review.

The move probably reflects his frustration at the 60% crash in the Myer share price over the past year.

Geoff Wilson is the chair of Wilson Asset Management (WAM), which owns 7.8% of Myer – making it Myer’s second largest shareholder behind Solly Lew.

Is Myer vulnerable to an attack?

Wilson teamed up with Investors Mutual to block Solly from rolling Myer’s board in 2018 and was a vocal supporter.

WAM is reportedly still a supporter of current management but Myer may find it harder to fend off another attack from Solly as Investors Mutual sold most, if not all, of its 10% holdings in Myer.

Solly tried to install a couple of directors to Myer’s board when it picked up a 10.8% stake in Myer for $1.14 a share back in March 2017.

Myer fighting multiple battles

That move was blocked by Investors Mutual, according to the AFR, and Solly’s $101 million investment in Myer has shrunk by around 80% since. Ouch!

Looking at his track record, he’s unlikely to give up trying to take control of Myer and I think it’s only a matter of time before he strikes again.

This means Myer’s board will need to watch its flank as it battles the tectonic online shift that is rendering its traditional business model obsolete.

Other ASX stocks hit by board shake-up

The rising risk to Myer’s board comes at a time when the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) is struck by a string of shake-ups at the top of some high-profile companies.

The latest was Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) after it blew up the Juukan Gorge and its CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques’ future with the miner.

Rio Tinto continues to face pressure from shareholders, the community and politicians to restructure its board.

Another corporate icon, AMP Limited (ASX: AMP), also saw a big reshuffle at the top for its extremely poor handling of a sexual harassment scandal. The AMP share price collapsed as a result and remains in the doldrums even with renewed leadership.

Meanwhile, the QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) share price is also on a slippery slope as its CEO Pat Regan was shown the exit. His fall from grace comes after the insurer investigated a complaint from a female employee.

More reading

• ASX 200 falls 0.7%, UK and travel shares drop
• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price is one of the latest ASX buy ideas from brokers
• Why the Regional Express (ASX:REX) share price is taking off today
• ASX 200 hits 3-month low! Is it time to buy ASX shares today?
• Why the News Corp (ASX:NWS) share price is plunging today

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of AMP Limited and Rio Tinto Ltd. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Premier Investments Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The share prices of most infrastructure companies, both on the ASX and global exchanges, have been among the hardest hit from the coronavirus fallout.

And unlike technology shares, most infrastructure shares are still well below their February 2020 highs. For investors with a longer-term horizon (2 or more years), this spells opportunity.

Why infrastructure share prices could be heading much higher

Social distancing, lockdowns and border closures put into place to control the pandemic have seen developed nations around the world fall deeply into recession. That includes the United States — the world’s biggest economy — and most nations across Europe.

Australia is on that list as well, with gross domestic product (GDP) plummeting 7% relative to the previous 3 months in the quarter ending 30 June, the biggest fall on record. Since GDP also contracted 0.3% the previous quarter, that makes it an official recession. The first since mid-1990 to early 1991 for Australia.

To lift their economies out of recession (and keep their jobs), politicians across developed nations are proposing massive government spending on infrastructure projects, possibly reaching into the trillions of dollars globally.

The stimulus plans would sound quite familiar to former US President, Franklin D Roosevelt. He was the one who pioneered the ‘New Deal’ in the 1930s. This opened up the government’s purse strings to fund road, bridge, and construction projects that put millions of people back to work and put an end to the Great Depression.

1 ASX infrastructure share with built in diversification

There are many different global infrastructure shares that stand to gain as government building booms gets underway.

One way to invest across many of these with a single ASX share is through the Vanguard Global Infrastructure Index ETF (ASX: VBLD). This exchange-traded fund (ETF) holds 139 infrastructure shares across the globe.

Its major holdings focus on railways as well as energy and communications infrastructure companies. Furthermore, 66% of its market allocation exposure is in the US with 14% in Canada and 6% in Japan.

The ETF had a great start to 2020, with the share price gaining 12% through to 21 February, while the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) gained 6% over the same period.

Then the virus hit. And the share price tanked 25% through to its low on 25 March. It has edged higher from that low, but it’s still down 22% from the February highs.

With governments prepared to fund a building boom that could run several years or more, there’s no reason the Vanguard Global Infrastructure ETF couldn’t see a return to its February highs. That would represent a 28% upside from today’s price of $52.65 per share.

More reading

• The pitfalls of investing in infrastructure in 2020

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Could the surging e-commerce space position some retail companies as leading ASX growth shares? Here are two Aussie retailers that I think could outperform household ASX growth shares. 

2 retailers that could be top ASX growth shares

1. Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) 

The Kogan share price has been relentless in 2020 and is up nearly 170% this year. During this period, the company also launched a $100 million capital raising to provide the financial flexibility to act quickly on future value accretive opportunities. Previously, Kogan acquired and integrated iconic Australian retailers such as Dick Smith and Matt Blatt. This is the company’s first capital raising since its initial public offering (IPO) in July 2016 and could open the door for more exciting opportunities. 

Kogan continues to kick goals with its recent business update highlighting its continued success amidst COVID-19. The update reported active customers increased to 2,461,000 as at 31 August 2020. This included an incremental 152,000 customers in the month of August, and the largest monthly increase in the history of the business. Furthermore, Kogan’s gross sales have grown more than 117% year on year, gross profit grew more than 165% and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) has increased more than 466%. 

The Kogan business is firing on all cylinders with a strong balance sheet to explore potential acquisitions. I believe the company is a reasonably valued ASX growth share at its current price, however the recent weakness in the market could also present an opportunity to buy Kogan shares at a cheaper price in the future.

2. Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) 

The Redbubble share price has delivered a staggering 300% increase so far in 2020. The company’s operations are along the same lines as Etsy Inc (NASDAQ: ETSY), a US $13 billion e-commerce marketplace focused on arts and crafts. COVID-19 has accelerated consumers’ appetite for e-commerce and Redbubble believes these structural shifts are likely to endure in the medium to long term. In FY20, the company’s marketplace revenue increased 36% to $349 million, EBITDA increased 358% to $5.1 million and its closing cash balance was $58 million at 30 June 2020. During Q4 FY20, Redbubble’s growth and profitability greatly accelerated with 4Q20 marketplace revenue of $103 million, up 73% on 4Q19. 

From a revenue perspective, Etsy trades at approximately 12 times revenue compared to the 3 times of Redbubble. Even though Redbubble shares have soared 300% this year, I believe there could be more gas in the tank. While the near-term volatility could see some wild swings in the Redbubble share price, I believe its shares could definitely go higher in the medium to long term. 

More reading

• Got $3,000? Buy these exciting ASX growth shares
• 4 unstoppable ASX shares to buy with $4,000
• What you need to know about Tyro’s share price roller coaster today
• Where to invest $10,000 into ASX shares immediately
• Why Mineral Resources, Redbubble, Saracen, & Temple & Webster shares are pushing higher

Lina Lim has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell by around 0.7% today to 5,784 points.

Share market COVID-19 fears

This followed on from a tough day for the European share market, particularly in the UK as it starts reintroducing restrictions to try to halt the spread of COVID-19.

According to reporting by the BBC, the UK coronavirus alert level is moving to level 4. That means that transmission is ‘high or rising exponentially’. The government’s scientific adviser warned there could be 50,000 new coronavirus cases a day by mid-October without further action.

The number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the UK on Monday was another 4,368 with the number rapidly rising compared to previous weeks.

Within the ASX 200 the Virgin Money UK CDI (ASX: VUK) share price fell by 5% with investors worrying about what may happen to the UK economy if there’s another lockdown.

Travel shares were also some of the worst performers within the ASX 200.

At the bottom of the performance table was the Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price which fell 5.8% and the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price dropped 6%.

As a hedge, investors seem to have sent the share price of ventilator business Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) going up by 4%.

The best performing business in the ASX 200 today was the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price which rose 4.4%. Healthcare business Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) also rose by around 4% today.  

New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC)

The coal miner reported its FY20 result today.

New Hope is a low-cost coal producer, but it still experienced a tough year.

The business reported that total tonnes produced grew 4% to 11.3Mt with a full year contribution from its Bengalla ownership. Total tonnes sold increased by 6% to 11.5Mt.

It reported that profit after income tax (before non regular items) dropped 69% to $84 million. Revenue from operations dropped 17% to $1.1 billion with operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropping 44% to $290 million.

Earnings per share (EPS) before non regular items also dropped 69% to 10 cents.

The New Hope board decided not to pay a final dividend. This meant that the full year dividend was 6 cents per share, a reduction of 65%.

New Hope Chair Rob Millner explained to investors in the chair review that between March 2020 and July 2020 the Newcastle coal price fell around 33% with weaker demand and a lower US dollar.

The statutory profit after tax was actually a $156.8 million loss. This was due to a large number of impairments relating to coal producing and exploration assets, impairment of goodwill, impairment of oil producing and exploration assets. There were also New Acland ramp down costs, redundancies and ERP implementation costs.

New Hope said that demand for high quality thermal coal remains strong across Asia.

Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB) share purchase plan (SPP) delay

Bubs said today that due to delays being experienced with Australia Post deliveries during COVID-19 and feedback from shareholders, the closing date for the SPP is being extended by two weeks until 7 October 2020. This will give shareholders enough time to consider the terms and conditions in the SPP.

As a reminder, eligible shareholders can apply for up to $30,000 of new shares at an offer price of $0.80.

Bubs aims to raise $10 million and the offer is not underwritten.

The Bubs share price fell 2.5% today.

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Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited and Webjet Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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