Tag: Motley Fool

If I had a spare $1,000, I would look to put it to work in ASX shares.

After all, although savings accounts are offering improved interest rates, this still doesn’t come close to the potential returns on offer in the stock market.

But which ASX shares would be good options for this $1,000? Two that I would seriously consider are listed below:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

I think Altium could be a great ASX share to buy. It is a software company that focuses on electronics design systems for 3D PCB design and embedded system development.

The Altium Designer software is regarded as the best in the industry and is used by leading electronic design teams from companies and organisations such as BAE Systems, Dell, Microsoft, NASA, and Tesla.

The company also has a number of businesses that complement its core offering. These are the NEXUS collaboration platform and the Octopart electronic parts search engine. Business has been booming for the latter recently because of parts shortages.

Altium certainly has come a long way over the last decade, but it still has plenty of growth ahead. For example, in the near term, the company is aiming to achieve US$500 million in revenue by 2026. This is more than double FY 2022’s revenue of US$220.8 million. Furthermore, with management aiming to improve its margins over the same period, there’s potential for its earnings to grow at an even quicker rate.

And while Altium’s shares are not cheap at 68 times trailing earnings, and therefore carry a lot of risk, I still believe they represent good value relative to its growth outlook.

Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI)

Another ASX share that I would invest $1,000 into is Universal Store. It is the fashion retail company behind the eponymous Universal Store brand. It also has the Perfect Stranger brand in its portfolio and recently completed the acquisition of Byron Bay-based fashion brand Thrills.

I think Universal Store is one of the best options in the retail sector right now. Not only are its shares attractively priced at 13 times estimated forward earnings, but the company appears better positioned than most for growth in the current environment.

This is thanks to its target market being younger consumers, which are expected to continue spending in 2023 due to increases in the minimum wage and their lack of exposure to rising interest rates.

The post If I had a spare $1,000, here’s where I’d invest in the stock market now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 unmissable ASX AI stocks on my radar right now
• 2 ASX growth shares that also offer incredible dividends
• ASX shares: Is this my once-in-a-lifetime chance for mega returns?
• Beat the RBA hikes with these ASX dividend shares in February: experts
• 3 ASX dividend shares I’m backing to outperform in 2023

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Altium. 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 Scott Phillips.

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If you’re not a fan of stock picking but want to make some buy and hold investments, then exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be worth considering.

Two high quality ETFs that could be top buy and hold options for investors are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

The first ETF that could be a great buy and hold option is the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF.

This ETF aims to track the performance of the NASDAQ-100 before fees and expenses. This index comprises 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ stock market.

Among the 100 companies you’ll be gaining access to are global giants such as Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla.

Given the significant weakness on the Nasdaq index last year, now could be an opportune time to buy this exceptionally high quality group of shares with a long term view.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

Another ETF for investors to consider as a buy and hold option is the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF.

This ETF provides investors with exposure to approximately 1,500 of the world’s largest listed companies from major developed countries. This allows investors to participate in the long-term growth potential of international economies outside Australia.

In addition, the ETF can bring instant diversification to a portfolio thanks to its exposure to numerous sectors and countries.

Among the ETF’s largest holdings are a good number of household names. This includes the likes of Apple, Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Visa.

The post 2 fantastic ETFs for ASX investors to buy and hold appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• The smartest ASX shares to buy with $20 right now
• How I’d invest $300 a month in ASX shares to target an extra income of $20,000 per year
• 3 scintillating ETFs for ASX investors to buy this month
• ASX investors are buying up the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF. Should you?
• Need passive income? Turn $5,000 into $800 every month

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF. 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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There are plenty of quality ASX growth shares to consider as investments.

Two that could be standout picks right now are listed below. Here’s why brokers are feeling very bullish about these shares:

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

Analysts at Morgans believe that this pizza chain operator is a growth share to buy. Its analysts have an add rating and $90.00 price target on its shares.

The broker believes that recent share price weakness caused by temporary headwinds has created a buying opportunity for investors. Particularly given its strong brand and global expansion plans. Morgans explained:

DMP is, in our opinion, a high quality operator with significant brand strength, first class executive management and a global platform for long-term network expansion. Cost inflation and adverse FX movements present significant challenges to earnings at present.

We believe these pressures are transitory in nature. In our opinion, now is the best time to consider an investment in a quality business like DMP that is facing headwinds that will reverse in time. The recent equity raise will fund DMP’s acquisition of the remaining stake in its German joint venture and keep gearing low enough to allow for future M&A optionality.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

Another ASX growth share that has been named as a buy is Temple & Webster.

Goldman Sachs is very bullish on this online furniture and homewares retailer and has put a buy rating and $7.60 price target on its shares.

Its analysts are expecting Temple & Webster to grow materially over the next decade thanks to its leadership position in a retail category that is in the early stages of shifting online.  It explained:

Our Buy thesis is predicated on the following key drivers: (1) we believe TPW is well positioned in the upcoming cycle to continue to grow market share, despite a weaker macro environment; (2) in our view TPW is best placed to be a winner in a category that favours scale players, requires a specialised approach to e-commerce, and has higher barriers to entry vs. other retail categories; and (3) greater focus on costs is a sensible strategy to balance near-term profitability with growth.

The post Expect big things from these ASX growth shares: analysts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 2 top ASX shares that could turn $10,000 into $50,000 by 2030
• Top ASX growth shares to buy in February 2023
• How I’d invest $300 a month in ASX shares to target an extra income of $20,000 per year
• 10 ASX stocks to buy before they report this earnings season: Goldman
• Top ASX value shares to buy in February 2023

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Domino’s Pizza Enterprises. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Domino’s Pizza Enterprises and Temple & Webster Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Domino’s Pizza Enterprises and Temple & Webster Group. 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 first six weeks of 2023 have been big for the Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU) share price. The S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) rare earths stock has soared 40.5% in that time to trade at 63.25 cents today.

And that’s not even its peak of this year so far. It rocketed to a new 52-week high of 66 cents earlier today – at which point it was nearly 47% higher than it started the year.

For comparison, the ASX 300 has gained 7% since the start of 2023. Meanwhile, shares in Arafura’s biggest rare earths peers have also outperformed, but not to the same extent.

• The Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price has gained 16% year to date to reach $8.90
• While that of Illuka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) has lifted 16% to trade at $10.96

So, what’s been going so right for Arafura shares in 2023? Let’s take a look.

What’s sent Arafura stock soaring 40% this year?

 There have been three price-sensitive announcements from the ASX 300 rare earths stock in 2023.

First, it announced the appointment of KfW IPEX-Bank as an additional mandated lead arranger and bookrunner.

Within that same release, it also revealed it had received indicative support from Export Finance Australia and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility for debt facilities worth a combined $300 million. It also announced it had been granted $30 million under the Federal Government’s Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

The company also revealed its planned pathway to see the Nolans Project achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

However, one of the biggest gains of the last six weeks came on the back of the company’s quarterly results. Commenting on the period, managing director Gavin Lockyer said:

[It] was one of the most outstanding quarters in terms of business changing achievements that Arafura has ever had.

Each of [the company’s] achievements, from the cornerstone binding offtake agreement signed with Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation, through to the recent very successful share placement and share purchase plan result, confirms Nolans as an exceptionally valuable world-class NdPr rare earths project.

Insider buying

Speaking of the company’s recent share purchase plan, four Arafura directors took part in the oversubscribed capital raising activity.

Lockyer, chair Mark Southey, and directors Cathy Moises and Chris Tonkin each snapped up 21,420 new shares through the plan, paying 37 cents per stock.

The participation by those in the know at the company may have bolstered sentiment for Arafura’s stock. After all, investing great Peter Lynch is widely quoted as saying:

Insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.

The post Why has ASX 300 rare earths stock Arafura rocketed 40% in 2023? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 ASX All Ordinaries stocks hitting new 52-week highs today
• Why is the Arafura share price surging 12% to an 11-year high?
• Why Arafura, Data#3, Leo Lithium, and Zip shares are charging higher today
• The Arafura share price exploded 120% in 2022. What now?

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

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It’s turning out to be a disappointing end to the trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and ASX shares. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has lost a nasty 0.8%, dragging the index down to below 7,440 points.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price hasn’t escaped the pain either.

CBA shares are also suffering today. The ASX 200’s largest bank share has endured a 0.46% decline so far this Friday, putting the bank down to $109.72 a share.

Even so, CBA remains very close to its most recent all-time high. It was only last Friday that CBA hit a new all-time record high of $111.43. In fact, CBA shares have hit a few new records over the past month or so, boosting it above $111 a share for the first time in the bank’s long ASX history.

As it stands today, the Commonwealth Bank share price remains up an impressive 8.7% year to date in 2023 so far, as well as up by more than 9% over the past 21 months:

And even after this week’s falls, Commonwealth Bank remains less than 2% away from this new all-time high.

So is it time to cash in on these gains? Or do CBA shares have even further to run?

Is it buy or sell for CBA shares today?

Well, broker Goldman Sachs is one ASX expert who reckons it’s time to cash in. As we covered earlier this week, Goldman has a long-held sell rating on CBA shares.

This ASX broker reckons the bank is overvalued at the current share price and has a 12-month share price target of $92.56. If that came to pass, it would result in a potential downside of almost 16% from today’s pricing.

And Goldman isn’t the only expert who fails to find CBA shares appealing at present.

According to reporting at The Bull, Harrison Massey, advisor and broker at Argonaut, also rates CBA shares a sell today. Massey told The Bull that “the bank offers attractive defensive qualities. However, at recent levels, it may be prudent to trim exposure and pocket a profit”.

So according to these two ASX experts, it might be time to take some profits with the CBA share price still trading near its record highs. But who knows what the future might bring for this popular ASX bank share.

At the current CBA share price, this ASX 200 bank has a market capitalisation of $186.1 billion, with a fully-franked dividend yield of 3.51%.

The post The CBA share price is trading near all-time highs. Should you cash in? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Guess which ASX 200 healthcare share is surging 5% on a new US patent?
• With no savings at 35, I’d buy this ASX 200 dividend stock to start earning monthly passive income
• I’m listening to Warren Buffett and buying ASX shares at deep discounts
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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

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The New Hope Corp Ltd (ASX: NHC) share price is down 8% at the time of writing, having earlier posted losses of more than 9%.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) coal stock closed yesterday trading for $5.81 per share. Shares are currently swapping hands for $5.36 apiece, having recovered from an intraday low of $5.24.

But it’s not just the New Hope share price taking a beating today.

Rival ASX 200 coal stock Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) is down 4.4%. And Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) has dropped 6.7% at this same time.

So, what’s going on?

Why are ASX 200 coal shares tumbling today?

The New Hope share price and the other ASX 200 coal stocks are under pressure today from several fronts.

Firstly, the price of coal, which climbed earlier this week, is sliding lower.

According to data from CommSec, Coal Nymex futures are down 3.4% overnight to US$142.65 per tonne. That’s down 9.1% from the US$157.00 per tonne quoted on Tuesday when Coal Nymex futures had leapt 5.3% overnight.

The surge in the coal price earlier in the week helped drive the New Hope share price 6.4% higher across Monday and Tuesday’s trading. But with coal prices retracing, the ASX 200 coal miner is now down almost 13% from Tuesday’s close.

What else is pressuring the New Hope share price?

Investors may be hitting the sell button amid news that Indian-based coal giant Adani Group is looking to offload its coal shipments at discounted prices.

According to anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg, Adani is “offering to sell several coal shipments from Australia and Indonesia at discounts”.

Those discounts were said to be roughly 4% below Asia’s price benchmarks.

Also potentially impacting the New Hope share price, The Australian reported that major shareholder GQG Partners had sold $336 million of Whitehaven Coal shares for $7.90 apiece.

That’s a steep discount to Tuesday’s closing price of $8.66 per share. But more than 3% above the current Whitehaven share price of $7.66.

New Hope share price snapshot

With today’s precipitous intraday fall factored in, the New Hope shares have fallen into the red for 2023.

But, as you can see in the chart below, the ASX 200 coal stock remains up an impressive 115% over the past 12 months.

The post New Hope share price dives 9% as ASX 200 coal stocks get hit hard appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• This ASX All Ords fundie just dumped $300 million of Whitehaven shares. Is this a red flag?
• 2 ‘high quality’ ASX 200 shares to navigate a turbulent 2023: expert
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why did ASX 200 coal shares have such a top run on Tuesday?
• Why Beach Energy, Medibank, Pushpay, and Whitehaven Coal shares are rising

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

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The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price has taken a dive of over 5% after one of its institutional backers sold out.

Whitehaven is one of the largest coal miners in Australia. It has benefited enormously from the big increase in energy prices as countries looked for other sources of energy.

However, coal prices may not stay high forever and winter is nearly over in the northern hemisphere. It has been a warm winter in Europe, so less energy may have been consumed.

With a possible peak of coal prices in the past, and prices stabilising, that could mean that the ASX coal miners have seen their strongest level of profitability.

Under those circumstances, it’s understandable why some investors may be selling out and finding other investment opportunities.

Fund manager sells out

According to reporting by The Australian, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) fund manager GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG) has sold a significant number of shares.

GQG sold $336 million of Whitehaven shares through investment bank JPMorgan for a price of $7.90 each. The current price is 5% lower than GQG’s sale price.

The Australian noted that GQG had a 5.36% stake in the business.

What to make of this for Whitehaven shares?

Since 21 December 2022, the Whitehaven share price has dropped by around 30%.

The latest quarterly update from the ASX coal share gave some insights into what’s going on.

In the three months to December 2022, it achieved an average coal price of A$527 per tonne, compared to A$581 per tonne in the three months to September 2022.

The company is expecting to report that in the first six months of FY23, it made around $2.6 billion of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) – up from $0.6 billion in the first half of FY22.

It made around $1 billion of cash flow in the three months to December 2022 and around $2.5 billion in the FY23 first half. It finished the period with a net cash position of $2.5 billion.

Whitehaven also reported that its managed run-of-mine production was 4.8 million tonnes, up 21% from the three months to September 2022.

The business is continuing to make major profits, even if sentiment is falling. It is carrying out a major share buyback program and large dividends are also expected.

According to Commsec, it could pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 18%, which is still a high yield.

The post This ASX All Ords fundie just dumped $300 million of Whitehaven shares. Is this a red flag? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 2 ‘high quality’ ASX 200 shares to navigate a turbulent 2023: expert
• Why did ASX 200 coal shares have such a top run on Tuesday?
• Why Beach Energy, Medibank, Pushpay, and Whitehaven Coal shares are rising
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 3 ASX dividend shares I’m backing to outperform in 2023

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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 Scott Phillips.

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The cryptocurrency industry is back under the microscope of United States regulators, prompting fears of a clampdown. Concerns about what could come next have weakened the Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price by 4.9% over the past 24 hours.

At the time of writing, the original cryptocurrency is sitting at US$21,853. The latest decline takes the crypto asset’s weekly fall to 7.3% after experiencing a 40% surge throughout January.

Tightening chokehold worries investors

A dark cloud has hung over crypto since it began gaining mainstream popularity. An uncontrollable risk to those who invest in it has always been a damaging regulatory intervention. Various recent developments in this area have brought these concerns to the surface once more.

Yesterday, reports flowed through that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was investigating Kraken, a major crypto exchange with more than 9 million clients, for alleged securities violations.

There’s a lot of backstory to this, but what is important is there has been an ongoing debate around the classification of different cryptocurrencies. Namely, what is deemed a security and what is considered a commodity.

The decision is critical for how crypto assets are treated and, ultimately, the price of Bitcoin and others.

Alongside the Kraken reports, Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong revealed rumours of the SEC potentially wanting to crack down on staking for US customers altogether. Armstrong aired this regulation speculation via a tweet, as shown below.

1/ We’re hearing rumors that the SEC would like to get rid of crypto staking in the U.S. for retail customers. I hope that’s not the case as I believe it would be a terrible path for the U.S. if that was allowed to happen.

— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) February 8, 2023

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Fast forward to today, and we now know that Kraken will cease its crypto-staking services immediately following a settlement with the SEC. Additionally, the company will pay $30 million for offering unregistered securities.

The move has created unease among investors and the industry. In fact, some believe the stance on staking could be a part of a broader move, labelled ‘Operation Choke Point 2.0’, to remove crypto completely from the US.

Pain for more than the Bitcoin price

Bitcoin might be the most popular crypto to take a hit over the news, but it isn’t the only one languishing after the outcome. Other major assets riding lower following the news include:

• Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is down 6.3% to US$1,546
• Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) down 8% to 36 US cents
• Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) down 11.8% to US$20.45
• Avalanche (CRYPTO: AVAX) down 11% to US$17.88

Investors will no doubt be closely monitoring whether regulation could begin to creep further into decentralised finance (DeFi). For now, the outlook for staking is much murkier than it was a week ago.

The price of Bitcoin remains 50% below where it was a year ago.

The post Bitcoin price slumps 5% amid regulation fears appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Guess which ASX 200 healthcare share is surging 5% on a new US patent?
• Is the AGL share price sell off a buying opportunity?
• Fortescue share price shrugs off layoff rumblings
• Appen share price soars again, up 29% since Monday
• 2 ASX shares with a dividend boost coming

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Avalanche, Bitcoin, Cardano, Coinbase Global, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Avalanche, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. 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 price of S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) biopharmaceutical developer Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) is soaring on Friday after the company announced a new United States patent.

The patent relates to its B-cell activating immunotherapy PD1-Vaxx. It’s currently in development for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Right now, the Imugene share price is trading at 14.2 cents, marking a 5.19% gain.

Let’s take a closer look at the news driving the ASX 200 healthcare share higher today.

ASX 200 healthcare share leaps on patent news

It’s shaping up to be a good day for the Imugene share price after the company announced another patent.

This time, it has patented the PD1-Vaxx and its method of treatment in cancer to 2038.

The company is finalising preparations for a clinical trial in which PD1-Vaxx will be combined with atezolizumab ­– an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) targeting PD-L1 – in patients with NSCLC.

The trial’s objectives are to determine the safety, efficacy, and optimal dose of PD1-Vaxx in combination with atezolizumab as either first-line therapy in ICI treatment-naïve NSCLC patients or ICI pre-treated patients. The study will be conducted in both the United States and Australia.

Commenting on the news driving the Imugene share price higher today, managing director and CEO Leslie Chong said:

It’s vital to our business that we continue locking in intellectual property protection across the portfolio of assets, and I am proud to continue to strengthen our intellectual property.

With the United States being the largest healthcare market in the world, this is a particularly important patent to protect our PD1-Vaxx technology as we continue its development.

Imugene share price snapshot

Sadly, the Imugene share price has been underperforming in recent months.

The stock has lifted just 1% since the start of 2023, compared to the ASX 200’s 7% gain.

Looking further back, the company’s share price has tumbled 57% over the last 12 months. Meanwhile, the index has gained 2%.  

The post Guess which ASX 200 healthcare share is surging 5% on a new US patent? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
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Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) share price is having another poor session.

In morning trade, the energy company’s shares are down 3.5% to $6.87.

This means the AGL share price is now down more than 13% since the release of the company’s half year results.

Is the AGL share price weakness a buying opportunity?

Unfortunately, one leading broker doesn’t believe investors should be jumping in just yet.

According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts have retained their hold rating and cut their price target on the company’s shares by 12.5% to $6.89.

This is broadly in line with where AGL’s shares trading today.

What did the broker say?

Morgans wasn’t impressed with AGL’s half year results, which fell short of expectations. It commented:

AGL’s 1H result was a significant miss on consensus and our forecast and FY23 underlying net profit guidance was reduced by $20m. […] Underlying net profit was down 55% on pcp, 60% on our forecast and 45% on Visible Alpha consensus. The key driver was a net $123m impact on the wholesale trading business from the tight winter conditions earlier in the half. This also drove a big miss on DPS with an interim dividend of only 8cps.

The top end of FY23 guidance was cut, reducing the mid-point of Underlying net profit guidance by 8% to $240m.

And while Morgans is expecting AGL’s performance to improve and its dividends to start increasing, it recommends investors sit on the fence for the time being. It adds:

We anticipate increasing dividends as earnings begin to recover in the next 12 months however we think the market will want to see clear evidence of this before it regains confidence in the company and the sector.

The post Is the AGL share price sell off a buying opportunity? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• How to burn a billion dollars: AGL shares tumble 10% on painful half-year results
• Why AGL, Dicker Data, Megaport, and Suncorp shares are dropping
• The AGL dividend has just been slashed. Here’s what you need to know
• AGL share price sinks following 55% profit dive

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

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