Tag: Motley Fool

Is Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) the hottest stock on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) right now?

One might not think so after the ASX 200 lithium share‘s recent performance. Core Lithium shares are down a nasty 2.3% so far today to $1.28 a share.

Since the company hit a new all-time high of $1.88 a share back on 14 November, Core Lithium shares have shed a depressing near-32% of their value.

But zooming out and the picture looks a lot rosier. Core Lithium remains up a very impressive 103% in 2022 to date, having started the year at just 63 cents a share. Core Lithium is also up more than 166% over the past 12 months.

So why do we think Core Lithium is one of the ASX 200 hottest stocks right now? Many ASX shares have beaten Core Lithium’s impressive performance this year, after all.

Well, it’s Core Lithium’s consistent and dominant presence in the ASX 200’s trading volume charts that really lend credence.

Most days here at the Fool, we take a look at the three most actively traded ASX 200 shares on the share market. And in recent months, Core Lithium consistently shows up in that list.

Just take yesterday. When we looked at the most active shares on Monday, Core Lithium came in at second place for the entire ASX 200, with almost 20 million shares traded.

Core Lithium was also on our list last Thursday, Tuesday and Monday, the latter in top spot.

So this tells us that more Core Lithium shares fly around the share market on any given day than most other ASX 200 shares.

What makes Core Lithium such a hot ASX 200 stock?

This could be due to a few different factors.

Firstly, Core Lithium’s status as a winner no doubt helps. When a company rises more than 100% in value over a year, and displays significant volatility along the way, it is always going to attract traders and speculators looking to jump on what could be a quick profit.

The second is Core Lithium’s relatively low share price. Today, the company is sitting at $1.28 a share. If an investor wanted to buy or sell $5,000 worth of Core Lithium shares, this would represent around 3,900 individual shares.

The same amount of cash would ‘only’ buy roughly 46 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares. Or just 16 CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) shares. So this would boost volumes too.

Lastly, lithium has been one of the ASX 200’s hottest trends this year. Almost all lithium shares on the ASX have received significant investor attention. This inherently makes a lithium share like Core a highly traded company.

So it’s these reasons that are likely responsible for making Core Lithium one of the hottest stocks on the ASX 200 right now. This will certainly be one ASX 200 share worth watching in 2023.

The post Is Core Lithium the hottest stock on the ASX 200 right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• The Sayona Mining share price went backwards in November. What now?
• 2 ASX 200 directors buying and selling their company shares in the past week
• Up 30% in a month, is it time to cash in some chips on Fortescue shares?
• ‘Highest quality companies’: Expert names 2 ASX shares to buy now
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in CSL. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL. 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 Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) has managed to deliver good outperformance for investors in 2022 to date.

While it’s only down by 6.6% for the year, other exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have gone down much further. For example, the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) is down by 25% and the BetaShares S&P/ASX Australian Technology ETF (ASX: ATEC) is down by 29%.

The performance of an ETF is decided by the underlying performance of the holdings. So, let’s have a quick recap of its biggest positions before thinking about how December and beyond may go.

Biggest holdings in the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF

At the end of October 2022, the biggest holdings were:

• BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) – Australia’s biggest resources business, with exposure to commodities like iron ore, copper and nickel
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) – Australia’s largest ASX bank share
• CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) – The ASX healthcare giant that’s focused on vaccines, blood plasma therapies and other advanced treatments
• National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) – This is Australia’s second-largest bank

There are many other holdings, but commentary about BHP, CBA and NAB can also be applicable to Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO).

What could happen in December?

There seem to be two main things affecting the large end of the ASX share market at the moment. Developments could have a further impact on the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF.

For the banks, it’s all about interest rates. They have benefited from a swift rise in the RBA interest rate. It means they’re able to charge more interest on their loans (such as mortgages), but the interest rate on savings accounts hasn’t gone up as quickly.

However, if interest rates go too high then it could hit households hard and cause bank bad debts to rise. What the RBA does next, and the commentary it provides could have a big impact on ASX bank share returns and the overall return of the ETF in December.

Developments in China seem to be having a large impact on the iron ore price, which is usually important for the share prices of BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto.

Chinese cities are slowly but steadily lifting COVID restrictions. For example, people don’t need to present a negative COVID test to get on public transport. Less COVID controls could mean more demand for iron, and stronger profit potential for BHP and so on. Investors usually like the prospect of more profit.

Foolish takeaway

The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF could see a strong finish to the year if China keeps lessening its COVID restrictions and the RBA signals that interest rates aren’t going to go as high as expected. But, neither of those things is guaranteed to happen in December, so time will tell how the ETF performs.

The post Can the Vanguard Australian Shares ETF deliver more outperformance in December? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• It took me years to realise I’m no investing genius like Warren Buffett
• The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF soared in November, beating the ASX 200
• Has the Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (VAS) been a worthwhile investment over the past decade?
• Which stocks are in the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) right now?
• Are the Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (VAS) fees expensive?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Fortescue Metals Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF and CSL. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Westpac Banking. 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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Building a million-dollar portfolio might sound like a pipedream to many market watchers, but with the right strategy, know-how, and, arguably, luck, it can be done. Not only that, I’d argue it can be done by investing in only a handful of ASX shares.

Indeed, that’s how investing great Warren Buffett built a fair chunk of his more than US$100 billion fortune. The strategy also helped his company Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE:BRK.B) post an average annual return of around 20% between 1965 and 2021.

Such a return would turn a $500 monthly investment into more than $1 million in just 20 years – before considering dividends. That’s the power of compounding! Of course, past performance isn’t an indication of future performance.

Here’s how I would aim to build a $1 million portfolio by investing in only a few ASX shares.

Taking Buffett’s lead

Fortunes can be made by choosing the right ASX share to buy at the right time.

For instance, investing $1,000 in Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) shares back in the early 2000s could see a shareholder boasting a $1 million stake in the iron ore giant today.

Buying big into a small number of shares is the strategy generally employed by Buffett. Right now, nearly 75% of Berkshire Hathaway‘s US$296 billion portfolio is made up of just five shares.

The investing great famously once said:

We think diversification, as practiced generally, makes very little sense for anyone that knows what they’re doing.

Of course, diversification plays an important role in many investors’ portfolios.

Investing in a broad variety of ASX shares can protect an investor’s assets in the event of a downturn in a single sector or company.

But, as Buffett points out, protecting against risk also lessens the chance of realising market-beating returns.

How to pick winning ASX shares

However, it’s not easy to identify millionaire-making ASX shares. Even Buffett balances his statement by noting investing in a non-diverse portfolio demands a high level of knowledge and experience.

The billionaire touts his strategy of finding undervalued, quality shares. But more than that, he analyses an underlying business from top to toe, considering its balance sheet and competitive edges, before even thinking about buying in.

However, once he does snap up a stake in a company, he aims to hold tight for years to come. In the meantime, he largely ignores the market’s movements.

While that’s no easy task, it’s how I would aim to build a million-dollar portfolio by investing in just a few potentially market-beating ASX shares.

Though, even a perfect portfolio is bound to experience rough days and downturns as the years go by. Additionally, any return on investment, or even downside protection, can never be guaranteed.

The post I’d aim for a million by buying just a few ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Up 30% in a month, is it time to cash in some chips on Fortescue shares?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why has the BHP share price bolted out the gates on Monday?
• It took me years to realise I’m no investing genius like Warren Buffett
• The Fortescue share price is surging 6% today, but what’s next in December?

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 positions in and has recommended Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2023 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway, short January 2023 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway, and short January 2023 $265 calls on Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Berkshire Hathaway. 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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A little-known ASX mining share is setting the bar high today.

While the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.21%, this microcap ASX miner rocketed 30% higher on open.

In later morning trade, the ASX mining share has given back some of those stellar gains but remains up an impressive 19%.

Any guesses on the company?

If you said Ragusa Minerals Ltd (ASX: RAS), give yourself a gold star.

So, what’s going on?

What’s driving investor interest in the ASX mining share?

The Ragusa Minerals share price is rocketing after the company reported promising results from initial assays at its 100% owned Burracoppin Project, located in Western Australia.

The results come from the first round of the ASX mining share’s exploratory drill campaign at the project, consisting of 147 composite samples.

According to the release, the initial assays returned “exceptionally high-grade alumina averaging 33.73% Al2O3 – with a peak grade of 38.3% Al2O3”. That corresponded with an ultra-bright ISO brightness of 88% with half of the samples greater than ISO brightness 80%.

Ragusa Minerals also reported on a promising rare earths find at Burracoppin. The explorer noted that 40% of the samples returned total rare earth oxide levels (TREO) above a 500ppm cut-off. The average came in at 1,493ppm TREO with a peak value of 6,285ppm TREO.

Commenting on the result sending the ASX mining share soaring today, Ragusa chair Jerko Zuvela said:

The company is excited with the initial results from the maiden drilling program and the significant discovery of rare earth elements at our Burracoppin Project. This is a positive result for the potential multi-commodity development of our project – with upcoming laboratory analysis results used to delineate a JORC mineral resource.

We look forward to progressing the strategic critical minerals discovered at Burracoppin.

Ragusa Minerals share price snapshot

With today’s intraday gains factored in, this ASX mining share has trounced the benchmark returns in 2022, gaining 116%. That compares to a 5% year-to-date loss posted by the All Ordinaries.

The post Guess which ASX mining share just rocketed 30% on a new rare earths find appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why did this ASX lithium share just crash 42%?

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 Sarytogan Graphite Ltd (ASX: SGA) share price has been an exceptionally strong performer on Tuesday.

In morning trade, the graphite explorer’s shares rose as much as 43% to 43.5 cents.

The ASX graphite share has since dropped back a touch but remains up 25% at 38 cents.

Why is this ASX graphite share surging?

Investors have been buying Sarytogan Graphite’s shares following the release of an update on metallurgical test work for the Sarytogan Graphite Deposit in Central Kazakhstan.

According to the release, a composite sample was blended from samples collected from six diamond drill holes. These comprise three from the Northern Graphite Zone and three from the Central Graphite Zone of the Sarytogan Graphite Deposit.

The composite sample was then subjected to metallurgical test work, which resulted in a graphite purity of 99.70% total graphitic carbon (TGC).

But it gets better! After combining alkaline roasting and chemical purification, the company achieved 99.87% TGC.

Management notes that these results are another step towards the company’s strategy to target the rapidly growing battery anode materials market.

The product to support this strategy will be uncoated spherical graphite (USpG). This type of graphite currently trades at more than US$3,000 per tonne, which is approximately triple the price of traditional flake graphite products.

To achieve the specification of USpG, the Sarytogan concentrates will require milling to make spherical graphite balls of 5-20 micron in size and further purification to 99.95% TGC.

‘Thrilled with this breakthrough’

Sarytogan Graphite’s managing director, Sean Gregory, commented:

Sarytogan is thrilled with this breakthrough metallurgical result by our German laboratory partner Pro-Graphite. The graphite purities achieved are a significant step towards battery anode specification. Sarytogan’s giant highgrade Mineral Resource is now complimented by its’ premium micro-crystalline high-purity product, credentials that now elevate the project to be a potential answer to the world’s projected battery anode material shortage.

The post ‘Thrilled with this breakthrough’: Why this ASX graphite share is exploding 43% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 3 ASX mining shares leaping higher on new discoveries today

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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The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price delivered an unimpressive performance in November.

Shares in the ASX lithium company opened at 23.5 cents each on 1 November and closed lower at 23 cents a share at the end of the month for a 2.13% loss.

By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) had a spectacular month in November. The index climbed 16.23% for the month.

And more broadly, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) also made a 6.13% gain over the same period.

Currently, Sayona shares are going for 22.7 cents apiece, a 1.3% drop on yesterday’s closing price.

Let’s take a look at what the last month held for Sayona and where it might be headed.

What happened to Sayona in November?

Recently, the Motley Fool reported that lithium shares, like Sayona, could be suffering from reduced demand for battery materials in China. This comes amid COVID lockdowns and protests in the country causing operational disruptions in the manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs).

As noted by my colleague Monica O’Shea, there could potentially be an oversupply of batteries for EVs in China by 2025. Both of these headwinds could have weighed on Sayona’s share price near the end of the month.

Another development was Sayona issuing 185 million new shares to the market on 18 November. The company said it would use the funds to acquire an additional 1,824 exploration claims near its 60%-owned Moblan lithium project in Canada.

As well as acquiring an extra 985 kilometres of land for exploration, Sayona announced it would also be buying a 9.26% stake in the seller, the Canadian-listed Troilus Gold Corp.

What’s next?

In other news for the month, Sayona announced that it has made progress in the restart of its North American Lithium (NAL) operations in Quebec, Canada. The company expects to start producing lithium from the site in the first quarter of next year.

Yet it seems experts are split on the broader outlook for lithium producers such as Sayona.

Global Lithium LLC founder and president Joe Lowry recently predicted that the price of lithium hydroxide could reach USD $100,000 per tonne. That’s well up from the US $85,000 per tonne it’s fetching at the time of writing. The strong demand for electric vehicles was said to be a tailwind that could further lift the price of lithium hydroxide.

However, Schroders head of Australian equities Martin Conlon believes that even the current lithium prices are “vastly higher than needed to incentivise new supply and are therefore difficult to rationalise on any fundamental basis”.

It appears Conlon believes lithium is presently overvalued and could be due for a downside correction.

The post The Sayona Mining share price went backwards in November. What now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 2 ASX 200 directors buying and selling their company shares in the past week
• Up 30% in a month, is it time to cash in some chips on Fortescue shares?
• ‘Highest quality companies’: Expert names 2 ASX shares to buy now
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Matthew Farley 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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Can an ASX lithium share that’s already gained 320% over the past 12 months offer investors more profits in the year ahead?

While there are no guarantees in life, and certainly none in equity markets, Harrison Massey, stockbroker at Argonaut, believes that lithium explorer Global Lithium Resources Ltd (ASX: GL1) could do just that.

The ASX lithium share has a market cap of $500 million. And as Massey notes (courtesy of The Bull), Global Lithium “has an impressive register with Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) owning 9.9% of the company”.

Why this ASX lithium share is rated as a buy

“GL1 recently raised $120 million to acquire the remaining 20% of the Manna Lithium project from Breaker Resources NL (ASX: BRB),” Massey said.

That capital raising was announced on 26 October, after the ASX lithium share emerged from a trading halt.

Investors sold off the stock on the day, as Global Lithium announced it was raising the funds at $2.25 per share. That was 13.8% below the share price before the miner entered its trading halt.

But Global Lithium’s chair Warrick Hazeldine was upbeat about the prospects with the new funding secured. According to Hazeldine:

The outstanding on-the-ground exploration work completed by the Global Lithium team over the past six months has delivered impressive results at Manna, affording us the opportunity to now present an offer to Breaker which we believe is a win-win for both companies.

The acquisition of the underlying tenements provides Global Lithium with a clearer development pathway as we look to conclude these development focused studies in late 2023.

Argonaut’s Massey is also bullish on the potential for the ASX lithium share’s Manna project.

“GL1 has an existing resource of 20.4 million tonnes of lithium oxide across its two assets,” he said. “We’re anticipating a substantial mineral resource upgrade at the Manna Lithium project in December 2022.”

Global Lithium share price snapshot

Global Lithium is a relative newcomer to the ASX, having listed on 6 May 2021. Since then, the ASX lithium share has rocketed an eye-popping 610%.

For some context, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 2% over that same period.

The post This ASX lithium share is 10% owned by Mineral Resources. Is it a buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Can ASX 200 lithium shares come charging back in December?
• 2 ASX lithium shares smashing all-time highs on Monday
• ASX index beaters: 5 shares that have supercharged portfolios in 2022
• Why is the Mineral Resources share price rocking an all-time high today?
• Thank you Mr Powell! 7 ASX 200 shares cracking new 52-week highs on Thursday

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 Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price has come under pressure on Tuesday.

In morning trade, the struggling fund manager’s shares are down 3.5% to $9.16.

This means the Magellan share price has now lost two thirds of its value over the last 12 months.

Why is the Magellan share price falling again?

Investors have been hitting the sell button again on Tuesday for a couple of reasons.

The first is a very poor night of trade on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones fall 1.4% and the Nasdaq tumble 1.9%. This was driven by concerns that the US Federal Reserve may continue its tightening until it tips the economy into a recession.

In response to this poor session, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has dropped 0.4% today.

What else?

Also weighing on the Magellan share price today is news that the company continues to bleed funds under management (FUM).

For the month ended 30 November, Magellan finished the period with FUM of $50.2 billion, comprising retail FUM of $20.6 billion and institutional FUM of $29.6 billion.

This represents a month on month decline of 1.57% from $51 billion at the end of October despite the ASX 200 index racing 6.1% higher last month.

What happened?

Unfortunately for Magellan, not even global markets having one of their best months in recent times was able to offset yet another large monthly outflow from investors.

The release notes that in November, Magellan experienced net outflows of $2.5 billion, which comprised net retail outflows of $0.6 billion and net institutional outflows of $1.9 billion.

This means that Magellan’s FUM has now fallen by approximately 57% from $116.4 billion a year ago despite the market trading higher and the Australian dollar weakening against the US dollar.

The post Magellan share price tumbles on $2.5b fund haemorrhage in November appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 10 ASX dividend shares paying more than 10% yield right now
• Three comforting lessons for investors whose portfolio has been smashed versus the surprisingly good return of the ASX 200
• Should I buy this ASX 200 share for its whopping 18% dividend yield?
• Hamish Douglass has been selling down his Magellan shares. Should you?
• The Magellan share price has caved 50% so far this year. Are directors seriously asking for a pay rise?

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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The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price has gone up by 14% since the end of September. It has been a solid run for the company, so can it keep the run going to Christmas and New Year’s Eve?

It has been a volatile year for the company, but the last few months have been helpful for shareholders nursing financial bruises.

December is one of the most important months of the year for Wesfarmers. It has a large portfolio of retail businesses including Bunnings, Kmart, Target, Officeworks, Catch, and Priceline. So, capturing Christmas demand is important for the company.

What’s the outlook for Wesfarmers shares?

After a couple of years of booming sales, the business is now facing the task of managing cost pressures resulting from higher inflation.

The company said at its recent annual general meeting that it’s seeing elevated supply chain costs, rising wages, and higher utility costs. Together with a lower Australian dollar, this is impacting the company in FY23.

However, the company’s businesses are “well placed relative to their competitors to manage costs and will continue to leverage the benefits of scale, sourcing capabilities and employment brand”.

Wesfarmers informed investors that retail trading conditions have remained “robust”, which could be seen as supportive for the Wesfarmers share price.

The company noted that “Australian consumer demand continues to be supported by low unemployment and high levels of accumulated savings, but rising interest rates and the impact of inflation are starting to affect consumer behaviour”.

That sounds somewhat promising for the Christmas trading period for the business.

Wesfarmers also said that “shopping patterns and customer feedback indicate some customers are becoming more price sensitive, as they try to manage household budgets”.

Management sees this as an opportunity for its businesses, which are “well known for their everyday low prices, to outperform relative to others in their markets”.

Bunnings is seeing “strong demand from commercial customers”. Kmart’s low price points “position it to meet customer needs and profitably grow its market share in an environment where shoppers are more focused on value”.

Target “continues to benefit from good progress in delivering on quality and style at affordable prices”.

It noted that Officeworks sales had been broadly in line, year to date, while lower online demand had hurt Catch sales.

The business also noted that the high-performing chemicals, energy and fertilisers division (WesCEF) is still benefiting from strong customer demand and elevated commodity prices.

In summary, Wesfarmers is entering December in a strong position with pleasing recent trading.

Broker ratings

UBS thinks Wesfarmers is a buy, with a price target of $56. That implies a possible rise of around 15% on the current price of $48.59 over the next year. The broker thinks Bunnings and Kmart can perform well in tougher retail conditions.

However, Ord Minnett has a lighten rating, with a Wesfarmers share price target of $43.20, implying a drop of more than 10% over the next year. The pessimism relates to a possible decline in the gross profit margin.

For what it’s worth, I’m not sure if Wesfarmers shares can climb much more in the next few weeks to Christmas – who knows what’s going to happen? – but I do think Wesfarmers is an excellent ASX blue-chip share to own for the long term, thanks to its quality portfolio and ability to renew it by selling or buying businesses.

In terms of valuation, UBS’ numbers put the Wesfarmers share price at 22x FY23’s estimated earnings.

The post Should Wesfarmers shares be under your Christmas tree in December? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Is this a red flag for Wesfarmers shares?
• The Wesfarmers share price had a strong run in November
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
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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 positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. 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 been a good week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). It’s lifted 1.3% since this time last week to trade at around 7,300 points at the time of writing.

And that’s not the only excitement going down on the Aussie bourse. Two ASX 200 directors have been buying and selling their companies’ shares recently.

Let’s take a closer look at the insiders shaking up their holdings over the past week.

2 ASX 200 directors trading in their company’s shares

The share price of ASX 200 fast-food restaurant manager Collins Food Ltd (ASX: CKF) has taken a tumble in recent weeks, and insiders have seemingly taken advantage.

The Collins Food share price dumped 20% last week after the company revealed its half-year profits had tumbled 58% amid inflationary challenges.

While the news was likely disappointing, it might have presented a buying opportunity judging by the slew of insider buying that went down following the tumble.

Most recently, non-executive director Kevin Perkins bolstered his stake by 20,000 shares bought on-market for a total of $160,141. That equates to around $8 apiece.

That’s just 40 cents off the two-year low of $7.60 posted by the stock last Wednesday.

On the other hand, insider selling has also been going down at ASX 200 tech favourite TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) following a share price rally.

Stock in the software company has risen nearly 50% from its May low. The company’s share price is also boasting a 19.5% gain over the last 30 days. Of course, there is a multitude of reasons an insider, like Rick Anstey, might choose to sell down their holding.

The director indirectly offloaded 14,000 TechnologyOne shares late last week, pocketing $196,320 for the sale. That equals around $14.02 apiece.

The ASX 200 share hit a record high of $14.43 in yesterday’s session.  

The post 2 ASX 200 directors buying and selling their company shares in the past week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
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More reading

• Up 30% in a month, is it time to cash in some chips on Fortescue shares?
• ‘Highest quality companies’: Expert names 2 ASX shares to buy now
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday

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 positions in and has recommended Collins Foods. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods and Technology One. 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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