Brokers can be a great source of investment ideas for investors especially when it comes to small and mid-cap shares.
Unlike their larger counterparts, small-cap shares are often under-researched and neglected by the large investment firms who tend to focus on 'blue chip' shares.
One broker that does cover a relatively large number of small and mid-cap shares is Bell Potter.
According to the broker, these three shares are trading well below their 12-month price targets:
IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH)
IPH is the leading provider of intellectual property (IP) services within the Asia Pacific region with a presence in 25 countries. IP law has become one of the more attractive sectors of the legal profession and Bell Potter believes IPH is well positioned to expand its global presence organically and through acquisition.
Many of the IP providers within the region lack the scale of IPH and this will present an opportunity for the company to consolidate a fragmented industry.
Bell Potter has a 12-month price target of $8.60 which is around 25% higher than the current share price.
Huon Aquaculture Group Ltd (ASX: HUO)
Huon is a Tasmanian based salmon grower and has operations that span the entire supply chain. Unlike Tassal Group Limited (ASX: TGR) which has a very strong retail presence, Huon generates 90% of its sales from export and wholesale markets.
Unfortunately for the company, profits have been crimped over recent years as a result of falling salmon export prices, rising operating costs and having to deal with cheaper wholesale imports from countries like Norway.
Bell Potter, however, believes the worst of these issues are behind the company and expects salmon prices to begin rising as global supply starts shrinking. The broker also believes Huon will benefit from a reduction in operating costs as the company begins to ramp up its annual production levels.
The broker has a $4.05 share price target on Huon which implies more than 26% upside from current levels.
WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)
Bell Potter has initiated coverage of WiseTech with a buy recommendation and a 12-month price target of $5.20. This is around 20% higher from the current share price and more than 55% from the April $3.35 IPO price.
For those investors unfamiliar with WiseTech, it is a company that provides integrated software solutions to the logistics services industry and boasts 19 of the 20 largest global logistics service providers as customers.
WiseTech's key competitive advantage over other providers is that its single, integrated platform enables key logistic transactions to be executed from one place, saving customers time and money.
Bell Potter is confident that the company can deliver exceptional earnings growth and is forecasting earnings per share to grow by 23% in FY16 before exploding by 92% in FY17.
