The S&P/ASX 200 Financials (ASX: XFJ) index remains flat year to date. 

This week, two ASX financial stocks have received positive outlooks from brokers. 

Here's what's behind the optimistic view. 

Navigator Global Investments Ltd (ASX: NGI)

Navigator Global Investments is a holding company. 

It is an alternative asset management firm with diverse partnerships across investment styles, product types, and client bases. Navigator Global Investments has around US$73 billion in assets under management and is currently partnered with 11 businesses.

It has fallen 28% year to date, however a key announcement could be good news for the ASX financials stock according to Morgans. 

The company released an announcement on Monday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a strategic minority ownership interest and a preferred economic interest in Georgian and its affiliates ("Georgian").

Georgian is a Toronto, Canada based AI-focused growth equity firm with USD $5.9 billion in assets under management. 

Stephen Darke, NGI CEO, commented, 

Our strategic partnership with Georgian is the latest example of NGI executing our strategy to provide growth capital to leading alternative investment firms globally. Artificial intelligence will be one of the dominant investment themes of the next century, and in Georgian we have found an aligned partner that is a true pioneer in the field.

Following the announcement, the team at Morgans updated its outlook on this ASX financials stock. 

Morgans said it expects EPS to increase by 1-3% following the transaction. 

It also rates Navigator Global Investments shares a buy, however reduced its price target to $2.98 (previously $3.35). 

From yesterday's closing price of $2.12, this indicates an upside of approximately 40%. 

Cuscal Ltd (ASX: CCL)

Cuscal Ltd is a payment and regulated data services provider in Australia. The group offers a comprehensive suite of payment infrastructure solutions to a diversified client base.

In a note out of Bell Potter yesterday, the broker updated its outlook on this ASX financials stock after the Reserve Bank of Australia announced surcharging on debit and credit cards should end from 1 October 2026. 

This could impact Cuscal margins removing a key revenue mechanism tied to merchant card payments.

However, Bell Potter said its buy rating and target price is unchanged. 

We view the outcome today as a mild indirect positive for CCL whose customer base are price takers with low exposure to credit and view subscription-based models are an emerging second leg of growth.

Bell Potter has maintained its price target of $5.10 on this ASX financials stock, which indicates a potential upside of 28% from yesterday's closing price. 

The post Experts name 2 ASX financials stocks to watch closely appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Cuscal Ltd (ASX: CCL) and HMC Capital Ltd (ASX: HMC) both released HY26 results yesterday. 

Here's a snapshot of what these ASX financials stocks reported. 

Cuscal

Cuscal is a payment and regulated data services provider in Australia. The group offers a comprehensive suite of payment infrastructure solutions to a diversified client base.

For the six months ended 31 December 2025, the company reported:

• Profit after tax (NPAT) increased by 76% to $21.5 million, compared to $12.2 million in the prior corresponding period
• Completed acquisition of Indue on 1 December 2025, contributing $5.3 million to Net Operating Income
• Transaction volume growth of 9%
• Total Net Operating Income increased 10% to $161.5 million
• Underlying NPAT increased 13% to $24.2 million
• Interim dividend of 4.5 cents per share.

Investors reacted positively to these results, as the ASX financials stock rose 6%. 

Its share price is now up more than 65% over the last year. 

HMC Capital 

HMC Capital is an alternative asset manager which invests in high conviction and scalable real asset strategies.

For the financial half year ended 31 December 2025, the company reported:

• Assets under management (AUM) of $19.5bn (+4% vs. Jun-25)
• 1H FY26 pre-tax operating EPS of 10.1 cents ($41.6m)
• $1.6bn of net tangible assets and undrawn debt
• 1H FY26 dividend of 6.0cps (partially franked)
• Reaffirmed FY26 pre-tax operating EPS target of at least 40 cps. 

Investors were seemingly disappointed with the results, as the share price fell 4.7% on Tuesday. 

HMC Capital shares are now down 71% over the last year, trading near its 52-week low.

Bell Potter's updated outlook

Commenting on Cuscal results, Bell Potter said it delivered a strong result, with the highlight being upgraded guidance for high-single digit transaction volume growth to mid-teen growth.

The key surprise was elevated net interest and good early progress on Indue with an initial contribution. 

The broker has upgraded earnings per share (EPS) +1%/+3%/+4% out to FY28. 

Meanwhile, Bell Potter noted that HMC Capital pre-tax earnings per share (EPS) of 10.1 cents was well below expectations. It was 39% below Bell Potter's estimate and 35% below consensus. 

This was mainly because it received less income from one-off or non-recurring sources.

Bell Potter reduced its FY26–FY28 post-tax EPS forecasts by 6–8%.

Target price adjustments from Bell Potter

Based on this guidance, Bell Potter increased the price target for Cuscal to $5.10 (previously $4.60). 

It retained its buy recommendation. 

From yesterday's closing price of $4.23, this indicates an upside of approximately 20%. 

CCL screens cheap factoring in run-rate cost synergies, remains well capitalised to return capital, assess further acquisitions and is benefitting from strong client performance, structural tailwinds.

Meanwhile, the broker lowered its price target for ASX financials stock HMC capital. 

The broker now has a price target of $3.20 (previously $4.25), along with a hold recommendation. 

From yesterday's closing price of $2.82, this indicates a potential upside of 13.5%. 

The post How does Bell Potter view these ASX financials stocks after earnings season? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In a recent research note to clients, Bell Potter analysts note that non-cash transaction volumes are rising, with an increasing number of transactions occurring through mobile phones.

Interestingly, their analysis shows that while on a monthly basis debit card purchases through mobile wallets have increased 10% on levels in January this year, contactless tap payments were flat, and payments which involved inserting a card fell by 11%.

Aussies comfortable with tap and go

Bell Potter analysts said Australia was actually a global leader for the take-up of digital payments, and with Cuscal providing the digital enablement technology and payment connectivity, which makes this possible, they are well placed.

Bell Potter has a buy rating on Cuscal stock, and is forecasting a total return of 20.5%, made up of 18.6% in capital growth and a modest 1.9% dividend yield.

Their confidence is based on the strong consumer take-up of mobile payments, as they explain:

Payments using mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay totalled 4.1 billion on a run rate basis in Jun'24 which equates to 35% growth on the previous corresponding period for transactions made from debit cardholders. Consumers are becoming more comfortable with storing and using their credentials to replace bank cards. Cuscal is a beneficiary from sector growth and consumer behaviour driving volumes through its infrastructure.

The company also benefits from consolidation in the banking sector, Bell Potter's analysts said, with mergers among the smaller financial institutions freeing up more funds, which can be diverted into investment in new technology.

So far there's been six announced or completed mergers within the sector which would put the level of activity above the 10-year average and align with levels not seen since FY17. We are only just into FY26 with the trend already accelerating.

Bell Potter expects growth to come from contract wins and "capability uplift to drive above system growth, reflecting its ownership of key assets''.

Modest operating leverage through scale then gets us to low double digit NPAT growth. This is augmented by the acquisition of Indue which is expected to derive run-rate cost synergies of $15-20m from FY29.

Bell Potter has a price target of $4.60 on Cuscal shares, compared with $3.92 today.

The company was valued at $743.3 million at the close of trade on Wednesday.

The post Move to mobile wallets spells good news for this All Ords fintech appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Three more of the best ASX shares to buy this month according to the broker are listed below. Here's why it is bullish on these names:

Cuscal Ltd (ASX: CCL)

The first ASX share that could be a best buy according to Bell Potter is Cuscal. The broker believes that the payments company's shares could be undervalued at current levels. Especially given its strong earnings per share growth outlook. It explains:

Cuscal is an authorised deposit taking institution (ADI) with requisite licensing, connectivity and processing capability to support payments and regulated data services. Cuscal has evolved and diversified its offering and client base, facilitating all key payment types and a range of associated services. They are differentiated as a B2B service provider (aligning it to global peers) and today, features a long-tenured and contracted client base. CCL is an attractive opportunity at 16x 12MF P/E, with 24% 2 year EPS CAGR.

Nickel Industries Ltd (ASX: NIC)

Another ASX share that is highly rated by Bell Potter is nickel producer Nickel Industries. It feels that its shares are cheap at current levels, especially given how it is on the cusp of delivering strong production and free cash flow growth. The broker said:

NIC is the only material ASX way to gain exposure to the nickel price, has a growth story, and is diversifying earnings to span Type 1 and Type 2 nickel. NIC continues to generate positive cash flows in a tough nickel market and is set to deliver major growth milestones in CY25 across its highest margin nickel operations. All up, given the forecast high production growth and potential for a very large free cash flow uplift in the next 2 years or so, NIC presents a compelling story and appears cheap at current valuation.

Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI)

Finally, this youth fashion retailer could be a third ASX share to buy this month according to the broker. Bell Potter likes Universal Store due to its strong earnings growth outlook and attractive valuation. It explains:

Universal Store Holdings is a leading youth focused apparel, footwear and accessories retailer in Australia. UNI will continue to increase store numbers over the next few years, supporting earnings growth of 10% p.a.. Valuation looks attractive, trading on a forward P/E of ~16x. UNI is a quality small cap (ROE ~26%) that is executing on its rollout strategy.

The post Bell Potter names more of the best ASX shares to buy in September appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are rising:

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: CUV)

The Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals share price is up 8% to $12.97. This morning, this biopharmaceutical company announced a plan to upgrade its Nasdaq listing before the end of 2025. Clinuvel's managing director, Dr Philippe Wolgen, said: "We believe this initiative will significantly broaden CLINUVEL's visibility and trading access in the United States. Recent engagement with U.S. institutional investors has confirmed growing interest in CLINUVEL's profile as one of the very few profitable biopharmaceutical companies."

Cuscal Ltd (ASX: CCL)

The Cuscal share price is up 26% to $3.71. This follows the release of the payments and regulated data services provider's full year results. Cuscal reported a pro forma net profit after tax of $38.4 million, which was up 17% and ahead of its prospectus forecast. Cuscal Managing Director, Craig Kennedy said: "We are pleased to deliver a strong maiden full year result since listing, exceeding our Prospectus profit forecast driven by growth in transaction-based revenue across all our core capabilities."

Electro Optic Systems Holdings Ltd (ASX: EOS)

The EOS share price is up 5% to $4.95. Investors have been buying this defence and space company's shares after it released its half year results and posted a $46 million profit after tax. This doesn't include the world's first export sale contract to deliver a high-energy 100kW laser system to a European NATO Member State, which was announced on 5 August 2025. That order is valued at 71.4 million euros (approximately A$125 million). This morning, management noted that it continues "to deal with enquiries from several potential future customers for High Energy Laser Weapon products."

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)

The Zip share price is up 18% to $3.68. This has been driven by the release of the buy now pay later provider's FY 2025 results. Zip was on form once again and reported a 30.3% lift in total transaction value to $13.1 billion and a 147% lift in cash EBTDA to $170.3 million. Commenting on its performance, Zip's CEO, Cynthia Scott, said: "It has been a defining year for Zip with cash earnings growing by 147.0% to $170.3m. We achieved several milestones including delivering over $1b in total income and our US business generated over US$100m of cash earnings. Disciplined execution and strong unit economics underpinned our performance, with Group operating margin almost doubling within 12 months to 15.8%."

The post Why Clinuvel, Cuscal, EOS, and Zip shares are storming higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)
• National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)
• ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ)
• Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

According to InfoChoice, the Big 4 banks command around 70% of the total market share in the country's financial sector.

However, investors might be interested in opportunities elsewhere in the financial sector after a down start to the year.

Let's look at three options.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN)

Market Cap: $6.18 billion

Dividend Yield: 5.79%

P/E Ratio: 13.79

Located in Bendigo, Victoria, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is a regionally focused bank.

The bank offers traditional retail banking services, but also provides unique banking options for agribusiness and rural properties.

Investors may see opportunity for upside in Bendigo and Adelaide Bank shares which are down 15.08% year to date. 

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials (ASX:XFJ) is up 0.05% so far this year. 

Despite its fall this year, brokers are not convinced there will be a bounce back.

Bell Potter currently has a Target Price of $10.70, suggesting it's currently slightly overpriced at $11.09 a share. Earlier this month the broker also listed the stock as a "sell".

Similarly, TradingView has a 12 month target price of $10.68 per share, and brokerage platform SelfWealth has an average price target of $10.85. 

Earlier this month Macquarie also released a report on Australian bank shares that included a $10.00 price target for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank. 

Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN)

Market Cap: $21.31 billion

Dividend Yield: 5.09%

P/E Ratio: 18.59

Suncorp Group's core business includes insurance like home and motor, and commercial insurance.

​Despite Big 4 bank ANZ's $4.9 billion acquisition of Suncorp Bank last year, Suncorp Group remains an independent, publicly listed company on the ASX.

Following the sale, Suncorp Group has transitioned into a dedicated insurance business, focusing on its general insurance operations across Australia and New Zealand.

It has had a rough year thus far, falling 13.38% in 2025. 

However, this fall could be a buy opportunity according to brokers. At the time of writing, Suncorp Group shares are trading at $19.68 each. 

Bell Potter has a price target of $21.55, which would indicate a 9.5% upside. 

Elsewhere, online broker SelfWealth has an average target price of $21.34 and Trading View has an upside of $21.49. 

Cuscal Ltd (ASX: CCL)

Market Cap: $476.99 million

P/E Ratio: 13.89

Cuscal Limited provides payments and data to Australian Banks, credit unions, mutual savings banks, corporates and Fintechs.

It was listed at an initial public offering (IPO) last November, and amidst a turbulent year on the ASX, Cuscal shares have risen by more than 6%. 

Brokers are tipping plenty of growth over the next 12 months for this financial stock, with Bell Potter placing a "buy" recommendation and target price of $3.40.

At the time of writing, CCL shares are trading at $2.49 each, which would mean a 36.55% upside. 

Elsewhere, SelfWealth brokerage platform has an average price target of $3.44 and Trading View has a 12 month price target of $3.51. 

The post Looking for financial stocks outside the big 4 banks? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

According to The Australian, HaemaLogiX has hired Jefferies and Ord Minnett to assist in its preparations to become an ASX healthcare stock in the second quarter of the new year.

The biotech hopes to raise about $50 million in the ASX IPO.

As a private company, HaemaLogiX has previously raised $24.1 million. It is currently undertaking a pre-ASX IPO capital raise. It hopes to raise between $15 million and $20 million by mid-December.

What is HaemaLogiX?

The company focuses on treating blood cancers, such as myeloma. Its aim is to improve the quality of life and survivability of patients with these incurable diseases.

Myeloma, also known as multiple myeloma, is a type of bone marrow cancer. Myeloma Australia estimates there are 18,000 Australians living with it today.

HaemaLogiX is working with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to undertake the first human trial of its CAR-T immunotherapy, KMA.CAR-T, for kappa-type multiple myeloma.

The organisations hope that the first patient will be treated in the second quarter of 2025.

HaemaLogiX is also investigating the use of its medicines for auto-immune diseases, such as amyloidosis.

The proceeds of this next capital raising will be used for the fourth clinical trial of HaemaLogiX's KappaMab immunotherapy drug.

KappaMab can be used in addition to existing treatments. In the latest trial, the overall response rate was 83%. The risk of death was 46% lower in the treatment group compared to the control group.

Who's in charge of this aspiring ASX healthcare stock?

The company's founders and majority shareholders are Dr Rosanne Dunn; Bryce Carmine; board chair Dr John Cullity and Alan Liddle.

Former federal health minister Greg Hunt is a board director.

HaemaLogiX's managing director is Damian Clarke-Bruce, who previously ran Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC). Race is another ASX biotech developing drugs to treat various cancers.

Clarke-Bruce said:

We have two distinct vehicles and our drugs and our target are significantly differentiated from what's on the market.

We're confident that we will have good efficacy with an excellent safety profile … this is great translational science.

HaemaLogiX says it currently has 75 patent filings with tenures from 2036 to 2045.

ASX IPOs in 2024

Two of the biggest ASX IPOs this year were Mexican restaurant chain, Guzman y Gomez Ltd (ASX: GYG), which raised $335 million, and miner Metals Acquisition CDI (ASX: MAC), which raised $325 million.

This week, payments company Cuscal Ltd (ASX: CCL) had its ASX IPO.

Next month, alternative asset manager HMC Capital Ltd (ASX: HMC)'s will float its data centre trust, DigiCo Infrastructure REIT.

The real estate investment trust (REIT) will float on 12 December.

The ASX IPO issue price will be $5 per share and HMC hopes to raise about $2 billion.

The post ASX IPO watch: Aspiring healthcare stock has attracted former Macquarie CEO to invest appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Listed at an initial public offering (IPO) price of $2.50 per share at midday, Cuscal's shares slipped to lows of $2.26 shortly afterwards.

They finished the day at $2.29 apiece, the market's first ever quotation for the payments company.

With the regulatory environment clamping down on the fintech sector, one might wonder what the appetite for such stocks is in the broader scheme of things.

Still, more than 2.5 million shares exchanged hands today, about 13% of the entire float.

Let's take a closer look.

ASX stock makes shaky debut

Cuscal listed its shares on the ASX on Monday in a fairly lacklustre debut. Right from the outset, the ASX stock was heavily sold before finishing more than 8% lower on the day.

This is actually the company's second attempt at listing on the ASX after pulling a previous IPO in 2023.

Market data showed that the company raised over $336 million from the offering and finished the day with a market capitalisation of $438.6 million.

By now, you're probably asking, what does Cuscal actually do? Founded in 1992, Cuscal is a payments company that provides a full suite of 'financial services' to smaller institutions.

Many mutual banks and credit unions use its services to issue cards, facilitate payments, and bring them up to speed with the latest in banking/fintech.

According to Bank of America research compiled pre-listing, Cuscal has 92 clients, some of which had been with the firm for over 40 years.

The firm was valued at 10.3 times projected pre-tax earnings, giving an implied corporate valuation of $656 million, according to The Australian Financial Review. The company is projected to produce $63 million based on these figures.

This valuation is reportedly "similar to Australian payment names", which can trade higher than most ASX stocks.

Can Cuscal recover?

If Cuscal is, in fact, valued 'similarly' to other ASX payment stocks, we have an interesting recipe. Whether or not it lacks investment flavour will be decided by the market's taste buds.

On the one hand, the federal government has announced a clampdown on card payment surcharges. That's certainly a sour drop.

Although, the ASX stock emphasised it isn't exposed to these changes in its IPO pitch.

Global credit card network Mastercard is also a major shareholder in Cuscal, adding some spice to the mix. It's held shares since 2014.

The company is also profitable, with Bank of America analysts pointing to its history of "strong free cash flow conversion" and dividends as positives. There's your sweetener.

Combining sour, spicy and sweet makes for a good taco dressing, but does it make for a good stock in this instance? The market didn't think so on Cuscal's first day of trading. Maybe it was after something sweeter.

Even still, it's critical to hold a long-term view. It's only the company's first day.

ASX stock takeout

Cuscal's ASX stock debut highlights the challenges companies have when listing their shares on public markets.

Once listed, you're letting the market decide the value of things. This takes time, especially more than a day.

It will be interesting to see what value investors place on the ASX's newest fintech player moving forward.

The post ASX fintech stock backed by Mastercard slumps 9% on debut appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.