That's because they have been named as buys by analysts. Here's what they are saying about them, courtesy of The Bull.

Excite Technology Services Ltd (ASX: EXT)

Analysts at Red Leaf Securities are recommending this small cap ASX share as a buy this week.

It is a cybersecurity company offering comprehensive cybersecurity services, including threat prevention, managed cloud and IT services, specialist digital forensics, incident response, forensic investigations, and accredited training.

Red Leaf thinks its shares are undervalued, especially given its record month in September. It said:

EXT offers cybersecurity services, including threat prevention. We like its outlook in response to strategic acquisitions, improving financial performance and growth prospects. It achieved record monthly sales of $7.14 million in September 2025. The stock appears undervalued relative to its growth potential. With an expanding product suite and broader market reach, EXT is well-positioned for scalable growth, making it an appealing opportunity for investors seeking exposure to the cybersecurity and technology sector.

Firstwave Cloud Technology Ltd (ASX: FCT)

Another small cap ASX share that could be a buy according to analysts is Firstwave Cloud Technology.

It is a provider of enterprise-grade network management, automation, audit, and cybersecurity software. There are an estimated 150,000 organisations using Firstwave software across 178 countries.

Red Leaf Securities thinks it could be a top pick for investors with a high tolerance for risk. It said:

FCT is a global software company. The company's recent capital raising of $2.85 million is aimed at accelerating its shift to artificial intelligence-powered compliance management, leveraging its user base of more than 150,000 to unlock potential annual recurring revenue. On top of the capital raising, the company secured a $2.5 million loan facility, which further enhances financial flexibility amid supporting initiatives. Recently, trading below book value, FirstWave combines value and growth potential. The stock was trading at 1.2 cents on October 16. The stock suits investors, who have an appetite for risk and are seeking exposure to innovative cybersecurity solutions. Our company was involved in the capital raising.

Nexsen (ASX: NXN)

This small cap ASX biotech share has been given a buy rating by analysts at Medallion.

It is a new listing on the Australian share market and offers early-stage exposure to a genuine medical innovation story according to Medallion. It said:

This nano-biotechnology company is developing an innovative point-of-care diagnostic platform. NXN listed on the ASX on October 14, 2025, after raising $8 million in capital and issuing shares in the initial public offering at 20 cents each. The shares closed at 28 cents on October 14 and were trading at 30 cents on October 16. NXN is a first mover in rapid, lab quality diagnostics. Nexsen's most advanced product is the GBS Rapid Sensor for the detection of Group B Streptococcus in expectant mothers. The company's nanotech platform provides scale as it can be expanded across multiple diseases. On a path to commercialisation, Nexsen offers rare early stage exposure to a genuine medical innovation story.

The post 3 exciting small-cap ASX shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In afternoon trade the data-centric security solutions company's shares are up 12% to 7.3 cents.

Why have its shares jumped higher?

This morning Covata announced two positive developments.

The first was that it has signed a new agreement with Macquarie Telecom Group Ltd. (ASX: MAQ) that will see the telco's Government division continue to resell Covata's SafeShare secure collaboration solution to government users.

A further boost to the share price was the signing of a UK government agency for a 30-day trial commencing in September.

The company aims to use the information gained from the trial to develop relevant government use cases for securing sensitive policy files.

These announcements will be welcome news for shareholders. Covata's shares are still down 42% year-to-date after accounting for today's gain.

The post Why the Covata Ltd share price stormed 12% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But despite the sell-off, a number of shares have managed to defy the market and climb higher. Here's why:

The Aconex Ltd (ASX: ACX) share price is up 4% to $4.46 despite there being no news out of the software-as-a-service company. But with the company's full-year earnings due to be released on August 22, I wouldn't be surprised if this gain is the result of short sellers buying shares to close their positions.

The Beadell Resources Ltd (ASX: BDR) share price has climbed 6% to 22.2 cents. The majority of gold miners are higher today due to a lift in the gold price amid rising tensions in North Korea. Beadell is likely to have climbed more than most due to its higher all-in sustaining costs. The miner reported an AISC of US$1,338 an ounce in the first-half, just short of the spot gold price which is now fetching US$1,286 an ounce.

The Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT) share price has jumped 17% to 4.9 cents after the security solutions company announced that its Safe Share product has been included on Microsoft's Azure platform in Australia. Furthermore, the company is working towards a similar arrangement with Microsoft UK to deploy the product there and then into the European market. I think this is a promising development and can't say I'm surprised to see its shares rocket higher.

The Vita Group Limited (ASX: VTG) share price has rocketed 20% to $1.50 after the retailer announced that talks with Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) have completed with a reasonably better-than-expected agreement. The agreement will see the expansion of Vita's Telstra retail store footprint to 115 stores by July 2019 in return for agreeing to forego 7% to 8% of retail remuneration.

The post Why these 4 ASX shares are ending the week with a bang appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Unfortunately not all shares have fared as well during the last 12 months, with some even falling to the dreaded 52-week low. Will they bounce back?

The Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT) share price fell to a 52-week low of 2.9 cents yesterday. This latest decline means the security solutions provider's shares have now lost a whopping 88.4% of their value in the last 12 months. Whilst I think data security is an important and potentially lucrative market, the company has so far failed to make a meaningful impact in the industry. So much so, during the last quarter the company had cash receipts of just $45,000, with cash outflows of $3.4 million. Whilst it is working on reducing its cash burn and updating its product range, I would suggest investors give Covata a miss.

The Quintis Ltd (ASX: QIN) share price dropped to a multi-year low of 36 cents on Thursday. This embattled sandalwood plantation manager's shares fell sharply earlier this year when a US-based research firm compared its business model to a Ponzi-scheme and said its shares were worthless. Quintis' shares then tumbled even further this week when management revealed that they had only just become aware that a major supply agreement with Galderma had been cancelled in December. Avoid Quintis at all costs would be my advice.

The Vita Group Limited (ASX: VTG) share price hit a 52-week low of $1.45 yesterday after the retailer announced that it was working with Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) on remuneration and other commercial terms to deal with "the challenges that lie ahead." Vita Group currently operates 107 Telstra retail stores, but there are concerns that it could lose a portion of these as Telstra reorganises its store network into clusters. While this sell-off could prove to be a huge overreaction and an opportunity to buy shares on the cheap, I would hold off an investment until things become clearer.

The post These shares just fell to 52-week lows: Will they bounce back? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

As a general rule, investors should demand a larger margin of safety and should expect small-cap stocks to sell at a discount to the wider market. That's because the risk of a small business experiencing major problems is often much higher.

For example, smaller companies are more likely to be borderline profitable – some are even pre-revenue. Small caps are also more likely to be reliant on a few large customers for the majority of their revenues which creates its own set of company specific risk.

Portfolio structure matters

For the above reasons (amongst many others) investors need to be careful how they structure their portfolio if they wish to own small cap stocks.

In most instances, investors will limit their overall small-cap portfolio exposure to just a few percentage points. Alternatively, investors who are keen to allocate a significant proportion of their portfolio to small cap stocks will diversify widely.

With those general warnings of investing in this sector aside, here is one small-cap growth stock which I think is particularly interesting right now.

Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT)

Covata has developed a secure file-sharing software solution for enterprises known as Safe Share.

Currently one of its most exciting opportunities lies within its "whole of government" direct sales negotiations with several government departments and agencies in the UK.

Importantly, Covata is the only file sharing product available to the UK Government on G Cloud 8 (a cloud technology platform used exclusively by the UK government) that has a Tier 2 Classification up to Top Secret.

While it is still early days in Covata's business development, the fact the company has successfully received accreditation in the UK and can boast of numerous other contracts and backing from a range of leading global and domestic organisations including Cisco, TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) and Macquarie Telecom Group Ltd. (ASX: MAQ) makes the outlook for Covata's software products exciting.

Foolish takeaway

Covata's share price is down 37.5% over the past year, trading at a one-year low of 19 cents and with a market capitalisation of $99 million.

The group's Share Safe software has the potential to do for the software security niche what Dropbox has done for the general public.

While the risks are real for investors given Covata's minimal revenues, if one takes an optimistic view of the value the company could derive from just its current opportunity set, there could be significant upside for the business and its share price from here.

The post Revealed: A red hot growth share for your watch list appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

That takes the stock's price around 50% above its 52-week low of 20 cents but it's still off 40% from its one-year high of 54 cents.

So What: The share price surge came in response to an announcement by Covata that it has entered into a reseller agreement with the UK Government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office Services (FCOS).

The FCOS is linked to the Foreign Commonwealth Office which is charged with protecting British interests around the world, employing 14,000 people in nearly 270 diplomatic offices such as consulates and embassies.

Covata's lead product, Safe Share, will be utilised by FCOS who also operates trusted infrastructure, which is a key factor in securely sharing files in a cloud-based system.

Now What: The signing of the FCOS agreement comes in addition to Covata's other opportunities which include its telecommunications channel subscription model. It's worth noting comments by Covata that it expects the value of the FCOS subscription fees per user to be double the telco channel given the benefits of currency conversion.

Software security is a hot topic at the moment and the volatility in Covata's share price over the past two years is testament to this hot market.

With a market capitalisation of around $140 million the stock is certainly on the radar of small-cap investors, however, as investors have seen before with the $2 billion XERO FPO NZX (ASX: XRO) for example – small software companies in attractive niches can command big market values long before they start printing large profits.

The post Why did the Covata Ltd share price suddenly soar 20%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

An agreement was struck with US-based AppDirect, an online commerce platform, to sell iWebGate's Workspace Suite of products to Telstra customers through Telstra's online Apps marketplace. iWebGate will receive 70% of sales and Telstra will actively market Workspace Suite to its end users.

The deal provides iWebGate with a large revenue opportunity and validation of its technology. It seems unlikely that Telstra would want to offer Workspace Suite if it wasn't any good. On the other hand, selling third party apps is an easy way for Telstra to grow revenues without making an investment.

AppDirect will be responsible for providing customer service and iWebGate's managing director, Mark Harrell, appears happy with this. He said, "we are pleased to be working with AppDirect to deliver the highest level of customer service to end users of our product"

Data security is a hot industry right now because the number of cyber-attacks has risen in recent years and current defences have proven insufficient. There is a big incentive for companies to develop solutions to this problem and capital is readily available as investors are keen to share in the spoils.

Consequently, competition is fierce and junior operators like iWebGate have their work cut out. Not only do they have to beat countless other start-ups, but they are also up against global IT majors.

The other risk for investors is that given the hype surrounding the industry, share prices are high and could come tumbling down should sentiment change. iWebGate has a market capitalisation of $161 million and Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT), another recently listed data security firm, is valued at $111 million. Neither company has generated any significant revenues so far.

A change of market mood isn't a problem if the company you are backing is able to deliver on its promises, but the chances are that most IT security outfits will not. Given how difficult it is to understand the technology involved, picking the winners is extremely tricky for most investors.

One data security business I own is Senetas Corporation Limited (ASX: SEN), but I am uncomfortable with its current market value of more than $200 million. However, Senetas differs from Covata and iWebGate in that it is already profitable and its technology has been around for decades.

If iWebGate sounds a little too speculative to you then perhaps you would be more interested in the two small-caps contained in the free report available below. They still have the potential to deliver massive gains but are already established business.

The post iWebGate Ltd signs landmark deal: Is it a buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here are 5 more ASX stocks that were dumped today.

Australian Dairy Farms Group (ASX: AHF) dropped 16% to 21 cents, after resuming trading, following a $17.7 million capital raising. The company plans to purchase 3 producing dairy farms with the proceeds, doubling milk production to 20 million litres per year. Australia's only listed dairy farmer will issue an estimated 78.4 million shares at 20 cents each – the clear reason why shares plunged.

STW Communications Group Ltd (ASX: SGN) dropped 8.6% to 63.5 cents after the company's AGM today. It seems management expect underlying earnings and net profit to be in line with the previous year, but that's before restructuring costs. Colleague Andrew Mudie covered the fall in more detail earlier today.

Horizon Oil Ltd (ASX: HZN) fell 8% to 11.5 cents, despite no news from the company. In the last quarter, Horizon saw revenues of US$25.7 million, although that did including some hedging gains, as it produced more than 324,000 barrels of oil. Horizon has operations offshore New Zealand, China and onshore in Papua New Guinea.

Security firm Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT) lost 5.9% to 48 cents despite no news from the company. Shares in Covata can be very volatile, jumping as much as 18.6% back in March, after announcing a 10-year agreement with IT Giant Cisco, as we covered here. With data security a growing sector thanks to the threat from hacking and data breaches, as well as the move into 'the cloud', more data is at risk, which should prove to be a long-term tailwind for Covata.

Martin Aircraft Company Ltd (ASX: MJP) fell 5.5% to 86 cents, continuing its volatile journey. Shares in the jet pack manufacturer have soared as high as $3.15 and as low as 62.5 cents since listing in March 2015. Clearly investors have no idea how to value the company, which intends on making personal jetpacks which have a range of around 30 kilometres. Expect the volatility to continue until the company can successfully commercialise the product.

The post 5 ASX stocks crushed on the market today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But as we always say, just because the market rose today, doesn't mean every stock did either. Here are 4 smaller companies that didn't feel the love from shareholders today.

Gold miner Alkane Resources Ltd (ASX: ALK) fell 7.9% to 29 cents. Alkane says its total all-in sustaining costs for the quarter soared to $1,588 an ounce, and it produced 13,947 ounces in the quarter. That was below the average price it received for its gold – at $1,472 an ounce. Investors will be hoping the company can get its production costs back on target.

Hansen Technologies Ltd (ASX: HSN) dropped 6.4% to $2.20, despite no news from the company. Hansen provides customer care and billing systems software into a number of countries including Australia, UK, USA, New Zealand, China and Argentina. In a recent presentation, the company says it is targeting operating revenue in excess of $95 million and an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of 25%-30%. Favourable trading conditions will see the company hit the top of that target range.

Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT) saw its shares sink 4.8% to 59 cents – again with no news from the company. Still, shares are up more than 150% in the past 12 months, as the company has made several positive announcements about new markets and contract wins for its security products, including a ten-year licencing deal with internet giant Cisco in March this year.

Petroleum company Buru Energy Limited (ASX: BRU) continues its selloff, losing another 4.4% today, after falling 5.8% on Friday. As we reported, the resignation of non-executive director Peter Jones on Friday could have contributed to the fall, as oil prices rose on Friday. A falling Australian dollar and recovering oil prices should see Buru track higher over time.

The post 4 small cap stocks out of love on the ASX today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT) soared 18.6% to close at 51 cents. What's more, during the Thursday's trading session the share price touched a new all-time high of 60 cents.

Given the stock only began trading on the ASX in November at around 20 cents per share it's a phenomenal return for early investors in a short space of time.

Why the jump?

Thursday's gains were thanks to the release of an announcement that Covata had signed a 10-year global license agreement (with a minimum 4-year term) with IT giant Cisco. According to the release, the agreement covers the Covata platform and related products, with a focus on delivering this technology to Cisco clients.

What does Covata actually do?

Covata offers customers what it describes as "true ownership and control over your data in the cloud and over mobile services." In other words, Covata's software solutions provide customers with a secure level of data protection and management.

What can investors expect next?

Given the growing threat companies face from hacking and data breaches, coupled with the increased reliance of their operations on 'the cloud', demand for products such as Covata's offering look set to grow significantly.

With the company having already signing contracts with Deutsche Telekom and Macquarie Telecom Group Ltd. (ASX: MAQ) the latest Cisco agreement adds a further important strategic relationship to the group expansion plans.

While no figures were provided in the announcement, it's easy to envisage that the global opportunity for Covata's software is large. With a current market capitalisation of around $180 million, the stock is hardly a minnow considering it is yet to record a profit however as other software firms with large market penetration potential such as XERO FPO NZ (ASX: XRO) have shown, the market can quickly re-rate a stock as it hits milestones.

The post Here's why software company Covata Ltd soared 18.6% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Ok, so the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) gained 0.4% today, rising to 5,975.5, not far off the psychologically important but otherwise unimportant 6,000 mark.

These six small cap stocks soared on the market today…

Graphite and vanadium miner Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON) rocketed up 78.6% to 25 cents, after the company confirmed that Triton's Mozambique Graphite (TMG) can be expanded up to 1,000 times. The results confirm the high quality of Triton's graphite, which can demand premium prices thanks to strong market demand. Clearly a positive for Triton.

Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT) posted a 16.3% gain to close at 46.5 cents. The company announced strategic partnerships with both New York-based consulting firm Sumatics and Asia Principal Capital Group (APCG). Shares are up 42% in the past week, after the company also reported more positive news earlier this week, as we noted here.

Ziptel Ltd (ASX: ZIP) rose 11.6% to 48 cents, and has now gained 78% since the beginning of the year. Despite no news from the company today, Ziptel is one hot stock. The company has developed a communications app that allows users on very low-bandwidth mobile networks to send and receive chat, SMS and email messages. A number of companies are using the Ziptel app as a 'white label' solution, i.e. to rebrand it as their own, but pay Ziptel for use.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) gained 10.0% to 55 cents, after The Australian today reported that the company had dropped its action against Spookfish Limited (ASX: SFI). Nearmap had reported that it had dropped the case in an ASX announcement yesterday. Now the company is clear to focus on its US expansion, and building up its profitable Australian operation. Clearly the aerial photomapping company doesn't think it's worthwhile pursuing Spookfish.

1-Page Ltd (ASX: 1PG) added 4.1% to close at $2.01. Shares have rocketed up 70% since the start of the year, as the company continues to announce potentially profitable agreements, including Amazon, Accenture and Fitness First in Australia, to use 1PG's job seeker and hiring solutions.

Ainsworth Game Technology Limited (ASX: AGI) closed at $2.90, up 5.5%. The poker machine manufacturer's share price is still down 30% since a year ago, as the company has struggled to maintain its phenomenal growth of the past few years. In the latest half, revenues fell 8%, and net profit was down 3%. Of major concern was a 34% fall in domestic revenue.

The post 6 stocks soaring on the ASX today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The US Federal Reserve meets tonight, and a decision on US interest rates is expected early Thursday morning, Australian time.

Still, a flat result for the market doesn't mean every stock also did nothing. Here are 5 stocks that soared today…

Mirabela Nickel Limited (ASX: MBN) climbed 32% to 16.5 cents, and the nickel miner has seen its share more than triple in the past month alone, despite a number of headwinds, including falling nickel prices. Still, Mirabela appears little more than a speculative punt, having disappointed investors numerous times in the past with dilutive capital raisings and share price falls.

Novogen Limited (ASX: NRT) rocketed up 20.6% to 20.5 cents and has now climbed more than 86% since the start of this year. Today the company announced that one of its drug candidates, Anisina, appears to be a successful anti-cancer treatment. Novogen says it is aiming to bring Anisina into the clinic in 2016 to treat both adults and children.

CTI Logistics Limited (ASX: CLX) gained 15.2% to $1.44, although the company released no news whatsoever. CTI provides transport, logistics, security, quarantine and fumigation services but has been struggling with falling revenues due to exposure to the taper off in the mining boom. As a result, CTI is looking to diversify its business further, and has recently announced that it was about to commence due diligence on a number of opportunities in the eastern states.

Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT) soared 9.2% to 35.5 cents. The data security firm announced today that in conjunction with its partner NSC Global and telco T-Systems, it had executed a contract to distribute its Safe Share product within the T-Systems marketplace and to Deutsche Telekom's customers more broadly. Around 7,400 clients will be able to subscribe to Covata's product Safe Share.

Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) closed 8.9% higher, at 60 cents, after announcing a positive update to the market on its sales and distribution progress in the US market. Colleague Tom Richardson covered the story in more detail here. Needless to say, this is a good story so far for a small Aussie outfit.

The post 5 stocks soaring on the ASX today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

After spending 99% of the day in the red, the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) managed to surge at the close and finish flat at 5,904.2 led by gains in the big supermarket retailers and insurers.

Here's why these four stocks managed to soar today…

Two data security/encryption firms rocketed up today, Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT) and Senetas Corporation Limited (ASX: SEN). Covata gained 21% to 29 cents while Senetas added 13.3% to 9.4 cents. But the gains may be short-lived. Neither company released any information yesterday, but Senetas has been spruiked by an investing service (via email for free), which may be the reason why shares have shot up in both companies today.

Despite that, as data security becomes ever more important, it's likely the companies offering security technologies will be in big demand. Senetas is already profitable and is forecasting strong growth this year while Covata is a recent back-door listing, so we don't have much financial information to go on.

Genetic Technologies Limited (ASX: GTG) gained 16.3% to 5 cents, continuing the company's rollercoaster ride in the past few months. Since early January, Genetic Tech shares are up 188%, but down 42% since Feb 19, including today's rise. Clearly the market doesn't know how to value the unprofitable company, which specialises in DNA testing, including those addressing various aspects of cancer development, progression and management. Where the share price goes next is anybody's guess.

Cynata Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: CYP) also soared 16.3%, closing at $1.355. Cynata specialises in stem cell and regenerative medicine and today announced that CEO Dr Ross Macdonald would be presenting a company overview and holding one-on-one meetings with institutional investors at the annual ASX Spotlight conference in New York. If Mr Macdonald can win large US investors over, Cynata could see those investors keen to invest in the company.

The post 4 stocks soaring on the ASX today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But that didn't help these four, which plunged more than 7%…

Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT) slipped 12.2% to 18 cents. The Australian data security company, which is partly owned by TPG Telecom Limited (ASX: TPM), has developed a technology to protect data and files, rather than targeting network security. Covata has a number of US customers, including in the US government and military, and is attempting to break into the European market, as well as the financial market.

Mining services company NRW Holdings Limited (ASX: NWH) lost 8.7% to end at 31.5 cents, despite no news from the company. Shares have dropped 75% since January 2014 as the slowdown in the resources sector gathers steam. Unfortunately for NRW, there's no bright light at the end of the tunnel, with mining investment set to decrease markedly over the next few years.

Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU) fell 8.3% to 16.5 cents today but are still up more than 40% since January 2. The company has submitted applications to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for orphan drug designation and Breakthrough Therapy for drug NNZ-2566, which is used to treat the rare Rett syndrome. That follows a successful Phase 2 clinical trial, which showed benefits from treatment with NNZ-2566. Neuren expects to find out the results of its applications in the first half of 2015.

Sandalwood plantation owner TFS Corporation Limited (ASX: TFC) dropped 7.3% to $1.465, as trading in the company's shares continues to be a volatile ride. In the past six months, shares have hit a high of $2.24 and dropped as low as $1.17. That's despite the company announcing its sandalwood oil acne products have debuted in US stores earlier this month and that it's on track to make a $70 million profit in the 2015 financial year – placing the company on a P/E ratio of just 7x.

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