In morning trade, the Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP) share price is up 12% to $1.05.

This compares to a 0.95% decline by the All Ordinaries index.

Why is this ASX All Ords stock jumping?

Investors have been scrambling to buy the company's shares after it accepted a takeover offer from US-based payments company Shift4 Payments.

Shift4 provides integrated payments solutions and commerce technology, processing over US$260 billion in transactions each year in over 45 countries and servicing more than 200,000 customers across more than 100 payment methods.

According to the release, the two parties have entered into a scheme implementation agreement which will see Shift4 acquire all Smartpay shares for NZ$1.20 (A$1.11) per share in cash.

This deal values Smartpay's equity at around A$274 million, with an enterprise value of approximately A$283 million.

Premium offer

The release notes that the NZ$1.20 per share offer represents a 46.5% premium to the ASX All Ords stock's 90-day volume weighted average price (VWAP) of NZ$0.82. It also implies an acquisition multiple of roughly 14.2 times FY 2025 normalised EBITDA, which excludes NZ investment costs.

Shift4 declared the offer as its "best and final price" unless a competing proposal emerges.

The ASX All Ords stock's board has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the scheme. This is subject to an independent expert's report and there being no superior proposals.

The company's largest shareholder, Microequities Asset Management (ASX: MAM), which controls approximately 13.3% of Smartpay shares, has expressed support for the deal and intends to vote in its favour.

Smartpay's CEO, Marty Pomeroy, commented:

Smartpay remains focused on being the payments partner of choice, investing and adding scale to our existing Australian and New Zealand business. The proposed transaction, if completed, will see Shift4 partner with Smartpay to deliver an enhanced value proposition to our customers, employees and other stakeholders while delivering immediate and derisked value to our current shareholders.

What happens next?

The transaction is subject to several conditions. This includes shareholder approval, clearance under the New Zealand Overseas Investment Act, and final approval by the New Zealand High Court. A special meeting of shareholders is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2025.

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) shares are tumbling today on the news. It had been interested in acquiring Smartpay and even tabled its own NZ$1.20 per share offer earlier this year.

The post Which ASX All Ords stock is rocketing on takeover news? 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:

4DMedical Ltd (ASX: 4DX)

The 4DMedical share price is up 5% to 31 cents. Investors have been buying this medical technology company's shares following the release of an update. According to the release, the company has signed a commercial contract with Intermountain Health for the implementation of its recently FDA-cleared Pulmonary Hypertension Analysis product. The company's CEO, Andreas Fouras, said: "As the contract transitions to full commercial terms this revenue stream will become meaningful for us. Furthermore, under those terms we can grow revenue through increased usage of PHA and expansion to other products in the portfolio, further growing the opportunity within this large health system."

Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR)

The Gold Road share price is up almost 10% to $3.26. This follows news that the gold miner has accepted a takeover offer from Gold Fields Ltd (NYSE: GFI). The deal will see Gold Road shareholders receive the equivalent of $3.40 per share (less any special dividend paid prior to implementation of the scheme). This includes a variable cash consideration equal to the full value of their proportionate holding in Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST).

Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR)

The Syrah Resources share price is up 12% to 27.5 cents. This has been driven by news that the graphite miner's Balama operation is almost back up and running after civil unrest. It said: "Over the weekend, Mozambique Government authorities cleared the remaining illegal protestors and restored site access for Balama operations. The Company is mobilising camp support, inspection, and maintenance teams. An update on start of operations at Balama and product shipments will be provided in due course."

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

The Tyro Payments share price is up 4% to 80.7 cents. Investors have been buying the payments company's shares after it announced that it was withdrawing its takeover proposal for Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP). It said: "Tyro was informed of Smartpay's decision to enter an exclusivity arrangement with another party for a cash offer of NZ$1.20 per share on Friday 2 May. This was prior to conclusion of the agreed due diligence process and receipt of an update to Tyro's cash and scrip synergistic merger proposal."

The post Why 4DMedical, Gold Road, Syrah, and Tyro shares are racing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are rising:

Navigator Global Investments Ltd (ASX: NGI)

The Navigator Global share price is up 2% to $1.80. This morning, this investment company revealed that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a strategic minority stake in 1315 Capital and its affiliates. The release notes that 1315 Capital is a private equity firm with over US$1 billion assets under management that provides growth equity and growth buyout capital to commercial-stage medtech and pharma outsourcing, healthcare services, medical technology, and health and wellness companies. They target markets where high-quality management teams can rapidly scale platform companies into large and important businesses that positively impact patients, physicians, and the broader healthcare system.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The Pilbara Minerals share price is up almost 8% to $1.96. This is despite there being no news out of the lithium miner. However, a number of lithium miners are pushing higher today as investor sentiment improves. They may believe that this side of the market has been oversold in recent time and created a buying opportunity.

Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP)

The Smartpay share price is up 48% to 78.5 cents. Investors have been scrambling to buy the payments company's shares after it received a takeover approach from both Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) and another third party. Tyro Payments' indicative proposal is to acquire 100% of the issued ordinary shares of Smartpay by way of scheme of arrangement for a price of NZ$1.00 (approximately A$0.90) per share. This comprises a majority of Tyro shares as well as cash consideration.

Spartan Resources Ltd (ASX: SPR)

The Spartan Resources share price is up 9% to $1.75. This follows news that the gold miner has agreed to merge with Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS). It has accepted a deal that will see Ramelius acquire all outstanding Spartan shares for $0.25 in cash and 0.6957 new Ramelius shares per share. This valued the company at $1.78 per share, which represented a relatively modest 11.3% premium to its last close price but a 27.5% premium to its 30-day average price. Ramelius' managing director, Mark Zeptner, said: "With the Spartan Effect, Ramelius has a vision for the Combined Group to be a +500koz/pa producer in FY30."

The post Why Navigator Global, Pilbara Minerals, Smartpay, and Spartan shares are charging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

That's because it has just confirmed the receipt of a takeover offer from Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) and a third party.

Which ASX tech stock?

The stock in question is Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP).

At the time of writing, its shares are up 51% to 80 cents.

Smartpay is Australia and New Zealand's largest independent full-service EFTPOS provider. At the last count, it was servicing over 35,000 merchants with approximately 48,000 secure and feature-rich EFTPOS terminals.

The company highlights that in New Zealand, it is the largest direct connector of EFTPOS terminals to Paymark, the central electronic payment processing platform. Whereas in Australia, it is a payment facilitator providing credit and debit card acquiring through EFTPOS terminals, challenging the traditional payments space.

What happened?

This morning, the ASX tech stock revealed that it has received two separate conditional, non-binding and indicative proposals.

One of the proposals is from Tyro Payments and the other proposal is from an international suitor.

According to the release, the Tyro Payments indicative proposal is to acquire 100% of the issued ordinary shares of Smartpay by way of scheme of arrangement for a price of NZ$1.00 (approximately A$0.90) per share. This comprises a majority of Tyro shares as well as cash consideration.

No terms have been provided for the other indicative proposal, other than that it is also for 100% of the issued ordinary shares of Smartpay.

The release notes that both of the proposals are preliminary only and highly conditional. This includes the satisfactory completion of respective due diligence and execution of definitive transaction documentation.

Due diligence granted

The ASX tech stock advised that its board has decided to allow both Tyro the third party to conduct an initial limited period of commercial due diligence on a non-exclusive basis.

It notes that this will allow it to better assess the relative merits of each proposal and give each party an opportunity to further improve their respective offers based on the information received.

Reciprocal due diligence will be conducted on Tyro Payments given the majority of the proposed consideration is to be satisfied by the issue of new shares.

Though, management warns that the provision of limited due diligence does not guarantee that either of the proposals will result in a binding offer or one that is capable of being recommended by the Smartpay Board.

The Tyro share price is up almost 5% on the news.

The post Guess which ASX tech stock is rocketing 51% after receiving two takeover offers appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) Head of Investment Strategy and Economics, Dr Shane Oliver, said markets were now in a "seasonally strong period of the year".

He commented:

Our overall assessment remains that the trend is still up, including for Australian shares, but expect a more volatile and constrained ride.

Dr Oliver said the market was buoyed last month by Republican Donald Trump's decisive presidential election win in the United States.

Many of Trump's policies are seen as business-friendly, including his promise to lower US corporate taxes from 21% to 15% and to deregulate parts of the US tech sector.

He also plans to introduce tariffs on all nations, which partly contributed to a divergent performance across global markets last month.

Dr Oliver noted that the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) rose by 5.73% and ASX All Ords shares rose by 3.29%.

But Eurozone shares fell 0.1% and Japanese shares fell 2.2%, partly due to concerns over how the new tariffs may affect exports.

Meantime, various brokers made adjustments to their ASX stock ratings.

Here are eight ASX All Ords shares that market analysts on the CommSec trading platform upgraded to a consensus strong buy rating last month.

8 ASX All Ords shares lifted to 'strong buy' status

Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR)

The Syrah Resources share price closed at 22 cents on Tuesday, down 2.22%.

It's interesting that market analysts on CommSec raised the ASX All All Ords graphite stock to a strong buy rating while in the same week it was also one of the most shorted stocks on the market.

My colleague Seb recently discussed whether Syrah Resources shares are cheap following a 67% fall in 2024.

GQG Partners Inc (ASX: GQG)

The GQG Partners share price closed at $2.09 yesterday, up 3.47%.

Goldman Sachs has a buy rating on the stock with a 12-month share price target of $3. This implies a potential 44% upside for investors in 2025.

In a new note, analysts Julian Braganza and Brian Kim discussed the impact of the Adani saga:

GQG shares fell 19% following news that US prosecutors have charged senior Adani executives, including the chairman, in connection with an alleged bribery scheme.

GQG, which holds stakes in Adani entities through its funds, said they are monitoring the situation and assessing if any actions will be taken on their portfolios.

GQG noted that in aggregate in excess of 90% of client assets are invested in issuers unrelated to Adani Group, implying at most ~10% of FUM is exposed to Adani.

The ASX All Ords financial share is up 24% in the year to date.

PYC Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: PYC)

The PYC Therapeutics share price closed at $1.69 on Tuesday, up 0.6%.

PYC released a new investor presentation on its Polycystic Kidney Disease Program last week.

Canaccord Genuity has a buy rating on PYC shares with a 12-month share price target of $2.40. This implies a potential 42% upside for investors in 2025.

The ASX All Ords healthcare share is up 1,590% in the year to date (yep, you read that correctly!)

Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR)

The Gold Road share price closed at $2 on Tuesday, down 1.96%.

Goldman Sachs has a buy rating on the stock and raised its 12-month share price target to $2.35.

In a new note, the broker said there was a potential positive for Gold Road if De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG) shareholders approve the proposed takeover by Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST).

Gold Road owns about 17% of De Grey Mining shares and holds neighbouring leases to De Grey's Hemi gold project.

Goldman said the deal could potentially add about $800 million to Gold Road's already net cash balance sheet.

The broker added:

Furthermore, we see potential support for GOR to re-rate on its own fundamentals, with the stock currently trading at a significant discount to peers…

The ASX All Ords gold share is up 2% in the year to date.

Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP)

The Smartpay share price closed at 62 cents on Tuesday, up 0.81%.

The company released its FY25 half-year report last month.

The ASX All Ords financial share is down 56% in the year to date.

Dexus Industria REIT (ASX: DXS)

The Dexus Industria real estate investment trust (REIT) closed at $7.21 on Tuesday, up 0.42%.

UBS has a buy rating on the property stock with a 12-month share price target of $8.86.

This implies a potential upside of 23% for investors.

The ASX All Ords REIT is down 5% in the year to date.

Australian Agricultural Company Ltd (ASX: AAC)

The Australian Agricultural Company share price closed at $1.38 yesterday, down 0.72%.

Australian Agricultural Company released its FY25 half-year results on 15 November.

This ASX All Ords agriculture share is steady in the year to date.

Macquarie Technology Group Ltd (ASX: MAQ)

The Macquarie Technology share price closed at $87.94 on Tuesday, up 0.18%.

The company held its annual general meeting last week.

This ASX All Ords technology share is up 30% in the year to date.

The post 8 ASX All Ords shares upgraded to 'strong buy' ratings in November appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Those businesses are players within the national payments system, helping customers pay for goods and services at places like restaurants, cafes, and shops. However, the sector has come under scrutiny for the almost $1 billion in surcharges (according to the ABC) that customers are being slugged with annually.

The Federal Government has decided it needs to act to try to minimise some of these payment fees.

Federal Government to ban debit card surcharges

According to reporting by the ABC, the Federal Government is planning to ban debit card surcharges from 1 January 2026, though any changes are subject to further reviews by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

The ABC reported Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said the government will wait for the RBA to finish reviewing merchant card payment costs and surcharging, but the government wants to send a "very clear signal [that] excessive surcharging has to go". Jones also said:

We're sending a signal both to the bank and to the card payment providers that the government is willing to move unless they change their behaviour.

It might seem like a small charge every time you tap and go, but it punches a big hole in your wallet at the end of the year when you add up all of those fees.

Clearly, there's excessive charging going on here [and] we want to get to the bottom of it.

The ABC also reported that small businesses are sometimes charged twice as much as Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) or Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) for the same transaction.

How have the ASX All Ords shares responded?

In an ASX announcement, Smartpay acknowledged the federal government's comments about proposed changes to debit card surcharges and said that the RBA's review into surcharging is ongoing.

Smartpay then said:

The RBA is expected to provide a discussion document, as part of their review into surcharging, later today. The discussion document and review process is expected to take approximately 6 weeks. Smartpay is engaged with the RBA on the review of surcharging and will provide further information on any potential impacts of any changes once there is more certainty of the conclusion of the review or once the consultation and review period has been completed.

Tyro also acknowledged the discussions about the possible ban on debit card surcharging. The company said it has been actively engaged with the RBA and welcomes reviews that assess the true cost of card acceptance for small businesses and consumers.

The Tyro CEO and managing director Jon Davey said:

Debit offers consumers and merchants the ability to make convenient, secure and traceable transactions. Consumers should not pay excessive surcharges, nor should businesses fund the consumer benefits that come with high cost cards and loyalty programs. We support any review that assesses the true cost of card acceptance, including both debit and credit, for the fair regulation of payment acceptance in Australia.

While there isn't a proposal on banning all types of card surcharges, it does raise some questions for investors, who appear to be choosing to sell now rather than stick around for the final decision.

Time will tell what a potential debit card surcharging ban would do to the profitability of these ASX All Ords shares.

The post 2 ASX All Ords shares crashing over 13% on government warnings appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:

Genetic Signatures Ltd (ASX: GSS)

The Genetic Signatures share price is down 10% to 65.5 cents. This morning, this global molecular diagnostics company announced that it is concluding the development of the EasyScreen Essentials Respiratory Detection Kit for the US market. The company made the decision based on an internal assessment of the commercial landscape. CEO Neil Gunn said: "While it is disappointing to conclude the development of a key product at this late stage, we are very mindful that any investment we make in new products must continue to be aligned with a compelling commercial opportunity."

Retail Food Group Ltd (ASX: RFG)

The Retail Food Group share price is down almost 3% to 6.8 cents. The quick service restaurant operator released an investor update this morning and revealed that retailing macroeconomic conditions remain weak. As a result, sales are flat year to date in FY 2024. The good news is that management expects "improvement in market conditions in FY25 as tax cuts, growth in real wages and population, and the potential for rate cuts are expected to allow some consumers to ditch frugality."

Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP)

The Smartpay Holdings share price is down 2.5% to $1.19. This follows the release of the New Zealand based payments company's full year results. Smartpay reported a 24% increase in revenue to NZ$96.5 million and a 29% jump in normalised profit before tax to NZ$9.8 million. It seems that some investors were expecting an even stronger performance from the company in FY 2024.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is down 17% to 23.2 cents. Investors have been hitting the sell button today after the gold miner released an update on its guidance for FY 2024. According to the release, the company's Simberi's gold operation has underperformed materially during the fourth quarter. This has been caused by the important Sorowar ore zone not being accessible until the next quarter, which has resulted in lower ore grades. As a result, full year production and cost guidance for FY 2024 is revised to 52,000 to 56,000 ounces (previously 60,000 to 70,000 ounces) at an all-In sustaining cost of A$3,700 to A$3,900 per ounce (previously A$3,200 to A$3,400).

The post Why Genetic Signatures, Retail Food Group, Smartpay, and St Barbara shares are tumbling today 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:

Australian Ethical Investment Ltd (ASX: AEF)

The Australian Ethical share price is up 5% to $4.62. This follows news that the investment company has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the sustainable fixed income asset management business, Altius Asset Management, from Australian Unity. Once complete, it will see Australian Ethical grow its funds under management (FUM) from $10.3 billion to $12.3 billion. This will be an increase of 19%. Management highlights that the proposed acquisition is consistent with its strategy to serve the growing potential addressable market created by the structural drivers favouring responsible investing.

Cromwell Property Group (ASX: CMW)

The Cromwell Property Group share price is up over 7% to 46.7 cents. This morning, the property company announced that it has agreed to sell its European fund management platform and interests to Stoneweg for $457 million. Management notes that the transaction continues the company's strategy to simplify the business and transition to a capital light fund management model. It also allows Cromwell to focus on its core competencies in Australia and New Zealand.

Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP)

The Smartpay share price is up 10% to $1.22. This follows news that the payments company has signed a contract with Cuscal Payments NZ. The contract will see Cuscal provide payment processing services to support Smartpay provide acquiring services in New Zealand. CEO Marty Pomeroy said: "This is a significant milestone in Smartpay's ongoing partnership with Cuscal and the journey to becoming a trans-tasman instore payments provider, and realising a transformational opportunity for our organisation."

Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO)

The Xero share price is up 9% to $135.07. Investors have been buying the cloud accounting platform provider's shares following the release of its FY 2024 results. Xero reported a 22% increase in operating revenue to NZ$1.71 billion for the 12 months. This was underpinned by a 419,000 increase in subscribers to 4.16 million and a 14% lift in average revenue per user to NZ$39.29. On the bottom line, the company swung from a loss of NZ$133.5 million to a sizeable profit of NZ$174.6 million. Xero CEO, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, said: "This result shows we're doing what we said we'd do. We've delivered a strong and profitable FY24 result and Rule of 40 outcome, demonstrating our commitment to balancing growth and profitability."

The post Why Australian Ethical, Cromwell Property, Smartpay, and Xero shares are surging appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Its analysts have just slapped buy ratings on two ASX tech shares. Here's what the broker is saying about them:

Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP)

This New Zealand based payments company could be an ASX tech share to buy according to the broker.

Its analysts highlight that "SMP shares have traded down despite the positive merchant data and growth in digital payments" and feel this as created a buying opportunity.

This morning, Bell Potter has reaffirmed its buy rating on the company's shares with an improved price target of $1.76. Based on its current share price of $1.39, this implies potential upside of 27% for investors over the next 12 months.

Commenting on its positive view on the ASX tech share, the broker said:

We maintain our Buy recommendation with a revised Price Target of $1.76 p/s. Our positive view is underpinned by system growth in digital payments and early expansion in the Australian market. We also see attractive unit economics within the business, where each additional unit contracted is estimated to provide for an NPV of NZ$13,299.1 and IRR of 131.2% over the implied 10-year asset duration.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

This enterprise software provider could be another ASX tech share to buy this week.

This morning, the broker has reaffirmed its buy rating and $18.50 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of 10% for investors. In addition, a 1.2% dividend yield is expected over the next 12 months to boost the return further.

Bell Potter sees multiples growth opportunities for the company. It explains:

In our view Technology One has plenty of runway for growth in future years given its APAC market penetration in any single vertical does not exceed 15%. There are, however, some key growth opportunities in the short to medium term which are likely to help drive strong top line growth and these include: 1. Large market penetration increase in UK Education vertical; 2. Rollout of SaaS+ in Australia; and 3. Rollout of DXP LG and launch of DXP SM. There is also the potential to secure Student Management for NSW TAFE given the issues faced by the incumbent provider in fulfilling the contract.

The post Bell Potter names 2 exciting ASX tech shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price is down 1.5% to $46.58. Investors have been selling the mining giant's shares on Monday following weakness in iron ore prices on Friday night. Other iron ore miners have dropped along with BHP today.

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price is down over 4% to 33 cents. This has been driven by broad weakness in the lithium industry today, which has seen most ASX lithium shares tumble. Concerns over falling lithium prices seem to be behind this selling.

IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO)

The IGO share price is down 2.5% to $8.51. As well as weakness in the lithium industry, there was some news out of this battery materials miner today. It confirmed that Ivan Vella will become its new CEO as planned next month. Since his appointment, Vella has been fired from his role at Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) following a policy breach.

Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP)

The Smartpay share price is down 5% to $1.23. This morning, this payments company released its half-year results and reported revenue of NZ$46.9 million and EBITDA of NZ$10.6 million. This represents a 33% and 31% increase, respectively, over the prior corresponding period. However, heading in the wrong direction was its free cash flow, which fell 72% to NZ$1 million.

The post Why BHP, Core Lithium, IGO, and Smartpay shares are dropping today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:

Melbana Energy Ltd (ASX: MAY)

The Melbana share price is down 8.5% to 9.6 cents. This follows the release of drilling results from Alameda-2 onshore Cuba. Investors have been selling down Melbana Energy's shares despite the company revealing that "strong oil shows and high connection gas [was] encountered."

Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)

The Netwealth share price is down almost 6% to $13.62. This means that the investment platform provider's shares have now given back yesterday's gains driven by the release of its quarterly update. Macquarie wasn't overly impressed with the update and fears that Netwealth could now be facing headwinds for fund inflows. In light of this, the broker has downgraded its shares to a neutral rating with a trimmed price target of $14.40.

Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP)

The Smartpay share price is down 2% to $1.74. This may have been driven by profit-taking after a strong gain on Thursday. Investors were buying the payments company's shares after Bell Potter initiated coverage with a buy rating and a $2.16 price target.

Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR)

The Tyro share price is down 4% to $1.20. This follows reports that Grok Ventures has sold off its holding in the payments company. According to the AFR, Grok Ventures sold a stake worth $77 million from $1.20 per share after the market close on Thursday. This reflects the investment company's plan to exit listed equities to focus on infrastructure and start-ups.

The post Why Melbana Energy, Netwealth, Smartpay, and Tyro shares are falling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

That's according to leading brokers, who've just upgraded their outlook for the five stocks, all of which operate in distinctly different sectors (courtesy of The Australian).

These ASX All Ords shares just got an upgrade

Up first, we have Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL).

CLSA raised the gaming technology company's stock to a 'buy' with a $44.90 price target.

The ASX All Ords share is up 0.8% in intraday trading today at $38.53. That implies a potential further upside of 16.5% for the stock.

With a strong growth outlook for its digital gaming businesses, the Aristocrat Leisure share price has soared 25% year to date.

The second ASX All Ords share receiving a broker upgrade is Pacific Smiles Group Limited (ASX: PSQ).

Wilsons boosted the dental centre operator's stock to an 'overweight' rating with a $1.66 price target.

The Pacific Smiles share price is up 2.6% at the time of writing, at $1.55 per share. That implies a potential 7% gain ahead yet from here.

Despite a positive earnings growth outlook, the Pacific Smiles share price is flat in 2023.

Also getting a broker upgrade this week is PWR Holdings (ASX: PWH).

Evans & Partners lifted its rating for the automotive cooling solutions company's stock to 'positive'. Shares are up 2.3% in early afternoon trade today, at $9.02 apiece.

With some potential earnings growth ahead, this ASX All Ords share may yet be able to shake off its 18% year-to-date losses.

Rounding off the list of broker upgrades

Rounding off the list, the fourth stock that's just received a broker upgrade is Smartpay Holdings Limited (ASX: SMP)

Bell Potter started the payment solutions provider's stock at a 'buy' with a $2.16 price target.

The Smartpay share price is down 1.9% today at $1.75 a share. That implies a potential 23.4% upside for this ASX All Ords share.

This will come as welcome news to shareholders, who've already enjoyed a 74% lift in the Smartpay share price in 2023. And the stock is up a whopping 186% over 12 months.

Which brings us to the fifth company getting a broker upgrade this week, Transurban Group (ASX: TCL).

Citi has raised its rating on the toll road operator and developer's stock to a 'buy' with a $16.20 price target.

Transurban shares are down 0.3% today, trading for $14.07 apiece. That implies a potential upside of 15.1% for this ASX All Ords share.

The Transurban share price is up 10% in 2023.

The post 5 ASX All Ords shares just upgraded by top brokers appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) experienced a tumultuous 12 months as investors worried about rising inflation and interest rates.

However, the index managed to gain 655 points, rising from 6,746.5 points at the close on 30 June 2022 to 7,401.5 points on 30 June 2023.

The ASX All Ords captures the performance of the 500 largest listed companies by market capitalisation.

Here are the star performers of FY23 based on share price growth, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The No 1 ASX All Ords share is a retailer!

The Cettire share price recorded the highest growth among the 500 ASX All Ords shares in FY23.

Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT)

Who would have thought, with all the fear around rising inflation and its impact on consumer discretionary spending, that a retail share would dominate the ASX All Ords in FY23?

Luxury brands online retailer Cettire blew every other ASX All Ords share out of the water with its 718% share price growth in FY23.

Cettire shares closed FY23 at $2.96. In earlier trading yesterday, the stock hit a new 52-week high of $3.40, up 6.9%.

Some economists speculate that the reason inflation is falling slowly in Australia is because the wealthy are still spending. Cettire's annual performance is a case in point.

As we recently reported, Cettire's sales of luxury brand products are accelerating.

Wilson Asset Management dealer Will Thompson reckons this ASX All Ords star is still a buy despite its outstanding price growth in FY23.

He says the Melbourne-based company is "quite a small player in a big market, and they're growing quickly".

He adds: "There's not a big amount of luxury brands that sell online. So they're getting the benefit of that."

Here are the other top ASX All Ords shares of FY23

Latin Resources Ltd (ASX: LRS)

The Latin Resources share price skyrocketed in FY23 by 408%. The ASX All Ords lithium share really caught fire in May after the company released an update on its flagship Salinas Lithium Project in Brazil. In the last few days of FY23, the company announced confirmation of a "district scale lithium corridor" at the site.

Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU)

This ASX All Ords healthcare share ripped 222% higher in FY23. The key driver was the US Food and Drug
Administration's approval of a drug called Daybue, which is being marketed by Neuren's North American partner, Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD). The drug is the first and only approved treatment of Rett syndrome, which is a rare, neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 6,000 to 9,000 people in the US.

Lindian Resources Ltd (ASX: LIN)

This ASX All Ords mining share had a cracking year with 200% price growth in FY23. Lindian is a bauxite miner with projects in Tanzania. Much of its success in FY23 was due to its acquisition of the "globally significant" Kangankunde Rare Earths Project in Malawi. This was announced on 1 August. Since then, Lindian has reported a series of high-grade assays that have helped continually lift the share price.

Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP)

Payment solutions provider Smartpay enjoyed a terrific year with a share price gain of 197% in FY23. The Australia and New Zealand EFTPOS business reported a 637% improvement in net profit before tax in its FY23 half-year results. Wilson Asset Management says the small-cap has more room for growth and is successfully "capturing market share from its key competitors".

For more insights on the best-performing Australian stocks of FY23, check out our story on the top 5 ASX 200 shares of the year.

The post These were the 5 top-performing ASX All Ords shares of FY23 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are charging higher:

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The Appen share price is up 16% to $2.84. This is despite there being no news out of the artificial intelligence (AI) data services provider. However, given how AI stocks are booming on Wall Street, this seems to have given Appen's beaten down shares a boost. In addition, a reasonably positive broker note out of Wilsons appears to have helped matters. It has lifted its rating to market-weight with an improved price target of $2.54. The broker believes Appen has assembled an impressive executive team.

Leo Lithium Ltd (ASX: LLL)

The Leo Lithium share price is up 16% to 84.2 cents. Investors have been buying the lithium developer's shares after it announced a strategic placement and cooperation agreement with Ganfeng Lithium. This will see Ganfeng pay $106.1 million for 131 million new Leo Lithium shares. This equates to a price of 81 cents per share, which is almost 12% higher than Friday's closing price.

Select Harvests Ltd (ASX: SHV)

The Select Harvests share price is up 8% to $4.71. This morning, the almond producer reported a half-year net loss after tax of $96.2 million. This was driven by material impacts from La Nina weather patterns affecting the 2022 and 2023 crops and the resultant write-off of goodwill. Management is looking ahead and advised that it has already identified a series of value accretive projects that will deliver improvements in profit and cash.

Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP)

The Smartpay share price is up 7% to $1.60. This follows the release of the payments company's full-year results this morning. Smartpay reported a 62% increase in revenue to NZ$48.1 million and a profit after tax of NZ$8.5 million. The latter was up from NZ$2.2 million a year earlier.

The post Why Appen, Leo Lithium, Select Harvests, and Smartpay shares are racing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Wilson Asset Management (WAM) investment team likes the outlook for the financial technology company, which is one of Australia and New Zealand's largest independent full-service EFTPOS providers.

Smartpay says it services more than 30,000 merchants with more than 40,000 secure and feature-rich EFTPOS terminals. In New Zealand, it's the largest direct connector of EFTPOS terminals to Paymark, the central electronic payment processing platform.

Recently, the ASX share provided a trading update so let's have a look at some of those numbers.

Sales recap

Smartpay said its Australian acquiring transactional revenue for the three months to 31 March 2023 was up 76% year over year, while the Australian total transaction value was up 64% year over year. The company reported consolidated revenue was up 54% year over year.

The business said ts full trans-Tasman network of terminals is now over 46,000.

During the three months to March 2023, it added another 1,200 new transacting terminals in Australia while seeing continued stability in its New Zealand terminal fleet.

Smartpay also reported it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with its Australian processing partner to "unlock the strategic value" of its NZ fleet of over 30,000 terminals. This provides a path to present its next-generation android terminal and acquiring solution to its NZ customer base.

On the company's outlook, Smartpay said:

With a strong finish to the 2023 financial year we are now looking forward to the 2024 financial year.

Our recent NPS (Net Promotor Score) surveys have again rewarded our focus on customer experience with Australia at 70 and NZ 49.

We remain committed to the ongoing execution into the Australian opportunity, development of the New Zealand opportunity and leveraging the strategic value of both our New Zealand and Australian businesses.

With preparations underway for the realisation of a truly trans-Tasman payments business, where we will deliver our market leading payments solution and customer experience to our entire network of customers, we look forward with anticipation to the year ahead and beyond.

The Smartpay share price jumped when it reported these numbers on 26 April 2023, as seen on the chart below.

What does WAM think of the ASX share?

The fund manager suggested the ongoing growth of Smartpay "demonstrated its continued success at capturing market share from its key competitors".

WAM also said that a "shift from their traditional rental model to a transaction acquiring model in New Zealand should be more profitable for the business, however, the company is still in the early stages of exploring this new opportunity".

The investment team is looking forward to hearing more as the initiative progresses.

In Smartpay's FY23 half-year result, it saw revenue rise by 68% while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 119% to $8.1 million. Net profit before tax improved 637% to $2.7 million. The company also saw positive operating cash flow of $10.1 million generated in the half-year period.

The post Why one fund manager is backing this ASX share after 76% revenue growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Smartpay allows merchants to take payments from customers with a "versatile, portable EFTPOS machine".

Recent result

Less than a month ago, the business announced its interim result for the six months to 30 September 2022.

It revealed revenue of $35.4 million, an increase of 68% year over year. Smartpay generated $8.1 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which was a rise of 119%. The company also reported net profit before tax of $2.7 million, an increase of 637%.

The company saw $5.5 million of monthly Australian acquiring revenue at September 2022.

The ASX share made positive operating cash flow of $10.1 million in the period. The operating cash flow is being used to fund the purchase of new terminals, ongoing development of software and reduce bank debt.

The company is working on its Android in-store proposition, which is a "key focus". It is seeing momentum and an acceleration. It's looking forward to a "strong" second half.

Fund manager thoughts on the Smartpay share price

The fund manager of EGP Capital, Tony Hansen, shared some comments about Smartpay in the fund update for November 2022. Hansen said that the Smartpay update in mid-October was "spectacular".

The fund manager commented that "the miracle of operating leverage in a fast-growing, negative working capital business is on display in all of its glory".

He noted that while he would prefer to see every cost line grow slower than revenue, he is happy enough that marketing doubled. Hansen pointed to the "positive outcomes every increase in marketing Smartpay has had over the past few halves has had."

In the prior year, marketing costs increased by 74%, while revenue went up 68% in this latest period.

Hansen remains "very bullish" despite the "sharp increase" of the Smartpay share price.

One reason to like the ASX share is that the stated customer churn was just 1.1%. On the current Australian terminal fleet, that equates to only 12 terminals per month that would need to be replaced to maintain the fleet size.

Hansen suggested that the customer churn is so low that the marketing budget could be "almost completely extinguished and the business would probably hold similar revenue in perpetuity".

ASX share cash flow machine?

Hansen thinks that the business is consistent and could make a lot of money if management wanted it to. He concluded:

It is truly an annuity business, and at the flip of a switch, could be turned into a cash flow monster should management (or an acquirer) choose to do so. We prefer that given they still speak for a low single-digit market share that they continue to grow at the fastest pace prudence enables.

Smartpay share price snapshot

Over the last month, Smartpay shares have risen by around 20%.

The post Could this under-the-radar ASX share be a 'cash flow monster' at the flip of a switch? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

That's focusing too much on macroeconomic factors such as inflation, interest rates and recessions.

Yes, they matter — but so does the internal performance of the business.

Because there has been so much upheaval in the world making the news feeds this year, this seems to have been forgotten in many people's minds.

That's why it's worth listening to the portfolio managers at Elvest Fund, who recently pointed out two businesses it holds that have shown triple-digit percentage growth.

Regardless of the external factors, such fast-growing enterprises have a great chance of delivering value back to investors.

Tripling its earnings this financial year

RPMGlobal Holdings Ltd (ASX: RUL) provides technology and consulting to the mining industry.

For an ASX technology share, its price has remained relatively resilient. There's been a 24% resurgence since early October, leaving it just 12% lower than where it started the year.

The Elvest analysts told clients that the company is at a crossroads.

"At its AGM, RPMGlobal provided a solid trading update and reiterated FY23 guidance," read the memo.

"RPMGlobal is at an earnings inflection point, reflecting business maturation and growing demand for its mining operations software."

It was one of Elvest Fund's best performers last month, but with a sensational financial year under way, the team will keep riding it all the way home.

"The company is on track to deliver EBITDA of $14.2 million this financial year, up 215%."

While coverage remains sparse for RPMGlobal, CMC Markets reports analysts at both Moelis Australia and Veritas rate the stock as a strong buy.

Forager Funds Management portfolio manager Alex Shevelev last week, without hesitation, named RMPGlobal as the stock he would hold for the next four years.

"Great management team, plenty of skin in the game and it may well be, given all the corporate activity in the space, that the business wouldn't be around in four years in any case."

'Significant lift in free cash flow' next two years

Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP) is a New Zealand company that provides point-of-sale payment terminals.

While the majority of its revenue comes out of its home country, the Australian operations are seeing explosive growth.

"Smartpay provided another strong quarterly trading update, with consolidated revenue up 91% year-on-year, driven by 145% growth within the Australian division," read the Elvest memo.

The Smartpay share price is up almost 8% year to date, after enjoying a 24% rally since mid-October.

The future is looking bright with the ASX share's zero-cost product 'Smartcharge' striking a chord with merchants, according to Elvest analysts.

"The business has healthy momentum heading into the seasonally stronger December quarter," the memo read.

"Continued execution should drive a significant lift in free cash flow over the next two years."

The $200 million business, much like RPMGlobal, is not yet attracting much analyst attention.

But according to CMC Markets, both Blue Ocean Equities and Shaw & Partners are recommending this ASX share as a strong buy.

The post Triple-digit growth: 2 ASX shares Elvest is investing in for the long haul appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1), Vection Technologies Ltd (ASX: VR1), and SmartPay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP) shares are have all risen by more than 15%.

Let's take a look at why these ASX tech shares are leaping ahead on Wednesday.

Megaport

Megaport shares are up 20% at the time of writing. However, in earlier trade, the company's share price lifted 38%. Investors bid up the company's shares following Megaport reporting an EBITDA profit for the first time. Monthly Recurring Revenue jumped 13% on the previous quarter to $10.7 million. This was underpinned by an increase in multi-cloud connections, strong port sales, a rise in customers, and the company's launch in Mexico. Commenting on the results, CEO Vincent English said:

The underlying Megaport network and business model has strong operating leverage to further increase profit and generate cash as revenue grows.

Vection Technologies

The Vection share price also leapt 20% earlier today despite no news out of the company. At the time of writing, Vection shares are fetching 8.8 cents each, after reaching a high of 9.5 cents a share this morning. It seems the overall strong performance of the technology sector could be boosting the company's shares today. ASX tech shares are rising today following a strong day on the NASDAQ in the US. The technology-heavy index surged 3.1% in America on Tuesday. Other Australian tech shares surging higher include Life360 Inc (ASX: 360), up 5%, and BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN), lifting 13.64%. Vection helps businesses connect to the digital world via 3D technology, virtual reality, augmented reality, and IoT. In FY22, Vection boosted its total contract value to $19 million, according to a release on 30 June. The company is expecting to report revenue of $17 to $19 million for the financial year.

SmartPay Holdings

Finally, SmartPay Holdings shares are nearly 16% higher today. This follows the company providing a quarterly trading update. Australian total transaction value lifted a mammoth 71% year on year, while consolidated revenue leapt 48%. Smartpay said customer acquisition results are essentially back to the levels seen prior to COVID-19. Commenting further on the result, SmartPay said:

Increasing the investment in marketing and sales has resulted in record months for lead generation and has delivered accelerated customer acquisition in the first quarter of FY23 with over 1,200 new transacting terminals added through to the end of June '22.

The post 3 ASX tech shares rocketing by over 15% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the Smartpay share price is trading at 92.5 cents a share, an increase of 4.5%.

High growth story continues

It appears the payment solution providers' trading update has fallen roughly in line with shareholder expectations. Despite the continuation of growth metrics, the Smartpay share price has failed to gain momentum.

The company's fourth quarter, ending 31 March, experienced continued growth in Australian acquiring revenues. Smartpay delivered a 97% year-on-year revenue increase to $5.784 million – a further 15% increase on the previous quarter.

Additionally, Smartpay's transacting terminals reached record levels. At the end of March, the company's payment terminals in use reached 6,754 – up from 5,775 from the previous quarter.

Total quarterly revenue for the company came in at NZ$10.05 million on a consolidated basis for both Australia and New Zealand operations. This reflects an increase of 36% year-on-year for the business.

Potentially disappointing shareholders, the company did not indicate growth in its New Zealand operations. Instead, Smartpay stated, "Our New Zealand business provided stable and consistent revenue contribution through the quarter."

Context is important for Smartpay share price

Smartpay is a much smaller peer of ASX-listed Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR). Comparing the two competitors we can see how Smartpay is stacking up.

Based on current metrics, Tyro is generating roughly 7.1 times more revenue than its smaller contender. However, the company is utilising 10.1 times more transacting terminals than Smartpay to do so, at 68,338.

Adding to this, despite only accruing sevenfold the revenue, Tyro is valued at 9.7 times the market capitalisation of Smartpay. This might explain why the returns from the Smartpay share price have outpaced its bigger competitor over the last year (108% versus 38.6%).

The market might be imposing a discount on the smaller terminal provider, given the heightened risk profile. This risk was displayed during the COVID-19 crash, as the Smartpay share price fell dramatically 64% in one month.

The post Smartpay (ASX:SMP) share price lifts on fourth quarter trading update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

On the surface, that move doesn't look great for Smartpay shares. But if we zoom out, the picture gets a whole lot rosier. Smartpay shares are still up almost 30% year to date. They are also up more than 97% over the past 12 months. And with a 52-week range of 28-98 cents per share, Smartpay is definitely still in the upper echelons of this range. 

So what has gone so well for this payments company over the past 3-and-a-half months?

Smartpay share price pays off

Well, there hasn't been too much to talk about with Smartpay in recent months. We haven't had any meaningful announcements of consequence for the company since 12 March. And that was a notice from S&P Global that Smartpay would be joining the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX), effective 22 March. This does have the potential to be a growth catalyst for the Smartpay share price, seeing as ASX tech shares are an area that is attracting more and more attention these days. The ASX exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the XTX Index – the BetaShares S&P/ASX Australian Technology ETF (ASX: ATEC) – is an increasingly popular ETF that now has more than $200 million in net assets. It has also appreciated more than 83% over the past 12 months, which doesn't hurt either.

Remember, part of every dollar that gets invested with this ETF goes into Smartpay shares. So that's certainly a tailwind for the Smartpay share price.

But we could still be seeing the aftershocks of a very well-received quarterly trading update that the company released back in January. As we reported at the time, this trading update saw the Smartpay share price reach its current 52-week (and all-time) high soon after. 

And for good reason. The update told investors that revenues were up 18% quarter-on-quarter and 24% over the prior corresponding quarter to NZ$9.2 million. Perhaps most impressively, Australian revenues grew 35% over the previous quarter's numbers, and 75% against the prior corresponding quarter. 

Those are objectively strong numbers and have almost certainly done the lion's share of the legwork when it comes to the Smartpay shares' 2021 performance thus far. 

Those factors are likely to be behind the Smartpay share price's 28% gain in 2021 so far. At the current share price, Smartpay has a market capitalisation of $204.25 million.

The post Why the Smartpay (ASX:SMP) share price is up 30% in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.