It's no surprise, then, that interest in AI stocks on Australian share markets has surged.

A recent AUSIEX report reveals a 43% increase in trade volumes and a 41% increase in traded value year over year.

And some ASX-listed stocks are more in favour than others.

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) was the most traded artificial intelligence stock on the ASX from April 1 to June 15. 

This was followed by NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) and then BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN).

Here is the full list of the 10 most traded AI stocks in Q2 of the 2025 calendar year, according to AUSIEX data.

Appen

Appen provides data for training AI models, including natural language processing and machine learning systems. 

The company's shares are trading 2.66% higher at $1.16 today, which represents an impressive 136.73% increase over the year to date.

Appen's share price suffered a dramatic 54.68% decrease over 72 hours in late February after the company posted a 14% decrease in revenue in its annual 2024 results. This was mostly due to the termination of its contract with Google. 

The share price dropped to a low of $0.78 in April and has since slowly begun to recover.

BrainChip Holdings 

Brainchip specialises in neuromorphic computing, developing the Akida chip. 

The company's shares are trading 7.9% higher today at $0.205 each. 

For the year, BrainChip's shares are down 4.65% thanks to a 74% spike in late-December. Investor buying rocketed after the company secured a commercial licence agreement with Frontgrade Gaisler, a Swedish leader in radiation-hardened microprocessors for space applications.

Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR) 

Dicker Data distributes IT hardware and software, including AI solutions, to resellers. 

The company's shares are trading 0.38% lower today at $7.97 a piece.

Over the year, Dicker Data's share price has slowly corrected downwards and is 18.76% lower to date. The trend follows the company's half-year results announcement in August last year.

FBR Ltd (ASX: FBR) 

FBR, or Fastbrick Robotics, develops robotic systems for construction, integrating AI for autonomous bricklaying. 

The company's shares are trading hands 8.33% lower today at $0.0055 each. The share price has fallen 85.9% since February this year after the company released a disappointing update.

The current trading price represents a 78% decline over the year. 

Macquarie Technology Group Ltd (ASX: MAQ) 

Macquarie Technology offers data centre and cloud services that facilitate AI workloads. 

The company's shares are trading 1.28% today at $65.06. Over the year, the share price is down 29.96%.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) 

Megaport provides network connectivity services that support AI applications requiring high-speed data transfer. 

The company's share price is trading hands at $13.47 today, 0.37% higher. The AI company is benefiting from the AI demand boom this year. The share price has risen 102.2% since January, and is up 14.25% for the year.

The team at Morgans has an accumulate rating and $15.50 price target on its shares.

NextDC 

NextDC operates data centres necessary for AI processing and storage needs. 

The company's share price is trading 0.91% higher today at $14.38. The stock is 18.34% lower over the year after the price plunged in April. But it has since posted a strong and consistent recovery.

Morgans is very bullish on NextDC and sees it as a great way to invest in AI. It has a buy rating and a $18.80 price target on its shares.

Opyl Ltd (ASX: OPL) 

Opyl applies AI to improve clinical trials. 

The company's shares are trading 42.11% higher today at $0.0080. Year-to-date, the stock's price is 35% higher.

Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG) 

Straker offers AI-powered language translation services. 

The company's share price is 7.14% higher today at $0.45 per share and is flat over the year. 

Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) 

Weebit Nano develops AI-integrated memory solutions.

The company's shares are trading 4.27% higher today at $1.71. Weebit's share price spiked in November last year, and again in December, after the company said it was "well-funded for technical and commercialisation activities". 

Since then, the share price has returned to levels seen before the spikes.

The post 10 most traded AI stocks on the Australian share market in Q2 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

To reiterate, we're not talking about the exercising of options or rights issues. Nor director's remuneration (where the issuing of new shares forms part of a director's salary package). We're talking about on-market trades using personal cash savings, super funds, or monies held within companies they own or control.

Who's been buying shares in the ASX companies they run?

Listed companies are required to publicly advise the ASX when a director has purchased shares.

In a statement this week, Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG) told the ASX that director Steve Donovan had acquired 40,000 shares in an on-market trade worth more than $1.7 million on 3 August.

On Friday, the Straker share price closed at $1.13, up 7.1% for the day and down 29.4% year to date.

Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) director Nicholas Politis AM has also made a series of share purchases through his companies, WFM Motors Pty Ltd and NGP Investments (No 2) Pty Ltd.

Politis has been buying more ASX shares in Eagers for several weeks. In July, he spent $1.5 million buying Eagers shares. By the end of the month, he held more than 70.33 million shares.

He's bought another 100,000 Eagers shares in August, the latest being a 10,000 parcel bought on Thursday.

On Friday, Eagers closed at $13.10, making his stake in the ASX 200 company worth about $922 million.

Eagers has a market capitalisation of $3.47 billion with approximately 257 million shares on issue.

The Eagers share price dipped 3.1% on Friday and is down 6.1% year to date.

Also this week, United Malt Group Ltd (ASX: UMG) told the ASX that three directors had bought shares.

Independent chair and non-executive director Graham Bradley AM purchased 75,000 shares on the ASX between 3 and 8 August. The average price was $3.04 per share for a total consideration of $227,994. He now directly owns 196,395 shares in the company.

United Malt CEO and managing director Mark Palmquist purchased 50,000 shares on 4 August at an average price of $2.95 per share for a total consideration of $147,625. He now directly owns 543,222 shares in the company.

Independent non-executive director Gary Mize purchased 17,317 shares on 4 August at an average price of $2.85 per share for a total consideration of $49,353. He now owns 48,200 shares in the company.

The United Malt share price closed Friday's session at $3.29, up 1.9%. It's down 27.2% year to date.

The post 5 ASX directors loading up on their companies' shares in August appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It appears ASX shares investors are not impressed with the company's June quarterly activities report released today. It reported "strong and profitable Q1 FY23 revenue growth" but significant cash outflows.

Straker shares opened at $1.03, well down on their previous closing price of $1.115. They slid to a 52-week low of 96 cents before recovering to $1.04 at the time of writing.

By comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is well into the green today, up 1.09%.

Straker Translations share price dips despite 66% revenue growth

Straker Translations provides language services and technology via subscriptions to its customers. 

Here are the key takeaways from its quarterly report:

• Q1 FY23 revenue of NZD$18.8 million, up 66% on Q1 FY22 and 8% on Q4 FY22
• Adjusted EBITDA of NZD$1.5 million (third consecutive quarter of growth)
• Operating cash outflow of NZD$2.3 million due to an increase in working capital and the timing of customer receipts. Straker expects a return to positive operating cash flow in Q2 FY23
• Total cash outflow of NZD$4.3 million, up from NZD$2.2 million in Q4 FY22 following $1.1 million in earn-out payments on IDEST Communications and NZTC and $700,000 in research and development (R&D) capitalisation
• Strong balance sheet with no debt
• NZD$11.4 million in cash, down from NZD$15.1 million in Q4 2022
• Robust sales pipeline driven by customers looking for technology-led global localisation solutions

Straker said its revenue growth was "… underpinned by growing sales to multinational organisations and the contribution from the Belgium-based translation provider IDEST Communications, acquired in Q4 FY22".

Also contributing to the revenue boost was "strong growth across the APAC and European operations (excluding IDEST) and the continuing success and expansion of Straker's strategic translations service agreement with IBM".

What else happened in FY22?

Straker says IDEST "continues to perform well and in line with expectations". The company sees an opportunity for cross-selling Straker's global language translation capabilities.

IBM translation volumes are in line with expectations and the system integration is mostly completed "with new partnership opportunities developing".

Straker said eased COVID-19 travel restrictions were enabling sales staff to once again attend industry conferences and meet face-to-face with customers.

What did management say?

Straker's CEO Grant Straker said he's pleased with the company's progress and confident it can realise its growth opportunities.

Straker commented:

We have a strong balance sheet, are well funded and are on track to deliver on the guidance issued at the end of May 2022 for profitable growth in revenue for the 12 months to the end of March 2023 of 20% and gross margins exceeding the 54% achieved in FY 2022.

This outlook is supported by the latent opportunities in recent acquisitions, including IDEST, a strong sales pipeline among global enterprise customers and governance organisations, the company's technological leadership, and the strength of its reputation as a change maker in the global translations sector.

We also believe growth will be assisted by the easing of COVID-related travel restrictions …

What's next?

In its statement, Straker said it wanted to increase its technology lead over its peers:

We are focusing part of our research and development team on a new innovation cycle aimed at
increasing our technology lead over the competition.

Based on some projects with major customers, we have seen how the world of localisation is evolving and how customers are looking for eco-system providers that are integrated into customer processes.

This cycle of innovation should also open up more SaaS revenue opportunities. We expect these efforts to start contributing to revenue in the second half of the year.

Straker Translations share price snapshot

The Straker Translations share price is down 35% in the year to date. The All Ords is down 10%.

Incorporating today's losses, the micro-cap ASX share is up 1.96% over the past month.

The company has a market capitalisation of $75.59 million.

The post Straker Translations share price sinks 7% following mixed update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Today we look at two ASX shares selected by Ord Minnett. The broker rates these shares as a buy with price targets more than 40% higher than where the shares are trading now.

A price target is an estimation of where the share price will be in 12 months.

Of course, Ord Minnett doesn't have a time machine. It's impossible to know where a share price will actually be in 12 months. However, brokers can certainly make predictions of where they think the share price will be (or should be) in a year based on their research and analysis.

With that in mind, here are the two ASX shares that Ord Minnett is recommending today.

Centuria Capital Group (ASX: CNI)

Centuria is an investment manager that has more than $20 billion worth of assets under management. This includes listed and unlisted funds as well as tax investment bonds.

Ord Minnett has a buy rating on this ASX share with a price target of $2.80. That's a possible rise of about 40%.

The broker thinks the real estate investment trust (REIT) sector is more attractive as bond yields stabilise. In recent times, bond yields rose as expectations that global central banks would raise rates increased.

The Centuria Capital Group share price has dropped 43% since the start of the year. So, the broker is simply predicting that the ASX share will regain some of that lost ground.

Centuria recently announced that it was growing its institutional-backed healthcare and retail portfolios with $223 million of acquisitions. This included the $163 million private hospital development in Alexandria, Sydney. The business said that 43% of the development is leased on a 15-year term.

In FY22, Centuria is expecting to generate 14.5 cents of operating earnings per share (EPS). This would represent growth of just over 20% year on year. The distribution is expected to be 11 cents per share, representing a dividend yield of 5.5% for ASX investors.

Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG)

Based in New Zealand, Straker describes itself as providing "next generation language services supported by a state-of-the-art technology stack and robust AI layers to clients around the world. By combining the latest available technologies with linguistic expertise, Straker's solutions are scalable, cost-effective and accurate."

Ord Minnett currently rates this business as a buy with a price target of $1.85. That implies a possible rise of about 60%. The broker thinks the ASX share can keep growing at a good pace.

The broker noted Straker's FY22 result, which showed revenue growth of 78.5% to $55.9 million thanks to "strong organic growth".

It generated positive adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $1.2 million in the second half of FY22 and $200,000 for the full year.

The company said that translation volumes from the IBM strategic partnership continue to grow in line with expectations and new partnership opportunities are developing.

Straker also said that customers looking for technology-led solutions for localisation are driving a strong enterprise pipeline.

The ASX share is expecting revenue growth of 20% in FY23, with a positive adjusted EBITDA.

The post Buy these 2 ASX shares with more than 40% upside: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

• Straker shares leap on strong revenue results
• Management noted the business is on track to hit milestone $100 revenue goal
• Margins expected to fall slightly in Q4 due to integration of IDEST

The Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG) share price is rebounding sharply today following a trading update from the company.

At the time of writing, the translations company's shares are rocketing 23.53% higher to $1.68 apiece.

Straker on track to meet revenue growth targets

Investors are snapping up Straker shares after the company revealed its FY22 revenue has ramped up significantly.

According to its release, Straker reported it has achieved revenues of $15 million for the third-quarter of FY22. This represents an increase of 99% over the prior corresponding period (pcp), and a 26% lift quarter-on-quarter (QoQ).

Management noted that the $60 million run-rate recorded indicated that Straker is on track to meet its $100 million revenue goal.

The roughly even split of organic and acquisition growth showed that the company has multiple growth opportunities.

Margins remained stable at 54%, however, this is expected to slightly decrease going into the fourth quarter of FY22. This is because the business will begin to include IDEST margins, dragging the over group margins lower.

Straker stated that over the next couple of quarters, margins may lift as it integrates IDEST onto the RAY platform. IBM integration with the vendor pool is also expected to continue.

At the end of the period, management declared a cash balance of $17.5 million, with no debt.

Straker CEO, Grant Straker touched on the company's latest deal, saying:

We have market leading technology, a global footprint and offer our customers opportunities to automate and consolidate their global translation requirements with a single provider delivering significant productivity benefits and cost savings.

The upgrade to our guidance for FY2022 largely reflects stronger than expected organic growth but also the continued execution of the Company's M&A strategy with the acquisition of IDEST positively impacting in the current Quarter. The demonstration of accelerating and profitable growth supported by a robust net cash balance sees Straker head into calendar 2022 in a very strong position.

Straker share price summary

Over the past 12 months, the Straker share price is down almost 7%, with most of these losses occurring in December. The company's shares hit a 52-week low of $1.30 at the end of 2021.

Based on valuation grounds, Straker commands a market capitalisation of roughly $109.29 million, with 67.78 million shares outstanding.

The post Straker Translations (ASX:STG) share price surges 24% after company 'achieves 99% revenue growth' appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

The Brainchip share price is up 18% to a 52-week high of 80.5 cents. This appears to have been driven by reports that Mercedes has included Brainchip's Akida chip in its Vision EQXX electric concept car. The chip is being used to power its "Hey Mercedes" smart assistant feature.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The Pilbara Minerals share price has continued its remarkable run and is up a further 8% to $3.45. This is despite there being no news out of the lithium miner. However, the team at Macquarie recently reiterated its outperform rating and lifted its price target to $3.70. This suggests there's still room for the Pilbara Minerals share price to keep rising.

Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG)

The Straker Translations share price is up over 3% to $1.60. This morning the translation technology company announced a binding agreement to acquire IDEST for up to 4.25 million euros. IDEST is based in Brussels, Belgium and is focused on serving international institutions with state-of-the-art, tailor-made translation services.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

The Whitehaven Coal share price is up 6% to $2.77. Investors have been buying Whitehaven Coal and other coal miners after Indonesia banned thermal coal exports. Given that Indonesia is the world's biggest exporter of thermal coal, there are concerns that supply could be significantly constrained during peak winter demand season. This bodes well for coal prices and Whitehaven Coal.

The post Why Brainchip, Pilbara Minerals, Straker, and Whitehaven Coal shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, Straker shares are zipping 8.71% higher to $1.685 apiece.

Straker to acquire IDEST

Investors are fighting to get a hold of the Straker share price after the company revealed its latest move.

According to this morning's release, Straker advised it plans to purchase traditional translation provider, IDEST.

Based in Belgium, IDEST specialises in serving international institutions such as the United Nations and European Commission. Notably, the company has been supplying its services to these organisations for more than two decades.

The binding agreement will see Straker acquire IDEST shares for an initial consideration of €1.75 million (A$2.75 million). This will comprise €1.5 million (A$2.36 million) in cash and €250,000 (A$392,000) in shares at transaction completion. Straker shares will be at an issue price of $1.48 per ordinary share.

In addition, Straker will pay a deferred consideration to IDEST's vendors of up to €2.5million (A$3.93 million) in cash over two years. However, this is provided that the newly-acquired business meets revenue growth targets that have been set out.

Straker highlighted that buying IDEST opens the largest translation market in Europe through its established relationships with leading global institutions.

Straker CEO, Grant Straker touched on the company's latest deal, saying:

We have been talking to IDEST for several years as we recognised the strong standing, they have with global institutions and that their long experience and our technology solutions and global reach would be of value to their customers.

It's fantastic that the stars have aligned to enable this transaction and for us to build on the great work of the founders over the past 30 years.

We have recently setup an office in Amsterdam and combined with IDEST in Brussels will give us a very strong offering in the Benelux region.

Straker share price summary

Over the past 12 months, the Straker share price is up 16%, with these gains coming from the last week. The company's shares have noticeably been treading higher since 23 December.

Based on valuation grounds, Straker commands a market capitalisation of roughly $113.76 million, with 67.51 million shares outstanding.

The post This just caused the Straker Translations (ASX:STG) share price to leap 9% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Below we take a look at the highlights from the technology-enabled translation services provider's half-year financial results for the 6 months ending 30 September (1H FY22).

What half-year results were reported?

The Straker Translations share price is surging after the company reported a 57.6% lift in revenue to a record NZ$23.3 million (AU$22.2 million). Straker credited acquisitions and organic growth for adding NZ$17.0 million in annualised revenue compared to 1H FY21.

Gross profit reached NZ$13.1 million, up 73% from the NZ$7.5 million reported in the prior corresponding half year.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) fell from a profit of NZ$40,000 in the corresponding period to a loss of $1 million for the reported half-year.

The company pointed to the investments it made "to meet the needs of the rapidly scaling IBM business" along with an increased spend on its own sales and marketing for the loss.

Commenting on the results possibly driving the Straker Translations share price today, CEO Grant Straker said:

The transformational deals we struck in the second half of the prior financial year – the acquisition of the US-based Lingotek and the strategic translation contract win with IBM – set us up for continued strong growth…

Since the start of the year translation volumes through our platform have surged. IBM content is now running at more than 10 million words a month up from 1 million in January and is ahead of expectations. We are also delivering translations in 90 different languages up from just two in January and the 55 envisaged when we set this contract in motion.

The Straker Translations share price could also be getting a lift from its strong balance sheet. As at 30 September, the company has NZ$18.2 million cash on hand and no debt.

Straker maintained its guidance for the full 2022 financial year, forecasting revenue will exceed NZ$50 million, up by more than 60% from FY21. It expects gross margin will exceed the 53.4% it recorded in FY21.

Straker Translations share price snapshot

The Straker Translations share price is up 15% in 2021. That compares to a 12% year-to-date gain posted by the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Over the past month shares in Straker Translations have lost 0.6%.

The post Straker Translations (ASX:STG) share price leaps 7% on record revenue results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Two notices that have caught my eye are summarised below. Here's what this fund manager has been buying:

Mach7 Technologies Ltd (ASX: M7T)

A change of interests of substantial holder notice reveals that Clime Investment Management Limited (ASX: CIW) has taken advantage of weakness in the Mach7 share price to top up its position.

The notice reveals that Clime has picked up ~2.7 million shares in the enterprise image management systems provider since 6 May. This has increased its stake to a total of ~21.79 million shares, which represents a 9.22% stake in the company.

Clime was paying between $1.00 and $1.15 for the shares. So, with the Mach7 share price currently fetching $1.03, investors are able to buy in at around the same levels.

One broker that would approve of these purchases is Morgans. It currently has an add rating and $1.68 price target on its shares.

Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG)

Another change of interests of substantial holder notice reveals that Clime has been increasing its position in this translation technology company.

According to the notice, the fund manager has bought over 2 million shares on-market since the end of last month. This has lifted its holding in Straker to ~5.4 million shares, which represents an 8.4% stake in the company.

The release explains that Clime paid between $1.90 and $2.35 for the shares, with the most recent purchases taking place on Tuesday. The latter price is just a touch under the Straker record high of $2.45. This appears to be an indication that the fund manager believes the company is going places.

So, with the Straker share price pulling back to $2.00 today, this could be an opportunity for investors to buy in at an attractive price. Ord Minnett certainly sees it that way. Last week the broker put a buy rating and $2.46 price target on its shares.

The post Fund managers are buying these ASX shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, Straker shares are down 5.58% to $2.20.

What's driving the Straker share price lower?

A possible catalyst for the decline is an impending share dilution for all existing shareholders.

According to this morning's release, the translation specialist has completed a share placement and an upsized institutional entitlement offer. Both equity-raising efforts saw strong demand from existing shareholders and new investors.

As a result, the company increased the offer size of the placement by $5 million to $15 million. Together with the institutional entitlement offer of $5 million, this brings the total equity raised to $20 million.

Approximately 10.5 million new ordinary shares will be issued at a price of $1.90 apiece to each participating investor. This represents a discount of around 13.5% to today's Straker share price.

Straker will use its existing placement capacity to create the new shares. Under listing rule 7.1, this allows up to 15% of its total shares to be issued without shareholder approval. The company will use an extension to the listing rule (7.1A) to issue the remaining shares with the additional 10% capacity.

The proceeds of the placement and institutional entitlement offer will see Straker improve balance sheet liquidity to execute its growth strategies. Funds will be allocated once the company pays down existing debt and covers the cost of the equity raise.

It is expected the placement and institutional entitlement offer shares will be allotted on 15 June 2021.

In addition, Straker will launch a $5 million retail entitlement offer on 9 June 2021. Eligible investors will be able to top up their holding with 1 share for every 10.32 Straker shares held.

Management commentary

Straker CEO Grant Straker said:

Having delivered strong growth since our IPO this was our first post-IPO equity raise and our stronger balance sheet will enable us to drive towards our aspirational goal of getting to $100m in revenue.

We have multiple growth opportunities in front of us, and we feel now is the time to invest in organic and inorganic growth strategies. It is very pleasing to see strong support for the equity raise and to have a world-class range of new and existing institutional shareholders on the register, a great reflection on all the hard work the Straker team has done over the past few years.

The Straker share price has almost doubled in value in the past 12 months, surging by more than 96%.

The post Why the Straker (ASX:STG) share price is falling 6% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This morning the translations company's shares were placed in a trading halt.

Why is the Straker share price in a trading halt?

Straker requested a trading halt this morning so that it could launch a fully underwritten placement to institutional, professional, and sophisticated investors and accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer.

According to the release, the company is seeking to raise A$20 million. This comprises a A$10 million placement and a A$10 million entitlement offer. It is raising the funds at $1.90 per new share, which represents an 18.5% discount to the current Straker share price.

The company advised that the proceeds from the equity raising will be used to accelerate its growth strategies, pay down debt, and pay offer costs.

In respect to its growth strategies, these include capitalising on its IBM opportunity and targeting other enterprise customers, enhancing its SaaS offering for enterprise customers, increasing its share of existing customer spend, and continuing its active acquisition strategy.

Management also took this opportunity to remind shareholders of its expectations for FY 2022. Straker has provided guidance of revenue of NZ$50 million, which will be an increase of 60% on FY 2021's revenue. The company is also expecting improvements in its gross margin from 53% currently.

Bailador to take part in capital raising

This afternoon Bailador Technology Investments Ltd (ASX: BTI) revealed that it will be taking part in the capital raising.

Bailador, which is already a major shareholder, will be investing a minimum of A$1.2 million through its current entitlements under the entitlement offer and up to a maximum of A$6.2 million through a A$5.1 million sub-underwriting arrangement in the entitlement offer.

The final amount invested by Bailador remains subject to the level of take-up of entitlements by existing eligible Straker shareholders.

Bailador Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Paul Wilson, commented: "Bailador is pleased to be supporting Straker's equity raising to help execute on its future growth plans, as disclosed at Straker's financial year 2021 results last week. We are confident that Straker will deliver on these growth plans and as a result, Bailador is seeking to take up more than its pro-rata share of the equity raising, subject to final demand from existing investors."

The Straker share price is up 59% since the start of the year.

The post Why the Straker (ASX:STG) share price is in a trading halt appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Three broker buy ratings that have caught my eye are summarised below. Here's why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $57.00 price target on this mining giant's shares. Although the iron ore price has pulled back notably from recent highs, the broker remains positive on miners with exposure to the steel making ingredient. Particularly given the strong free cash flow that BHP is generating at current prices even after recent weakness. This is expected to support generous dividend payments. The BHP share price is currently fetching $46.90.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

Analysts at Morgan Stanley have retained their overweight rating and $3.20 price target on this aerial imagery technology and location data company's shares. According to the note, the broker was pleased to see Nearmap provide more colour on rival Eagleview's legal claim. It notes that Eagleview's patent infringement claim relates to roof-management techniques and not all elements of its product. Morgan Stanley estimates that this accounts for less than a quarter of its US business. In addition to this, it points out that the company hasn't experienced any material sales impacts because of the claim. The Nearmap share price is trading at $1.85 this afternoon.

Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG)

A note out of Ord Minnett reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this translation services company's shares to $2.46. This follows the release of a strong full year result by Straker earlier this week. Ord Minnett believes the company is well placed for growth as trading conditions improve. Particularly given its Lingotek acquisition, which provides cross-selling opportunities. It also sees opportunities for the company to grow through further acquisitions as the industry consolidates. The Straker share price is fetching $2.11 on Thursday.

The post Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the Straker Translations' shares are up 10.83% to $2.00.

A 'transformational' year

Investors are scrambling to get a hold of Straker Translations shares this morning following the company's update. In the release, the company points to a strong outlook for the 2022 financial year. This is thanks to its leadership in the consolidating global language services sector.

Straker also touched on its performance highlights for FY21, these included:

• Revenue increase of 13% to $31.3 million for year ending March 2021
• On a proforma basis, unaudited revenue tops $41 million for FY21
• Lingotek acquisition delivers $1.9 million in revenue within two months of integration.
• Net losses after tax increase to $6 million from $2.5 million.

These results were previously published in April. However, now they are audited and official.

The big-ticket item for Straker is its appointment as strategic translations provider to IBM (NYSE: IBM).

Additionally, the acquisition of US-based Lingotek has also been described as 'transformational' for the company. The deal has added $11 million in annual incremental revenue for Straker.

Positive outlook lifts Straker Translations share price

Notably, Straker advised it forecasts revenue for 2022 financial year to exceed $50 million with an improved gross margin.

The company reasons there is a growing recognition among enterprise customers of Straker's global reach and the benefits of its RAY translation platform. Furthermore, the inclusion of Lingotek pushes the company's proforma revenue to $41.2 million – representing a 48% increase on the prior year.

Commenting on the update, Chief Executive and Co-Founder Grant Straker said:

Our strategic priorities are clear. We are focused on driving consolidation in the translation sector, building repeating revenues – particularly among the large global enterprises that benefit from Straker's global reach and our Ai-Powered RAY translation platform – and continuing to consolidate our technological leadership.

While the company suffered challenges from COVID-19, it believes it is also creating opportunities. Considering the deferral or cancellation of work has weighed more so on smaller translation companies, this has put more pressure on the consolidation of the industry.

The post Why the Straker Translations (ASX:STG) share price is rocketing today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Straker share price is up a hefty 13.55% at the time of writing, trading at $1.76 per share.

Straker is a cloud-enabled translation services provider, involved in both business and personal translation. Let's see what's driving its share price so much higher today.

Straker's continued growth

Straker reported $9 million in unaudited revenue for its March quarter results, up 19% sequentially on the previous December quarter. Its FY21 revenue was up 31% on the previous year to $31.3 million, while its acquisition of translation service Lingotek has brought in $1.9 million in two months.

The company is attracting blue-chip clients, with Panasonic signing up to its subscription-as-a-service (SaaS) for Lingotek, and its strategic alliance with IBM is "driving a surge in translation and product development activity", according to the report.

The company says its revenue slowed down seasonally over the northern hemisphere winter, exacerbated by various COVID-19 lockdowns, however by March was already rebounding and continues to grow.

Gross margins improved to 57.8%, operating cash inflow of $18,ooo was slightly down on the previous quarter, and Straker reported net outflow of cash of $313,000 for the quarter, with cash reserves of $7.175 million.

What did management say?

CEO Grant Straker said the company was progressing well and continued growth was expected.

After the intense activity of the third quarter, a period when we negotiated the IBM alliance and the Lingotek acquisition, we have turned our focus onto executing on the enormous opportunities that have emerged from these transformational agreements.

We are seeing a significant ramp up in content delivered to IBM since the alliance went live in January. March content volumes are 60% ahead of the content we delivered to IBM in February and we have seen no letup in this growth since the end of the quarter. We expect the positive revenue impact from the IBM alliance to become more apparent in the current and future quarters.

Straker share price snapshot

The Straker share price is up 4.7% this week, adding to monthly gains of 16%. It's risen 95% higher over the past 12 months.

The post The Straker (ASX:STG) share price is rocketing 13% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that have fallen more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping lower:

Aroa Biosurgery Ltd (ASX: ARX)

The Aroa Biosurgery share price is down 3.5% to $1.27 following the release of its half year results. This morning the soft tissue regeneration company reported a 10% decline in revenue to NZ$9 million because of the pandemic. Things were worse for its earnings, with normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) coming in at a loss of NZ$2.3 million. This compares to positive EBITDA of NZ$2.15 million a year earlier. Management expects to deliver revenue growth in the second half as restrictions ease. This will bring its FY 2021 revenue to at least NZ$21 million.

Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG)

The Straker Translations share price is down 6.5% to $1.49. Investors have been selling the translation services company's shares after the release of its half year results this morning. Straker delivered a 9% increase in revenue to NZ$14.8 million and a small operating profit. It appears as though some investors were expecting a stronger result.

Virgin Money UK CDI (ASX: VUK)

The Virgin Money UK share price has crashed 9.5% lower to $2.35. This follows the release of its full year results this morning. For the 12 months ended 30 September, the UK-based bank posted a 77% decline in full year underlying net profit to 124 million pounds. This was driven largely by a huge increase in impairments to 501 million pounds from 153 million pounds in FY 2019. Excluding impairments, operating profit fell 10% to 625 million pounds due to weakening margins and base rate cuts.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)

The Whitehaven share price has fallen 3.5% to $1.49. This may be due to reports that China is claiming that there is a quality problem with Australian coal. It currently has $700 million worth of the commodity sitting off the coast of two major Chinese ports after banning Australian coal imports in October.

The post Why Aroa Biosurgery, Straker, Virgin Money, & Whitehaven shares are dropping lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing the translation platform provider's shares are fetching $1.59.

How did Straker perform in the first half?

For the six months ended 30 September, Straker delivered a 9% increase in revenue to NZ$14.8 million.

The vast majority (93%) of this revenue is classed as recurring, with its annualised repeat revenue increasing 32% to NZ$28.1 million.

A reduction in the company's gross margin due to COVID-19 induced pricing pressures and acquisitions, led to its gross margin falling from 54.4% to 51.1%.

Nevertheless, Straker recorded positive adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of NZ$0.04 million, compared to a NZ$0.24 million loss a year earlier. Management advised that this was driven by acquisition synergies and COVID-19 related cost reductions.

Cash used in operating activities was NZ$0.4 million, down from NZ$1.5 million a year earlier. Management believes this reflects the improved operating performance of the business.

This led to Straker finishing the period with cash on hand of NZ$7.7 million, which management believes provides more than enough capital to fund its operations.

The company's CEO and Co-Founder, Grant Straker, commented: "We are very pleased with the progress we have made over the last half year. Although the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted momentum and margins in the first quarter, we have over the last few months seen a resumption of growth and this culminated in September with our largest ever sales month."

"COVID-19 is accelerating the transition of the translation industry to an outsourced and automated model and we are benefitting from this trend. Our technology and service proposition continues to gain recognition around the world, as our recently announced contract with IBM highlights and this interest is filling the sales pipeline. We are seeing particularly strong engagement with global enterprise customers who value our global reach as much as they value the speed, accuracy and service that our platform delivers," he added.

Outlook.

The company believes its growth can continue in the second half and beyond, particularly given its recent game-changing agreement with IBM.

Mr Straker said: "Straker is well placed to continue to grow for the remainder of the current financial year and beyond. Core repeat revenue is strong. The relationships we have established with new enterprise customers through acquisitions and through the follow up by our sales teams positions us for organic growth."

 "We continue to expect revenue from the recently announced IBM agreement to positively impact the Q4FY21 financial results and expect it to yield a significant contribution in FY22," he added.

The chief executive also revealed that the company has acquisitions in its sights and discussions are ongoing.

He explained: "Meanwhile, with COVID-19 accelerating the consolidation of the global translation industry, we have resumed talks with several potential acquisition targets where we can drive immediate margin improvements as we integrate our technology and share support office costs."

Before concluding: "We are looking ahead with confidence and look forward to providing an update at the end of the third quarter, if not before."

The post Straker Translations (ASX:STG) share price flat after half year results release appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What did Bailador announce?

Bailador updated the market on the flow-on effect of Straker's agreement yesterday to become a strategic translations service provider for global tech giant IBM (NYSE: IBM). The deal with IBM resulted in a significant increase in the Straker share price.

According to Bailador, the value of its investment in Straker has increased in value by 61% since its last valuation on 31 October 2020. This has boosted Bailador's net tangible assets (NTA) by 3.2% compared to its report on 10 November 2020. At that time, Bailador had a pre-tax NTA of $1.37.

The Straker share price has increased slightly today, trading up 0.63% at $1.60, which may have a further positive effect on Bailador's NTA.

About the Bailador share price

Bailador is an investment company that invests in the information technology sector. It has been listed on the ASX since 2014. 

In FY2020, Bailador posted a loss after tax of $4.12 million, compared to a profit after tax of $17.05 million in FY2019. The company saw a 1% net decrease in the value of its portfolio of assets in FY2020.

Bailador paid a special dividend of 2.5 cents per share in February 2020.

The Bailador share price is up 132.65% from its 52-week low of 49 cents, and up 1.79% since the beginning of the year. Bailador shares have also increased 16.33% since this time last year.

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Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

CBA announced its first quarter trading update today.

The big four ASX bank revealed that it generated $1.9 billion of statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) in the quarter for the three months to 30 September 2020.

It also said that it made $1.8 billion of cash NPAT, which was down 16% on the same period last year.

CBA reported that its income was stable compared to the quarterly average for the second half of FY20. Its core volume growth helped to offset lower net interest margins. Meanwhile, expenses rose by 2% excluding customer remediation (or down 4% including customer remediation provisions in the second half of FY20).

The ASX 200 bank said that its credit quality indicators insulated by repayment deferrals and government support initiatives. The provision coverage was strengthened through forward looking adjustments for economic assumptions and expected COVID-19 impacts.

The strong balance sheet settings were maintained, with deposit funding at 74%. The CET1 capital ratio of 11.8%, which was an increase of 20 basis points after the payment of the FY20 final dividend.

CBA CEO Matt Comyn said: "Disciplined execution of our strategy and strong operational performance continued to deliver good outcomes for our stakeholders during the September quarter. Our strong balance sheet, focus on operational excellence and the dedication and commitment of our people ensures we remain well placed to support our customers and the wider community through ongoing challenges of COVID-19."

Looking at CBA's home loan deferrals, there was a reduction in the deferred balance of around $18 billion. There are approximately 45,600 home loans still in deferral at the end of October, worth around $19 billion – of these 27% are due to expire and exit in November, though they may be extended. 

The CBA share price rose 2.75% in reaction to this news.

Oil businesses

The oil industry has gone up again after a strong reaction yesterday to the hopeful vaccine news.

Today, the Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price went up 6.3%, the Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price grew by 6.4%, the Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) share price grew by 7.5% and the Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) share price rose 7%.

Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB)

The Mesoblast share price went up by around 4.8% today after it announced today that the randomised controlled phase 3 trial of remestemcel-L, in patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to a COVID-19 infection, has received a recommendation to continue from the independent data safety monitoring board following completion of the trial's second interim analysis.

Mesoblast chief medical officer Dr Fred Grossman said: "We are pleased with the recommendation by the DSMB, as we seek to confirm whether remestemcel-L improves survival in ventilated COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe ARDS. Patients who have co-morbidities or are older are likely to continue to be at high risk of ARDS and death, even if COVID-19 vaccines become available. This is why having a potential treatment that reduces mortality in these patients is so important."

Other big share price movements

There were some big movements in the ASX not related to oil. The Virgin Money UK CDI (ASX: VUK) share price went up 14.3% and the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price went up 6.7%.

Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG) saw its share price soar 76% after announcing an important deal with IBM. Straker has been picked as a strategic translation service provider on for a two-year agreement.

The post ASX 200 surges again on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are surging higher:

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) 

The CBA share price is up over 2% to $74.04 following the release of its first quarter update. For the three months ended 30 September, the bank posted an unaudited net profit after tax of $1.8 billion. This decline was driven primarily by lower interest rates and fees. In addition to its Q1 update, the bank released an update on its COVID-19 temporary loan deferrals. That update revealed a sharp reduction in deferrals during October.

Straker Translations Ltd (ASX: STG)

The Straker share price has zoomed almost 44% higher to $1.30. Investors have been buying the translation platform provider's shares after it announced a major deal with IBM. The global tech giant has appointed Straker as a strategic translation service provider on a two-year agreement. This agreement commences in January and comes with an option for an additional two years. It extends the company's current relationship with IBM from one language (Spanish) to 55 languages.

Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL)

The Woodside Petroleum share price has climbed 3% to $20.31. Today's gain appears to have been driven by a rise in oil prices and the release of its investor day presentation. In respect to the latter, the company spoke positively about its future and confirmed its full-year output guidance of 99 to 101 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

The Xero share price has surged 8% higher to $124.48. This is despite there being no news out of the business and accounting platform provider. However, with its half year results due to be released on Thursday, some investors may be buying shares in anticipation of a strong result.

The post Why CBA, Straker, Woodside, & Xero shares are surging higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In early trade the translation platform provider's shares were up a massive 37% to $1.24.

Why is the Straker share price rocketing higher today?

Investors have been fighting to get hold of the company's shares this morning after it announced a major deal with global tech giant International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).

According to the release, IBM has appointed the company as a strategic translation service provider on a two-year agreement. This agreement commences in January and comes with an option for an additional two years.

The agreement will see Straker support IBM Cloud Services, IBM Adaptive Translations Services, and IBM Global Media Localisation.

It also extends the company's current relationship with IBM from one language (Spanish) to 55 languages. This includes a number of key popular languages such as French, Chinese, Portuguese, and Japanese.

The agreement will utilise Straker's proprietary artificial intelligence-powered RAY platform by directly linking with IBM's technology platforms.

Straker Translations' CEO and Co-Founder, Grant Straker, commented: "We are thrilled to have secured this strategic agreement with IBM, and further build our existing relationship with a world leader in data management, software, artificial intelligence and cognitive computing."

"Our industry, like almost every other, is being fundamentally changed by the accelerating use of AI across all facets of localisation. The agreement requires extensive integration with IBM and the opportunity to build a deep partnership with the world's leading AI company is hugely exciting. We expect it will open up new opportunities for us to partner on innovation within our industry," he added.

What is the deal worth?

Due to the nature of the agreement, management advised that it is not possible to quantify the potential revenue that will be generated from IBM.

This is because such financial effect can only be determined over time based on usage volume. However, it notes that historically, the contribution from IBM related translation services has been a material contributor to company revenue.

In addition to this, management advised that the expanded scope means the company anticipates a ~30% increase in its headcount to support future service provision.

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