The S&P/ASX 200 Materials (ASX: XMJ) sector rose by an impressive 31.7%. 

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose approximately 6.3%. 

This success was driven by record commodity prices including gold, silver and platinum. 

However the record run might still not be over. 

A fresh note out of Morgans has reinforced the upside in two ASX materials stocks. 

Here's what the broker had to say. 

VBX Ltd (ASX: VBX)

VBX is a responsible and near-term producer of high-quality, low-silica Australian bauxite. 

It is focused on the near-term development of high-grade, low-silica bauxite resources at its flagship project, Wuudagu, in Northern Western Australia.

Its share price has fallen 20% in the last 6 months, however Morgans is optimistic on this ASX materials stock.

The broker said the company is continuing to advance its 95.9Mt Wuudagu bauxite project.

Recent drilling at Wuudagu D, E and F confirmed these areas as new discoveries that could significantly increase the project's size.

With three additional discoveries confirmed, we see scope for an additional 35-55Mt in potential volume, before applying grade parameters. We are encouraged by average in-situ Al2O3 grades of ~40% across the reported drill datasets which may beneficiate in the same manner as the existing reserve.

The broker also said the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) work is progressing well and is on track for a 2026 update, supporting future offtake agreements and financing.

Based on this guidance, Morgans has reiterated its speculative buy recommendation and raised its price target to $2.10 (previously $1.60). 

This indicates an upside of 320% from yesterday's closing price of $0.50. 

Tesoro Resources Ltd (ASX: TSO)

Tesoro Resources is a gold developer operating in the coastal Cordillera region of Chile.

Its share price already rose more than 300% in the last year, however Morgans believes it can keep soaring. 

The broker said it has maintained its buy recommendation following the company's share consolidation. 

We update our TSO model, adjusting for the recently implemented 15:1 share consolidation. We maintain our SPECULATIVE BUY rating and price target of A$4.88ps. TSO remains inexpensive, trading at A$96/oz vs. a peer group average of A$220/oz, accompanied by quantum changing exploration potential.

Based on the price target of $4.88, Morgans is expecting an increase of 275% from yesterday's closing price of $1.30. 

The post Could these ASX materials stocks really be set to triple? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Listed below are two small caps that Morgans has just given buy ratings to. Here's what it is recommending this month:

MotorCycle Holdings Ltd (ASX: MTO)

This motorcycle retailer could be a small cap ASX share to buy according to Morgans.

It highlights that MotorCycle Holdings has started FY 2026 strongly, with sales up 19% year to date. And with its margins rising more than expected, this bodes well for its earnings growth in FY 2026. It said:

MTO has commenced FY26 positively, delivering +19% sales growth (+6% organic; +13% inorganic) on better-than-expected gross margins (+85bps on pcp). The Peter Stevens Motorcycles (PSM) turnaround and integration process is taking shape quickly, with MTO driving a return to sales growth in October (+16% on pcp). Organic sales growth of +6% through FY26 (4 mths) was a commendable outcome given weak industry volumes through 3Q CY25 (-6%), leading to further incremental organic market share gains for the group (17.8% vs 15.5% pcp).

Another positive is that Morgans expects the second half of FY 2026 to be even stronger. It adds:

We view a stronger 2H to be driven by a full contribution of PSM (at a normalised run-rate); a seasonally stronger Mojo 4Q; and benefits from the group's broader initiatives (digital transformation; used volume growth; eCommerce) taking effect. Despite industry conditions remaining cyclically low from a volume and margin perspective, MTO has continued to improve the business, acquiring material scale through PSM, diversifying operations via Mojo, stabilising the cost base and driving organic share gains.

In light of this, Morgans has put a buy rating and $4.50 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of 20% from current levels. It concludes:

We view the valuation undemanding (~11x FY26F PE; ~5% yield), with a material margin expansion opportunity ahead should volumes turn slightly more favourable. BUY maintained.

Tesoro Gold Ltd (ASX: TSO)

Morgans also thinks that this gold developer could be a buy for investors with a high risk tolerance.

In fact, the broker has named it as its top gold pick in the Americas region thanks to its robust production base case. It said:

We update our TSO model, rolling our valuation forward and adjusting cash position. TSO remains our top gold pick in the Americas, supported by a robust production base case and district-scale resource growth potential that offers potential step-change upside.

And even though its shares have rallied strongly this year, Morgans believes there's still potential for huge returns over the next 12 months. It has put a speculative buy rating and 32 cents price target on its shares. This is compares to its current share price of just 7.2 cents.

Morgans highlights that its shares are trading at a deep discount to peers on an EV/Resource basis. It adds:

While the share price has performed well, TSO still appears inexpensive relative to peers on an EV/Resource basis, trading at A$54/oz (vs A$176/oz peer average), and on a P/NAV basis at 0.2x vs the peer benchmark of 0.4x. We maintain our SPECULATIVE BUY rating, with a price target of A$0.32ps (previously A$0.27ps).

The post Broker names 2 small cap ASX shares to buy for big returns appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

As you're likely aware, the outsized gains many of the Aussie gold miners have been posting since the end of February have been fuelled by a fast-rising gold price.

It was only back on 15 February, that an ounce of gold was trading for US$1,992 per ounce. Which was already near historic highs.

Over the weeks that followed, the yellow metal surged to set a series of new all-time highs, topping US$2,392 per ounce on Friday.

At the time of writing on Monday, that same ounce is worth $US2,378.

As for the performance of ASX gold shares, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) has rocketed 27.3% since the closing bell on 28 February. That's even more remarkable as over this same period the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.3%.

So, with these big gains already in the bag, is it too late to go prospecting for multi-bagger gold stocks?

Not according to Collins St Asset Management chief investment officer Vasilios Piperoglou.

Targeting multi-bagger gains from small-cap ASX gold shares

As The Australian Financial Review reports, Collins St made some outsized returns from their early investment in uranium and late by backing offshore oil services stocks.

But Piperoglou believes the opportunity presented by ASX gold shares, particularly in the small-cap space, could outshine those previous successes.

"With gold stocks, the way the asymmetry is playing out currently, I think there is a greater potential in this than the other two," he said. "We're seeing the very early signs of the start of a gold bull market."

And Piperoglou doesn't believe ASX investors will have to wait around for years for some of the top junior gold miners to double, or more, in value. The kind of multi-bagger we all like to have in our portfolios.

"At some stage, investors are going to get smacked in the face," he said. "There will be a moment within months, not years, where people wake up and these quality small-caps will multi-bag."

The small-cap ASX gold shares currently owned by the Collins St value fund include:

• Barton Gold Holdings Ltd (ASX: BGD)
• Brightstar Resources Ltd (ASX: BTR)
• Tesoro Gold Ltd (ASX: TSO)
• Great Boulder Resources Ltd (ASX: GBR)
• Meeka Metals Ltd (ASX: MEK)
• Odyssey Gold Ltd (ASX: ODY)

The fund also holds two larger ASX gold miners, both with market caps north of $1 billion. Namely Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) and Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX).

The post Buying ASX gold shares? Here's where this top fundie sees 'multi-bagger' gains on offer appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, shares are advancing 30.56% into the green having bounced from yesterday's 52-week lows, and now rest at 4.7 cents apiece.

What did Tesoro announce?

The company advised that its new drill program at the El Zorro Gold Project has intersected gold. intercepts of 434.60m at 1.22g/t Au from 15.40m.

Resource was found at the company's Ternera gold deposit that is located at El Zorro. The drill program has revealed multiple high-grade zones within the intercept.

These results could potentially increase the gold grade throughout the deposit as well.

Following the discovery, Tesoro says that it now has numerous potential gold-bearing targets that it intends to explore.

Speaking on the results, Tesoro Managing Director, Zeff Reeves said:

This is a phenomenal result demonstrating the consistency of gold mineralisation within the host El Zorro Tonalite intrusions. Hole ZDDH0297 shows multiple high-grade zones within the broader intercept, potentially increasing gold grade throughout the deposit.

This phase of drilling at Ternera is focussed on improving the classification and expanding the existing 1.1 Moz Resource. We believe Ternera will continue to grow with additional drilling with the Deposit remaining open in all directions.

Drilling continues at the Ternera site. To date, 7 holes for a total depth of 3,275m have been completed. The company is awaiting assays for 5 holes "which will be announced in due course".

After racing to previous highs back in 2021, the Tesoro share price is down 55% in the past 12 months of trade.

The post Guess which ASX mining share just rocketed 31% on a new gold strike appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, Tesoro shares are travelling 1.74% higher to 11.7 cents. Earlier today, they hit an intraday high of 12.5 cents, up 8%.

What were the results?

In its release, Tesoro provided assay results from the Ternera Gold Deposit located at the El Zorro Gold Project, Chile.

The assays were collected from a total of 13 exploration diamond drilling holes, highlighting strong mineralisation.

In particular, 8 holes testing the western margin of Ternera, demonstrated the potential of mineral resource expansion. The results returned zones of gold mineralisation including a 67-metre intercept at 3.44 grams per tonne of gold.

At present, there are 6 drill rigs working around the clock, with 4 rigs at Ternera, and the remaining 2 rigs at Ternera East. The company is targeting a resource upgrade to the Indicated category before the end of the calendar year.

So far, Tesoro has completed 207 diamond drill holes at the El Zorro Gold Project, equating to 63,698 metres.

The company is waiting on assays from another 49 diamond drill holes.

Tesoro managing director, Zeff Reeves touched on the findings, saying:

These results confirm our firm belief that the Ternera Gold Deposit will rapidly grow beyond the recently released 660koz gold Mineral Resource already defined.

The 8 holes from along the western margin of the deposit are particularly encouraging as they all fall outside the existing Resource Model and define a new north south fault zone which is well mineralised, particularly to the south.

Infill drilling continues to inform the model as we rapidly move to a Mineral Resource upgrade during 2021, defining what we see as a large-scale open pit gold deposit.

About the Tesoro share price

Over the last 12 months, Tesoro shares have fallen around 36%, with year-to-date down more than 60%. The company's share price hit a 52-week low of 9.6 cents in late July, before rebounding higher.

Tesoro has a market capitalisation of roughly $57.4 million, with close to 500 million shares outstanding.

The post Tesoro (ASX:TSO) share price shoots higher on drill results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

After rallying in early trade, shares in the mining company entered a trading halt before being reinstated.

Here's why the company was in a trading halt and why investors are jumping on shares in Tesoro.

Tesoro share price reinstated after temporary pause

Earlier today, Tesoro notified investors that shares in the company would be temporarily paused. The company cited a further announcement as reasoning for the pause in trading.

Shares in Tesoro were shortly reinstated after the company retracted and replaced a previous presentation.

The company told investors unclassified material in the previous investor presentation was not in accordance with guidelines. As a result, Tesoro retracted the statements from the previous presentation and provided a replacement presentation.

The announcement follows the company's managing director presenting a webinar on Tesoro's El Zorro Gold Project earlier today.

Overview of Tesoro

Tesoro is a mining exploration and development company with projects in the Coastal Cordillera region in Chile. The region hosts multiple copper and gold mines, with much of the area remaining unexplored due to the nature of mining concession ownership in Chile.

Via its in-country network, Tesoro has secured the rights to scale gold projects in the region, with the company holding the rights to 85% of the El Zorro Gold Project.

Snapshot of the Tesoro share price

The Tesoro share price has come under fire recently.

Despite rallying in today's trading session, shares in Tesoro are more than 58% lower since the start of the year.

Shares in the mining exploration company suffered a blow yesterday, tumbling by more than 30%.

The Tesoro share price was on the receiving end of hard selling after reporting its maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Ternera Deposit at its El Zorro Gold Project.

The company reported an MRE of 25.1 million tonnes at 0.8 grams per tonne for 660,000 ounces of gold. Investors did not seem pleased with the result, sending the Tesoro share price tumbling.

As noted previously, shares in Tesoro are stronger today. At the time of writing shares in the mining explorer are 8.7% higher for the day at 12.5 cents, down from an intra-day high of 13 cents.

The post Here's why the Tesoro (ASX:TSO) share price is flying 9% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Below we take a look at the ASX gold share's resource update that looks to be driving some of the selling action.

What resource update did Tesoro report?

The Tesoro Resources share price is falling hard after the company announced its maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Ternera Deposit at its El Zorro Gold Project in Chile.

It reported a maiden MRE of 25.1 million tonnes at 0.8 grams per tonne for 660,000 ounces of gold. It used 0.3 grams per tonne of gold as a cut-off.

The highlights included 15.4Mt @ 1.09 g/t for 540,000 ounces, using a 0.5g/t Au cut-off. But that wasn't enough to keep the Tesoro Resources share price from sliding today.

Commenting on the "significant, but incremental MRE" at the project, Tesoro's managing director Zeff Reeves said:

We see this as just the start for El Zorro, we are committed to significantly increasing this Mineral Resource via our ongoing drilling programs with the deposit at Ternera open in all directions. We are also seeing significant potential for additional resources to be added over the coming months from other targets, particularly the adjoining Ternera East and Drone Hill targets, which is not included in the MRE.

Reeves added that a range of project studies are proceeding to help determine the company's potential to develop a gold mine at El Zorro.

Tesoro has drilled 201 diamond drill holes at the project since starting work there in 2017. Its maiden MRE is derived from 148 of those holes totalling 46,937 metres.

The diamond drill exploration program will continue through 2021. The company has 6 drill rigs operating around the clock at El Zorro.

Tesoro Resources share price snapshot

The Tesoro Resources share price, currently at 11 cents, has been all over the map this past year, hitting a high of 50 cents per share on 15 October 2020. Over the past full year shares are down 18%, compared to a gain of 25% on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Year-to-date the Tesoro Resources share price is down 64%.

The post Here's why the Tesoro Resources (ASX:TSO) share price is tumbling 31% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Today's gains come after Tesoro outlined its quarterly update.

Let's take a closer look at what the company outlined in its report.

Quick recall on Tesoro Resources

Tesoro acquires, explores and develops gold mining interests in the Cordillera region of Chile.

Its flagship venture is the El Zorro gold project, where it has been drilling since February 2020.

The Cordillera region lays host to several top-tier gold and copper mines. There are longstanding roots of mining in the region.

Tesoro has a market capitalisation of $91.5 million at the time of writing.

Tesoro's quarterly progress

The company completed a record drilling of 58 holes at its El Zorro project this quarter.

Assay results were received for 31 of these holes, with a new discovery at Ternera East. Tesoro stated that the discovery lies "within the hanging wall zone of the Ternera Gold Deposit".

There has been the completion of 190 diamond drilled holes at El Zorro, for a total of 58,555 metres.

Following these assay results, there are now assays outstanding for 57 holes at this site.

One particular hole, ZDDH0149, returned positive drill results. It demonstrated "potential for additional gold mineralisation outside of Ternera".

A second hole, ZDDH0166, has "intercepted gold host rocks up to 100m thick, assays pending".

The company has six drilling rigs in operation around the clock, in order to expand its drilling program.

The company "remains well funded, with a cash balance of approximately $13.73 million" by the end of June.

Additional takeouts

Tesoro gave some colour on guidance for the upcoming quarter in the report.

The company "expects to meet several significant milestones" this coming quarter.

It will aim to define "the optimal processing pathway for material" at Ternera. It has a further 50,000 metres of drilling planned for 2021.

Tesoro also expects to complete an initial Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at Ternera.

The MRE will form the basis of a high-level "scoping study" in the coming quarter to define mining at the site.

Tesoro share price snapshot

The Tesoro Resources share price has had a choppy year to date, posting a loss of 41%.

Despite this, Tesoro Resources shares are up 48% over the previous 12 months.

For context, the S&P / ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has posted a return of ~20% over the past year.

The post Tesoro Resources (ASX:TSO) share price climbs on quarterly update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Initial public offering (IPO) platform OnMarket found that year-end IPOs outperformed the  S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) by more than 48%, reported the Australian Financial Review.

The average return for all newly minted ASX stocks in 2020 was 46.9% compared with the 1.5% drop in the top 200 stock benchmark.

Best ASX IPOs of 2020

The Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) share price, 4DMedical Ltd (ASX: 4DX) share price and Aroa Biosurgery Ltd (ASX: ARX) share price are some examples of stocks that surged on the first day of trade.

The IPOs that delivered the best returns last year are the Tesoro Resources Ltd (ASX: TSO) share price, Cosol Ltd (ASX: COS) share price and 4DX share price.

The TSO share price surged over 800% in the period, while the COS share price and 4DX share price gained over 200% each.

Capital raisings crowded out IPOs in 2020

Nearly 70% of the newbies listed in the fourth quarter as capital raisings by established ASX stocks sucked all the oxygen in the earlier part of the year.

The turmoil caused by COVID-19 prompted many ASX companies to go cap in hand to shareholders to shore up their balance sheets.

If investors can buy discounted shares in a capital raising from established stocks, they would typically shun new unproven companies.

Number of new ASX listings expected to rebound

So, while OnMarket claimed that the December quarter proved to be the best quarter for ASX floats in at least five years, the number of IPOs in 2020 are still lower than most years.

But OnMarket managing director Nick Motteram told the AFR that the momentum in the closing months of 2020 is expected to continue into this year.

"It'll continue to be strong until there's an event where market confidence goes out the window or there are some big ones that don't do well," The AFR quoted Motteram as saying.

"The difficulty with any IPO is picking a winner and what's come out of this report is that getting access to as many as possible, putting in a consistent amount and holding for a consistent period is a winning strategy."

ASX gold stocks to lead IPO recovery

While tech is a hot space and could very well continue to be in demand by IPO investors, the sector that could dominate new ASX listings are gold explorers and miners.

Professional services group HLB Mann Judd was also quoted in the report as saying that it expected gold IPOs to feature heavily.

This is despite the recent pullback in the gold price from record highs of over US$2,000 an ounce. Given that economic uncertainty is likely to remain a big feature in 2021, you can't write-off the safe haven asset just yet.

The post Brace for an IPO resurgence as new floats beat the ASX 200 by ~50% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

About Tesoro 

Tesoro Resources was established with a strategy of acquiring, exploring and developing mining projects in the Coastal Cordillera region of Chile. This region is host to multiple world class copper and gold mines, has well established infrastructure, breadth of service providers and an experienced mining workforce.

Large areas of the Coastal Cordillera remained unexplored due to the unconsolidated nature of mining ownership, but Tesoro has been able to secure rights to a district scale gold project. It currently holds interest in the highly prospective El Zorro Gold Project that is favourably located and demonstrates significant scale and gold grades. 

El Zorro project milestones to date 

During the September quarter, Tesoro expanded its landholding from approximately 100sq km to 540sq km following a regional review which identified prospective geology for which Tesoro made successful applications. 

Tesoro is currently focused on delineating gold resources at El Zorro. In other words, determining the size, grade, extent and mineralogy of mineral resources. More drilling is under way following previous encouraging results. 

On 23 October, the company announced infill drilling results that continue to intersect multiple gold bearing zones.

Tesoro managing director Zeff Reeves commented:

The extensive and ongoing drill program is proving extremely beneficial in uncovering the extent of the Ternera deposit at El Zorro. We believe the project has huge potential, with Ternera being the first of five targets identified at El Zorro, and our confidence in the exploration model continues to increase. 

High-grade gold intercept today 

Today's announcement is a continuation of Tesoro's drilling results. All holes intersected multiple mineralised gold zones with significant results adding to the large-scale potential of El Zorro.

Mr Reeves said that every hole drilled at El Zorro continued "to deliver quality gold results further adding to the scale of the Ternera deposit … we are yet to find the edges of the mineralisation and every hole adds additional scale. This indicates to us that we have a significant discovery at El Zorro." 

The post Gold explorer Tesoro Resources (ASX:TSO) jumps 25% on high-grade intercept appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Highlights from Tesoro's drilling results

Earlier today, Tesoro announced the company's drilling results from its El Zorro Gold Project in Chile. The assay results were collected from channel and rock chip sampling at the Ternera and Drone hill sites.

The company reported that surface mineralisation was identified at the Ternera site, with the surface gold footprint being extended to 800 metres in length and up to 300 metres in width.  Tesoro also noted strike extensive vein hosted mineralisation at the Drone Hill site.

Highlights of the drilling report included 8 metres at 5.56g/t gold, including 2 metres at 19.98g/t gold at Ternera and 1.2 metres at 12.70g/t gold at Drone Hill.

Tesoro's management noted the results would increase the scale of surface mineralisation at the El Zorro site, while also prompting further expansion.

What does Tesoro do?

Tesoro is a mining exploration and development company with projects in the Coastal Cordillera region in Chile. The region hosts multiple copper and gold mines, with much of the area remaining unexplored due to the nature of mining concession ownership in Chile.

Via its in-country network, Tesoro has secured the rights to scale gold projects in the region, with the company holding the rights to 80% of the El Zorro Gold Project. Last week, the company announced that it had expanded its land position at the El Zorro project by 360% following 156 new concessions.

Tesoro also noted that the company's operations had not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with activities at El Zorro continuing as normal.

Foolish Takeaway

The Tesoro share price is trading near record highs after hitting an intra-day high of 20.5 cents earlier today. 

The post Here's why gold miner Tesoro's share price hit a record high today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, Tesoro shares have jumped 15.87% to 7.3 cents apiece after surging by as much as 26.98% in early morning trade.

Tesoro Resources is a gold explorer with a strategy of acquiring, exploring and developing mining projects in the Coastal Cordillera region of Chile.

Tesoro's cornerstone project is its 70%-owned El Zorro Gold Project. The project covers more than 10,000 hectares and is located in northern Chile. Tesoro has the rights to acquire up to 80% of the El Zorro project.

What's moving the Tesoro share price?

This morning, Tesoro announced it has received surface assay results for controlled outcrop channel sampling conducted at the Buzzard Prospect at El Zorro.

According to the release, the sampling has identified a large gold-bearing vein system over an area approximately 1,100 metres long and 750 metres wide. Individual veins exhibit gold mineralisation for over 250 metres of strike.

Significant results include:

• 3 metres at 5.23 grams per tonne (g/t) gold;
• 6 metres at 7.06g/t gold;
• 1 metre at 2.55g/t gold; and
• 3 metres at 1.16g/t gold.

"The early stage results from Buzzard further demonstrate the potential of the El Zorro gold system with gold now identified over 5km of strike at multiple prospects," said managing director, Zeff Reeves.

"The Buzzard vein system is extensive, and these results have highlighted large-scale potential, which will require additional work to further understand," Mr Reeves added.

Tesoro has now received final assays for 200 samples related to first pass channel and rock chip sampling from the Buzzard Prospect. 

The company advised that additional work is required to further delineate surface gold mineralisation at Buzzard. This will involve follow up mapping, sampling, and trenching in order to delineate potential drill targets.

Ternera drilling

The Buzzard Prospect is located around 2 kilometres south of the main Ternera Prospect.

Tesoro noted today it has nearly completed the drill planning and preparation for an infill and extensional drill program at Ternera. Accordingly, two drill rigs are being mobilised and drill pads are currently being installed.

The program, scheduled to commence in July, is designed to further define and expand the Ternera deposit. 

With a share price of 7.3 at the time of writing, Tesoro's market capitalisation currently stands at around $32 million. If you'd rather stick to investing in larger and more liquid shares, check out the top ASX growth shares in the report below.

The post Tesoro share price jumps 16% as sampling identifies major gold-bearing vein system appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.