Stock Tips: Never mind the alpha, what's the Sigma play this week?
Sean Conlan – Leyland Private Asset Management
BUY
Sigma Healthcare (ASX:SIG)
We believe SIG will grow into its current PE multiple by refurbishing existing Chemist Warehouse stores, opening 20 new stores per annum across Australia and by exporting the brand offshore.
Judo Capital Holdings (ASX:JDO)
Improved funding costs give us more comfort on the near-term margin outlook. With forecast a~34% earnings CAGR over the next three years, and trading at only 12x FY26 P/E we think the valuation is attractive.
HOLD
Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE)
TWE has trimmed guidance for FY25 earnings growth, citing lower-than-expected wine sales in the US where economic uncertainty is hurting consumer demand.
Austal (ASX:ASB) We remain positive on the long-term outlook for ASB, considering the macro tailwinds and attractive growth profile, however, we are conscious of its current valuation.
SELL
Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ)
While BOQ's simplification strategy and pivot towards business is bearing fruit, we think it will continue to struggle to make returns above the cost of capital over the medium term.
Lovisa Holdings (ASX:LOV)
We are concerned about the quality of stores recently opened and think that higher-than-normal rates of discounting may be driving strong LFL sales.
Chris Watt – Bell Potter Securities
BUY
CAR Group (CAR)
Resilient RV sales, solid international operations and strong earnings momentum support continued growth. The company continues to benefit from a scalable global expansion strategy that allows it to replicate its model across international markets.
Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE)
While the US premium wine market is weak, core luxury brands remain strong. DAOU Vineyards synergies and broader international opportunities provide upside despite recent downgrades.
HOLD
Technology One (ASX:TNE)
A strong first-half result confirms the business is executing well, with growing recurring revenue and cash flow. However, recent share price gains limit short-term upside.
James Hardie (ASX:JHX)
Strategy execution in US new construction is on track, particularly in the southern states. That said, macro softness and affordability challenges persist.
SELL
IDP Education (ASX:IEL)
Deteriorating student volumes and shifting global immigration policy have led to significant earnings downgrades. Visibility remains poor, and risks are elevated.
Cettire (ASX:CTT)
Weak margins, US tariff headwinds, and a soft cash position point to a challenging outlook. The path to profitability appears longer and riskier.
The views, information, or opinions expressed in the interviews in this article are solely those of the interviewee and do not represent the views of Stockhead.
Stockhead does not provide, endorse or otherwise assume responsibility for any financial advice contained in this article.
Originally published as Stock Tips: Never mind the alpha, what's the Sigma play this week?
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
Criterion: With rates cut looking a sure bet, small-cap stocks are biggest winners
Small caps generally fare well when interest rates fall, because they tend to be exposed to cyclical domestic sectors Rates are heading south to prevent the economy from overheating, rather than avoiding recession Yarra Capital Management names four preferred ASX small-cap plays This week's benign inflation figures have fired expectations that the Reserve Bank will announce an interest rate cut on Tuesday week. It would be amazing if the central bank did a BACO – Bullock Again Chickens Out – and maintained a neutral stance for the second month in a row. Along with mortgage holders, small cap investors will cheer on what's expected to be a series of cuts over the next 18 months. That's because of a strong correlation between lower rates and the health of small caps. 'Smaller companies tend to be exposed to the more cyclical elements of the economy, so benefit from reduced rates which stimulate demand,' says Yarra Capital Management's small caps portfolio co-manager Michael Steele. Wilson Asset Management's Oscar Oberg refers to the 'inherent leverage' of small caps, in that they typically carry more debt. 'This means that even the slightest economic tailwind can fall to the bottom line quickly and drive earnings upgrades.' Lower rates also mean a lower Australian dollar, as foreign investors seek better returns elsewhere. Rates are falling for the 'right' reason Steele says investors should consider why rates are reducing. The current round is more about inflation slowing – and the economy not overheating – rather than the nation falling into recession. That's why investors applauded the jobs numbers showing an uptick in unemployment (not that the affected workers will be cracking out the bubbly). In contrast the rate reductions during the global financial crisis and the pandemic were more about avoiding disaster. Steele adds the rates benefit not just discretionary retailer, but other exposures including construction and real estate income trusts (REITs). Driving higher returns Steele cites Eagers Automotive (ASX:APE), the nation's biggest car dealership, as one of the biggest interest rate beneficiaries. 'Over the last two years, industry profitability has dramatically reduced with selling new cars,' he says. 'But we are now at the bottom of the cycle, with reduced industry inventory volumes.' Lower rates tend to have an instant knock-on effect on new car sales. That's a plus for Eagers, given its franchises include the fast-growing Chinese brand BYD. But about half of Eagers' gross profit comes from servicing, which creates durable annuity income. Steele adds that freehold property accounts for about one-quarter of Eagers' enterprise value. The REIT way to invest in property About half of the property fund manager Centuria Capital's (ASX:CNI) share price is underpinned by it stake in related entities including Centuria Office and Centuria Industrial. Centuria also co-invests in other unlisted property assets. 'About 75% of assets under management are in closed-end vehicles or listed entities where it has effective control,' Steele says. 'That means there's a low level of outflow risks.' Lower rates benefit the overall REIT sector, which is seeing improving asset valuations after years of decline. But Steele says funds management REITs reap extra benefit. "When cycle turns up, they will get upside from fund management fees and property development," he says. 'Those earnings streams are at zero currently.' Construction group's rare appeal Steele describes construction materials play MAAS Group Holdings (ASX:MGH) (pronounced Mars) as a 'really interesting business'. MAAS operates regional quarrying operations (such as asphalt and aggregates) and has civil construction/plant hire and residential property development arms. The company's land bank of 8000 residential plots supports its $1.5 billion market cap. These are in high-growth lots locales such as Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst and Rockhampton. 'MAAS has a diversified business across three markets and all of them are attractive at the moment,' Steele says. MAAS also is an ASX rarity, given buyers swooped on building material plays CSR, Adbri and Boral. Judo moves deftly in SME market Pure-play small business lender Judo Capital Holdings (ASX:JDO) has blipped on investor radars, given the Big Four banks' elevated valuations. By not aligning itself to the hotly competed home loan market, Judo generates superior net interest margins. Of course Judo doesn't have the inherent security of a mortgage, so its risk managers need to be on top of their game. To date, Judo's delinquencies have been low – and risks should only moderate as rates come down. Steele says investors price Judo at book value. "This is a very attractive valuation compared to the big banks which are trading at significant premiums.'

Herald Sun
9 hours ago
- Herald Sun
Asra Minerals wraps up gold drilling at Challenge and Eclipse
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. Special Report: Asra Minerals has completed a 23-hole reverse circulation drilling program at the Challenge prospect, following up on significant shallow gold intersections from historical drilling. Asra Minerals completed 1938m of drilling at Leonora South during the June quarter This includes the recent completion of 17 RC holes at the Challenge prospect The program is following up significant shallow gold intersections from historical drilling The 1362m campaign averaged a rate of ~300m per day. Before drilling the Challenge prospect, Asra Minerals (ASX:ASR) drilled 23 RC holes at the Eclipse prospect for a total 2070m. In total, 40 drill holes were carried out for 3432m to further define and extend known mineralisation at both prospects. Challenge and Eclipse sit within Asra's Leonora South asset in WA's Kookynie region and are within 200m of the 21,600oz at 2.1g/t gold resource at the company's Sapphire deposit. The project covers eight semi-contiguous mining licences over 549km2 of ground near the mining town of Leonora, known for high-grade gold discoveries such as the nearby Ulyssess operation featuring 850,000oz of gold. Asra racks up exploration and corporate wins During the June quarter, Asra knocked off 1938m of drilling at Leonora South targeting extensions at multiple priority targets within the Niagara prospect area, which included 1424m of RC drilling and 514.8m of diamond tails. The company also locked in $3m via a placement to investors to fast-track exploration across Leonora South and completed the sale of its Boorara leases for a cash consideration of $200,000 – streamlining Asra's focus and strengthening its balance sheet. ASR managing director Paul Stephen said the June quarter had been 'exceptionally productive' for the company, marked by significant strides across its exploration programs and a series of corporate initiatives. Asra bolsters leadership and technical teams 'The successful completion of more than 1,300m of drilling at Leonora South represents a critical step in understanding and expanding the high-grade Orion and Sapphire deposits, and we eagerly await results next quarter,' he said. 'Financially, our three million placement has significantly bolstered our balance sheet, providing capital to accelerate our exploration ambitions. 'The divestment of the Boorara leases and the consolidation at Mt Cutmore are further testaments to our disciplined approach to portfolio management, focusing on high-potential, core assets,' he added. Asra also strengthened its leadership and technical teams with key appointments including Stephen as managing director, Lenoard Math as CFO and the addition of Ziggy Lubieniecki as geological consultant. 'We look forward to keeping the market and our valued shareholders updated as we continue to build on this momentum in the coming quarter,' he said. This article was developed in collaboration with Asra Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions. Originally published as Asra Minerals wraps up gold drilling at Challenge and Eclipse

News.com.au
10 hours ago
- News.com.au
Closing Bell: ASX cops body shot, down 0.92pc as Trump swings tariff bat
You get a tariff… You get a tariff… You get a tariff! Reminiscent of Oprah on a particularly bad hair day, Trump was handing out tariffs like they were Volkswagens today. With the tariff pause deadline finally expiring, US President Trump gleefully began swinging the tariff club, smacking Canada with a 10% hike to bring their total tariff rate to 35%. Dozens of countries were walloped with new import taxes, coming in at anywhere from 10% to 50%. Brazil, India, Taiwan, Switzerland, South Africa, Laos, Vietnam… It might genuinely be easier to list who isn't affected. While Australia was spared anything beyond the current 10% tariff we're operating under (so far), the ASX was a bit like a poorly treated dog spotting a rolled newspaper in hand. The bourse retreated 0.92% in a sea of red, with 10 of 11 sectors in the negative. Utilities was the only sector to stand its ground, rising 0.70% as investors piled into the defensive industry. Carbon credit and landfill gas management firm LGI (ASX:LGI) soared 14% in trade on no fresh news. They were joined by small caps Energy World (ASX:EWC), up 4%, and Frontier Energy (ASX:FHE), up 5%. In the bigger stocks, Origin Energy (AX:ORG) gained 0.7%, while APA Group (ASX:APA) added 0.7% and AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) lifted 0.4%. Taking a peek at our indices, the ASX 200 Resources recovered a little of its pep to inch up 0.08%, mostly on gains in rare earth stocks, before reversing course and sliding by the same percentage. Dateline Resources (ASX:DTR) jumped 17%, while Northern Minerals (ASX:NTU) added 3.2% and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) 3.6%. Lithium and iron ore miner Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) joined the party, climbing 4.6%. ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS Today's best performing small cap stocks: Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap DMG Dragon Mountain Gold 0.013 117% 1130675 $2,368,030 CYQ Cycliq Group Ltd 0.004 100% 16315854 $921,033 1AE Aurora Energy Metals 0.077 54% 2184444 $8,953,187 ECT Env Clean Tech Ltd. 0.003 50% 311236 $8,030,871 EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.0015 50% 250000 $3,253,779 MEL Metgasco Ltd 0.003 50% 128627 $3,674,173 RDS Redstone Resources 0.004 33% 2000000 $3,102,802 RLG Roolife Group Ltd 0.004 33% 70872 $4,778,344 LKY Locksley Resources 0.14 33% 34589399 $19,250,000 PNN Power Minerals Ltd 0.078 32% 2760510 $8,517,795 AON Apollo Minerals Ltd 0.009 29% 150000 $6,499,198 MGU Magnum Mining & Exp 0.009 29% 4108571 $16,226,260 PIL Peppermint Inv Ltd 0.0025 25% 200090 $4,602,180 VRC Volt Resources Ltd 0.005 25% 4040000 $18,739,398 GBE Globe Metals &Mining 0.055 25% 995968 $30,564,732 JLL Jindalee Lithium Ltd 0.485 23% 80701 $31,548,984 RR1 Reach Resources Ltd 0.011 22% 1316637 $7,869,882 IR1 Irismetals 0.11 22% 980610 $16,016,344 CBL Control Bionics 0.045 22% 148156 $10,900,611 SPG Spc Global Holdings 0.4 21% 116060 $63,684,021 SRI Sipa Resources Ltd 0.018 20% 787615 $7,807,469 ADG Adelong Gold Limited 0.006 20% 4221257 $11,243,383 BNL Blue Star Helium Ltd 0.006 20% 661184 $13,474,426 DTM Dart Mining NL 0.003 20% 8039329 $2,995,139 PXX Polarx Limited 0.012 20% 11153225 $23,755,010 In the news… Dragon Mountain Gold (ASX:DMG) has wiped out a convertible loan from October 2024 with a new loan provided by an unrelated major shareholder, ticking off the interest at the same time. With its books in better shape, DMG has more flexibility to pursue fund raising efforts and look at new opportunities for acquisitions. Aurora Energy Metals (ASX:1AE) is rubbing its hands together over a potential US$16 million payout of Eagle Energy Metals' shares, as Eagle moves to list on the Nasdaq via a SPAC merger with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. Eagle holds an option over 1AE's Aurora uranium project in Oregon – if the deal goes through, 1AE will be entitled to a 1% royalty on future uranium production with some milestone payments on the table to boot. Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) added $5.3m to the war chest after closing out a heavily oversubscribed share placement, featuring Tribeca Investment Partners as a cornerstone player. Management says it's a tick of approval for its US critical minerals strategy, with a dozen new institutional investors joining the ledger. The funding will go to drilling high-grade antimony and rare earths at its Mojave project in California, and advancing downstream permitting in the US. ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS Today's worst performing small cap stocks: Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap 1TT Thrive Tribe Tech 0.006 -40% 6494637 $1,015,864 EDEDA Eden Inv Ltd 0.022 -27% 158486 $6,164,822 PLG Pearlgullironlimited 0.011 -27% 5182 $3,068,127 SFG Seafarms Group Ltd 0.0015 -25% 85632 $9,673,198 GMN Gold Mountain Ltd 0.057 -25% 735124 $9,280,558 NAG Nagambie Resources 0.013 -24% 708816 $13,656,140 AIV Activex Limited 0.01 -23% 509846 $2,801,534 GGE Grand Gulf Energy 0.002 -20% 27966263 $7,051,062 MOH Moho Resources 0.004 -20% 200000 $3,727,070 OEL Otto Energy Limited 0.004 -20% 3181510 $23,975,049 TMK TMK Energy Limited 0.002 -20% 75548 $25,555,958 TMX Terrain Minerals 0.002 -20% 611996 $6,329,536 BDM Burgundy D Mines Ltd 0.027 -18% 2120163 $46,903,965 OKJ Oakajee Corp Ltd 0.048 -17% 359273 $5,303,870 ADY Admiralty Resources. 0.005 -17% 250000 $15,776,876 ALM Alma Metals Ltd 0.005 -17% 2150809 $11,104,423 FAU First Au Ltd 0.005 -17% 2100000 $12,457,748 PRM Prominence Energy 0.0025 -17% 84000 $1,459,411 SLZ Sultan Resources Ltd 0.005 -17% 169954 $1,566,501 CHR Charger Metals 0.05 -15% 171504 $4,567,795 IRD Iron Road Ltd 0.028 -15% 47500 $27,412,862 DKM Duketon Mining 0.125 -14% 230177 $17,749,679 RPG Raptis Group Limited 0.165 -13% 543861 $66,630,122 AQX Alice Queen Ltd 0.0035 -13% 50000 $5,538,785 KRR King River Resources 0.007 -13% 167319 $11,708,696 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Phase 1 drilling at Antipa Minerals' (ASX:AZY) Minyari Project in WA's Paterson Province has delivered new gold-copper zones and extended several existing deposits. Asra Minerals (ASX:ASR) has completed a 23-hole reverse circulation drilling program at the Challenge prospect building on previous shallow gold hits. Everest Metals Corporation (ASX:EMC) has validated the presence of further gold mineralisation beyond the established resource at its Mt Dimer Taipan project northeast of Kalgoorlie. Aura Energy (ASX:AEE) has signed two key agreements for the future sale of uranium from its Tiris project in Mauritania. Magmatic Resources (ASX:MAG) have locked in a $3.5 million exploration budget with joint venture partner Fortescue (ASX:FMG). MoneyMe closed FY25 strong and heads into FY26 with strong operating cash flows, steady growth and AI firepower. Redcastle Resources' (ASX:RC1) scoping study has indicated a two-stage open pit at Queen Alexandra could generate early cash flow of up to $15m. DigitalX (ASX:DCC) has delivered a strong June quarter and made a decisive strategic pivot, doubling down on Bitcoin as a core treasury asset. Trading halts Akora Resources (ASX:AKO) – cap raise Altair Minerals (ASX:ALR) – project acquisition and cap raise Ballymore Resources (ASX:BMR) – cap raise Infini Resources (ASX:I88) – cap raise Macro Metals (ASX:M4M) – cap raise Nutritional Growth Solutions (ASX:NGS) – cap raise Perpetual Resources (ASX:PEC) – cap raise Silver Mines (ASX:SVL) – cap raise Variscan Mines (ASX:VAR) – cap raise At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Locksley Resources is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.