Sharesight20 top 20 trades on ASX & NZX - May 2018

Welcome to the May 2018 edition of the Sharesight20 monthly trading snapshot (click here for last month’s Sharesight20), where we look at the top 20 trades on both the ASX and NZX markets among the Sharesight userbase during the current month, and dig a little deeper into the news behind these movements.

Let’s dive into May’s top trades.

Sharesight20ASX May 2018 Snapshot

After reclaiming top spot in May, a2 Milk Limited (ASX: A2M) was dethroned by Telstra (ASX: TLS) with significant interest in the telco after dire reports from analysts, as well as a nationwide network outage. Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) again makes a strong showing at 5th after sole listing on the ASX in February. Some of the other highlights include:

Telstra Corporation (ASX: TLS)

• Multiple faults led to a five-hour nationwide mobile phone outage during May in what is becoming a theme for the telco
• S&P has downgraded Telstra as the NBN hit reaches $3 billion
• Telstra 'unlimited' mobile network ads banned by court
• Profit forecasts downgraded by 3-4%
• Future of CEO Andy Penn and Chairman John Mullen [brought into question

](http://www.afr.com/brand/chanticleer/telstra-shareholders-need-to-ask-andy-penn-john-mullen-some-hard-questions-20180513-h100p9)

Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO)

After solely listing on the ASX in February, Xero continues to be among the most heavily bought share on the ASX by the Sharesight userbase.

• Announced launch in Canada (joining Sharesight in the country)
• Microsoft announced a collaboration with KPMG and CBA to launch a cloud accounting startup ‘to rival Xero’
• Announced a 38% growth in revenue on the back of international subscriber growth
• However the company still returned a loss for the last NZ financial year
• Macquarie analysts upgraded the stock to “neutral” from “underperform” as a result

Lynas Corporation (ASX: LYC)

• Shares hit a 52 week high at the start of May
• Shares then collapsed 9% on May 10th on the back of political risks from the Malaysian election result to the firm
• Chief executive Amanda Lacaze “aiming to return Lynas to ASX100”

REA Group (ASX: REA)

• REA Group shares hit an all time high after reporting a nearly 20% increase in quarterly earnings and revenue
• Announced plans to acquire property analytics company Hometrack Australia for $130m
• Nick Dowling (CEO of Jellis Craig) appointed as a Non-Executive Director of REA
• Now lets renters create “Pet Profiles” on rental applications to showcase their pets to potential landlords

DuluxGroup Limited (ASX: DLX)

• H1 revenue up 4.2% and profit up 9% on same time last year
• Reconsidering UK expansion plans for Selleys brand after Westfarmers abandoned their own UK growth plans

Sharesight20NZX May 2018 Snapshot

a2 Milk Company (NZX: A2M)

• Share price smashed after missing analysts expectations
• Citibank downgraded a2 Milk to a ‘neutral’ rating, slashes target price
• Does Nestle’s entry into the Chinese market with a rival A2 protein milk powder validate a2 Milk Company’s strategy?
• Rival Bellamy’s saw similar falls in their share price on the ASX during May
• Is China’s two child policy a tailwind for a2 Milk?

Fletcher Building Limited (NZX: FBU)

• Expected to announce a new house-building factory in Auckland next month
• Cut a deal with banks after breaching loan covenants, that will see the company pay more for lending and put proceeds of asset sales towards paying down debt
• Raised $132 million in retail entitlement offer
• SkyCity to seek damages from Fletcher Building for delayed delivery of convention centre, may receive damages in the region of NZ$ 40 million
• Parting ways with Formica and the Roof Tile Group as the company consolidates its international division to focus on Australia and New Zealand

Infratil Limited (NZX: AIA)

• Reiterated its forecast for 2019 normalised EBITDAF of $500 million to $540 million, compared with $478 million in 2018
• This, despite revenues being down 3.2%
• Has declared it won’t approve Mercury NZ increasing its 19.99% holding in Tilt Renewables (Infratil owns a controlling share of 50.8%)

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Important Disclaimer. We do not provide tax or investment advice. The buying of shares can be complex and varies by country. You should seek tax and investment advice specific to your situation before acting on any of the information in this article.

FURTHER READING

• Blog – How much money can Sharesight save you?
• Blog – 7 reasons why Sharesight is better than a spreadsheet