Are there any reopening ASX shares that are still cheap?

Post-COVID recovery stocks are all pretty expensive now. But 2 experts have picked 3 contenders that look good at the moment.

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Investors have been busy over the past 12 months grabbing whatever ASX shares for businesses they reckon will prosper in the post-COVID world.

So can there possibly be any "re-opening" stocks remaining that aren't already fully priced for their spectacular post-lockdown resurgence?

Forager Funds senior analyst Gaston Amoros certainly thinks so.

A large overseas business that's mispriced

"There is one that we like that we own — Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CDI (ASX: URW). It's the owner of Westfield malls in the USA and UK, and Unibail malls in Europe," he told a Forager video

"It's not really performing in line with the other stocks at this time."

While other retail-related stocks have boomed, URW shares have gone sideways — up just 0.4% for the year so far.

But the Forager team believes the share performance doesn't fairly reflect the real-life operations.

"The business is actually trading very well. It's recovering," said Amoros.

"They told us in August at the time of the half-year results that both sales and [foot] traffic are actually recovering quite quickly."

In the US, shopping mall sales are already back to pre-pandemic levels, he added.

"In the case of Europe, they're like 80% or 90% of pre-COVID levels, which is a nice trajectory."

In both regions, URW is selling off assets, which is helping to decrease debt on their books.

"We think it's quite an interesting opportunity."

Please note that Westfield shopping malls in Australia are owned and operated by another company, Scentre Group (ASX: SCG).

2 ASX shares that have raised capital to survive

Understandably, coronavirus lockdowns have devastated car smash repair and gym businesses.

According to Forager Funds senior analyst Alex Shevelev, that forced both AMA Group Ltd (ASX: AMA) and Viva Leisure Ltd (ASX: VVA) to raise capital in recent times.

"The reaction from this capital raise was really interesting," he said.

"AMA Group raised $100 million plus $50 million convertible note and is now trading 33% higher than the initial raise price in the matter of a month. Viva, much the same — in a matter of a couple of months it's rallied more than 50%."

Shevelev added that this showed even if a company has to raise funds to survive, a "clear line of sight" to the end of lockdowns has meant investors are willing to back them.

NSW has already announced a staged reopening plan for 70% and 80% vaccination levels, expected this month. On December 1, much of society will resume normal operations, including for unvaccinated people.

The other state suffering from the Delta strain, Victoria, has also outlined a recovery roadmap, although not to the detail or as liberal as its northern neighbour.

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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