2021 has been nothing if not eventful. And now, some may say gleefully, it is finally drawing to a close. To celebrate the approaching new year, we asked our Foolish contributors to compile a list of some of the ASX shares experts are saying to buy in 2022. Here's what the team came up with…
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James Mickleboro: Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)
Life360 operates in the digital consumer-subscription services market with a focus on products and services for digitally native families. Its core offering is the Life360 app, which was developed for families and includes features such as messaging, driving safety, and location sharing.
At the last count, the company had over 33 million users of its app. This is generating significant recurring revenue, but management isn't resting on its laurels. Life360 recently acquired wearables company Jiobit and items-tracking company Tile. These acquisitions provide it with material cross and up-selling opportunities in 2022.
Bell Potter is very bullish on Life360. It recently named the company as one of its top tech picks of 2022. The broker's analysts have a buy rating and $16.25 price target on Life360 shares. On Friday, the Life360 share price closed at $9.50.
Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Life360 Inc.
Aaron Teboneras: Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)
Coles is a leading Australian retailer with over 2,500 retail outlets nationally, servicing more than 20 million customers each week.
The supermarket giant's share price has struggled to gain traction in 2021, falling roughly 2% for the period. This comes despite Coles executing its strategy to respond to the changes in consumer demand and behaviour since the onset of COVID-19.
Initiatives have included further investment in Coles Online, such as adding around 250 delivery stores and upgrading more than 100 click-and-collect locations. The company achieved a strong first quarter for FY22, with e-commerce revenue growth of 48% for its supermarkets division.
Coles remains optimistic on the outlook for 2022 as vaccination rates continue to rise across the country. Last month, analysts at Citi raised their rating on Coles shares to 'buy' from 'neutral'. In addition, the broker also lifted its 12-month target for the Coles share price by 4% to $19.60. Based on Friday's closing price of $17.68, this implies an upside of around 11%.
Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras does not own shares of Coles Group Ltd.
Sebastian Bowen: South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
Diversified miner South32 could be worth a look in 2022. This mining company gives investors exposure to a wide range of commodities, including silver, aluminium, lead, and nickel.
Broker Goldman Sachs has currently rated South32 shares as a 'conviction buy', with a 12-month share price target of $4.40. That implies a potential upside of roughly 10% not including dividends.
Speaking of dividends, Goldman also reckons South32 will be able to fund payouts in FY22 and FY23 that would equate to yields of between 11% and 12%. If this proves to be the case, South32 shares could prove to be an underappreciated income stalwart in 2022 and beyond.
Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen does not own shares of South32 Ltd.
Mitchell Lawler: Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC)
Alcidion provides a range of technology solutions to the healthcare industry. These include Miya Precision, Smartpage, Patientrack, and ExtraMed. These offerings are currently distributed in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, servicing more than 300 hospitals and 60 healthcare organisations.
The company is currently in the process of raising $55 million to fund the acquisition of UK-based Silverlink – which is one of the world's most widely-used patient administration systems in the National Health Service (NHS). Post-acquisition, Alcidion will boast a 26% share of the NHS provider market in the United Kingdom.
Analysts at Bell Potter currently hold a 'buy' rating on the stock with a price target of 45 cents per share. Based on the Alcidion share price at Friday's close, this represents an upside of around 70%.
Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler does not own shares of Alcidion Group Ltd.
Tristan Harrison: Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY)
Adore Beauty is a leading e-commerce beauty business.
It is currently 'buy'-rated by Morgan Stanley with a price target of $6. That compares to the current Adore Beauty share price of $4.10.
According to Adore, the beauty and personal care market in Australia is worth $11.2 billion, with compound annual growth expectations of 26% per annum to 2024.
The company is investing to grow its brand awareness, win new customers and increase customer retention. In the first quarter of FY22, revenue grew 25% to $63.8 million and returning customers grew 63% to 418,000. Higher margins are expected as Adore scales in the upcoming years.
Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison does not own shares of Adore Beauty Group Ltd.
Zach Bristow: IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO)
Analysts believe resources giant IGO remains well positioned to continue benefitting from the commodities super-cycle that's been occurring since 2020.
JP Morgan recently noted this, explaining that IGO has commodity exposure to nickel, copper, and cobalt through its 100%-owned Nova asset. The broker highlighted that its stakes in the world-class Greenbushes spodumene mine and Kwinana hydroxide plant makes IGO a one-stop stock for electric vehicle raw materials.
IGO's strong portfolio positioning has it rated as a 'buy' from 9 out of 15 analysts provided by Bloomberg Intelligence.
Barrenjoey, Jefferies and JP Morgan each value the IGO share price at well over $12. With metals markets showing continued strength, the brokers believe IGO is well poised to head towards these upside targets. IGO shares closed Friday's session at $11.35.
Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow does not own shares of IGO Ltd.
Brendon Lau: Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)
It's a controversial call as tech stocks are deeply out of favour, but some analysts believe the Nearmap share price could surprise on the upside in 2022. Morgan Stanley has grown more confident on the mapping technology company since its trading update last month.
The broker believes the group's first-half annual contract value will be at least US$108 million (around AU$143 million) That is around AU$15 million above the same time last year. And if Nearmap can deliver a similar increment in the FY22 second half, it shouldn't have too much trouble meeting consensus estimates.
In other words, too much bad news may be priced into the Nearmap share price, considering its crash of more than 30% this year to $1.53 as of Friday's close. Morgan Stanley maintains an overweight rating on Nearmap shares with a 12-month price target of $3.20.
Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Nearmap Ltd.
