Stock Analysis

Is There Now An Opportunity In Ascential plc (LON:ASCL)?

LSE:ASCL
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Ascential plc (LON:ASCL), is not the largest company out there, but it led the LSE gainers with a relatively large price hike in the past couple of weeks. The company's trading levels have reached its high for the past year, following the recent bounce in the share price. With many analysts covering the stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stock’s share price. However, could the stock still be trading at a relatively cheap price? Let’s take a look at Ascential’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if the opportunity still exists.

Check out our latest analysis for Ascential

Is Ascential Still Cheap?

Great news for investors – Ascential is still trading at a fairly cheap price. According to our valuation, the intrinsic value for the stock is £4.21, but it is currently trading at UK£2.95 on the share market, meaning that there is still an opportunity to buy now. However, given that Ascential’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility.

Can we expect growth from Ascential?

earnings-and-revenue-growth
LSE:ASCL Earnings and Revenue Growth December 21st 2023

Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Although value investors would argue that it’s the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Ascential's revenue growth are expected to be in the teens in the upcoming years, indicating a solid future ahead. Unless expenses grow at the same level, or higher, this top-line growth should lead to robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? Since ASCL is currently undervalued, it may be a great time to accumulate more of your holdings in the stock. With an optimistic outlook on the horizon, it seems like this growth has not yet been fully factored into the share price. However, there are also other factors such as capital structure to consider, which could explain the current undervaluation.

Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping an eye on ASCL for a while, now might be the time to make a leap. Its prosperous future outlook isn’t fully reflected in the current share price yet, which means it’s not too late to buy ASCL. But before you make any investment decisions, consider other factors such as the strength of its balance sheet, in order to make a well-informed investment decision.

If you want to dive deeper into Ascential, you'd also look into what risks it is currently facing. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Ascential.

If you are no longer interested in Ascential, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential.

Valuation is complex, but we're helping make it simple.

Find out whether Ascential is potentially over or undervalued by checking out our comprehensive analysis, which includes fair value estimates, risks and warnings, dividends, insider transactions and financial health.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.