Looking for some small cap shares to buy? Then have a look at the three listed below.

Here's why they could be worth considering:

Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART)

The first small cap ASX share that has been tipped as a buy is Airtasker. It is Australia's leading online marketplace for local services, connecting people and businesses who need work done with people who want to work. Since launching in 2012, Airtasker highlights that it has enabled more than $2 billion in working opportunities and served more than 1.3 million unique paying customers across the world. But the company is only getting started. It estimates that it has a total addressable market of $600 billion across Australia, the UK, and the US.

Morgans is a fan and sees huge upside for Airtasker's shares. It currently has an add rating and $1.05 price target on them.

PlaySide Studios Limited (ASX: PLY)

Another small cap ASX share to look at is PlaySide Studios. It is one of the largest video game developers in Australia. It has a growing portfolio of its own titles and a number of work for hire deals with major publishers such as 2K Games and Activision Blizzard. The latter appears to demonstrate its growing reputation in the industry.

Ord Minnett currently has a speculative buy rating and 85 cents price target on its shares.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

A final small cap that could be a buy is online travel booking and expense management provider, Serko. It is the company behind the Zeno Travel and Zeno Expense platforms. The Zeno Travel platform provides AI-powered end-to-end travel itineraries, cost control, and travel policy compliance to corporate customers. Whereas the Zeno Expense platform allows businesses to automate and streamline their expense administration function, identify out-of-policy expense claims, and prevent fraud. The company also has a deal with travel giant Booking.com which is expected to drive significant growth in the coming years.

Citi is a fan of Serko and has a buy rating and $5.10 price target on the company's shares.

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Looking for some small cap shares to add to your portfolio? Then have a look at the two listed below.

Here's why analysts think they could be in the buy zone:

Readytech Holdings Ltd (ASX: RDY)

The first highly rated small cap ASX share to look at is ReadyTech. It is an enterprise software company serving market verticals including higher education and local government.

ReadyTech has been growing at a strong rate for several years and continued this trend in FY 2022. Earlier this week, the company reported a 56.5% in revenue to $78.3 million and 45.5% jump in underlying EBITDA to $28.6 million.

Another positive was that the company's recurring revenue increased to 76% of total revenue from 65% a year earlier. This bodes well for the future and helped underpin an increase in the company's FY 2026 organic revenue target to over $160 million. This is more than double its current revenue.

In response to the update, the team at Goldman Sachs reiterated its buy rating with a $4.30 price target. Goldman believes that ReadyTech "remains materially undervalued relative to profitable SaaS peers."

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

Another small cap ASX share to consider is Serko. It is the online travel booking and expense management provider behind Zeno Travel and Zeno Expense platforms.

The company's Zeno Travel platform provides artificial intelligence-powered end-to-end travel itineraries, cost control, and travel policy compliance to corporate customers. Whereas the Zeno Expense platform allows businesses to automate and streamline their expense administration function, identify out-of-policy expense claims, and prevent fraud.

It also has a game-changing deal with travel booking giant Booking.com which is beginning to take shape now COVID headwinds are easing. It is partly for this reason that Citi is very positive on Serko.

So much so, it currently has a high risk buy rating and $5.10 price target on its shares.

The post 2 exciting small cap ASX shares that analysts rate as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Are you looking for some small cap shares to add to your portfolio? If you are, then have a look at the two listed below.

Here's why they analysts are bullish on these small caps:

Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART)

The first small cap ASX share to consider is this online marketplace provider for local services.

It could be a top option thanks to its material growth opportunity both at home and overseas. For example, management estimates that it has a total addressable market (TAM) of $600 billion across Australia, the UK, and the US.

Morgans remains a big fan of Airtasker. At the end of last month, the broker retained its add rating on the company's shares with a price target of $1.05. This implies potential upside of 160% for investors based on the current Airtasker share price of 40.5 cents.  It commented:

Whilst acknowledging the current volatile market conditions and broader sector sentiment, we continue to remain attracted to the strong growth opportunity ahead for ART, predicated on the company successfully implementing its strategy of penetrating the prodigious TAM opportunity both domestically and offshore.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

Another small cap ASX share to look at is this online travel booking and expense management software provider.

Serko was hit hard by the pandemic but is bouncing back strongly now. And with the company well-funded, it is now able to focus on its global marketplace strategy. This strategy is aiming to transform the company from an online booking tool into a distributed marketplace. This will also be supported by its game-changing deal with Booking.com.

Citi is positive on Serko. It recently retained its buy rating and $5.10 price target on the company's shares. This suggests potential upside of 57% from the current Serko share price of $3.25. The broker commented:

We continue to see a high degree of uncertainty in terms of forecasting the Booking.com for Business in the near term, however expect the expansion into unmanaged travel in partnership with Booking.com to drive solid earnings growth over the medium term and also help the core business.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed Wall Street's lead and is storming higher. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.8% to 7,168.5 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:

Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)

The Boral share price is down 3% to $3.11. Investors have been selling this building products company's shares after it revealed that its earnings have taken a hit from recent inclement weather and higher energy prices. This means that Boral will fall short of its underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) guidance of $145 million and $155 million.

Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE)

The Eagers Automotive share price is down 3% to $11.50. This morning the automotive retailer released a market update. While that update revealed that demand is very strong, the lack of supply of vehicles is impacting its performance. As a result, its half-year profits are expected to be down ~13% compared to the prior corresponding period.

PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)

The PolyNovo share price is down 5% to $1.23. This share price weakness may be due to ASIC data showing that short sellers have continued to increase their holdings despite some rampant insider buying from the company's Chairman, David Williams. PolyNovo's short interest now stands at 10.87%.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

The Serko share price is down 5% to $4.07. This morning this travel technology company released its full year results for FY 2022. Serko revealed a 17% increase in segment revenue to NZ$19.8 million, which was within its guidance range of NZ$18.5 million to NZ$20.5 million. However, its net losses grew even quicker at 22% to NZ$36 million.

The post Why Boral, Eagers Automotive, PolyNovo, and Serko shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Experts have revealed some quality ASX growth share picks that they believe are opportunities at the current valuations.

There has been plenty of volatility on the ASX share market in recent months. Lower prices could mean better value for these two growing businesses:

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

Serko describes itself as a leader in online travel booking and expense management for the business travel market.

In terms of how much of a decline it has seen, the Serko share price has fallen by around 40% in the past six months to its current price of $4.28.

It's currently rated as a buy by a few different brokers, including Citi. The price target is $5.75, implying a potential rise of more than 34% over the next year. The broker believes the partnership with Booking will be a key area of interest in the upcoming report from the ASX growth share.

Citi is expecting Serko's volume to keep growing as it recovers from the impacts of COVID-19.

In its February 2022 trading conditions update, the company said the Omicron COVID variant had reduced business travel volumes in key markets and the expected revenue for FY22. Booking.com business volumes were "significantly impacted" in December up until mid-January. However, in the week prior to the update, volumes were back to approximately 90% of October 2021 volumes.

The ASX growth share's revenue for FY22 is now expected to be between NZ$18 million and NZ$20.5 million.

The company is due to hand in its full-year result on 18 May.

Step One Clothing Ltd (ASX: STP)

For readers that haven't heard of Step One Clothing before, it's a direct-to-consumer online retailer for 'innerwear'. It says that it offers an "exclusive range of high-quality, organically grown and certified, sustainable and ethically manufactured innerwear that suits a broad range of body types".

The Step One Clothing share price has also seen a hefty decline in recent times. Over the last six months, Step One Clothing shares have dropped by around 82% to 48 cents at the time of writing.

It's currently rated as a buy by the broker Morgans with a price target of $2.40. That implies a potential rise of around 400% over the next year.

The broker likes the expanding product range of the business, with expectations for a good end to FY22, going into FY23. The broker thought the market had been too harsh on this ASX growth share.

In that FY22 half-year result, Step One reported revenue of $38.1 million, which was up 11.7%. Its gross profit margin improved from 82.1% to 83.1%. The company also boasted of "strong" returning customer order rates. Returning customers increased from 39% to 60%.

The company is looking to grow in the UK and the US. It has launched a women's line and a sports range.

In FY22, Step One is expecting to grow sales by between 21% and 25%, with pro-forma earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBTIDA) of $15 million.

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Four ASX shares that have managed to avoid the selloff are listed below. Here's why they are pushing higher:

Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL)

The Bellevue Gold share price is up 3% to $1.02. This morning the gold explorer released its quarterly activities update. The company stated that it has made outstanding progress on both the geological and project development fronts during the quarter. This has culminated in a host of strong infill drilling results and the award of a mining contract.

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

The CSL share price is up 1.5% to $270.81. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Morgan Stanley. According to the note, the broker sees a pathway for the CSL share price to reach $400 by 2025. This would be an increase of almost 50% from current levels. Morgan Stanley sees the acquisition of Swiss biotech giant Vifor Pharma as key to driving the company's shares materially higher. In the meantime, the broker has an overweight and $310 price target on its shares.

Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV)

The Endeavour share price is up over 1% to $7.72. This alcohol retailer's shares were given a boost today from a broker note out of Goldman Sachs. In response to its trading update, the broker has retained its conviction buy rating and lifted its price target to $8.30. Goldman said: "We continue to believe that EDV is unrivaled in its capability to deliver a seamless omni-channel experience to consumers and can manage well through short-term cost volatilities with a less price-sensitive portfolio and high consumer loyalty."

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

The Serko share price is up 4% to $4.26. This is despite there being no news out of this travel technology company. However, its shares have failed to rebound like many of its travel sector peers recently. So, some investors may believe they are due for a rerating and have been picking them up today.

The post Why Bellevue Gold, CSL, Endeavour, and Serko shares are pushing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Share prices change every trading day. Over the weeks, a business can become significantly cheaper (or more expensive). This can open up opportunities for investors.

The below businesses are ones that brokers have rated as buys.

Kelsian Group Ltd (ASX: KLS)

Kelsian used to be called SeaLink Travel. It describes itself as Australia's largest integrated land and marine, tourism and public transport service provider with established international operations in London and Singapore.

It operates around 4000 buses, 120 ferries and 24 light rail vehicles, carrying over 207 million customers, according to Kelsian.

The ASX share is currently rated as a buy by at least three brokers, including UBS with a price target of $10. This implies a potential upside of around 30%. The broker is attracted to the constant demand of the bus operations.

When it released its FY22 half-year result, the company said that "essential services continue to run on a full schedule, while the marine and tourism portfolio is poised to take advantage of the return of interstate and international visitors."

In the medium-to-long term, the company said it's in a position to take advantage of the extensive pipeline of organic growth opportunities in its contracted businesses. It's also exploring acquisition opportunities in international markets.

UBS thinks Kelsian is valued at approximately 20x FY23's estimated earnings.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

Serko says that it's transforming the world of business travel and expense, using technology, predictive workflows and a marketplace.

It's currently rated as a buy by the broker Citi, with a price target of $5.75. That implies a potential rise of around 20% over the next year.

The broker is attracted to the quality of Serko's offering as well as the potential for Serko to benefit from a travel restart. Serko's partnership with Booking Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: BKNG) is seen as an important area to grow value for the business.

In February 2022, Serko gave a 'trading conditions update'.

The ASX share said that the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant and related restrictions reduced business travel volumes in key markets and expected revenue for the result for the 12 months to 31 March 2022.

Due to that disruption, the company reduced its revenue guidance range for the year to between NZ$18 million to NZ$20.5 million, down from NZ$21 million to NZ$25 million. The low end of that range assumes the volumes in each market in February and March would be materially lower than the volumes in the last week of January.

The high end of the range assumes a gradual continuing of the improving trend in transaction volumes driven by normal seasonality. It also assumes a recovery of business volumes from Booking.com and within the Australian market as COVID-19 disruptions reduce.

The company's expectation was that the recovery in booking volumes would be partially offset by lower New Zealand bookings. The ASX share was seeing some "early signs of recovery" in Australia when it updated the market, but demand in New Zealand had been significantly affected.

The post 2 little-known ASX shares that brokers rate as strong buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's why they could be worth getting better acquainted with:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

The first small cap to watch is Bigtincan. It is a provider of enterprise mobility software that helps sales and service teams increase their sales win rates, reduce expenditures, and improve customer satisfaction through improved mobile worker productivity.  It has a number of blue chip clients such as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and sports giant Nike. Morgan Stanley is a fan of Bigtincan. It has an overweight rating and $2.10 price target on its shares.

MoneyMe Ltd (ASX: MME)

Another small cap ASX share to watch is MoneyMe. It is a fintech that uses technology and artificial intelligence to deliver highly automated credit products and customer experiences. MoneyMe notes that it originates loans through a diversified mix of credit products and distribution channels to create significant scale and long-term customer advantages. This includes through the SocietyOne business, which MoneyMe recently acquired for $132 million. Morgans is positive on the company's future. It has an add rating and $2.35 price target on its shares.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

A final small cap to watch is Serko. It is an online travel booking and expense management provider with a number of quality solutions which have significant market opportunities. It also has a game-changing deal with travel booking giant Booking.com which is beginning to take shape now COVID headwinds are easing. Last week, Citi initiated coverage on Serko with a buy rating and $5.75 price target.

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With that in mind, here are two small cap ASX shares that could be worth watching closely:

Elmo Software Ltd (ASX: ELO)

The first small cap to watch is ELMO. It is a cloud-based human resources and payroll software company that provides a unified platform to streamline processes. This includes processes such as employee administration, recruitment, on-boarding, learning, performance, remuneration, compliance training and payroll.

Elmo has been a strong performer in recent years and continued this trend during the first half of FY 2022. For the six months ended 31 December, Elmo grew its annualised recurring revenue (ARR) by 35% since the end of June to $98.3 million. Management advised that this reflects strong trading conditions due to the increased adoption of cloud-software solutions by businesses to manage remote or hybrid workforces.

This result went down well with the team at Morgan Stanley. In response, the broker put an overweight rating and $7.80 price target on its shares.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

Another small cap to watch is Serko. It is an online travel booking and expense management provider behind the Zeno Travel and Zeno Expense platforms.

Serko's Zeno Travel platform provides AI-powered end-to-end travel itineraries, cost control, and travel policy compliance to corporate customers. Whereas Zeno Expense allows businesses to automate and streamline their expense administration function, identify out-of-policy expense claims, and prevent fraud.

Thanks to travel markets rebounding strongly from COVID and a major deal with travel giant Booking.com commencing last year, Serko reported an 81% jump in operating revenue to NZ$9.2 million during the first half of FY 2022.

The team at Ord Minnett appear to believe this strong form can continue long into the future. Last month the broker put a buy rating and $7.93 price target on Serko's shares.

The post 2 exciting small cap ASX shares for your watchlist appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's why they could be worth getting better acquainted with:

Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART)

The first small cap ASX share to consider is Airtasker. It is a growing online marketplace provider for local services that estimates that it has a total addressable market of $600 billion across Australia, the UK, and the US. This sizeable opportunity has caught the eye of the team at Morgans. As has its attractive business model, which the broker highlights works for both sides of the marketplace and has attractive unit dynamics. Morgans also points out that this market is in the early stages of ecommerce adoption, which bodes well for Airtasker's future growth.

Morgans has an add rating and $1.25 price target on the company's shares.

PlaySide Studios Limited (ASX: PLY)

Another small cap ASX share to look at is PlaySide Studios. It is one of the largest video game developers in Australia with a growing portfolio of titles. In addition, the company has recently announced work for hire deals with games publishing giants 2K Games and Activision Blizzard. This demonstrates its growing reputation in the industry and could open the door to other deals in the future.

Canaccord Genuity is a fan of PlaySide. It currently has a buy rating and $1.30 price target its shares.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

A final small cap to look at is this online travel booking and expense management provider. Serko was hit hard by the pandemic but is bouncing back strongly now. And with the company well-funded thanks to a recent capital raising, it can now focus on its global marketplace strategy. This strategy is aiming to transform the company from an online booking tool into a distributed marketplace. This will also be supported by its game-changing deal with Booking.com.

Ord Minnett remains very positive on Serko. Last month it put a buy rating and $7.93 price target on its shares.

The post 3 small cap ASX shares analysts are tipping for big things appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's why they could be worth getting better acquainted with:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

The first small cap to watch is Bigtincan. It is a provider of enterprise mobility software that allows sales and service organisations to improve mobile worker productivity through smart devices. Management highlights that businesses such as Nike, Prudential, and Starwood Hotels trust Bigtincan to enable customer-facing teams to intelligently prepare, engage, measure and continually improve the buying experience for their customers.

Morgan Stanley has an overweight rating and $2.10 price target on its shares.

Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO)

Another small cap to watch is Nitro Software. It is a software company that is aiming to drive digital transformation in organisations around the world with its increasingly popular Nitro Productivity Suite. This suite provides businesses with integrated PDF productivity and electronic signature tools. A testament to the quality of its software is that a number of the largest companies in the world use it. This includes over half of the Fortune 500.

Bell Potter is a fan of Nitro. It currently has a buy rating and $3.25 price target on its shares.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

Serko could be a small cap share to watch very closely now the travel market recovery is underway. It is an online travel booking and expense management provider with a number of quality solutions that have large market opportunities. Another positive is that it recently signed a deal with US online travel booker Booking.com. This has the potential to be a game-changer over the coming years as the travel giant migrates its customers onto the Serko platform.

Ord Minnett recently retained its buy rating with a $7.93 price target.

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Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are sinking:

Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT)

The Cettire share price has crashed over 22% to $2.34 following the release of its first half results. Although the global luxury online retailer delivered a 192% jump in gross revenue to $154.1 million, this was underpinned by a huge increase in marketing costs. As a result, Cettire swung from a $2.3 million profit to an $8.3 million loss. Investors appear concerned by the scalability of its platform.

Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX)

The Novonix share price has tumbled 14% to $6.59. A number of richly valued shares have come under pressure on Thursday. In addition, on Wednesday Morgans suggested that the Novonix share price had peaked for the time being. It retained its neutral rating and cut its price target to $6.97.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

The Serko share price has fallen 7% to $4.55. This travel technology company's shares have come under pressure today after it warned of difficult trading conditions due to the Omicron variant. This has led to Serko downgrading its revenue guidance to between NZ$18 million and NZ$20.5 million. Management was previously forecasting revenue of NZ$21 million and NZ$25 million.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price is down 9% to $2.92. This appears to have been driven by broad weakness in the tech sector on Thursday following a very disappointing result from social media giant Meta (Facebook). The Meta share price was down a whopping 23% during after hours trade on Wall Street.

The post Why Cettire, Novonix, Serko, and Zip shares are sinking today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Key Points

• Currently, the Serko share price is hovering near a 52-week low of $4.59
• Unfavourable trading conditions impacting business performance with business travel volumes down
• Adjusted FY22 revenue guidance of between NZ$18 million to NZ$20.5 million

The Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO) share price is tumbling today following the company's announcement of a trading update.

The online travel booking and expense management provider's shares are down by 5.51% to $4.63.

Serko signals tough trading conditions

In its statement, Serko advised challenging trading conditions since the release of its FY22 half-year results on 24 November.

The company stated that the Omicron variant has continued to disrupt business travel volumes across the globe. This is expected to lead to reduced revenues that were previously forecasted for the full-year ending 31 March 2022.

However, to ensure enough liquidity on the company's balance sheet, management undertook a capital raise in 2021. The funds are being used to innovate Serko's global offering and expand its revenue base through the acquisition of new customers.

While business travel volumes are normally down during the holiday months of December and January, booking numbers have fallen even further due to COVID-19.

However, on a positive note, last week the booking.com for business has recovered to around 90% October 2021 levels. This is in particular for the Australian and New Zealand markets.

As a result of the ongoing volatility, Serko adjusted its FY22 revenue guidance range between NZ$18 million and NZ$20.5 million. In contrast, the company previously forecasted revenue guidance of NZ$21 million and NZ$25 million.

Management noted that the lower end of the range reflects a drop in revenue over last week's volumes for February and March.

In addition, the higher end represents a gradual improvement in transaction numbers driven by normal seasonality.

The company is predicting an average monthly cash burn of almost $4 million in the six-month period to 31 March. This is in line with earlier guidance provided to investors in November 2021.

Serko share price snapshot

In the last 12 months, the Serko share price has fallen by 10%. Although, when looking at year to date, its shares are down by more than 25%.

Having reached an all-time high of $8.15 in September, Serko shares are now close to their 52-week low of $4.59 today.

The post Here's why the Serko (ASX:SKO) share price is sinking 5% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's what you need to know about these growing small cap ASX shares:

PlaySide Studios Limited (ASX: PLY)

The first small cap to watch is PlaySide Studios. It is one of the largest independent video game developers in Australia. At present, the company's portfolio comprises 50+ titles that are delivered across four platforms – mobile, virtual reality, augmented reality, and PC. Among these titles are games developed in collaboration with studios such as Disney, Pixar, Warner Bros, and Nickelodeon. PlaySide has also recently announced promising deals with games publishing giant 2K Games and gaming influencer company One True King that could be a big boost to its growth in the coming years. Management estimates that it has a US$159 billion global addressable market to grow into over the next decade.

Canaccord Genuity currently has a buy rating and $1.00 price target on its shares.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

Another small cap to watch is Serko. It is the online travel booking and expense management provider behind the Zeno Travel and Zeno Expense platforms. The Zeno Travel platform provides artificial intelligence-powered end-to-end travel itineraries, cost control and travel policy compliance to corporate customers. Whereas the Zeno Expense platform allows users to automate and streamline the expense administration function, identify out-of-policy expense claims, and prevent fraud. While demand for its offering has suffered during the pandemic, demand has been rebounding. For example, Serko reported an 81% jump in operating revenue to NZ$9.2 million during the first half of FY 2022. The good news is that the second half should be boosted by the Booking.com deal, which has seen 300,000 business customers migrated to the Zeno platform.

Ord Minnett has a buy rating and $8.10 price target on Serko's shares.

The post 2 growing small cap ASX shares to watch appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's why they could be worth getting better acquainted with:

Ai-Media Technologies Ltd (ASX: AIM)

The first small cap to watch is Ai-Media Technologies. It is a global media access provider with operations across the ANZ, North American, EMEA and Asia markets. The company's cloud-based technology platform provides live and recorded captioning, transcription, subtitles, translation and speech analytics. Bell Potter is positive on the company. It currently has a buy rating and $1.50 price target Ai-Media Technologies' shares.

ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO)

ELMO is a cloud-based human resources and payroll software company. It provides a unified platform to streamline processes for employee administration, recruitment, on-boarding, learning, performance, remuneration, compliance training and payroll. ELMO has been a strong performer in recent years and looks well-placed in the future. This is due to acquisitions and favourable industry tailwinds. Morgan Stanley has an outperform rating and lofty $7.80 price target on its shares.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

Serko could be a small cap share to watch. It is an online travel booking and expense management provider with a number of quality solutions which have significant market opportunities. Another positive is that it recently signed a deal with travel booking giant Booking.com. This has the potential to be a game-changer over the coming years. Ord Minnett recently put a buy rating and $8.10 price target on Serko's shares.

The post 3 small cap ASX shares to watch in January appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's why they could be worth getting better acquainted with:

Ai-Media Technologies Ltd (ASX: AIM)

The first small cap to watch is Ai-Media Technologies. Its cloud-based technology platform provides live and recorded captioning, transcription, subtitles, translation and speech analytics to customers across the ANZ, North American, EMEA and Asia markets. These customers range from universities, schools, government and non government organisations, SMEs and individual content producers, events, global and domestic broadcasters and OTT streaming services.

Bell Potter is positive on the company. It currently has a buy rating and $1.50 price target on its shares. This compares to the latest Ai-Media Technologies share price of 72.5 cents.

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

Another small cap to watch is Bigtincan. It is a provider of enterprise mobility software that allows sales and service organisations to improve mobile worker productivity through smart devices. The company notes that global businesses including Nike, Guess, Prudential, and Starwood Hotels trust Bigtincan to enable customer-facing teams to intelligently prepare, engage, measure and continually improve the buying experience for their customers.

Morgan Stanley is a fan of Bigtincan and has an overweight rating and $2.10 price target on its shares. This is notably higher than the current Bigtincan share price of 98.5 cents.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

A final small cap to watch is this online travel booking and expense management provider. Serko recently raised NZ$75 million to support its growth strategy. This includes Serko's global marketplace strategy, which is aiming to transform the company from an online booking tool into a distributed marketplace.

Ord Minnett appears pleased with these plans. It recently retained its buy rating and lifted its price target on Serko's shares to $8.10. This compares to the current Serko share price of $6.49.

The post 3 buy-rated small cap ASX shares with major upside potential appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Both of these small cap ASX shares have been tipped as buys by analysts. Here's why:

Adore Beauty Group Limited (ASX: ABY)

The first small cap ASX share to look at is Adore Beauty. It is an integrated content, marketing, and ecommerce retail platform with a focus on the beauty market.

At the last count, the company had 874,000 active customers, which was up 24% over the prior corresponding period. From these customers, the company generated revenue of $63.8 million during the first quarter of FY 2022. This represents a 25% increase on the same period last year.

The good news is that even if you annualise its Q1 revenue to $255 million, it is still only a small slice of the $11 billion a year Australian beauty and personal market. This provides Adore Beauty with a long runway for growth over the next decade as more and more industry sales shift online.

Shaw and Partners is a fan of Adore Beauty. Its analysts currently have a buy rating and $6.00 price target on its shares.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

Another small cap ASX share to look at is Serko. It is an online travel booking and expense management provider.

It recently announced the completion of a NZ$75 million placement to support its growth. This includes supporting Serko's global marketplace strategy, which is aiming to transform the company from an online booking tool into a distributed marketplace.

In addition, some of the proceeds will be used to support its Booking.com for Business offering. Management advised that following the successful migration of Booking.com business customers onto the new Zeno powered Booking.com for Business platform, Serko will undertake targeted investment to optimise customer engagement and extend the offering across global markets to maximise the potential of the opportunity.

All in all, this appears to have left Serko well-placed for growth once travel markets return to normal.

Ord Minnett certainly believes this to be the case. Last week the broker retained its buy rating and lifted its price target to $8.10.

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Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are falling:

Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX: CPH)

The Creso Pharma share price is down 4% to 9.6 cents. This morning the cannabis company revealed that it was served with a notice by ASIC requiring it to produce certain documents in connection with an investigation. This "includes suspected contraventions by the Company, its officers, agents, employees and representatives in relation to trading in its securities."

Hansen Technologies Limited (ASX: HSN)

The Hansen share price is down 4% to $5.73. This follows the release of the billing technology company's annual general meeting update. That update reveals that the company is on track for a marginal improvement in operating revenue in FY 2022 excluding the Telefonica contract.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

The Life360 share price is down 9% to $12.30 following the completion of the institutional component of its fully underwritten A$280 million capital raising. Life360 raised the funds at $12.00 per new share, which represents an 11.1% discount to its last close price. These funds are to be used to acquire items tracking company Tile for a purchase price of up to US$205 million. Management notes that the combination of Life360 and Tile creates an integrated market leader in location solutions for all life stages. This enables a seamless experience for families that integrates people, pets and things.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

The Serko share price is down 11.5% to $6.56. This follows the completion of the travel booking technology company's NZ$75 million placement. According to the release, the placement was fully subscribed at NZ$7.05 per share, representing a 10.2% discount to its last close price. These funds will be used to support the company's growth. This includes its global marketplace strategy, which is aiming to transform Serko from an online booking tool into a distributed marketplace.

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At the time of writing, the travel booking technology company's shares are down 10% to $6.65.

Why is the Serko share price tumbling lower?

The weakness in the Serko share price today has been driven by the completion of the company's NZ$75 million placement.

According to the release, the placement was fully subscribed at NZ$7.05 per share, representing a 10.2% discount to the closing price of NZ$7.85 on 23 November.

Management advised that the placement was well supported, attracting bids well in excess of the NZ$75 million total offer amount from institutional and other select investors in both local and offshore markets.

Serko will now push ahead with a retail offer aiming to raise a further NZ$10 million from retail shareholders.

Why is Serko raising funds?

Serko launched its capital raising to raise funds for three particular activities. These are investing for growth with Booking.com for Business, developing a global marketplace strategy, and for potential acquisitions that accelerate its global expansion opportunities.

In respect to the former, the company notes that following the successful migration of Booking.com business customers onto the new Zeno powered Booking.com for Business platform, Serko will undertake targeted investment to optimise customer engagement and extend the offering across global markets to maximise the potential of the opportunity.

As for the global marketplace strategy, Serko intends to transform from an online booking tool into a distributed marketplace. This will create an ecosystem of travel content suppliers and business travel market segments connected through the Zeno platform.

Serko's CEO, Darrin Grafton, was pleased with the success of the capital raising.

He commented: "The capital raising enables Serko to continue to invest to capture the growth opportunities across key markets, and realise our vision of transforming from an online booking tool into a global marketplace. We are pleased with the level of support received for the raise from new and existing investors."

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The Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO) share price isn't going anywhere today following the release of the company's FY22 half-year results.

The online travel booking and expense management provider's shares are frozen at $7.42 apiece.

Serko share price on ice following mixed performance for H1 FY22

The Serko share price is in a trading halt after the company delivered its half-year FY22 results for the 6 months ending 30 September 2021. Here are some of the key financial highlights for the period:

• Total operating revenue of $9.2 million, up 81% on the prior corresponding period (H1 FY21 $5.1 million)
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of $11.8 million, up 76% (H1 FY21 $6.7 million loss)
• Underlying net loss after tax (NPAT) of $15.2 million, up 50% (H1 FY21 $10.1 million loss)

What happened to Serko in H1 FY22?

Serko reported a challenging first half of the year, tempered by the impact of COVID-19 on other markets. In addition, the strict lockdowns experienced during the second quarter affected its performance in New Zealand and Australia.

Total travel bookings rose on Serko's platform to 1.3 million, up 157% from the same period a year ago. The segment was more heavily weighted towards the first quarter, lifted by more limited lockdowns in both counties.

While travel gradually began to recover, the proportion of travel platform versus expense management revenue changed compared to FY21. This resulted in a lower average revenue per booking of $7.38 compared to $8.76 during the full-year FY21.

EBITDA losses amplified, reflecting a slow return to travel globally, combined with an increase in investment in the Serko platform.

The company ended the first half with cash and short-term deposits of $62.3 million, down on the $79.9 million at 31 March 2021. The cash burn over the 6-month period averaged $2.9 million per month. Management continued to prudently conserve cash, whilst balancing investing for revenue-generating opportunities.

What did management say?

Serko CEO and co-founder Darrin Grafton commented on the result:

We are poised for growth out of this pandemic and the investment to date has proven our ability to grow from a regional leader to a truly global player. Our focus is now on scaling the business to activate the opportunities we have ahead of us.

We continue to advance our vision of the 'connected trip' with enhancements to our product and the addition of new content. These include tools that allow businesses to deliver on their sustainability commitments and better discharge the duty of care they owe to their travellers, such as informing them of COVID-19 protection measures.

What's next for Serko in H2 FY22?

Looking ahead, Serko is confident that business travel will return over time. It believes that the target of reaching $100 million in revenue in the mid-term remains achievable.

However, the disruptions to global business travel arising from the pandemic and other factors continue to delay the timing.

Serko anticipates full-year revenue and other income of between $21 million and $25 million. This outlook assumes a general reduction of domestic travel restrictions within Australia and New Zealand and no significant lockdowns in Europe or North America.

Serko launches capital raise

In addition to the results announcement, Serko advised it has launched a NZ$85 million (A$81.47 million) equity raise.

The company plans to undertake a NZ$75 million (A$71.89 million) fully-underwritten placement, and a NZ$10 million (A$9.59 million) non-underwritten retail offer.

The offer price is NZ$7.05 (A$6.76) per share, representing a 10.2% discount to the last closing price on 23 November.

Proceeds from the equity raise will go toward a number of activities. These include investing for growth with Booking.com for Business, developing global marketplace strategy, and accelerating global expansion opportunities.

Adding to his previous comments, Mr Grafton said:

Despite the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the travel industry, Serko has continued to maintain a strong market position in Australasia, invest in the Booking.com for Business global opportunity and increase market presence in North America. Serko is now poised to enter the next phase of growth – to scale up and progress our long-term strategy of becoming a global business travel marketplace.

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