You're fired! 7 ASX stocks to fire, 7 to hire before 30 June

“You’re fired!”

It's a phrase most people never want to hear. Unless, of course, you're talking about shares.

Markets reward discipline, not loyalty. Sometimes the best investment decision isn't finding your next winner - it's getting rid of a position that no longer deserves a place in your portfolio.

With 30 June around the corner, we asked seven popular and emerging Livewire contributors to make a tough call: Which ASX stock would they fire today? And which stock would they hire instead?

The result is a collection of high-conviction buy and sell ideas spanning large, mid and small caps across resources, technology, consumer goods and healthcare.

One of the highlights is a fascinating clash of views between TenCap's Jun Bei Liu and Alvia Asset Partners' Chris Scarpato on Sigma Healthcare (ASX: SIG), which has quietly become one of the ASX's top wealth creators over the past decade.

Some former market darlings found themselves in the firing line. Others were given a second chance. Every idea comes backed by a clear and compelling investment case.

Consider this your annual portfolio performance review and vote for your favourite ideas at the end. 

Jun Bei Liu, TenCap

STOCK TO FIRE - WOOLWORTHS (ASX: WOW)

Woolworths has benefited from being seen as a safe defensive, but I think that defensiveness is now fully reflected in the valuation. The consumer remains under pressure and, while more people eating at home should support sales, the key issue is margin.

Shoppers are still highly value-conscious, competition is intense, and Woolworths will need to keep investing in price, loyalty and convenience to defend share. At the same time, cost inflation across wages, energy, fuel and supply chain remains a headwind. In that environment, I see limited scope for a positive earnings surprise. 

For investors looking to reset portfolios before 30 June, I would be taking profits in WOW and rotating into stocks with better earnings momentum and valuation support.

STOCK TO HIRE: Sigma Healthcare (ASX: SIG)

Sigma Healthcare is my top buy idea. Recent share price weakness around the reported Boots acquisition created an attractive opportunity, particularly now the company has walked away from the process.

That reinforces management discipline: SIG is not chasing offshore scale at any price. The core Sigma/Chemist Warehouse story remains compelling, a market-leading pharmacy platform with strong brand equity, scale benefits, private label opportunity and ongoing store and margin growth.

Importantly, SIG is also one of the best ASX-listed ways to gain leverage to the structural growth in weight-loss drugs, with GLP-1 demand supporting prescription volumes, pharmacy foot traffic and broader health-and-wellness category spend. 

The market has been too focused on the Boots noise and not enough on the domestic growth runway. SIG offers defensive demand, structural growth and execution upside.

Chris Scarpato , Alvia Asset Partners

STOCK TO FIRE - SIGMA HEALTHCARE (ASX: SIG)

There are many examples of Australian companies consummating ill-fated acquisitions, with our sell recommendation centred on a company considering a large gamble in the United Kingdom, Sigma Healthcare, owner of Chemist Warehouse.

Chemist Warehouse’s Bunnings-like approach to pharmacies has seen it achieve “category killer” status in Australia. At Sigma, the company has expanded into Ireland, China and Dubai, and more recently the UK, with reasonable success.

To build on this momentum, Sigma considered a “double-down” of its UK presence, with an acquisition of private equity owned Boots, with a price tag of almost A$15 billion, about half the company’s market value. 

Despite walking away from this potential acquisition for now, it does highlight the scale and risk of the company’s international growth ambitions. History shows that when companies reach for growth abroad, they’re facing challenges at home.

STOCK TO HIRE (ASX: CSL)

CSL continues on its strategic reset under interim CEO and company “old timer”, Gordon Naylor. The company’s most recent update did not make for pleasant reading, however was not surprising, with material asset impairments, largely driven by the group’s poorly timed acquisition of Swiss-based iron deficiency and nephrology company Vifor.

Whilst we acknowledge the concerns within the Vifor business, where generic products and changes in funding are impacting performance, the company’s two other and much more important divisions in Behring (blood plasma-based therapies for immunodeficiencies and peri-operative bleeding) and Seqirus (flu and pandemic vaccines) retain strong market positions, with significant barriers to entry.

The market has gone from pricing CSL to perfection, to one that has terminal issues, which is providing an excellent opportunity to establish a position in a high-quality global healthcare franchise at a below market multiple.

Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, FNArena

STOCK TO FIRE - Bapcor (ASX: BAP)

Those are shocking numbers, indicative of a heavily polarised share market in which momentum and narrow leadership are steering the index.

If looking for a cheap entry into longer term performers, don’t jump on the lowest quality stocks. They won’t last the distance.

Too much debt, still, too much competitive pressures, and now a domestic economy in retreat, on top of a long list of management failures. Underneath a wailing share price hides a bruised business generating negative free cash flow. Not worth the risk.

STOCK TO hire - GOODMAN GROUP (ASX: GMG)

Goodman Group continues to have my conviction. It is yet again dawning upon local investors, the data centres build-out has a lot further to go and this company sits inside the sweet spot - globally.

There's a lot more going on inside this company, with demand for industrial warehousing a positive too and so will be a shift in focus towards RBA rate cuts in 2027, but in the here and now the market's focus very much lays with data centres and whether/when Goodman can announce fresh partnerships to build out its pipeline of work in progress.

Management has been very clear and transparent during briefings with institutional investors: negotiations are taking place. It's now but a matter of time.

Partnership announcements will act as a catalyst, all else remaining equal.

That $38 share price in early 2025 wasn't wrong, it was probably more a case of too early.

Mark Elzayed, Investor Pulse

STOCK TO FIRE - Droneshield (ASX: DRO)

DroneShield Ltd has emerged as one of the world's leading counter drone technology companies, providing detection, tracking, electronic warfare and mitigation systems designed to protect military, government and critical infrastructure assets from unmanned aerial threats. We continue to see strong industry tailwinds supporting the business as defence spending accelerates across Europe, North America and Asia.

Operational performance has also remained robust, with first quarter customer cash receipts rising 360% year on year and the company's sales pipeline reaching approximately $2.2 billion across more than 300 projects globally. By April, committed FY26 revenue had already reached approximately $154.8 million.

Despite these favourable developments, we currently maintain a “Sell” view on DRO. 

Our concern is centred on valuation rather than the quality of the underlying business. While FY25 revenue surged to approximately $217 million, net profit was only $3.5 million, indicating profitability has yet to scale in line with market expectations. 

Based on our valuation framework, we estimate the stock is trading around 27% above fair value, suggesting much of the anticipated growth is already reflected in the share price.

The technicals show the longer term trend remains weak despite the rebounds. Selling pressure continues to emerge following the stock's sharp retracement from its 2025 highs. We see resistance near $3.43 and stronger resistance around $6.36. Unless earnings growth accelerates materially or major contracts significantly improve forecasts, we believe downside risks remain elevated, with support near $1.72 representing our base case target. 

STOCK TO hire - pro medicus (ASX: PME)

Pro Medicus remains one of Australia's highest-quality healthcare technology companies, providing advanced medical imaging software through its flagship Visage platform. 

The business continues to strengthen its position across the US healthcare market, with recent contract momentum including major agreements with UCHealth, TidalHealth and other large healthcare systems, while also expanding adoption of its cloud-based Visage 7 enterprise imaging platform and cardiology offerings. 

The company's growing pipeline, increasing cloud penetration and expanding AI-enabled imaging capabilities remain key catalysts underpinning investor confidence.

We continue to view PME as a “Buy” following the correction experienced earlier in September 2025 and the subsequent improvement in sentiment. 

The investment case remains supported by exceptional fundamentals, including FY25 revenue growth of 31.9% to A$213 million, net profit growth of 39.2% to A$115.2 million, a debt-free balance sheet and more than A$520 million in new contract wins during the year.

 Management also pointed to a sizeable contracted revenue pathway extending into FY26 and beyond, supported by long duration agreements and increasing uptake of the company's full stack imaging solutions.

PME has recently broken above its lengthy consolidation range and cleared the previous resistance zone around A$150, indicating a potential shift back into a bullish trend. The support at A$117.70 remains a critical foundation and immediate floor for the current structure.

Following the breakout, momentum indicators suggest scope for a continued advance, although a decisive move through the near-term resistance at A$192.80 will be required to confirm the next leg higher.

Emanuel Datt, Datt Capital

STOCK TO FIRE - TREASURY WINE ESTATES (ASX: TWE)

Treasury Wines is a sell for us. 

A $987.6 million pre-tax impairment, including A$676.1 million of goodwill, has effectively written off the Americas in full and confirming that the company materially overpaid for previously acquired Americas brands. 

More troubling than this one off is that the wine market more broadly is in structural decline as younger generations seek healthier alternatives, with the company's own brands down nearly 12% by volume in calendar 2025. 

We are wary of businesses whose earnings are concentrated on a single brand in a single market, and Penfolds in China is precisely that.

With earnings down materially, the dividend suspended and a turnaround yet to prove itself this stock warrants caution.

STOCK TO hire - WISETECH GLOBAL (ASX: WTC)

That stickiness underwrites exceptional economics: EBITDA margins >40% and a genuinely cash generative engine. Capital discipline has been exemplary with management reinvesting at high incremental returns with significant scope to continue growth. 

This dominant yet under-penetrated position is highly attractive for investors. Factors weighed on the stock's valuation over the past year have been the scope of AI adoption, amendments to product pricing policy and management concerns. 

However, we view current prices as being very attractive to gain exposure to a high quality compounder.

Romano Sala Tenna, Katana Asset Management

STOCK TO FIRE - WHITEHAVEN COAL (ASX: WHC)

WHC was one of our top picks last year, so it may seem a little surprising that we now see it as a sell. However the stock has rerated from the $5 level and whilst we see further upside in time, we remain cautious on coal prices.

Thermal coal in particular has received a boost from the war in the middle east, which is likely to unwind in the coming months. 

With met coal, we now see the market more balanced than we originally forecast. On top of coal pricing, we believe that the June quarter (and a little beyond) will be impacted by higher diesel prices and general cost escalation.

WHC remains firmly on our watchlist. We like management, the suite of assets and the transformative deal they undertook in 2023 with Daunia and Blackwater. We have no doubt that we will be shareholders again at some point. However over the coming months, we see the risk-return to the downside.

STOCK TO HIRE - NEXTGEN ENERGY (ASX: NXG)

NXG owns the largest, highest grade undeveloped uranium asset globally. 

Rook 1 currently boasts a measured and indicated resource of 257mlb grading 3.10% U308 – that’s about 10x the grade of most uranium deposits. It also has a further inferred resource of 81mlb @ 0.83%, for a total resource of 337mlb. 

But there are 2 further kickers. 60% of the measured and indicated resource (181mlb) boasts an average grade of 17%. The only other mine of this grade is Cameco’s Cigar lake at 16.3% average. And NXG is currently drilling the Paterson’s East Corridor (PCE) nearby. The deposit is open in all directions, and drilling to date has had hits of 15m @ 15.9% and 5.5m at 21.4% U308.

Cameco has a market cap of US$44bn vs NXG at ~US$8bn. Cameco currently produces ~21mlb pa. NXG is targeting ~30mlb pa – nearly 25% of global supply. 

Cameco has existing mines and is a vertically integrated producer, so should trade on a strong premium.  But it is also short pounds - and we see it as a question of when not if they acquire NXG.

Ben Richards, Seneca Financial Solutions

STOCK TO FIRE - SANDFIRE RESOURCES (ASX: SFR)

Sandfire's assets in Botswana and Spain are fine. But it is no longer the high-grade, premium-jurisdiction (WA) darling it was at the peak of its DeGrussa powers. Arguably, however, it is still priced as though it is.

While Sandfire provides fine exposure to the copper price, our job as fund managers is to find the best exposure to the copper price, which we think has attractive fundamentals right now. We aim to identify the single best expression of any given idea and then blend those best ideas together to create a portfolio.

There is a well-publicised dearth of investable copper names on the ASX, particularly those large enough to absorb flows from major superannuation fund-backed managers. As a result, fund managers have tended to crowd into the $10 billion Sandfire, as well as Capstone Copper (CSC), especially now that mid-tier producer MAC Copper has been taken over.

We think the playbook here is to focus on the incremental beneficiary. In our view, that means selling what has been artificially inflated by passive flows (SFR) and buying what may soon be on the verge of receiving them (A1M).

stock to hire - AIC Mines (ASX: A1M)

Our pitch for A1M is simple: a high-grade copper producer set to double production, yet trading at half the valuation of its peers.

AIC Mines operates the Eloise copper mine, a deep but high-grade operation near Cloncurry, Queensland. To complement this asset, the company is currently developing the Jericho mine, located just 4km south of the Eloise processing plant, which is itself being expanded to accommodate the additional ore feed.

This is expected to increase copper production from 12.5ktpa to 20ktpa, with a pathway to 25ktpa in our view. At a market capitalisation of approximately $500 million, A1M has become large enough to attract meaningful institutional interest. However, we think this is just the beginning.

There is scope for A1M to grow into a $1 billion company, attracting larger investors seeking inexpensive copper exposure. As production grows, we expect both earnings growth and a valuation re-rating.

A1M is also covered by seven fewer broker analysts than Sandfire (SFR), meaning there is significant scope for incremental investor attention over time, helping to close the current valuation gap.

Management is particularly important for a company of this size. 

CEO Aaron Colleran and his team have delivered reliable production and communicated well to investors. 

This is one of the few management teams we trust to navigate the inevitably challenging ramp-up phase of a mine expansion.

And we haven't even mentioned Aaron's M&A pedigree from his time at Evolution Mining (EVN), optionality that, in our view, is not reflected in the current share price.

Quick reference: FIRE! vs HIRE!

Your turn to decide

We want to know which stock from this list you're most interested in selling, and which you're planning to buy or do further research on. Vote for any number below. Good luck with your EOFY decisions!

Note: All buy and sell calls were sourced from the participating experts between 12 and 19 June.