Looking for a blue chip ASX 200 share or two for your portfolio following the market selloff? Listed below are three that have been given buy ratings recently.

Here’s what you need to know about them:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

The first blue chip ASX 200 share to consider is CSL. It is a leading biotechnology company which is home to the CSL Behring business and the Seqirus business. Combined, these two businesses have a portfolio of life-saving and lucrative therapies and vaccines which are generating billions of dollars in sales each year. In addition, the company invests in the region of 10% to 11% of its sales back into research and development activities every year. This means it is on course to invest around US$1 billion into these activities this year. This ensures that CSL has a pipeline of potentially lucrative products to drive its future growth.

Citi remains positive on CSL. This week the broker put a buy rating and $340.00 price target on its shares.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

Another blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is Goodman Group. It is a leading integrated commercial and industrial property company with a portfolio of warehouses, large scale logistics facilities, and business and office parks. Management notes that it continues to experience strong demand for its properties, which is being driven by increased intensification of use, long-term supply chain requirements, tight supply in urban infill locations and the quality of its assets. In addition, the company has $12.7 billion of development work in progress, which is expected to underpin further solid growth over the coming years.

Citi is also a fan of Goodman. It currently has a buy rating and $28.00 price target on the company’s shares.

SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK)

A final blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is SEEK. It is the dominant force in job listings in the ANZ market and has a number of international operations. While FY 2021 was a difficult year because of the pandemic, SEEK has been bouncing back strongly now the worst is over and hiring is ramping up.

This morning Macquarie retained its outperform rating and $37.00 price target on the company’s shares. It expects SEEK to upgrade its guidance with its half year results.

The post 3 blue chip ASX 200 shares to buy after the selloff appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Own CSL (ASX:CSL) shares? Here’s why the company is moving on from COVID research
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Analysts name 2 beaten down ASX shares with 30% upside
• Can the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price reach pre-COVID highs?
• 2 excellent blue chip ASX 200 shares to buy this month

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SEEK Limited. 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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Key points

• The Zip share price sank 9.66% today
• The news came amid mixed views on a potential acquisition of Sezzle by Zip Co
• Zip confirmed earlier this week it is in talks to acquire Sezzle

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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price slumped today amid reports Citi analysts have concerns over the company’s Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) takeover aspirations.

The ASX buy now, pay later company’s shares finished the day trading at $2.90 apiece, down 9.66%.

Let’s take a look at the latest chatter surrounding Zip.

Zip takeover talks get mixed reviews

The Zip share price fell nearly 10% today and is now down nearly 21% since market close on 19 January.

News that research analysts at Citi had mixed views on the possibility of Zip acquiring Sezzle may have weighed on investors’ minds today. Of course, this was also against the backdrop of tumbling ASX tech shares, with the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) ending the day more than 5% lower.

A report in today’s The Australian said Citi analysts have raised questions over whether a takeover of Sezzle is the correct strategy — despite the fact the acquisition could help Zip gain scale in the US buy now, pay later sector.

However, the analysts do seem to be in favour of some industry consolidation, reportedly saying, “From a sector perspective, we see the increasing consolidation activity as positive for industry profitability”.

But the analysts also expressed some concern, adding, “…we do not expect the acquisition to meaningfully change Zip’s enterprise retailer penetration immediately”.

Earlier this week, Zip confirmed media speculation it is in talks with rival Sezzle over a possible acquisition.

In a statement to the ASX, Zip’s board said:

Zip confirms it is in discussions with Sezzle in relation to a potential acquisition.

Zip is always interested in pursuing options that are in the best interests of shareholders; however the discussions with Sezzle are preliminary in nature and there is no certainty that the discussions will result in a transaction of any kind.

Zip is not the only ASX buy now, pay later stock that slipped in a horror day for the tech sector. Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2) dropped 5.35%, Openpay Ltd (ASX: OPY) dived 8.33%, and Sezzle sank 8.09%.

Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) also descended 1.86%.

Zip share price snapshot

The Zip share price has crashed by 33% since the end of 2021. Over the past 12 months, Zip shares have lost almost 63%.

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned just under 1% over the past year.

Zip has a market capitalisation of roughly $1.7 billion based on its current share price.

The post Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price tumbles 10% as top broker questions possible Sezzle play appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• What happened to ASX buy now, pay later shares today?
• Why A2 Milk, Baby Bunting, Codan, and Sezzle shares are surging higher
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Zip confirms Sezzle talks, Fortescue’s Q2 update
• Why is the Sezzle (ASX:SZL) share price rocketing 20% higher?
• Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price higher amid Sezzle acquisition talks

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Block, Inc. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Humm Group Limited. 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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Key points

• Buy now, pay later shares took a beating on the ASX today
• The Zip share price fell 9.66%, while Block sunk 5.35%
• The All Technology Index also descended overall

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) shares had a shocking day on the market today but they are not alone.

Leading the pack is the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price, diving 9.66%. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) also fell 1.77% today, while the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) slumped 5.05%

Let’s take a look at what happened to BNPL shares today.

Tech sector weakness hurts BNPL shares

The Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2) share price gravitated 5.35% while Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) shares cascaded 8.33%.

Meanwhile, Sezzle (ASX: SZL) shares tumbled 8.09% and Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) shares plunged 2.48%.

Today’s fall came amid an overall weakness in the technology sector in Australia.

Among the ASX tech share fallers was Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), down 6.69%.

Meanwhile, Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) plunged 9.85% and NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) sunk 1.85%. Additionally, Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) dropped a mammoth 9.46%.

Block’s ASX shares dropped slightly more than the company’s US listing. The Block Inc (NYSE: SQ) share price fell 3.71% overnight in the United States.

Paypal Holdings (NASDAQ: PYPL) fell 0.77%. However, the Nasdaq-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX) gained 0.17%.

The broader ASX index moved closer towards ‘a correction’ on Thursday, as my Foolish colleague Bernd noted.

Correction broadly refers to any pullback of more than 10% and the index is down more than 8% since the market close on 31 December.

The post What happened to ASX buy now, pay later shares today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• What happened to ASX tech shares today?
• Why is the Openpay (ASX: OPY) share price up 7% today?
• There’s a new kid on the Block (ASX:SQ2), but how does it make money?
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Zip confirms Sezzle talks, Fortescue’s Q2 update

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Block, Inc. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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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With the market under significant pressure this month, a good number of shares are trading at 52-week lows.

While this is disappointing, analysts appear to believe it could be a buying opportunity for some of them. Here are three beaten down shares that brokers rate as buys:

Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)

The Cochlear share price was out of form and sank to a 52-week low of $178.55 today before recovering slightly to end the session at $182.06.

The team at Credit Suisse are likely to see this recent share price weakness as a buying opportunity for investors. Earlier this week, the broker upgraded the hearing solutions company’s shares to an outperform rating with a $235.00 price target. Based on the current Cochlear share price, this implies potential upside of 29% over the next 12 months.

Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN)

The Harvey Norman share price got caught up in the market selloff and tumbled to a 52-week low of $4.57 on Thursday before ending the day at $4.67.

Goldman Sachs believes there’s material upside for the retail giant’s shares from this level. The broker currently has a buy rating and $6.00 price target on its shares. This implies a potential return of 28% before dividends. Speaking of which, the broker is forecasting fully franked dividends yields of 7.7% over the next three financial years.

NEXTC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

The NEXTDC share price dropped to a 52-week low of $9.74 on Thursday before recovering slightly to $9.82.

This share price weakness could also be a buying opportunity for investors according to Goldman Sachs. Its analysts currently have a conviction buy rating and $14.40 price target on the data centre operator’s shares. This implies potential upside of 48% for investors over the next 12 months.

The post 3 buy-rated ASX shares that just hit 52-week lows appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why is the Cochlear (ASX:COH) share price tumbling 5% on Thursday?
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• $20,000 invested in these ASX shares 10 years ago is worth how much today?
• 2 ASX dividend shares with fully franked 7% yields
• What happened to ASX tech shares today?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Cochlear Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear Ltd. 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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