Last week saw a large number of broker notes hitting the wires once again. Three buy ratings that caught my eye are summarised below.

Here’s why brokers think investors ought to buy them next week:

Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have upgraded this homewares retailer’s shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $2.40. The broker likes Adairs due to its strong online business, solid product offering, and improving supply chain. It also believes its shares are very cheap at 13x forward earnings. I think Goldman Sachs makes some great points and Adairs  could be a good option for investors.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

Analysts at Citi have retained their buy rating and lifted the price target on this aerial imagery technology and location data company’s shares to $2.60. According to the note, the broker was pleased with its market update and was impressed with the resilience of the business. And while it suspects that FY 2021 will be tough, it remains positive on its longer term outlook. I agree with Citi and think Nearmap would be a great buy and hold option.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

A note out of Credit Suisse reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating but trimmed the price target on this telco giant’s shares to $4.10. Although the broker expects the pandemic to negatively impacts its earnings, the damage isn’t enough for it to change its bullish stance. It feels its shares are cheap at the current level and continues to forecast a 16 cents per share dividend over the near term. I think Credit Suisse is spot on and would be a buyer of Telstra’s shares.

More reading

• The best ASX blue chip shares to buy in June
• Here’s why it’s vital your ASX shares have a moat
• The TPG share price is up 26.68% in 2020. Too late to invest?
• The Nearmap share price is up 123% in 2 months: Why I think it can go higher
• Brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to buy right now

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Nearmap Ltd. and Telstra Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/36TBjgZ

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form last week and recorded a very strong gain. The benchmark index finished the period at 5755.7 points, 4.7% higher than where it started it.

While the majority of shares on the index pushed higher last week, some climbed more than most.

Here’s why these were the best performing ASX 200 shares over the period:

The Southern Cross Media Group Ltd (ASX: SXL) share price was the best performer on the index by some distance with a 62% gain. This media company’s shares have been incredibly volatile this month and have regularly been among the worst and best performers. Its share price gain this week was so strong the ASX sent it a price query. Southern Cross advised the stock exchange operator that it could not explain why its shares had risen so much.

The Virgin Money UK (ASX: VUK) share price was the next best performer with a gain of 22.9%. Investors were piling into Virgin Money and other banking shares last week. This appears to have been on the belief that they have been oversold during the pandemic. The big four banks all climbed notably higher last week.

The Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price wasn’t far behind with a gain of 21% last week. This was despite there being no news out of the building materials company. But with its shares down significantly from their 52-week high, some investors may believe they had fallen into the bargain bin. Boral’s shares are still down 46% from their high, even after this strong gain.

The Austal Limited (ASX: ASB) share price was a strong performer and rose 20.1% over the period. A good portion of the shipbuilder’s gain came on Friday after it upgraded its FY 2020 guidance. Austal advised that its revenue this year will hit ~$2 billion, while its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) will be no less than $125 million. As a comparison, the company’s previous guidance was for revenue of at least $1.9 billion and EBIT of no less than $110 million.

More reading

• Why this ASX 200 share is up 8% and poised for more explosive growth
• Why Afterpay, Austal, Kogan, & Northern Star shares are charging higher
• ASX 200 down 1.2%: Westpac tumbles, Appen reaffirms guidance, Costa CEO to retire
• The best performing ASX 200 stock today may have more room to climb
• 3 ASX 200 shares to buy for a Goldilocks-style bounce back

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Austal Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2XJjRat

Do you have $5,000 sitting in a savings account and no immediate use for it? Then investing it into the share market could be your first step towards becoming wealthy.

This is because if you are able to invest $5,000 into the share market once a year for a long period of time, you can turn it into considerably more.

Over the last 30 years the Australian share market has provided investors with an average annual return of 9.5%.

This means that if you had invested $5,000 into the share market each year since 1990 and earned the market return, you would be sitting on a small fortune now.

Those investments would now be worth approximately $825,000. Which I believe demonstrates how rewarding long-term buy and hold investing can be.

With that in mind, I have picked out three top ASX shares which I believe could be great long term investments:

a2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

I think a2 Milk Company is one of the best growth shares on the Australian share market. It has been growing at an astonishing rate over the last five years and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. This is thanks to its expanding fresh milk footprint and the insatiable appetite for its infant formula in China. The good news is that it still only has a modest China consumption market share of 6.6%. I believe this gives it a long runway for growth over the next decade.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

I think this payments company could be a fantastic long term investment. Although its shares have been on fire this year, I believe they can still climb materially higher over the next decade. This is due to its explosive growth in the United States and its massive global market opportunity. In respect to the latter, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the company expand into mainland Europe and Asia in the coming years.

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

Another company which I think has enormous long term growth potential is ResMed. It is one of the world’s leading medical device companies with a focus on the growing sleep treatment market. Given the quality of its masks and software solutions, I expect it to profit greatly from the proliferation of sleep apnoea.

More reading

• 10 top ASX growth shares to buy in June for strong returns
• Can gold really protect your ASX share portfolio?
• How I would build a $100,000 ASX portfolio with ETFs
• The TPG share price is up 26.68% in 2020. Too late to invest?
• 3 ASX dividend shares with yields over 10%

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of A2 Milk and AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post How you can get very rich with ASX 200 shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3gBgbjN