The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price is trading higher today – up 0.26% at the time of writing to $34.96 a share.

Although Altium is trailing the performance of the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) today (which is up over 2%), it’s still been a fantastic few weeks to hold Altium shares. Remember, this is a company that was asking almost $23 just eight weeks ago – meaning an investor that bought in then would be sitting on a healthy gain of almost 50% today.

But is there still room for Altium shares to run?

Here’s why you might (or might not) want to throw $3,000 into Altium shares today.

Are Altium shares a good deal today?

Altium is one of the ASX’s most exciting tech stocks. It’s even part of the most-exclusive WAAAX club of tech market darlings that have captured investors’ attention over the past couple of years.

The company makes and markets software (creatively called Altium Design) that aims to assist electrical engineers with designing and producing printed circuit boards. It sells this software through the highly lucrative Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model as well, which sets the company up very well for strong recurring revenue streams.

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are an essential component of every mildly complex modern electronic device you can think of. Everything from smartphones and TVs to refrigerators and cars are full of PCBs and each one requires a different and unique design. The future possibilities are truly endless, in my view.

Altium has found a brilliant way to exploit this niche with its Design software, which has proved remarkably popular in its field. Altium has long had a goal of hitting 100,000 subscribers by 2025 (for its software, not its YouTube channel), which it looks well on the way to achieving.

But one of the best things about Altium shares in 2020? Its management doesn’t see too much of an impact on its core business from the outbreak of the coronavirus, and subsequent economic shutdowns. In a recent ASX release, the company’s CEO stated:

“At an industry level, electronic design is holding up relatively well in the new environment as engineers use excess time and capacity from the slowdown in manufacturing and supply chain to revert back to prototype designs.”

Although Altium did withdraw its 2020 guidance at the same time, I think the move was more precautionary that foreboding, judging by the above statement.

Foolish takeaway

Altium is a high-growth company that I believe has a bright future ahead of it. It’s a company sitting in a powerful tailwind that should last well into the decade and beyond.

On current prices, I think Altium is a little expensive (with a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.5). But, if you’re a true believer in Altium and have a long time horizon, it still has the potential to be a good investment today, in my view.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Altium. 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 Should you throw $3,000 into Altium shares today? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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So far, Australia’s ability to effectively combat the spread of coronavirus, minimise the impact on our healthcare system and begin rolling back social distancing measures has given the market cause for optimism. This is all great news and gives the Australian economy the best possible chance of rebounding from the crisis as quickly as possible. However, there is still a fair amount of uncertainty on the horizon. The underlying financial impact the coronavirus crisis has had on many companies may not be fully known until they start reporting their results in a few months’ time.

Given all this, it could be a good idea to start fortifying your portfolio with some solid defensive companies, including ASX 200 healthcare shares.

ASX 200 healthcare shares I’d buy today

Healthcare shares tend to perform well even in a crisis, as demand for their products remains robust. And in a healthcare crisis such as the one we are facing, many of these companies see demand for their products surge. Here are 3 companies I believe will deliver strong FY20 results and could insure your portfolio against potential market volatility later this year.

Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL)

As a global healthcare company specialising in laboratory medicine, including diagnostics and pathology, Sonic Healthcare has been heavily involved in the international fight against coronavirus. It operates in many of the regions hit hardest by COVID-19, including the USA, Germany, the UK and Belgium.

The company officially withdrew its FY20 earnings guidance in late March, citing the uncertain economic conditions caused by the coronavirus across many of its markets. However, in the same update, the company noted that so far this year it has been performing in line with its previously issued guidance. It also acknowledged the frontline role it was playing to combat the pandemic. This includes by testing thousands of patients for COVID-19 as well as continuing to increase its testing capacity in many markets.

Sonic’s share price has rallied strongly since plunging to a 52-week low of $20.06 in late March. Currently trading at a little over $27, however, it is still well short of its pre-coronavirus high of $32.07.

ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD)

The share price of ASX 200 healthcare company ResMed was also savaged during the mid-March panic-selling spree. However, after plunging below $20 for the first time since October last year, the ResMed share price rebounded just as quickly. It is currently still up over 15% for 2020 and within touching distance of the 52-week high of $26.66 it recorded prior to the crash.

Based out of San Diego, ResMed specialises in the development of medical devices for the treatment of respiratory illnesses. It ramped up production of its ventilators threefold in the March quarter in order to help treat the mass influx of patients suffering with COVID-19. The company has won contracts with both the US and Australian governments to supply thousands of ventilators.

In its March quarterly update, ResMed reported revenue growth of 16% over the prior year’s comparative period to US $770 million, while net operating profit was up by 39%.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH)

Like ResMed, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare specialises in medical devices for the treatment of acute respiratory conditions. However, unlike ResMed, the company does not produce ventilators. Instead, it manufactures other equipment, including humidifiers, which are still required for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Like ResMed, Fisher & Paykel has ramped up production in order to meet the increased demand brought about by the pandemic.

Fisher & Paykel’s share price has been largely unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic. While most other share prices were plummeting in March, the company’s shares raced to a 52-week high of $31.47. Investors were buoyed by the fact that, in the midst of all the panic-selling, the company upgraded its full year operating revenue guidance to NZ$1.24 billion. Fisher & Paykel also advised its net profit after tax is expected to be in the range of NZ$275 million to NZ$280 million.

More reading

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• The next ASX sector in a post COVID-19 earnings upgrade cycle
• How can the ASX 200 soar with rising unemployment?

Motley Fool contributor Rhys Brock has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. and Sonic Healthcare 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 3 ASX 200 healthcare shares I’d buy today appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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I’ve been looking at initial public offerings (IPOs) recently to see how you would have fared if you invested in them.

The last one I looked at was Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), which has rewarded its IPO investors handsomely over the last couple of decades. This is even after a few major hiccups over the years.

Today I thought I would take a look at private hospital operator Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC).

Ramsay Health Care.

Ramsay Health Care came into existence in 1964 when founder Paul Ramsay purchased a guesthouse on Sydney’s North Shore called Warrina House and converted it into a psychiatric hospital.

Over the next decade and a half the company expanded its psychiatric hospital business before diversifying into medical and surgical businesses. In 1978 the company built its first surgical hospital – the Baringa Private Hospital in Coffs Harbour.

Fast forward to today and Ramsay is one of the largest healthcare companies in the world with a total of 480 facilities across 11 countries.

The Ramsay IPO.

In September 1997 Ramsay Health Care floated on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Details of the IPO are surprisingly limited, but according to Yahoo Finance, Ramsay’s shares were trading at an adjusted price of $1.15 on September 30 1997.

This means that $10,000 invested into Ramsay’s shares on that date would have yielded you 8,696 shares.

This afternoon Ramsay’s shares are changing hands at $67.22. Which means those 8,696 shares have a market value of almost $585,000 today.

In addition to this, although Ramsay has deferred its dividend for FY 2020 due to the pandemic, in time I expect its dividend to return to normal and then begin its growth trajectory again.

This will be good news to long term investors, because in FY 2019 the company paid dividends of $3.30 per share.

This means those 8,696 shares generated total dividends of $28,700 in FY 2019. Not bad for a $10,000 investment back in 1997!

More reading

• ASX 200 climbs 1% in positive start to the week
• Why the Ramsay share price is climbing
• How to invest $5,000 in ASX 200 healthcare shares today
• 5 ASX 200 winners and 5 losers of the week
• These small cap ASX shares could be stars of the future

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Altium. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ramsay Health Care 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 If you invested $10,000 in the Ramsay Health Care IPO, this is how much you’d have now appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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