We had some big news out this morning regarding two of the ASX’s oldest companies. Investment company Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) announced it has proposed a merger with the listed investment company (LIC) Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT).

Soul Patts was founded in 1903, and Milton in 1938. So this might be the closest thing to an ASX-style ‘old-money wedding’ investors have seen.

As my Fool colleague Brooke Cooper covered this morning, Soul Patts informed the market it has offered to buy all Milton shares that the company doesn’t yet own. Investors would receive a combination of Soul Patts scrips and three fully franked dividends worth up to 45 cents per share.

The complete offer is worth around $6 a share, which was a 20% premium to Miton’s share price at yesterday’s close.

Milton’s directors have already given their universal approval for the deal. Of course, today Milton shares have rocketed 16% to $5.80 on the news.

Soul Patts is about the closest you can get to an ASX LIC without attaching the LIC label. Both Milton and Soul Patts have huge portfolios of ASX shares as holdings. So investors are essentially buying into these portfolios when they buy Milton or Soul Patts shares.

At the companies’ current share prices, Milton has a market capitalisation of $3.9 billion, and Soul Patts $7.25 billion. As such, the combined company would be worth around $10.8 billion.

But what kind of assets would this new company own?

A merger of equals?

To start with, take note of what Soul Patts said would be a result of this merger.

For both WHSP and Milton shareholders, the merger is expected to provide:

• Greater portfolio diversification;
• Additional cash available for future investment into WHSP’s growth asset classes;
• Access to new investment classes including private markets, real assets, credit and international equities;
• Higher cash generation from increased portfolio dividends;
• Total number of WHSP shareholders following the merger of up to 60,000 is expected to provide greater liquidity;
• An increase in the market capitalisation of WHSP from $7.2 billion to more than $10.8 billion, resulting in increased index participation; and
• Milton’s management team will complement WHSP’s existing investment expertise.

Let’s take a look at Soul Patts’ existing portfolio.

What shares does Soul Patts already own?

Despite its size, Soul Patts has a rather concentrated portfolio of ASX shares that it invests in. Its largest holding is a 43.9% stake in building materials company Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW). This is tempered by the fact Brickworks in turn owns a comparable chunk of Soul Patts shares.

Other than Brickworks, Soul Patts owns a 25.3% stake in TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), a 50% holding of coal miner New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) and a 19.3% stake in Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API).

Some smaller stakes include an 8.6% share in the BKI Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI), a 19.9% stake in Palla Pharma Ltd (ASX: PAL) and a 22.6% holding of Clover Corporation Limited (ASX: CLV).

And don’t forget the current 3.3% stake that Soul Patts already has in Milton. Soul Patts also has a portfolio of unlisted businesses that it is invested in. These include Pitt Capital Partners and Ampcontrol Pty Ltd.

What about Milton?

Turning to Milton, and we have a rather different portfolio. As of June 30 2020, Milton had more than 70 ASX companies in its portfolio – consisting of a combination of ASX blue-chip shares, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other LICs.

As of 31 May 2021, Milton’s top holdings included Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) with an 8.8% portfolio weighting, Soul Patts itself with a 7.6% weighting, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) at 7.4%, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) at 6.9% and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) at 6.5%. Its other top 20 holdings are all ASX blue-chip shares along these lines.

So, if the merger goes ahead, the newly combined company will have a very broad portfolio of ASX shares and other assets across different classes. It will be interesting to see what these new chapters for two very old ASX stalwarts will bring for investors going forward.

The post What will Soul Patts’ (ASX:SOL) portfolio look like post-Milton merger? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Bank of Queensland, IGO, Milton, & Openpay are surging higher
• ASX 200 up 1.3%: Soul Patts-Milton merger, IGO jumps
• Milton share price rockets 14% after Soul Patts merger news
• 2 ASX dividend shares with very long dividend growth records
• The Brickworks (ASX:BKW) share price hit an all-time high today. Here’s why

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Clover Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks, Macquarie Group Limited, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company 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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Shares in Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) are soaring today, despite no news having been released by the company. At the time of writing, the Pilbara Minerals share price is $1.45 – 7.56% higher than its previous closing price.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 1.65% today.

Also impressive is the number of the lithium miner’s shares being traded today.

It’s the day’s most traded ASX 200 stock by far, with nearly 20 million of the company’s shares having swapped hands since the ASX opened this morning.

Let’s take a look at what Pilbara Minerals has been up to lately.

The latest news from Pilbara Minerals

The last time the ASX heard price sensitive news from Pilbara Minerals was on 11 May, when the company announced it intends to enter a joint venture with technology company Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL).

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to partner to develop a midstream lithium chemicals refinery.

The first step of development will be a scoping study that will assess a new refining process.

Currently, Pilbara Minerals processes its mined ore into spodumene before shipping it to customers who then produce lithium for lithium-ion batteries.

If the companies can fine tune the refining process, Pilbara Minerals could produce lithium in-house – creating an Australian lithium-ion supply chain.

Despite the seemingly positive news, the Pilbara Minerals share price fell 3.82% lower on the day the news was released.

Luckily, it’s since bounced back.

Pilbara Minerals share price snapshot

It’s been a bumper year so far for the Pilbara Minerals share price.

As The Motley Fool Australia reported earlier today, it’s currently 2021’s best performing mining share of the ASX 200.

Right now, the Pilbara Minerals share price has gained 66% year to date. It is also a whopping 456% higher than it was this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $3.9 billion, with approximately 2.9 billion shares outstanding.

The post The Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price is flying 8% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The top performing ASX 200 mining shares of 2021
• Iluka (ASX:ILU) share price jumps even as it pours water on M&A rumours
• Here are the best performing ASX 200 shares so far in 2021
• Here are 3 of the ASX 200’s most traded shares today
• The Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) share price delivered green today

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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If you have a penchant for investing in small cap shares, then you might want to take a look at the two listed below.

Here’s why these are highly rated by analysts right now:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

Bigtincan is a growing provider of enterprise mobility software to sales and service organisations. The company notes that its mobile, AI-powered sales enablement automation platform features the industry’s premier user experience that empowers sales reps to more effectively engage with customers and prospects and encourages team-wide adoption.

Bigtincan has been a positive performer in FY 2021. Management recently advised that it has achieved the top end of its annualised recurring revenue (ARR) guidance range of $49 million to $53 million this year with a few weeks of the financial year remaining. This will mean an increase of at least 48% on FY 2020’s ARR of $35.8 million.

Morgan Stanley is positive on the company. It currently has an overweight rating and $1.50 price target on its shares.

Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO)

Serko is a travel technology company that offers a number of solutions to businesses. These include AI-powered end-to-end travel itineraries, cost control, travel policy compliance solutions, and fraud prevention. Combined, its technology makes the process of booking, managing and reconciling business travel and expenses, a better experience for everyone involved.

While COVID-19 has unsurprisingly hit the company hard and led to a significant reduction in demand, it has been recovering in recent months and looks well-placed to build on this as vaccines roll out and travelling increases. In addition to this, the company signed a game-changing deal with travel giant Booking.com last year. It is expected to have a material impact on its revenue in FY 2022.

Earlier this month Macquarie put an outperform rating and NZ$8.31 (A$7.71) price target on its shares.

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

More reading

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• Bigtincan (ASX:BTH) share price jumps 7% on acquisition and guidance update
• 2 small cap ASX shares which could have significant upside

Motley Fool contributor 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 and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO and Serko Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Serko 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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The Vocus Group Ltd (ASX: VOC) share price is edging higher on Tuesday.

In afternoon trade, the telco’s shares are up just under 0.5% to $5.50.

Why is the Vocus share price edging higher?

Investors have been buying the company’s shares on Tuesday after its takeover took a major step towards completion.

Earlier today, Vocus held its scheme meeting, allowing shareholders to vote on the takeover proposal from a consortium comprising Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets and its managed funds and Aware Super.

The consortium, known as Voyage Australia, has offered $5.50 per share in cash, which values Vocus at an enterprise value of $4.6 billion.

According to today’s update, shareholders have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the takeover. The release explains that a total of 99.84% of votes were cast in favour of the scheme resolution, with 93.98% of Vocus shareholders present and voting (either in person or by proxy) in favour of the scheme resolution.

What now?

These results exceed the requisite majorities for the purposes of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), paving the way for the takeover to complete in the very near future.

In fact, the company will seek court approval of the scheme at a hearing on Thursday 24 June. If the court approves the scheme, Vocus will lodge the orders with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, at which time the scheme will become legally effective.

Once this occurs, Vocus will apply for its shares to be suspended from trading on the ASX, with effect from the close of trade on Friday 25 June 2021.

Vocus Chairman, Bob Mansfield, said: “Over the past three years, Vocus has executed an ambitious turnaround strategy that radically simplified our business, our networks, and our technology platforms to reduce costs, expand our reach, and provide better services for our customers. Today’s vote is a vindication of that strategy, and recognises the contribution of every Vocus employee towards the successful execution the company’s turnaround. This outcome is in the best interests of all shareholders and ideally positions Vocus as it embarks in a new stage of investment.”

The post Vocus (ASX:VOC) share price higher on takeover update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why we avoid mining and biotech ASX shares: fund manager
• M&A rumour fires up the Iress (ASX:IRE) share price today
• ASX telco penalised $2.5m for misleading NBN speed claims

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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Yesterday, we learnt that the Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) has had its proposed takeover of Members Equity Bank (ME Bank) approved by the Federal government. Back in February, BOQ had announced that it had entered into an agreement with ME Bank for a $1.325 all-cash acquisition. The deal couldn’t go ahead until BOQ got the green light from the government. But now that the green light has been given, the deal is expected to go ahead on 1 July.

The Bank of Queensland share price is responding well today. BOQ shares are up 5.18% to $9.24 at the time of writing.

One broker who thinks that there might still be some upside left in the BOQ share price is the investment bank, Goldman Sachs. According to the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, Goldman reckons this final approval from the government “unlocks a tailwind for growth that will help push the lender’s corporate profits higher”.

Here’s some of what Goldman’s research note stated:

ME Bank provides growth and synergy opportunities… We remain buy-rated on BOQ… [given] continued improvements in volume momentum, particularly in housing… [as well as] its funding mix, which will be positively leveraged to the current funding environment.

Goldman also thinks Bank of Queensland’s net income will rise above $400 million in the 12 months to August 2021. That’s before eventually hitting $478 million by the same period in 2023. It has raised its 12-month price target by 0.5% to $9.90 a share.

About the Bank of Queensland share price

At the current Bank of Queensland share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $5.92 billion. It also has a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 38.48 and a trailing, fully franked dividend yield of 3.1%. BOQ shares are now up 22.6% year to date and 50.4% over the past 12 months. However, they remain down 8.2% over the past 5 years.

The post Why this broker reckons Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) shares are a buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why Bank of Queensland, IGO, Milton, & Openpay are surging higher
• Why are blue-chip ASX 200 shares selling off today?
• ASX 200 drops, CBA sinks, Boral sells US division
• ASX 200 sinks 1.9%: BOQ’s ME Bank acquisition approved, CBA divests insurance business
• Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price lower despite ME Bank acquisition approval

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is gaining today, despite no news having been released by the company.

At the time of writing, shares in Telstra are trading for $3.65 – 2.83% higher than their closing price yesterday.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up by 1.77% today.

Today’s gains have seen the telecommunications giant hitting yet another 52-week high. Lately, Telstra has been regularly surpassing that milestone.

So, what’s been driving Telstra shares higher lately? Let’s take a look.

Telstra’s latest news

Interestingly, the ASX hasn’t heard any price sensitive news from Telstra since April 23, when the company announced it had secured 1000 MHz in the 26 GHz spectrum auction.

Telstra expected the spectrum to extend its 5G offering into the future.

The news saw the Telstra share price end the day just 0.23% higher than its previous close. It has since gained another 6.16%.

In non-price sensitive news, earlier this month Telstra announced it is now solely listed on the ASX, after it removed its listing from the New Zealand stock exchange.

Telstra share price snapshot

It has been a good year on the ASX for Telstra shares, which have gained 20% since the beginning of the year.

They are also 13% higher than they were this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $41 billion, with approximately 11 billion shares outstanding.

The post The Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price is gaining today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why we avoid mining and biotech ASX shares: fund manager
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX makes it 5 out of 5
• 2 more blue chip ASX dividend shares
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares today
• The Telstra (ASX: TLS) share price just hit a new 52-week high

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation 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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Exchange traded funds (ETFs) can be a great way for investors to diversify a portfolio. This is because they give investors access to a large group of shares through just a single investment.

But which ETFs should you look at? Here are two popular ETFs that could be worth getting better acquainted with:

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

The first ETF to look at is the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. It gives investors exposure to 50 of the most promising tech companies in the Asian market (excluding Japan). Among the fund’s top holdings you will find the likes of Alibaba, Baidu, Infosys, JD.com, Kuaishou Technology, Meituan Dianping, Pinduoduo, Samsung, Tencent.

Pinduoduo is an ecommerce platform that offers a wide range of products. This includes everything from daily groceries to home appliances. However, it does things differently to other platforms. Pinduoduo connects distributors with consumers directly through an interactive shopping experience. After which, it allows them to team up to buy items in bulk at lower prices. In March, the company overtook ecommerce behemoth Alibaba with the most active customers – a massive 788 million.

Another company in the fund is Kuaishou Technology. It is the company behind the eponymous Kuaishou app. This is the world’s second largest short video platform with an average of 275.9 million daily active users. It generates revenue from live-streaming, ads, and ecommerce.

BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

Another ASX ETF to look at is the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF. This popular ETF gives investors exposure to the leading companies in the global cybersecurity sector.

Included in the fund are both global cybersecurity giants and emerging players from a range of global locations that look well-positioned to benefit from the increasing demand for cybersecurity services. Among the companies you’ll be buying a piece of are Accenture, Cisco, Cloudflare, Crowdstrike, Okta, and Splunk.

CrowdStrike is a provider of incident response and forensic analysis services via its Falcon platform. Its services are designed to help businesses understand whether a breach has occurred. It then allows the user to respond and recover from a breach with speed and precision to remediate the threat.

Whereas Okta provides businesses with workforce identity solutions. This ensures that access to information is given only to those that are meant to have it. It has been experiencing very strong demand and expects this to continue. Management is guiding to US$4 billion in annual revenue by FY 2026, which implies compound annual growth of at least 35% over the next five years.

The post 2 exciting ETFs for ASX growth investors appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of BETA CYBER ETF UNITS. 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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It’s no secret the ASX ­­­– like Australia itself – is home to a multitude of mining companies. And cream-of-the-crop mining shares are often found on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

The ASX 200 has had a good run so far this year. It’s currently 10.03% higher than it was at the start of this year. It’s been boosted again today, with the ASX 200 gaining another 1.65%.

And these 3 mining shares are taking advantage of the ASX 200’s enthusiasm. They’re currently topping the list of the ASX 200’s best performing mining shares of 2021.

Which miners are leading the way?

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Pilbara Minerals is leading the ASX 200 mining pack so far this year, having gained 68.10% year to date.

Currently, the Pilbara Minerals share price is $1.46.

Pilbara Minerals claims to be the ASX’s leading pure-play lithium producer, with operations near Port Hedland, Western Australia. The company also produces tantalum – a metal often used in alloys and as a filament due to its high strength and melting point.

It has a market capitalisation of around $3.9 billion, with approximately 2.9 billion shares outstanding.

Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA)

Champion Iron shares are currently swapping hands for $6.48 – 34.54% more than they were at the start of 2021.

The company is – you guessed it ­– an iron miner. It has a number of operations in Québec, as well as one in Canada’s Newfoundland and Labrador.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $3.1 billion, with approximately 506 million shares outstanding.

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

The Lynas Rare Earths share price is also up there, having gained 28.23% since the start of this year.

Its shares are currently trading for $5.36 apiece.

As its name suggests, Lynas is a rare earth miner. It has rare earth assets in Australia and a manufacturing facility in Malaysia.

Lynas has a market capitalisation of around $4.9 billion, with approximately 901 million shares outstanding.

The post The top performing ASX 200 mining shares of 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the best performing ASX 200 tech shares so far in 2021
• ASX 200 up 1.3%: Soul Patts-Milton merger, IGO jumps
• 3 top ASX shares in sector selling at 30% discount: expert
• Iluka (ASX:ILU) share price jumps even as it pours water on M&A rumours
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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Australia’s leading investment platform provider CommSec has released data on the most traded ASX shares on its platform from last week.

Here’s the data:

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

Yet again, this buy now pay later provider’s shares were the most traded on the CommSec platform last week. Zip’s shares accounted for 2% of trades on the platform, with just 40% of the volume coming from buyers. Unfortunately for the sellers, the Zip share price jumped almost 14% over the shortened week thanks to improving investor sentiment in the tech sector.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

This ETF was popular with investors again last week. The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF was attributable to 1.7% of trades on CommSec, with 71% coming from buyers. The technology-focused ETF stormed 4.7% higher during the week, hitting a record high in the process. A rotation back into growth shares gave the index, and therefore the ETF, a boost last week.

BetaShares Global Sustainability Leaders ETF (ASX: ETHI)

This ethical investment focused ETF was also in demand with investors again last week. Its unit were attributable to 1.4% of trades on CommSec, with a sizeable 88% of the volume from buyers. This buying pressure helped drive the ETF up 3.2% for the week.

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

This beaten down infant formula company’s shares were back in favour with investors last week. Its shares accounted for 1.4% of trades on the platform, with 58% of the volume coming from buyers. These buyers will certainly have been pleased to see the a2 Milk share price jump 9.5% over the period.

iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ)

Finally, this popular ETF makes the top five again after accounting for 1.3% of trades on CommSec. And with buyers making up 89% of the volume, they will have been pleased to see the ETF carving out a gain of 0.8% for the period.

The post A2 Milk and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor 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 and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk. 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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In recent history, technology shares have often outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). In fact, the information technology sector has outperformed the Australian benchmark index 11 out of the past 15 years.

Unfortunately for tech investors, 2021 is so far looking like a win for the passive index investors. But that doesn’t mean that all of the ASX 200 tech shares are suffering this year. Here are the three top techies bucking the trend.

Top 3 ASX 200 tech shares

Last week we recapped the best performers out of all the ASX-listed shares. This one is solely for our tech friends.

The big reveal…

Iress Ltd (ASX: IRE)

Iress is a provider of financial services software across the Asia Pacific, United Kingdom, Europe, United States, and Africa. The $2.52 billion company boasts a customer base of over 9,000 businesses.

Ironically, the Iress share price was in negative territory for the year until earlier this month. An unsubstantiated rumour that the company was in the acquisition sights of a big bidder sent shares flying.

The rumours appear to be whispers in the wind, but the elevated share price has remained. As a result, this ASX 200 tech company’s share price has risen 22.2% year-to-date (YTD).

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Despite featuring frequently in the top 10 most shorted ASX shares, Megaport has been the second-best tech share to own from the start of the year. The company which provides flexible connectivity for its customer’s network needs has rallied 27.8% so far in 2021.

A by-product of the pandemic disruption is that more companies are seeking flexible and scalable solutions for their networking needs. This was demonstrated by Megaport’s Q3 FY21 annualised revenue increasing a further 8% to $81 million quarter-over-quarter. This was buoyed by its customers growing from 2,043 to 2,117 during the quarter.

Analysts at UBS have a buy rating and a price target of $17.10 on the ASX tech name. Though, the recent Megaport share price strength has put it above this target, with shares going for $18.20 at the time of writing.

Codan Limited (ASX: CDA)

At the top of the tech podium is metal detector, communications, and tracking solutions manufacturer Codan. If you read our best performing ASX 200 shares roundup last week, this company will look familiar.

A combination of strong metal detector sales and a couple of earnings accretive acquisitions has bumped up the share price so far in 2021.

The first acquisition of Domo Tactical communications adds a long-term supplier of network solutions to more than 20 key United States government agencies. This acquisition is expected to contribute $9 million to the bottom line in its first year of ownership.

Codan’s second acquisition involves a leading US-based provider of mission critical communication solutions. The company known as Zetron is forecasted to be earnings accretive in FY22.

Evidently, investors are pleased about Codan’s expansion. This ASX 200 tech share has delivered a 52.5% return so far this year – making it the best performing.

The post Here are the best performing ASX 200 tech shares so far in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 1.3%: Soul Patts-Milton merger, IGO jumps
• 3 top ASX shares in sector selling at 30% discount: expert
• Iluka (ASX:ILU) share price jumps even as it pours water on M&A rumours
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• ASX tech company Megaport (ASX:MP1) share price hits all-time high

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO. 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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