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The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has been a very strong performer in 2021.

In fact, the telco giant’s shares are currently sitting at a 52-week high of $3.79.

This means the Telstra share price is now up 26% since the start of the year.

Why is the Telstra share price at a 52-week high?

There have been a number of catalysts for the rise in the Telstra share price in 2021. Chief among them is the company’s improving outlook thanks to its leadership position in 5G internet, its cost cutting and simplification plans, rational competition, and potential asset monetisation.

The sum of the above means Telstra’s outlook has improved to such a level that concerns over dividend cuts are now over and growth is being talked about for the first time in years.

In February, Telstra’s CEO, Andy Penn commented: “After a decade of disruption following the creation of the nbn, and with its rollout now declared complete, we can clearly see the path to underlying growth ahead of us.”

“Our investment in innovation and technology, digitisation and networks, improving our customer experience and being disciplined in our capital management, mean that at the start of this decade, as Australia digitises its economy, Telstra is in a strong position to grow,” he added.

Asset monetisation begins

The Telstra share price was given a boost last week when its asset monetisation plans came to fruition.

Telstra revealed that it has sold a 49% interest in Telstra InfraCo Towers to the Future Fund, Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, and Sunsuper.

The company expects to receive $2.8 billion after transaction costs, with approximately 50% of net proceeds from the sale set to be returned to Telstra shareholders in FY 2022.

Is it too late to invest?

Analysts at Goldman Sachs believe the Telstra share price is still good value despite its strong rise.

It currently has a buy rating and $4.20 price target on its shares. Based on the latest Telstra share price, this implies a potential ~11% return over the next 12 months.

And if you include the fully franked dividends of 16 cents per share it is forecasting through to FY 2023, before a long-awaited increase to 18 cents per share in FY 2024, this potential return stretches to over 15%.

The post Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price hits 52-week high: Can it go higher? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 blue chip ASX dividend shares rated as buys
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes FY21 on a high
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price outlook suddenly improved last week
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• 2 blue chip ASX dividend shares with +4% yields

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 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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A handful of S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares have been growing their dividend for a number of years.

Some businesses have seen their profit and cashflow increase over the years, which then allows the leadership to pay larder dividends.

Here are two ASX 200 shares that have been successful at increasing their dividends over the last several years:

APA Group (ASX: APA)

APA describes itself as a leading Australian energy infrastructure business. Its gas transmission pipelines span every state and territory on mainland Australia, delivering approximately half of the nation’s gas usage.

The business has direct management and operational control over its assets and the majority of its investments. It has a number of gas pipelines around the country. It’s also one of Australia’s largest owners and operators of renewable power generation assets, with wind and solar projects across Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.

It recently announced its first hybrid energy project at the Gruyere Gold Mine in WA, combining solar energy with battery energy storage.

APA also announced the expansion of its east coast grid due to strong customer demand for transportation capacity. The expansion will be delivered in two stages and at a capital investment of around $270 million. It will increase winter peak capacity of the east coast grid by 25%. This will help transport gas from northern gas producers to southern markets.

In FY21 the ASX 200 share is paying a total distribution of 51 cents, which was an increase of 2% compared to FY20.

APA has grown its distribution every year for over a decade and a half. Based on FY21’s payout, it has a distribution yield of 5.6%.

JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH)

JB Hi-Fi is one of the largest retailers in Australia.

It owns JB Hi-Fi, which is one of the leading retailers of technology and consumer electronics. But it also owns The Good Guys, a leading retailer of home appliances and consumer electronics.

The combined business aims to have the in-demand brands, with a big range and low prices. It also wants to provide exceptional customer service provided by passionate, knowledgeable team members. JB Hi-Fi also wants to serve customers through multiple channels – in-store, online, phone and commercial.

JB Hi-Fi aims to have a few strong competitive advantages including its scale, low cost operating model, quality store locations and its supplier partnerships.

The ASX 200 dividend share has increased its dividend in consecutive years over the last several years. In the first half of FY21, it grew its interim dividend by 81.8%, representing 65% of net profit after tax (NPAT).

JB Hi-Fi said that the board will continue to regularly review its capital structure with a focus on maximising returns to shareholders and maintaining balance sheet strength and flexibility.

Credit Suisse currently rates JB Hi-Fi as a buy, with a price target of $57.39. 

The post 2 ASX 200 shares that keep growing their dividends appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price outlook suddenly improved last week
• Why the Adairs (ASX:ADH) share price tumbled 10% today
• 2 ASX dividend shares that could provide steady income in retirement
• Which ASX 200 shares are winners from the latest retail trade figures?
• The Aussie dollar has plummeted! Here are some ASX winners and losers

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 APA Group. 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 rotation away from growth shares into value stocks the past 6 months has seen some ASX darlings unceremoniously kicked to the kerb.

Maybe some companies have been brought back down to their intrinsic worth. But there could now also be some gems that the market has oversold.

Two such bargains were suggested this week that could give investors some food for thought.

‘Get out of jail card’ for A2 Milk resellers

Watermark Funds Management chief investment officer Justin Braitling singled out A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) as “a strong buy”.

“I think it’s the stock for 2022,” he told a Livewire video.

“The 2023 estimates for a profit are a third of where they were 18 months ago. So we think as the business recovers, those profit expectations will really surprise on the upside, and the stock will recover its rating.”

A2 Milk shares had touched the $20 barrier a year ago, but have since spiralled down to $6.73.

The dairy producer has had many misfortunes since COVID-19 struck the globe last year. One of the biggest losses was the sales channel of personal Chinese expat exporters, named daigou, who were stuck with surplus stock.

Braitling’s logic is that the daigou would now come roaring back in the post-pandemic era.

“New management’s come in, they’ve basically cleared the channel, have written off all that [old] stock,” he said.

“The daigou now have got a ‘get out of jail card’ basically. The daigou now are reordering, prices are coming back up, and the brand is trading well, they’re actually picking up a bit of share. So we think that we’re all really good signs for the brand.”

‘A straight shooter’ can lead Appen out of trouble

TMS Capital portfolio manager Ben Clark picked Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) as a growth share to watch.

He said the artificial intelligence data provider has 5 big clients that contribute about 93% of its revenue. And this made for a tough COVID year.

“Those customers are either delaying projects that they were planning on using Appen’s data for or changing projects that are moving resources around, which has affected the demand for the data.”

Appen shares have gone from a 53-week high of $43.66 back in August to close Monday at $12.92.

“The market’s really concerned about competition,” said Clark.

“It’s concerned that there are some new competitors coming in who are actually using AI to create AI solutions.”

But the fund manager has much confidence in Appen’s leadership to turn it around.

“The CEO is adamant that there hasn’t been a change in the competitive landscape,” he said. 

“We followed him for many years and we think he’s a straight shooter and says it how he sees it.”

If earnings recover, Appen stocks could be an absolute bargain right now, according to Clark.

“You’re paying 22 times [price-to-earnings ratio] for a business, I think, [which] is still in a very long-term structural growth area.”

The post 2 fallen stars of ASX now worth buying: experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the 5 worst performing ASX 200 tech shares from FY21
• Why A2 Milk, Airtasker, BetMakers, & Sydney Airport shares are storming higher
• ASX 200 up 0.1%: Sydney Airport takeover, Tabcorp demerger, a2 Milk jumps
• A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price on watch after acquisition update
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes FY21 on a high

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of A2 Milk and Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd. 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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The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price will be one to watch on Tuesday.

This follows the announcement of yet another asset sale this morning.

What did Westpac announce?

This morning Westpac announced that it has signed an agreement with Fidelity Life Assurance Company for the sale of the bank’s Westpac Life NZ business. Fidelity Life Assurance Company is New Zealand’s largest locally owned life insurer, backed by cornerstone investor the NZ Super Fund.

According to the release, the two parties have agreed a sale price of NZ$400 million (approximately A$373 million) for the business. Westpac and Fidelity have also entered into an exclusive 15 year agreement for the distribution of life insurance products to Westpac’s New Zealand customers.

Westpac advised that the sale price of NZ$400 million is expected to result in a post-tax gain on sale and add approximately 7 basis points to its group common equity tier 1 capital ratio. The transaction will also include ongoing payments from the distribution agreement to Westpac New Zealand.

Westpac’s Chief Executive Officer, Peter King, believes the sale of the Westpac Life NZ business is another milestone in its quest to build a simpler bank.

Mr King said: “This transaction is the latest step in simplifying our business while continuing to help customers with their life insurance needs. Life insurance products are important for many New Zealanders and we are pleased to be entering a long-term partnership with a life insurance specialist to continue to help our customers protect themselves and their loved ones.”

Completion of the transaction is subject to various approvals and is expected to occur by the end of 2021.

The Westpac share price has been a strong performer in 2021. Since the start of the year, the banking giant’s shares have risen an impressive 30%.

The post Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price on watch after announcing asset sale appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 blue chip ASX dividend shares rated as buys
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
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• Is the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price still good value?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes FY21 on a high

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 2021 financial year saw an unusually high number of new non-mining ASX listings.

The enthusiasm no doubt came on the back of a market soaring out of the COVID-19 trough in autumn 2020.

But as sentiment turned away from growth into value shares late last year, some initial public offer (IPO) stocks started to turn sour.

“IPOs can give you wonderful returns if you get them right but burn your money if you don’t,” Montgomery Small Companies Fund manager Gary Rollo said.

“Because while there were some big winners – like Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT), Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB) and Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI) — there were also some clear losers.”

Rollo did notice some patterns among the ASX IPO shares that lost us the most money over the last 12 months.

Hot themes can turn pretty cold pretty quickly

The biggest observation the portfolio manager made was that investors were lured into recent IPO failures with “hot themes”.

“Remember, if you want it, there is an IPO banking team that’s got the deal for you — and during COVID times this was meal kits, e-commerce and buy now, pay later, amongst other things,” said Rollo.

“An IPO on a ‘hot theme’ can look good in the short run but can come with longer-term pain, as the hot money that chases these ‘hot’ deals does what it does best and moves on to the next shiny thing.”

That means that if the company doesn’t soon find a “real” investor base willing to pay somewhere near the IPO share price, trouble looms.

Rollo took 3 ASX debutants as an example of this support vacuum.

Youfoodz Holdings Ltd (ASX: YFZ) was priced during the IPO at $1.50 per share. After listing in December, the stock went for just 54.5 cents on Monday afternoon.

“Youfoodz tried to capitalise on the market’s appetite for meal kit delivery that boomed during COVID,” said Rollo.

“And takes the award for the worst post-COVID IPO (to date anyway).”

‘Illiquid microcap’: Adore Beauty’s unforgivable sin

He called the float of Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY) “opportunistic” at best.

“The business was listed on a high valuation after being acquired by private equity for a much, much lower price only a short time before.”

The online beauty retailer sold its shares for $6.75 during its IPO before listing in October. The stock was trading at $4.55 on Monday afternoon after sinking as low as $3.31.

“ABY is arguably now an illiquid micro-cap with a lot to do to rebuild its reputation with investors after its warning that it’s not growing at the rate investors expected,” said Rollo.

“A downgrade in expectations before it even delivered its first set of full-year financials as a listed company is a sin not easily forgiven by institutional investors.”

‘Screened out early’: Nuix

It’s perhaps not a massive surprise that Rollo picked Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL) as the third example of last year’s IPO losers.

A series of downgrades from the company and shocking governance failure accusations arising from media reports has slashed the stock price from a high of $11.86 to now $2.31.

Rollo said the media investigations into its governance had done a better job of disclosure to investors than the prospectus.

“Caveat emptor… [we] screened out early.”

He added that, in the new financial year, the pool of new ASX listings could be more rational.

“Investor appetite has moderated, particularly for loss-making businesses — we see that as some ‘heat’ coming out of the market. That’s healthy and we expect a steady flow of IPOs for us to scrutinise over the coming months.”

The post The one thing ASX IPO losers have in common appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 impressive ASX shares that could be buys in July 2021
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes FY21 on a high
• Here are the 5 best ASX telecom shares of the 2021 financial year
• ASX 200 drops, Zip rises, Cettire up
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares on the market today

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of Aussie Broadband Limited and Cettire Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Aussie Broadband Limited and Cettire Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Adore Beauty Group Limited and Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aussie Broadband Limited and Cettire 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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If you’re looking for some growth shares to add to your portfolio, then you might want to look at the ones below.

Here’s what you need to know about these highly rated ASX growth shares:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

Altium is a leading printed circuit board (PCB) design software provider. It is the company behind the Altium Designer and cloud-based Altium 365 platforms, the Octopart search engine, and the Nexus workflow PCB solution.

With PCBs found inside almost all electronic devices, the company is exposed to the proliferation of electronic devices globally due to the rapidly growing Internet of Things and artificial intelligence markets. This bodes well for its future growth, especially given its leadership position in the industry.

Analysts at Credit Suisse are positive on the company. The broker currently has an outperform rating and $42.00 price target on its shares.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

Another growth share to look at is Kogan. This ecommerce company has been a mixed performer over the last 12 months. After initially being one of the biggest winners from changing consumer trends during the pandemic, things went very wrong with its inventory management after demand softened. While this was disappointing, it is only expected to be temporary.

In light of this, analysts at Credit Suisse feel investors should look beyond the short term headwinds and focus on the potential long term gains from the structural shift to online shopping.

Credit Suisse currently has an outperform rating and $17.93 price target on its shares.

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

A final growth share to consider is WiseTech Global. It is the logistics solutions company behind the popular CargoWise One platform. This platform allows users to execute complex logistics transactions and manage freight operations from a single, easy to use platform.

WiseTech has been experiencing strong demand for its platform in FY 2021. As a result, it is expected to report stellar full year revenue and earnings growth in August. After which, the future looks bright due to its strong market position and growing freight volumes globally. It also looks set to benefit from its customers making acquisitions, which is expected to lead to increased usage.

Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating and $35.00 price target on its shares.

The post 3 stellar ASX growth shares that are highly rated appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• Here are the 5 worst performing ASX 200 tech shares from FY21
• Here are the 5 best performing ASX 200 tech shares from FY21
• 2 ASX tech shares that might be buys in July 2021
• WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) share price bounces back to finish in green

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 Altium, Kogan.com ltd, and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Altium, Kogan.com ltd, and WiseTech Global. 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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This afternoon the Reserve Bank of Australia will meet to decide on the cash rate. According to latest Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) weekly economic report, the banking giant is expecting the central bank to keep rates on hold at the record low of 0.1%.

In fact, it isn’t just this month that the bank expects this to be the case. Westpac is forecasting rates to stay on hold until at least the end of 2022.

As a result, it looks as though dividend shares will remain the best way to generate a passive income for some time to come. But which ASX dividend shares should you buy? Here are two rated as buys:

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

This supermarket giant could be a dividend share to consider buying. Thanks to its strong market position, focus on automation, and the normalisation of shopping trends, Coles has been tipped to grow its earnings and dividend at a solid rate in the coming years.

Goldman Sachs currently has a buy rating and $19.40 price target on its shares. It is also forecasting fully franked dividends of 62 cents per share in FY 2021 and then 67 cents per share in FY 2022. Based on the current Coles share price of $16.76, this represents yields of 3.7% and 4%, respectively, over the next two years.

Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Another ASX dividend share to look at is Telstra. It has been tipped to provide investors with generous dividends over the coming years. This is being underpinned by its leadership position with 5G, asset monetisation, cost cutting, and rational competition.

Goldman Sachs is also a fan of Telstra. It currently has a buy rating and $4.20 price target on its shares. The broker is forecasting fully franked dividends of 16 cents per share through to FY 2023. After which, it is expecting a long-awaited dividend increase to 18 cents per share in FY 2024.

Based on the current Telstra share price of $3.79, this will mean 4.2% yields until an increase to 4.75%.

The post 2 blue chip ASX dividend shares rated as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Brokers name 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy
• Is the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price still good value?
• These ASX shares are the latest to be hit by broker downgrades
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX finishes FY21 on a high

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 COLESGROUP DEF SET and 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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On Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the week in a mildly positive manner. The benchmark index finished the day 0.1% higher at 7,315 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Tuesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set to push higher again this morning. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 14 points or 0.2% higher. This follows a positive start to the week on European markets, which saw the FTSE rise 0.6%, the CAC rise 0.2%, and the DAX edge 0.1% higher. Wall Street was closed for the Independence Day holiday.

Oil prices jump

Energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could be on the rise today after oil prices jumped overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.6% to US$76.36 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has risen 1.2% to US$77.10 a barrel. Oil prices jumped after OPEC’s crisis talks were abandoned following a clash between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Reserve Bank meeting

The Reserve Bank of Australia will meet today to decide on the cash rate. According to latest Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) Weekly economic report, the banking giant is expecting the central bank to make no changes. Though, an update on its Yield Curve Targeting (YCT) Program and the Bond Purchase Program are expected.

Gold price rises

Gold miners Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch after the gold price pushed higher. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.5% to US$1,792 an ounce. The precious metal hit a two-week high on rising demand in India.

IGO upgraded

The IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price could be good value according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. This morning the broker upgraded the clean energy focused miner’s shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $9.30. It notes that the completion of the Tianqi Lithium joint venture acquisition creates a high-quality battery materials exposure.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 up, Sydney Airport soars, Airtasker rises
• Brokers name 2 ASX 200 dividend shares to buy
• Here are 3 ASX 200 shares making moves on the share market today
• Here are the 5 worst performing ASX 200 tech shares from FY21
• The Centuria Capital (ASX:CNI) share price reaches new all-time high

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 room for a tech share or two in your portfolio, then you might want to consider the two listed below.

Here’s why these ASX tech shares are highly rated:

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

The first tech share to look at is this San Francisco-based technology company behind the eponymous Life360 mobile app. This is a market leading family-focused app with over 28 million monthly active users globally.

Despite facing headwinds during COVID-19 from lockdowns and lower mobility, Life360 still delivered an impressive 39% increase in normalised revenue to US$81.6 million for the 12 months ending 31 December. Pleasingly, its strong form has continued so far in FY 2021.

As well as announcing the creation of a Family Advisory Council that will bring together well-known celebrities and influencers to help shape the company’s product and marketing strategy, Life360 revealed that it expects its annualised monthly revenue to land towards the higher end of its guidance of US$110 million to US$120 million in 2021. The high end represents a 34% year on year increase.

Morgan Stanley is positive on the company and recently initiated coverage on its shares with an overweight rating and $8.60 price target. It has been impressed with the company’s user base growth and feels that the market under appreciates this.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Another ASX tech share to look at is Xero. Like Life360, it has been growing strongly over the last 12 months.

For example, the small business and accounting platform provider delivered an 18% increase in revenue to NZ$848.8 million in FY 2021. Key drivers of this growth were its international expansion and the shift to the cloud. These helped underpin a 20% increase in subscribers to 2.74 million.

The good news is that this represents just ~6.1% of its cloud accounting subscriber total addressable market of 45 million. This gives it a long runway for growth. As does its app ecosystem, which has been tipped to be a key driver of growth in the decades to come.

Goldman Sachs is bullish on Xero’s future and believes the company could have a multi-decade runway for growth. As a result, it currently has a buy rating and $151.00 price target on its shares.

The post 2 exciting ASX tech shares tipped as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 top ASX 200 shares that might be buys today
• Here are the 5 best performing ASX 200 tech shares from FY21
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Here are the 5 best performing ASX tech shares from FY21
• Broker tips Life360 (ASX:360) share price to keep rising after hitting record high

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 Xero. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Xero. 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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Due to ageing populations and improving technologies and treatments, demand for healthcare services is expected to grow strongly over the next few decades.

As a result, the healthcare sector could be a good place to consider investing with a long term view. But which shares should you buy? Two highly rated healthcare shares to consider are listed below:

Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS)

The first healthcare share to look at is Healius. It is one of Australia’s largest pathology and diagnostic imaging providers offering services via numerous brands. These include Dorevitch Pathology, QML Pathology, Laverty Pathology, and Healthcare Imaging Services.

Healius has been a particularly positive performer in FY 2021, reporting a 16% increase in first half revenue to $953.5 million. Things were even better on the bottom line, with first half net profit growing 190% to $75.6 million. This was driven by a very strong performance by its key pathology business, which reported a 22% increase in revenue to $711.4 million and wider margins.

More of the same is expected in the second half, with a bumper full year results being forecast by brokers in August. One of those is Macquarie, which is very bullish on its prospects. The broker currently has an outperform rating and $4.85 price target on its shares.

Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

Another healthcare share to consider is Nanosonics. It is a leading infection prevention company behind the popular trophon EPR ultrasound probe disinfection system and associated consumables and accessories.

At present, the company estimates that 80,000 patients are protected from the risk of cross contamination each day because the ultrasound probe has been high-level disinfected with trophon.

Nanosonics has also been researching and developing a number of secretive products, which are due to be launched in the coming years. One of these has just been revealed and is AuditPro. It is a digital platform that has been designed to improve traceability, reporting, and compliance of infection prevention measures for medical devices.

The first focus will be on marketing it as a solution for the ultrasound market, with potential for the new product to be coupled with every ultrasound console at point of care.

One broker that is very positive on its prospects is Morgans. According to a recent note, the broker has an add rating and $6.57 price target on its shares.

The post 2 ASX healthcare shares analysts rate highly appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
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• Top broker gives its verdict on the Nanosonics (ASX:NAN) share price
• What’s moving the Nanosonics (ASX:NAN) share price today?
• 2 excellent ASX shares for buy and hold investors

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 Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Nanosonics 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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