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Because of ageing and growing populations, better technologies and treatments, and increasing chronic disease burden, demand for healthcare services is expected to continue to increase over the long term.

This bodes well for healthcare shares, positioning them perfectly for growth over the 2020s and beyond. With that in mind, I have picked out two healthcare shares that are highly rated right now:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

CSL is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, comprising the CSL Behring and Seqirus businesses. CSL Behring is the global leader in plasma therapies, whereas Seqirus is the world’s second largest influenza vaccines business.

Both businesses appear well-placed for growth over the long term. For CSL Behring, this is due to robust demand for its life-saving immunoglobulins products and its highly promising research and development pipeline. The latter is filled with a good number of potentially lucrative products.

Supporting this growth will be its Seqirus business, which is expected to experience a surge in demand for seasonal flu vaccines because of the pandemic.

And while plasma collection headwinds are likely to weigh on the company’s overall growth in the immediate term, once the pandemic passes, collections will become easier and this headwind will ease.

One broker that is positive on CSL is Citi. Last week it upgraded its shares to a buy rating with a $310 price target. This compares to the current CSL share price of $261.00.

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

Another healthcare share which is highly rated is medical device company ResMed.

ResMed aims to change lives by developing, manufacturing, and distributing innovative medical devices and cloud-based software solutions that better diagnose, treat, and manage sleep-disordered breathing, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other key chronic diseases.

These are lucrative markets for the company to target. Management estimates that there are hundreds of millions of sufferers of both sleep apnoea and COPD globally.

In addition to its industry-leading hardware, the company has a burgeoning digital health ecosystem. This ecosystem reached over 12 million cloud connectable medical devices in 2020, providing ResMed with strong recurring revenues and a material amount of high quality data.

Analysts at Morgans are bullish on the company. They recently retained their add rating and put a price target of $30.09 on its shares. This compares to the current ResMed share price of $25.03.

More reading

• Temperature check: How is the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price faring today?
• 3 beaten down ASX shares that could be great value
• Share market on watch over AstraZeneca vaccine fears
• 2 outstanding ASX shares to buy and hold
• This fundie refuses to invest in gambling and fossil fuels

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 CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. 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 Metalstech Ltd (ASX: MTC) share price opened nearly 18% higher today after the mineral exploration company announced it was spinning off its lithium assets into a new, publicly-listed company.

Shares in the miner retreated through the course of the day but rallied in the closing moments of trading to an intraday high of 21 cents before closing at 19.5 cents, up 14.7%. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.52%.

Let’s take a closer look at what Metalstech announced.

Metalstech recycles its lithium

In today’s release, Metalstech advised it would spin out its Québécois lithium projects into a new, yet to be named company.

Metalstech foreshadowed the spinoff in a statement released to the market 6 days ago. The company said it would reorganise the assets into one Australian-owned subsidiary. From there, 22 million shares in the new company will be created and held by Metalstech.

Metalstech will then seek shareholder approval for the spinoff. Once approved, shares in the new company will be distributed to shareholders on a pro-rata basis.

After the distribution of shares, the new company will have its initial public offering (IPO). Metalstech hopes the new company will raise between $5 million – $8 million for the listing. Shares in the new company will be sold at a rate of 20 cents each.

The company is selling its lithium assets to focus on its gold and cobalt operations.

Words from the chair

Speaking on today’s announcement, Metalstech chair Russell Moran said:

… our portfolio of high-grade lithium assets [is] valuable. A spinout of the lithium assets into a separate listing provides a non-dilutive and ‘off balance sheet’ solution for accelerated development in what is now a booming battery metals sector.

Metalstech share price snapshot

This time almost 1 year ago, the Metalstech share price hit a 52-week low of 3.2 cents. Since then, the company’s value has increased by 462.5%. However, the share price is 37.9% lower than its 52-week high of 29 cents in July 2020.

Metalstech has a market capitalisation of $26.4 million.

More reading

• Why has the MetalsTech (ASX:MTC) share price boosted 41% today?

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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 Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) share price will be one to watch on Thursday.

This follows the release of an announcement by the financial services company just as the market closed on Wednesday.

What did Humm announce?

This afternoon Humm announced the pricing of $450 million of asset-backed securities (ABS), which is significantly more than previously planned. These are supported by a pool of fully amortising, secured commercial auto and equipment finance receivables.

According to the release, strong investor demand enabled a upsize of $150 million over the launch amount previously flagged in February. The receivables are originated through flexicommercial.

The release explains that the flexicommercial ABS Trust 2021-1 represents the second ABS transaction in FY 2021 for Humm. It is also the third securitisation of receivables originated through flexicommercial.

Following the close of this transaction, Humm will have issued $700 million of ABS notes during FY 2021.

Humm’s Chief Financial Officer, Jason Murray, commented: “We are extremely pleased with the market appetite for this transaction which was oversubscribed across all note tranches and is testament to the quality of the underlying receivables being securitised.”

“Considering the significant demand from investors, the transaction was upsized to A$450 million, representing the largest hummgroup ABS transaction and raising to date.”

“The strong demand also led to a tightening of pricing across all tranches and reflects that investors continue to seek high quality assets in a low interest rate environment. The pricing and successful completion of this transaction is an important step in the strategic review of flexicommercial, to increase the capital efficiency of the business. This will also provide a material capital release for hummgroup.”

The Humm share price is underperforming in 2021 and down 12% year to date. This compares to gains of 53% by Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) shares and 26% by Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) shares.

More reading

• Is Afterpay (ASX:APT)’s BNPL competition heating up?
• Why Appen, Bigtincan, Humm, & Nanosonics are tumbling lower
• Humm (ASX:HUM) share price plummets 15% despite rising profits
• Humm (ASX:HUM) share price up on new BNPL for SMEs

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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Sezzle Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Humm Group Limited and Sezzle Inc. 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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Ethical investing, also known as sustainable or Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing is having a moment. It is an approach to investing that focuses on investing in companies making positive impacts.

If you’re concerned about the environment or social inequality, you might be interested in investing in ethical Australian companies that share these concerns. 

For those who want to invest responsibly but wonder whether investing ethically will lessen profitability, we’ve rounded up a few ethically minded companies performing well on the ASX.

3 ASX shares with strong ethical values that are making coin in 2021

Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX)

Vicinity Centres is one of Australia’s leading retail property groups. It operates 63 shopping centres throughout the country with an extensive ESG strategy.

Last year, Vicinity invested over $5 million into communities while consulting with over 300 people to further improve its culture, values, and behaviour. It also began work on a plan to manage sustainability and slavery risks within its supply chains and received a 4-star Green Star performance portfolio rating – making it Australia’s highest-rated retail property portfolio.

The Vicinty Centres’ share price is up a respectable 5% year to date, and 15.09% over the last 12 months.

The ethical Australian company has a market capitalisation of around $7.7 billion with approximately 4.5 billion shares outstanding.

Ecograf Ltd (ASX: EGR)

Ecograf is creating high purity graphite for the lithium-ion battery market. It uses environmentally responsible purification technology to produce sustainable battery anode graphite. Ecograf has also developed a process to help reduce battery waste by recycling minerals to improve battery lifecycle efficiency.

Ecograf’s share price is currently up a whopping 323% year to date, going from 17 cents to 72 cents. The company’s shares are also trading 1,233% higher over the last 12 months.

It has a market capitalisation of around $329 million with approximately 454 million shares outstanding.

Seek Ltd (ASX: SEK)

Seek is an online employment marketplace trading on the Australian share market. Based in Melbourne, Seek has a presence in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, and South America.

Not only does the company have strong ESG strategies, over the last 18 months Seek has worked to help Australians in need, including helping the Flying Doctors Service attract urgently needed medical staff during the 2019 bushfires and guiding people through COVID-19 related employment challenges.

Seek’s share price has a 12-month return of 73%, having increased by $11.66 since this time last year. Its year-to-date return isn’t as exciting, it’s currently down 5.9% as it bounces back from a large drop in late February.

Seek has a market capitalisation of $9.7 billion with approximately 353 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• ASX 200 down 0.9%: Flight Centre & Webjet jump, Afterpay sinks
• SEEK (ASX:SEK) share price on watch after naming its new CFO
• Ecograf (ASX:EGR) share price powers up on government approval news
• Up 252% this year, EcoGraf (ASX:EGR) share price keeps on powering

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

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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The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price stands at US$55,900 (AU$72,600) at the time of writing. That’s up 3.3% over the past 24 hours. However, the Bitcoin price is still down 8.7% from its all-time highs of just over US$61,520, which it reached this past Sunday.

If you’re familiar with cryptocurrencies at all, you’ll know they have a notorious history of volatility. According to data from CoinDesk, just last year you could have bought one Bitcoin for US$5,700. If you’d held onto it, you’d be sitting on a gain of 880% today.

But price swings run in the other direction too

Sticking to just the past 30 days, Bitcoin was trading for US$57,960 on 22 February. By 1 March, the price had tumbled to US$43,500. In other words, the Bitcoin price tanked 25% in only one week.

So why are more institutional investors turning to Bitcoin as a defensive asset?

Why more institutional investors are banking on Bitcoin

Governments in developed nations are spending trillions of dollars in fiscal stimulus measures to counter the economic impacts of the pandemic. And central banks are ramping up their quantitative easing (QE) programs and holding interest rates near zero. As such, many investors fear that rising inflation may be just around the corner. Indeed, US Government 10-year Treasury notes are yielding just over 1.6% today, the highest since before COVID struck.

Now, according to a survey conducted by JPMorgan, an increasing number of professional investors are turning to Bitcoin over more traditional assets like gold and inflation-linked bonds to hedge against inflation.

As reported by The Australian Financial Review on Monday:

According to a JPMorgan institutional investor survey of 174 asset managers, owners, and hedge funds responsible for more than $US15 trillion in assets, 29 per cent responded they’re positive on digital assets in that they may replace fiat money in the future. Forty-four per cent were neutral and 14 per cent negative.

Of the respondents, 26% cited the “debasement of fiat currencies as the most compelling reason to invest in Bitcoin, versus 13% of investment managers”. Increasing market dept, with more financial institutions turning to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin was cited by another 27%.

The JPMorgan survey also revealed that 54% of the professionals who are invested in digital tokens “have an allocation less than 1 per cent, with 32 per cent having an allocation between 1 to 5 per cent; 79 per cent of all professionals declared the allocations unhedged.”

So as an ASX investor, should you invest in Bitcoin as a defensive asset against the spectre of rising inflation?

That, dear investor, is a decision you’ll need to make for yourself.

More reading

• Elon Musk reviews title and decides ‘Technoking of Tesla’ is more fitting
• Could this be the pin to pop the Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) bubble?
• Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) hits another record high. What’s going on?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Calm restored to the ASX 200
• The FOMO fund: Yes, it’s a real thing and it could be dangerous

Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Bitcoin. 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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Earlier this month, we covered a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) set to hit the ASX boards in the ‘near future’.

That ETF was the VanEck Vectors Global Clean Energy ETF (ASX: CLNE), and it indeed listed on the ASX as of 10 March. 

And it’s been a pretty good debut so far. At the time of writing, this ETF is up 1.43% from its initial public offering (IPO) price. At one point last week, it was up almost 6%.

Investing in global, clean energy with an investment that is on the up, what’s not to like?

Well, quite a bit, says a new report from the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today.

According to the AFR, this Global Clean Energy ETF is now the most shorted share on the entire ASX. If you’re not familiar with short selling, it involves the process of borrowing shares from another investor to sell at a later date.

The ‘shorter’ makes money if the shares fall in value over this time. Put simply, shorting is betting the price of a share (or ETF in this case) will fall.

Shorting a clean energy ETF?

According to the report, 17% of this ETF’s units are being held short. That makes it the most shorted share on the ASX.

The reason? The AFR argues that it is because of “concern of a growing bubble in climate-friendly investing”. As well as a sense that “investors are piling cash into anything that looks ‘green’”.

It notes that globally, US$350 billion has been invested in ESG (environmental, social and governance criteria) assets in 2020. That’s double the previous year.

The report also notes that the Global Clean Energy ETF’s largest holding is Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ: PLUG). Plug Power is a company that has risen more than 1,200% over the past year but has cratered in the past week. This is reportedly due to Plug warnings it would have to “restate its financial statements” for 2018 and 2019 after “finding errors”.

According to VanEck, Plug Power is still the ETFs largest holding. It has a weighting of 9.32% in the fund.

With that in mind, it’s understandable why some investors are getting nervous over the Global Clean Energy ETF.

Contrary to some popular opinion, it’s worth noting that ‘investing’ in a company doesn’t directly result in the company receiving more money.

If more capital flows into a company, it just means investors are just paying other investors more money for the shares.

More reading

• Is the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price a buy or hold?
• Why the Elders (ASX:ELD) share price is outperforming the ASX today
• How much have investors made (or lost) on Zip (ASX:Z1P) shares?
• Brokers are bullish about these 3 ASX 200 shares
• Where is the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price going in 2021?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is down 0.58% at time of writing. That’s right in line with the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), down 0.51%.

Commonwealth Bank’s shares have underperformed the other big 4 banks over the past 12 months, with shares up 28% since 17 March 2020.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Grp Ltd (ASX: ANZ) leads the big 4, with the share price up 54%

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) comes in a close second, with shares up 51%

And the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has gained 42% in 12 months.

So is the Commonwealth Bank share price a buy or hold at today’s level?

That depends on who you ask and how far along you think the ASX 200 is on the reflation curve.

Commonwealth Bank shares a hold

Romano Sala Tenna is the portfolio manager at Katana Asset Management. And he believes that the big 4 banks, all up significantly in 2021, are fully valued. As the Australian Financial Review points out “the ASX banks index is up almost 20 per cent since the start of the year”.

That has Sala Tenna keeping a careful eye on Katana’s bank share holdings. He said:

Momentum is still there, sentiment is still there, so we are happy to hold [the big 4 banks] for the course. But once we think that sentiment and momentum changes, we will move to the door on those as well.

Commonwealth Bank shares a buy

Plato Investment Management managing director Don Hamson has a different take on Commonwealth Bank shares. And that’s all to do with its juicy dividend potential.

Out of the big 4 banks Hamson picks Commonwealth Bank as the top income investing share.

According to Hamson:

Its $1.50 dividend equates to only 67% of earnings and the bank has said its pay-out ratio is likely to be 70 to 80% this year, so a stronger second-half dividend is expected. There’s also the possibility management will use excess franking credits to undertake an off-market buyback in the coming year, which will be a lucrative opportunity for retirees in particular.

More reading

• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price wobbles on CommBank BNPL news
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price lower despite Consumer and Business changes
• ASX 200 down 0.6%: Telstra upgraded, Webjet rated as a buy, Westpac update
• ASX investors still can’t get enough of GameStop (NYSE:GME) shares
• We’ll get 7.8% yield from ASX this year, says investment pro

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) is defying the market gloom today as it’s one of the few handful of stocks to be gaining ground.

The Elders share price jumped 2% to $12.29 in after lunch trade when the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) slumped 0.7%.

Nearly every sector is trading lower as US stocks fell overnight. But shares in the agribusiness zoomed ahead after Goldman Sachs reiterated its conviction “buy” recommendation on the ASX share.

Bumper harvests for the Elders share price

“Market conditions have strengthened across Australian Agricultural markets in the last 3 months led by a bumper winter crop harvest and strong cattle prices,” said the broker.

“Increasing grower optimism and strengthened balance sheets should support strong demand for ELD’s agribusiness products and services.”

What’s more, the broker believes Elders’ profit margins are set to expand and that it will win market share.

These factors are behind Goldman’s prediction that the company’s earnings before interest and tax will grow by 13% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from FY21 to FY23.

Growth drivers

“The Rural Products segment (42% of FY21 group gross margin) is performing well, in our view, aided by a recovery in the summer crop and strong demand for pre-emergent chemicals as we approach the 2021 winter crop planting window,” added Goldman.

“We expect a solid performance in the Livestock Agency Services segment (28% of FY21 gross margin). Weaker volumes are more than being offset by higher livestock prices and market share gains.”

You might not think it, but Elders is also a beneficiary of the structural online shift that is being accelerated by COVID-19.

Not too old for the online revolution

The company owns 50% of the Auctions Plus platform for livestock and is well placed to facilitate the move to online livestock auctions.

Elders is on Goldman’s conviction list and the broker’s 12-month price target is $15 a share.

While agriculture is a tough space on the ASX to invest in, the 2021 outlook for the sector is bright.

Another buy idea in the sector

Favourable weather, reasonably strong commodity prices and the global economic recovery from COVID are some of the factors behind this upbeat view.

Another ASX-listed agribusinesses that are likely to benefit from these tailwinds include the Ridley Corporation Ltd (ASX: RIC) share price.

Credit Suisse upgraded the ASX share to “outperform” from “neutral” this week as the broker has greater conviction in its medium-term growth profile.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.6%: Telstra upgraded, Webjet rated as a buy, Westpac update
• Leading brokers just upgraded these ASX shares to “buy” today
• 2 ASX 200 shares that keep growing the dividend every year
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Sneaky way ASX company can boost share price by 7%

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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is having another wild ride today. Not that the current share price reflects that too clearly. At the time of writing, Zip shares are down 1.6% to $8.61 after opening at $8.71 this morning.

But Zip was also trading at $9.12 a share at one point earlier today soon after open, up by more than 3%.

But that volatility pales in comparison with what’s been happening with the Zip share price over the year to date so far. Zip started 2021 at around $5.60 a share, meaning investors are up roughly 54% since then.

But in mid-February, this company shot all the way to a new 52-week high of $14.53. That number represents a year-to-date gain of nearly 160%. But since 16 February, the company has also lost roughly 40% of its market capitalisation.

If you’re looking for a poster child for ASX volatility, it seems Zip would make a fine candidate.

So aside from this volatility, how has Zip actually performed as an investment for its shareholders? The company neither pays, nor has ever paid, a dividend, so we’ll have to go by its share price alone.

Zip shares bring both volatility and windfalls

So, bottom line, at the current Zip share price, anyone who bought shares before 25 August 2020 is likely still in the green on their investment. On 26 August, Zip hit what was then a new record high of $9.65 before retreating again going into September.

Further, anyone who purchased Zip shares between 1 September 2020 and 4 February of this year is also likely in the green on those purchases. Naturally, Zip has been volatile in between these dates but did not exceed the pricing peaks we saw on 26 August.

But of course, Zip’s biggest winners have been its long-term investors. The Zip share price is up 420% over the past two years alone, and a staggering 2,300% over the past five years. And anyone who took advantage of the market crash that was in full swing exactly a year ago is enjoying a nice 437% gain today.

But recent movements have been more unkind.

Unfortunately, anyone who purchased Zip between 5 February and today is probably ruing their decision since their investment would likely be in the red. And (as we touched on earlier), investors who bought Zip shares on 16 February would be nursing a nasty loss indeed.

As we discussed earlier this week, sometimes the best investments come with the most volatility. That has certainly been the case with Zip shares. But for those with the nerves of steel to hold on for the ride, it has (mostly) paid off handsomely.

More reading

• 2 ASX investing strategies that could give young people an advantage
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price wobbles on CommBank BNPL news
• Why Lake Resources, PainChek, Z Energy, & Zip shares are rising today
• Flight Centre and Zip were some of the most traded ASX shares last week
• The Afterpay Ltd (ASX:APT) share price on watch after launch in France, Spain and Italy

Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of 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.

The post How much have investors made (or lost) on Zip (ASX:Z1P) shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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These 3 ASX 200 shares have struggled to deliver shareholder value in the past few months. Big brokers have scrutinised them and believe there could be some upside as earnings momentum recovers or picks up.  

1. AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) 

Ord Minnett thinks that the tides may have finally turned for the depressed AGL share price. The broker believes that there could be some significant asset restructuring from the company in the near-term, but expects the focus will be to improve the profitability of its assets.

Ord Minnett rates the AGL share price as an ‘accumulate’ with a $14.04 share price target. This would represent a significant ~40% upside to its current levels. 

2. Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) 

In June 2020, Mercedes-Benz and Honda announced a move from a franchise-based dealership model to a new business model that uses dealers as intermediaries to sell cars from the manufacturer. 

Honda is expected to start the new business model in July 2021, while Mercedes-Benz hopes to transition by January 2022. 

Morgan Stanley believes that this transition will not impact Eagers Automotive’s profitability and that the agency model itself would not be widely adopted any time soon. It also notes that Eagers Automotive has relatively low exposure to the two brands. 

The broker retained an overweight rating for Eagers Automotive, with a $17.00 target price. 

3. Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL)

The Australian government announced an additional $1.1 billion in funding for Australia’s health response to COVID-19 this month. This investment will support rapid pathology testing and tracing, building on the more than 14.5 million COVID tests conducted to date. 

Sonic has played a crucial role in pandemic control with over 18 million COVID tests performed to date in 60 Sonic laboratories globally. COVID-19 testing has emerged as a significant revenue and earnings contributor alongside its core medical diagnostic services. The additional funding from the Australian government means that the current $100 COVID-19 test fee will remain in place. Credit Suisse expected this fee would be reduced to $50 from 1 April. 

The broker believes that the company should see a recovery in growth rates moving into the second half of FY21. Sonic has noted that its global business has become increasingly resilient to the impacts of pandemic waves, evidenced by only a 1% decline in revenue during 1H FY21. 

Credit Suisse rates Sonic as an outperform with a $40.00 target price. 

More reading

• 3 top ASX shares rated as buys by brokers
• Why the Tilt Renewables (ASX:TLT) share price is soaring 15% today
• The Eagers (ASX:APE) share price is near all-time highs
• Goldman reaffirms its conviction buy on this ASX share on Yallourn shutdown
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sonic Healthcare 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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