Announcements – and strong performance – seem to have driven today's three features higher, with all three rallying after recent announcements.
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) has continued to soar after recent announcements of a buyback and the acquisition of vaccine maker Novartis, while Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) leapt upwards on news of the successful refinancing of Queensland Motorways.
ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD) has also displayed a strong performance recently, soaring upwards after apparently allaying fears it would reveal stagnant profits in its annual report.
Here's what you need to know:
CSL Limited – last traded at $83.02, up 21% for the year; yields 1.7%
CSL has risen 10% in the past month alone, as the news that the Novartis acquisition would make the company the world's second largest vaccine maker filtered through the market. Indeed the same announcement saw CSL feature just a few weeks ago and its strong run continues.
I believe the company now looks a little too expensive to buy right now, but calling it 'overvalued' would do a disservice to what one Foolish writer calls the best business on the ASX.
CSL also recently received major long-term loans from private lenders at a weighted average interest rate of 1.9%.
With the ability to raise capital so cheaply, and as the earnings and synergies from Novartis and the share buyback filter through to shareholders, I firmly believe this is one company that will continue to rise into 2015.
Transurban Group – last traded at $8.35, up 18.7% for the year; yields 4.6%
Transurban attracts a lot of investor interest because of its strong dividends and steady earnings underpinned by its infrastructure assets.
The refinancing of some of its 62.5% stake in Queensland Motorways at interest rates of 4.75% triggered a recent wave of buying, but Transurban's rise began back in August. Despite a few hiccups since then the company appears likely to grow profits again in 2015 after a strong performance from the group's Sydney assets and contributions from Queensland Motorways.
Continued strong traffic growth is expected as upgrades complete on Sydney's M5 Motorway and other newly completed works, although analyst Morningstar has a price target of $6.50, indicating the company is overvalued.
ResMed Inc – last traded at $6.23, up 14% for the year; yields 2%
The market was clearly expecting ResMed to disappoint this year, with its share price dropping from $5.80 to $5.30 in the week before the annual report.
Surprises happen though, and the share price rebounded just as quickly after ResMed announced a 6% increase in revenue and a 3% boost in profit, and the company has since gone on to touch new heights of $6.23 as excitement builds around the company's E-health links to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).
I don't believe e-health is ResMed's golden ticket just yet, but that situation could certainly change in coming years.
