When it comes to finding shares to buy and hold for an extended period, I think the healthcare and information technology sectors are great places to start looking.
While there are a large number of quality options in both sectors, I have picked out my current favourites below.
Here's why I think they are great buy and hold investment candidates:
Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)
Although its shares have almost tripled in value since this time last year, I still believe that Altium could prove to be a great buy and hold investment. The printed circuit board (PCB) design software provider looks set to be a big winner from the rise of the Internet of Things market. As the majority of devices that connect to the internet require a PCB inside them, I expect demand for Altium's software will continue to increase significantly.
This increasing demand was evident when Altium released its half-year results last week. The software company reported half-year revenue growth of 30% to US$63.2 million, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation growth of 51% to US$19 million, and net profit after tax growth of 51%. I believe this puts it well on course to achieve its revenue target of US$200 million by FY 2020.
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)
This biopharmaceutical company is my favourite healthcare share on the Australian share market just ahead of private hospital operator Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC). I thought CSL's first-half result was a highlight of earnings season and demonstrated why it could be a stand out buy and hold investment option.
CSL reported a 31% lift in net profit after tax to surpass US$1 billion for the first time in half. This was driven by strong sales from its immunoglobulin and seasonal flu vaccine products. While the second-half is likely to be softer due to seasonal factors, I still expect a stellar full-year result that justifies the premium its shares trade at today.
