The S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) continued its positive run last week with a 26-point or 0.4% gain to 5905.6 points.
While this was positive, a number of shares managed to carve out vastly superior gains over the period.
The following shares were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week:
The Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with a gain of almost 12%. With no news out of the retailer, the catalyst for this gain appears to have been a broker note out of Macquarie on Wednesday. According to the note, the broker has upgraded Harvey Norman's shares to an outperform rating with a $4.10 price target. Macquarie's analysts felt its shares were cheap after a sharp decline over the last 12 months.
The Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) share price wasn't far behind with an 11.5% gain last week. The market responded positively to news that the retail group has found the successor to CEO Peter Birtles. After a global search it has decided to promote the managing director of its Outdoor Retailing business, Anthony Heraghty, to the top job. One broker that was pleased with the news was Credit Suisse, which upgraded Super Retail's shares to an outperform rating with a $7.75 price target.
The Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) share price climbed over 11% during the week despite there being no news out of the horticulture company. However, its shares have been sold off significantly this year following a surprise guidance downgrade. Costa's shares are still down 24% year to date even after this gain.
The Estia Health Ltd (ASX: EHE) share price pushed 9% higher last week despite the ongoing Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. It appears that some investors think the selloff of its shares has been overdone and created a buying opportunity. Estia Health's shares have lost a third of their value over the last 12 months despite this solid gain.
