Whilst the recent market crash is hugely disappointing, every cloud has a silver lining.
The silver lining for investors is that it has pulled the shares of some high-quality companies down to even more attractive prices.
Three top shares that I think would be great buy and hold options are listed below. Here's why I like them:
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
The recent market volatility has hit the shares of Appen hard. I believe this has created a buying opportunity for investors that are prepared to hold onto them for the long term. As Appen is a global leader in the development of high-quality, human annotated datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence, I feel it is well-positioned to benefit from these rapidly growing markets and increase its earnings at a strong rate over the next few years. Based on this, I think its shares are attractively priced now and offer a compelling risk/reward.
Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)
Another top growth share which I think has been pulled down to an attractive level is Aristocrat Leisure. Even though the leading gaming technology company is being negatively impacted by the closure of casinos, it still has its growing Digital business generating lucrative revenues. Furthermore, with casinos now closed, I suspect that more and more people will be turning to its growing portfolio of mobile apps. In light of this and on the assumption that trading conditions will return to normal in FY 2021, I think its shares are attractively priced for a patient investment.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)
Xero is another quality buy and hold option for investors to consider right now. I've been very impressed at the way the accounting software provider continues to grow at a solid rate. For example, in the first half of FY 2020 the company's Annualised Monthly Recurring Revenue (AMRR) increased 30% on the prior corresponding period to NZ$764.1 million. This was driven by another lift in subscriber numbers and other key metrics. Due to the quality of its product, the shift to cloud-based accounting, and its expansion internationally, I believe Xero could continue this strong form for some time to come.
