The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was well and truly out of form last week following a chaotic few days of trade. The benchmark index fell 2.8% over the week to end at 6,607.4 points.
Fortunately, not all ASX 200 shares sank lower with the market last week. Here's why these were the best performers on the index over the period:
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield CDI (ASX: URW)
The Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 22.4% gain. The shopping centre operator's shares charged higher following GameStop's meteoric rise. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield had a decent amount of short interest, so the Reddit-GameStop development appears to have spooked short sellers into closing positions in a hurry, driving its shares higher.
IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)
The IDP Education share price was on form and charged 12.6% higher of the five days. Investors were buying the student placement and language testing company's shares following the release of a bullish broker note out of UBS. Its analysts retained their buy rating and lifted the price target on IDP Education's shares to $23.00. According to the note, UBS believes that trading conditions are improving. Looking further ahead, it believes the company is well-placed to deliver strong earnings growth over the medium term.
Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG)
The Domain share price wasn't far behind with a gain of 8% last week. This also appears to have been driven by a positive broker note. Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded the property listings company's shares to an outperform rating with an improved price target of $5.10. It believes the company's overweight exposure to NSW will be a positive if stamp duty reforms in the state proceed.
Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)
The Treasury Wine share price was a positive performer and climbed 7.8% over the week. As with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, this appears to have been driven by short sellers buying shares in a hurry to close their positions amid fears traders may do a "GameStop" with the wine company's shares.
