If you want to construct a balanced portfolio, having a few blue chip ASX shares in there would be a smart move. But with so many to choose from, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy.
To narrow things down for you, I have highlighted two ASX blue chip shares that come highly rated:
REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)
The first blue chip ASX share to look at is REA Group. It is the clear leader in real estate listings in the Australian market. For example, during the third quarter, the realestate.com.au website set new audience records and delivered over 3 million buyer enquiries per month. This was an increase of 82% for the quarter.
This was underpinned by 12.5 million unique visits each month on average and 130.7 million average monthly total visits. This is 3.2 times more visits than the nearest competitor.
Looking ahead, REA Group appears well-placed to continue its fine form. Particularly given the improving housing market, price increases, cost reductions, acquisitions, and new revenue streams.
Macquarie is very positive on the company. Earlier this month, the broker retained its outperform rating and lifted its price target to $179.10.
Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL)
Another blue chip to look at is Sonic Healthcare. It is a leading medical diagnostics company with operations across the world.
Sonic has been a very impressive performer in FY 2021. It delivered impressive profit growth in the first half and appears well-placed to repeat this in the second half.
This is thanks largely to strong demand for COVID-19 testing services globally. At the end of the first half, Sonic had undertaken more than 18 million COVID-19 PCR tests across ~60 Sonic laboratories globally.
Positively, this has been supported by solid performances from the rest of the business, which has rebounded strongly from the pandemic.
One broker that is particularly positive on Sonic is Morgan Stanley. Earlier this month the broker put an overweight rating and $38.60 price target on its shares.
