Thanks to a strong finish on Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was able to push ever so slightly higher last week to end at 7,308.6 points.
A number of ASX 200 shares recorded notably stronger gains over the period. Here's why these were the best performers on the index:
IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)
The IDP Education share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with a gain of 17.8%. All of this gain occurred on Friday in response to the announcement of a major new acquisition. The language testing and student placement company is acquiring 100% of the British Council's Indian International English Language Testing System operations for 130 million pounds (A$240 million). The deal will mean that IDP Education is the sole distributor of IELTS in the massive Indian market.
Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN)
The Mineral Resources share price was some way behind as the next best performer with a 9.5% gain. This appears to have been driven by a bullish broker note from a week earlier. Thanks to rising commodity prices, Macquarie has put an outperform rating and $73.00 price target on the company's shares. It likes the company due to its exposure to both iron ore and lithium. The Mineral Resources share price ended the week at $55.54.
Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN)
The Harvey Norman share price wasn't far behind with an 8.1% gain over the five days. This was despite there being no news out of the retail giant. However, investors may believe the recent outbreak of COVID-19 across several Australian states could be another boost to sales like this time last year.
Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV)
The Clinuvel share price was a solid performer, rising 5.8% over the week. Once again, this was despite there being no news out of the biopharmaceutical company. Though, the company recently announced that its afamelanotide drug has been administered to a first patient diagnosed with an acute arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS). This patient was enrolled in a world's first clinical trial (CUV801) after suffering an acute stroke and being admitted to a specialist neurological hospital in Australia to receive treatment. Investors may be optimistic that the result from this trial will be positive.
