Last week was a good one for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The benchmark index climbed 53.5 points or 0.7% to end the period at 7,415.5 points.
While a good number of shares pushed higher, some climbed more than most. Here's why these were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week:
Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL)
The Nuix share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with an 18.2% gain. Strangely, the majority of these gains were made during the first four days of the week on no news, with only a small portion coming on Friday after the release of a major announcement. That announcement revealed the appointment of Jonathan Rubinsztein as the investigative analytics and intelligence software provider's new CEO and Executive Director. Mr Rubinsztein recently resigned as the CEO of auto parts software company Infomedia Limited (ASX: IFM).
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
The Appen share price was the next best performer with a gain of 13.1% last week. This was despite there being no news out of the artificial intelligence services provider. Though, it is worth noting that a week earlier Citi retained its buy rating and lofty $17.00 price target on the company's shares. The Appen share price ended the week notably lower than this price target at $10.91 despite its strong gain.
Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)
The Nearmap share price wasn't far behind with a gain of 11.4% over the five days. Once again, this was despite there being no news out of the aerial imagery technology and location data company. The Nearmap share price has now broken into positive territory year to date following last week's gain.
Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT)
The Perpetual share price was a strong performer last week and rose 10.5% over the period. Investors were buying the fund manager's shares following the release of a decent quarterly update. Perpetual revealed that its total assets under management ended the first quarter at $101.0 billion, up 2.7% since the end of June. Morgans responded to the update by retaining its add rating and lifting its price target to $45.07.
