The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has accelerated over the past 11 months, up 33%. This comes as Australia's largest telco provider has managed to navigate its way around COVID-19 and the NBN headwind.
At the end of Friday, the telco's shares recorded gains of 1.27% to $3.98.
What's driving Telstra shares upwards in 2021?
Without a doubt, the Telstra share price has been on fire this year, buoyed by upbeat investor sentiment.
The company's mobile division has been a standout performer as Australians continue to work from home. In addition, management's focus on cutting down costs across the business has had a positive effect on its share price.
Telstra's acquisition of Pacific-based telco, Digicel is also expected to provide ample returns with relatively low risk. The telco paid US$270 million while the Australian government chipped in the majority of the $1.6 billion price tag.
The deal is anticipated to be earnings per share accretive, more than a share buyback.
More recently, the company signed a significant renewal contract with the Australian Department of Defence.
Extended for 5-years and worth over $1 billion, the agreement will see Telstra deliver critical network and telecommunications services.
It's the largest ever customer contract signed by Telstra Enterprise and will aid the business in returning to growth.
Are Telstra shares a buy?
A couple of brokers have weighed in on the company's share price last month.
Australian leading investment firm, Morgans raised its price target for Telstra shares by 2.5% to $4.55.
Analysts at Goldman reaffirmed their outlook on Telstra shares as a 'buy', putting a price target of $4.40. Based on the current share price, this implies an upside of around 10%.
Goldman Sachs remains bullish following Telstra's T25 update, which highlighted a number of initiatives to boost future growth.
Telstra share price snapshot
In 2021, the Telstra share price has gained above 30%, reaching pre-pandemic levels. If the company's share price can push above $4.05 today, it will be at a multi-year high from 2017.
Telstra commands a market capitalisation of around $47.34 billion, making it the 10th largest company on the ASX.
