There's only one word that can describe the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)'s performance this Monday: fire. ASX 200 shares, including CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), were indeed on fire today.
Not only did the index add a healthy 0.73%, but it has also hit yet another new record high. Yep, the ASX 200 clocked a fresh record of 8,037.3 points this morning. That was shortly after blowing through the psychologically-important 8,000-point threshold for the first time ever as well.
But let's talk about ASX 200 healthcare giant CSL.
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New ASX 200 highs all around
It was a top day for CSL shares as well. The ASX's third-largest stock also saw its shares at a fresh new high today, albeit a 52-week one. This morning, the CSL share price opened at $308.93 a share after closing at $306.60 last week. But soon after, those same shares climbed up to a flat $311, the new high watermark for CSL.
At market close, the company cooled off a little to end the day up a decent 0.64% at $308.56.
This share price puts CSL up by 7.03% in 2024 to date. This company is also sitting on a 12-month gain of 19.22%.
Saying that, CSL's new 52-week high isn't nearly as momentous as that of the broader ASX 200. The company has been here several times before. At least once a year since 2020, CSL shares have ascended above $310 a share. It happened in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. But each time CSL hit this milestone in the past, investors got cold feet and subsequently sent the company lower.
So, while today marks the first time in 12 months that CSL shares have had '311' at the front of their pricing, we have to go way back to early 2020 to find the last time CSL was at an all-time high. That occurred on 20 February 2020, when CSL hit $342.72 a share.
But it's now more than four years later, and we still haven't seen CSL get anywhere near that all-time record high.
Check all of this out for yourself here:
What's next for CSL shares?
Fortunately for CSL investors, ASX brokers seem to be excited about what lies in store for the CSL share price.
Last week, my Fool colleague James covered broker Bell Potter's bullish view of the healthcare stock.
Calling CSL "an attractive buying opportunity", here's some of what the broker said:
CSL has been in a holding pattern since 2020, and for good reason. COVID hit the business with higher collection costs for plasma, depressing margins. We anticipate the start of a margin recovery phase for CSL, driving above-market earnings growth over the next few years…
Given the company's proven quality and growth prospects, we believe significant upside remains.
It's not just Bell Potter though. We've recently covered the views of brokers at Macquarie. Macquarie is also bullish on CSL shares, giving the company a buy rating as well as a 12-month share price target of $330.
Like Bell Potter, Macquarie sees substantial potential for CSL to grow its earnings over the next few years, and as such, views the current CSL share price as undervalued.
No doubt these optimistic projections will be welcomed by CSL's investors. But, as always, we'll have to wait and see if today's new 52-week high is a sign of things to come.
