The ASX 200 index is home to 200 of the largest listed companies on the Australian share market.
Among these companies are some true blue chip stars that could form the foundations for a winning portfolio.
But which ASX 200 shares could be top buys today? Let's take a look at two true blue chip options for investors. They are as follows:
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CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)
The first ASX 200 share that analysts rate as a buy is CSL.
It is one of the world's leading biotherapeutics companies with a collection of industry-leading therapies and vaccines. This includes therapies such as Privigen, Hizentra, Idelvion, and Afstyla.
Combined with its development pipeline, CSL appears well-placed for growth in the coming years. Bell Potter expects this to be the case and is forecasting double digit earnings growth. It said:
Behring is CSL's largest division (72% of revenue) and we expect it will continue to do the heavy lifting in the near-term, both in topline growth and margin expansion.
CSL's FY25 revenue guidance of 5%-7% (BPe 6.5%) is comprised of "high single digit" growth for Behring and "flattish" growth for Seqirus and Vifor. Behring's more favourable outlook, coupled with its gross margin recovery to pre-pandemic levels (which we expect in FY28), results in confidence that CSL will be able to achieve its guidance of "annual double-digit earnings growth" over the mid-term, despite more challenging near-term prospects for Seqirus and Vifor.
Bell Potter currently has a buy rating and $345.00 price target on its shares. This suggests that upside of 20% is possible over the next 12 months.
ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)
Another ASX 200 blue chip share that could be a great addition to your portfolio is ResMed.
If you're one of the estimated one in five people with a sleep disorder globally, you might be well aware of ResMed and its products. Though, that said, with the vast majority of sufferers still undiagnosed, perhaps you won't. This gives ResMed a huge growth runway as education and awareness increases.
And while there has been some chatter about how weight loss drugs could impact its growth, Morgans doesn't agree and believes the future remains very bright for the company. It recently said:
While weight loss drugs have grabbed headlines and investor attention, we see these products having little impact on the large, underserved sleep disorder breathing market, and do not view them as category killers. Although quarters are likely to remain volatile, nothing changes our view that the company remains well placed and uniquely positioned as it builds a patient-centric, connected-care digital platform that addresses the main pinch points across the healthcare value chain.
Morgans is bullish on ResMed. It currently has an add rating and $41.33 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of 8.5% for investors over the next 12 months.
