With so many shares to choose from on the Australian share market, it can be difficult to decide which ones to buy. The good news is that brokers across the country are doing a lot of the hard work for you.
Three top ASX shares that leading brokers have named as buys this week are listed below. Here's why they are bullish on them:
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Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)
According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have upgraded this integrated industrial property company's shares to a buy rating with a $36.00 price target. The broker believes that the market has been too negative on Goodman's data centre plans. Its analysts feel that there will be strong demand for its 5GW pipeline. It also sees major upside potential for Goodman's shares if data centre demand from artificial intelligence and cloud computing underpins even stronger growth than Goodman's planned capacity can cater to at present. The Goodman share price is trading at $31.86 on Monday.
QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)
A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating on this insurance giant's shares with an increased price target of $25.50. This follows the release of QBE's first quarter update, which went down well with the broker. It notes that QBE's premium rate increases are holding up better than expected. As a result, it feels that underlying trends are tracking in line with guidance of 92.5% COR. It also highlights that QBE's underlying gross written premium growth outlook is favourable. All in all, it continues to see value in the company's shares despite a strong rise over the past 12 months. The QBE share price is fetching $22.26 at the time of writing.
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO)
Analysts at Macquarie have retained their outperform rating and $191.90 price target on this cloud accounting platform provider's shares. According to the note, the broker believes that the tide could be turning for Xero in the key United States market. Macquarie highlights that its growth in the country has been challenging for many years, but it is seeing signs of change. This is being driven by new management, strategy, data models, features, an improved product, better partner economics, and favourable shifts in both US regulatory tailwinds and the competitive landscape. In addition, its channel check feedback indicates that Xero's product is rapidly emerging as a viable competitor to Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU). Overall, Macquarie thinks that Xero is in a solid position for strong US growth over next five years. The Xero share price is trading at $171.33 on Monday.
