Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) shares finished this week with a slight retrace.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) business and accounting software provider closed on Friday trading for $182.29 apiece, down 0.9% for the day.
The ASX 200 also lost ground on Friday, with the benchmark Aussie index closing down 0.2%.
That leaves the ASX 200 up 10.0% since this time last year.
So, how have Xero shares fared in comparison?
Let's find out!
How have Xero shares performed?
Despite Friday's modest dip, and a few sizeable retraces during the year amid broader selling in the tech sector, you're unlikely to find longer-term shareholders complaining about the performance of Xero shares.
Here's why.
Twelve months ago, you could have picked up shares in the ASX 200 tech stock for $135.44 each.
Meaning with an $8,000 investment you could have bought 59 shares (exclusive of any brokerage fees), with enough change left over for a medium coffee.
At Friday's closing price of $182.29. you could have sold those same shares for a rounded $10,755. That's a gain of $2,755 on your investment, or 34.4%, in just one year. Plus the coffee.
Try getting that from a bank term deposit!
What's the latest from the ASX 200 tech stock?
Xero shares grabbed headline news this week after the company announced it had entered into binding agreement to acquire United States-based payments platform Melio.
Xero reported that it will shell out US$2.5 billion (AU$3.8 billion) for the acquisition, as well as paying up to US$500 million in contingent payments to employees over three years.
The ASX 200 tech stock was in a trading halt on Wednesday prior to announcing that it had successfully raised US$1.2 billion via the placement of approximately 10.5 million shares to sophisticated and institutional investors for $176.00 each.
The US represents Xero's largest total addressable market (TAM) segment at US$29 billion. And the Melio acquisition is aimed at rapidly ramping up its footprint in the world's biggest economy.
"Melio presents an incredibly exciting opportunity for Xero," Xero CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy on the day.
"We look forward to creating a market-leading accounting and payments offering that maximises value for our customers and supports our 3×3 strategy and US ambitions," she added.
Up 35% in a year, are Xero shares still a good buy?
After gaining 35% in a year, is it too late to buy Xero shares today?
Not according to the analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG).
The broker has an outperform rating on the ASX 200 tech stock with a 12-month price target of $204.00 a share.
That represents a potential upside of 11.9% from Friday's closing price.
