2 ASX shares highly recommended to buy: Experts

Analysts think it's a good time to invest in these names…

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There are always interesting ASX shares to consider. Sometimes, an analyst may call a business a buy. A few businesses have multiple experts rating them as an opportunity, which could be a clear signal that they're appealing ideas to invest in.

The two ASX shares I'm going to highlight are among the most highly-rated businesses in Australia and they both may be capable of producing very pleasing shareholder returns.

Of course, these are just analysts' predictions, not guarantees of how things will play out.

Buy now written on a red key with a shopping trolley on an Apple keyboard.

Image source: Getty Images

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP)

Zip is one of the largest buy now, pay later businesses in Australia and the US.

According to CMC Invest, there have been six recent ratings on the business, with all of those being a buy.

The business could deliver significant capital growth according to the price targets. A price target is where analysts think the share price could be in a year from the time of the investment call.

According to CMC Invest, the average price target on Zip is $3.84, suggesting a potential rise of around 130% over the next year. The most optimistic price target is $4.50, suggesting a possible rise of approximately 170%, while the lowest price target is $2.60, implying a rise of more than 50%.

Of course, it's not common for a particular business to rise more than 50% in a year, so a rise of over 100% would be very impressive.

The ASX share's FY26 first-half result was impressive. Total income grew 29.2% to $664 million, operating profit (cash EBITDA) jumped 85.6% to $124.3 million and active customers rose 4.1% to 6.6 million.

However, net bad debts increased to 1.7% of total transaction value (TTV), up from 1.6% of TTV in the first half of FY25.

Most importantly, the business is expecting ongoing strength growth in the US. In FY26, the company expects to report US TTV growth of more than 40% in USD dollar terms, balancing profitability and credit loss performance. The US TTV in January 2026 grew by more than 40% year-over-year.

According to CMC Invest, the business is valued at around 20x FY26's estimated earnings.

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

Another ASX share that's currently liked by analysts is Baby Bunting, a retailer of various baby and toddler items like prams, beds, clothing, toys and so on.

According to CMC Invest, in the last three months, there have been four buy ratings on the business and two holds.

The average price target of those ratings is $3.18, suggesting a possible rise of more than 130% for the ASX share.

The most optimistic price target is $4.20, suggesting a potential increase of around 210%, while the lowest estimate is $2.60, which implies a possible rise of more than 90%.

In the FY26 half-year result, the business was able to report a number of positives.

Total sales increased by 6.7% year-over-year to $271.4 million, with comparable store sales growth of 4.7%. Excitingly, its 'store of the future' refurbishment program unlocked a 25% sales increase, which was the top end of its guidance range of between 15% to 25%.

Pleasingly, the company said that second half sales momentum continued in the first seven weeks with comparable sales growth of 6.7%.

The projection on CMC Invest suggests the business could generate earnings per share (EPS) of 12.8 cents in FY26, putting the current valuation at under 11x FY26's estimated earnings.

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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