In late morning trade on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week on a positive note. At the time of writing the benchmark index is up 1% to 5,996.8 points.

Four shares that have climbed more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are storming higher:

The Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH) share price has jumped 15% to $2.40. Investors have been buying the homewares retailer’s shares after the release of a positive trading update. According to the release, second half to date, Adairs’ brick and mortar sales are up 5.3% on a like-for-like basis. The company’s online sales have been growing even quicker. They are up 92.6% so far during the second half. Sales for the recently acquired Mocka brand were up 52.1% over the same period.

The Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) share price has jumped 23% to $7.08. This has also been driven by a positive trading update this morning. The furniture retailer revealed that its fourth quarter sales are up 20.4% compared to the prior corresponding period. In light of this, the company expects to report a 15% to 20% increase in second half profit. This has allowed the board to bring forward the payment of its 25 cents interim dividend to 29 June 2020. In March Nick Scali deferred it until October.

The SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) share price is up almost 5% to $21.82. Investors have been buying the job listings giant’s shares after analysts at UBS upgraded them to a buy rating with a $23.00 price target. The broker believes that the worst is behind the company now and expects job volumes to start their recovery.

The Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) share price has continued its positive run and raced 23.5% higher to $1.70. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the buy now pay later provider’s shares after it announced a partnership with Mastercard. However, it is worth noting that Splitit has warned that it is not able to determine the economic materiality of the partnership. This is due to the contingent nature of results that may be generated.

More reading

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• Adairs share price soars 16% on trading update and FY20 guidance
• 3 quality ASX shares to buy now to get rich later
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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SEEK Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Why Adairs, Nick Scali, SEEK, & Splitit shares are storming higher appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week on a positive note. In late morning trade the benchmark index is up a sizeable 0.7% to 5,977.2 points.

Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping lower:

The Air New Zealand Limited (ASX: AIZ) share price is down a further 2% to $1.42. Investors have been selling the airline operator’s shares since the release of its earnings guidance on Thursday. Air New Zealand advised that revenue and earnings will still be significantly lower than expected in FY 2020 because of the pandemic. It is expecting to report an underlying loss before significant items and tax of up to NZ$120 million.

The Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price is down 1.5% to $5.22. This morning the gold miner released an update on its Mt Carlton operation. According to the release, recent drilling is indicating a reduction in approximately 75,000 ounces from the life of mine plan. As a result, production at the operation is now expected to be 60,000 ounces in FY 2020 (down from 70,000 to 75,000 ounces) and then 50,000 in FY 2021.

The Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) share price has crashed 16% lower to $2.30. This decline has driven by the packaging company’s shares trading ex-dividend this morning for its special dividend. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving the 37.3 cents per share dividend in their bank accounts on 29 June 2020.

The Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) share price has fallen almost 1.5% to $9.63 despite there being no news out of the insurance and banking giant. This may be down to profit taking after a decent gain over the last 30 days. Prior to today, Suncorp’s shares were up 11% since this time in May.

More reading

• Why Air NZ, Carsales, Pendal, & Star shares are dropping lower
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ASX 200 jumps almost 4%, Webjet share price soars
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. 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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ASX technology shares have staged a strong comeback from the March market correction. The S&P/ASX All Technology Index is up 80% from its March low. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is up just 30%. Investors are clearly favouring technology companies as the population increasingly turns to digital means of shopping, working, and communicating. With this in mind, we take a look at 4 ASX technology shares to buy in the next market dip. 

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

The Megaport share price has risen 92% since its March low, surpassing previous highs. The increase has seen Megaport’s market capitalisation rise to $2 billion, doubling in 13 months. As a result, the technology company has joined the S&P/ASX 200 in the latest quarterly rebalance. 

Founded in 2013, Megaport operates in the network-as-a-service (NaaS) space, providing bandwidth which allows users to connect to cloud services and data centres almost instantly. The company uses software-defined networking (SDN) to enable customers to provision circuits between data centres and their cloud providers. Businesses are able to quickly build and deploy connections to the services they run on. This then creates a network without complex configuration tasks. 

In 1H FY20 Megaport reported a 70% increase in revenue which reached $25.9 million. The business generated a profit after direct network costs of $13.2 million for the half-year. This represented an increase of $8.3 million or 173% on the prior corresponding period. Megaport is now operating in 21 countries following the launch of services in Japan in December 2019.

LiveTiles Ltd (ASX: LVT)

The LiveTiles share price has doubled from its March low of 12 cents. The price received a boost this week after the founders noted the company had been named as the fastest-growing Australian technology company. In a letter to shareholders, the founders outlined the measures LiveTiles has taken to combat the coronavirus pandemic and how it stands to benefit. 

LiveTiles is a provider of intranet software used to create dashboards, employee portals, and corporate intranets. During the pandemic, it has been assisting over 1,000 customers to support remote employee communications, operating system access, collaboration and document sharing. Due to the increase in remote working, there has been an uptick in interest in LiveTiles’ solutions. 

LiveTiles reported annualised recurring revenue of $55.2 million at 31 March 2020, up from $52.7 million at 31 December 2019. Annualised recurring revenue has grown 60% in the last year and is up 4.9x in 2 years. Average annual recurring revenue per customer was over $51,500 at the end of the March quarter, up 32% on the prior corresponding period. 

Nonetheless, the pandemic has forced the technology company to cut costs. Although, it has said it has no requirement to raise further capital to fund operating cash burn. LiveTiles reports that it is well capitalised with more than $33 million cash on hand as of 31 March. It is accelerating efforts to reach breakeven operating cash flow and is taking tangible steps to achieve this during 2020. 

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

The Xero share price has increased 50% from March lows, spurred by the release of its full-year results in May. Xero reported that COVID-19 had a relatively modest impact on its operating and financial performance for the year. Operating revenue grew by 30% to NZD$718.2 million, with subscriber numbers growing 26% to $2.285 million. 

Nonetheless, Xero warned that the impact of COVID-19 on March trading resulted in a reduction in annualised monthly recurring revenue progress. This, along with the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, will be reflected in Xero’s FY21 performance. 

Xero provides cloud-based accounting software to predominantly small and medium businesses. It took the tech company more than a decade to reach its first million subscribers, but just 2 and a half years to add the next million, demonstrating the pace of its adoption across key markets.

Xero achieved its first full-year net profit after tax of $3.3 million in FY20. This was a $30.5 million improvement over the $27.1 million loss in FY19. Its results were driven by revenue growth, improved gross margin, and disciplined cost management. There is no doubt the pandemic will take a toll on many of Xero’s customers. While this creates uncertainty, Xero’s ambition to drive cloud accounting globally and grow its small business platform remains unchanged. 

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

Online-only Kogan is one of the few retailers to benefit from the coronavirus pandemic, shares are up 270% since March. In April and May Kogan’s gross sales increased by more than 100% year on year. This drove a 130% increase in gross profit across the period. 

Kogan added 126,00 active customers in May, growing active customer numbers to 2,074,000 at the end of the month. Adjusted EBITDA grew by 219.3% across April and May. Financial year to date adjusted EBITDA up by more than 50%. The company had cash of $58.6 million at the end of May with its debt facility drawn to $26 million. 

Earlier this month Kogan launched a $100 million capital raising at an offer price of $11.45 per share. Funds will be used to increase financial flexibility, giving the ability to act quickly on accretive opportunities, expand the customer base, and enhance the operating model. 

In May Kogan acquired Matt Blatt, a furniture and homewares retailer, for $4.4 million. The business reported $46.5 million in revenue in FY19, with 20-25% generated online. Of course, Kogan is not just an online retailer – it also offers services including insurance, internet, mobile, and energy. 

Kogan has benefitted from a spike in sales due to lockdowns while many bricks and mortar stores were forced to close. This has pushed the ASX technology share well up, with the price to earnings (P/E) ratio over 70. Nonetheless, the company stands to benefit from the long-term shift to digital which has been accelerated by current events. 

More reading

• ASX tech shares: 2 exciting small caps to watch closely
• Why I would buy Telstra and these ASX 200 blue chip shares
• Why the Wesfarmers share is beating the ASX 200
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• ASX 200 falls 0.9%, Afterpay share price hits new record

Kate O’Brien has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of LIVETILES FPO, MEGAPORT FPO, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended LIVETILES FPO and MEGAPORT FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Looking to buy ASX technology shares? Here are 4 to consider appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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