I think it is well worth keeping an eye on what substantial shareholders of companies do.

A substantial shareholder is a shareholder that owns 5% or more of a company’s shares. These are often large investors, asset managers, and investment funds.

ASX rules mean that these shareholders are obliged to provide substantial holding notices relating to movements above or below the threshold, and any change of 1% or more.

As a result, I think investors should use these notices to their advantage. After all, they show where the smart money is going.

Two notices that have caught my eye are summarised below:

Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)

A notice of initial substantial holder reveals that Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) has been buying this building products company’s shares. Over the last three months the investment company has built up a holding of 122,565,694 Boral shares. This means it now has a 10% stake in the company.

Seven Group, which has a number of investments in the construction industry, started picking up shares after they fell heavily during the market crash. Though, it has been buying them as recently as on Tuesday. Boral’s shares are still down over 37% from their 52-week high. This appears to be a level which Seven Group believes is good value.

Marley Spoon AG (ASX: MMM)

According to a change of interests of substantial holder notice, Perennial Value Management has continued to increase its stake in this meal kit delivery company. The notice reveals that over the last three weeks the fund manager has picked up almost 6 million Marley Spoon shares through on-market trades. This has increased its holding in the company from approximately 16.3 million shares, to ~22.2 million shares. This represents a 12.7% stake in the company.

In April Marley Spoon revealed that it experienced a surge in demand for its meal kit subscriptions because of lockdowns and restaurant closures. Time will tell whether these new customers will be retained when restrictions lift, but Perennial Value Management appears confident they will.

More reading

• This embattled ASX 200 company could be the next M&A target
• These ASX shares are set to get a big boost from the next big government stimulus
• These 5 ASX 200 shares were last week’s biggest winners
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Surging bank shares push ASX toward 6,000
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week

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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It’s been another positive trading session for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), with the index up by 0.82% at the time of writing. The ASX is home to a dynamic and growing small-cap tech share market including Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL), among others, which today have seen strong share price rises.

Let’s take a look at three of those that have performed particularly well so far today.

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

Bigtincan has a business model that is centred on ‘sales enablement’.  This is a rapidly growing niche in the IT software market.

It is a capital-light and highly efficient business that has a subscription type model with attractive margins. However, the software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider was only listed on the ASX three years ago and is yet to become profitable. This makes it a relatively risky investment, despite its strong potential.

Bigtincan saw heavy share price falls in the early phase of the coronavirus crisis. However, since mid-March, its share price has rallied strongly. This rally has continued to today, up by another 7.8%, boosted by further positive market sentiment.

Wisr Ltd (ASX: WZR)

Small cap fintech provider, Wisr provides online lines for services such as debt consolidation, car loans home renovations, and travel. Its share price has surged 12% so far today. This follows on from a share price rally since March. However, its share price is still well down from its 12-month high in February.

Wisr was hit hard in the first wave of the pandemic, as discretionary consumer spending was impacted. However, growing consumer optimism is now seeing its share price start to lift higher.

Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL)

Sezzle is a US-based buy-now-pay-later fintech provider. It is growing rapidly, however, is still a long way behind its much larger rival, Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT).

Sezzle Inc share price has grown by over 500% since late March. It has risen another 4% higher today. This follows on from a 17% share price surge yesterday.

Sezzle has around 1.3 million users and is growing rapidly. It targets the Gen Z and millennial consumer demographics, like Afterpay and another rival Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P).

Both of these two-market segments make up the largest proportion of all age demographics in the US. These segments are also very tech-savvy and are attracted to this type of online lending.

More reading

• Afterpay share price hits a new record high: Is it too late to invest?
• Why Afterpay, Infigen, Qantas, & Zip Co shares are charging higher
• ASX 200 up 1%: Big four banks jump, Afterpay hits record high
• The Zip Co share price just zoomed to a record high: Is it too late to invest?
• 2 exciting small cap ASX shares that could have big futures

Phil Harpur owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of BIGTINCAN FPO and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO and Sezzle Inc. 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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