• Sezzle shares and 2 other ASX techs soared up to 50% in the past 4 weeks

    Man holding credit card in front of laptop for ebay purchase

    Australia’s tech sector is tiny and relatively immature compared to the much larger US tech sector market. However, Australia has some vibrant and fast-growing techs listed on the ASX including Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL), Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA), and Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) shares. 

    These companies have seen strong share price gains over the past few weeks – up to a 50% increase, in fact.  

    Nearmap shares

    The share price of fast-growing aerial imagery and specialist location data company, Nearmap has grown strongly over the past few months. Over the past 4 weeks alone, this ASX tech share has seen its share price increase by 32.5%.

    In a May market update, Nearmap noted that it is continuing to grow its subscriber base. This is particularly the case in the North American market. The company’s subscription revenue per subscriber also continues to rise. This trend is leading to improving overall margins.

    Nearmap has also recently launched its new artificial intelligence (AI) product to subscribers in Australia and North America.

    Redbubble shares

    Another ASX tech share to watch out for is Redbubble. It owns and operates a leading global marketplace for independent artists. Its share price has risen by an impressive 36.8% over the past 4 weeks. This follows on from a share price rally that began in late March.

    In a market update back in early April, Redbubble revealed that it believes it is well placed to endure the coronavirus outbreak. In a further market update in late April, Redbubble revealed that its marketplace revenue totalled $246 million for the year-to-date. That amounted to an impressive year-on-year growth of 25%. Redbubble is benefiting from the trend of consumers moving to the online environment for their shopping experience.

    Sezzle shares

    Speaking of another company benefitting from consumers shopping online, Sezzle is a buy-now-pay-later fintech provider listed on the ASX but based in the US. Its main competitors include Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P).

    Sezzle shares have grown by 50.2% in the past 4 weeks. In addition, they’ve grown by over 500% since late March.

    During the quarter containing March, underlying merchant sales (UMS) surged 321% year-on-year. April was a particularly strong month for Sezzle. UMS came in at $57.9 million, a monthly record, despite the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Sezzle mainly targets the Gen Z and millennial consumer demographics. Both these large and fast-growing age segments are very tech-savvy. Therefore, this type of online lending appeals to them.

    In addition, Sezzle added 114.4K active customers in April. In further positive news, merchant fees remained resilient during that month.

    Top recent performing categories for Sezzle include leisure, outdoor, electronics, sport and medical.

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    Phil Harpur owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Nearmap Ltd. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd., REDBUBBLE 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.

    The post Sezzle shares and 2 other ASX techs soared up to 50% in the past 4 weeks appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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  • Oil prices drop as rising U.S. coronavirus cases stoke fears of weak fuel demand

    Oil prices drop as rising U.S. coronavirus cases stoke fears of weak fuel demandOil prices fell on Monday, with U.S. oil dropping more than 2%, as a spike in new coronavirus cases in the United States raised concerns over a second wave of the virus which would weigh on the pace of fuel demand recovery. Brent crude futures fell 66 cents, or 1.7%, at $38.07 a barrel as of 0016 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 81 cents, or 2.2%, to $35.45 a barrel. Both benchmarks ended down about 8% last week, their first weekly declines since April, hit by the U.S. coronavirus concerns: More than 25,000 new cases were reported on Saturday alone as more states, including Florida and Texas, reported record new infection highs.

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  • Why Appen, Healius, IDP Education, & Propel shares are racing higher

    shares higher

    In late morning trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has given back its earlier gains and dropped lower. At the time of writing the benchmark index is down 0.5% to 5,817.1 points.

    Four shares which haven’t let that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are racing higher:

    The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price is up 3.5% to $30.48. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Macquarie this morning. According to the note, the broker has commenced coverage on the artificial intelligence company with an outperform rating and $38.00 price target. Macquarie believes that Appen’s Relevance segment is well placed for strong long term growth.

    The Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) share price has jumped 11% to $2.81. This follows an announcement by the healthcare company this morning which revealed that it has agreed to sell its medical centres to BGH Capital. Healius has agreed a fee of $500 million with the private equity firm. Completion of the transaction is expected to occur before the end of 2020. It remains subject to a number of conditions including approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board.

    The IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) share price is up 2% to $16.66. Investors have been buying the student placement and language testing company’s shares after analysts at Morgan Stanley retained their overweight rating and $17.50 price target. It appears confident in its long term outlook despite the difficult trading conditions it is currently experiencing.

    The Propel Funeral Partners Ltd (ASX: PFP) share price is up 3% to $2.97 after the funeral company released a trading update. According to the release, Propel experienced an 8% increase in its average revenue per funeral metric during the month of May. This follows the easing of social distancing limits. As a result, the company is on track for another record year and expects revenue of $110 million and operating earnings of $32 million in FY 2020.

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    James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Idp Education Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Propel Funeral Partners Ltd. 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 Appen, Healius, IDP Education, & Propel shares are racing higher appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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