The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is up 2% in the past 24 hours, currently trading at US$58,824 (AU$76,395).

That’s only about 4.6% below Bitcoin’s record high price of US$61,557, hit on 14 March, giving the world’s biggest crypto a current market cap of US$1.1 trillion.

According to data from CoinDesk, more than US$52 billion worth of Bitcoin has exchanged virtual hands in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin price mania spreads to Ether price

While the soaring Bitcoin price has garnered the lion’s share of the financial news, Ether – the world’s second largest crypto with a market cap of US$243 billion – rather quietly hit its own new record high price over the Easter holiday weekend.

On Saturday 1 Ether was trading for an all-time high of US$2,151. Ether has retraced a bit since, currently trading for US$2,113. Still, that’s up a stellar 1,173% from 1 year ago, when you could have invested in Ether for US$166.

Part of the past week’s price gains appear related to Visa Inc’s (NYSE: V) announcement that the global payment giant will roll out a program to use USD Coin (a ‘stablecoin’) to settle transactions over the Ethereum network.

According to Konstantin Anissimov, executive director at cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO (quoted by Bloomberg), “The latest backing from Visa Inc. appears to be giving the bulls a new reason to persist in their stride.”

Julius de Kempenaer, senior analyst at StockCharts.com adds, “We’re now really breaking higher and that will very likely attract buying activity. Ether is gaining in relative strength versus Bitcoin.”

Atop that, as Bloomberg reports:

[B]illionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban’s comments about owning the digital asset and that it’s closest “to a true currency” have increased interest, in addition to the ongoing upgrade of the network, according to Greg Waisman, co-founder and COO of the global payment network Mercuryo.

Why a stabilising price may be good for Bitcoin

The Ether price gains may have outpaced Bitcoin’s price rise of late, but that may not be all bad news for Bitcoin’s outlook.

That’s because, as the analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co point out, lower price volatility could draw in more institutional investors.

In a report last Thursday, the analysts wrote (sourced from Bloomberg):

These tentative signs of Bitcoin volatility normalization are encouraging. In our opinion, a potential normalization of Bitcoin volatility from here would likely help to reinvigorate the institutional interest going forward.

Institutional interest in Bitcoin from the likes of Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) has already been widely credited with supporting the Bitcoin price recently.

Whether increased institutional investment into Bitcoin will normalise the crypto’s volatility or send the price even higher remains to be seen.

More reading

• What’s driving the Bitcoin price back towards new record highs?
• Goldman Sachs plans to let wealthy clients invest in Bitcoin
• Why Tesla stock jumped on Wednesday
• Here are the US shares ASX investors have been buying
• This company will make more electric cars than Tesla

Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Bitcoin and Tesla. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Skyfii Ltd (ASX: SKF) share price is falling today after the company announced it acquired pedestrian analytics company CrowdVision with $10 million in capital raising.

The Skyfii share price has fallen 7.5% to 18.5 cents per share. 

Skyfii is a data, marketing, communication and automation intelligence platform built for physical venues. The company’s flagship offering is its cloud-hosted proprietary platform, which collects and analyses data from smart devices to assist venues in improving operations, marketing initiatives and customer experiences.

Skyfii capital raising and CrowdVision venture

It was revealed six days ago that Australian company Skyfii, which is headquartered in New South Wales, would issue more than 60 million shares at 16.5 cents per share in order to buy U.S. company CrowdVision. 

CrowdVision is a North American-based company specialising in automated pedestrian analytics, which includes the tracking of people flow around a venue. It produces insights focusing on airports, stadiums, exhibition centres, and large-scale resort hotels and casinos.

Skyfii is operating in more than 11,000 venues across 35 countries with 59 employees and has an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $11 million. CrowdVision will add ARR of $1.7 million and has a total enterprise value of approximately $9 million, but this hasn’t had a positive impact on the Skyfii share price today.

Skyfii is aiming to use its CrowdVision acquisition to better deliver a range of data intelligence products to suit the requirements of airports, stadiums, smart cities and universities.

One of the key aims of this deal is to expand into airports, with large growth expected in this sector following completion of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Skyfii is used in 30 airports globally and CrowdVision is in 35, more than doubling the company’s presence in this space. 

CrowdVision is the leading player in the U.S. airport pedestrian analytics space, with contracts covering nine of the country’s 15 largest airports. Skyfii says this industry has “very high barriers to entry” and is hoping this deal will allow it to corner a growing sector.

Skyfii share price snapshot

The Skyfii share price has fallen 15% this week, 9% this month and 5% in 2021. It’s lost ground against the technology sector on the ASX, however, it’s up 85% over the past 12 months.

More reading

• Bitcoin price mania spreads as Ether price hits record highs
• Why 88 Energy, Chorus, Incitec Pivot, & Santos shares are sinking
• The Raiz (ASX: RZI) share price is surging 9% higher today
• Netflix is crushing Disney in this fast-growing market
• Dexus (ASX:DXS) share price slips on asset divestment

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh 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 Bruce Jackson.

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In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a strong gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.95% to 6,894.1 points.

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

88 Energy Ltd (ASX: 88E)

The 88 Energy share price has crashed 70% lower to 2.2 cents following the release of a very disappointing operational update. The exploration company has been looking for hydrocarbons via drilling operations at the Peregrine project in Alaska. However, due to a power outage from equipment failure and other challenges, the company was unable to sample its two most prospective zones. Management stated that it is now too late in the season to initiate flow testing operations and the forward program will consist of plugging the well.

Chorus Ltd (ASX: CNU)

The Chorus share price has fallen almost 4% to $6.20. This morning the New Zealand telco revealed that it has reduced its indicative Maximum Allowable Revenue (MAR) range to NZ$680 million to NZ$710 million. This compares to its previous range of NZ$715 million to NZ$755 million.

Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL)

The Incitec Pivot share price has tumbled 8.5% lower to $2.67. Investors have been selling the agricultural chemicals company’s shares following an update on its Waggaman ammonia operation. This morning Incitec Pivot advised that the operation is expected recommence production later than previously expected. As a result, management expects an earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) impact of $36 million in FY 2021.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

The Santos share price is down almost 2% to $7.00. Investors have been selling the energy producer’s shares on Tuesday following a pullback in the oil price overnight. Oil prices came under pressure amid concerns over OPEC ramping up production. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy index is down 0.35% this afternoon.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.9%: Cleanaway jumps, tech shares rise, Incitec Pivot sinks
• Why the Incitec Pivot (ASX:IPL) share price tumbled 10% this morning
• Why the 88 Energy (ASX:88E) share price dived 64% today
• Alliance (ASX:AQZ) share price flies on latest deal
• Why the Chorus (ASX:CNU) share price is on watch

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. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Raiz Invest Ltd (ASX: RZI) share price is flying more than 9% higher today, following a positive trading update from the company.

At the time of writing the Raiz share price is trading for $1.75. More than 8% higher for the day, after hitting an intra-day high of $1.76 earlier.

What did Raiz announce?

Earlier this morning, Raiz provided the market with an update on its performance for March 2021.

In the update, Raiz provided an insight on the company’s Australia, Indonesian and Malaysian operations for the month.

Raiz noted that global active customers increased 3.5% for the month to a total of 419,552 active users. The company’s management highlighted that active customer numbers grew despite an increase in monthly maintenance fees. Raiz attributed the strength of the company’s brand and value-add operations to customer loyalty.

In addition, Raiz highlighted that funds under management (FUM) in Australia increased 4.4% for the month to $694.27 million. The company noted that net inflows did not slow despite challenging market conditions and fee structure changes.

Raiz also noted that $1 billion in FUM by the end of 2021 remains a realistic target. The company recently achieved $700 million on the 1^st of April. Raiz also highlighted that Indonesian and Malaysian operations are exceeding expectations.

More on the share price

Raiz is a fintech company that operates a mobile-focused, micro-investing platform in Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. The company’s platform enables users to micro-invest the remaining round-up of everyday purchases in exchange-traded funds (ETF). In addition, Raiz allows users to open a superannuation fund.

Depending on the user’s risk tolerance, the company’s mobile financial platform offers a range of different funds. Each fund allocates across a wide variety of financial products including Australian and international shares, fixed-interest investments and cash.

Raiz charges a flat monthly investment fee for each user which comprises more than 60% of the company’s revenue. Raiz recently increased its monthly maintenance fee from $2.50 to $3.50.

As a result, FUM and active customers are key metrics to the company’s ability to generate recurring revenue.

The Raiz share price has surged more than 86% since the start of 2021. Shares in the company more than doubled earlier in the year after hitting all-time highs of $2.20 in February.

More reading

• Netflix is crushing Disney in this fast-growing market
• Dexus (ASX:DXS) share price slips on asset divestment
• Why the Aroa Biosurgery (ASX:ARX) share price is lifting today
• 4 reasons why the Tyro (ASX:TYR) share price is rated as a buy
• Why the Codan (ASX:CDA) share price is jumping 7% to a record high

Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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 Bruce Jackson.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) has been trying to crack the Indian market with various strategies ever since it entered the country five years ago.

And the streaming giant has made solid progress — London-based consultancy firm Omdia reports that Netflix and Disney‘s (NYSE: DIS) Disney+ Hotstar streaming platform together accounted for a whopping 78% of India’s $639 million video streaming revenue in 2020. Though the firm didn’t specifically point out Netflix’s share of this pie, a bit of number crunching tells us that Netflix has indeed become a big player in the country. Let’s see how.

Netflix’s premium pricing strategy is paying off

Omdia reports that Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar accounted for half of the video streaming subscribers in India last year. Disney’s offering reportedly tripled its 2019 subscriber base in 2020, going from 8 million users to 25.6 million, which doesn’t look surprising given its pricing structure.

Disney+ Hotstar offers three pricing plans in India, with the comprehensive premium plan priced at 1,499 rupees (approximately $20) per year. The same plan can be bought for a monthly subscription price of 299 rupees (approximately $4 at the current exchange rate), which makes the annual plan a better buy. Disney+ Hotstar also offers an ad-supported freemium model where subscribers don’t have to pay the monthly or annual subscription price in exchange for restricted access to the platform.

This is the reason why Disney’s average revenue per user (ARPU) remains low in the Indian market and fluctuates depending on the quarter in which the Indian Premier League (the country’s premier cricket competition) plays. As a result, the service saw its ARPU in India drop from $2.19 in the quarter that ended in September 2020 (when the season started) to $0.91 in the December 2020 quarter, indicating that paid subscriber sign-ups dried up after the league ended.

So taking the best-case scenario of $2.19 in APRU into account, Disney would have generated around $56 million in revenue in India in the September 2020 quarter (assuming it hit its peak of 25 million subscribers in that quarter). The company’s revenue in the quarter that ended in December 2020 would have dropped to just over $23 million, indicating that it generated nearly $80 million in revenue in the second half of the calendar year.

As such, Disney+ Hotstar’s revenue from India in calendar 2020 could have hovered around $150 million to $160 million if we extrapolate the revenue generated in the last six months to the full year. This means that Netflix may have cornered a bigger share of the country’s streaming revenue in 2020 — and that’s not surprising given its premium pricing plans.

The cheapest Netflix plan costs 199 rupees (approximately $2.70) per month in India. This is a mobile-only plan that allows users to stream in standard definition format on their smartphones or tablets. Sharing is not possible on this plan, as it supports only one screen. The more expensive monthly plans are priced at 499 rupees ($6.80), 649 rupees ($8.84), and 799 rupees (approximately $10.90). There are no annual plans on offer, nor does Netflix offer any regular free access.

Netflix clearly earns more revenue per user per month than Disney. Given that it had an estimated 4.6 million paying subscribers in 2020, and assuming that each of them paid the minimum subscription price of $2.70 a month, Netflix would have easily made close to $150 million in India last year. However, Netflix’s ARPU in India is estimated to have been $5 per month according to a third-party estimate, which means that the company’s actual India revenue last year could have been close to double that of Disney’s take, assuming 4.6 million paying subscribers. So there’s a strong possibility that Netflix took the lion’s share of the streaming revenue in India last year based on Omdia’s estimate.

The road ahead looks bright

The good news for Netflix is that its mobile-only plan seems to be a hit among the Indian consumers. The company’s revenue in India in fiscal 2020 (which ended in March last year) reportedly doubled year-over-year following the launch of the mobile-only plan in mid-2019.

That isn’t surprising, as Omdia estimates that 82% of users in India stream video on their smartphones. Netflix is now looking to offer a better experience to its mobile customers through its “Mobile+” plan, which offers high-definition streaming. The plan is currently in a pilot phase and is priced at 299 rupees (approximately $4.07) per month, indicating that the company is looking to drive additional spending and push up its ARPU.

The success of this plan could unlock more riches for Netflix in India, as the online video streaming market in India is expected to hit $4.5 billion in revenue by 2025, according to Media Partners Asia. Mobile devices are likely to account for a significant chunk of that pie, as most of the content consumption is expected to take place on that platform.

Netflix looks all set to make a bigger dent in India’s fast-growing streaming market, where the company has been investing aggressively in content and is trying out smart ways to woo more customers.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

More reading

• Netflix is experimenting with releasing new episodes over a longer timeframe
• How much does password sharing cost Netflix?
• I want to double your money every 5 years: fundie
• ASX tech shares: A once-in-a-lifetime buying opportunity?
• 3 reasons to buy Netflix stock now

Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Netflix and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Netflix. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Dexus Property Group (ASX: DXS) share price is slipping today following the sale of one of its properties. In early afternoon trade, the leading Australian real estate group’s shares are fetching for $9.56, down 1.39%.

What did Dexus announce?

Investors are selling off their positions in Dexus shares after the company updated the market with its latest asset divestment.

According to its release, Dexus advised it has sold its office tower located at 10 Eagle Street in Brisbane to Marquette Properties. The conditional contracts were exchanged between both parties on 1 April 2021. The asset is owned by a subsidiary, Dexus Office Partnership, which holds a 50% interest in the building.

Built in 1978, the office tower comprises of 27,800 square meters over 34 levels, hosting A-grade offices. Situated in the heart of the Brisbane’s ‘Golden Triangle’, the property retained a 92% occupancy rate with a WALE of 2.9 years. WALE refers to a common commercial property term as ‘weighted average lease expiry’. Key customers in the building include AEMO, Wilson Parking, and Accenture.

The sale will realise proceeds of $285 million before transaction costs, and will be used to repay Dexus’ outstanding debt. Settlement is expected to occur sometime in May 2021.

Management commentary

Dexus chief investment officer Ross Du Vernet commented:

This transaction continues our asset recycling strategy, realising value for both Dexus and our Dexus Office Partner while reducing our exposure to the Brisbane market. It also provides us with an excellent opportunity to focus our leasing, asset management and development capabilities on advancing our city-shaping development project at Waterfront Brisbane.

Marquette managing director Toby Lewis added:

As a Brisbane-based and focused investment firm we are thrilled to be acquiring one of Australia’s best known office towers. We are acquiring a great asset with an excellent tenancy profile due to Dexus’s best-in-class management. Despite the ongoing long-term uncertainty associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have enabled more than 150 Australian families to invest in 10 Eagle Street and look forward to delivering strong returns as Brisbane continues to grow as a city and a city to invest in.

Dexus share price summary

The Dexus share price has gained around 6% over the past year, but is relatively flat since the beginning of 2021. The company’s shares reached a 52-week high of $10.24 last June, before wobbling for the remaining period.

At current valuations, Dexus presides a market capitalisation of roughly $10.2 billion, with 1.07 billion shares outstanding.

More reading

• Vanguard Australian Property ETF (ASX:VAP) announces dividend
• Dexus (ASX:DXS) share price rises on proposed $15 billion fund merger

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Aroa Biosurgery Ltd (ASX: ARX) share price is up 2.6% after the company shared positive news this morning. A new product from the soft-tissue regeneration company has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance.

At the time of writing, the Aroa Biosurgery share price is trading at $1.17 after reaching an intraday high of $1.22 this morning.

Let’s look closer at the news of Aroa Biosurgery’s newest FDA cleared product.

Myriad Morcells

The company’s new product, Myriad Morcells, works to “kick start” a wound’s healing, according to Aroa Biosurgery vice president of research and clinical development Dr Barnaby May.

Myriad Morcells uses the Aroa ECM bioscaffold technology and is a powdered version of the company’s successful Myriad Matrix, a highly perforated, multi-layered extracellular matrix (ECM) graft.

The company advised that earlier pre-clinical studies showed the Aroa ECM technology included more than 150 components that help repair wounds and blood vessel formations, as well as attracting stems cells.

According to Aroa Biosurgery, the use of Myriad Matrix may lead to faster healing, recovery and hospital discharge for patients. It’s designed to have a high volume and surface area with interstitial spaces that cells can easily and rapidly access.

Myriad Matrix received FDA clearance in 2017, with the first sales taking place in early 2020. Aroa Biosurgery says the product has an estimated global market size of US$350 million. In mid-2020, it was approved for commercial use in the European Union.

Aroa has six product families based on its ECM technology approved for sale in the United States. Together, they have been used in more than 4 million procedures for chronic wounds, hernia, soft tissue and breast reconstruction.

Commentary from management

Aroa Biosurgery founder and CEO Brian Ward said the company was pleased with its progress in growing the Myriad portfolio, saying:

This clearance for Myriad Morcells follows closely on studies showing positive clinical outcomes from the use of Myriad Matrix on exposed vital structures, in surgical treatment of serious cases of the inflammatory skin condition hidradenitis suppurativa and in reconstruction of complex non-healing wounds.

Aroa Biosurgery share price snapshot

Today’s news comes at a good time for the Aroa Biosurgery share price, which is having a slow year on the ASX. It is currently up 5.7% year to date, having ended Thursday’s trading back at its 2021 starting price.

However, shares in the company have dropped 10.7% over the last 12 months.

Aroa Biosurgery has a market capitalisation of around $342 million, with approximately 300 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• 4 reasons why the Tyro (ASX:TYR) share price is rated as a buy
• Why the Codan (ASX:CDA) share price is jumping 7% to a record high
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price rockets on US update
• Why Facebook stock gained 14% last month
• Why the SG Fleet (ASX:SGF) share price surged 10% today

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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 Bruce Jackson.

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Ben Clark from TMS Capital has rated the Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) share price as a leading pick for this year.

He actually made the pick for Livewire before the recent terminal outage, but he was reassured and impressed by the company’s FY21 half-year result.

Why is Tyro Payments a top ASX share pick?

There were four key reasons for Mr Clark’s original choice for Tyro.

He said that he’s expecting volume transactions growth to increase as the impacts of COVID-19 and lockdowns subside. He pointed to the 29% growth in the first 11 days of December 2020 as proof of that.

Another reason was that Tyro Payments could expand its offering into “new verticals” and it could continue to take market share.

The third thing he pointed to was the launch of TyroConnect. He said this integration hub could increase customer loyalty as well as win over new merchants.

The final thing that Mr Clark pointed to was that the lending was going to resume and it used to make good profit, before COVID-19.

The outage

Tyro’s payment terminals suffered connection issues from 5 January 2021. In the following weeks, the company worked hard to fix the issues that were initially affecting around 30% of merchants.

To make sure this doesn’t happen again, it is going to provide all merchants with a dongle solution in combination with the standard terminals as an extra level of redundancy – the company was the first in the industry to do this.

Tyro’s HY21 result

In the first six months of FY21, the company saw transaction value growth of 9.5% to $12.1 billion, although revenue fell by 2.1% to $114.8 million.

But the various profit lines of the business showed a large improvement. Gross profit increased 21.6% to $61.2 million, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 464.2% to $8.5 million, pro forma earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) improved to a loss of $2.6 million and the pro forma loss after tax increased by 69.1% to $2.8 million.

The number of merchants on board with Tyro increased by 13% to 37,000.

What’s the latest thoughts on Tyro Payments?

Livewire’s James Marlay had a follow up chat with Ben Clark about Tyro, considering the outage.

Mr Clark said one of the positive surprises from the result was the increase in the EBITDA margin to 13.8%, thanks to more local card usage which led to better profit margins – as well as the company keeping a lid on costs.

He also noted that Tyro isn’t experiencing much of a bad fallout from the outage, with consistent merchant applications. The payments business has provisioned $15 million to deal with the remediation.

Mr Clark said:

I think the evidence is there that this isn’t hopefully going to be a really nasty event financially for the company. They seem to have kept merchants on board at this point.

TMS has increased its position in Tyro Payments on the back of the result and the plan to ensure that an outage like that doesn’t happen again.

The Tyro share price is still 20% lower than where it was in October 2020.

More reading

• These 4 ASX shares just got upgraded to a ‘buy’ rating

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Tyro Payments. 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Codan Limited (ASX: CDA) share price has started the week in sensational form.

In afternoon trade, the technology company’s shares are up 7.5% to a record high of $17.06.

This latest gain means the Codan share price is now up over 51% since the start of the year.

Why is the Codan share price at a record high?

Investors have been fighting to get hold of the company’s shares this year for a number of reasons.

This includes its strong performance in the first half of FY 2021, its inclusion in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), the announcement of two key acquisitions, and bullish brokers.

In respect to acquisitions, in February Codan announced a deal to acquire Domo Tactical Communications for US$88 million.

Domo Tactical Communications’ MIMO Mesh products provide wireless transmission of video and other data applications to predominantly first world customers. This includes Military and Special Forces, Intelligence Agencies, Border Control, First Responders, and Broadcasters.

Codan followed this up with the acquisition of Zetron, Inc. for US$45 million last week.

Zetron is a leading US based company providing mission critical communications and interoperability solutions for public safety, transportation, utilities, healthcare and natural resources customers.

Management is forecasting both acquisitions to be accretive to earnings per share.

Why is it jumping today?

Today’s rise in the Codan share price is being driven by one of the aforementioned bullish brokers.

As I mentioned here earlier today, this morning Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) spoke positively about the company. Its analysts have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on the company’s shares to $17.00.

Macquarie is happy with the acquisition of Zetron and feels it gives Codan exposure to a complementary and attractive market.

In addition to this, the broker notes that Codan has recently launched a key new gold detector. Based on previous launches, which have led to a strong upgrade cycle, Macquarie appears to believe this could give its sales a big boost.

However, with the Codan share price now surpassing Macquarie’s price target, the upside from here could be limited in the near term.

More reading

• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why Afterpay, Codan, Cleanaway, & Webjet shares are surging higher
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in the Q1 of 2021
• Why the Codan (ASX:CDA) share price will be on focus today
• Why this fund likes these 3 exciting ASX shares

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. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has been an exceptionally strong performer on Tuesday.

In early afternoon trade, the payments company’s shares are up a sizeable 8.5% to $114.48.

Why is the Afterpay share price charging higher?

There have been a couple of catalysts for the strong rise in the Afterpay share price on Tuesday.

One is a very positive night of trade on the tech-focused Nasdaq index overnight, following an equally positive trading session on Thursday before the Good Friday holiday.

This has led to a number of Australian tech shares climbing today, sending the S&P ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) hurtling higher.

What else?

Also supporting the Afterpay share price today was the release of an announcement on Monday via its website.

That announcement includes the results and consumer shopping trends for its bi-annual Afterpay Day sale. This was the first ever to include brick-and-mortar shopping.

According to the release, the U.S. sale drove a 35% increase in new active customer to the platform. This means the total number of customers that have signed up to Afterpay in the U.S. now exceeds 16 million.

While it is unclear how many of these are “active” customers, it will be a big lift on the 8 million active customers it reported in North America during the first half of FY 2021.

Another positive was that traffic to Afterpay’s brand partners was strong. The company sent nearly six million referrals to global merchants via its Shop Directory during the sale’s duration, with approximately 30% of referrals going to SMB partners.

Crocs, Nike sneakers, Fenty Beauty, Ulta Beauty, and UGG topped Afterpay’s list of most purchased items.

Most Americans were using their mobile phone to make those purchases. The company notes that 86% of U.S. Afterpay Day transactions occurred on mobile devices, with an average of four items in each shopping basket.

Afterpay’s Head of North America, Melissa Davis, commented: “Afterpay Day was the perfect way to support our merchant partners as retailers welcomed their customers back to their physical stores and the economy starts to rebound.”

“As evidenced by the numbers, Afterpay Day delivered new customers, drove increased sales and increased basket sizes online and in-store for the more than 3,000 participating merchants in North America,” she concluded.

Can the Afterpay share price go higher?

Don’t worry if you’re missing out on today’s strong gains. This is because a number of brokers are expecting the Afterpay share price to go even higher from here.

One of those is Morgan Stanley. It currently has an overweight rating and $159.00 price target on its shares. This price target implies potential upside of almost 39% for its shares over the next 12 months.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.9%: Cleanaway jumps, tech shares rise, Incitec Pivot sinks
• Why Afterpay, Codan, Cleanaway, & Webjet shares are surging higher
• Why the IOUpay (ASX: IOU) share price tumbled 40% in March 
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) leads Zip by 40% on one critical measure
• 2 very exciting ASX tech shares to buy in April

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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