Every so often, I like to take a look to see which shares have experienced meaningful insider buying.

This is because insider buying is often regarded as a bullish indicator, as few people know a company and its intrinsic value better than its own directors.

A number of shares have reported meaningful insider buying this week. Here are a couple which have caught my eye:

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

According to a change of director’s interest notice, one of this artificial intelligence services company’s directors has been buying shares. The notice reveals that Ms Vanessa Liu picked up 1,000 shares for $25.00 per share or a total consideration of $25,000 on 24 December 2020 through an on-market trade. These were the first shares that Ms Liu has bought since joining the company in March of last year. The independent non-executive director’s buy price represents a 43% discount to Appen’s 52-week high.

One leading broker that would approve of this purchase is Citi. Last month the broker put a buy rating and $32.60 price target on the company’s shares following its trading update.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

Another change of director’s interest notice reveals that one of this enterprise software provider’s directors has been topping up their position. According to the notice, non-executive director Peter Ball bought 3,900 shares through an on-market trade on 13 January. Mr Ball paid a total consideration of $30,179.45, which equates to an average of $7.74 per share. This lifted the director’s holding to a total of 21,900 shares.

With the TechnologyOne share price trading 25% lower than its 52-week high, it appears as though this director feels its shares have fallen into the buy zone. One leading broker that certainly thinks this is the case is Morgans. Its analysts currently have an add rating and $9.99 price target on the company’s shares.

More reading

• What’s next for WAAAX shares in 2021? 
• Objective (ASX:OCL) share price continues its rise in 2021 after doubling last year
• 3 highly rated ASX growth shares to buy now
• 3 stellar ASX shares to buy in January
• 3 mid cap shares hitting 1-month lows on the ASX today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Appen Ltd. 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 Resources & Energy Group Ltd (ASX: REZ) share price has dropped more than 7% so far today, after pumping 21.28% higher yesterday on the back of a positive drilling announcement at one of its prospects.

At the time of writing, the Resources & Energy Group share price is sitting at 5.3 cents per share

‘Significant’ gold system confirmed at Gigante Grande

Yesterday morning, the company announced the success of its November 2020 drilling program at its Gigante Grande prospect in Western Australia. Commenting on the results, Resources & Energy Group stated: 

The results confirm that Gigante Grande prospect, on the eastern side of the East Menzies Gold field project, is a significant and large gold mineralised system. REZ will continue exploration with a view to expand the prospect and advance towards resource generation.

Among additional highlights, Resources & Energy Group acknowledged over 70 significant intersections of gold mineralisation to date and commencement of the third drill program at Gigante Grande.

Looking forward, a total of 14 holes are planned for the January 2021 program. The program will focus on a combination of shallow and deep holes between the Moriarty Shear Zone and the Gigante Granodiorite.

The current resource estimate totals are 129,000 ounces of gold and 862,000 ounces of sliver.

The Resources & Energy Group project portfolio

Resources & Energy Group has projects in Western Australia and Queensland. The company’s East Menzies Gold Project is located 137 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie Western Australia. The project covers 90 kilometres squared and consists of three mining leases, 28 prospecting leases, one exploration lease and 14 prospecting lease applications.

Located 250 kilometres north/west of Rockhampton, Queensland is the Mount Mackenzie Gold/Silver Project with an estimated 100,000 ounces of gold at a grade of around 1.3 grams/tonne. The company owns two parcels of land within the mining leases for the site.

The company was formed in 2005 and has operated as a gold exploration and development company since 2015.

Resources & Energy Group share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Resources & Energy Group share price has boomed over 200%.

That said, the company also experienced some massive dives during the period. Like back in November 2020 when they released disappointing drilling results. 

The Resources & Energy share price has been particularly volatile over the past three months, reaching 11 cents at its higher point for the period and slumping to 3 cents at the lowest.

More reading

• The Vulcan (ASX:VUL) share price is hitting new highs today. Here’s why.
• This broker calls ANZ (ASX:ANZ) shares as the preferred bank pick
• Tyro Payments (ASX:TYR) share price crashes 12% on short seller attack
• IOOF (ASX:IFL) execs accused of sexual harassment
• ASX 200 up 0.4%: Afterpay hits record high, bank shares rise, Resolute disappoints

Motley Fool contributor Gretchen Kennedy 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 morning the Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) share price went bananas, flying up 44%. This set a new all-time high of $7.20 for the company’s share price.

Since then, the Vulcan share price has settled back down and is now trading 35% higher for the day at $6.74.

So why the feeding frenzy on Vulcan shares this morning?

Initial pre-feasibility study, tick

Vulcan shares commenced trading this morning after being in a trading halt since 11 January. The lithium miner requested the  halt to prepare for the announcement of its pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its Zero Carbon Lithium project.

The results are in, and Vulcan likes the looks of them. Vulcan managing director, Dr Francis Wedin, commented:

We are very pleased to reach this major milestone for investors in Vulcan and the Zero Carbon Lithium® Project. The PFS has demonstrated robust economics for both the lithium and energy parts of the project, both independently and combined.

This means that there doesn’t need to be a compromise on the ethical and environmental sourcing of battery raw materials, for Europe’s current rapid transition to electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.

What are the details?

The full PFS is 91 pages long and covers at detail plant design parameters, project economics, market studies, etc. So, if you want to brush up on all the details, I suggest grabbing a tea, or coffee, and getting comfortable. Otherwise, here are some of the main points:

• The first PFS indicates the strong potential to develop the combined direct lithium extraction (DLE) and geothermal project, in the centre of Europe, with net-zero carbon footprint
• Positive post-tax net present value (NPV) of EU$2.25 billion (full project, no phasing); Phase 1 option indicates EU$700 million NPV; and Phase 2 option indicates EU$1.4 billion NPV
• The internal rate of return (IRR) post-tax for the combined project is 21%. Lithium separately is expected to be 26% IRR post-tax.
• Robust project economics assisted by the previously announced favourable feed-in tariff rates as a result of an Act amendment by the German government.
• Probable ore reserve of 1.12 megatonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent at 181 mg/l across Ortenau and Taro licenses.
• Anticipated 74 MW of renewable energy generation.

Interestingly, on slide 19 of the corporate presentation, by Vulcan’s estimation, its brine conversion process will be nearly half the cost of competitor’s LiOH brine processing. For quick reference, on the top end, Vulcan expects the cost to be $3,142 per tonne of LiOH, compared to the existing competitor’s $5,872 per tonne of LiOH.

What’s next for the Vulcan share price?

Based on Vulcan’s project timeline, the company will carry out piloting test work, as well as conducting the definitive feasibility study (DFS), permitting, and undergoing further discussions with European lithium offtakers.

As per Vulcan’s own accounts, the company likely won’t start production until 2024 at the earliest. In between now and then, there will still be a lot of leg work to hit all the necessary milestones.

With today’s latest run, the Vulcan share price is now up more than 4110% in the last 12 months.

The last 2 months has seen the share take off from just under $2.00, to the $6.74 price tag it holds today. The company’s market capitalisation now presides at $393.88 million.

More reading

• It’s electrifying: Vulcan Energy (ASX:VUL) share price up 23% today
• 2 ASX shares that ran over 1,500% in 2020
• These 6 ASX companies just started measuring ESG
• The Vulcan (ASX:VUL) share price just hit an all-time high

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 big four ASX banks have been the driving force behind the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) resurgence to near pre-COVID highs.

Credit Suisse released a series of share price upgrades for big four ASX bank shares on Thursday, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Grp Ltd (ASX: ANZ) emerging as its preferred pick in the banking and financials sector. 

Big four ASX bank upgrades 

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

The CBA share price target was increased from $74.80 to $82.00 with a neutral rating. Despite the increase in price target, the CBA share price closed at $86.33 on Thursday, or a 5% downside to Credit Suisse’s new price target. 

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) 

Credit Suisse raised its NAB share price target to $26.00 or a 9% upside to its previous close. The broker takes a positive view on NAB with an outperform rating. 

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) 

The Westpac share price target was also upgraded to $22.50 or a 7% upside to its previous close with an outperform rating. 

ANZ

The ANZ share price has been the best performing bank amongst its peers in FY21, surging 32% in the last six months. Despite the surge, the ANZ share price is still 7% short of where it started 2020. 

Credit Suisse raised its ANZ share price target from $26.20 to $28.00 with an outperform rating. This points to an upside of 14% to ANZ’s closing price on Thursday of $24.60. 

Overall, the broker anticipates a significant dividend recovery in F21 for all banks with potential capital management as soon as FY22. 

Economic recovery taking shape

A number of domestic economic developments have pointed to the recovery establishing reasonable momentum, supported by the recent lifting of lockdown restrictions in Victoria.

In the RBA’s December board meeting, it noted that expectations for GDP growth in the September and December quarters had been upgraded over the preceding month, and employment had also recovered faster than anticipated. 

A rebound in household consumption was also seen as well, following a record contraction in the June quarter. 

More bank-specific data has also pointed to a significant improvement in loan deferrals and signs of life in housing credit growth.  

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.4%: Afterpay hits record high, bank shares rise, Resolute disappoints
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price climbs higher as investors eye dividends
• Here’s why ASX bank shares might juice up their dividends in 2021
• This ASX 200 stock is tipped to lift dividends by 87% this year
• 3 blue chip ASX dividend shares with big yields

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim 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 Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) share price came under pressure again on Friday and sank notably lower before going into a trading halt.

The payment processor’s shares were down 12% to $2.32 before the halt.

This latest decline means the Tyro share price is down by almost a third since the start of 2021.

Why is the Tyro share price sinking lower?

Investors have been selling Tyro shares this month after it reported an outage with its payment terminals on 7 January.

Unfortunately, despite the apparent modernity of its technology, this outage has proven to be a much harder fix than first hoped. The company advised that the issue caused a subset of terminals to lose connectivity with Tyro’s network, meaning they could neither transact nor be updated remotely.

In light of this, Tyro has been collecting, repairing, and returning impacted terminals to merchants as rapidly as possible.

That’s old news, why the selloff today?

Today’s selling has been caused by a short seller report by Viceroy Research. It has previously targeted the likes of WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) and Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR).

Viceroy’s note, entitled “Tyro by name, Tyro by nature,” claims that the problem is far greater than the company is admitting and labeled it “the most unreliable & technologically inferior fintech in Australia.”

Here’s why:

Over the last week, our research suggests Tyro has “bricked” (verb: to turn into a brick)  ~50% of its terminals across the country via a software patch, which requires a recall and capital-intensive terminal repair/replacement. It has no disaster recovery plan and has left businesses, including medical facilities, without any means to collect payment from customers.

Viceroy Research believes Tyro presents a limited-risk short as customers churn in record numbers to vastly superior, non-archaic payment solutions providers, which are available in abundance, and immediately. Tyro presents no real catalyst to make a jump into profitability.

Despite being in operation since 2003 Tyro is increasingly loss making and floats its operating cash flows through customer deposits in its banking division.

We believe Tyro presents significant downside.

Tyro has requested a trading halt while it prepares a response to the allegations. 

More reading

• Outage issues could weigh on growth for the Tyro (ASX:TYR) share price
• Why BrainChip, Pilbara Minerals, Premier Investments, & Tyro shares are dropping lower
• Top fund managers reveal 3 top ASX shares to buy for 2021
• Tyro (ASX:TYR) could face legal action for catastrophic outage
• Why Altium, Clover, PolyNovo, & Tyro shares are dropping lower

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 Tyro Payments. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of WiseTech Global. 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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IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) has been taken to court over alleged sexual harassment and discrimination by 2 male executives on the same female colleague.

The finance firm’s deputy chief investment officer Stanley Yeo is accused in court papers of making derogatory remarks and touching the woman inappropriately multiple times, as first reported in the Sydney Morning Herald.

This included an alleged incident at the woman’s wedding where, as a guest, Yeo is accused of touching her breasts in front of family and friends.

Head of fixed interest assets Osvaldo Acosta is also accused of sexual discrimination.

The court papers allege that after the woman suggested she offer her input on a work case, he retorted “You always give your opinion. Not only do I have a wife at home, I have you here in the office”.

The female executive is alleging that IOOF exposed her to a workplace that was hostile to women and that the male executives caused her embarrassment, humiliation and distress.

She is seeking reparations for loss of opportunity, loss of future income, plus damages for humiliation and distress.

An IOOF spokesperson said the company would defend itself and “takes these matters very seriously”.

“IOOF is confident that it has acted appropriately at all times and continues to support the legal process,” the spokesperson said.

“IOOF is committed to providing a safe and secure environment that embraces diversity.”

The latest finance industry scandal comes after AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) spent most of last year cleaning up the controversy from its appointment of Boe Pahari to CEO of AMP Capital after he faced serious sexual harassment allegations.

After justifying the promotion, shareholder pressure forced two directors to eventually depart the company and Pahari was put back into his old role.

Touching is fine because I’m gay: woman allegedly told

The court documents depict Yeo was told from the very first instance of touching that it was not appropriate.

This allegedly occurred at a Melbourne bar after the company’s 2018 Christmas party.

He is accused of touching the woman’s breast then laughing it off and doing it again when told the behaviour was inappropriate.

Yeo allegedly said that it didn’t matter if he touched her in that way because he is gay.

Acosta, when he was working at the same level as the woman, is accused of interfering in her work by making changes without consulting her.

He was later promoted to head of fixed interest assets to become her boss. The woman alleges she was denied a chance to compete for the role because of her gender.

In October, the woman’s job was made redundant but she was invited to apply for a new position that another colleague was already competing for. The woman declined to apply and left the company.

IOOF’s shares are up 1.36% in Friday trade, hitting $3.73.

More reading

• Does Xinja’s downfall mean neobanks are dead?
• The latest ASX “buy” recommendations from top brokers
• The ASX 200 stock facing a day of reckoning at the February reporting season
• ASX 200 drops 1.1%
• The 5 worst performing ASX 200 shares of 2020

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo owns shares of IOOF Holdings Limited. 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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At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to end the week on a positive note. The benchmark index is currently up 0.4% to 6,741 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Afterpay hits record high.

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is surging higher for a second day in a row and reached a record high this morning. Bullish sentiment in the buy now pay later sector following Affirm’s very successful IPO and a broker note out of Morgan Stanley appear to be the key drivers of this gain. In respect to the latter, the broker has retained its overweight rating and lifted its price target on the Afterpay’s shares to $136.00. Its analysts are expecting Afterpay to report active customers of approximately 13.6 million for the first half of FY 2021. This will be a 37.4% increase from 9.9 million active customers at the end of FY 2020.

Bank shares push higher again.

It has been another positive day of trade for most of the big four banks on Friday. At lunch, three of the big four banks are outperforming the index with solid gains. This appears to have been driven by positive commentary this week by the likes of Morgan Stanley. The broker believes bank shares will go higher in 2021 as earnings and dividends start to recover. The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is the best performer in the group with a 2% gain. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is the laggard in the group and down 0.3% at lunch.

Resolute disappoints.

The Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) share price is sinking lower today after the release of a disappointing update. According to the release, Resolute recorded gold production of 89,888 ounces during the three months ended 31 December. This led to its calendar year production coming in at 395,136 ounces, which falls short of its downgraded guidance of 400,000 ounces. In 2021, it expects production to fall to between 350,000 to 375,000 ounces.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers.

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Friday has been the Afterpay share price with a gain of just over 6%. This follows the release of a bullish broker note this week. The worst performer has been the Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price with a 5.5% decline. Its shares have fallen heavily this week after its half year update underwhelmed.

More reading

• Why Afterpay, BHP, Objective, & Pro Medicus shares are charging higher
• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price climbs higher as investors eye dividends
• The Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price just set a new all-time record high
• Here’s why the Resolute (ASX:RSG) share price is sinking lower
• Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price climbing despite cost blowout rumours

James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of POLYNOVO FPO. 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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In late morning trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to finish the week on a positive note. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.2% to 6,727.8 points.

Four shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are charging higher:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price is up almost 6% to $127.98. This may be partly in response to a bullish broker note out of Morgan Stanley this week. The broker retained its overweight rating and lifted its price target on the payments company’s shares to $136.00. Morgan Stanley notes that app downloads have been increasing strongly in the US and UK. It is forecasting active customers of approximately 13.6 million for the first half of FY 2021. This represents a 37.4% increase from 9.9 million active customers at the end of FY 2020.

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

The BHP share price is up 2% to $47.00. Investors have been buying the mining giant’s shares after the iron ore price climbed higher again. According to CommSec, the price of the steel making ingredient has risen a further 1.4% to US$171.45 a tonne.

Objective Corporation Limited (ASX: OCL)

The Objective share price is up 4% to $13.50. This follows the release of an update by the information technology software and services provider this morning. According to the release, based on unaudited management accounts, Objective is expecting to report a 40% increase in revenue to $46.5 million for the first half. And thanks to margin expansion, the company is guiding to a 74% increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to $11.8 million.

Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

The Pro Medicus share price is up a further 6% to $38.81. Investors have been buying this leading health imaging software company’s shares over the last couple of days due to a major new contract win. Pro Medicus has signed a seven-year contract worth $40 million with Salt Lake City based Intermountain Healthcare. The deal sees its Visage 7 Viewer and Visage 7 Open Archive products implemented across all of Intermountain’s radiology and subspecialty imaging departments.

More reading

• The Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price just set a new all-time record high
• Why the Objective (ASX:OCL) share price just jumped 11% to a record high
• 3 blue chip ASX dividend shares with big yields
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• ASX 200 rises 0.4%

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 Objective Limited and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. 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 Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is climbing higher in early trade. There have been no new announcements from the Big 4 bank, but investors could be eyeing a higher dividend payout.

According to an article in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), analysts are tipping the banks could be set to return billions to shareholders in 2021.

Why is the Westpac share price climbing higher?

The major banks, including Westpac, put aside billions for the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. 

That was due to an expected harsh recession and increase in bad debts for the banks. However, a strong COVID-19 response and record government stimulus have combined to alleviate those fears.

In fact, the Westpac share price has rebounded strongly since cratering in the March bear market.

The  JobKeeper scheme and a boost to JobSeeker have reduced the economic damage from COVID-19. That means shareholders could be in line for bigger payouts.

According to the article, Credit Suisse analyst Jarrod Martin is reasonably bullish on the banks. In a note to clients, Martin noted that the major banks may increase dividends as bad debts come in below modelled scenarios.

However, it wasn’t all good news. The bear case sketched out by Credit Suisse noted a vaccine failure and extended lockdowns could increase prudency on bank balance sheets.

Martin is tipping dividend payout ratios of 60% in FY2021 and 65% in FY2022 and FY2023. Jefferies analyst Brian Johnson is reportedly tipping payout ratios to climb as high as 70%.

That comes after the Aussie banking regulator lifted its temporary 50% cap on distributions instituted in 2020.

According to the AFR, the Big 4 banks took $7 billion in COVID provisions. A reversal of those could mean a significant capital return to shareholders in 2021.

The Westpac share price has been climbing higher in early trade, alongside many of its peers, despite no new announcements. At the time of writing, its shares are trading up 1.28% at $21.30.

How have the Aussie banks performed?

Big 4 bank shares like Westpac have had a rollercoaster year. The Westpac share price is down 13.7% in the last 12 months but up 8.6% in 2021.

Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) have edged 2.3% and 4.5%, respectively lower.

More reading

• Here’s why ASX bank shares might juice up their dividends in 2021
• This ASX 200 stock is tipped to lift dividends by 87% this year
• Why this broker likes ANZ (ASX:ANZ), NAB (ASX:NAB), and Westpac (ASX:WBC)
• Does Xinja’s downfall mean neobanks are dead?
• Loan deferrals down, big four ASX banks up?

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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 continues to astonish investors, setting a new all-time record high of $128.50 in mid-morning trade today. 

Can’t stop, won’t stop 

While other buy now, pay later shares (BNPL) have chopped back and forth throughout FY21, Afterpay has continued to set new record highs, seemingly just weeks apart. 

Apart from pioneering the BNPL industry, the Afterpay share price has lifted higher off the back of a number of recent announcements and developments. 

Broker updates 

Brokers certainly seem to love the Afterpay share price, with Morgan Stanley the most recent broker to raise its share price target. 

On Thursday, Morgan Stanley lifted its price target from $120.00 to $136.00 with an overweight rating. The broker anticipates strong first half FY21 performance as downloads of the Afterpay app continue to surge in the US and UK.

However, it is weary of the strong Australian dollar that could weaken earnings. 

A new US player emerges

Affirm, a US-based BNPL successfully raised US$1.2 billion in an initial public offering (IPO) at an offer price of $49 per share. Its debut on Wednesday saw its shares close at $97.24, almost double its offer price. This momentum carried over to Thursday where it closed 18% higher to $114.95. 

The surging Affirm share price has ballooned its market capitalisation to approximately US$27 billion, very close to Afterpay’s current market cap of approximately A$35 billion. 

In FY20, Affirm recorded 6.2 million customers, 6,500 merchants and US$4.6 billion in gross merchandise volume. 

By comparison, Afterpay is a global business with 11.2 million active customers and 63,800 active merchants as of 30 September 2020. The company also achieved $4.1 billion in sales in just first quarter FY21 alone. 

Pending further global expansion 

There are a number of exciting geographic expansions that could see Afterpay continue its global dominance. This includes the company’s pending approval from the Bank of Spain to acquire Pagantis in Europe and the development of a strategy to tackle the South Asia market. 

More reading

• ASX 200 rises 0.4%
• What’s next for WAAAX shares in 2021? 
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price jumps 10% on bullish broker note
• Could this be why Afterpay (ASX:APT) and other BNPL shares are soaring today?
• ASX 200 up 0.3%: Afterpay surges, Pro Medicus rockets on $40m contract, Whitehaven rises

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim 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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