Although the All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) index is still some way off its highs for the year, this isn’t the case for all constituents of the index.

In fact, three popular ASX tech shares have just hit record highs. Here’s why they are on a high right now:

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price stormed to a new record high of $62.33 on Wednesday. This latest gain was driven by the payment company’s update on its UK business. That update reveals that Afterpay’s UK-based Clearpay business has reached 1 million customers after 12 months in the country. Also supporting its shares this year has been stellar customer and sales growth in the United States and the arrival of Tencent Holdings on its share registry. The latter could be the key to a future launch into the Asia market.

The Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) share price continued its positive run and hit a new record high of $8.97 yesterday. Investors have been fighting to buy the donor management platform provider’s shares following the release of a very strong full year result in May and a guidance upgrade this month. The latter came just six weeks after first issuing its guidance. Pushpay now expects EBITDA of US$50 million to US$54 million in FY 2021. This compares to its previous guidance of US$48 million to US$53 million and will be double FY 2020’s operating earnings.

The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price reached a record high of $91.94 on Wednesday. Investors have been buying the business and accounting software provider’s shares this year thanks to its strong FY 2020 result. During the 12 months, Xero delivered a 30% increase in operating revenue to NZ$718.2 million and a 29% jump in annualised monthly recurring revenue to NZ$820.6 million. This was driven by increases in both its average revenue per user and total subscriber numbers. The latter rose 26% to 2.285 million thanks to the addition of 467,000 net subscribers during the year. Judging by its strong share price form since then, investors appear confident there will be more of the same over the coming years. And I would have to agree.

More reading

• 3 high quality ASX shares I would buy if there were another market crash
• 3 star ASX shares to buy for the rest of 2020
• ASX 200 finishes higher, Afterpay hits new record
• 3 ASX payments shares that could double your money
• Australian businesses are running out of cash

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 PUSHPAY FPO NZX and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. 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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) looks set to crash lower today after U.S. stocks were sold off overnight amid concerns over rising COVID-19 cases.

The latest SPI futures are pointing to the ASX 200 index falling 95 points or 1.6% lower at the open.

On Wall Street things were even worse, with the Dow Jones falling 2.7%, the S&P 500 dropping 2.6%, and the Nasdaq index tumbling 2.2% lower.

While I’m optimistic this isn’t the start of larger declines, I feel it is worth considering which shares you would buy if there were another correction.

Here are three top ASX shares I would love to buy at a steep discount to their current share prices:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

I have been very impressed with Afterpay’s performance over the last few years and particularly in 2020. Despite the pandemic, the payments company has been growing all its key metrics (such as customer numbers and underlying sales) at an explosive rate. And while I would still buy its shares at the current level for a long term investment, if they were to pull back 20%, it would be a no-brainer buy for me.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

If there were a sharp pullback in this growing ecommerce company’s share price, I would be queuing up to invest. I believe Kogan has the potential to grow materially over the next decade thanks to the seismic shift to online shopping and its increasingly strong market position. Another positive is that the company has just raised funds for acquisitions. If these are a success, they could help accelerate its growth in the coming years.

Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH)

A final option I would be fighting to buy if there were a market crash is Pushpay. I believe the donor management platform provider is one of the best growth shares on the ASX right now and well-placed to grow its earnings at a rapid rate over the next decade. It is aiming to increase its revenue to US$1 billion in the future. This is many multiples the US$127.5 million operating revenue it recorded in FY 2020.

More reading

• Why Xero and these ASX tech shares just hit record highs
• 3 star ASX shares to buy for the rest of 2020
• ASX 200 finishes higher, Afterpay hits new record
• 3 ASX payments shares that could double your money
• Australian businesses are running out of cash

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 Kogan.com ltd and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. 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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There are some ASX shares which could be solid outperformers over the rest of 2020.

The share market has performed strongly since March 2020. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gone up 31.2% from 23 March 2020.

Some ASX shares don’t look like good value to me any more, particularly with how much COVID-19 uncertainty there still is. 

But there are some shares that I think could be star performers for the rest of 2020:

Share 1: Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH)

Pushpay is an electronic donation business. It facilitates digital giving to not-for-profits. Its main customer base is large and medium US churches. They have large congregations which donate large amounts of money. Pushpay management believe this is a $1 billion revenue opportunity.

Over the past year the company has regularly increased its profit guidance as the business continually under-promises and over-delivers.

In the recent Pushpay annual general meeting the company increased its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and foreign currency (EBITDAF) to a range of US$50 million to $54 million, up from US$48 million to US$52 million. That means the ASX share is now expecting to approximately double its EBITDAF in FY21. That’s predicted to be a strong year. 

Pushpay’s share price has been a strong performer. Since the start of May 2020 the Pushpay share price is up 121%. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the share price hit $10 by the end of 2020 if social distancing continues in the US due to COVID-19 social distancing.

Share 2: A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

A2 Milk sells a variety of different dairy products including liquid milk, powdered milk and infant formula.

The company is one of the rare ASX shares that is still reporting growth despite the tough COVID-19 times. A2 Milk continues to increase the footprint of its distribution, particularly in the US. The ongoing pandemic is causing people to stock up on A2 Milk products.  

A2 Milk said it’s expecting FY20 revenue to be in the range of $1.7 billion to $1.75 billion. This would be growth of 30% to 34% on FY19’s revenue.

FY21 could be another bumper year, particularly if the A2 Milk is successful at capturing more market share in the US.

Over the longer-term I believe that this ASX share still has a long growth runway ahead. A2 Milk is expanding into the Canadian market with Agrifoods for the production, distribution, sale and marketing of A2 Milk branded liquid milk. Canada is a sizeable potential market for A2 Milk.

A2 Milk is trading at 27x FY22’s estimated earnings.

Share 3: Vitalharvest Freehold Trust (ASX: VTH)

Agriculture is one of the sectors that could be a good performer even with the ongoing pandemic. People will always want food, particularly quality Aussie-grown fresh food.

Vitalharvest owns a portfolio of berry and citrus farms. But it will soon have a new manager that will pivot the real estate investment trust (REIT) to target real agricultural property assets and assets that are critical to the agricultural supply chain in both Australia and New Zealand.

The ASX share will be renamed Primewest Agri-Chain Fund. The ticker will be changed to ASX:PWA, subject to ASX confirmation.

It will still target farms, but it will also search for processing and manufacturing facilities of food, food and beverage packaging facilities and storage facilities related to food. The potential new assets will be leased on long-term leases with attractive terms.

I think investors will like how Vitalharvest evolves and could start trading at a premium to its net asset value (NAV) in time.

At 31 December 2019 it had a NAV of $0.95. The current share price is trading at a 16% discount to the NAV.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF) has shown how an acquisition strategy can work out as long as they are wise purchases at a good price.

Foolish takeaway

I believe each of these shares have a good chance of beating the market over the rest of 2020, particularly there is another COVID-19-related selloff. Vitalharvest looks like it could be a cheap buy, whilst Pushpay and A2 Milk have excellent international growth credentials. 

More reading

• Why Xero and these ASX tech shares just hit record highs
• 3 high quality ASX shares I would buy if there were another market crash
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Why the risks of a market correction for the ASX 200 is rising
• 3 of the best ASX growth shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX and RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of A2 Milk. 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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On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) continued its positive run and pushed higher again. The benchmark index climbed 0.2% to 5,965.7 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 to crash lower.

The ASX 200 looks set to crash lower on Thursday after a very poor night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the benchmark index is poised to drop 95 points or 1.6% lower at the open. On Wall Street the Dow Jones sank 2.7%, the S&P 500 fell 2.6%, and the Nasdaq index tumbled 2.2%. Investors were selling U.S. stocks amid concerns over a spike in coronavirus cases.

Oil prices sink lower.

Record U.S. crude inventories and pandemic resurgence concerns have sent oil prices crashing lower overnight. This could weigh on the likes of Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) on Thursday. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 5.6% to US$38.13 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is 5.3% lower to US$40.37 a barrel.

Qantas $1 billion equity raising.

The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price could be placed in a trading halt today. Last night the AFR speculated that the airline operator has called in bankers and could be about to launch a $1 billion equity raising. This would be the first time during the pandemic that Qantas has raised funds this way.

Gold price softens.

Gold miners such as Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) could take a tumble today after the gold price fell despite the market volatility. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.4% to US$1,774.50 an ounce overnight. Investors appear to have rotated into cash assets.

Sonic Healthcare given buy rating.

The Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) share price was a strong performer on Wednesday but could still be heading higher from here. According to analysts at Goldman Sachs, they believe the healthcare company is a buy with a $34.50 price target. This is almost 14% higher than its last close price. The broker was pleased to see the company reinstate guidance well ahead of consensus estimates.

More reading

• Why the risks of a market correction for the ASX 200 is rising
• Should you wait for another market crash to invest in ASX shares?
• ASX 200 finishes higher, Afterpay hits new record
• The latest ASX 200 stocks to be slapped with a broker downgrade
• 3 ASX shares I’d buy if the market crashes again

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sonic Healthcare 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.

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