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The Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI) share price is flat in morning trade. At the time of writing, shares in Calidus Resources are trading for 42 cents, up 5%.

Below, we take a look at the ASX gold share’s latest project finance announcement.

What did Calidus Resources report?

The Calidus share price remains flat in morning trade after the company reported final agreements have been executed with Macquarie Bank for a $110 million project loan. Calidus initially provided the terms of the loan to the market on 30 November last year.

The ASX gold miner also reported its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Zenith Energy Limited has been completed. That agreement will see Zenith provide 8 megawatts (MW) of power for the company’s Warrawoona Gold Project. This will occur via a “10.74MW installed capacity high-efficiency LNG fuelled reciprocating generation facility”. Zenith will also provide an 8 MW backup diesel generator.

Calidus also highlighted that the deal with Zenith is part of its continuing efforts to introduce renewable energy sources at its Warrawoona project.

Management commentary

Commenting on the twin agreements, Calidus’ managing director, Dave Reeves said:

We are very pleased to have executed final debt financing agreements with Macquarie. The timing of which coincides with GR Engineering mobilising to site to begin civil works at Warrawoona and the execution of the PPA with Zenith Energy.

Calidus is fully funded and focused on successfully developing the Warrawoona Gold Project and becoming a leading independent gold producer, with first production on schedule for early 2022.

Argonaut was the financial advisor while Herbert Smith Freehills was the legal advisor for the debt financing agreement with Macquarie.

Share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Calidus Resources share price has outperformed the broader All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO). Calidus shares have gained 74% over the past full year while the All Ords are up 34% at the same time.

So far, 2021 hasn’t been as kind to Calidus shareholders, with shares down 20% year-to-date.

At the current share price of 40 cents per share, Calidus has a market cap of $135 million.

More reading

• Why Afterpay, Codan, Cleanaway, & Webjet shares are surging higher
• Why the Vocus (ASX:VOC) share price is surging this year
• Why the Anson Resources (ASX:ASN) share price is up 6% today
• Fundie says that this ASX share is a misunderstood compelling opportunity
• Alliance (ASX:AQZ) share price flies on latest deal

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned from the Easter break in fine form. In late morning trade the benchmark index is up 1.1% to 6,902.3 points.

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

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price is up 8% to $114.18. This appears to have been driven by strong gains in the US tech sector on Thursday and Monday night. This has led to the famous Nasdaq index climbing by an impressive 5% since this time last week. At the time of writing, the S&P ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is up 3.7%.

Codan Limited (ASX: CDA)

The Codan share price has climbed 5.5% to $16.74. Investors have been buying the technology company’s shares following the release of a positive broker note out of Macquarie. This morning the broker responded to its acquisition of Zetron for US$45 million by retaining its outperform rating and lifting its price target to $17.00. It also notes the recent release of a key new metal detector, which could be a boost to sales.

Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY)

The Cleanaway share price has surged 9.5% higher to $2.41. This morning the waste management company announced an agreement to acquire Suez R&R Australia for $2.52 billion. The acquisition of the recycling and recovery business is expected to provide additional scale and scope to create further operating leverage and multiple avenues to accelerate growth. It is also forecast to be significantly accretive to earnings post synergies.

Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB)

The Webjet share price has rebounded almost 4% to $5.48. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Goldman Sachs this morning. While the broker notes that its latest capital raising dilutes shareholders again, it also removes some uncertainties. In light of this, it has retained its buy rating and trimmed its price target slightly to $7.00.

More reading

• Why the IOUpay (ASX: IOU) share price tumbled 40% in March 
• Afterpay (ASX:APT) leads Zip by 40% on one critical measure
• Is the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price in the bargain bin?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Webjet Ltd. 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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The Vocus Group Ltd (ASX: VOC) share price has rocketed to a 52-week high in a strong start to the year. Shares in the Aussie telco have climbed 34.1% higher in 2021 to outperform the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Why is the Vocus share price surging higher?

The big factor pushing the Aussie telco’s value higher was a takeover offer from an investment consortium. That group of investors was lead by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and Aware Super.

Vocus received an offer to sell 100% of its share capital to the consortium for $5.50 cash per share. For context, the Vocus share price started the year at $4.08 per share before climbing to just shy of the takeover price. The $5.50 takeover price also represented a 25.6% premium to its last closing price of $4.38 per share on 5 February 2021.

March saw a key update from the Vocus Board in relation to the offer. The Board unanimously recommended that Vocus shareholders vote in favour of the Scheme Implementation Deed.

Shareholders will be given the opportunity to vote on the takeover at a scheme meeting, which is currently expected to be held in June. After which, if shareholders vote in favour of the scheme, its implementation would occur in July.

The takeover offer has seen the Vocus share price rocket higher to its current $5.47 per share 52-week high. That reflects the fact that investors think the takeover is highly likely to proceed as planned.

Foolish takeaway

The Vocus share price is currently sitting at a 52-week high. That comes after an update on the takeover received from the MIRA and Aware Super consortium.

Shares in the Aussie telco have rocketed 34.1% in 2021 compared to a 2.2% gain for the S&P/ASX 200 Index. The takeover should finalise later this year for $5.50 per share with the unanimous backing of the Vocus Board.

More reading

• Why the Chorus (ASX:CNU) share price is on watch
• UBS is calling time on the ASX iron ore supercycle
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Top broker picks the best ASX shares to buy for the new quarter
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week

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 Anson Resources Ltd (ASX: ASN) share price is up 6.41% today after the lithium miner shared good news from its flagship Paradox Basin Brine Project in the United States.

The Anson Resources share price’s gains today add to its positive year on the ASX. Currently, the miner’s shares are trading for 8.3 cents, up a whopping 315% over the last 12 months.

Let’s look closer at today’s news out of Anson.

A potentially significant resource increase

Anson Resources announced this morning that the exploration target for brine tonnes at its Paradox Project in the US state of Utah has more than doubled. In fact, the company said the target could have increased by 257%.

This follows last week’s announcement from the company that it has been granted additional claims at Paradox, totalling 590.8 hectares.

Anson increased the target after discovering a brine aquifer around 8,000 feet below the project’s surface.

The company estimates the aquifer could boost the project’s lithium containment by 230%. It could also increase its estimated bromine containment by 493%.

Anson’s announcement warned the exploration target figure is only conceptual at this point, and it isn’t able to promise that future exploration will result in a mineral resource.

The discovery of the brine aquifer came after the company conducted a review of data from historic exploration programs.

The mineral estimation was calculated using data from a similar brine aquifer in the Mississippian Leadville Formation (Leadville).

Commentary from management

Anson CEO Bruce Richardson welcomed the findings, saying:

The expansion potential presented by this massive brine aquifer located below our existing resource is significant, and provides exciting exploration upside to an already robust resource base at Paradox.

Plans have been finalised and submitted to undertake a low-cost well re-entry program which will enable our technical team to test this aquifer and its potential to add to our current JORC resource. The Paradox Project is entering an exciting phase and is well positioned for future development and we look forward to providing further updates on key work streams in due course.

Anson Resources share price snapshot

The Anson Resources share price has been following the upward trend of many ASX listed lithium producers in 2021.

Currently, it is up by 166% year to date.

Anson Resources has a market capitalisation of around $69 million, with approximately 893 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• These are the top performing ASX lithium stocks in 2021 so far
• Here’s why the Anson Resources (ASX:ASN) share price has shot up 34% 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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There’s a particular ASX share that fund manager Alex Milton from NovaPort Capital thinks is an opportunity – IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH).

What is IPH?

Intellectual property is an increasingly important asset in today’s world. The business has around 1,000 staff spread across a number of different places including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

The ASX share has a wide-ranging customer base comprised of huge global businesses, public sector research groups, smaller businesses and professional service firms.

Over the last decade, it has acquired a number of different IP businesses including Spruson & Ferguson, Fisher Adams Kelly, Callinans and Pizzeys Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys in Australia, Ella Cheong (Hong Kong) Limited and its subsidiary Ella Cheong Intellectual Property Agency (Beijing) Company Limited in Asia and AJ Park in New Zealand.

It also acquired Xenith IP Group a couple of years ago.

How has the business been performing recently?

Over the last year the IPH share price is down around 8%. However, it’s currently going through a bit of a recovery, with the share price up 9.25% over the last month.

The market had a strong positive reaction to the IPH FY21 half-year result at the time of the release.

IPH’s numbers were largely flat. Revenue was unmoved year on year at $179.8 million. Statutory earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 1% to $56.7 million, statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) declined 1% to $26.8 million and diluted earnings per share (EPS) fell 4% to 12.4 cents.

The underlying result, which excludes items like non-cash amortisation of intangible assets, was a little better with underlying EBITDA growth of 2%, underlying NPAT growth of 3% and underlying EPS growth of 1% to 17.4 cents.

Operating cashflow increased by 39%. The interim IPH dividend was increased by 4% to 14 cents per share.

Despite all the impacts of COVID-19, IPH was able to achieve profit margin improvement and achieve synergies from its acquisitions.

The company remains the market leader in Australia, as well as Singapore.

Why is the IPH share price a misunderstood opportunity?

When asked by Bella Kidman from Livewire Markets about a misunderstood opportunity, fund manager Alex Milton named IPH and said it has a strong balance sheet, high margins, good cashflow and good market share locally, with promising growth potential internationally across Asia.

One of the reasons to like the business is that it has proven to be defensive even through difficult economic periods such as COVID-19 as well as the GFC. IPH was one of the ASX shares that NovaPort Capital invested in during the market declines in 2020.

The fund manager pointed out that the earnings were being impacted by the stronger Australian dollar. Mr Milton believes the market is undervaluing the business and its positive potential.

According to Commsec, the IPH share price is valued at 20x FY21’s estimated earnings.

More reading

• Alliance (ASX:AQZ) share price flies on latest deal
• Why the FINEOS (ASX:FCL) share price is climbing this morning
• Here’s why the Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price is charging higher
• Why the PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price was suddenly sold off in March 
• These ASX tech shares are all trading near their lowest prices in months

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends IPH Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended IPH 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 Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (ASX: AQZ) share price is taking off this morning. The price movement comes after the company announced it will be continuing its work with Santos Ltd (ASX: STO).

At the time of writing, shares in the charter air service are selling for $4.26, up 2.9%. By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 0.86% higher. The Santos share price is down 0.7% at $7.07.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s announcement and how it’s affecting the Alliance share price.

Alliance share price soars on latest deal

The Alliance share price is rising today. In a statement to the ASX, Alliance announced it is extending its contract for services with Santos for an additional 5 years — backdated to 1 April 2021.

As a result, Alliance will continue to operate services from Adelaide and Brisbane to Santos airports within the Cooper Basin for Fly-in, Fly-out (FIFO) workers. The Cooper Basin is Australia’s major oil and gas field. Santos is the largest operator in the area.

As well, Alliance will now fly between Santos’ Moomba and Ballera airports in the basin. The contract also extends its operations between Perth and Karratha, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Words from the CEO

Speaking on the deal, Alliance CEO Lee Schofield said:

Alliance has been operating services for Santos since 2006 and we are excited that this extension will see us operating for Santos for a period of at least 20 years. This extension was won as a result of Alliance’s ability to continue to operate safe, reliable and cost-effective air charter services for Santos.

The addition of the intra-field services and the Western Australia service further cements the long-term relationship built over many years. Once again our operational expertise has proven to be the key to retaining long term contracts and increasing existing schedules and our national footprint was a significant factor.

Recent announcements which rocketed the Alliance share price

On Thursday, the Alliance share price also shot up 5.34% after the company announced more good news on the day. In its statement, the company declared it “received regulatory approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to commence commercial operations with its Embraer E190 aircraft and a revised Air Operators Certificate has been issued.”

Alliance purchased 30 aircraft total, with the goal of expanding its operations. At the time of the announcement, Alliance paid for and received 18 aircraft. The remaining 12 are set to be delivered progressively until November 2021.

Alliance share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, the Alliance share price increased by 127.03%. It is one of a very few aviation companies to thrive during the pandemic. Demand for its services grew last year as people looked for safe and reliable alternatives to commercial flying in 2020.

The Alliance share price reached its all-time record of $4.68 in February this year.

The company has a market capitalisation of $664.4 million.

More reading

• Top broker picks the best ASX shares to buy for the new quarter
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ASX 200 dips, AGL to split in two, NAB’s neobank acquisition approved
• ASX 200 down 0.15%: AGL to split into two, NAB’s 86 400 acquisition receives ACCC approval

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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 FINEOS Corporation Holdings PLC (ASX: FCL) share price is rising after the company announced a new contract for its platform. At the time of writing, the insurance software company’s shares are trading at $4.05, up 4.1%.

What’s the deal?

Investors are pushing the FINEOS share price higher after digesting the company’s latest positive news.

In its announcement, FINEOS advised that it has signed a deal with American Public Life Insurance Company (APL).

Founded in 1945, APL is a leading supplemental insurance company that offers a range of customised products. This includes gap, accident, hospital indemnity, critical illness, cancer, short-term disability, dental and life insurance policies.

Under the agreement, APL will integrate FINEOS’ cloud-based platform for new business and underwriting across 8 lines of businesses. The deal will enable APL to streamline and automate quoting, rating, and underwriting processes.

This comes as APL seeks to improve its operational efficiency and roll out 3 new product lines to market. The other 5 existing product lines, expected to be licenced, will also employ the FINEOS cloud-based platform.

FINEOS noted that it had achieved outstanding success since its 2020 go-live date of its FINEOS platform. So far, 10 major carrier clients have adopted the system, including 8 installations and 7 upgrades of the FINEOS Platform for employee benefits.

The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) contract will run for an initial period of 5 years. FINEOS said it has already factored revenue generation in its most recent guidance update announced on 24 February.

What did management say?

APL president and CEO Jerry Horton touched on the advantages of integrating FINEOS’ systems, saying:

By leveraging the FINEOS Platform, we’ll be able to improve user experience with a powerful core system that automates processes which have historically been manual for us.

This partnership will enable us to speed up quote turnaround time, improve accuracy, and reduce risk to drive our organization’s growth and strategic innovation. Our customers will benefit from better service because of our decision to move from on-prem legacy systems to the cloud-based FINEOS Platform.

FINEOS CEO Michael Kelly went on to add:

We’re thrilled about this partnership with APL and look forward to supporting them in achieving their organisational goals.

With the FINEOS Platform for New Business & Underwriting, APL will be able to provide a superior digital user experience at every touchpoint of their quoting, rating, and underwriting processes.

FINEOS share price review

Despite a wobbly start to the year, the FINEOS share price has gained just over 5% year-to-date. However, looking at a broader picture, its shares have risen almost 40% in the past 12 months.

FINEOS has a market capitalisation of around $1.1 billion at the current share price, with 301 million shares on issue.

More reading

• The FINEOS (ASX:FCL) share price is now 30% off its August highs

Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends FINEOS Holdings plc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended FINEOS Holdings plc. 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 Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is on form on Tuesday morning.

At the time of writing, the advanced lithium developer’s shares are up 6.5% to 24 cents.

This latest gain means the Core Lithium share price is now up 41% since the start of the year.

Why is the Core Lithium share price charging higher?

Investors have been buying Core Lithium’s shares this morning after it released an announcement relating to its Finniss Lithium Project.

According to the release, the company has achieved the production of battery grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LH) from spodumene mineral concentrate from the Finniss Lithium Project.

Furthermore, the scoping level test work program has demonstrated that the conventional direct flowsheet can be applied to the processing of the mineral concentrate sample to produce battery grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate.

Management notes that the demonstration of the production of battery grade LH provides Core and its customers confidence in the value of the Finniss Project. In addition, it feels it emphasises the project’s importance to Australia’s northern regional economy and strengthens Australia’s position further downstream in the global lithium battery supply chain.

Management commentary

Core Lithium’s Managing Director, Stephen Biggins, commented: “Today’s announcement confirms that battery grade lithium hydroxide suitable for high-end uses in the lithium battery, renewable energy and electric vehicle industries, can be produced from Core’s excellent quality lithium concentrate produced from the Finniss Project.”

“This successful proof-of-concept test work provides Core, and our customers, the confidence in utilising Finniss lithium concentrates in the global lithium battery supply chain.”

“Together with the recent award of Major Project Status from the Federal Government, this program lays a foundation for Core to explore the potential of adding downstream processing infrastructure to our portfolio, incorporating the strong synergies with the infrastructure at the nearby Middle-Arm Industrial Precinct at Darwin Port and aligning with Australia’s national Modern Manufacturing Strategy and expansion of the Global lithium battery supply chain,” he concluded.

More reading

• The Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price is up 21% in just one week
• Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price climbs on government award

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 PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) share price dabbled between positive and negative territory in early March. Then it tumbled amid concerns regarding online sports betting legalisation in New York. 

The PointsBet share price fell 17% in March 

New York legalisation concerns 

New York is one of the biggest revenue opportunities for sports betting in the United States. PointsBet previously estimated that New York could have a market size of approximately US$1.35 billion by calendar year 2023.

This greatly overshadows large sports betting states such as Illinois and Ohio that have a respective US$784 million and US$599 million addressable market.  

Last week, a research note from Deutsche Bank highlighted concerns over the upcoming vote for online sports betting legalisation in New York. The note said that: 

Comments from NY politicians, as reported by affiliate media, appear far more pessimistic than those of several weeks ago around the prospects of NY legalising online sports betting in this session.

While New York has legalised retail sports betting, attention has turned to the online sports betting scene that has surged during COVID-19. 

US growth needs to go full steam ahead 

The PointsBet share price represents a relatively expensive $2.2 billion loss-making company trading at approximately 27 times FY20 revenue. The company’s losses are accelerating as it focuses on marketing and promotional activities to drive market share and customer acquisition in the land grab opportunity in the US. 

In the first half of 2021, PointsBet reported losses of $85.6 million, more than double the $41.5 million loss for the entirety of FY20. Given the richly valued nature of PointsBet shares, the pressure is on the company to successfully execute its growth strategy in the US to maintain confidence and deliver shareholder value.

The almost 10% drop on 30 March is likely in response to uncertainty in New York and the potential revenue that PointsBet might miss out on. 

Brokers still see upside for the PointsBet share price

On 31 March, right after Deutsche’s New York announcement, Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on PointsBet shares with a buy rating and $17.50 target price. The broker shrugged off New York concerns and explained that “we see PBH as well-placed to carve out a niche share of the burgeoning US sports betting market, which we forecast to reach US$39 billion at maturity, implying a robust 40% CAGR out to 2033.”

The broker believes that PointsBet’s growth will be underpinned by its 20-year partnership with Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN) which translates to market access into a number of states and its five-year exclusive media partnership with NBCUniversal, the largest sports broadcaster in the US.  

More reading

• Why Aristocrat Leisure, Opthea, PointsBet, & Spirit are storming higher:
• ASX 200 jumps 1.35%: Zip inks deal with JB Hi-Fi, Suncorp’s flood update
• Leading broker puts buy rating on PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why Blackmores, Cleanspace, PointsBet, & Treasury Wine shares are sinking

Kerry Sun 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 Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Why the PointsBet (ASX:PBH) share price was suddenly sold off in March  appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Many ASX tech companies became market darlings during COVID-19. While broad sectors of the economy suffered under lockdowns, tech companies found themselves in high demand. Technology kept us connected and entertained while we isolated in our homes. Additionally, it helped companies support workforces transitioning to remote working setups.

But as many countries begin to see the beginnings of an end to the pandemic, investors are struggling to work out how these companies will all fare once life returns to something closer to “normal”. Spurred on by recent falls on the NASDAQ, many of the tech stocks that surged to new highs just a few months ago have now lost significant chunks of their market caps.

Here are four top-performing tech companies from 2020 that have seen their share prices plunge recently.

Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1)

Megaport had a rollicking 2020. Its shares were sold off heavily during the March crash. Shares dropped to well below $7, before skyrocketing to an all-time high price of $17.67 by late August. However, since then, the company’s shares have dropped off considerably. They are now valued at just $11.72 – a fall of over 30%.

The company, which specialises in cloud-based networking technology, saw demand surge during COVID. Highlights from the company’s first-half included an 11% half-on-half increase in annualised revenue (to $75 million). In addition, there was an 11% increase in total customer numbers.

Damstra Holdings Ltd (ASX:DTC)

Damtra uses technology to deliver workplace management solutions to companies operating in specialised industries like mining and construction. Its share price skyrocketed 321% from a low of $0.58 last March all the way up to $2.44 by October. But it too has sunk lower recently, down more than 50% to $1.14.

A part of the Damstra decline could be attributable to share price dilution after it acquired workplace technology company Vault Intelligence Limited (ASX:VLT). As part of the takeover deal, Damstra issued 45 million new shares to Vault’s existing shareholders.

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX:BTH)

Bigtincan develops sales enablement software. Its shares also zoomed higher during COVID-19 lockdowns. As recently as October, they were trading at an all-time high of $1.60. However, the share price has now plunged more than 40% to $0.94.

Bigtincan is still a young company, but its first-half FY21 results were still encouraging. Annualised recurring revenues increased by 50% over first half FY20 to a record $48.4 million. The company also completed two strategic acquisitions during the half.

Whispir Ltd (ASX:WSP)

Whispir is a cloud-based software company that helps companies manage their communications workflows. The company has developed a centralised platform that helps customers create high-quality, customisable templates for email, web, and social media communications.

Managing communications with customers and staff was a key priority for many businesses during lockdowns. Consequently, Whispir’s share price soared. The share price rose from under $1 in the March crash all the way to a high of $5.24 by late last year. But it has now slipped more than 30% to $3.38 at the time of writing.

First-half FY21 results were reasonably strong, with annualised recurring revenues up 29% versus the first-half FY20 to $47.4 million, and a record 77 new customers onboarded during the half.

Foolish Takeaway

After surging to new highs last year, these ASX tech shares are all now firmly in correction territory. There could still be more volatility on the horizon for these companies, as the market continues to try to work out what the economy will look like in the months and years after the COVID-19 pandemic.

More reading

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Rhys Brock owns shares of BIGTINCAN FPO, MEGAPORT FPO, Whispir Ltd and Damstra Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends BIGTINCAN FPO, Damstra Holdings Ltd, MEGAPORT FPO, and Whispir Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO, Damstra Holdings Ltd, MEGAPORT FPO, and Whispir 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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