If you ‘re looking for growth in your portfolio in 2019, you might want to consider some of these hot ASX tech shares, including Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC).
Over the past year, the Information Technology sector has returned 22.2%, more than any other sector on the ASX. For context, the second-best sector was Health Care with a return of 13.8%.
Tech stocks have a history of providing big returns to investors, but they’ve also been known to come down hard when they don’t work out (think early 2000’s).
So, with well over 200 tech stocks listed on the ASX, which ones should you be looking at more closely?
Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH)
The smallest of the three companies, Pushpay Holdings is a mobile “giving and engagement” system that targets non-profit organisations as well as the faith and education sectors across Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada.
Although the share price has been down over the last 12 months, things are looking up with their latest quarterly report which you can read about here.
Pushpay saw revenue increase by 35.2% for the quarter while processing volume increased by 28.6%. The company also achieved their goal of being cash flow positive for the quarter.
WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)
WiseTech Global started in 1994 as a developer of cloud-based software solutions for logistics industries. Listed in 2016, WiseTech now has over 12,000 organizations using their software across 130 countries, mainly through their flagship product CargoWise One.
Over the last six months, the WiseTech share price has struggled, losing 2.1%. Over the one-year period however, they’ve produced a return of 90.7%, and since listing have had an impressive run to find the share price 426% higher.
WiseTech recently released their half year results, which you can read about here. Highlights included a 48% increase in NPAT, 68% increase in revenue and 52% increase in EBITDA.
Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT)
It wouldn’t be a list of hot tech stocks without mentioning Afterpay. The owner of the popular “buy now, pay later” app, Afterpay had over 2.5 million registered users world-wide as of 2018, making it one of Australia’s true technology success stories.
Listed in June 2017, the share price has since increased by 627%, making for a lot of happy investors. With these large increases though, it’s worth considering if Afterpay is currently overvalued.
This Rask Media article explains the most recent earnings report, where Afterpay reported an increase in total income of 85% for 1H19. There’s also a short discussion on the valuation of the company.
Summary
Of course, it’s always important to have a diversified portfolio with exposure to multiple industries and sectors. But if you’re looking for tech stocks, these are three worth considering.
My take though – be careful of the price you pay. Both WiseTech and Afterpay saw decreases in their share price following their mostly positive earnings reports. Expectations are extremely high for these companies, so consider these a riskier investment than your typical blue-chip company.
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Disclaimer: At the time of writing, Max owns shares in WiseTech Global Ltd.
