Afterpay shares surged 23% this week as capital flows in to Aussie tech stocks

July 3, 2020

Afterpay shares surged by about 23% this week as investors rally behind Aussie tech stocks recovering from their March lows due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The buy-now-pay-later company is today worth $68.19 a share, up from $55.44 on Monday as its market capitalisation approaches the $20 billion mark.

Afterpay’s share price increased 9.5% yesterday alone amid a broader rally across ASX-listed technology companies, including accounting platform Xero and IT company Appen.

Shares in Xero have risen 3.1% this week to $91.80 a share, while Appen is up 3.5% on the start of the week to $35.52 a share.

The S&P ASX All Technology Index, which tracks the performance of a wide range of Aussie tech stocks, has increased 7% this week.

The run is a return to grace of sorts for Afterpay, which saw its share price fall to a low of $8.90 in late March, amid a retreat of private investment during the height of the coronavirus outbreak.

It’s stock price has increased more than 500% since then, making billionaires of co-founders Nick Molnar and Anthony Eisen, who both own about 20 million shares in the business.

Molnar and Eisen founded Afterpay in 2014, and floated the payment instalments company on the ASX in May 2016.

Afterpay is expected to benefit from a recovery in consumer spending in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly given its exposure to e-commerce sales, which have rocketed upwards as many physical stores have been closed.

Its rival, Zip Co, is also having a good week on the ASX, up more than 10% this week to $5.80 a share.

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