For a few days there it looked as though we were headed straight through ASX 6000. Now, the S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) sits squarely at 5600 points. Where it's headed next I don't know, but there's no denying our index has performed an impressive rebound in the days since the Greek crisis.
One sector attracting a lot of attention from both investors and the media in recent days is the tech sector, with a number of stocks performing very strongly:
Speedcast International Ltd (ASX: SDA) – last traded at $3.40, up 74% for the year
Satellite provider Speedcast can attribute its rise over the past two weeks to the acquisition of most of the assets and associated contracts of the failed company Newsat.
The reasonably priced acquisition (on a Price/Earnings multiple of ~3.3) is expected to deliver a substantial increase to profit as well as huge cost savings and organic growth potential.
Two weeks ago I opined that the company was overpriced; I retract that, believing it may be more accurate to say that 'while I'm not a buyer today, I expect Speedcast to rise higher in the near to medium term.'
Superloop Ltd (ASX: SLC) – last traded at $2.28, up 16% for the year
Recent Initial Public Offering (IPO) Superloop came at the perfect time for investors already frothing at the mouth over some of the opportunities in Australia's tech sector. Companies like Vocus Communications Limited (ASX: VOC) with their own fibre-optic cables are trading at quite high valuations and recent merger activity in the sector has only got investors more excited.
With that in mind, it's no surprise that Superloop, which owns data cables in Singapore and Australia, has risen 16% since its debut – and more than 100% since its initial offer price.
It's too early to evaluate the actual potential of the business, which is unprofitable, but I wouldn't bet against Superloop rising further in the near term.
Integrated Research Limited (ASX: IRI) – last traded at $2.12, up 83% for the year
Finally Integrated Research, which one Foolish contributor recently characterised as 'the gift that keeps on giving'. Investors experienced their second profit upgrade for the year recently and with that, they're in line to see a 58-70% increase in profit compared to 2014.
Integrated looks to be trading on a Price to Earnings (P/E) multiple of around 28 for its full-year results, but with more growth, strong results and an increase in dividends expected in the future, I expect this company will also rise further.
So there you have it, three companies at 52-week highs and all three of them look to be set to rise further – it's a rare week when that's the case. It is becoming increasingly clear to many investors that only tech stocks have a truly glowing outlook in light of sluggish global growth and a slowing Australian economy.
