In the last three months the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has had a solid run and put on a gain of almost 3%.
Three shares which have vastly outperformed the market during this time are listed below. Is it too late to invest?
The Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has rocketed almost 74% over the previous three months. A series of key customer wins including Kmart and Jetstar have encouraged investors, as well as this week's quarterly update which revealed that underlying annualised sales are now tracking in excess of $1.5 billion based on its recent monthly performance. Although Afterpay is a little on the expensive side, I think it is in a great position to deliver high levels of growth that more than justifies the premium its shares trade at. I would class it as a buy.
The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price is up 53% in the last three months. A key driver of this gain was its impressive half-year result. The data solutions and services company posted a 44% increase in EBITDA to $12.8 million thanks partly to strong demand from machine learning and artificial intelligence customers. Pleasingly, management expects earnings growth to accelerate in the second-half and has forecast full-year EBITDA growth at the upper end of its 40% to 50% guidance range. While Appen is no longer a bargain buy, I still think it could be a good long-term investment.
The Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) share price has more than doubled in value over the last three months. As well as stronger-than-expected production from its Mt Cattlin operation, bullish global lithium demand forecasts have played a key role in Galaxy's meteoric rise. While I think the rapid adoption of electric vehicles and renewable energy makes Galaxy a great long-term buy and hold option in the resources sector, I would class the lithium miner as a hold after its strong run.