Over the last 12 months the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has managed to carve out a gain of 9.7% excluding dividends.
While this is a strong gain, it is nothing compared to some of the gains being made on the local market during the period.
Below are three shares that have more than doubled in value. Is it too late to invest?
The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price has zoomed 170% higher since this time last year. Investors have been fighting to get hold of the shares of the developer of high-quality, human annotated datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence due to its impressive performance in FY 2017 and the first half of FY 2018. The latter saw Appen report revenue of $152.8 million and underlying net profit after tax of $17.8 million. This was an increase of 106% and 119%, respectively, on the prior corresponding period. While I think its shares are about fair value now, investors prepared to make a long-term investment could potentially still do very well.
The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price has surged 192% higher over the last 12 months. The geospatial imagery company caught the eye of investors earlier this year when it reported strong growth in the key United States market. This led to a strong increase in annualised contract value (ACV) and allowed Nearmap to recently raise $70 million to fund its international expansion plans. The company has its eyes on the Canada, UK, and European markets. If it makes a success of this expansion and continues its strong form in the United States, then I wouldn't be surprised to see it extend this impressive share price gain.
The Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS) share price has climbed 170% since this time last year. Strong growth in the software solutions company's funds under administration have been a key catalyst for this share price rise. Praemium grew its funds under administration by 35% in FY 2018 to a record $8.3 billion. This led to revenue increasing 22% to $43.2 million and underlying EBITDA growing at the even quicker rate of 40% to $8.8 million. Like Appen, I think its shares are probably about fair value now, but if you're in for the long run then you may still do very well out of an investment.
