The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price may have come under pressure this week, but the aerial imagery technology and location data company's shares are still the best-performers on the S&P/ASX 200 index in 2019.
Since the start of the year the Nearmap share price has rocketed an incredible 158%.
This puts it ahead of fellow tech stars Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) which have gained 131% and 120%, respectively, in 2019.
Why is the Nearmap share price on fire in 2019?
Investors have been scrambling to get hold of Nearmap's shares this year thanks largely to an impressive half year result in February.
In the first half the company reported a 42% increase in its annualised contract value (ACV) to $78.3 million thanks to record U.S. growth and a strengthening leadership position in Australia.
The company also reported the perfect combination of an increase in customer numbers to 9,300 and a lift in average revenue per subscription to $8,410.
This ultimately led to total revenue for the first half increasing 45% on the prior corresponding period to $35.5 million.
Another positive was that management reiterated that it expects to be cash flow breakeven during FY 2019, which means it is very unlikely the company will need a capital raising again for working capital purposes.
What else has happened?
One consequence of its positive performance in the first half, and the subsequent share price appreciation, was that Nearmap's shares were included in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index earlier this year.
This will have brought its shares onto the radar of fund manager's with strict mandates to only invest in the top 200 shares.
And finally, its shares were given a boost recently after the company launched a couple of new products – Nearmap 3D and the beta version of its artificial intelligence product.
One broker that believes these new products could be a boost in the near term is Morgan Stanley. It notes that previous product launches have generated a meaningful increase in demand in the past and suspects these could do the same.
It has an overweight rating and $4.20 price target on the company's shares, which implies further upside of approximately 9% for its shares. This could mean it isn't too late to get on board the Nearmap train.
