The ASX tech sector continues to be one of the top performing sectors on the ASX, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.
In this article I will take you through 2 of my top ASX tech share picks right now: Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX).
Altium
The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price was significantly hit during the first month of the coronavirus pandemic. During that time, the share price of the electronic design software company lost around 40% of its value. Since that period, however, it has regained around half of those losses.
Altium recently delivered a very solid set of financial numbers for FY 2020, despite the challenges of the pandemic. The ASX tech share was able to record a 10% increase in revenue to US$189 million. This means that Altium has now recorded 8 consecutive years of double-digit revenue growth. Customer growth also continued strongly. Altium's Designer platform saw a 14% increase in new seats sold, while its overall subscriber base grew by 17% to over 50,000.
I believe that the Altium growth story is set to continue over the next 5 years, driven by the growing global demand for smart connected devices. With its share price still below pre-COVID 19 levels, Altium is in my buy zone right now.
Appen
Appen is a global leader in providing data for use in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). Appen's business models spans across a range of industries, including technology, automotive, and government sectors.
Despite a drop during the early phase of the pandemic, the Appen share price has performed very strongly during 2020. Since the beginning of the year, it has risen from $22.46 to be trading at $35.68 at the time of writing. That's a whopping increase of nearly 60%.
Appen recently indicated that the pandemic has not had a significant impact so far on its business operations.
Despite its strong recent rise, the Appen share price remains in my buy zone right now. I believe that Appen is positioned to grow strongly over the next 5 years, driven by the rising global demand for AI products and machine learning markets.
Foolish takeway
Both Appen and Altium are 2 ASX tech shares that I would be happy to add to my ASX share portfolio right now. Both companies have entrenched market positions in far reaching global markets that continue to expand.
In addition, I believe that both companies are well positioned to tap into the rising demand for IoT devices, driven by the growing trend of cloud computing.
