Global testing and inspection company, ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ), saw its share price gain a whopping 29.4% in July. That puts the share price near the top of the list of best performing earners on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) for the month. The ASX 200, by comparison, gained 0.5% in July.
The ALS share price was hammered earlier in the year during the huge coronavirus-inspired share market selloff. From 20 February to 24 March, the ALS share price lost more than half its value, plummeting 53%.
Since the 24 March low however, ALS' share price has been trending strongly higher, gaining 83% by the end of July to close the month at $8.40 per share.
Year to date, the company's share price hasn't quite recovered from its viral plunge. But it's getting close, down less than 2.7% since 2 January, giving it current a market capitalisation of $4.3 billion.
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What does ALS do?
ALS Ltd is a global testing, inspection and certification company. ALS' early history was focused on servicing the mineral exploration industry. Since then, the company has broadened its exposure into a wide range of sectors including agriculture, pharmaceuticals and construction.
ALS — Australian Laboratory Services — dates back to 1863, when it began as a small chemical company. It went on to list on the local Australian stock exchange in 1952. Today, ALS is a global company with operations in Asia, South America, North America, Africa, Europe and, more recently, the Middle East.
The company employs more than 13,000 staff in over 65 countries. Its dividend yield sits at 2.0%.
Why did ALS Ltd's share price soar in July?
Some top name brokers favoured ALS in July, with both Morgan Stanley and Macquarie likely helping boost the share price with their overweight and outperform ratings.
ALS' move to refocus a new effort on COVID-19 safety also looks have paid off.
According to the company's website, its 'Safe by Choice' platform helps enable customers to reopen and operate their businesses safely. Its new services include COIVD-19 surface sampling as well as testing and facility hot spot mapping.
With the coronavirus again spreading rapidly in Victoria and re-emerging in other Australian states, the demand for testing and hot spot mapping also likely helped the ALS share price gain a further 5.4% so far in August.
