The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is once again suffering through a day of red ink thus far this Thursday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is down by 0.42% at 7,296 points. That puts its losses for the past month at 1.67%. So that's why it's rather startling to see the WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price having such a strong day.
At the time of writing, WiseTech shares are up a healthy 6.39% at $59.10 a share. That's after hitting a new all-time high of $59.25 earlier in intraday trading. That puts this WAAAX company's gains for the past month at a robust 5.44%.
But zooming out a little, and the picture gets even better for investors. WiseTech is now up an incredible 89.4% over just the past 6 months, and 93.8% year to date. Its gains over the past 5 years now sit at more than 930%.
So what's happened with WiseTech today that has made its share price such a market-beater?
Why has the WiseTech share price whizzed up today?
Well, unfortunately for those readers who like a straight answer, there isn't one to give. There has been no official news or announcements out of WiseTech recently. Or even semi-recently. We haven't seen any major announcements out of WiseTech since its annual general meeting that was held on 19 November.
So why then are WiseTech shares moving so convincingly higher today?
Well, a possible explanation is that WiseTech, a much-beloved ASX tech share, is benefitting from the general attraction that ASX investors seem to be feeling towards the entire tech sector today. Tech is the best performing sector on the ASX boards. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) is up a healthy 2.05% this afternoon.
In addition to the gains we see with WiseTech shares, other ASX tech shares are also enjoying some time in the sun. Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) for example, is currently up 3.68% at $10.13. Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) shares are up 2.6% at $1.57. And Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) has gained 2.85% at $2.89.
WiseTech and Appen's fellow WAAAX shares are all faring well. Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) is up 1.8%, while Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) have put on 1.63% and 0.9% respectively.
It's very possible that WiseTech's gains are just part of a broader buying pattern for the ASX tech space that we seem to be witnessing this Thursday. Whatever the reason for WiseTech's stellar run, shareholders will no doubt be rejoicing.
At the current share price, WiseTech has a market capitalisation of $19.17 billion. It has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 177 and a dividend yield of 0.11%.
