It's been an interesting year for this company, share-price wise. It started 2020 at 9 cents a share, where it has hovered for most of the year, with occasional swings to 10 cents and 12 cents a share. Last month, 8I shares briefly spiked as high as 36 cents a share, but have trended lower since.

8I has had a rough trot since the company's initial public offering (IPO) on the ASX back in November  2015 (almost exactly 5 years ago). 8I hit the ASX boards at $1 a share and briefly rose as high as $1.38 over the subsequent month or two. But it has been downhill ever since, with the shares reaching a low of 5.5 cents last year.

So why is the 8I share price spiking today?

Who is 8I Holdings?

8I is a Singapore-based company that claims to have a vision to "change the financial education landscape". It was founded in 2006 when (in the company's words) "8 individuals decided to come together to analyse companies in the stock market using the principles of value investing, a concept that was not known to many back then." 

As you might have gathered, 8I is in the funds management business. It has one flagship fund – Hidden Champions Capital Management – which is based in Singapore and invests in public companies in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the company, its strategy is based on "value-adding, nimble and scalable growing 'Hidden Champions' that are typically at the forefront of their markets to achieve long-term investment returns."

In addition to this fund, 8I also offers a financial education technology by the name of VI. VI is a proprietary stock analysis tool that analyses traditional financial data and claims to simplify "the complex stock analysis and decision-making process for equity investors into easy-to-use visuals".

This technology is operated through a separate company called 8VI Holdings Ltd (ASX: 8VI), of which 8I is the majority shareholder.

Why are 8I shares spiking today?

Today's dramatic share price move can likely be put down to two reasons.

First, the company's half-yearly interim report, covering the 6 months to 30 September 2020, which was released on Monday night. In this report, 8I told investors that revenue and investment income came in at S$17.88 million, up 272% from the same period last year. That helped profits after tax rise 655% from the same period in 2019 to S$6.59 million.

The company attributed the growth in revenue and investment income to the improved performance of its restructured Hidden Champions Fund.

Second, the 8VI Holdings share price has been on a tear in recent days. As we discussed earlier, 8I holds a significant stake in 8VI, so any gains that 8VI make also boost the valuation of 8I itself.

8VI shares are up 16.18% just today, and have climbed almost 80% this week alone, giving the company a market capitalisation of $63.4 million. 8I Holdings itself has a current market cap of $70.9 million.

The post ASX stock of the day: 8I Holdings (ASX:8IH) shares spike on profit surge appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The 8VI share price has traded higher every day in October so far, gaining more than 200% in the process. In today's trade, the company is trading 20.59% higher at $2.05.

What does 8VI do?

8VI is a Singapore-based financial educator that provides a smart stock analysis and screening tool infused with a social networking element.

The company was established in 2008, and aims to empower the 'average Joe' to make good investments "smarter, faster and easier".

Its VI App is a stock analysis tool developed through 8BIT Global. The app crunches traditional financial data and simplifies complex stock analysis and decision-making for equity investors.

What driving the 8VI share price?

With the share receiving a speeding ticket this morning, the 8VI share price has been on an astonishing run since the turn of the month.

Shares in the financial educator are likely to have risen as a result of favourable legal proceedings with two former employees.

On 16 October, the company provided an update regarding the company's ongoing appeal to the District Court of Taiwan. The appeal related to the company's former director, supervisor and stakeholders, Joshua Lin and Jessica Kao, for breach of directors' duties.

In late September, the District Court of Taiwan ruled in favour of 8VI and granted $575,000 in compensation and 69% of legal costs payable by Lin and Kao over the breach of directors' fiduciary duties.

While the judgement ruled in favour of 8VI, the company is now appealing to correct the previous judgement to ensure accurate records in respect of future proceedings.

Foolish takeaway

8VI has seen its share price explode on the back of these proceedings. It marks a positive turnaround for a company that this time last year was trading at an all time low of 15 cents.

The share buy back in late August also helped provide impetus for the recent gain.

The post Up 20% today, what's driving the 8VI (ASX:8VI) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.