18 Pandemomomania Stocks Trading Higher During The Pandemic

Pandemomomania – /panˈdɛ/məʊməʊ/ˈmeɪnɪə/ – noun – an enthusiasm for stocks that are going up during a pandemic

Well, when it comes to markets, this certainly has been a wild ride.

Personally, I think it’s all a bit wild, and probably unjustified. Having said that, I have noticed that companies with business models that may benefit from social distancing have had particularly strong bounces. Others may simply be good resileint growers, that the market is coming to appreciate. Finally, some provide items that are part of the solution to the covid-19 crisis.

Remember though, this post is not financial advice, and you should click here to read our detailed disclaimer.

Look, I can’t say it makes much sense to me that so many stocks have performed so well since the top of the market in mid February. On the ASX there are literally hundreds of stocks now trading higher than they were 3 months ago. Sure, most of them have no revenue and trade on nothing but hot air, so I wouldn’t put much on their stock price movements, but quite a few are interesting businesses.

So without further ado, here are 18 ASX stocks stonks benefiting from pandemomomania! (I’ve also noted their 3 month return in each case.)

• Marley Spoon AG (ASX: MMM) +274%; reminding us that even if you’re an unprofitable business with a fair bit of debt and no obvious moat, if you’re in the right place at the right time you’ll shine bright as the sun (I hold a tiny position for now).
• Kogan.com Limited (ASX: KGN) +68%; reminding us that even if your founder regularly sells large lines of stock, if you’re in the right place at the right time you can see that price soar!
• Genetic Signatures Ltd (ASX: GSS) +59%; showing what can be possible if you are selling covid-19 tests that actually work (I hold a tiny position for now).
• Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB) +51%; showing that baby formula is still the white gold, even if it comes from goats.
• Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) +40%; showing that even when 36 million lose their jobs in America, worshippers will keep on giving to their church!
• Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP) +36% has been enormously volatile, perhaps because its growth hasn’t been historically that impressive, and it’s still burning cash. But the market now seems to think the communications software company is in the right place at the right time. I hold, so I hope it’s right!
• Alcergold (ASX: AQG) +36%; showing that yes gold miners can go well when the brown stuff hits the fan.
• Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) +21%. A massive megacap that seems to have convinced investors that selling respirators in a covid-19 pandemic is like selling shovels in a gold rush, and maybe it is.
• AFT Pharmaceuticals (ASX: AFP) +19%. Do “Vitamin C Liposachets” help against covid-19? Not that I know of. Have people being stocking up on them? Apparently so.
• A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) +19%. It’s the mother of all ASX listed infant formula stocks because their brand is so magic. Its sales are going strong; babies have gotta eat!
• TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) +18% has kept on growing many years and apparently no virus (except maybe a computer virus?) is going to stop it.
• Objective Corporation Limited (ASX: OCL) +14%. This software as a service company might not be able to expand far from its government roots but at least the government keeps paying, amirite? (I hold)
• Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) +12%. It helps companies move operations to the cloud so demand should be strong… but $2b for an infrastructure company with $65m in ARR? #yolo!
• Reject Shop Ltd (ASX: TRS) +11%; I guess recessions are good for some retailers and bad for the rest…
• Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) +8%; their customers can pay, and they certainly are paying. Will the drop in advertising revenue to facebook and google hurt Appen? Who knows, that’s tomorrow’s problem and this is about pandemomomania! (I hold)
• Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) +6.7%. Nevermind the fact that some of their customers might stop paying, when you short the chaos-lord of all meme stocks, prepare for a potential rekking! (Disclosure: I shorted it and was rekt on the tiny position, as I did not close when I should have.)
• Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) +4%. Surely chaos in US hospitals won’t interrupt major software implementations…? (I hold)
• Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) +1%. The personal protective wear maker round tripped it during the sell off, gaining some 61% off its lows. In hindsight, kinda obvious it would fare reasonably well. Missed that one, woops!

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this sampling of ASX listed stocks that are going up during the pandemic. It doesn’t always make sense to me, but I’m happy I hold a couple of them.

Enjoy the pandemomomania while it lasts!

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