Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) FY 2019 Half Year Results Analysis

On Thursday Appen (ASX: APX) reported its results for the first half of FY19 (the company has a December reporting year-end). The stock price moved violently in response, initially soaring 10% within the first hour of trading to almost $30 (within sight of the $32 all-time high set in late July), but from that point plunged 20% to below $24 and ended the day down 11% from its previous close. On Friday the share price rebounded 7% as the market digested the key takeaways, and the APX share price managed to record a 2% gain for the week despite the nausea-inducing rollercoaster ride. In fairness, there was quite a bit to digest, but also readers should remember that over the past couple of months the markets have been particularly jittery amidst the ongoing trade/tariff wars, inversion of the yield curve and other macro concerns.

The latest episode of the Three Wise Monkeys Podcast is out now. The pint-size chimps cover MNF Group (ASX:MNF), Pro Medicus (ASX:PME), Appen (ASX:APX),  Nanosonics (ASX:NAN), A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) and Webjet (ASX:WEB) in an action packed earnings season episode.

Appen (ASX: APX) listed in early January 2015 at a $0.50 per share IPO price. Since that time, the company has been one of the best performers on the ASX, becoming a ~47 bagger. This remarkable run has been fuelled by significant top and bottom line growth which has been supercharged by a couple of canny acquisitions and a long history of earnings upgrades.