The ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) has only fallen by roughly 3% over the last two weeks despite the correction we’re seeing in the tech sector here and in the US. The ASX200 is heavily weighted towards companies in the financials sector, which have been some of the best performers recently.
Our S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX), on the other hand, is down nearly 15%.
Here are 2 ASX shares that I’m watching this week…
Altium
Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) shares are tempting at these levels. The stock hit highs of around $40 late last year, but have fallen over 36% to $25.50 at the time of writing.
Altium shares seem to have been hit by a double-whammy over the last few months.
It’s a company that’s typically been priced for growth, but unfortunately, some of its most recent results confirmed a decline in performance due to complications arising from COVID-19, as well as other challenges in China relating to license compliance activities.
The additional threat of rising bond yields has put growth stocks like Altium in the crosshairs, further contributing to this downwards trend we’ve seen recently.
The good news is I think both of the aforementioned factors seem temporary, so I think this could be a decent buying opportunity.
I think the future looks bright for Altium. The long-term vision of the company is to revolutionise the whole process of printed circuit board (PCB) design through its new Altium 365 platform. If management can execute its strategy well, there are some potential network effects that could further establish the company as an industry standard.
For some more reading on Altium, click this link to read: Will ASX tech stocks crash in 2021? Here’s 1 ASX share I’d buy if they did.
Next DC
I’d also be happy to accumulate some more shares in data centre operator NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) around these levels. The stock has fallen by 25% since November last year.
I thought I was very intelligent by buying the “bottom” around $11.50 in December, but my plan to time the market, unfortunately, didn’t go as planned.
Nevertheless, I think Next DC reported some strong results out of H1 FY21, confirming its upward growth trajectory. Over the half-year, customers and contracted utilisation were up 16% and 33%, respectively, and management upgraded FY21 guidance with growth in recurring services revenue and long-term customer contracts said to be contributing factors.
Next DC is a growth stock that has been a significant beneficiary of COVID-19 and a low-interest-rate environment, so it makes sense to me that it’s going to be one of the hardest hit. Similar to Altium, I believe the long-term story is still there unaffected, so I’m not too concerned about this correction.
Here’s an in-depth article that explains in detail why I like Next DC: Why I recently bought shares in Next DC.
