CE100 Index Jumps 8.9% in July as Sezzle, Amazon Lead Gains
A wild and wooly ride, indeed.
But in the end, the PYMNTS Connected Economy 100 Index (CE100 Index) managed to post positive 2.5% returns for the month, gaining 8.9% in July and winnowing down the year-to-date losses to 29.2%.
CE100 Relative Performance
Source: PYMNTS
Payments-related stocks carried the week, with the Pay and Be Paid pillar soaring 15.9%, trailed by the Move pillar, which gained 5.2%.
Sezzle was the standout here, with a staggering 176% jump in its share price. During the week, the company’s stock nearly doubled before being halted on the Australian stock exchange — and Sezzle noted that there had been no material news driving up the price.
Later in the week, the company released its second quarter earnings presentation, noting in its filings that merchant sales were up 1.9% and active merchants on its platform gained 19%, with a similar 18% boost in its active consumer count to 3.4 million. The company also said it had identified the equivalent of $40 million in expected annualized revenues and cost savings, which will in turn improve free cash flow.
Sezzle’s skyrocketing returns were followed up by positive movement within the payments group, albeit much more muted, as Adyen was up 7.7% and PayPal tacked on 6.8%. PayPal’s rally came as activist investor Elliott Management has reportedly taken an undisclosed stake in the company, as was reported earlier in the week.
Read more: Activist Investor Elliott Management Now Has Stake in PayPal and Pinterest
Amazon’s Earnings-Related Rally
Amazon’s own earnings-related uptrend helped put the eCommerce giant in “second place” in terms of individual gains, and its stock was up more than 10% on the week.
During its earnings call on July 28, Amazon said that faster delivery times, improved inventory availability and a better customer experience for Prime users helped it mitigate many of the economic headwinds that are roiling its rivals. Second-quarter sales on Amazon.com rose 10% to $74 billion — accounting for about 60% of total revenue, which was up 7%, at $121 billion.
See also: Amazon Q2: Faster Delivery, Expanded Prime Benefits, Less Discounting Than Rivals
Stock market gains were more than enough to offset double-digit declines seen by Porch Group. Shares of the home services software provider fell 21.9%, following the news that Keefe, Bruyette & Woods had reaffirmed its “downgrade” rating.
Additionally, the Work pillar — which was down 1.2% overall — was dragged down by Coursera, which lost 17.2%, and Fiverr, which gave up 13.9%.
Coursera reported results that showed growth in its consolidated revenue (up 22%) but declines in its degree segment, which fell 4% in the quarter. That segment, the company said, was impacted by lower-than-anticipated student enrollments. Fiverr’s stock price decline came as the company said last week that it would be laying off about 8% of its workforce in a bid to improve its expense structure.