The Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price continued its sensational run on Friday, reaching a record high of $6.79 and giving the company a market capitalisation of over $1 billion.
This latest gain means the payment technology company's shares have now more than doubled in value in the last six months.
Should you buy Afterpay Touch shares?
I think Afterpay Touch is still a great long-term investment option despite its rapid rise over the last six months.
Due to the growing popularity of its service with both retailers and consumers, I expect to see more and more retail sales go through its Afterpay platform this year.
In its last update Afterpay was generating underlying annualised sales of $1.5 billion, but I can see this growing significantly in the future due to its ongoing market penetration.
Furthermore, I don't believe for a second that the Afterpay platform will be restricted to just Australia. It may take some time, but I imagine the service would be equally as popular in lucrative markets such as the United Kingdom and United States.
If the company can gain a foothold in these markets then the sky is the limit for the company and its shares.
As I mentioned previously, I'm not the only one bullish on its shares. Goldman Sachs recently slapped a conviction buy rating on its shares and gave it a price target of $7.30.
As well as its core business, Goldman sees a lot of value in the data that the Afterpay business is collecting.
Its analysts stated: "The retailer and shopper data it collects offers insight into consumer purchasing decisions, laying the foundation for numerous value-added services to come that should entrench APT's position in Australia's retail ecosystem."
In light of this, Goldman expects Afterpay Touch to generate EBITDA of $110.3 million by FY 2020. This compares to the $5.4 million it achieved in FY 2017.
Looking at these numbers it seems apparent to me that Afterpay Touch has the potential to be a future blue-chip share. If it can avoid been taken over by a global giant, that is.
