The market may have dropped notably lower again on Friday, but that didn't stop the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price from charging higher again.
The payments company's shares climbed as much as 8% to an all-time high of $2.10 on Friday.
When Zip Co's shares hit this level it meant they had gained a remarkable 93% since the start of the year.
Why is the Zip Co share price up 93% in 2019?
Investors have been scrambling to get hold of the company's shares for a number of reasons.
One catalyst was the conclusion of the Senate inquiry into credit and financial services targeted at Australians at risk of financial hardship.
The Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) sector came under the spotlight during the inquiry, but none of the recommendations that were made are expected to impact the company or rival Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT).
Another reason investors have been buying shares is the impressive progress the company has been making.
In the first half of FY 2019 the company delivered revenue of $34.2 million, up 114% on the prior corresponding period. This was driven by a 110% increase in transaction volume to $495.2 million and a 54% lift in its loan book to $489 million.
At the end of the period the company had over 1 million customers and over 12,500 merchants on its platform. New merchants included Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) subsidiary Bunnings.
Furthermore, despite the increase in customer numbers, the company's net bad debts fell from 2.61% to 1.81%. Management put this down to its marketing-leading decision technology.
Is it too late to invest?
Whilst I think its shares are about fair value now, if the company continues to outperform expectations then I wouldn't be surprised if its shares raced higher from here.
This could make it worth considering a small investment in the company if you are prepared to hold onto its shares for the long-term.
