The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price has continued its positive run on Tuesday and pushed higher again.
In fact, at one stage the design software company's shares climbed to an all-time high of $35.90.
When they reached that level it meant they had gained a massive 66% since the start of the year.
Why is the Altium share price on fire in 2019?
There have been a couple of key reasons why investors have been scrambling to get hold of the company's shares this year.
The first is due to its impressive performance in the first half of FY 2019.
For the six months ended December 31, Altium posted half year revenue of US$78 million and profit after tax of $23.4 million. This represented revenue growth of 26% and net profit after tax growth of 58% on the prior corresponding period.
This was driven largely by increasing demand for its software across the globe and notably in China, which led to a 34% increase in Altium Designer new seats and a 9% lift in the overall subscription pool to 39,179.
Another reason for the rampant buying has been its positive long-term outlook. When the company released its half year results, it advised that it was very confident it would achieve its 2020 target of revenue of US$200 million and an EBITDA margin of at least 35%.
So much so, it is now looking beyond 2020 to 2025, where it has set itself an "aspirational" revenue target of US$500 million. To achieve this, it believes it needs to lift its active subscribers to 100,000.
At which point, it expects to be in a position to compel key industry stakeholders to support its agenda to transform electronic design and its realisation.
Is it too late to invest?
Whilst I think its shares are fully valued now, I would still be a buyer of them and the shares of sector peers Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) if you plan to hold onto them for the long-term.
All three companies have extremely positive long-term growth prospects which I think could make them market-beaters over the next decade.
