After a shocking start to the year, the BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) share price outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) in November.
The stock rose from 64.5 cents at the final close of October to finish November trading for 73 cents. That marks a 13.18% gain. In the meantime, the tech stock saw a 52-week low of 59 cents and a high of 78 cents.
For comparison, the ASX 200 lifted just 6.13% last month – meaning the BrainChip share price produced double the broader market's gains.
Indeed, $1,000 invested in BrainChip shares at the end of October would have been worth around $1,130 at Wednesday's close. That's not too shabby for a single-month return.
So, what might have gone right for the artificial intelligence-focused tech company last month? Let's take a look.
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What drove the BrainChip share price higher last month?
Interestingly, there was no price-sensitive news from BrainChip last month.
Indeed, the last time the market heard a price-sensitive update from the company was in late October on the release of its disastrous quarterly activities report. That saw the stock plummet 21%.
The company also announced it has welcomed former Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) leader and Arm executive Nandan Nayampally as its new chief marketing officer.
Meanwhile, investor sentiment for tech shares appeared to improve over the course of last month.
The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) lifted 2.87% in November while the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) rose 3.08%.
That may have had something to do with hints inflation could be softening, potentially leading central banks globally to ease up on interest rate hikes.
Of course, higher rates generally spell bad news for non-profitable shares like BrainChip and many of its technology-focused peers. That's because higher rates increase the cost of debt and companies operating in the red often rely on debt to fund growth.
Sadly, the BrainChip share price's recent rally hasn't been enough to boost it into the longer-term green.
The stock is still 7% lower than it was at the start of 2022. Though, it has gained 16% since this time last year.
