Space tourism, vegetable meat, mobile payments - the most popular actions in 2020

Tomasz Szymula

In 2020, Polish customers Saxo Bank invested in companies representing various industries - most often they were raw materials, transport, financial services, but also a producer of vegetable meat and a company organizing space travels. BigTech companies, so popular all over the world, were not at the center of their interest. Nevertheless, the decisions of Polish investors last year should be considered accurate, and below is a brief summary of the 5 most popular companies.

Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW: XWAR)

Sole Representative Warsaw Stock Exchange in this comparison, during the year it grew by less than 26%. Compared to other companies, this summary is not much, but compared to the WIG benchmark, which lost 1,7% year on year, this is a very decent result, especially since JSW represents the raw materials industry, which only regained some vigor in the last quarter of 2020. JSW's positive result was certainly influenced by the decision of the European Commission, which kept coking coal on the list of critical raw materials in September last year.

Beyond Meat (BYND: XNAS)

The beginning of the year was promising for the vegetable meat producer, but with the onset of the pandemic, the company's shares lost momentum. The restaurant closure resulted in the loss of a large number of customers, despite the increase in retail sales, the company was hit by the crisis. As the markets and consumers got used to the "new normal," Beyond Meat stock returned to its growth path with a rebound in stock markets caused by economic stimulation by the US and FED administrations. In October, however, the stocks plunged on the back of weak third-quarter results, with a mere 2,7% increase, compared to 69% in the second quarter. Looking ahead, keep in mind that vegetable meat accounts for only 1% of the total market. The growing awareness of the millennial generation about the ecology, ways of growing, slaughter and production of traditional meat allows us to look positively to the future, and prices are currently 30% lower than at the best time of 2020.

Uber (UBER: XNYS)

In the first quarter of 2020, the stock of this company behaved according to a template - smooth growth and a decline in mid-March by about 30% as a result of the pandemic. The rest of the year, however, deviated from the market trend and the carrier's shares did not grow as dynamically as other popular indices. Only the last quarter, and more precisely the period from the announcement of the information about the vaccine, restored investors' hopes in the company. Total revenues increased by 37% this quarter. However, the company closed last year with a net loss of approximately $ 1 billion.

Virgin Galactic (SPCE: XNYS)

The company, which debuted in the last quarter of 2019, has become the first company in the public offering to take tourists into space. Despite the negative results in each subsequent quarter and the lack of income, the company's stock continued to grow throughout 2020. The bullish attitude was based on successful tests and great recommendations from major banks such as Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. Additional support was established by establishing cooperation and signing contracts with Boeing and NASA. In the last quarter, the price was driven by the planned general test, which ultimately did not take place due to technical reasons. At the beginning of January, the company announced that the defects had been located, and the next test is to take place within a few weeks, and the ultimate goal, i.e. an orbit flight with passengers on board, in the first quarter of 2021. Will this surpass the excellent 117% increase?

Square (SQ: XNYS)

An undisputed leader and the most popular company among Polish investors, which in 2020 increased by 280%, and since the March correction by over 500%. A financial service provider for small and medium-sized enterprises owes its success to another branch of its activity - the so-called cash app where you can purchase bitcoin. The company's revenues in 2020 increased by 140% compared to the previous year, however, if we deduct transactions related to cryptocurrencies, the increase will be "only" 25%. However, it should be mentioned that Square is also developing its offer in other fields, improving the platform and testing the possibility of granting loans to selected customer groups.

Author: Tomasz Szymula, analyst Saxo Bank