What happened
Shares of project management software firm Asana (ASAN -1.02%) were up 15% this past week, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. This builds on Asana's epic run since it provided its last quarterly update on Sept. 1. The stock is up a whopping 73% since then.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
It wasn't just the last earnings report causing this most recent surge higher (Asana's second-quarter fiscal 2022 revenue was up 72% year over year, and customers spending at least $50,000 a year more than doubled). Asana had a couple new developments this past week that led more investors to warm to the stock.
Late last week, tech researcher IDC named Asana a leader in its annual review of work collaboration app vendors, listing it ahead of the software segment's largest player Atlassian (TEAM -1.06%) in terms of strategy and software capabilities.
Hot on the heels of that positive press, Asana announced what it calls the Enterprise Work Graph, a new set of features that help organizations organize teams around goals, coordinate workflow, and spend less time talking about work and more time doing work. In tandem with that, the company also announced an expansion of companies on its Asana Partners list -- now including data analytics firm Splunk (SPLK) and security vendor Netskope. New integrations with Asana could help its work management platform gain more adoption among large enterprises.
Now what
The expectation that Asana will continue growing at a rapid pace for the foreseeable future is handily baked into its current share price. As of this writing, the stock trades for an incredible 69 times trailing 12-month revenue. Recent IPO and project management peer Monday.com (MNDY -3.80%) fetches a similar premium as it's also growing at a brisk rate.
If Asana can continue to expand sales at a rapid double-digit percentage like some investors are clearly expecting, this could be a stock worth owning for the long term (think five years-plus). In fact, in a world where remote work looks here to stay, this software firm indeed has a bright future ahead of it. But this recent stock price surge won't last forever. Tread carefully right now. Keep any purchase small and add to it over time if the Asana growth story continues to pick up steam.
