Splitit (ASX:SPT) share price surges 20% on Wednesday

After hitting 13 month lows last Friday, Splitit shares are surging.

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The Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) share price is an outlier amongst its buy now pay later peers on Wednesday, surging 19.23% to 62 cents.

Surprisingly, the company has not made any price-sensitive announcements since its Q2 FY21 activities report on 29 July.

Let's take a closer look at the price action behind Splitit shares.

green arrow representing a rise in the share price

Image source: Getty Images

Splitit share price leading the BNPL sector

Splitit opened 8.65% higher to 56.5 cents on Wednesday morning but managed to climb as high as 62 cents before noon.

At the time of writing, approximately 7 million shares have traded hands, compared to its 10-day average of 3 million.

By comparison, leading BNPL names such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) and Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) have managed to eke out some small gains, rising 0.18%, 1.41% and 0.91% respectively.

Smaller peers with a similar market capitalisation as Splitit have delivered mixed performances on Wednesday, with Laybuy Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY) up 0.95% but Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) and Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) down 3.31% and 0.51% respectively.

Maybe its Afterpay

Afterpay's $29 billion takeover offer from Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) has sent ripples throughout the BNPL sector.

Most ASX-listed BNPL shares have logged double digit returns since the takeover announcement on Monday.

The Zip share price, for example, has welcomed the takeover news, surging 19.58% this week.

Similarly, the Splitit share price has jumped 32.61% this week as well.

Or maybe a dead cat bounce

The Splitit share price is one of the most beaten up BNPL shares.

Last Friday, the company's shares hit a 13-month low of 45.5 cents or a year-to-date decline of about 65%.

While a 32% rally this week is impressive, Splitit has a long road ahead to reach breakeven for the year.

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Humm Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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