5 Best Technology Stocks To Invest In Today

Technology stocks remain a key constituent of every investor’s portfolio. These are generally considered evergreen stocks as they continuously tend to adapt with the digital ecosystem through innovation.

The Canadian technology sector is dominated by large cap stocks like Shopify Inc. (NYSE, TSX: SHOP), BlackBerry Limited (TSX:BB), Lightspeed POS Inc. (TSX:LSPD), Dye & Durham (TSX:DND). Small cap stocks like Facedrive Inc. (TSXV:FD) have also left an impact. These tech firms may cater to different users with their varied offerings, but all of them offer healthy returns through robust performance.

Let’s us look at these technology stocks performance:

1. Shopify Inc. (TSX:SHOP)

Shopify, currently among the best-performing technology companies globally, earns its revenues through subscription and merchant segments. The Ontario-based business-to-business firm started operations in 2006. In terms of market capitalization, it is currently the second largest player on the TSX and the largest company on the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology Index.

Shopify has a market capitalization of C$ 184.45 billion and was trading at C$ 1,482.94 as of Tuesday, June 8, 2021. This is about 22 per cent lower than its 52-week high of C$ 1900.58, which it hit on February 10, 2021.

Its stock rose 51.58 per cent in the last one year, while the TSE 300 Composite Index rose 19.96 per cent in the same period.

The company stock is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange, where it was trading at US$ 1,230.55 on Tuesday and held a market capitalization of US$ 153.06 billion.

Shopify’s total revenue earned in the first quarter ended March 31, 2021, was US$ 988.6 million, up 110 per cent year-over-year (YoY).

Its net income was at US$1,258.4 million, against a net loss in the corresponding period last year. The operating income of US$ 118.9 million also stood out against a net loss reported a year ago.

2. Dye & Durham Limited (TSX:DND)

Dye & Durham is a cloud-based technology services provider, which primarily caters to legal and business professionals in Canada and the United Kingdom.

The software industry player is an outperformer in the technology sector. This is highlighted by the company’s position as one of the top performers in the TSX “Top Tech” stocklist, updated as of June 8, 2021.

Dye & Durham stock rose 20.6 percent in the last three months, while the TSE 300 Composite Index grew 13.1 per cent in the same period. The company has a debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio of 0.74, and price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 4.397.

It has a market capitalization of C$ 3.27 billion with total 68 million shares outstanding.

The software solutions player recorded a three-fold jump in its revenues in the third quarter ended March 31, 2021, as the figure touched C$ 68.9 million. However, it saw a greater net loss of C$ 10.6 million.

The company also recently acquired UK-based property technology firm, Terrafirma, for about C$ 20 million. This acquisition was aimed at increasing the company's real estate value chain in the UK.

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3. BlackBerry Ltd (TSX:BB)

BlackBerry, which earlier operated as a smartphone manufacturer, is currently one of the top software players in the Canadian market. Its operations include offering software protection services, largely catering to the government, or automotive, industrial and medical industry.

The BlackBerry stock currently trades at C$ 20.55, about 47.2 per cent lower than its 52-week high of C$36, which it hit on January 27, 2021.

It is a C$11.6-billion company with a 10-day daily average trading volume of nearly 16 million shares.

The technology sector company rose 125.24 per cent in the year-to-date (YTD) period, while the TSE 300 Composite Index rose nearly 96 per cent in this period. The S&P/TSX Software (Industry) index returned about 106.3 per cent YTD.

BlackBerry’s total revenue in the fourth quarter ended February 28, 2021, was US$ 210 million, with about US$ 160 million derived from its software and services segment.

It generated net cash worth US$ 51 million during the fourth quarter.

4. Lightspeed POS Inc. (TSX:LSPD)

Lightspeed’s software offerings, which cater particularly to the omni-channel commerce players, allowing them to better engage with their consumers, manage operations, among other functions. Its offerings are available in North America, Europe and Australia.

The software-as-a-service player, founded in 2005, currently trades at C$ 90.67 on the TSX as of June 8, 2021. The stock touched its 52-week high of C$ 104.98, about 13.6 per cent higher than its current market price on February 4, 2021.

It has grown about 19.86 per cent in the last one year, while the TSE 300 Composite Index rose 105.63 per cent in the same period. The S&P/TSX Application Software (Sub Industry) Index, on the other hand, rose 127.68 per cent in the same period.

Lightspeed is one of the top price performers on the TSX with a market cap nearing C$ 12 billion and about 131.3 million outstanding shares.

Its D/E ratio is 0.03, with a P/B ratio of 5.091. Its 10-day average daily trading volume is about 1.4 million shares, highlighting substantial investor interest in the stock.

In the company’s earnings in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021, Lightspeed earned recurring subscription and transaction-based revenue of C$75.3 million, about 137 per cent higher YoY.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, its total revenue stood at C$ 221.7 million, higher by 84 per cent YoY.

5. Facedrive Inc. (TSXV:FD)

The growth model of Facedrive, the technology-backed green stock, has attracted investors in the past one year. It offers ridesharing services, with options for customers to pick an electric, hybrid, or gas-fueled vehicle for their commute.

While its operations were hit amid increasing COVID-related restrictions on movement, investors remained bullish on the tech stock, which rose about 43 per cent in the last one year.

The TSX Venture company has a market capitalization of C$ 1.45 billion, with about 95.25 million outstanding shares.

It recorded a total revenue of C$ 3.9 million in the fiscal year ended 2020, while the figure was C$ 599,104 at the end of fiscal year 2019.

The rideshare revenue during the fiscal year 2020 was at C$ 512,000, as against C$ 349,100 in the last fiscal year.

Please note: The above constitutes a preliminary view and any interest in stocks should be evaluated further from an investment point of view. The reference data in this article has been partly sourced from EODHD/Others