As 2019 ends, we are entering a new decade with hope and a fair amount of caution. It is the right time to take a good look at your investment portfolio for some cleansing. I am going to discuss one stock to remove from your investment portfolio and one you could consider taking on for a potentially terrific start to the new decade.
A stock you cannot trust
The cannabis industry has been one that left investors in awe at one point and wholly disgusted at another — all within the space of a year. Canada’s legalization of marijuana provided a boost to the legal cannabis sector in Canada. Cannabis 1.0 led to the creation of business opportunities for the industry and sent investors flocking to cannabis companies.
Investors with a more idealistic mindset saw their hopes crushed by the ground reality of the industry. Most cannabis stocks skyrocketed to phenomenal heights and crashed by more than 70%, as the growth of the industry was slower than expected due to regulatory restrictions and scandals.
A particularly damaging blow to the industry’s bid to rise was the CannTrust Holdings scandal. Dubbed as one of the worst-performing stocks of 2019, CannTrust was a significant brand in the legal pot industry. It turned into the biggest disappointment, as it was caught with illegal growing operations. The promising company has become an anchor, and investors need to stay away from it before it sinks their investments to the bottom of the ocean.
Moving at the speed of light
If you do not already have stock from Lightspeed POS (TSX:LSPD), it is high time you consider taking a better look at the company. If you have had any interest in tech stocks on the TSX, I am sure you know about Shopify. The stock shot up so high and so fast that its shares have too expensive a price for many investors.
Lightspeed POS burst on to the scene as a stock that was emulating what Shopify had achieved. The company has been growing substantially on a percentage basis, and its total revenues in Q2 2020 increased 51% year over year. The company’s revenue from recurring payments and software also increased by 52%.
Lightspeed is an early-stage point-of-sale company that offers services and hardware to companies of varying sizes throughout the world. The market capitalization of the company is a modest $2.59 billion, and its shares are trading for $37.17 at the time of this writing, but it has an open playing field for capital growth ahead.
Foolish takeaway
If you still have CannTrust stock in your investment portfolio, I’d strongly advise you to do away with it and make room for something much better.
Lightspeed has been trading on the TSX for less than a year, being publicly listed in March 2019, and it is already up by 96.67%. Lightspeed has created a niche for itself and entered the market with practically no competition. Analysts expect the stock to double in 2020, as it has since its IPO, and could continue on an upward trend moving forward.
