It’s no big surprise that defence stocks leapt last week as risk mounted in the Middle East — a trend that’s reflected in the list of TSX stocks hitting year-long highs.
From aerospace parts manufacturers to business consultants to a leading news agency, these five Canadian stocks have seen increasing action as the markets received a fresh injection of uncertainty over the last week of trading.
Héroux-Devtek is breaking out this week, and the timing suggests that growing interest in defence stocks is helping to boost its rise to prominence. Héroux-Devtek offers investors a geographically diverse play on the aerospace parts industry.
While it makes landing gear and flight systems plus other essential parts for commercial vehicles, the stock is also a play for the same markets in the defence sector.
Headquartered in Toronto, Lundin Mining stock gives investors a play on base metals in the United States, Sweden, Portugal, Brazil, and Chile.
A strong buy for investors seeking a mix of the defensiveness of gold and the high growth potential of metals like copper that are used in the electric vehicle industry, Lundin is pulling ahead this week with more upside to come in 2020.
Shopify is also up this week, scaling 52-week highs as consumers swing around to online shopping in ever increasing numbers. This Canadian tech stock is at the forefront of a global growth trend and is backed up with a customer base that is now a million strong.
Efficiency is the name of the game as businesses tighten their belts, which is reflected in the popularity of stocks like WSP Global. This stock taps into the business consultancy space and offers investors a popular route to a surprisingly wide spread of industries. The stock grants access to a broad sweep of sectors from engineering to infrastructure as well as ecological services.
Investors are often advised to buy what they know, and this is reflected in the advice sometimes given to new investors: Buy what you use. This could be the case this week, as Thompson Reuters climbed to a 52-week high after an exceptionally busy news week.
The news agency is an attractive play for the media-savvy investor and pays a modest 1.85% dividend yield even after climbing 53% in 12 months.
Héroux-Devtek has gained 71.7% in the past year, with its recent breakout performance marking an all-time high at the peak of a sustained upward momentum that can be traced back to the defence stock’s debut apart from a couple of protracted slumps pre-2010s. Lundin Mining has seen its share price grow 30% in the same period, while Shopify has seen massive 185% appreciation.
The bottom line
While the markets have been twanging with uncertainty, a number of stocks have remained popular with TSX investors. Shopify is a high-growth success story, and a leading Canadian tech stock.
Defence stocks are also likely to see continued upside as geopolitical tensions remain. Lundin Mining is a key stock to buy for high growth in the electric vehicles space.
