The stock market is a waiting game. Over the long term, patient investors will be rewarded immensely. This can be beneficial in two ways. If a stock goes down in the short term, investors that are able to withstand the red days could see the big rise they expected when first buying into a company. If a stock goes up, then investors could see massive returns if they are able to resist the temptation of selling at smaller gains.
In this article, I will discuss two stocks that have exploded in 2021. The first is a very popular Canadian company that has been trying to transform itself over the past few years. The second is a company that could continue to see massive gains over the next few years as the world moves towards sustainable energy.
No longer a failed phone company
At one point, BlackBerry (TSX:BB)(NYSE:BB) was the largest company in Canada by market cap. However, since its massive success in the mid-2000s, BlackBerry stock has fallen to new low after new low. Investors saw a glimmer of hope when John Chen was hired as the company’s new CEO.
Before joining the company, Chen was the CEO responsible for the exceptional turnaround of Sybase in the 2000s. When he first joined the company, it was valued around $362 million. In 2010, Sybase was acquired by SAP for an astonishing $6 billion.
Since the start of Chen’s tenure at BlackBerry, we have seen the company completely transform from a mobile phone company to an endpoint security company. In recent months, BlackBerry even announced a new partnership with Amazon that was expected to send its stock to new heights. Although the market reacted positively to the news, investors were still hesitant, sending the stock down as much as 22% after the initial climb.
Since the start of the year, the story has been very different. Investors seem to have re-visited the partnership and are valuing BlackBerry much more highly. Year to date, BlackBerry stock has already gained 92% as of this writing. Investors that managed to open a position at the time of my first article covering the company have seen their shares gain more than 150%!
This company is helping the world shift to clean tech
Another company that has already rewarded investors tremendously this year is Ballard Power Systems (TSX:BLDP)(NASDAQ:BLDP). It is a leading producer of proton exchange membrane products that aims to create a more sustainable planet.
Contrary to BlackBerry’s performance, Ballard Power has been one of the most impressive stocks on the TSX coming into 2021. Over the past three years, it has been the second-highest gainer in Canada (+459%). Only Shopify ranked above the company on the 2020 edition of the TSX30. Because of this massive gain over the past three years, investors may have been surprised to see Ballard Power stock already up more than 50% since the start of the year.
Some investors have attributed this move to the potential EV bubble present in the stock markets today. Another reason for its massive gain could be Joe Biden’s plan to invest $400 billion into clean energy over the next 10 years. If the new president delivers on his promise, Ballard Power could easily see a much larger gain from here.
Foolish takeaway
Investors that manage to hold onto their positions over the long term can be rewarded tremendously. This allows companies that see massive dips in their stock price to rebound a significant amount, while also letting stock market winners continue to run. BlackBerry and Ballard Power Systems have already gained significantly since the start of the year. Both companies still have massive tailwinds behind them that could continue to propel them to new highs.
