The year 2020 was dominated by the technology sector. While many businesses across industries suffered huge losses last year due to the global pandemic, some tech companies emerged as saviours for investors. Tech companies like Apple, Shopify, and Netflix helped the broader market recover from big first-quarter losses.
Tech stocks continue to rally
In 2020, the Canadian tech giant Shopify continued to post over 170% annual gains for the second year in a row. Most tech stocks started 2021 on a strong note and helped the broader market reach new heights in January. The key Canadian market benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index posted its all-time high near 18,059 on January 8, 2021. Similarly, the United Statesâs S&P 500 Index reached a fresh record high last week with the help of solid tech industry earnings.
Thatâs why there couldnât be a better time for long-term investors to find and buy undervalued tech stocks. Here are two Canadian tech stocks that could yield amazing returns in the long term.
BlackBerry stock
I find BlackBerry (TSX: BB)(NYSE: BB) stock to be an amazing long-term buy right now. Especially after its recent pullback due to fading Reddit trading mania, its stock seems to be giving long-term investors another opportunity to buy its stock cheap.
BlackBerry stock more than doubled in January. Many experts solely blamed the WallStreetBets subreddit for ballooning its stock price. They termed its January stock rally completely irrational. However, I donât completely agree with such arguments. While I donât deny the fact that the Reddit trading saga made its stock extremely risky to trade with a sudden increase in volatility, the stock also had many fundamental reasons to rally.
BlackBerry has been strengthening its footprints in the autonomous and electric vehicle (EV) lately. For example, the company has recently expanded its partnership with Chinese tech giant Baidu. This will accelerate BBâs growth in the Chinese market. Expanding the business in China is the key for companies seeking to gain from rising EV demand, in my opinion, as itâs the worldâs largest vehicle market.
Apart from its China focus, BlackBerry is also developing an integrated vehicle data platform. This platform would be extremely helpful for automakers to read and utilize vehicle sensor data. Electric and autonomous cars are usually equipped with many types of sensors.
BlackBerryâs new data platform will expand its already strong business in the auto industryâs EV and smart mobility segments. Thatâs why this enterprise software companyâs stock could be one of the best TSX stocks to buy in 2021.
Lightspeed POS
Lightspeed POS (TSX: LSPD)(NYSE: LSPD) is an omni-channel commerce-enabling software company. This Montreal-based firm utilizes software as a service platform. Despite the COVID-19 related challenges, Lightspeedâs sales growth has been phenomenal in the last few quarters. Its revenue growth rate has been between 51% and 70% in the last three quarters.
Its adjusted gross profits growth rate has remained strong between a range of 38% and 58% year over year during the same period. In the latest reported quarter, Lightspeedâs recurring software and payments revenue saw a massive 62% increase from a year ago.
This financial data reflects rising demand for the companyâs software services. For this reason, Lightspeed is focusing on expanding its customer base locations at the moment. Its consistent business growth helped its stock surge 149% in 2020.
While its stock has only seen a 2.4% rise in 2021 so far, I expect its solid 2020 rally to continue this year as well. So, it could be the best time to add this tech growth stock to your investment portfolio.
