After 2022’s dramatic tech meltdown drove the TSX Composite Index downward, most beaten-down Canadian tech stocks have emerged as big winners in 2023. Although many growth stocks reversed their gains last month, as investors fled risk in shock over the collapse of some regional banks in the United States, the diminishing possibilities of more interest rate hikes in the near term are still supporting big advances made by some fundamentally strong tech stocks.
In this article, I’ll talk about two of the best tech stocks in Canada that you can buy now to hold for the long term. Investing as low as $5,000 in these high-growth stocks today could help you receive handsome returns on investments in the years to come.
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Nuvei stock
Nuvei (TSX: NVEI) is the top-performing tech stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange right now. Its share price has jumped by 69% in 2023 so far to trade at $57.72 per share after it gave up nearly 58% of its value in 2022. With this, the Montréal-headquartered payment technology solutions company currently has a market cap of $8.1 billion.
Besides a tech sector-wide recovery in the ongoing year, Nuvei’s stronger-than-expected financial performance in the latest quarter could be the primary reason for its rally. Even as businesses across the world continue to struggle due to macroeconomic uncertainties, this Canadian payment technology firm registered 4% positive YoY (year-over-year) growth in its fourth-quarter revenue to US$220.3 million, exceeding analysts’ estimates. Similarly, NVEI’s adjusted quarterly earnings of US$0.47 per share beat Street analysts’ expectations of US$0.43 per share, boosting investors’ confidence and helping its stock rally.
While the possibility of a looming recession has made forecasting the short-term outlook of tech businesses difficult, Nuvei’s long-term growth prospects continue to improve with its growing focus on quality acquisitions. For example, it recently completed the acquisition of the American payment giant Paya Holdings in a deal worth US$1.3 billion, which is likely to contribute positively to its financial growth and help this Canadian tech stock soar.
BlackBerry stock
BlackBerry (TSX: BB) is another great Canadian tech stock you can buy right now to hold for the long term. This Waterloo-headquartered enterprise software company currently has a market cap of $3.6 billion, as its stock trades at $6.03 per share with about 36.7% year-to-date gains after tanking by nearly 63% in 2022.
Last year, BlackBerry’s total revenue fell 32.2% YoY to US$656 million, as macroeconomic challenges affected its cybersecurity software sales. Nonetheless, the tech firm managed to report much narrower-than-expected adjusted losses of US$103 million last year, as its Internet of Things segment sales continued to showcase strength.
BlackBerry already has a good reputation as an automotive technology provider due to its QNX operating system. It’s striving to expand its automotive tech offerings further by including advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning-based solutions. For example, BB expects to make its intelligent vehicle data platform IVY generally available in May 2023, which could attract huge demand from large global carmakers, especially electric vehicle makers. Given that, you can expect its financial growth trends to improve significantly in the coming years and this tech stock to rally.
