Tech stocks have been up and down lately, leading investors to remain fearful of the industry. Yet this might be allowing those interested in Canadian tech stocks to miss out on huge opportunities — especially when considering the top stocks like Lightspeed Commerce (TSX:LSPD), Shopify (TSX:SHOP), and Kinaxis (TSX:KXS).
Today, we’re going to look at these three tech stocks and learn why they still deserve a place in your portfolio or certainly on your watchlist.
Kinaxis stock
Kinaxis stock remains a recommendation by analysts across the board. The supply-chain manager has become of interest lately with its use of artificial intelligence (AI) by investors as well. The company uses AI to help identify issues before they become issues. This has allowed the company to create a wide-ranging portfolio of enterprise-level companies around the world, with not one company taking up more than 10% of its portfolio.
Shares of Kinaxis stock are up 23% in the last year, yet it remains well away from 52-week highs. This alone would provide a potential upside of almost 10% as of writing. And as AI becomes more popular, analysts believe stocks like Kinaxis will be able to integrate it faster than many other tech stocks out there. This will allow for smoother service for its supply-chain clients and more growth in the near and long term.
Lightspeed stock
Lightspeed stock is certainly another fan favourite. Or at least it was. Shares of Lightspeed stock all but collapsed after hitting all-time highs of $160 back in September 2021. Since that short-seller report and the following tech crash, Lightspeed stock has been one of the tech stocks struggling to make it back.
That’s despite putting more cash on the books through lay offs and other cost-cutting measures. Further, it’s renewed its focus on the point-of-sale sector, where it saw such promising success. Now that it also has its US$2 billion in acquisitions integrated, it looks like Lightspeed stock should continue to see more growth in the long term as well.
The new focus on larger merchants with annual gross trading volume (GTV) above $500,000 has been promising for the stock but remains to be seen. Therefore, there are likely to be more short-term issues ahead. That being said, this is likely a great opportunity for long-term investors looking to get a deal on the stock. With share down 34% in the last year, there’s a potential upside of about 60% to reach 52-week highs.
Shopify stock
Finally, we have the one everyone has been waiting for. Shopify stock has been the darling of tech stocks for years now. However, investors may not be sure if the value is there any more after Shopify stock continues to climb higher and higher. There have been numerous jumps followed by selloffs, making it still a volatile stock.
That being said, Shopify stock and its management team seem to have learned their lesson. They laid off a slew of staff, 20% recently among management, and went on to sell its logistics business. Further, it’s focusing its attention back on ecommerce, wanting to narrow its focus on the space and get its own point-of-sales systems in the hands of merchants.
Analysts remain bullish about the stock now that it has the business logistics segment out of the way. Shares are now up 84% in the last year, though slightly under 52-week highs. Again, you’re likely looking for a long-haul investment if you hope for returns from Shopify stock. The future could still be a rocky one for tech stocks exposed to the consumer cycle, such as Shopify.
