Desjardins Securities Top Pick for 2021I initiated a position this morning. GLTA Desjardins delivered its Diversified Industries outlook for 2021 on Thursday, saying digital healthcare, e-commerce and sustainability should be key themes for investors in the year ahead.
Desjardins analysts David Newman and Frederic Tremblay singled out WELL Heath Technologies (WELL Heath Technologies Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts TSX:WELL), Goodfood Market (Goodfood Market Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts TSX:FOOD) and Xebec Adsorption (Xebec Adsorption Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts TSX:XBC) as standouts in their respective fields this past year while at the same time the analysts picked Parkland Fuel (Parkland Fuel Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts TSX:PKI) and H2O Innovation (H2O Innovation Stock Quote, Chart, News, Analysts TSX:HEO) as its 2021 top picks in Diversified Industries.
It’s a case of more of the same, according to Desjardins, which pointed to some of the top performers in its coverage universe in 2020 as likely success stories in 2021. In order, Desjardins had WELL in first with a return of 343.6 per cent (as of December 14, 2020), followed by XBC at 243.7 per cent, FOOD at 180.5 per cent and HEO at 110.1 per cent.
Newman and Tremblay said the disruptions brought about by COVID-19 have set the stage for 2021’s move to a post-COVID reality.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant changes to many aspects of people’s lives, notably forcing consumers and businesses to adapt to a new environment characterized by strict movement restrictions and sanitary measures. This has translated into a significant acceleration of many trends that were already rising in importance over the past few years,” Newman and Tremblay wrote.
Water treatment solutions company H2O Innovations also got the nod as a Top Pick, predicting that ageing and insufficient water and wastewater infrastructure globally could attract a portion of government recovery spending. The analysts said HEO should build on its solid M&A track record as well as post positive organic growth in 2021. Newman and Tremblay have HEO as a “Buy” with a $3.00 target, which at press time represented a projected return of 50.8 per cent. (All figures in Canadian dollars except where noted otherwise.)