The Energy Sector is no longer really one sector at all, it’s actually two sectors. There is the new energy sector (meaning renewable energy sources + lithium-ion battery technology). And there is the conventional energy sector – referring to more established power sources like oil & gas, coal, and nuclear power.
While some forms of Conventional Energy are on the wane (with the use of coal being an obvious example), Conventional Energy sources still dominate in terms of providing the vast majority of our power. However, New Energy technology – and the industries supported by this technology – have a much higher incremental growth rate.
This raises the obvious question for investors. Today, are the best investment opportunities to be found in New Energy or Conventional Energy? While many opinions are available here, we wanted to find out how Stockhouse investors see this energy equation.
After two weeks of collecting feedback from the Stockhouse Community, we saw nearly a 50/50 split: 52% of Stockhouse investors see the best opportunities in New Energy, but 48% still see Conventional Energy as offering the best opportunities. New Energy will continue to carve out additional market share as an increasingly important source of power. But Conventional Energy will still be with us into the foreseeable future – with a commensurate amount of investment opportunities.
Given that overview, what are Stockhouse investors currently doing with respect to positioning in either New Energy or Conventional Energy? The short answer is: not much, at the moment.
In looking at the top energy stocks in our (conventional) Energy Bullboard leaders, Crescent Point Energy Corp (TSX: CPG, NYSE: CPG, Forum) is leading the way, with investors currently digesting Q2 results. The stock is off roughly 4.5% today. No other energy company exceeded 10,000 reads last week.
Stockhouse isn’t currently tracking “New Energy” as one of our industry groups, so it’s a little harder to measure activity (and sentiment) here. Stockhouse favorite, Nemaska Lithium Inc. (TSX: NMX, OTCQB: NMKEF, Forum) is once again at the top of our resource stocks.
A brand-new name among Stockhouse’s top resource stocks is Honey Badger Exploration Inc. (TSX: V.TUF, OTCQB: HBEIF, Forum). TUF’s Thunder Bay silver project has yielded thick intercepts with substantial cobalt credits in its latest drilling. Investors wanting more information on the mining companies involved with the lithium-ion battery supply chain can refer to our “battery metals” page – in Stockhouse’s Trending News section.
(click to enlarge)
For newer readers, Stockhouse’s Trending News section is where we provide coverage of eight different industry groups, as well as our Bullboard leaders for seven different categories of trending stocks. Elsewhere among Stockhouse’s Bullboard leaders, we see some familiar themes.
Cannabis stocks still generate the most “buzz” among Stockhouse investors. We continue to see some of the top cannabis stocks dominating our Top-6. Even though valuations remain compressed versus the beginning of the year, investors remain highly focused on Canada’s October 17th date for legalization of recreational cannabis for adult use.
Interest in the tech sector continues to be soft, including the Blockchain subsector. The lone exception here is HIVE Blockchain Technologies Inc. (TSX: V.HIVE, OTCQB: HVBTF, Forum). HIVE continues to have a strong hub on Stockhouse.
The world runs on energy. While small-cap stock valuations for both New Energy companies and Conventional Energy companies remain muted, this is the time that value investors see opportunity. With sentiment and interest in many of these companies also presently weak, this is where contrarian investors see opportunity.
And the best place for small-cap investors to scout out the opportunities in energy and other sectors is on Stockhouse – Canada’s #1 financial portal for small-cap investing.