Long live the kings? That was the question last week, a roller coaster for markets as indexes hit record highs while company earnings saw major names soar and fall in equal measure.
Tapping into the largest public market investor hub in Canada, the Stockhouse Bullboards, is a good way to see which companies are resonating with investors and which are falling by the wayside.
Every week we highlight the most-viewed companies by sector and this week we’re looking at the top of the top. While investors might expect cannabis given the big week the sector had, finding industrials and tech might be a bigger surprise.
Cannabis is back? That was definitely the mood last week as the major LP’s across the sector posted double-digit gains, buoyed by good earnings and strong demand. The biggest draw on the cannabis Bullboards, however, was
Aphria Inc. (
TSX:APHA,
Forum), one of the few to
not have a stellar week. Thankfully, as we’ve pointed out many times, the rising cannabis tide lifts all ships.
The company dropped on Jan. 14 from $7.10 to $6.49 after it
reported revenues below expectations and lowered its forecast for its year-end results, yet by the next day it had recovered. Investors were cautiously keen again on the sector, and there was plenty of good news in the release, including a third-consecutive positive EBIDTA and word of potential dividends in the future.
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A lot of investors have been drawn to APHA over the last few months as it has managed to outperform its slumping counterparts, but this week the Bullboard was trying to figure out how it would recover (and if the rest of the sector was legit). Even with the good news and growth seemingly baked in, Stockhouse Member
arblines pointed out that the company had been caught in a bind but the long-term plays in its favour.
“It seems Aphria got caught off guard with the Diamond delays. Management had to buy 9 million in product last quarter --- they couldn't produce enough while trying to start Diamond. Next quarter won't be much different regarding the income statement; Double Diamond still won't be reported on earnings, and the OCS will start opening stores after the quarter ends. I also think Double Diamond delayed the extracts which will be a slow rollout.
However, Q4 will be gangbusters with month over month growth throughout the quarter. Production costs will continue to decrease, but it will be the first quarter of the facility running at 100% and we can get a sense of actual costs. The industry is skeptical Aphria will be able to sell it, but they now have the ability to control the price...”
(Po?st: Next 2 quarters)
One month ago, we highlighted that
BoeingCo.’s (
NYSE:BA,
Forum) stumble had gifted its competitors a golden opportunity. Last week, the news came out that
Bombardier Inc. (
TSX:BBD.B,
Forum) wasn’t quite ready to take advantage. The industrials Bullboards were frantically discussing the Canadian manufacturer as shares of BBD.B fell from $1.80 on Jan 14 to a low of $1.12 on Jan. 17, an
almost 40% drop.
The big news? Bombardier’s
preliminary Q4 results revealed a hugely disappointing forecast well below expectations, combined with the company saying it might take a major write-down and exit the Airbus A220 joint venture. Shares have since started to rise on rumors of possible
new train deals for the manufacturer, but even those are up in the air.
Will a potential rail merger save Bombardier? Is the company going to exit the aviation business completely? Is government funding the answer? These were the points of contention on the BBD Bullboard over the last week, and though the long-term looks
good, problems with products and equipment always seem to appear out of nowhere. Amidst everything, Stockhouse Member
mtlmoneyman gave a funny-yet-accurate forecast for what the company will likely do next:
“The five year plan is still in progress and a lot of positives are in place. Bellemare will say ‘Yes, in the 4th quarter we had some adversity that reduced our revenues. We are working to get this turned around and we see things progressing.’
Legault will give a hand again to The Bomber on the A series. The Bomber has already put in millions and more money is needed, this is where the Quebec Government will come in, which will help in getting the models 500-700-900 developed.
Bellemare will also say that the company is looking at other assets to sell and are viewing all possibilities, etc. etc. etc.
The stock will get a good bounce on the speech with positives in place.”
(Po?st: Here it is guys)
The opposite story was happening on the technology Bullboards, where
NexOptic Technology Corp. (
TSX-V:NXO,
Forum) swept away the competition to take the top spot. The image tech developer has solidified its position for Stockhouse tech investors over the last few months, and it seems like this week they were rewarded. Shares of NXO shot up from $0.315 on Jan. 15 to a high of $0.52 on Jan. 20,
an increase of65%.
The boost seems to be coming from a strong showing for NexOptic’s products at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In a Jan. 16 release, the company detailed that its products received
significantly positive media and company attention, including in Forbes and the Paley Center for Media, and that its working to close strategic partnerships resulting from the show.
While that might seem like overly big talk, the significant rise of shares since the show
does seem to lend weight to the words. The NXO Bullboard has been trying to dissect the cause for the rise and looking for rumors as to which companies are negotiating with NexOptic. But while some users already thought of the stock taking off and uplisting to the NASDAQ, many remembered when NXO was trading far higher than today and that there was a long way to go. As Stockhouse Member
Henryford put it, there’s a long way to go.
“I am sure they will (post more updates and pictures), but there is no point until the product is totally ready for market. Nothing like little teasers here and there to gee the market up. I suspect media reports from CES and the New York presentation will soon hit cyberspace which should be very interesting.”
(Po?st: RE:Even better than my calculations)
Finally, we have to talk a bit about the resurgence of metals and mining. Stockhouse saw the bullish optimism of the sector firsthand at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference earlier this week, as all kinds of metals projects from gold to uranium received impressive attention. Our
current Investor Pulse Poll asks users which metals will have the best 2020 and so far you can see enthusiasm across the board.
Since the last time we checked in, gold has stayed in the lead but palladium and rare earth elements have started to rise. We’re going to leave the poll open for one last week so make sure to head to the
Stockhouse homepage or click the image below to cast your vote as well.
(Click image to go to the poll)
If it’s hard to keep track of everything that’s going on in the markets, your weekly Buzz on the Bullboards is a good stop to make sense of it all. With record-breaking markets and optimism on one side and trade negotiations and an impeachment trial on the other, next week is sure to be just as exciting. For previous editions of Buzz on the Bullboards:
click here.