Top Ten: Best Performing Canadian techs (so far) in 2009

Top Ten: Best Performing Canadian techs (so far) in 2009

It’s been a year of sweet relief for many Canadian tech investors. While mining and metals continue to grab the vast majority of headlines here, the odd technology story has managed to sneak onto the front pages. A couple names, Sensio (TSX:SIO) and DragonWave (TSX:DWI) have seemingly carved out a home there this year. Those two companies are the class of this pack, each having a several hundred percentage point lead on the other eight. But the returns for the others are not too shabby. Even the number six company, for instance, Noveko (TSX:EKO) has posted a 330% gain. Our list looks at the top ten performing tech stocks so far this year, to Friday, October 23rd excluding those who began 2009 at less than a dime (sorry Armada Data, up 991%, Azure Dynamics, up 550%, and Maximizer, up 360%).

1. Sensio (TSXV:SIO) +1306%
2. DragonWave (TSX:DWI) +889%
3. Wavefront (TSXV:WEE) +393%
4. Angiotech (TSX:ANP) +350%
5. Bridgewater (TSX:BWC) +345%
6. Noveko (TSX:EKO) +330%
7. RedKnee (TSX:RKN) +285%
8. TransGaming (TSX:TNG) +284%
9. Cyberplex (TSX:CX) +282%
10. Softchoice (TSX:SO) +231%

1. Quebec’s Sensio (TSX:SIO), which makes technology to allow three dimensional playback on a variety of devices, including TV’s, spent the year in a mostly dormant mode. But on August 27th, they got the news they were looking for; a wide ranging patent approval of its technology and processes. The stock moved from .52 cents on August 10th, to $1.80 on September 11th. The stock closed at $2.11 on October 23rd.

2. It has been quite a year for Ottawa’s DragonWave (TSX:DWI), which makes carrier grade microwave sytems for wireless operators. The Company went from trading under a dollar on the TSX Venture Exchange to a full Nasdaq listing. Although it has leveled off of late, The stock has had a steady, dramatic run since April, buoyed by a jump in sales. Its Q2 2010 revenue number was $35.5-million, compared with $10.6-million for the same period in 2009. The stock closed at $9.49 on October 23rd.

3. As late as Labour Day, Alberta based Wavefront Technologies (TSX:WEE) was nowhere near this list. A string of sales of its Powerwave product, a technology that helps with oil well stimulation, secondary oil recovery and environmental groundwater remediation though, meant the stock surged from .61 cents on Sept. 1st to $2.26 on Oct. 5th. The stock closed at $2.39 on October 23rd.

4. Vancouver based biomed company Angiotech (TSX:ANP) rocketed in early May after an article in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology after Swedish patients showed improvement in restenosis, or the
renarrowing or arteries after percutaneous coronary intervention
(PCI).Angiotech continued to climb through June when the after it received FDA clearance for a filter used to prevent pulmonary artery blockages. The Company’s shares leveled off in July, but it had already locked in a several hundred percentage point gain. The stock closed at $1.62 on October 23rd.

5. Ottawa wireless innovator Bridgewater Systems (TSX:BWC) is the second company in the top ten to have telecom legend Terry Matthew’s fingerprints on it -Matthews is Bridgewater’s Chairman- and with the way Bridgewater has been earnings new business (the company recently announced $18.8 million in new orders from Verizon) the company may challenge DragonWave by year end. The stock closed at $9.35 on October 23rd.

6. When the world changes, for better or for worse, the stock market also changes. No one knows this better than shareholders of Montreal based Noveko (TSX:EKO) which is a developer of germ-killing medical masks. On Dec. 31st the shareholders were holding .60 cent stock. The came the swine flu and the media barrage that accompanied it. The scare has translated into real sales for Noveko, whose masks were proven effective by and independent lab. Noveko closed at $2.58 on October 23rd.

7.Mississauga based Redknee(TSX:RKN), whose software products allow wireless and wire line operators to monetize the value of subscriber transactions,  took off in April after signing a billing solution to Bahrain based Bintel. Subsequently, The Company’s numbers improved; Q3 2009 revenue was up 21%. The stock closed at $1.06 on October 23rd.

8. It was a small amount, $500K, but the investment Intel Capital made into Toronto based TransGaming (TSX:TNG) was all the endorsement investors needed to buy up the share of this company. Transgaming, which makes software that allows games to be played work across different platforms, has also made a late run, having closed August at .34 cents. Transgaming closed October 23rd at .73 cents.

9. There was no mystery to Toronto’s Cyberplex‘s, which provides online advertising solutions,  rise in March. The Company blew away it’s previous numbers; posting revenue of $57.3-million, which was an increase of 225 per cent over the $17.7-million The Company reported for 2007. The stock closed October 23rd at $1.30.

10. A late surge by Toronto’s Softchoice, which makes business to business and IT infrastructure products, snuck The Company into the top ten. Despite suffering a downturn in revenue (a -17% hit in the second quarter), corporate belt tightening and a favorable exchange rate meant The Company delivered a 71% increase in Q2 profit. The stock closed at $8 on October 23rd.