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Canadian tech stocks are on the march in 2020 and that includes a number of up-and-comers in the Canadian scene. Here, analysts covered by Cantech Letter have five tech stocks in particular you should be thinking about. The Canadian tech stock landscape has gotten far less attention than its American counterpart this year, as tech stocks like Amazon and Facebook have streaked up the charts. It’s no wonder: Amazon put on an extra 70 per cent in value since the start of the year while Facebook has gained almost 40 per cent. Meanwhile, the S&P Technology Index is up 30 per cent for 2020, while the tech heavy NASDAQ is up 27 per cent. But Canadian contributions to the tech explosion shouldn’t be forgotten, starting with e- commerce sensation Shopify, whose 154 per cent growth in 2020 puts it well into the high-flyer category. But the Canadian sector on the whole is doing well, as evidenced by the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology Index, which so far has a 39 per-cent return in 2020. "In terms of demand verticals, two clear segments are emerging for NanoXplore: a) auto industry and b) recycled plastics..." And while a good chunk of those Tech Index gains have come from Shopify, investors have plenty of strong Canadian names to choose from, according to recent analyst reports. Starting in no particular order, Montreal-based NanoXplore (NanoXplore Stock Quote, Chart, News TSXV:GRA) is certainly one to watch. It’s been dubbed an industry leader in the production of graphene powder and has just hit the commercialization stage in its technology. Beacon Securities analyst Ahmad Shaath gave NanoXplore a reiterated “Buy” rating in a report to clients on October 21, saying the early signs of demand for graphene across a number of industries are “very positive”. “Having the commercial facility operating and producing larger quantities have accelerated NanoXplore’s conversations with its potential clients. In terms of volumes, the company is confident in its ability to sell out its first module and in fact is already in discussions with regards to its second and third modules (up to 12,000 tonnes per year),” Shaath wrote. “This confirms the initial thesis regarding the end demand mainly as a replacement to carbon black, with sales volumes in thousands of tonnes (as opposed to a high-specialty material where markets can be in few hundreds of tonnes). In terms of demand verticals, two clear segments are emerging for NanoXplore: a) auto industry and b) recycled plastics,” he added. Shaath gave NanoXplore an updated price target of $3.10 per share (was $2.25), which at press time represented a projected 12-month return of 35 per cent. (All projected returns are as of publication date.) “We believe VitalHub will continue to execute on organic greenfield opportunities and supplement growth with M&A activity..." Paradigm Capital’s Daniel Rosenberg initiated coverage of healthcare systems SaaS company VitalHub (VitalHub Stock Quote, Chart, News TSXV:VHI) on October 16 with a “Buy” rating, arguing it’s early days in the company’s penetration into a big market. Global healthcare interoperability should hit $7.96 billion by 2024, compared to $4.17 billion in 2019, whereas VitalHub’s solutions are currently deployed in only about one per cent of an estimated three million beds within its geographic footprint. “We believe VitalHub will continue to execute on organic greenfield opportunities and supplement growth with M&A activity. There is also potential to expand into new geographies and capture an increasing amount of wallet share with cross-selling opportunities. We see large organic growth upside as globally hospitals and regions are seeking out software tools to increase and gain visibility on capacity in the face of growing demand for healthcare resources,” said Rosenberg in his report. The analyst expects VitalHub to hit revenue of $13.6 million in fiscal 2020 and then $19.3 million in 2021, while Rosenberg’s $4.15 price target represented a return of 54 per cent. “We see this extension as the beginning of an opportunity where more developers design modular solutions to enhance RR’s capabilities, with a potential traditional 70/30 revenue split (the latter going to Kinaxis) similar to other app models... With a market cap of over $5.7 billion, supply chain management company Kinaxis (Kinaxis Stock Quote, Chart, News TSX:KXS) is the lone mid-cap stock on our list, and while the stock has been a clear winner in 2020 (it’s currently up 113 per cent), there’s more where that came from, according to Laurentian Bank analyst Nick Agostino, Agostino argued in an October 19 note to clients that Kinaxis’s new tool, a partner program to deliver its RapidResponse platform is going to further enhance the company’s supply chain capabilities. “We see this extension as the beginning of an opportunity where more developers design modular solutions to enhance RR’s capabilities, with a potential traditional 70/30 revenue split (the latter going to Kinaxis) similar to other app models. The company has already announced five development partners,” Agostino wrote. The analyst maintained his “Buy” recommendation and $260 per share target, which represented a projected return of 24.1 per cent. "We continue to expect Akumin’s share price to close the valuation gap with RadNet as more U.S. investors learn about Akumin’s profitability and solid operating history..." Healthcare tech stock Akumin (Akumin Stock Quote, Chart, News TSX:AKU) also has a “Buy” rating, this from Clarus Securities analyst Noel Atkinson who updated clients on the stock in an October 21 report, saying the company’s latest quarterly numbers show a stronger pandemic-related recovery than previously expected. “Akumin has been showing good progress in upgrading the quality of its capital stack, including the recent NASDAQ listing and the current term notes offering. We continue to expect Akumin’s share price to close the valuation gap with RadNet as more U.S. investors learn about Akumin’s profitability and solid operating history,” Atkinson wrote. At press time, Atkinson’s reiterated “Buy” rating and $6.00 target represented a projected return of 66 per cent. We believe, market growth together with the competitive landscape present a sustainable opportunity to add value as a consolidator of mature titles where PopReach has demonstrated its ability to shape-shift long-tail assets..." Mobile gaming company PopReach (PopReach Stock Quote, Chart, News TSXV:POPR) also got a coverage launch recently, this time from Echelon Capital’s Rob Goff who likes the company’s business development strategy: working to aggressively acquire proven game franchises and then reduce costs while improving player retention and in-game purchases. “We forecast aggressive shareholder returns as a proven management team deploys a clearly defined operating and acquisition game plan. We believe, market growth together with the competitive landscape present a sustainable opportunity to add value as a consolidator of mature titles where PopReach has demonstrated its ability to shape-shift long-tail assets,” Goff wrote. The analyst started PopReach off with a “Speculative Buy” rating and $1.70 target which implied a return of 102 per cent.

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