Brooke Thackray Avigilon Corp AVO-T COMMENT Apr 25, 2017

Makes high definition security cameras. They originally started mostly on the hardware side, but now are really starting to move into the software side. The artificial intelligence they have and the bundle between hardware and software is becoming more user-friendly, saving their users a lot of time and labour as well. (Analysts’ price target is $20.)

The CEO runs it like a private company. It is hard for him if he is not aligned with the CEO. The stock has done alright on a longer term chart. But he will not invest in it.

Makes video surveillance and access controlled software, and their products include facial recognition. Year-over-year sales have done quite well. Expecting earnings growth of 27% in 2018, with a further 26% in 2019. (Analysts’ price target is $20.)

Video surveillance technology. Just announced they are going to be launching a sort of software service product, and the market loves recurring revenues. Too early to get excited about that, but it’s interesting. They’ve had communication issues with the market in the past, which is what led to a lot of the downdraft. However, they’ve shifted strategies and are now focused on profitability. The last 2 quarters beat earnings estimates by 50% and just shy of 40%. Has a lot of cash on the balance sheet with the sale of a Vancouver property that is just going through now. (Analysts’ price target is $22.75.)

He likes this. They are ticking every box. Has a strong balance sheet, a property in Vancouver they are looking to sell, and valuation is pretty cheap. Good earnings growth and good revenue growth. They’re also looking at a new business where they are going to be doing software as a service business model, and markets really like software service businesses, because it is high margin, predictable types of revenue. They've been blowing out estimates over the last 2 to 3 quarters.

He still believes there is a lot of upside. Their products are in high demand because of the security kind of focus they had. This continues to rank well and he still likes it.

(A Top Pick August 22/17 Up 65%) This company is involved in surveillance technology and was recently acquired by Motorola for a nice premium.

(Past Top Pick, Nov. 14, 2017, Up 36%) Taken out by Motorola. Bittersweet for him. They were beating market expectations with new products that looked like they had traction. But it's another case of a great Canadian company bought out. Good results, but sad to see it go.

(A Top Pick Oct 6/17, Up 48%) It was taken over for $27 in March and the acquirer got a screaming bargain. They do security work at the Rogers center, for example.