Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO)

It is tough to recommend this company when they don’t have earnings or cash flow now. He is looking hard at it, but still feels it is overvalued. He would watch if for a couple more quarters to see how it converts their strategy into cash.

Shopify vs. Salesforce He owns Shopify, though their PE ratio is really high. He uses Salesforce's product. Shopify has had a tremendous run, but he expects competition to hit them, offering a cheaper service. That said, Salesforce's moat is good--it isn't worth saving, say, $30 a month to learn a brand-new business software for your business. Salesforece has also been around longer and proven their staying power, whereas Shopify's stock price is based on future projections. Also, Shopify has a longer runway for growth than Salesforce.

This is a very much loved Canadian Tech stock. This is a rarity. The reason this has been so successful is that they have proven they are excellent in allowing companies to optimize. They have grown their revenues 70% year over year. The question is if the recent rebound is sustainable. They have to surpass analysts expectations. That community is looking for top line growth. This company has always tracked a 4-6% surprise above expected revenues.

It is a tech name that has done very well. Overall his view is positive over the longer term. The world is going more online. It makes it easier for smaller companies to sell wares online. It might have some pretty big gyrations but he is positive longer term.

Great company. Darling of the Canadian tech stocks. Can’t buy stocks for his clients trading at 210 times next year earnings. He’d wait for an earning miss.

Likes it, because he likes infotech (and financials). Since 2016 has been a long-term uptrend. Has seen recent weakness, but he'd add during weakness.

It has a very high valuation. The only way to buy it safely is on a missed earnings target when it retraces by 10-20% --but do your homework on why it missed it target.

Sold in low 100s. Great stock, but speculative. No significant earnings to support the price. Worries about US competition. So far, done a great job. Recent results good, though not over the top. Can put 2-5% of your portfolio in it for fun, but don’t put your bankroll in.

The problem is that it is still very, very expensive on a price to book or a price/earnings ratio. It is still very much emerging. Long term it is a superb company but you are paying for the long term in the short term so should expect a lot of volatility. He cannot advise what to do. It has probably been impacted by recent drops by FB-Q and TWTR-Q.

Amazon’s recent disappointing result has impacted this stock. There is no guidance to when it will become profitable, so it is very speculative at this point. There is some concern by analysts how they are reporting their financial results. He is staying away.

A fantastic Canadian story. They continue to deliver on revenue growth. One knock is it's always very expensive using traditional metrics, as short sellers note. He's owned it in the past and wish he still did.

He is a big believer in this company as it enables small internet based retailers to grow their business. They have 650,000 customers and have sales revenue growth of 70%. They are now targeting European markets and expanding their business to shipping, lending and other services. Yield 0%. (Analysts’ price target is $196.38)

He wishes he could see the long term. It is difficult in technology land. 10 years ago, the company didn’t exist. They demonstrated great success growing and helping small business online. But they still are not making money in the accounting sense. Maybe if they continue to grow their 200 times P/E is justified. It is a momentum stock.

(Past Top Pick on August 30, 2017, Up 55%) It hasn't been an easy ride, especially if you use stop losses. He's been in and out of it the past year, but remains a big fan. Clients include Facebook and maybe Alibaba. The CEO owns 8% of the company. Their big issue is a short seller questioning the health of their accounts, but the core of their business remains strong. The only headwind is Adobe buying Magento as a direct competitor.

(A Top Pick Aug 30/17, Up 39%) The gift keeps on giving. It is volatile but a great growth story. A comprehensive ecommerce enabling business. Merchants can sell on all social platforms. They keep improving their ecosystem. They have a significant competitive advantage over competitors. The knock is that it is expensive. It has been successful and people like to throw stones. Short sellers try to put a dent in it. It is likely to be a much bigger company in the future.