Shopify Inc. (SHOP.TO)

On conventional valuation metrics, this looks expensive. There are no earnings, the EBITDA is negligible. Even on next year’s forecast, there is only $.14 or so of earnings and about $14 million of EBITDA. However, this is not a conventional company, it’s a company that is growing its top line at 90% to 100% a year. They have a dominant position in their sector.

A really interesting company, and he continues to buy shares. They did an issue this week, which spooked some investors, and the stock dropped 10%, but opened up 2% at the end of the day, for a 12% swing on the day. That tells you that there are a lot of people that want to own these shares. He likes the sector and he likes this company.

He took little flyer on this. The opportunity is to not only grow their business through small entrepreneurs starting up a retail website, but also they get to data mine all the transactions that are going on and start to get stickier with their retention of clients. His 1^st purchase was a half a position at $83. If it gets to $160, he will automatically Sell half, and then let the rest run. They just did an equity issue today to raise cash for corporate purposes, which drop the stock by about $2 a share. If it started to go too far, too fast, then he would get a little concerned.

An example of a company where you should take profits at this time. He likes the company, but it is the kind of speculative stock that is going to get sold off with the Trump slump. However, he would be very interested buying it again if it came off.

He owns a little of this, and loves the concept. This is a situation where a company can give a small retailer the same horsepower as the big retailer. Unfortunately, the stock has taken off and has almost doubled in the last 6 months or so. If you are a little aggressive, he would buy this. It has the growth potential, and they are not big enough in the market that they can’t continue to grow like this for a while.

A great Canadian success story. It enables small retailers to sell online. He wouldn’t touch this here as it is crazy, crazy expensive. The company has yet to turn profitable, but is expected to this year.

A fantastic company. At $125, you wonder where it is going to go. A bit of a mug’s game, but there were a few places on the chart where it brought some congestion in. Instead of typical linear progression, he looks at dynamic regression. If you believe in the name, you buy this for the long-term.

Up almost 110% this year. This has been a rocket ship. A great story about what Canadian technology can do, when it really works well. In investing, you have to have a view as to what something is intrinsically worth. If you think you can sell something to someone else, at a higher price, then you are speculating. Investing requires a discipline. He wouldn’t chase it at its current price.

The concept is wonderful. The down side is that it is trading at a horrendous price to book and has no earnings. It is highly volatile. A great company and a great concept. When the market comes off, these companies will REALLY come off. There is tremendous investment risk.

Technically this is the best stock that is in the market right now. It is just skyrocketing. Has reached an all-time high today.

This is a very rich stock and they’ve obviously done quite well. But with any new offering that hits the market at very, very high multiples, you need to see some form of correction. In the context of where we are in the economic cycle, were starting to see some roll over in the tech sector, and tech tends to generally be indicative of what is happening in the tech cycle. You need to have a bit of a pause here. A good quality stock, but an expensive stock.

The trend on this is up. A great looking chart. Whenever a stock gets off the trend line, and this one is really parabolically off, you know that the momentum indicators will be overbought. Wait for them to round over, and you’ll probably see this one return back to its trend line, and that would be your opportunity to buy.

One of the most transformational themes is internet commerce, and this is right in the middle of it. They provide the plumbing to all kinds of small and medium-sized web-based retailers, and continue to grow. The pie is growing very rapidly and they have a very dominant space in it. People continue to underestimate the transition we are going through and the way people do business. Ideally you want to get a combination of 2 things in a growth stock. Growth in earnings and revenue, and expansion in the multiples investors are prepared to pay as they continue to execute. This company is doing that. (See Top Picks.)

Losing money, but expects them to turn that around in the 4^th quarter. A great platform for small and midsized businesses. It has a fair number of leverages it could introduce. Any kind of enhancements to the shopping platform that retailers could use, would be attractive. Working on their mobile applications and streamlining those and making them a little more effective. Overall, he likes the name.

A stellar Canadian tech name. They’ve essentially created a platform where if you have an item to sell, in a few clicks you can create a website with a checkout screen. They help you with shipping, logistics, etc. Thinks they are just getting started. Their big market right now is the US. They haven’t really tapped into international markets. There is a lot of growth. If a value investor, you are probably not going to like this. Longer-term, if they continue to double revenues over a number of years, it will do well.