Stocks that can return 1,000% gains in one year come once in a blue moon. Often, these are companies that are penny stocks and have little to no real substance behind the massive price action. However, this year, two companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange have given investors remarkable growth. One of these companies has managed to climb more than 1,000% over the past year. The other is led by a former billionaire hedge fund manager. Should you buy them?
An interesting biotech company
Biotech companies can be tricky for investors to get into. A lot of them work on therapies that most individuals do not have a lot of background in. Therefore doing due diligence on these companies can be tougher than investing in a company like Apple or Amazon. However, there are some companies that are doing work that should be noted.
Trillium Therapeutics (TSX:TRIL)(NASDAQ:TRIL) is a Canadian biotechnology company that focuses on immuno-oncology. The company targets a protein named CD47. Tumours often use this protein to evade the immune system. The company’s website puts this simply, explaining that CD47 emits a “don’t eat me” signal, which blocks macrophages (a type of white blood cell responsible for detecting and destroying pathogens and apoptotic cells).
By disabling this “don’t eat me” signal, Trillium hopes to be able to unmask harmful tumours and help make them visible to the immune system. If successful, this could have massive implications in the oncology space.
In 2019, Trillium underwent massive changes, which included corporate reorganization. It was at this time that the company’s stock fortunes changed for the better. After seeing as much as a 98% decline over the past five years, Trillium stock has climbed more than 5,700% over the past year. Year to date, its stock has climbed nearly 1,000%.
The company still only has a market cap of about $1.9 billion, so there is definitely still a lot of room for growth. However, investors should be warned that investing in biotech companies comes with its risks. As promising as they can be, many of them face tremendous difficulties throughout the therapy development process.
This company is an interesting play on cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are very polarizing among investors. Some believe that the upside in these currencies is tremendous, banking on an eventual widespread use of Bitcoin or Ethereum.
However, there are others that think cryptocurrencies are pure speculation since they have no fundamentals that investors can point to to justify price movements. Nevertheless, we have been seeing an increasing number of funds and public companies that focus on this space.
Galaxy Digital (TSX:GLXY) is a diversified financial services and investment management company that focuses in this controversial space. The company aims to make cryptocurrencies and other digital assets a readily available alternative asset class for institutions and high net worth individuals. The company was founded by its CEO, Michael Novogratz. He was previously the president of Fortress Investment Group and worked at Goldman Sachs for over a decade.
The company first listed on the TSX on July 2. Since then, it has seen great stock appreciation. Since that time, Galaxy stock has climbed more than 275%. With a market cap of about $400 million, and a crypto space that is only becoming more popular, an argument can be made that this is still only the very beginning of Galaxy Digital’s growth story.
