The cryptocurrency bull market has continued to roar in the first two months of 2021. Bitcoin, the largest crypto by market cap, has soared above the US$50,000 mark for the first time in its history this week. It received a strong boost after a US$1.5 billion endorsement from Tesla founder Elon Musk. The crypto craze is interesting and entertaining, no doubt, but investors need to be extremely careful. Instead of betting on this frenzy, Canadians should look to top TSX stocks instead. Today, I want to look at two of my favourites to stash in the middle of February. Let’s dive in.
Why this TSX stock has soared in recent months
On Valentine’s Day, I’d suggested Canadians should seek fulfillment in the markets. One of the top TSX stocks I’d suggested was goeasy (TSX:GSY). This Mississauga-based company offer alternative financial services to a wide array of customers. It will release its final batch of results on Thursday, February 18.
Shares of goeasy have climbed 22% in 2021 as of mid-afternoon trading on February 17. This TSX stock is up 51% year over year. The company achieved double-digit growth in its loan portfolio growth in Q3 2020, and its adjusted earnings per share shot up 50%. goeasy has delivered over six consecutive years of dividend growth, making it a certified Dividend Aristocrat on the TSX.
goeasy stock has maintained its momentum in early 2021. Still, this TSX stock possesses a favourable price-to-earnings ratio of 20. This remains one of the best financial stocks on the Canadian market for the long term.
Shopify is still the better bet over Bitcoin
Shopify (TSX:SHOP)(NYSE:SHOP) has been one of the most explosive TSX stocks since its debut on the index back in 2015. Shares of Shopify have climbed over 160% year over year as of mid-afternoon trading on February 17. In January, I’d discussed why Shopify looked poised to reach the $2,000 mark before the end of the year.
This top technology company released its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 results today. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.58 — up 267% from the prior year. Meanwhile, revenue increased 94% to $977 million. These surpassed analyst expectations for the final quarter of 2020.
The e-commerce space has benefited immensely from the COVID-19 pandemic. Gross merchandise volume (GMV) rose 99% to $41.1 billion — down slightly from the triple-digit jumps in Q3 and Q2. Merchant solutions revenue increased 117% to $698 million and subscription solutions achieved growth of 53%.
Shopify said that it expected strong revenue growth in 2021, though it would not likely keep up with the banner year it posted in 2020. It aims to increase investment in sales and market and research and development, as it continues to expand internationally. Shopify boasts a strong balance sheet and is still on track for impressive earnings growth. Betting against Shopify has been unwise in recent years. This is still a top TSX stock to buy and hold in 2021.
