Investors flocking to energy transition, TSX Venture 50 list shows
Global News
The biggest winner was the mining sector, which grew 174 per cent, driven in part by sudden increased investor interest in the critical minerals and metals space.
The latest edition of the TSX Venture 50 list shows investors are increasingly snapping up stocks with any sort of energy transition theme.
Everything from lithium to hydrogen to solar power has a presence on the list of top performers on Canada’s main venture exchange in 2022, which was released by the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
“As the world’s really thinking about and grappling with energy transition, critical minerals — things like copper, lithium — are obviously increasingly important,” said Loui Anastasopoulos, CEO of the Toronto Stock Exchange, in an interview.
“Things like electric vehicle batteries, to solar and wind power installations — the demand continues to grow. And I think you’re seeing that in some of the performance here.”
The TSX Venture 50 list showcases small-cap issuers across five sectors — energy, mining, clean technology and life sciences, diversified industries, and technology.
The companies are ranked by their 2022 performance in three areas: market capitalization growth, share price appreciation and trading volume.
In spite of market volatility during the year, companies on the Venture 50 list saw dramatic overall gains, with this year’s winners delivering an average financial return of 73 per cent and an average market capitalization increase of 145 per cent.
Among the winners were Vancouver-based First Hydrogen Corp., which saw its share price increase 144 per cent, and Calgary-based CVW CleanTech Inc., which works to deliver clean technology solutions to Alberta’s oilsands industry and saw its market capitalization increase by 322 per cent.
