This TSX stock soared over 400% with help from Nvidia. Where will it go from here?

Xanadu, founded in 2016 by chief executive Christian Weedbrook, builds quantum computers designed to send photons, or light, through fibre optic connections. Photo by Handout/Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc.

Article content

Where tech giant earnings may be headed, RBC Capital Markets’ top energy picks to navigate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and more from The Week in Stocks. 

Article content

Stock of the week: Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc.

Article content

Article content

Shares of Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc. (XNDU:TSX) more than hit their stride this week, rising about 486 per cent from their lowest intraday trading price of $9.75 on April 2. The stock listing, created through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, had a rocky start as its shares mostly traded below its opening price on the S&P/TSX composite index of $12.62 on March 27. On April 13, the picture changed when one of the world’s most valuable companies, Nvidia Corp. (NVDA:Nasdaq), unveiled an open-source artificial intelligence model meant to help speed up progress in the quantum computing sector by reducing errors. With Nvidia in the nascent sector’s corner, shares of Xanadu took off, rising to an intraday high on Friday of $57.13. Christian Weedbrook, the chief executive of Xanadu, reached billionaire status via his shares in Xanadu, according to Bloomberg. The Toronto-based company is looking to build a quantum data centre by 2030. Shares of the company retreated about 6.7 per cent on Friday to close at $41.52.

Article content

Article content

Keeping score

Article content

Article content

Article content

Article content

Mark April 29 in your calendar with these Big Tech earnings queued up

Article content

Four U.S. tech giants are slated to unveil first quarter earnings on April 29 and may turn the page on a tough period for the shares. Earlier this year they fell out of favour on concerns about artificial intelligence spending. In anticipation of those earnings, analysts have reviewed price targets and ratings for some of the world’s largest companies. TD Cowen analyst Derrick Wood cut his price target for Microsoft Corp. (MSFT:TSX) to US$540 from US$610 on rising capital expenditures and muted returns from cloud-computing platform Azure. Wood said he expects the shares to be “range bound” unless Microsoft AI assistant Copilot provides a bump. Shares closed Friday at US$422.79. TD Cowen analyst John Blackledge has a price target of US$820 for Meta Platforms Inc. (META:Nasdaq) and has a buy rating on the shares. Blackledge is forecasting a 32 per cent year-over-year increase in revenue and 16 per cent jump in operating income in the first quarter of 2026. TD Cowen “views Meta as the premier social media advertising platform” and that it “consistently demonstrates a high return on investment,” Blackledge said in a note. Shares of Meta closed Friday at US$688.55. Blackledge stuck with his price target of US$300 and his buy rating for Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN:Nasqad) on “several drivers that should yield robust global revenue growth and rising margins,” including online retail market share gains and growth in international markets such as India, Mexico and Australia. Amazon closed Friday at US$250.56. Blackledge hiked his price target for web behemoth Alphabet Inc. (GOOG:Nasdaq) to US$375 from US$365 on accelerating Google Search spending and “robust” growth in search and cloud services revenue of 16 per cent year over year and 50 per cent year over year. Shares of Alphabet closed Friday at US$339.40.

Article content

Article content

Article content

With news the Strait of Hormuz is open, how should energy investors respond?

Article content

“It is not lost on us that energy producers are being heavily used as a temporary financial hedge against sectors which are being battered and bruised by elevated oil prices,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Greg Pardy, head of global energy research, said in a report released on April 16, referring to the war in the Middle East. The conflict resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the transportation route for 20 per cent of the world’s energy needs. Just a day later, Iran announced the strait was “completely open.” With that tenuous relief, Pardy and his team had some suggestions for how investors could position themselves for what is hoped to be a less-chaotic energy picture. In the intermediate energy and utilities space RBC likes PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. (PSK:TSX). RBC hiked its price target for PrairieSky this week to $36 from $35 for the largest royalty owner in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Shares closed Friday at $30.85. “We believe a premium multiple is warranted by the company’s perpetual resource exposure and strong balance sheet. Our price target supports our outperform rating,” RBC said. In the Canadian oilfield services sector, analyst Keith Mackey likes Enerflex Ltd. (EFX:TSX), CES Energy Solutions Corp. (CEU:TSX) and Precision Drilling Corp. (PD:TSX) based on the expectation that strong free-cash flow will continue in 2026. Mackey hiked his price targets for Enerflex, CES and Precision this week to $35.78 from $27.40, $22 from $20 and $150 from $140, respectively. Shares closed Friday at $31.37, $17.17 and $114.36, respectively.