Five Canadian IoT stocks flying under the radar

Now that we’re all way more connected than we need to be, technology companies have turned their attention to our devices, creating sophisticated networks that will make up the so-called Internet of Things (IoT).

Most of this activity is going on in Silicon Valley, of course, but Canadian portfolio managers have begun taking notice of a few small caps here at home that could prominent ly figure in the machine chatter of the future.

Here are a few of their favourites:

RELIQ HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES INC.

Bruce Campbell at StoneCastle Investment Management Inc. likes this Vancouver-based service provider, which connects to health sensors in the home in order to track a patient’s vital signs. That data is then streamed in real time to health-care workers.

If that sounds creepy, try to imagine an elderly relative who’s living alone and prone to medical episodes. Reliq monitors vital signs such as blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and can even remind patients to take their medication through a voiceenabled Alexa-style interface.

The idea is to help hospitals cut down on expensive re-admissions, and Reliq has already made strides selling to health authorities in the U.S., recently breaking through to profitability.

Canada’s public healthcare system will be harder to penetrate, but a pilot project serving First Nations communities is in the works, and Campbell thinks Reliq could soon garner a lot of attention.

BEWHERE HOLDINGS INC.

Campbell also likes a Toronto-based company called BeWhere, which sells tracking devices that keep tabs on equipment for mobile operations such as fleets of ambulances, trucks and construction vehicles.

BeWhere’s system ensures every piece of equipment is on board, giving fallible human employees the green light before they drive off to a remote job site only to realize they’ve forgotten the necessary tools to do the job.

The company isn’t profitable yet, but it has landed a couple of major clients, including Brink’s Co. armoured trucks. It has also moved from Wi-Fi-reliant Bluetooth networks to lowpower chips that directly connect to cellular networks.

SIYATA MOBILE INC.

Siyata Mobile is another company catering to mobile operations, aiming to connect operators and vehicles.

Campbell calls it an evolution of the push-to-talk cellular networks that goes beyond mere voice communication to create smart dashboard consoles designed for specific industries. For example, long-haul trucks could share information with central dispatch on the condition of the engine and how long the truck has been on the road, while providing the driver with GPS navigation and direct communication with other vehicles.

Siyata is also working with wireless service providers in the U.S. to create a dedicated network called FirstNet for first responders, which would give police, ambulances and fire departments priority communications during an emergency.

ABSOLUTE SOFTWARE CORP.

David Bar, chief executive and portfolio manager at PenderFund Capital Management, is keeping an eye on this Vancouver-based cybersecurity company, which helps consumers track the location of their smartphones and other mobile devices.

It’s not groundbreaking technology, but Barr said Absolute has enormous unrealized potential. “They have their technology installed on a billion devices, but the number of companies that actually are using it today is much smaller. And that speaks to the huge growth opportunity they have.”

Absolute’s share price has moved side ways for the past five years, but a new interim chief executive, Steve Munford, comes with impressive credentials from his time at Sophos Group PLC, an cybersecurity player in the U.K.

Barr thinks the introduction of an interim exec such as Munford could capitalize on all those deactivated smartphones, and even set Absolute up for an acquisition in the near term.

KINAXIS INC.

Kinaxis has a market cap of around $2 billion so it’s not exactly flying under the radar, but Tyler Hewlett at BMO Asset Management says that it’s all relative.

“It’s not super small for Canada,” he said, “but this is a company with global expertise, and it’s still fairly unknown from a U.S. investor perspective.”

The company, which provide send-to-ends up plymanagement solutions, has landed 100 clients, including giants such as Toyota Motor Co., Ford Motor Co. and Honeywell International Inc., and it’s been growing organically — and profitably — at 25 per cent per year.

Hewlett thinks Kinaxis has plenty of runway for growth, with thousands of global clients that could make use of the company’s logistics software.