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The extreme volatility tag of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency won’t go away, unless the wild price swings stop. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped 15% to US$48,612.22 on December 6, 2021. The price is also 28% lower than its peak of US$67,566.83 on November 8, 2021. BTC loyalists are fortunate, because they’re still up 67.6% year to date.
Trading in Bitcoin and the crypto market, in general, has been turbulent in recent days. You’d be scratching your head if you had BTC holdings and lost 17% overnight. No one can give a definitive reason for the weekend plunge, although fears of a crash are rising.
Meanwhile, in the last five trading sessions, the TSX’s technology sector likewise retreated (-5.77%). However, investors remain up 15.78% year to date. If you’re looking for lower-risk assets that could deliver higher returns in 2022, BlackBerry (TSX:BB)(NYSE:BB) is a better choice than BTC.
Long-term secular growth trends
BlackBerry has had paltry returns in the last five years (13.92%) but is performing exceedingly well this year with its 35.78% gain. The $6.49 billion provider of intelligent security software and services should benefit significantly from the long-term secular growth trends of cybersecurity and the Internet of Things (IoT).
In Q2 fiscal 2022 (quarter ended August 31, 2022), the total revenue of US$175 million beat consensus estimates. BlackBerry’s executive chairman and CEO John Chen said, “Revenue for all businesses beat expectations this quarter. The Cyber Security business unit delivered robust sequential billings and revenue growth.”
Chen added, “The IoT business unit performed well in the face of global chip shortage pressures.” He cited the very strong design activity for its QNX products in the IoT business segment. The Cyber Security segment received strong third-party validation due to the effectiveness of BlackBerry’s AI-driven, prevention-first suite of products. It also illustrates progress made with recent product launches, according to Chen.
Recent awards and partnerships
On November 23, 2021, management announced that SE Labs had rated BlackBerry as the best new endpoint security offering of 2021. The private, independently owned and run-testing company that assesses security products and services rated BlackBerry’s Protect (EPP) and Optics (EDR) AAA, the highest rating.
Billy Ho, executive vice president at BlackBerry Spark Group Products, said, “Being rated as best new endpoint solution reflects the work done by our development and engineering teams.” Korea’s leading solution developer for transportation infrastructure systems, sTraffic, chose BlackBerry’s QNX OS for Safety as the foundation for their train traffic management system.
The list of awards, partnerships and new product launches is long. However, BlackBerry’s primary concern is to combat the growing threat of cyberattacks.
Market opportunities
John Giamatteo, newly appointed president of the Cyber Security business unit, said, “BlackBerry’s AI-driven, prevention-first technology is well placed to scale to meet the constantly evolving cybersecurity needs of companies everywhere.”
Grand View Research expects the cybersecurity industry to grow at a compound annual rate of 10.9% through 2028. The size could grow to US$372.04 billion from around $179.96 billion in 2021. BlackBerry could capitalize on the vast addressable cybersecurity market and growing market opportunities.
Fundamentals and growth catalysts
Unlike Bitcoin, BlackBerry has fundamentals and growth catalysts, so investors have a basis for making sound investment decisions
The post Avoid High-Risk Assets in 2022: Buy 1 Tech Stock Instead of Bitcoin appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
Should you invest $1,000 in Blackberry right now?
Before you consider Blackberry, you may want to hear this.
Motley Fool Canadian Chief Investment Advisor, Iain Butler, and his Stock Advisor Canada team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Blackberry wasn’t one of them.
The online investing service they’ve run since 2013, Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada, has beaten the stock market by over 3X. And right now, they think there are 10 stocks that are better buys.
More reading
- 3 Cheap (Under-$20) Stocks to Buy Now
- 3 Top Canadian Stocks That Long-Term Investors Could Consider Buying Right Now
- 5 Top Under-$50 Canadian Stocks to Buy Now With $1,000
- 2 Stocks to Avoid and 1 to Buy in 2022
- BlackBerry (TSX:BB) Stock: More Than Just a Meme?
Fool contributor Christopher Liew has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Bitcoin.
