With only two trading days to go before investors wrap up the rollercoaster ride that has been the first half of the trading year, The Week in Stocks takes a look at the top five gainers on the S&P/TSX composite index and where analysts think the stocks are headed for the remainder of 2026.

BlackBerry Ltd.: Moving away from ‘turnaround skepticism’

Shares of BlackBerry Ltd. (BB:TSX), the one-time darling of the tech world that spent subsequent time struggling, ended up as a top gainer in the first half of the year, rising just over 200 per cent on the TSX. The Waterloo, Ont.-based company, which provides secure communications, closed Friday at $16.13, above its 12-month price target of $14.16 based on the calls of seven analysts, according to Bloomberg. CIBC Capital Markets analyst Todd Coupland raised his price target for shares of the company previously known for its BlackBerry device to $18.45 on June 25 from $13.99 after the company upgraded its revenue outlook for the year and reported earnings on June 25 that beat expectations on secure communications, its QNX operating system and licensing. “BlackBerry delivered an excellent FQ1,” Coupland said in a note following the earnings release, during which revenue increased 26 per cent year over year. “For investors, BlackBerry is moving from turnaround skepticism to a cleaner” accelerating growth setup, he said.

5N Plus Inc.: High altitude space winner

Shares of 5N Plus Inc. (VNP:TSX), the Montreal-based manufacturer of critical minerals and specialty semiconductors, have soared 116 per cent this year as the company enjoyed a major boost via its space solar cell producer Azur Space Solar Power GmBH, which it purchased in 2021. Germany-based Azur manufactures high-efficiency germanium-based space solar cells to power satellites that operate at higher orbits and call for a greater energy supply, more resistance to radiation and a longer life span. “Through AZUR, VNP is directly exposed and should be a beneficiary of this trend” in the projected buildout of space satellites, Baltej Sidhu, an analyst at National Bank of Canada Capital Markets, said in a note on June 14. He also said, 5N, which operates a germanium mine in Utah, will benefit as a supply bottleneck emerges for this “strategically important material across space and defence applications.” Sidhu hiked his price target to $50 from $41 for 5N. Shares closed Friday at $38.63. Shares of 5N have a 12-month price target of $48.75 based on the calls of six analysts, according to Bloomberg.

Bird Construction Inc.: ‘Preferred construction partner’

Shares of Bird Construction Inc. (BDT:TSX) are up 115 per cent this year, with the stock closing Friday at $62.47, slightly surpassing of its 12-month price target of $63.38, based on the calls of eight analysts, according to Bloomberg. The construction company has many irons in the fire, especially after it was named the lead partner to build BCE Inc.’s 300 megawatt data centre in Saskatchewan. It was also tapped as Bell’s “preferred construction partner” for the telco’s national data centre buildout strategy, Michael Tupholme, an analyst with TD Cowen, said in a note from mid-May. Tupholme hiked his price target for Bird to $72 from $63 on May 19. “Continued award wins in the near-to-medium term should improve visibility on BDT’s growth opportunities across key end markets” the analyst said, referring to contracts in the defence and critical minerals sectors, in addition to data centres. For example, Bird signed a partnership with the Marten Falls First Nation to undertake construction projects related to the development of Northern Ontario’s mineral-rich Ring of Fire mining region. Work began this week on a road to open access to the area.

Hammond Power Solutions Inc.: Data centre powerhouse

Shares of Guelph-Ont.-based Hammond Power Solutions Inc. (HPS/A:TSX) are up 100 per cent this year as the manufacturer of electrical system transformers got a major lift from data centre expansion. National Bank of Canada analyst Baltej Sidhu hiked his price target for shares of Hammond Power to $355 from $325 on June 9 as data centre revenue expanded to 30 per cent from 10 per cent at the end of 2025, with the sector accounting for 30 to 40 per cent of backlog. Shares closed Friday at $319.20. Hammond has a 12-month price target of $362.71 based on the calls of seven analysts. RBC Capital Markets analyst Nelson Ng hiked his price target for Hammond to $350 from $250 in early May following the release of first-quarter results, adding that though the backlog looked a bit “modest,” there was lots of quotation activity. “We believe that when management firms up plans later this year to add manufacturing capacity, we could see some large data centre contracts added to the backlog,” Ng said. Indeed, Hammond went shopping this year, purchasing AEG Power Solutions, which Sidhu said provides leverage given there is little geographic and product overlap. Still, some risks lurk for the manufacturer from the United States’s Section 232 tariffs, but Sidhu said any potential pitfalls appear “manageable” given “larger custom contracts often include tariff protection.”

MDA Space Ltd.: Space technology company expands horizons

Shares of MDA Space Ltd. (MDA:TSX) are up nearly 89 per cent this year on rising revenue from its satellite business as the Brampton, Ont.-based company expanded its horizons, including a listing on the New York Stock Exchange in March and the recently announced purchase of Colorado-based Blue Canyon Technologies Inc. for $874 million. MDA has benefitted as Canada looks to expand spending in the space sphere and it was a winner again when it announced it had been awarded a $688 million contract by the Canadian Space Agency to supply an advanced synthetic aperture satellite. The contract represents the second phase of an initial $45 million CSA contract from December. CIBC Capital Markets analyst Erin Kyle hiked her price target for MDA to $67 from $64, adding that while the contract was pencilled in for 2026, its value is higher than markets expected. MDA closed Friday at $50.60. Shares of the space technology company are down 25 per cent after peaking this year at $67.13 at the end of last month. MDA has a 12-month price target of 66.42 based on the calls of 14 analysts, according to Bloomberg. “We view MDA Space as a compelling pure-play on the rapidly expanding space economy,” Kyle said.

• Email: gmvsuhanic@postmedia.com

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