We are officially at the mid way point of the year, so no better time to check in on how current and former Wolf picks are performing (or not). I’ll cover picks from 2023 to current with perhaps a quick blurb on each. I tend to be verbose in these types of articles so pour yourself a double shot of espresso or something stronger depending on your time zone.
Fun fact - had you invested $100k each year spread across each of the last three years of annual selections for a total of $300k invested, that would be worth a total of $1,125,734. A 275% return overall and a 112% ARR isn’t too shabby over the past thirty months,and that doesn’t include my new mid year picks for 2025 which have also done fairly well. That doesn’t mean there were not a couple of turds in the punch bowl however.
2023 Wolf Picks:
2023 picks are up a combined 360% which includes one triple, a quadruple and a ten bagger. It’s also the only group of picks that doesn’t have a single stock in the red. I’ll list them from worst to best performers. I only currently still hold two of them (TRBR & HBFG).
NowVertical Group - $.56 cents at selection, $0.65 today. Up 16%.
To be honest, I’m tired of talking about NowVertical. Within three months of picking this stock, I recanted and sold for no gain. They are now on their third CEO since making this pick back on January 1, 2023. I’d just prefer if it goes away and nobody asks me to ever review it again.
Atlas Engineering Group - $0.75 cents at selection, $0.91 today. Up 21%
I have sold all of my shares of Atlas over the course of time here for decent gains, but this is one that is still fully on my radar. It peaked in the spring of last year for well over a double, but macroeconomic conditions within the housing and construction sector have been a heavy anchor. The softening sector has allowed them to scoop up some acquisitions on the cheap end. When the Canadian housing market rebounds in terms of new builds, and with the state of affordability it will eventually, AEP seems primed to capitalize. Keep on your watchlists.
Trubar (Formerly Simply Better Brands) - $0.24 at selection, $0.80 cents today, up 240%
The only ticker selected in multiple years. See 2025 write up.
KITS Eyecare - $2.58 at selection, $15.21 today, up 490%
When I sold my KITS position last summer, there were no regrets taking over 300% gains in less than two years as I watched the stock tumble by as much as 30% before the start of 2025. Since then however the stock has doubled and well above where I sold it for. Oh well, we move on.
KITS has had an incredible run on the top line with ten consecutive quarters with 20% or better gains on the revenue line. They are now starting to deliver some real net income as well, but at a 106 P/E and over 58 EV/EBITDA, the stock is looking a little rich.
Happy Belly Food Group - $0.10 at selection, $1.13 today, up 1030%
One of two Wolf Pick ten baggers and not coincidentally one of my largest small cap positions. There are those who believe the stock is overvalued and from a pure fundamentals view they have a case to make. But this one is about future growth and the company has the pipeline to deliver larger gains in a QSR space that trades on higher multiples and can get acquired at even higher ones.
2024 Wolf Picks:
The 2024 picks are performing better than the ones from 2023 over a shorter timeframe - up a combined 450%. Four of the five have at least doubled with one five and one sixteen bagger. Once again, I’m left holding two of them which also happen to be the top performers (PNG & NCI).
Thermal Energy International - $0.205 at selection, $0.135 today, down 34%
The overwhelming bummer of the group. Not only is it the only stock of the 2024 group that hasn’t doubled, but it has also been in the red since late November of last year. I sold my position well before then for minimal gains, but they haven’t completely fallen off my radar. I still think the company has an excellent product offering but their investments made on the selling side have just not paid off. Willy Loman should be able to sell something that has a five year payback period, but they just haven’t been able to figure it out. Don’t count these guys out for an eventual bounce back.
Enterprise Group - $0.76 at selection, $1.85 today, up 143%
I initially purchased Enterprise Group in the 40 cent range. Of the 2024 picks that I no longer hold, this was my most recent exit with 300% gains, but it could have been nearly double that had I sold at the top. Simply put, I just lost faith in the management group.
Gatekeeper Systems - $0.435 at selection, $1.37 today, up 215%
Until very recently, GSI was an underperformer. So how did this stock with their two recent quarters of revenues down by 26% and 40% respectively with even worse margins and profitability gain 250% since May 1st? Contract signings, some officially announced by the company and yet another leaked by LIRR (Long Island Rail Road), a three year deal worth $23M. Toss in some YouTube hype, and you have Gatekeeper on a serious heater.
With their recent margin performance and growth of opex on declining sales, I fear this is getting ahead of it’s ski’s sitting with an RSI of 90 in the well overbought range and a current market cap near $130M. They would have to deliver $8.6M in net income in 2026 to justify a 15 P/E and that is really hard to see when the company is currently EBITDA negative on a TTM basis.
Kraken Robotics - $0.61 at selection, $3.07 today, up 403%
Achieved 5 bagger status just yesterday closing above $3 and a new ATH. Currently trading at 9x revenue with a 40 P/E, Kraken has a lot to prove to justify it’s current $800MC valuation. But given significantly planned increases in defense spending across the globe, particularly here in Canada, Kraken’s opportunities are better than they ever have been.
NTG Clarity Networks - $0.15 at selection, $2.44 today, up 1527%
Technically, it was a pick at 3 cents, and building a position back then was difficult - as I was buying in 100k blocks when the stock was quite illiquid compared to today. The company did a 5:1 reverse split that spring and has gone up by over 16x since. The stock has already eclipsed my $2.70 price target mentioned earlier this year but has pulled back to $2.44 as of yesterday.
It still trades at an 11 P/E and 9 EV/EBITDA after delivering 30% quarterly revenue gains for twelve straight quarters,
2025 Wolf Picks:
Is this a good time to end this piece now? LOL
While the 2025 picks are a up a combined 15.4% since their selections, and still outproducing indexes, I certainly had higher hopes. From poorest to best in terms of performance, here they are:
Simply Solventless - $0.51 at selection, $0.22 today, down 57%
This one stings. HASH was a unique selection as I announced it as a 2025 pick in September of last year. Up until recently things were still looking up until audit delays, a failed acquisition and accounting problems sent the stock tanking at the beginning of June. While those accounting issues are expected to reverse into stronger results later this year, the company has a huge reputational problem to over come now, not to mention serious cash flow and inventory management concerns.
I tell my readers all the time that hope isn’t an investment strategy, yet here we sit.
Trubar (formerly SBBC) - $0.98 at selection, $0.80 today, down 18%
More than a triple from their 2023 selection but so far 2025 hasn’t been as kind. Much of the disappointing performance is due to their recent Q1 where revenue was down to last year in the $10 USD range. This was all due to a shift in a Costco (their largest customer by far) promotion. Company guidance is between $70 - $75M which would put their average quarter over the next three over $20M each. That would put annual revenue gains in the 70% gain area over 2024. I’m still long and have recently added, and wont be afraid to add more as their Q2 approaches.
ADF Group - $9.70 at selection, $7.95 today, down 18%
This one had some risks going in due to the tariff situation, particularly on steel. While it was a known risk in mid December, I wouldn’t have thought we would be sitting here on Canada Day with this situation still up in the air, and perhaps even recently escalating.
The stock has recovered from their lows however after a poor but encouraging Q1 result and conference call with a bullish 2H outlook. I still believe in the management team and see better days ahead. If and when the steel tariff situation is resolved, this will be a stock to watch.
Northstar Clean Technologies - $0.31 at selection, $0.36 today, up 16%
One of two 2025 long shot picks, and my only ever pre-revenue annual selection. The unit economics is what drew me here not to mention a third of potential revenue coming from their feedstock. We could be days away from their first plant opening, and yesterdays news about potentially securing funding for their first four USA sites was encouraging although I found a lot of details to be missing in the NR.
MTLC Cannabis - $0.19 at selection, $0.325 today, up 71%
Perhaps I was on a good edible stretch when I selected two weed stocks in my 2025 picks. Was it coincidental that the two largest volume days coincided with the annual pick announcement? Who’s to say?
Still remains a longshot with some things to prove for this illiquid play, but still trades below 6 EV/EBITDA.
ZoomD Technologies - $0.75 at selection, $1.49 today, up 99%
One of the stocks I have had the most fun with over the last seven months. Originally highlighted as a buy zone opportunity in late November leading into their financials at 49 cents - it proceeded to double on the day and I was not only able to sell for a double on earnings day at 99 cents, but was able to buy it all back later that day at 75 cents.
Over the past two weeks, the stock has finally received some over due recognition. It STILL trades at an 8 P/E and 6.2 EV/EBITDA for a stock that has delivered triple digit revenue increases for three straight quarters and delivers over 20% of that revenue to the net income line.
Mid Year Picks - Seal of Approval
Selecting HASH in September of last year as an early 2025 pick felt a little awkward, so I decided to come up with Wolf Seal of Approval picks that I would announce mid year as they happened. To date, I have had two.
D-BOX Technologies - $0.14 at selection (Feb 13), today $0.31, up 121%
McCoy Global - $2.43 at selection (March 6), $4.01 today, up 65%
Thanks for reading, and happy Canada Day!
Disclaimer:
My intent is for my reviews to be a bolt on to due diligence that you have already completed. I receive dozens of review requests a week, therefore my own DD may be great or none whatsoever. Unless otherwise stated or implied, my opinions are on the financial performance of the company based on their most recent filings. I conduct these reviews to assist other retail investors whose research skills are limited when it comes to reviewing financial statements. I do not accept compensation of any kind from companies I review.
Wolf FINS Reviews are intended to be informational and are based on personal opinion. They are not intended to be financial advice, and all readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence prior to their investment decisions, including discussions with their investment advisor.
Thanks for the writeup, Wolf! Wish it was longer :)
Nice write up