A look at some small-cap stocks making news - or about to
Canada’s S&P/TSX Small Cap Index TXTW-I is up by about 30 per cent over the past 52 weeks as of Thursday’s close. It hit a record of 1,179.02 on Oct. 15. The Russell 2000 in the U.S. is down about 1 per cent over the past 52 weeks. It hit a record 2,541.67 on Oct. 15.
Small-cap spotlight
Rogers Sugar Inc. (RSI-T) shareholders will be watching to see whether the company can remain resilient in the current volatile trade environment when it reports its fourth-quarter earnings next week (Nov. 27).
The Vancouver-based refiner and distributor of sugar and maple products reported third-quarter results in August that beat expectations, driven by higher overall volumes. The company is also working on boosting its sugar capacity with a $300-million expansion project in Montreal, expected to be in service by the end of 2026.
During its third-quarter investor call in August, CEO Michael Walton said the company saw no reason to change its financial outlook given steady demand for sweeteners in its markets, which include Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
He said year-over-year sugar sales volumes were up by more than 5 per cent for the first nine months of the fiscal year, “consistent with our assessment of stable demand growth in this segment.” He added that the outlook for the sugar segment reflects “pockets of volatility in export sales” related to uncertainty around tariffs and some softening in industrial demand.
Meanwhile, maple sales volumes increased by 15 per cent for the first nine months versus the same period a year earlier. “We expect a strong year in our Maple segment, consistent with the recovery in this segment in 2024 and in the first nine months of 2025,” he said.
The company added that production and maintenance costs will be “moderately higher” for the full year.
Analysts expect the company’s fourth-quarter revenue to come in at $315.7-million, according to S&P Capital IQ, which would be below last year’s number of $333-million. Earnings are expected to come in at 14 cents per share, similar to last year. EBITDA is expected to be $38.9-million, roughly in line with $38.3-million last year.
In a report after the third-quarter results in August, National Bank analyst Zachary Evershed noted that about 3,000 metric tons of the expected 785,000 metric tons of sugar volumes expected for fiscal 2025 were pulled ahead into the third quarter from the fourth. As a result, he adjusted fourth-quarter shipments to be down 2.5 per cent from a decrease of 0.5 per cent.
“With FY25 close to a wrap and capex guidance unchanged, we flag the potential financing required in the quarters ahead,” he wrote in an Aug. 12 note, adding that management signalled that it’s “comfortable with current cash flow and are monitoring market conditions closely for a potential financing” in fiscal 2026.
Based on his most recent note in August, Mr. Evershed has a “sector perform” rating and a $6.25 target on the stock.
Desjardins Securities analyst Frederic Tremblay has a “buy” rating on the stock and raised his target to $7.50 from $7.25 following the third-quarter earnings, writing in an Aug. 12 note that the results “showed robust demand and RSI’s resilience as the evolving global trade environment has had a limited impact on operations.”
He described management’s unchanged fiscal 2025 volume growth outlook of three million pounds in its maple segment, a 6.5-per-cent year-over-year increase, “as potentially conservative.”
In his note after the third-quarter report in August, BMO analyst Stephen MacLeod wrote he expects year-over-year EBITDA growth in both the sugar and maple segments in fiscal 2025, “supported by solid underlying demand and historically strong margins.”
He added that tariffs “appear manageable with exemptions under CUSMA, though exports face headwinds.”
He maintained his “market perform” (hold) rating and $6.50 price target, adding that the stock’s roughly 6-per-cent yield “could be attractive to income-oriented investors.
Rogers Sugar’s stock is up 10 per cent over the past year, as of Thursday’s close.
Small-cap summary
Dye & Durham Ltd. (DND-T) has been hit by a mass boardroom defection, with three of its seven directors – including chairman Arnaud Ajdler, the hedge-fund manager who led a successful activist campaign to overhaul its governance last year – quitting the embattled legal-software firm, the company said Thursday.
Mr. Ajdler, founder of New York’s Engine Capital LP, swept in a new board at last December’s annual meeting. He, along with five hand-picked nominees that he’d recruited, joined the board. A seventh was nominated by ex-chairman Tyler Proud’s holding company under a shareholder-rights agreement.
Read the full Globe story here
Meanwhile, Plantro, controlled by former Dye & Durham CEO Matt Proud, has submitted a fresh bid to buy the legal software company for about $384 million, Bloomberg News reported late on Thursday, citing people familiar.
The report added that the offer was sent to Dye’s special committee this week and would pay about $5.72 each in cash and notes.
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Real Matters Inc. (REAL-T) reported higher revenue but a wider loss for its fourth quarter ended Sept. 30.
Before markets opened on Thursday, the Toronto-based company that provides a management services platform for the mortgage and insurance industries, reported revenue of US$46-million, which was roughly in line with expectations and up slightly from US$45.6-million a year ago.
Adjusted EBITDA of US$0.1-million compared with US$0.6-million last year.
Its net loss of US$17.9-million or 24 cents US per share was wider than its loss of US$0.2-million or zero cents US last year. The expectation was for a loss of a penny US per share in the most recent quarter.
On an adjusted basis, the EPS loss was 2 cents US versus a gain of 1 cent US last year. The expectation was for adjusted EPS to be nil per share.
National Bank analyst Richard Tse wrote in a note that the results were roughly in line with expectations.
“While Real Matters saw solid performance in the much smaller U.S. Title and Canada segments, the core U.S. Appraisal segment is still lagging due to the continued soft macro environment,” he wrote. “While we see pent-up demand, especially in U.S. Title, the challenging rate backdrop still constrains an inflection in volumes.“
Mr. Tse maintained his “sector perform” (hold) rating and $7 price target on the stock.
“Longer term, we remain constructive on Real Matters’ positioning as the company continues to onboard new clients, as it launched on six new clients including a Tier 1 lender in U.S. Title and a Top 15 mortgage lender in U.S. Appraisal during the quarter,” he wrote. “These developments, combined with available capacity and disciplined cost management, position Real Matters well for operating leverage when volumes recover.”
Added Mr. Tse: “All in, visibility into any kind of normalization remains uncertain; as such, we see a balanced risk-to-reward profile for Real Matters.”
Canaccord Genuity analyst Robert Young lowered his price target to $8 from $10 after the earnings and kept his “buy” recommendation.
“Real Matters continued to execute well on cost containment and market share gains. However, uncertainty on the direction of the US 30-year mortgage rate (6.36% - Mortgage News Daily) now features more prominently,” he wrote.
“Considering a cloudier rate outlook, we have reduced our FQ1 and F26 estimates.”
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VersaBank (VBNK-T) announced on Thursday that it expects to generate at least $2-million in extra revenue in 2026 under and “enhanced” Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) insured lending program.
VersaBank said in a release that it will start using its Canadian mortgage bond program allocation capacity to invest in CMHC-insured multi-unit residential (MUR) term mortgages. It said the mortgages are originated by partners that are “well-established leaders” in the Canadian MUR mortgage industry.
“This new income stream within our already very successful CMHC Lending Program is another example of VersaBank leveraging our proprietary banking technology and specific expertise to capitalize on unique opportunities in the banking industry and use our operating leverage to drive earnings growth and value for our shareholders, while further mitigating risk,” stated VeraBank president David Taylor.
The company said the enhanced CMHC program doesn’t affect its existing CMHC-insured MUR construction mortgages on its current balance sheet or the more than $920-million in commitments.
“It does, however, create the opportunity for VersaBank to transfer these existing and potential future mortgages to the Enhanced CMHC Program for which VersaBank would earn incremental fees over and above the current yield on those mortgages,” the company stated.
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Sucro Ltd. (SUGR-X) reported lower revenue but higher profit for its third quarter ended Sept. 30.
Before markets opened on Thursday, the Florida-based sugar company reported revenue of US$132.9-million on sugar deliveries of 147,853 metric tons, down from revenue of US$172-million on sugar deliveries of 181,023 metric tons last year.
“This decrease was driven by lower sales volumes, which were in turn driven by lower wholesale sales of organic sugar in the U.S., as well as by lower bulk raw sugar sales at origin,” the company stated.
Adjusted EBITDA of US$7.2-million was down 13 per cent from US$8.2-million a year ago. Net income of US$15.4-million or US$1.40 per share was up sharply compared to US$7.4-million or US$1.06 a year ago. Adjusted EPS of 64 cents US compared to 31 cents a year ago.
“While total deliveries were lower year-over-year due to organic wholesale dynamics, refinery margins improved materially, reflecting lower input costs and stronger mix,” stated founder and CEO Jonathan Taylor in a release. “With commissioning milestones approaching at our new Hamilton, Ontario refinery under development and continued progress at our new University Park, Illinois refinery also under development, we remain focused on disciplined growth and service to our North American customer base.”
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Aris Mining Corp. (ARIS-T) announced plans to buy the remaining 49-per-cent interest it doesn’t own in the Soto Norte joint venture in Colombia from MDC Industry Holding Company LLC (Mubadala) for US$80-million in cash and shares.
The purchase price includes US$60-million in cash and about 1.7 million newly issued Aris Mining shares, issued at a deemed price of US$11.50 per share and subject to a four-month plus one-day hold period.
The company said the deal is expected to close early next month.
“With 100% ownership of Segovia, Marmato, Toroparu, and now Soto Norte, Aris Mining has scaled to a point where our buy-and-build strategy naturally shifts to a clear focus on building,” stated CEO Neil Woodyer in a release.
Backed by a portfolio of high-quality projects, a strong financial position, and robust operating cash flows from our existing mines, we now have a diversified, fully owned growth pipeline toward becoming a 1-million-ounce-per-year gold producer.
National Bank Financial analyst Don DeMarco maintained his “outperform” (buy) and $23 target on the stock after the announcement.
“This is a favourable development given (i) sizable discount vs. PFS (Sept. 2025) and prior acquisitions, (ii) the benefits of 100% ownership, including increased upside to economics, more reserves, higher production, etc; and (iii) this lays the groundwork for accentuated re-rate upon successful permitting and development,” he wrote. “The announcement is timely as it follows recent indirect tailwinds for Soto Norte with settlement of a legacy dispute with the Government of Colombia and appointment of Brigitte Baptiste to the Board, with the Colombian election next year potentially adding further support.”
This week, Aris announced a settlement and termination agreement with Colombian authorities to end the arbitration proceedings before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an institution of the World Bank, initiated in 2018 by Gran Colombia Mining, the analyst noted.
He described the settlement as “another instance of goodwill and willingness of government to support mining activities, and couldn’t come at [a] better time with Soto Norte permitting in view.”
Canaccord Genuity analyst Carey MacRury reiterated his “buy” rating and increased his target to $25.50 from $24.50 after the announced agreement to consolidate ownership of the Soto Norte project.
“We see the company as well funded for the transaction, having ended Q3/25 holding $418-million in cash following the proceeds of warrants, the sale of Juby, and operating cash flow,” the analyst wrote.
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Extendicare Inc. (EXE-T) announced after markets closed on Wednesday that it’s buying CBI Home Health, a national home health care company in Canada, for $570-million. It also announced a $200-million bought-deal financing.
The company said the acquisition, made through its home health care subsidiary ParaMed Inc., diversifies its geographic footprint and gives it a “sizeable” presence in the Alberta market.
“This acquisition accelerates the growth trajectory of our home health care segment, significantly enhancing our presence in Western Canada and adding innovative care models to broaden our service offerings,” stated Extendicare CEO Michael Guerriere in a release.
With the bought deal, the company said the underwriters, co-led by CIBC Capital Markets, as sole bookrunner, and BMO Capital Markets, have agreed to purchase 10.6 million common shares of Extendicare for $18.80 each.
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Vizsla Silver Corp. (VZLA-T) shares sank in Thursday trading after the company announced a proposed US$250-million offering.
After markets closed on Wednesday, the company said it plans to use the net proceeds from the offering to support the exploration and development of its Panuco Project in Mexico, as well as for potential future acquisitions.
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Luca Mining Corp. (LUCA-X) said its revenues nearly doubled in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, driven by higher sales and precious metals prices.
The company reported revenues of $35-million up from $18.1-million a year ago. Its adjusted net loss was $49,000 compared to an adjusted loss of $1.6-million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA of $4.3-million compared to a loss of $76,000 a year ago.
“Q3 was a transformational quarter of operational investment and performance for Luca Mining,” stated CEO Dan Barnholden, CEO of Luca Mining. “Both of our operating mines delivered substantial year-over-year production growth, are operating at throughput levels above budget, and our increased development investment is positioning us for higher grades, stronger recoveries, and improved cash flow as we enter 2026.”
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MTY Food Group Inc. (MTY-T), the Canadian franchiser and operator of Thai Express, Wetzel’s Pretzels and other quick-service restaurants, says it is exploring strategic options that could lead to the sale of the business.
The Montreal-based company confirmed Monday that it has hired a financial adviser to begin a formal review process with the aim of boosting shareholder returns. A range of options are being considered, including the sale of all or part of the company as well as pushing on with management’s current business plan, MTY said in a statement.
Read the full Globe story here
Related: MTY’s slate of restaurant banners may be too diverse for some buyers, analysts say
Upcoming small-cap earnings:
Nov. 25: Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (HBFG-CN)
Nov. 27: Rogers Sugar Inc. (RSI-T), Goodfood Market Corp. (FOOD-T)
Dec. 3: EQB Inc. (EQB-T)
Dec. 5: Laurentian Bank (LB-T)
Dec. 9: Groupe Dynamite Inc. (GRDG-T)
Dec 10: Transcontinental Inc. (TCL-A-T), D2L Inc. (DTOL-T)
- with files from David Leeder