Inside the Market’s roundup of some of today’s key analyst actions
RBC Capital Markets analyst Logan Reich is “cautiously optimistic” on the North American restaurant space going into 2025, seeing “recent macro datapoints suggest a stabilizing economic backdrop where improving consumer sentiment could translate into traffic growth after a challenging 2024.
However, he did warn investors to expect improvement to be “more gradual as consumers continue to grapple with elevated pricing.”
“Consumer pressures that largely defined 2024 for restaurants appear to be directionally improving, which could be supportive of discretionary spending next year as evidenced by the delta between wage and inflation growth year-over-year,” said the analyst. “And to the degree that the unemployment rate remains around current levels, we think the consumer could continue to show signs of improvement. Further, CC [consumer credit] debt growth year-over-year has decelerated and delinquencies declined quarter-over-quarter in 3Q for the first time since 3Q21. Lastly, falling gas prices should alleviate lower-income consumer budgets. This appears to have translated to consumer sentiment, which has been improving since August.”
In a research report released Tuesday, Mr. Reich predicted companies levered to the high-income consumer will outperform, particularly in the first half of the year, while he also thinks value wars will continue, benefitting companies like Tim Hortons parent Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR-N, QSR-T).
“Representing approximately 44 per cent of consolidated EBITDA, Tim’s continued performance is critical for the stock to work, in our view, though we often hear that the brand gets little credit from U.S. investors,” he said. “On the one hand, that’s a risk, as a deterioration in trends could garner unwanted attention. On the other hand, continued comp growth and a return to unit growth after being flat/negative in the last few years could allow for more constructive views. Population growth in Canada has been roughly 1 per cent annually, which management thinks could correlate to store growth to some degree. While consumer dynamics have been softer in Canada, we think TH is a solid value option and a majority of the growth has come from traffic/mix, which is encouraging. Further, menu innovation and PM daypart growth could continue to contribute, though consensus estimates don’t appear to ascribe much improvement in comps or unit growth while we think there could be potential upside
“How will the international (China) segment perform in 2025? Our view: China performance is more uncertain to us given several dynamics including gov’t stimulus and consumer spending, TH/PLK investment, BK franchisee termination dispute, and potential geopolitical tensions. While China is an important market and impacts unit development for the consolidated business, it’s only 7.5 per cent of total units and likely well below that in terms of contribution to system sales and profitability; we don’t think any ongoing weakness will materially weigh on the model, and an improvement could show up in multiple upside”
After rolling forward his valuations to 2026, Mr. Reich trimmed his target for Restaurant Brands shares to US$80 from US$90, reiterating an “outperform” recommendation. The average target on the Street is US$81.63.
“We like QSR given: 1) solid shareholder return (buybacks + dividend) relative to peers; 2) opportunity for BK improvement; e) expense flexibility providing a floor on earnings in multiple macro scenarios; and 4) international unit growth runway across multiple brands.,” he said. “We think TH is underappreciated by U.S. investors, which a return to unit growth could change.
“Further opportunity to cut costs gives us confidence in AOI growth achieving long-term algo of 8 per cent plus if macro continues to be soft and potential for further margin upside if top-line is better than expected.”
Mr. Reich named Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG-N) his “top name” in the space for 2025, keeping an “outperform” rating with a US$75 target, rising from US$70 and matching the high on the Street. The average is US$67.06.
“We recently launched coverage of CMG and believe the stock’s outperformance can continue into 2025 based on: 1) operational improvements driving faster speed of service should be an ongoing driver of traffic; 2) potential upside to consensus margin estimates, which implies limited labor leverage despite improving throughput; and 3) achievable unit growth guidance with potential for upside,” he said.
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BlackBerry Ltd.’s (BB-T, BB-N) sale of its Cylance cybersecurity business to Arctic Wolf Networks Inc., an AI-powered cybersecurity company from Eden Prairie, Minn., for a higher-than-anticipated price of US$160-million removes “a major overhang” on its shares, according to RBC Dominion Securities analyst Paul Treiber.
However, he warned, even without Cylance, BlackBerry is “still seeing relatively slow growth, given its Secure Communications business and the soft auto market for BlackBerry’s IoT segment (i.e. QNX).”
“BlackBerry has not yet updated FY25 guidance to reflect the sale of Cylance,” he said. “We estimate the divestiture to improve BlackBerry’s FY26 adj. EBITDA from $44-million (7-per-cent margin) to $73-million (14-per-cent margin), assuming BlackBerry does not re-invest the proceeds in its other businesses. Due to the sale of Cylance, our FY26 revenue estimates move from $623-million to $541-million.
“With the divestiture of Cylance, BlackBerry’s cybersecurity assets will include only Secure Communications. We forecast Secure Communications to generate $273-million revenue and $38-million adj. EBITDA (including allocated corp. overhead) in FY26. While the segment is profitable, we believe growth is nominal. Excluding Cylance, we estimate Secure Communications has averaged negative 5-per-cent CAGR [compound annual growth rate] between FY20 and FY25.”
From an investing perspective, Mr. Treiber thinks improved growth from the Waterloo, Ont.-based company is now necessary for a further valuation re-rating.
“Adjusted for the sale of Cylance, we estimate that BlackBerry is trading at 3.2 times NTM [next 12-month] EV/S and 26 times NTM EV/EBITDA,” he said. “On a sum-of-the-parts basis, we estimate that the stock is valuing BlackBerry’s Secure Communications segment at 6.0 timesNTM EV/EBITDA, below Cybersecurity peers at 32x, and BlackBerry’s IoT segment at 6.1 times NTM EV/S, below Auto Tech peers at 12 times. For both segments, we believe improved valuation requires improved growth; our outlook calls for 0-per-cent NTM growth at Secure Communications and 5-per-cent NTM growth at IoT.”
Maintaining his “sector perform” rating for BlackBerry shares, Mr. Treiber raised his target to US$3.25 from US$3. The average target is US$3.28.
Other analysts making target adjustments include:
* TD Cowen’s Daniel Chan to US$3.25 from US$2.75 with a “hold” rating.
“We believe the divestment of Cylance will significantly improve margins, cashflow, and remove an overhang on the company’s performance. This could be an interesting name for investors; however, we maintain our HOLD rating given the current automotive macro headwinds and lack of near-term events we see catalyzing value expansion,” said Mr. Chan.
* CIBC’s Todd Coupland to US$3.70 from US$3.60 with an “outperformer” rating.
“This Cylance resolution also provides investors with greater understanding to the company’s overall growth and cash flow potential and, in our view, gives further clarity that Blackberry is currently undervalued. These factors support a favourable risk/reward trade-off,” he said.
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National Bank Financial analyst Mohamed Sidibé sees uranium as the “place to be” for investors in the critical minerals space, expecting a “positive trend to continue to support equities in 2025.”
“As we look into 2025, we continue to forecast a deficit in total demand vs. primary production in 2025 given the continuous sulfuric acid shortage impacting supply out of Kazakhstan, the main source of growth over the coming years,” he said. “Positive trends on the demand front are likely to continue with new reactor constructions, reactor restarts, reassessment of nuclear energy policies by various government and the involvement of large cap technology companies. While spot market activity was muted in 2024, we note that the spot market could benefit from purchases by struggling producers impacted by slower-than-expected ramp ups or operational issues, as well as the potential return of financial players. As it relates to the term market, all we note is that it is only a matter of time before utilities have to come back to replenish the uranium required to keep these reactors running, so we are not too concerned by a return to replacement rate taking longer than expected. A limited supply growth and continued favorable outlook for demand are all beneficial for uranium equities which, in our books, still present some opportunities despite the easy money having been made.”
In a research report released Tuesday, Mr. Sidibé warned “easy money has been made,” however he is predicting another strong year of share price performance from his uranium coverage supported by “uranium prices, geopolitical tensions and the involvement of large cap technology companies.” Denison Mines Corp. (DML-T, “outperform” rating and $4.30) remains our top pick.
“For the counter cyclical investor - the lithium sector is the place for bargain hunting,” he added. “For investors looking for exposure to the lithium sector, we would refer to our Outperform rating on Lithium Royalty (LIRC:TSX, OP, C$7.50 PT), Lithium Americas (LAC:TSX, OP, C$7.25 PT) and Patriot Battery Metals (PMET:TSX, OP, C$8.25 PT). These stocks present positive idiosyncratic catalysts that could help shares re-rate.”
Conversely, Mr. Sidibé said he remains cautious on the potential for lithium, however he thinks longer-term prices “should go higher” and companies with decent balance sheers and positive catalysts “better positioned to ride out the uncertain road.”
“As we look at lithium, the picture is less rosy and bright, and we expect 2025 to be an uncertain road with a continued oversupplied market and a lack of production curtailments seen,” he said. “In terms of demand, 2024 has been another stellar year of demand growth from China which we expect to continue into 2025 and to be further supported by a rebound in sales out of Europe though at a slower growth than prior years and a continuous positive trend in the ESS market. However, in North America, the threat of reduced spending on renewable energy and elimination of EV incentives have tempered our near-term outlook for lithium demand. We expect 2025 lithium prices to remain around current price levels and as such expect only equities with sound balance sheet and cash flow management to potentially benefit from idiosyncratic positive catalysts in 2025. Longer-term, we continue to expect the need for higher prices to incentivize the 1.6 mln t LCE (more than total production of 1.2 mln t LCE in 2024) needed to fill the supply gap in 2034E.”
Mr. Sidibé made a trio of target price adjustments to stocks in his coverage universe.
- Denison Mines Corp. (DML-T, “outperform”) to $4.30 from $4.15. The average is $4.09.
- American Lithium Corp. (LI-X, “outperform”) to 80 cents from $1.50. Average: $4.33.
- NexGen Energy Ltd. (NXE-T, “outperform”) to $13.50 from $13. Average: $14.05.
“Despite the positive sentiment in the space and while the easy money in the sector has likely been made, we argue that there remains opportunities to generate positive returns through stocks within our coverage universe,” he said. “Notably, DML and NXE continue to trade at an overall discount to current uranium spot prices based on our model and DML overall is trading at a lower valuation than the entire comped developer group. In 2025, media attention over the space is likely to continue, further garnering more support and enthusiasm from the public, specifically as AI investors look to play the data centers angle through other vehicles.”
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With Desjardins Economic Studies calling for further rate cuts, “which should help ease risks inherent in the Canadian economy,” analyst Doug Young is recommending entering 2025 “overweight Canadian banks and lifecos, and underweight the Canadian P&C insurers.”
“First, we updated our sector call for the lifecos (from market weight) for five reasons: (1) more international exposure; (2) benefits from a weaker Canadian dollar via translation of these international earnings; (3) several drivers that should support core or underlying or base earnings growth besides FX, such as reaping benefits from past acquisitions, fixing underperforming businesses, and putting excess capital and debt capacity to work; (4) less concern around the complexity of the new IFRS 17/9 accounting regime; (5) less concern around a turn in the commercial credit and CRE markets—lower interest rates should help with both in our view,” he said. “To be clear, lifecos are beta-sensitive and if equity markets, interest rates or the macro trends go off the rails, the lifecos would be impacted more than the banks or the P&C insurers.
“Second, there are several positives we foresee for Canadian bank stocks as we head into FY25, including an improved macro outlook, potential for a positive turn in the credit cycle later next year, robust regulatory capital ratios and leveraging past acquisitions, to name a few. Furthermore, we believe some investors are still underweight banks, and while this started to reverse in 2024, we expect the flow of funds to continue moving into the banks. Third, while we like the fundamentals of the P&C insurance sector, we are increasingly concerned with the frequency and severity of global weather events and believe the stocks we cover — with the exception of TSU — are fairly valued.”
In a research report released Tuesday titled So tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 2025?, Mr. Young selected two banks and two life insurance companies as his “top picks”
* Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM-T) with a “buy” rating and $100 target. The average on the Street is $94.07.
Analyst: “There are several themes we like with CM. First, management has embarked on a mission to not surprise the market, which we obviously endorse. Second, the bank has executed on its strategy of delivering steady NIMs, effective expense management resulting in positive operating leverage and steady PCLs now that its US CRE challenges have been dealt with. Third, the CET1 ratio has improved, and we believe CM is well-positioned to continue buying back stock. During 4Q FY24, it was the only Canadian bank which bought back a material amount of stock. If it can continue to deliver on the above, we believe the stock works through FY25, and therefore it has moved into pole position in our bank ratings.”
* Royal Bank of Canada (RY-T) with a “buy” rating and $190 target. Average: $178.26.
Analyst: “This is our second pick and is more defensive in nature. First, it boasts strong franchises across Canadian banking, wealth management and capital markets. Second, with the integration of HSBC Canada, we expect further realization of expense and revenue synergies. Third, its capital markets division is wellpositioned to capitalize on the revival of dealmaking and IPOs. Yes, the bank trades at a premium multiple— however, it always has and we believe it always will. We view RY as a core holding.
* Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF-T) with a “buy” rating and $95 target. Average: $88.
Analyst: “There are four themes we like. First, its medium-term underlying ROE target of 20 per cent (was increased at the most recent investor day), which is peer-leading (compares favourably with Canadian banks). Second, we see several earnings growth drivers over the coming year — DentaQuest (DQ) in the U.S., getting to scale and momentum in Asia, SLC Management hitting its stride and potential capital deployment. Third, by our math, SLF has $9-billion in excess capital and debt capacity, and generates an attractive amount of excess capital annually, partially from MFS. Fourth, MFS has been performing well even in volatile equity markets.”
* Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC-T) with a “buy” rating and $50 target. Average: $46.33.
Analyst: “There are three themes we like with the MFC story, and if management can deliver on them, we believe there is room for further valuation multiple expansion: (1) core earnings growth across its Asia franchise; (2) reinsure more of its lower ROE legacy businesses; and (3) buy back stock. It’s as simple as that!”
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ATB Capital Markets analyst Frederico Gomes thinks fundamentals improved in 2024 for Canadian cannabis producers, however emphasized they are “still far from being attractive.”
“The year 2024 was mixed for Canadian cannabis investors,” he said. “The sector underperformed broader indices but outperformed U.S. cannabis by a substantial margin (the HMMJ ETF is up 5.3 per cent while the MSOS ETF is down 49.4 per cent year-to-date). Importantly, in-sector performance was correlated with fundamentals, which indicates Canadian names are starting to trade more on operational performance, and less on hopes of catalysts. Case in point: High Tide, which we think is the name with the strongest fundamentals, was also the best-performing stock, gaining 109.4% YTD. We like the set-up of increased emphasis on fundamentals as a way to dampen volatility and regain institutional investor interest in specific names. Talking about fundamentals, we think 2024 saw three trends that will continue in 2025: (1) Persistent challenges in the domestic LP market due to fragmentation, high excise taxes, and volatile share; (2) Increased reliance on international markets, with LPs setting sights on Europe to find higher-margin growth; and (3) A consolidating retail market benefitting large retailers like High Tide and SNDL. We think investors should favor operators with strong balance sheets (avoid the risk of dilution), consistent positive FCF (or a path towards it), and a credible growth path. High Tide checks all the boxes and remains our top pick.”
After lowering his Canadian legal sales forecast for the year ahead, Mr. Gomes downgraded Canopy Growth Corp. (WEED-T) to “underperform” from “sector perform” after also taking “a more cautious approach to growth in Germany.”
“Canopy Growth is making progress in cutting costs and improving margins to reach positive adj. EBITDA,” he said. “We like the asset-light strategy that reduces the need for capital investments, but we think the current size of the business is too small relative to the debt. While debt is being reduced, the balance sheet is still overleveraged; to deal with the balance sheet, we think Canopy Growth may have to rely on further equity dilution, which may continue to put the stock under pressure. Moreover, the U.S. cannabis market is facing headwinds, which reduces the potential value of Canopy USA. The combination of those factors supports our move to an Underperform rating.”
Mr. Gomes cut his target for Canopy shares to $4 from $6. The average is $6.65.
His other target adjustments include:
- Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB-T, “sector perform”) to $8.50 from $11. Average: $9.20.
- Organigram Holdings Inc. (OGI-T, “outperform”) to $3.50 from $5.25. Average: $3.63.
- SNDL Inc. (SNDL-Q, “outperform”) to US$3.50 from US$4. Average: US$3.
- Tilray Brands Inc. (TLRY-Q/TLRY-T, “sector perform”) to US$1.70 from US$2. Average: US$2.21.
For top pick High Tide Inc. (HITI-X), he reiterated an “outperform” rating and $6.50 target. The average is $6.13.
“High Tide is a growth compounder with a clear runway over the next few years,” he said. “The Company operates 189 stores today, and is opening new locations to reach its target of 300. Given its leading competitive position as the largest Canadian cannabis retailer (and second largest in North America), we think High Tide has reached sustainable profitability, with margin expansion potential through operating leverage. The Company is a direct beneficiary of consolidation in the Canadian cannabis retail market. We view incremental upside from international markets, notably with the recent launch of Cabana Club in the U.S. and Europe for CBD and accessories.”
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National Bank Financial analyst Dan Payne moved his rating for Lucero Energy Corp. (LOU-X) to “tender” from “sector perform” in response to Monday’s announcement of an agreement to be acquired by Vitesse Energy Inc. (VTS-N), in an all-stock transaction valued at US$166-million.
“In sum, the consolidated assets should form a synergistic exposure in the Bakken, with greater potential impact through a larger entity and positive accretion and improved capitalization to backstop the long-term value proposition,” he said.
“As a reflection of the culmination of its business plan, and taking a proactive approach towards exposing shareholders to an expanded value proposition in a larger entity that will benefit from its scale, accretion and its capitalization; we are amending our rating to Tender with a $0.45 target price, based on an at-the-market valuation.”
His target slid from 75 cents to 45 cents, reflecting an at-the-market valuation. The average is 63 cents.
Elsewhere, other analysts making rating adjustments include:
* CIBC’s Jamie Kubik to “tender” from “neutral” with a 47-cent target, down from 65 cents.
“While the transaction metrics imply no premium for Lucero shareholders, the transaction does allow continued participation in development of the North Dakota Bakken and ownership in a diversified dividend paying organization. We adjust our price target to $0.47/sh based on the implied offer value from Vitesse and move to a Tender rating,” he said.
* Canaccord Genuity’s Mike Mueller to “hold” from “buy” with a 45-cent target, down from 80 cents.
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Eight Capital analyst Felix Shafigullin sees Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM-T) “well positioned” to secure enough support from O3 Mining Inc. (OIII-X) shareholders to finalize its $204-million acquisition, “barring a stronger competing offer.”
“In our view, a competing offer is unlikely to be presented, given the support of O3′s key shareholders for the deal and how many of the outstanding shares have already been tendered into Agnico’s offer,” he added.
Accordingly, he moved his rating for Toronto-based O3 to “neutral” from “buy” previously.
“We estimate that Agnico’s offer valued O3 at approximately $40 per ounce of gold contained in total attributable resources (including total resources at O3′s flagship Marban Alliance project and the secondary Alpha property located next to Agnico’s Akasaba West mine), net of O3′s cash, investments, and convertible debt,” he said. “In our view, Agnico’s offer was opportunistic, given that O3′s shares were trading near the all-time low prior to the transaction announcement, and valued O3 on a low end of precedent transactions for advanced-stage gold exploration companies. Nonetheless, we expect the offer to close successfully, given that it is supported by Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI-JSE), O3′s largest shareholder controlling approximately 17% of the company. Gold Fields obtained its stake in O3 as a result of acquiring Osisko Mining Ltd. in October 2024.
“Gold Fields has entered into a lock-up agreement with Agnico to tender its shares of O3 into Agnico’s offer. Combining the shares tendered by Gold Fields with other lock-up agreements that Agnico has established with O3′s shareholders (including all of the Directors and management of O3), approximately 39 per cent of the outstanding common shares of O3 have already been tendered into the offer. In addition, Agnico itself already controls approximately 5 per cent of O3 on a partially diluted basis, comprised of 0.9 million common shares, 0.3 million warrants, and a $10-million debenture convertible into 4.9M shares of O3.”
Mr. Shafigullin’s target moved to $1.67 from $3.85 to reflect the offer. The average is $1.79.
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In other analyst actions:
* CIBC’s Ty Collin initiated coverage of Leon’s Furniture Ltd. (LNF-T) with a “neutral” rating and $29 target, below the $36 average on the Street.
“We view Leon’s Furniture (LNF) as an excellent operator with moderate growth prospects, but believe the current share price fairly reflects the value of its core retail business, which still faces near-term macro headwinds,” he said. “The company’s nascent REIT strategy and M&A represent potentially significant upside, but we do not include either in our base case price target given uncertainties around timing and execution. Despite a strong run for shares we do not view the valuation as overly demanding, and believe investors can hold the stock for this option value with limited downside.”
* CIBC’s Dean Wilkinson initiated coverage of StorageVault Canada (SVI-T) with a “neutral” rating and $5 target. The average is $5.42.
“SVI is a niche real estate story, offering high growth in a traditionally moderate-growth sector,” said Mr. Wilkinson. “As organic growth has somewhat softened through 2024, we believe SVI will continue to focus on a strong growth track record, underpinned by: 1) scale-related organic growth levers, reflecting a network of stores that is more than twice as large as its nearest competitor; and, 2) a well-defined acquisition strategy and track record in a highly fragmented industry, somewhat offset by a recent softening in demand drivers in the low-penetration Canadian self storage market. That being said, against a backdrop of a lowering rate environment, we believe investors may favor higher-dividend-yielding real estate investment at this time.”
* Following Monday’s flurry of initiations, two more analysts started coverage of Montreal-based fashion retailer Groupe Dynamite Inc. (GRGD-T) on Tuesday. Barclays’ Adrienne Yih gave it a “neutral” rating and 2$5 target, while National Bank’s Vishal Shreedhar gave it an “outperform” rating and $25 target. The average is $27.33.
“Investment in GRGD is differentiated by strong financial metrics,” said Mr. Shreedhar. “Currently, the company generates an EBITDA margin that is amongst the highest in our apparel group (NBF projects F2024E EBITDA margin of 30.3 per cent). We expect EBITDA margin to further expand incrementally to 32.5 per cent by F2028E. Our view is that margin expansion will be driven by: GRGD’s pricing strategy (AUR has historically grown at less than 2 times rate of inflation), benefits from the opening of a U.S. D.C. (reduced tariffs and lower freight costs, partly offset by higher rent), Garage growth outpacing Dynamite (Garage margins are structurally higher than Dynamite) and sales operating leverage. Notably, GRGD has one of the highest ROIC amongst our apparel group and has the highest ROIC amongst our coverage universe. All else equal, we view a strong ROIC to be constructive for shareholder return and the valuation multiple over time, should our forecasts prove to be accurate.
“That said, we note that leading metrics may also suggest opportunities for material improvement are more limited versus peers. If GRGD can successfully achieve NBF’s forecasts, this would place its EBITDA margin over 2 standard deviations higher than the average of our apparel group.”
* Ventum Capital Markets’ Devin Schilling initiated coverage of Vancouver-based Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (HBGF-CN) with a “buy” rating and $2 target. The average is
“We believe Happy Belly provides best-in-class exposure to high-growth Quick-Serve Restaurant (QSR) brands that are still in the infancy of a long-term growth cycle,” he said. “Happy Belly is capitalizing on a void in the marketplace by focusing on areas not served by larger consolidators in the space, enabling it to purchase brands at attractive valuations while also growing at well above industry rates. With 421 contractually committed retail locations in its pipeline (either opened, under construction, or being sourced), Happy Belly is well-positioned to deliver sustainable revenue growth and margin expansion for years to come. Furthermore, the Company has reported 10 consecutive record quarters highlighting strong execution.
“With a 59-per-cent potential return to our DCF-derived valuation, we see the Company as undervalued and supportive of our BUY recommendation.”
* Pointing to “deteriorating” operating conditions in Mali, Eight Capital’s Ralph Profiti cut his Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX-T) target by $4 to $34 with a “buy” rating. The average is $33.90.
“Due to increased uncertainty, we are removing Loulo-Gounkoto sales from our near-term forecasts,” he said. “FY24 attributable gold production was already expected at the low end of the guidance range of 3.9-4.3Moz at cash costs of $940-1,020/ozand AISC of $1,320-1,420/oz. Our Loulo-Gounkoto gold sales suspension assumption is effective November 26, 2024, which impacts our Q4/24 results, and we have also removed Loulo-Gounkoto sales from our H1/25 forecasts with sales resuming in H2/25 (no material FY25 financial impact). If shipments remain suspended, Barrick will be compelled to suspend operations, potentially further impacting our estimates and NAV.”
* In response to last week’s release of an updated Mineral Reserve and Resource (R&R) statement which included the maiden reserve for Ormaque (part of the Lamaque complex), National Bank’s Mike Parkin trimmed his Eldorado Gold Corp. (ELD-T) target to $29 from $30 with an “outperform” rating. The average is $29.03.
* Mr. Parkin lowered his target for OceanaGold Corp. (OGC-T) to $5.25 from $5.50, below the $5.83 average, with an “outperform” rating in response to the results of its pre-feasibility study for the Waihi complex in New Zealand.
* After incorporating into his forecast its definitive purchase agreement to acquire Newmont’s Cripple Creek & Victor (CC&V) mine, Mr. Parkin hiked his target for SSR Mining Inc. (SSRM-T) to $11.50 from $9 with a “sector perform” rating. The average is $9.73.
* CIBC’s Anita Soni raised her Orla Mining Ltd. (OLA-T) target to $9.25 from $8.50 with an “outperformer” rating. The average is $8.21.
* National Bank’s Patrick Kenny bumped his Secure Energy Services Inc. (SES-T) target to $18 from $17 with an “outperform” rating, while CIBC’s Jamie Kubik increased his to $17.25 from $16 with a “neutral” rating.. The average is $18.10.
* TD Cowen’s David Kwan bumped his Well Health Technologies Corp. (WELL-T) to $8.50 from $8 with a “buy:” rating, while Raymond James’ Michael Freeman increased his target to $11 from $10 with an “outperform” rating. The average is $8.47.
“Despite the recent share price surge, we believe there is more upside ahead as management continues to focus on unlocking shareholder value and simplifying the story. We expect more WELLSTAR acquisitions ahead of a planned IPO next year, while announcements on the potential sale of Wisp and/or Circle are expected in the (very) near-term that could further boost WELL’s stock,” said Mr. Kwan.