Inside the Market’s roundup of some of today’s key analyst actions
TD Cowen analyst John Shao upgraded Celestica Inc. (CLS-N, CLS-T) to a “buy” from a “hold” following the stock’s 14 per cent selloff on Tuesday despite solid quarterly results. He also raised his price target to US$430 from $350, citing estimate revisions following recent performance and guidance.
In addition to the stock’s slide this week, he cited three other reasons for his rating upgrade: materially higher fiscal 2026 guidance and better visibility into fiscal 2027; new revenue opportunities and program wins that have the potential to scale meaningfully; and planned capacity increases, which the analyst believes will lead Celestica to increasing its growth potential.
“Incorporating this quarter’s updates and our recent works, we find it challenging to maintain a hold rating while forecasting such strong future performance,” Mr. Shao said in a note to clients.
Tuesday’s sell-off “offers that opportunistic entry point we have been looking for,” he said.
Elsewhere, RBC analyst Paul Treiber raised his price target to US$440 from US$400 while reiterating an “outperform” rating.
“Celestica is seeing strong demand momentum, as shown by the large increase in its FY26 and FY27 outlook. However, component shortages were a headwind Q1, which resulted in a smaller than typical quarterly beat. Minor quarterly variability does not detract from Celestica’s solid long-term trajectory, in our view. The increasing complexity of Celestica’s program wins speak to the company’s expanding capabilities, which would help sustain Celestica’s premium valuation,” Mr. Treiber said.
CIBC also raised its target, going to US$480 from US$425, while reiterating an “outperformer” rating.
The average price target is US$451.18, according to S&P Capital IQ.
Desjardins analyst Jerome Dubreuil predicted - correctly - that CGI Inc. (GIB-A-T) shares would come under pressure today following fiscal second quarter results released in the premarket.
“CGI’s 2Q FY26 profitability met expectations, but organic growth improved less than anticipated due to ongoing weakness in the US federal business,” he said in a note to clients. “In the recent past, we believe the stock mostly reacted to top-line news and thus we could see slight pressure on the name today. Overall, we believe these results are unlikely to materially alter the stock’s trajectory in the near term.”
For the time being, he has a “buy” rating and C$149 price target.
He further detailed: “Consolidated revenue of C$4.16b came in 2% below consensus of C$4.24b. We estimate organic revenue growth declined by ~3% yoy, slightly improving from last quarter’s ~-4%. However, last quarter was negatively impacted by the US government shutdown—therefore, we do not believe underlying trends improved sequentially. Adjusted EBIT of C$692m(3.9% yoy) was in line with consensus of C$690m,reflecting robust adjusted EBIT margin of 16.6% (consensus 16.3%), slightly higher than last year’s 16.5%. Adjusted EPS of C$2.27 met consensus of C$2.27 and was up 7.1% yoy. Cash provided by operating activities of C$451mmissed consensus of C$516m,but beat our C$427m forecast. Book-to-bill of 1.04x was decent, but does not point toward a material demand inflection."
Elsewhere, TD analyst David Kwon, who has a C$153 price target on the stock as well as a “buy” rating, took a glass-is-half-full approach in his first reaction to today’s earnings.
“We do not think the Q2 results will help reverse the mostly AI-driven share price weakness over the last year, given the modest revenue miss, organic growth remaining negative, and the ~4% y/y decline in bookings driven by weaker managed services demand. However, margins remain solid and were slightly ahead of expectations while strong free cash flow continues to help fund its active share buyback activity,” the TD analyst said.
Shares in CGI were down 13 per cent in late morning TSX trading to their lowest price since 2020.
The average price target is currently C$141.15, although that could come down if analysts cut price targets Thursday morning.
Canaccord Genuity analyst Aravinda Galappatthige downgraded NTG Clarity Networks Inc. (NCI-X) a notch to “speculative buy” from “buy” while cutting his price target to C$1.50 from C$2.70.
The moves came after fourth quarter results that showed lower free cash flow and a $88-million backlog that reflected a slowdown in new contract signings.
“Our target price revision is due to a reduction to the target multiple from 7.5x to 4.5x as we roll our valuation forward to 2027,” Mr. Galappatthige said in a note to clients. “This is intended to reflect a steep sell-off among IT services peers (comp group at 4.9x 2027E), lower visibility into the growth trajectory owing to slower PO [Purchase Order] win rate, and regional tensions.”
The analyst sees “upside prospects off the current price levels,” but also “sustained risks” relating to the growth trajectory and free cash flow generation.
The average analyst price target is C$2.44.
Raymond James analyst Craig Stanley raised his price target on K92 Mining Inc. (KNT-T) to C$33 from C$30 while reiterating an “outperform” rating as he updated estimates ahead of first quarter 2026 financial results scheduled for May 11.
K92 owns the Kainantu Mine in Papua New Guinea.
His target price is based on a price to net present value multiple of 1.1x, a premium to the intermediate gold producers given expected production growth.
Raymond James analyst Frederic Bastien made several changes to price targets on industrial stocks in Canada as he previewed first quarter results.
He noted that performance across the names have diverged meaningfully since the middle of last year, “with the AI disintermediation narrative driving a rotation toward companies with hard-asset or low-obsolescence (HALO) characteristics, to the detriment of professional services firms.”
“For proof consider that since Oct-21-25, shares of Aecon Group and Bird Construction have gained 98% and 62%, respectively, while Stantec and WSP Global have declined 22% and 20%, vs. the TSX at 3%. This rotation has compressed the engineers’ valuation premium to this pair of contractors to historically low levels. Even so, the prospect of large-scale nation-building projects breaking ground could very well sustain elevated multiples for HALO-exposed names in near-term, supporting our decision to raise valuation targets for all three contractors under coverage—Aecon, Bird, and NACG," he said in a note to clients.
“Conversely, we believe it may take several quarters of consistent, undisturbed earnings growth to reassure investors of AI’s net benefits to engineering consultancies. Accordingly, we temper our valuation expectations for the group, lowering our target EV/EBITDA multiples for Stantec and the engineering practices of AtkinsRéalis and Colliers by a full multiple point. We’re staying put on WSP’s valuation, however, as the firm has already leveraged its domain expertise, client engagement and AI partnerships to develop differentiated offerings, including future-forward solutions for the mining sector and building owners.”
Price target changes were:
Aecon Group Inc. (ARE-T) From C$44 to C$54
Bird Construction Inc. (BDT-T) From C$44 to C$54
North American Construction Group (NOA-T) From C$24 to C$26
AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. (ATRL-T) From C$130 to C$125
Stantec Inc. (STN-T) From C$180 to C$165
Colliers International Group Inc. (CIGI-Q) From C$185 to C$180
Badger Infrastructure Solutions Ltd. (BDGI-T) From C$83 to C$73.
He has “strong buy” ratings on AtkinsRéalis Group and Colliers International Group and “outperform” ratings on Stantec, Bird Construction, and North American Construction. Aecon Group and Badger Infrastructure Solutions have “market perform” ratings.
Aecon also got a price target hike from BMO Capital Markets analyst Devin Dodge after he reviewed first quarter results. His target went to C$49 from C$45 although his rating remains “market perform”.
“ARE is well-positioned to benefit from increased investment across several of its end-markets, including nuclear, infrastructure and power. However, with the valuation multiple shifting materially higher over the last ~6 months, we believe much of this optimism is already reflected in the shares,” said Mr. Dodge.
ATB Cormark Capital Markets analyst Chris Murray trimmed his price target on Air Canada (AC-T) to C$32 from C$33 as he previewed first quarter results scheduled for after markets close on Thursday.
He lowered estimates for the first quarter and for the full year to account for the increase in jet fuel prices.
“Our revised estimates call for flat EBITDA growth in Q1/26, placing [our estimates] below consensus, with ~20.0% of expected H1/26 fuel needs hedged, mitigating a portion of the fuel-based pressure,” Mr. Murray said in a note.
“While jet fuel prices sit notably above guidance levels and cloud the outlook, the impact should be minimized by hedges and the favourable demand/yield environment. We remain constructive on AC at current valuations and view the fuel situation as manageable with insider buying and [share buyback] activity increasing in late March,” he added.
He maintained an “outperform” rating.
The average analyst price target on Air Canada shares is C$23.28.
National Bank analyst Jaeme Gloyn previewed first quarter results for financial stocks he covers and made a number of tweaks to price targets.
They were:
Definity Financial Corp. (DFY-T) from C$93 to C$94
Fairfax Financial Holdings Inc. (FFH-T) from C$3,200 to C$3,300
Intact Financial Corp. (IFC-T) from C$364 to C$372
IGM Financial Inc. (IGM-T) from C$82 to C$85
TMX Group Ltd. (X-T) from C$60 to C$63
IGM has been National Bank’s top big cap pick of the financials, and Mr. Gloyn remains bullish on the stock.
“The strongest performer in our coverage, up 19% YTD, through just four months IGM has validated several key pieces of our original thesis. Our view was that the improving flows, better contributions from strategic investments and increasing capital return were not fully appreciated. Since then, we have seen continued strength in net flows, a significant capital return plan announced with Q1 results (10% dividend increase and plans to utilize full 5% NCIB), and we believe the market has become increasingly comfortable with the value of strategic investments,” Mr. Gloyn said in a note to clients.
“Even following the strong YTD move, we continue to see IGM as an attractive opportunity. Stripping out the value of strategic investments in ChinaAMC, Wealthsimple and Rockefeller implies the core platforms are trading at only ~8.5x P/E, roughly in line with Canadian asset manager peers, but significantly lower vs. other Canadian financials and U.S. peers,” he said.