Apple CEO Tim Cook talks about the new Apple Watch during an Apple event on Monday, March 9, 2015, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)The Associated Press
Inside the Market's roundup of some of today's key analyst actions. This file will be updated often during the trading day so check back for new details.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. analyst Jim Suva has high expectations for Apple Inc.'s latest venture into wearable technology with its Apple Watch. The analyst maintained his "buy" rating and stepped up his target price, expecting three million units sold in the June quarter and 20 million units in the first year.
Apple's announcement Monday unveiled two different sizes and three separate versions of the Apple Watch, along with an array of different strap, faceplate, materials and customizable faces. Prices will range from the $349 (U.S.) floor to over $10,000 for gold-cased, sapphire crystal options.
Coming with a heftier price tag than expected, the analyst revised his average sale price estimate to $651 from $350. Mr. Suva's estimates will translate to additional earnings per share of 12 cents for fiscal 2015 and 34 cents for 2016.
Also factoring into his valuation of the tech giant is a $90-billion share buyback announcement in April. Apple intends to complete the buyback by the end of 2015.
Mr. Suva raised his target price to $145 from $135. Consensus is $136.24, according to Thomson Reuters.
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Concordia Healthcare Corp. swung for the fences with its $1.2-billion (U.S.) Covis Pharma and Covis Interjectables deal, according to Canaccord Genuity analyst Neil Maruoka. The analyst raised his rating to "buy" from "speculative buy" on the news.
Oakville-based Concordia will acquire the rights to a number of legacy products. While revenue for these products was reported to be about $145-million in 2014, Mr. Maruoka expects the earnings from the Covis products will likely generate closer to $165-million per year.
He also thinks with the deal Concordia now has the scale to pursue larger acquisitions in the future.
Mr. Maruoka raised his target price to $95 from $55. Consensus is $51.98.
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Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.'s Horizon Oil Sands project has begun "hitting its stride" with signs of cost improvement and higher volumes, according to Veritas Research analyst Sam La Bell. The analyst reversed his rating to "buy" from "sell."
In addition to developments at Horizon, CNRL cut its capital budget by $2.6-billion, but only expects full-year volume to drop by 2 per cent. The analyst is also eyeing CNRL's royalty stream as a valuable sale or spin-off possibility, valued at $2 per share.
Mr. La Bell raised his price target to $43.50 from $33.50. Consensus is $42.52.
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UBS analyst Steven Milunovich thinks Hewlett-Packard Co. offers a favourable risk-reward comparison and is upgrading his rating to "buy" from "neutral."
Mr. Milunovich sees the stock's recent pullback as an opportunity for growth upon better execution by CEO Meg Whitman.
The analyst thinks HP's decision to break into two separate companies will also help create stronger value, as he has long-argued HP is "too large to manage." The breakup will take place later this year.
Mr. Milunovich raised his price target to $40 (U.S.) from $37.25. Consensus is $40.78.
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NuVista Energy Ltd. is well-positioned in its gas-weighted peer group based on the strong performance of its Wapiti Montney formation, says BMO Capital Markets analyst Jim Byrne.
The oil and natural gas company beat projections on its fourth-quarter production levels, and cash netbacks were better than expected due largely to stronger price realization and lower royalties. NuVista's CFPS (cash flow per share) was $0.26, above Mr. Byrne's estimate of $0.25
Mr. Byrne maintains his "outperform" rating and increases his target price to $10 from $7.50. Consensus is $10.
But NuVista was downgraded to "market perform" from "outperform" at FirstEnergy Capital. The 12-month target price is $9.50 per share.
In other analyst actions:
Goldcorp Inc. was upgraded to "hold" from "underperform" at Jefferies.
Crew Energy Inc. was lowered to "market perform" from "outperform" at FirstEnergy Capital. The 12- month target price is $6.25 (Canadian) per share.
Nvidia Corp. was raised to "buy" from "neutral" at Bank of America.
Embraer SA was downgraded to "market perform" from "outperform" at Itau BBA Securities. The target price is $35 (U.S.) per share.
FAM Real Estate Investment Trust was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at Canaccord Genuity. The 12-month target price is $8 (Canadian) per share.
Cequence Energy Ltd. was downgraded to "neutral" from "outperform" at Macquarie. The 12-month target price is $1.10 (Canadian) per share.
Interfor Corp. was downgraded to "outperform" from "strong buy" at Raymond James. The 12-month target price is $27 (Canadian) per share.
Largo Resources Ltd. was downgraded to "market perform" from "buy" at Cormark Securities. The 12-month target price is $2 (Canadian) per share.
Western Forest Products Inc. was downgraded to "outperform" from "strong buy" at Raymond James. The 12-month target price is $3.50 (Canadian) per share.
Electronic Arts Inc. was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at Needham & Co.
Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at BB&T Capital.
ManpowerGroup Inc. was raised to "outperform" from "neutral" at Macquarie. The 12-month target price is $95 (U.S.) per share.
Urban Outfitters Inc. was raised to "outperform" from "market perform" at William Blair.Janney Montgomery raised the stock to "buy" from "neutral" with a 12-month target price of $48 (U.S.) per share.
Zoe's Kitchen Inc. was rated new "hold" at Miller Tabak + Co. The 12-month target price is $32 (U.S.) per share.
With files from Bloomberg News