Inside the Market’s roundup of some of today’s key analyst actions
At least six analysts raised their price targets on Aritzia Inc. (ATZ-T) after the fashion retailer reported better-than-expected quarterly results after the bell on Thursday.
Canaccord Genuity raised its target price to C$46 from C$42, while RBC hiked its target to C$47 from C$46 and Stifel raised its target to C$50 from C$42. BMO raised its target price to C$52 from C$50, TD Cowen to C$50 from C$46, and UBS to C$54 from C$53.
The average analyst price target is now C$49.25, up from C$44 a month ago, according to LSEG data.
Revenue of $499 million in its fiscal first quarter of 2025 beat the consensus’ expectation of $486 million, while adjusted EBITDA of $54 million beat the $45 million estimate.
Aritzia’s outlook for the fiscal second quarter calls for $570-$590 million of revenue, or 7-10% year-over-year growth, which was in line with expectation.
Canaccord analyst Luke Hannan commented: “Importantly, the tone of the conference call was positive, in our view. Of note: (1) Aritzia’s most recently opened new boutique in Boca Raton is beating sales expectations by 35%, tracking to pay back in 10 months, and with more than 60% of clients shopping in the store during the first week being new to Aritzia; (2) investments in digital marketing have been successful in driving web traffic and conversion, leading to return on ad spend that is above the industry average; (3) YoY net revenue growth and comparable sales growth were tracking at the ~10% and mid-single-digit range, respectively, as of the end of Q1/F25 (implying Q2/F25 guidance could be conservative if current trends hold); (4) better FCF generation in H2/F25 once capital project-related spending falls off, opening the door for share repurchases.”
“With improving comparable sales growth, compelling unit economics for new and repositioned boutiques, and a long runway for expansion in the US, we believe Aritzia shares are compelling at current levels,” concluded Mr. Hannan.
Stifel analyst Martin Landry reiterated his “buy” rating, commenting that both the retailer’s second quarter and full year guidance could be conservative.
“With store expansion plans on time, margin expansion progressing as expected, our visibility is increasing for FY26 and as such, we have increased our FY26 EPS forecasts by 7%. Despite a strong stock price heading into the quarter, we believe investors will react well to these results,” Mr. Landry said.
***
At least three analysts raised their price targets on MTY Food Group Inc. (MTY-T) after its own beat in its latest quarter.
National Bank Financial raised its target price to C$53 from C$52 while RBC hiked its target price to C$53 from C$51 and TD Cowen raised its target to C$51 from C$49.
The average analyst price target is now C$55.40, up from $55 a month ago.
The fiscal second-quarter results were termed “favourable” by National Bank analyst Vishal Shreedhar, who noted they beat consensus expectations on sales, revenue, same-store sales growth and EBITDA. The beat was enough to send the stock up 11% on Thursday given its weak performance so far this year.
Mr. Shreedhar reiterated an “outperform” rating, noting the stock’s valuation is attractive, even after Thursday’s rally.
“We believe valuation at 7.8x our next 12 months EBITDA vs. the five-year average of 9.7x is attractive. In addition, the free cash flow yield of about 10% is also supportive. That said, our expectations of tepid same-store sales growth could dampen investor appetite for MTY at least until organic growth accelerates. We model positive consolidated same-store sales growth from Q1/F25 onwards,” he said.
***
There is a low probability that a superior bid will materialize for Héroux-Devtek Inc. (HRX-T) following the proposed takeover of the Canadian landing gear maker by American private equity firm Platinum Equity Advisors LLC for $32.50 in cash per share, said Desjardins Securities analyst Benoit Poirier.
“We view the offer price as reasonable, given (1) the longstanding Canadian discount vs U.S. players; and (2) the implied multiple is above HRX’s historical valuation. In view of key shareholder support for the deal and the Québec angle (commitment to maintain HQ and operations in the province), which may be difficult for other potential buyers to replicate, we see a low probability of a superior bid,” Mr. Poirier said in a note to clients.
“We calculate that the purchase price represents multiples of 14.7x TTM EV/EBITDA and 11.5x our FY25 EBITDA estimate. While the offer price is below our pre-acquisition target of C$37, it is important to note that our target was based on a 12-month timeframe, we have the highest estimates on the Street for both FY25 and FY26, and the offer price is considerably above HRX’s historical valuation,” he said.
Mr. Poirier recommends shareholders tender their shares and he moved his price target to C$32.50 to match the deal.
***
RBC analyst Nelson Ng cut his price target on Superior Plus Corp (SPB-T) to C$13 from C$15, citing several headwinds and uncertainties for Certarus, a North American low carbon energy solutions provider it acquired last year. It’s now the main growth driver at Superior Plus.
“We believe the recently announced departure of Certarus’ CEO Curtis Philippon results in some uncertainty for the business as Mr. Philippon played a key role in Certarus’ growth in the past decade. Although we expect an internal candidate will be appointed to lead Certarus, it could take some time to build market confidence. We also see headwinds from potential underutilized mobile storage units (MSUs) and competitive margin pressure.”
He continues to rate Superior Plus “outperform”.
***
Benchmark analyst Cody Acree raised his target price on Nvidia Corp. (NVDA-Q) to US$170 from US$135 after hosting company executives for a fireside chat discussion with investors.
“We came away with increasing conviction that the company is well positioned to continue its leadership of the AI industry, with above expected revenue and earnings growth for the foreseeable future,” Mr. Acree said in a note to clients.
“Most notable was the company’s consistent conviction that its jointly planned customer demand continues to outstrip its increasing ability to fully supply and that its growth outlook is unfazed by the growing cadence of its customers’ internal silicon efforts, with room expected for both systems within customer’s expanding capital budgets. Accordingly, we are increasing our estimates for FY25 and FY26, reiterate our buy rating,” he said.
***
Tesla Inc. (TSLA-Q) is receiving a number of price target hikes this morning, although there has been one ratings downgrade as well.
Citigroup raised its target price to US$274 from US$182; Mizuho raises target price to $230 from $180; and UBS downgraded its rating to “sell” from “neutral” but raised its price target to $197 from $147
“TSLA is more than an auto company, but about 61% of today’s price is not directly attributable to identifiable value,” UBS analyst Joseph Spak said in explaining his downgrade.
***
In other analyst actions:
Brookfield Corp (BN-N): KBW cuts target price to US$44 from US$46
Calibre Mining Corp (CXB-T): Jefferies raises target price to C$2.75 from C$2.25
Capstone Copper Corp (CS-T): Jefferies raises target price to C$14 from C$13
D2L Inc (DTOL-T): Eight Capital raises target price to C$17 from C$13
Dundee Precious Metals Inc (DPM-T): Jefferies raises target price to C$16 from C$15
Ero Copper Corp (ERO-T): Jefferies raises target price to C$32 from C$29
Filo Corp (FIL-T): Jefferies raises target price to C$36 from C$34
G Mining Ventures Corp (GMIN-T): Jefferies raises target price to C$2.5 from C$2
Hudbay Minerals Inc (HBM-T): Jefferies raises target price to C$14 from C$13
Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (IVN-T): Jefferies raises target price to C$26 from C$25
Lundin Gold Inc (LUG-T): Jefferies raises target price to C$26 from C$24
Oceanagold Corp (OGC-T): Jefferies raises target price to C$5 from C$4
Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (OR-T): Jefferies raises to buy from hold
Teck Resources Ltd (TECK-B-T): CIBC resumes coverage with outperformer rating; PT C$80
Netflix Inc (NFLX-Q): JP Morgan raises target price to US$750 from US$650
Newmont (NEM-N): Jefferies raises target price to US$54 from US$50
Nike Inc (NKE-N): Jefferies cuts target price to US$80 from US$90