Inside the Market’s roundup of some of today’s key analyst actions
ATB Capital Markets analyst Tim Monachello thinks macro headwinds are likely to limit Mattr Corp.’s (MATR-T) growth moving forward.
Accordingly, believing its shares are “likely to be range-bound until near-term challenges pass and there is better visibility to stronger organic growth,” he downgraded his rating for the materials technology company to a “sector perform” recommendation from “outperform” previously.
Shares of the Toronto-based enterprise have dropped 15 per cent since the release of its third-quarter results last Wednesday, including adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $42-million that topped both Mr. Monachello’s $38-million estimate and the consensus projection of $33-million.
Investor concern rests on the company’s outlook that included a “significantly reduced” organic growth expectation across Matr’s platform for 2025. That led the analyst to reduce his adjusted EBITDAS estimate, excluding one-time costs and including discontinued operations, by 10 per cent for both 2025 and 2026. His revised 2025 estimates now reflect 6-per-cent organic revenue growth (15 per cent previously) and 7-per-cent organic adjusted EBITDA growth (25 per cent previously), excluding one-time costs and its recent US$280-million acquisition of AmerCable.
“Matr’s lower growth 2025 outlook is largely the result of a weakened view of Flexpipe demand due to tepid North American oil and gas activity expectations, and a weakened view of global automotive production in 2025 that is expected to weigh on DSG Canusa which is roughly 50-per-cent exposed to automotive,” said Mr. Monachello. “More positively, Matr is facing robust demand in its Xerxes retail fuel and stormwater management tank businesses and its Shawflex engineered wire and cable business, though we believe its ability to access this demand will be limited until new facilities are ramped-up sometime in mid-2025.
“In the interim, we believe Matr will incur at least roughly $30-million of one-time costs through H1/25 to right size its Flexpipe and DSG Canusa businesses, stand-up and ramp-up new manufacturing facilities, and complete and integrate its AmerCable acquisition. Meanwhile, Q4/24 is expected to see exacerbated seasonality in Matr’s Flexpipe business and across the Connection Technologies segment.”
While the analyst continues to believe Matr’s long-term strategy “provides meaningful upside potential for longer-term investors,” he emphasized its “near-term outlook is challenged and its medium-term outlook lacks visibility.” With his reduced estimates, he cut his target for its shares to $18 from $23. The average target on the Street is $19.84.
Elsewhere, TD Cowen’s Michael Tupholme lowered his target to $16 from $18 with a “hold” rating.
“While MATR expects demand to improve across much of its portfolio in 2025, the oilfield and automotive markets are expected to remain somewhat depressed. With near-term headwinds seen weighing on results and sentiment, we maintain our HOLD rating,” he said.
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Following SmartCentres REIT’s (SRU.UN-T) “surprise” 5-per-cent same-property net operating income growth in the third quarter and management’s new 2025 outlook, TD Cowen analyst Sam Damiani upgraded his recommendation for its units to “buy” from “hold” previously.
“Friday’s lack of unit-price reaction suggests the Street is taking a ‘wait-and-see’ approach,” he said. “But after our own analysis, we see the potential. With our raised forecasts and NAV, and SRU’s relative valuation discount now at its widest since 2020, we are compelled to move SRU up in our pecking order.”
Following the SPNOI gain, SmartCentres management is now projecting 3-5-per-centgrowth in 2025, exceeding Mr. Damiani’s 2-per-cent estimate.
“The new pace contrasts with SRU’s history and disclosed operating metrics, but is supported by this year’s acceleration in average in-place rent and likely the strong performance in Premium Outlets,” he said. “Toronto Premium Outlets has been a resounding success since its 2013 opening, and is now a top-three performing shopping centre in Canada, suggesting average tenant sales/sf of at least $1,500/sf (up 25 per cent vs. 2018).
“SRU’s higher pace of SPNOI growth signals to us that the shopping centres are now sufficiently beyond their initial development to have had their market rents fully tested by the leasing market. Clearly, Walmart’s flat-rent leases (23 per cent of rents today vs. 25 per cent prepandemic) are slowly becoming less of a growth headwind.”
Touting its “strong development track record” and raising his forecast through 2026, Mr. Damiani increased his target to $28 from $26. The average is $26.69.
“We believe SRU offers investors exposure to a strong and stable underlying retail property portfolio, with upside primarily from redevelopment and intensification on existing excess lands,” he concluded. “Stability is further enhanced by a strong portfolio of mostly Walmart-anchored, unenclosed shopping centres. We are upgrading the stock to BUY from Hold owing to management’s new positive 2025 outlook for SPNOI growth and unwarranted wide valuation discount versus its closest peers RioCan and FCR.”
Elsewhere, Scotia’s Mario Saric raised his target by $1 to $25.50 with a “sector perform” rating.
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While Air Canada’s (AC-T) earnings are recovering faster than its share price, Citi analyst Stephen Trent thinks “that mismatch might be temporary.”
“Citi’s 2025E earnings from continued operations for Air Canada remain 13 per cent below reported 2019 levels,” he said. “However, over the past five years, the carrier’s TSX-listed shares remain down 50 per cent, in spite of the recent weeks’ rally. As the carrier’s earnings continue to recover, driven in part by Trans-Pacific flow that is still spooling up, Air Canada’s share price performance could start catching up with its earnings performance, as we have seen with some of the U.S. network majors.”
In a research note released before the bell, Mr. Trent said Air Canada’s “forward momentum looks positive.”
“With more international long-haul exposure than any Citi-covered carrier in the Americas, the Canadian government’s elimination of COVID-era restrictions (Reuters, Oct 30) on flights to China, appears supportive of Air Canada’s plans to increase its service to Shanghai next month and to resume Vancouver to Beijing service in January,” he said. “Moving into 2025, Air Canada’s Trans-Atlantic summer expansion should include new/additional service to Portugal, Italy and the Czech Republic. Although Canadian passenger travel to the U.S. may face some headwind from U.S. dollar appreciation, these trends could also support higher U.S. passenger flow to Canada. Air Canada’s alliance with United Airlines could mitigate the negative effects of a stronger U.S. dollar.”
Mr. Trent raised his earnings expectations through 2026 to reflect a higher 20 revenue per available seat mile (RASM) estimate alongside lower 2025 RASM growth as well as lower, excluding fuel, cost per available seat mile and higher expected net interest expense.
“Among other factors, the book-away that had occurred in late September/early October, on the back of the threatened pilots’ strike, had not nearly been as difficult as we had previously anticipated,” he added.
Keeping a “buy” rating, the analyst increased his target for Air Canada shares to $28.50 from $21. The average is $25.94.
“We rate Air Canada Buy, which is based on strong global potential for a continued recovery in international long-haul passenger revenue, and what looks to be a stock price dip. Although the carrier’s margins seem unlikely to catch those of several of its southern peers, this carrier has the most international long-haul exposure among Citi’s Americas Airline coverage,” said Mr. Trent.
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Desjardins Securities analyst Benoit Poirier sees MDA Space Ltd. (MDA-T) “primed to attract investor interest, offering what we see as an asymmetric pure-play bet with limited downside.”
“While anticipation was high heading into the print given the share price appreciation, the noise surrounding Apple’s new constellation, and expectations of a beat and raise, MDA’s stronger-than-expected deleveraging was a positive surprise, in our view,” he said. “We continue to believe the new Apple-Globalstar constellation is behind MDA’s mysterious ATP contract. These results and the slight CHORUS delay have not changed our thesis and we have made only small tweaks to our numbers.”
Shares of the Brampton, Ont.-based space technology company slipped 3.4 per cent on Friday despite the release of third-quarter results that were better than anticipated. Revenue grew 38 per cent year-over-year to $282-million, exceeding the $277-million estimate of both Mr. Poirier and the consensus of his peers and above its guidance range of $270-$280-million. Adjusted EBITDA of $56-million and adjusted earnings per share of 28 cents also topped the projections of the analyst ($55-million and 26 cents, respectively) and Street ($54-milllion and 17 cents).
“MDA raises revenue target and narrows EBITDA range—CHORUS launch date delayed to mid-2026 and LEO booking pipeline increased to $15-billion-plus,” said Mr. Poirier.
“MDA’s LEO satellite constellation booking pipeline opportunity has increased to $15-billion-plus (from $13-billion previously) based on new customer conversations. MDA now has at least several items in the pipeline that are in more mature phases, with at least one new constellation announcement expected in 2025. The one hiccup in the quarter was that MDA has delayed the launch of CHORUS to mid-2026 (from 4Q25 originally) given additional technical work and security features. According to MDA, this will have no material impact on revenue targets for 2026 or be a material working capital drag. We now forecast adjusted EBITDA of $207-milllion in 2024, followed by $272-million in 2025 and $330-million in 2026 ($204-milllion, $273-million and $328-million previously).”
Also seeing stronger-than-expected deleveraging, Mr. Poirier raised his target for MDA shares to $31 from $26, keeping a “buy” rating, after raising his forecast through 2026. The average is $25.13.
Elsewhere, others making changes include:
* RBC Capital Markets’ Ken Herbert to $28 from $25 with an “outperform” rating.
“We can appreciate some profit taking in the stock [Friday], with the stock still up 115 per cent year-to-date,” he said. “We see very limited risk to MDA from potential cost savings in the U.S. gov’t under Pres. Trump. We do see incremental support for space under Trump 2.0, but MDA could face potential headline risk around potential NASA restructuring. However, we believe the valuation remains attractive, that the initial 2025 guidance will be a positive catalyst, and incremental contract awards should also support continued multiple expansion.”
* Canaccord Genuity’s Doug Taylor to $30 from $27 with a “buy” rating.
“MDA’s rise, in terms of revenue, profitability, balance sheet strength, and overall sentiment, continued in Q3 with a positive near-term outlook. Valuation has expanded to a level more representative of the growth profile at 13.0 times NTM [next 12-month] EBITDA. This is by no means stretched, in our view. With a high degree of visibility into 2025 and 2026 growth, we believe the lens will quickly shift forward. We elect to publish our initial 2026 estimates calling for another 20-per-cent growth on top of next year’s 30 per cent. Based on the associated EBITDA growth, MDA trades at just 9.6 times 2026, suggesting further share price upside if the company is successful in executing on the LEO ramp and backfilling some of its backlog over the course of 2025. On that basis, we maintain a positive stance on the name,” said Mr. Taylor.
* Scotia’s Konark Gupta to $29 from $25 with a “sector outperform” rating.
“We are not surprised by a negative market reaction [Friday], considering the stock had exceptionally outperformed lately,” he said. “Although a slight delay in CHORUS launch could be a sell-off factor, management doesn’t expect major impact on capex or revenue. Overall, MDA remains on track to consistently grow at 25-30-per-cent CAGR with 19-20-per-cent margins while rapidly moving toward net cash (ex-leases) with significant cash windfall from the Telesat contract. We recommend building a long-term position in MDA, taking advantage of pullback, to benefit from potential 100-200-per-cent EBITDA growth over the next five years as the company expands satellite manufacturing capacity to 400/year, potentially generating $2.0-billion-plus revenue annually from the Satellite Systems segment alone.”
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RBC Dominion Securities analyst Pammi Bir’s outlook for Sienna Senior Living Inc. (SIA-T) “continues to improve” following better-than-anticipated third-quarter results and given a “strong” organic growth outlook.
“The substantial improvement in govt funding and less quarterly volatility have provided a better window into a sustainable level of LTC NOI [long-term care net operating income]. As well, we expect the retirement portfolio to continue delivering healthy organic growth as SIA works toward its 95-per-cent occupancy target. Bottom line, we think current levels are well-supported by an improving growth trajectory,” he said in a research note titled Clearer (and better) picture continues to form.
On Nov. 11, the Markham, Ont.-based company reported operating funds from operations per share of 31 cents, up 13 per cent year-over-year and a penny above the analyst’s estimate. LTC NOI was three cents better than his projection.
“Overall, a strong operational quarter, with total SP NOI up 14.7 per cent year-over-year (up 35.7 per cent year-to-date) and retirement occupancy breaking above 90 per cent in September as SIA works toward its 95-per-cent stabilized target,” said Mr. Bir. “Guidance for 2024 SP NOI growth is unchanged, including low-double-digit percentage growth in LTC (excluding one-time and retroactive funding) and high-single-digit percentage growth in retirement.”
“We raised our LTC NOI forecasts on a clearer picture of a sustainable run rate, with SIA citing 2025 growth reverting to more typical levels (0-2 per cent). In retirement, SP NOI was up 11 per cent year-over-year on higher occupancy, rents, & care services. SIA continues to make encouraging strides with Q3 occupancy rising to 89.6 per cent (up 100 basis points quarter-over-quarter, up 250 bps year-over-year) and October at 90.6 per cent. An acute focus on lower occupancy homes through targeted sales/marketing, improved operations teams, and investing in upgrades has helped drive advances. For 2025, our forecasts reflect mid-to-high single digit percentage NOI growth on further occupancy and margin gains, though the latter likely won’t reach pre-COVID levels given the increased provision of lower margin care services.”
Keeping a “sector perform” recommendation, Mr. Bir increased his target for Sienna shares by $1 to $18. The average is $18.69.
“We believe current levels reasonably balance its improving growth profile, portfolio composition, and strong balance sheet,” he said.
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Despite a 35-per-cent gain in its unit price thus far in 2024, TD Cowen analyst Jonathan Kelcher thinks there is “room for further growth” for Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN-T), seeing it continuing to be “relatively undervalued versus its U.S. peers.”
“Chartwell delivered another strong quarter with improving operating metrics that give us increasing confidence on management reaching its 95-per-cent SP [same property] occupancy target by Q4/25,” he said.
“We see potential upside to our estimates should management hit its occupancy targets. Chartwell continues to benefit from strong Canadian retirement fundamentals as evidenced by another quarter of improving operating metrics. SPNOI growth remained elevated at 17.1 per cent year-over-year on the back of a 610 basis points SP occupancy improvement to 88.5 per cent. Further occupancy gains have increased visibility on Chartwell meeting its 95-per-cent target by Q4/25, with management now expecting to surpass 90 per c by December. With Chartwell approaching higher occupancy levels, management is able to reduce the number of targeted incentives (and has already done so at higher occupied homes), which should translate into above-average market rent growth over the next several years. Our forecast currently calls for occupancy to reach 92 per cent (94 per cent on a SP basis) in Q4/25, which is below management’s target, with a further increase to 94 per cent in Q4/26.”
Reiterating his “buy” recommendation, Mr. Kelcher raised his target for Chartwell units by $1 to $19. The average is $17.21.
“We have a very favourable view of Canadian retirement home fundamentals over both the short and medium terms,” he said. “As the largest pure-play publicly traded seniors housing provider, we believe Chartwell is best-positioned to benefit from these fundamentals. In the near term, we expect above-average occupancy growth and margin expansion to drive high-single/highdouble-digit SPNOI growth metrics and above-average earnings growth. Despite a better near-term earnings growth outlook, Chartwell is trading at a significant discount to its U.S. peers. Near-term potential catalysts include earnings growth, positive estimate revisions, and acquisitions.”
Others making changes include:
* CIBC’s Dean Wilkinson to $19 from $16.50 with an “outperformer” rating.
“CSH posted a Q3/24 beat, and as expected produced strong operational results as it continues to lap lagging pandemic-depressed numbers (which is all part of the recovery thesis) from the comparative period in the prior year. Adjusted SPNOI remains top of class at 17 per cent, and we expect the occupancy recovery story to continue unabated. CSH has outperformed the broader REIT complex year-to-date, and we view the share price as having additional runway for growth as occupancy continues to recover to, and eventually exceed, pre-pandemic levels given slow construction starts and increasing demand. However, the unexpected announcement of an ATM program could weigh on the near-term unit price, prompting concerns regarding potential near-term dilution. Concurrent with the quarter, we are releasing our inaugural 2026 estimates and increasing our price target,” he said.
* Scotia’s Himanshu Gupta to $17.50 from $16.50 with a “sector outperform” rating.
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In other analyst actions:
* Canaccord Genuity’s Carey MacRury upgraded Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV-T) to “buy” from “hold” but lowered his target to $190 from $198, below the $206.91 average.
“We hosted Franco-Nevada CFO Sandip Rana for two days of virtual investor meetings earlier [last] week following the company’s Q3/24 results last week,” he said. “Franco’s results were in line with our estimates, and the company tweaked its guidance lower which wasn’t a big surprise to us; our GEO forecast was already below the low end of the company’s previous guidance range. Part of the revision was a function of higher gold prices translating to lower GEOs for non-gold revenue—a good problem to have. We have lowered our target price to C$190.00 (from C$198.00), reflecting our model update and the lower guidance. That said, we are upgrading Franco-Nevada to a BUY (from Hold) on valuation as Franco’s shares have corrected 17 per cent since October 29, and we view the current share price as an attractive entry point with Franco trading at 1.78 times NAV, at the low end of its historical range of 1.8 to 2.7 times (average of 2.24 times). We see 2024 as a relative low point for GEOs, and we model 13% GEO growth (ex-Cobre Panama) by 2026, which we discuss further below, with $2.3-billion in available liquidity to bolster future growth. Clarity regarding the future path of Cobre Panama remains uncertain, but it also represents a free option on a future restart that we think is eventually likely.
* Raymond James’ Michael Freeman upgraded Perimeter Medical Imaging AI Inc. (PINK-X) to “outperform” from “market perform” and increased his target to $1.50 from $1. The average is $3.25.
“In light of imminent top-line data from PINK’s pivotal trial of the AI-enabled B-Series OCT device (days to weeks out), anticipated Breakthrough Device Designation-accelerated FDA clearance (mid/late FY25), and full commercial roll-out in FY26, combined with early sales traction + utilization numbers from its core S-Series device and the recent lift of its financing overhang, we increase our PT to $1.50 and raise our rating to Outperform,” he said.
* National Bank’s Patrick Kenny moved his target for Atco Ltd. (ACO.X-T) to $46 from $45 with a “sector perform” rating. The average on the Street is $50.75.
“ATCO reported Q3/24 adj. EPS of $0.81 versus our $0.70 estimate (Street: $0.73), reflecting strong seasonal spreads within its natural gas storage business as well as robust contributions from Neltume Ports, partially offset by the impact of inflation indexing in ATCO Australia,” he said.
“With continued rate base growth and adjusted allowable ROEs implemented at its Australian and Alberta-based utilities, along with continue strength at its S&L and Neltume Ports businesses, our target taps up $1.”
* CIBC’s Hamir Patel raised his CCL Industries Inc. (CCL.B-T) target to $96 from $93 with an “outperformer” rating, while Stifel’s Daryl Young hiked his target to $90 from $85 with a “buy” rating. The average is $89.70.
“Q3/24 was another solid quarter with healthy organic growth (6.9 per cent), strong FCF generation, and $100-million of share repurchases,” Mr. Young said. “However, this was overshadowed by a slightly weaker-than-expected near-term outlook as the CCL Segment is seeing pockets of weakness alongside the stretched consumer, and given new facility start-up costs and deflationary pressures which are tempering margins. To be clear, the demand environment remains broadly healthy and management highlighted strong October results, but we think the likelihood of recent “beat-and-raise” dynamics has diminished. Looking forward, CCL remains on very good footing, generating dependable FCF, and is poised to rapidly deleverage. Based on our estimates and the current share price, CCL will need to repurchase 5 per cent of its shares annually to keep leverage from falling below 1.0 times. Layer on management’s relatively constructive outlook for M&A, and we think CCL can comfortably continue driving high-single-digit EPS growth (we model buybacks but not M&A).”
* National Bank’s Zachary Evershed increased his target for Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund (CHE.UN-T) to $15.50 from $14 with an “outperform” rating. Other changes include: Raymond James’ Steve Hansen to $14 from $13 with an “outperform” rating, Scotia’s Ben Isaacson to $12.50 from $11 with a “sector perform” rating, RBC’s Nelson Ng to $13 from $12 with an “outperform” rating, CIBC’s Jacob Bout to $15 from $14 with an “outperformer” rating and Desjardins Securities’ Gary Ho to $15 from $14 with a “buy” rating. The average is $13.50.
“Chemtrade announced another strong quarter, increased the lower end of its 2024 guidance range, and pointed to the strong results carrying into 2025. We continue to see good value in Chemtrade units supported by continued operational strength in the business segments, unit buybacks, and organic growth in the water and ultra pure sulphuric acid business (utilized in AI chip fabrication). We are reiterating our Outperform rating and increasing our PT,” said Mr. Ng.
* CIBC’s Anita Soni trimmed her target for Endeavour Mining PLC (EDV-T) to $43 from $44, keeping an “outperformer” recommendation. The average is $41.99.
* CIBC’s Jamie Kubik moved his Enerflex Ltd. (EFXT-N, EFX-T) target to US$8.75 from US$7.50 with a “neutral” rating. The average is US$10.38.
“We have fine-tuned our model after a deeper review of Enerflex’s Q3/24 results, and commentary on the company’s conference call. We believe management will remain very disciplined in its 2025 capital budget, which is expected to be announced in January, in order to drive debt levels lower. The strong EBITDA performance during the quarter appears to have been the result (in part) of overhaul work conducted in the Energy Infrastructure segment, as gross margins in Engineered Systems and Aftermarket Service both trended lower quarter over quarter. While we still prefer other stocks within our coverage that carry a stronger return profile, the EBITDA stability and capital discipline being demonstrated by Enerflex has been supportive of the shares. Our EBITDA assumptions move higher in 2025, although our outlook for growth is modest for Enerflex. This is largely due to the persistent weakness in North American natural gas pricing, which has constrained growth in Engineered Systems bookings,” said Mr. Kubik.
* Canaccord Genuity’s Yuri Lynk cut his Exro Technologies Inc. (EXRO-T) target to 20 cents from 30 cents with a “hold” rating. The average is 47 cents.
* TD Cowen’s Michael Van Aelst hiked his George Weston Ltd. (WN-T) target to $263 from $242 with a “buy” rating. The average is $232.86.
“GWL continues to return capital to shareholders and, with interest in REITs expected to gain appeal amid falling interest rates, we see the holdco discount contracting further from the current 13-per-cent closer to the 9 per cent we use in our NAV calculation,” he said. “For this reason, we have a preference to own Weston (approximately 19-per-cent expected total return) over Loblaw (13-per-cent expected total return).”
* Raymond James’ Brian MacArthur lowered his Newmont Corp. (NEM-N, NGT-T) target to US$62 from US$64 with an “outperform” rating. The average is US$59.38.
* National Bank’s Matt Kornack trimmed his target for Northview Residential REIT (NRR.UN-T) to $19 from $20 with a “sector perform” rating. The average is $19.
“NRR put up a strong quarter operationally, particularly from the apartment portfolio (commercial tempered this a bit),” said Mr. Kornack. “Earnings were a bit light on a combination of one-time items and modest model variances (plus dilutive impact of redeemable units, for which dilution is tied to unit price performance). While the result is a slight downward revision to our FFO forecast, NAV was largely unchanged and speaks to a material trading discount and elevated implied cap rate for a residential portfolio putting up high-single-digit organic growth. Structural items remain an impediment but post quarter credit facility amendments speak to increased lender confidence and lower financing costs.”
* National Bank’s Mohamed Sidibé cut his Patriot Battery Metals Inc. (PMET-T) target to $8.25 from $9 with an “outperform” rating. The average is $11.57.
“PMET reported its Q2/FY25 results [Thursday] night with a cash balance of $70.5-million coming in below our estimate of $79.1-million driven by slightly higher exploration expenditures and negative w/c changes,” he said. “In FY25, the company expects to complete its feasibility study (FS) targeted by the end of Q3/25, expand its mineral resource base, target exploration of new prospects and progress the ongoing engagement with downstream industry partners. Our focus in the near-term is on a potential announcement of a strategic partnership with a downstream player in early 2025, which should help the shares re-rate.”
* Jefferies’ Samad Samana hiked his Shopify Inc. (SHOP-N, SHOP-T) target to $110 from $80 with a “hold” rating. The average is US$113.89.
* UBS’ Manav Gupta raised his Suncor Energy Inc. (SU-T) target to $65, above the $61.22 average, from $61 with a “buy” rating.
* National Bank’s Patrick Kenny dropped his target for Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure Ltd. (TWM-T) to 10 cents from 30 cents with an “underperform” rating. The average is 36 cents.
“PGR continued to operate near nameplate capacity; however, with TWM’s five-year offtake agreement with Cenovus expiring on Nov. 1, 2024, the company is now directly marketing diesel/gasoline volumes from the PGR and the HDRD, with the vast majority of nameplate capacity volumes for the remainder of 2024 sold forward while in the process of marketing volumes for 2025,” he said. :Based on current market discounts being wider than at the time the Cenovus offtake agreement was entered, partly reflecting the oversupply of imported renewable diesel, the company expects to realize lower refining margins going forward pending government intervention to protect the competitiveness of domestic producers. As such, management has engaged in discussions with the Government of B.C. and Federal Government, while retaining external trade law counsel in preparation of filing a trade remedy complaint by year-end.”
* CIBC’s Sumayya Syed increased his True North Commercial REIT (TNT.UN-T) target to $11.25 from $9.50 with a “neutral” rating. The average is $11.75.
* Longspur Research’s Adam Forsyth placed a $4.10 per share valuation on shares of Westbridge Renewable Energy Corp. (WEB-X).
“Westbridge is rapidly monetizing an initial development portfolio of solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems with $89-million already received and potential proceeds on its first five projects of up to $346-million. Its model maximises return on invested capital, targeting over 5 times in the longer term,” he said. “It has a pipeline of over 2.8GW of PV and over 6.1GWh of BESS. We can build a value progression for the business with the first six projects delivering $1.6 per share, adding the mid-stage projects taking this to $2.4 and the early-stage pipeline giving $3.2. This is not a limit as the company continues to work hard to add new projects, reinvesting cash and taking our final valuation to $4.1.”