Now that Martin Landry of Stifel has downgraded his recommendation to buy on Gildan’s stock, the Montreal clothing manufacturer is once again unanimous on Bay Street and Wall Street among the eight analysts covering the company.
Martin Landry changed his mind on Thursday after the publication of quarterly results of Gildan. Appreciating in particular the company’s market share with American distributors and the growing profit margins, he views the prospects favorably with Glenn Chamandy returning to the helm.
“Add in a CEO/founder who wants to prove the board members who fired him wrong, and you have a supercharged organization and a perfect backdrop for shareholder value creation.”
An administrator of the Canadian National has just purchased nearly $700,000 worth of shares in the Montreal rail carrier. Joséphine Ann dePass Olsovsky bought a total of 4,351 shares during the sessions of July 25 and 26. She has been a member of the board since 2021. This is the first time she has purchased CN shares on the market.
Héroux-Devtek is the Quebec star of July on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The shares of the Longueuil landing gear manufacturer appreciated by 25% during the month, largely due to the purchase offer presented by a California investment firm.
Cogeco Communication (+23%), PyroGenesis (+23%) and CGI (+15%) also had a good month. Among the losers, Lion (-21%), New World Graphite (-20%), Alythia (-17%) and Coveo (-16%) had a more difficult month.
Lion lost support south of the border midweek. Analyst Craig Irwin of Roth Capital withdrew his buy recommendation after seeing the results released by the Saint-Jérôme-based electric bus and truck maker. At CIBC, Kevin Chiang threw in the towel and now recommended dumping the stock.
Acknowledging that 2024 is a transition year for Lion, Chiang believes that a recovery in deliveries is unlikely to occur until 2025 and that a gradual increase in deliveries is needed for the stock to appreciate. “With the U.S. election looming, electric truck buyers will likely sit on the sidelines in anticipation of a possible change in administration that could impact regulations related to the adoption of commercial electric vehicles.”
The fact that the Laval pharmaceutical company Bausch Health reported quarterly results that met expectations on Thursday and reiterated its guidance means little to Piper Sandler analyst David Amsellem. “Creditworthiness will remain a major concern, despite management’s best efforts to change the subject,” he said. He therefore recommends that investors divest from the stock. The company formerly known as Valeant was shaken in July by hints of a possible restructuring by a New York credit information provider.
The upcoming payment of a first dividend by the Montreal IT company CGI potentially expands its investor base to dividend funds, which could help support the stock and help lift the stock’s valuation multiple. While CGI’s announcement Tuesday could also be seen as the company having fewer acquisition targets, TD analyst Daniel Chan said he views the news positively.
Two administrators of TFI bought a total of nearly $150,000 worth of shares in the Montreal trucking company earlier this week. Leslie Abi-Karam bought a block of 340 shares on Monday, while Debra Kelly-Ennis bought a block of 350 shares the same day. Leslie Abi-Karam has been a member of TFI’s board of directors since 2018. Debra Kelly-Ennis has been on the board since 2017.
The Toronto Stock Exchange will remain closed Monday to mark the civic holiday, a statutory holiday in most Canadian provinces every first Monday in August.
Quebec titles of Savaria, Gildan And Transcontinental all hit 52-week highs on the Toronto Stock Exchange this week.
On the other hand, those of Lightspeed, CAE, Coveo, Deckchair, Air Canada And Lion fell this week to a 52-week low.