Asset manager Fidelity has just bought large blocks of Lightspeed shares.
A document filed this month with authorities reveals that the purchase of hundreds of thousands of shares of the Montreal technology solutions provider in December results in Fidelity starting 2023 with a stake in Lightspeed greater than 10%.
Fidelity notably bought 455,718 shares during the December 7 session. With just over 17 million shares of Lightspeed in its portfolio, Fidelity’s stake was 11.4% as of March 1.er January.
With the Caisse de depot et placement, Fidelity thus became the only other shareholder to hold a stake of more than 10% in Lightspeed.
The British convenience store operator EG-Group would consider divesting its assets in the United States, according to what various media reported on Friday. Couche-Tard could be interesting if the right scenario presents itself, underlines analyst Martin Landry, of the firm Stifel GMP. This expert calculates that the price of such a transaction would be between 5 and 7 billion.
SNC Lavalin lost support at the start of the week. CIBC analyst Jacob Bout withdrew his buy suggestion on the title of the Montreal engineering services firm. In this sector, given the growing risk of recession, he says he prefers relatively defensive and high-quality securities with the ability to protect their margins and which can increase their profits in 2023 (such as WSP and Stantec) or stocks whose valuation is already pricing in a downturn (such as Finishing). He notes in passing the recent jump in SNC’s stock and the increased risk of further cost revisions for construction projects linked to lump-sum turnkey contracts. They are still 10 analysts out of 12 to recommend buying SNC.
The firm Veritas has just made a 180 degree turn on the title of Cogeco Communications by replacing its buy recommendation with a sell recommendation on Monday. They are more than two analysts out of eight to propose the purchase of the title of the Quebec telecommunications company.
Laurentian Bank Securities no longer suggests that its clients buy shares of Champion. Analyst Jacques Wortman on Tuesday withdrew his buy recommendation on the title of the Montreal iron producer, mainly due to the recent stock market appreciation. His decision comes as the company will report quarterly results on Thursday. The stock has appreciated about 80% since November. Eight of the twelve analysts who follow Champion still offer the purchase.
Friday’s announcement by BRP construction of a boat manufacturing plant in Mexico suggests that management sees significant revenue potential in this market segment. Analyst Martin Landry, at Stifel GMP, estimates that this new Mexican facility could generate over $400 million a year in revenue. This expert believes that we should expect several announcements of new marine products in the years to come. The construction of this plant sends a “strong signal of confidence in BRP’s ability to gain market share in the marine industry”, he says.
RBC this week removed the speculative mark attached to its buy recommendation on the stock of Bomber. Analyst Walter Spracklin says he is “very encouraged” by the preliminary results released Tuesday by the Montreal business jet manufacturer.
Following the recent stock market downturn in Cogeco Communications, TD analyst Vince Valentini thought it a good Tuesday to point out how cheap the stock has become based on cash flow yield. He says he appreciates that management continues to believe the stock is undervalued and is taking the opportunity to buy back shares for cancellation on a larger than normal basis. He notes that the number of shares repurchased last month is four times higher than the average observed during the previous seven months.
The Quebec titles of MTY, Couche-Tard, Saputo, Bomber, Goodfellow and Supremex all reached a new 52-week high on the Toronto Stock Exchange this week. On the other hand, Rogers Sugar slipped to a 52-week low.