Posted at 7:00 a.m.
The founder and executive chairman of the board of Fiera Capital sold $1.3 million worth of shares in the Montreal asset manager this week.
Jean-Guy Desjardins sold a block of 135,588 shares on Tuesday. It got a unit price of $9.25. The transaction was made for estate planning purposes.
Although Cogeco was apparently not involved in the series of developments surrounding the possible sale of Freedom Mobile/Shaw Wireless, analyst Aravinda Galappatthige of Canaccord argues that it is not “unrealistic” to believe that Cogeco could play a role in this case in the context of, for example, a joint venture. The (spectrum) licenses held by Cogeco, in the Toronto area in particular, could make Cogeco a “valuable partner” for the eventual acquirer of Freedom, according to him.
“Whether there’s a recession or not doesn’t matter much when you own solid companies for the long term, because they take advantage of recessions to strengthen themselves vis-à-vis their competitors”, underlines portfolio manager Stéphane Préfontaine, of the firm Préfontaine Capital, in its quarterly letter published this week.
“More significant is whether there will be a multi-year period of stagflation or not, as in the 1970s. No one can answer that with a sufficient degree of certainty to make it useful. »
Down almost 40% since its peak last year, the market capitalization of Stella Jones reached 2 billion today, and the analyst Maxim Sytchev, of the Financière Banque Nationale, wonders if the closing of the capital is possible. In a memo published mid-week, he floats the idea of a management buyout (management purchase) with the support, for example, of a pension fund.
National Bank Financial on Thursday withdrew its buy suggestion on the stock of Cogeco Communications. Analyst Adam Shine believes that the Quebec telecommunications company’s stock looks cheap, but that opportunities are more attractive elsewhere in the sector. Fiscal year 2023 could be another year of transition, he said. They are now only 4 analysts out of 10 to suggest the purchase.
Short-term challenges in air transport have created an opportunity to buy the stock ofAir Canada, according to Matthew Lee, at Canaccord, and he now recommends the action of the Montreal company. In a note published on Tuesday, this analyst points out that the title’s recent decline is exaggerated and that investors with a long-term horizon will be rewarded. Eleven of the 15 analysts who follow the stock now suggest buying.
The business model of the Montreal franchisor MTY is notably based on acquisitions, and CIBC experts say they don’t expect any by the end of the year. Another analyst warns that consumers should be expected to spend less by the end of the year in the current economic context. This is particularly why Derek Lessard, of TD, believes that the title may oscillate in a price range in the short term.
The Montreal biopharmaceutical company Theratechnologies unveiled promising study results this week and announced that it has secured funding to support the continuation of its clinical trials in oncology.
The threat of a future drop in gasoline sales is “real” at Couche-Tard as people turn to electric vehicles, Palos Management points out in its weekly financial letter.
“The 15 to 30 minute period required to recharge a battery, however, should lead to owners of electric vehicles spending more time inside stores. This is an opportunity to improve the product offering, offer a better shopping experience or add fast food or services that do not work in the traditional convenience store model,” says Palos.
Moody’s on Friday raised the valuation of Bomber highlighting in particular the progress made by the Montreal business jet manufacturer with regard to debt reduction and the improvement of its financial performance.
The firm Credit-Suisse on Monday withdrew its buy recommendation on the title of the Quebec producer of renewable energy Boralex.
The Quebec titles of Gildan, Cogeco, good food, Bomber, Lassonde, Theratechnologies, Guru, mdf trade, Transat, Dorel and Nuvei all hit a new 52-week low on the Toronto Stock Exchange this week.
In contrast, those ofUni-Select and of Molson Coors hit a 52-week high during the week.