Two senior executives at Bombardier sold a total of nearly $1.4 million worth of shares in the Montreal business jet manufacturer this week.
Jean-Christophe Gallagher, executive vice-president, aircraft sales and Bombardier defense, sold 13,000 shares on Wednesday at a unit price of $59.
His colleague, executive vice-president, after-sales service and strategy, Paul Sislian, for his part, sold 10,000 shares on Thursday at a unit price of $58.82.
National Bank Financial withdrew its purchase recommendation on the stock of Couche-Tard after reading the quarterly performance presented by the Laval convenience store chain. Analyst Vishal Shreedhar blames the “mixed” results for his decision and expects weak in-store sales to persist in the short term.
Negotiations to buy Gildan stand in a particular situation. Buyers interested in the Montreal clothing manufacturer know that the members of the board of directors find themselves in a conflicting position with a group of disgruntled shareholders who are trying to oust them. But they also know that disgruntled shareholders can block a transaction if the price negotiated to buy Gildan is deemed insufficient.
By examining its strategic alternatives, Nuvei must in particular decide whether it is preferable to close the capital of the Montreal provider of payment solutions rather than keep the company on the stock market. Since there is no guarantee that the current discussions will result in a transaction, investors may benefit from moderating their expectations.
The example at the start of the week of American fintech Shift4 Payments will provide food for thought. This company announced in the fall that it was examining its strategic options and its shares fell this week after it was reported that its directors believe that none of the offers received adequately value the company.
CGI lost the support of TD on Friday. Analyst Daniel Chan withdraws his buy suggestion on the Montreal IT services provider’s stock due to a question of relative valuation. He maintains that the current valuation discounts $2.5 billion in acquisitions, a sum not deployed since 2012 when Logica was acquired. “To justify buying the stock, CGI would need to successfully acquire and integrate acquisitions worth $4 billion over the next year. »
One of the largest shareholders of Lightspeed has just reduced its stake to more than 10% in the Montreal provider of technological solutions for merchants. Fidelity started March with an 11.5% stake. The transaction that triggered the reporting requirement was the purchase of 188,198 shares on February 14. The sale of Lightspeed shares in mid-December had pushed Fidelity’s stake below 10%.
TD withdrew its purchase suggestion on the stock of the Montreal financial conglomerate on Friday Power Corporation. The stock’s recent surge brings the valuation closer to its historic levels, points out analyst Graham Ryding. Since the assessment seems reasonable to him, he believes it is more appropriate to modify his recommendation.
If several private investment firms seem to wish to acquire Gildananalysts assigned to cover the Montreal company believe that strategic players like Fruit of the Loom (Berkshire Hathaway), Nike and even Lululemon have the profile to do it.
This section usually only talks about Quebec titles, but the smashing debut of Reddit on the Stock Exchange impose an exception and a Canadian parallel. The Toronto company’s activities VerticalScope are similar to those of Reddit, that is to say the operation of discussion forums where content is generated by users with revenue from advertising.
PHOTO BRENDAN MCDERMID, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman and mascot Snoo at the New York Stock Exchange last Thursday
While the size of Reddit is certainly larger, the valuation is interesting. Reddit’s revenue of US$804 million last year compares to VerticalScope’s US$61 million, a ratio of 13 to 1. Reddit’s stock market value of around US$8 billion is nearly 70 times larger than VerticalScope’s. which is otherwise profitable (unlike Reddit).
For a value investor, VerticalScope is quite a bargain, says portfolio manager Philippe Hynes of Tonus Capital. This VerticalScope shareholder expects the company to offer more information soon to help better compare the two platforms.
Quebec titles of 5N Plus, CN, Gildan, Tecsys, mdf trade, Bank National, TFI, AYA, CGI And WSP all hit a 52-week high this week on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
On the other hand, those of Waterfalls, Lion And Taiga reached a 52-week low this week.
The Toronto Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ will be closed on Friday to mark the start of the Easter holiday.