A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today
On the rise
Vancouver-based Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU-Q) rose 7.8 per cent on Friday after it reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue and profit on Thursday after the bell and raised its annual forecasts, buoyed by strength in its online and menswear businesses.
Citi analyst Paul Lejuez said: ""While the stock is not cheap (shares trading at an fiscal 2020 estimated EV/EBITDA multiple of 20 times), LULU stands above the rest in retail during a period of uncertainty. With no signs of a slowdown in momentum and opportunity for more top line beats ahead, we reiterate our Buy rating.
Marathon Gold Corp. (MOZ-T) rose 3.1 per cent after it announced a $20-million bought deal private placement. It has an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters that have agreed to purchase 2.7 million flow-through units that will consist of one flow-through share of the company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant.
Canopy Rivers Inc. (RIV-X) jumped 8.1 per cent after announcing after the bell on Thursday that it has received final approval to list its class A subordinated voting shares on the TSX. It will begin trading at the opening of the markets on Sept. 9 and will continue to trade under the ticker symbol RIV.
Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST-Q) rose 2.3 per cent to an all-time high after reporting net sales of US$11.79-billion for the retail month of August, the four weeks ended Sept. 1, an increase of 6.9 per cent from US$11.03-billion last year.
RBC Dominion Securities analyst Scot Ciccarelli said: “The company continues to grow both ticket and traffic due to Costco’s sustained competitive pricing model, which we think creates a sizable competitive barrier and supports the robust valuation (trading at ~36x vs. ~30x historically). We remain buyers.”
CannTrust Holdings Inc. (TRST-T) finished 0.4 per cent higher after it announced it’s reducing its workforce by about 180 people, or 20 per cent. The company said the move is part of its efforts to bring its operations and procedures into full regulatory compliance.
CannTrust said the action will save the company about $9-million annually. The company will also record approximately $2-million in severance costs. The majority of the affected employees were in cultivation and customer service support roles, the company said.
On the decline
Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. (INE-T) fell 1.8 per cent after announcing a $125-million convertible debenture offering. It has an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters which have agreed to purchase the convertible unsecured subordinated debentures.
The debentures will bear interest at a rate of 4.65 per cent per year, payable semi-annually on October 31 and April 30 each year, starting on April 30, 2020.
Shares of Facebook Inc. (FB-Q) dipped 1.8 per cent after it was announced that a bipartisan coalition led by New York state attorney general (AG) is launching an investigation into the social media giant to determine whether the company’s actions endangered consumer data and increased advertising costs, New York AG Letitia James said on Friday.
See also: Facebook launches dating service in U.S.
With files from staff and wires
David Leeder