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A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today

On the rise

Trading in U.S. retail stocks was muted as the sector grabbed the spotlight on Black Friday.

It will be the shortest holiday shopping season since 2013 because Thanksgiving fell on the fourth Thursday in November – the latest possible date it could be. That means customers will have less time to shop and retailers will have less time to woo them.

In morning trading, Walmart Inc. (WMT-N) was up 0.5 per cent, while rival Target Corp. (TGT-N) was 0.6 per cent lower.

See also: As a seismic shift in retailing continues, this stock is worth targeting

Toronto-based DynaCERT Inc. (DYA-X), which manufactures and distributes carbon-emission-reduction technology for use with internal combustion engines, jumped 5.3 per cent after it announced that well-known mining investor Eric Sprott has become a “significant new shareholder” of the company.

The company said it completed an arm’s length equity offering for $14-million, fully subscribed by a company controlled by Mr. Sprott. The company issued 28 million units at a price of 50 cents each. The stock closed at 47.5 cents on Thursday, before the announcement. Each unit consists of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant allows the holder to purchase one share at a price of 65 cents each on or before Nov. 26, 2021, the company said.

Montreal-based GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc. (GDI-T) was up 4.3 per cent a day after revealing its proposed $73.5-million acquisition of ESC Automation Inc.

GDI and its wholly-owned subsidiary Ainsworth Inc. announced the deal for the privately held building automation control solutions company on Thursday. It includes the acquisition of ESC’s U.S.-based subsidiaries Delta Connects Inc. and New Patriot Energy Inc.

In a research note, CIBC World Markets analyst Scott Fromson said: “Strategically, we think the deal makes sense. We expect GDI to replicate its success following the Ainsworth acquisition in cross-selling higher-frequency janitorial services to an established customer base. From a service perspective, ESC’s focus on building automation systems broadens the Ainsworth offering. We also see value creation in geographical expansion: ESC is the leading independent technical services integrator in Western Canada, a region in which Ainsworth lacks penetration. ESC has more than 750 employees in 12 locations across BC, Alberta, Seattle WA, Portland OR, Princeton NJ and New York.”

Florida-based Tech Data Corp. (TECD-Q) jumped 12.3 per cent as private equity firm Apollo Global Management raised its bid for the U.S. information technology equipment distributor to about US$5.14-billion.

True North Commercial REIT (TNT-UN-T) increased 1.2 per cent with the premarket announcement of the $87.5-million acquisition of a Class "A" office property in Mississauga.

On the decline

Ontario cannabis grower WeedMD Inc. (WMD-X) dropped 20.5 per cent on news it is acquiring union-backed cannabis company Starseed Holdings Inc., according to an individual with knowledge of the deal.

As part of the transaction, Starseed’s main backer, the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), is making a multimillion-dollar investment in WeedMD, the source said. The Globe and Mail is not identifying them because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

- Mark Rendell

Great Panther Mining Ltd. (GPR-T) plummeted 13.9 per cent after it announced that it is revising its fourth-quarter production guidance for its Tucano Gold Mine in Brazil to between 31,000 and 33,000 ounces of gold, down from 39,000 to 44,000 ounces.

The company also reduced its overall annual consolidated guidance, which includes its Mexican operations, to 142,000 to 149,000 gold equivalent ounces, an approximate 6 per cent decrease from the midpoint of the prior production guidance range of 150,000 to 160,000 gold equivalent ounces.

Shares of PG&E Corp. (PCG-N) fell 0.9 per cent after determining there were no lives or structures lost in 2019 wildfires that may have been caused by its distribution lines, according to a Friday court filing.

The company also said it found 218 instances of damage from wind or falling vegetation that could have caused wildfires if it had not taken the controversial step of shutting power to millions of customers during high winds in late October.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January to deal with $30 billion of liability from wildfires linked to its equipment in 2017 and 2018.

With files from Brenda Bouw, staff and wires

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 1:41pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
TNT-UN-T
True North Commercial REIT
+0.87%9.25
TGT-N
Target Corp
+0.78%176.04
PCG-N
Pacific Gas & Electric Company
+0.18%16.77
WMT-N
Walmart Inc
-0.56%60.38
GDI-T
Gdi Integrated Facility Services Inc
-0.28%39.26

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