A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today
On the rise
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI-T) jumped 7.3 per cent after an equity analyst at TD Securities upgraded its stock, believing it is reaching an inflection point.
Michael Van Aelst said he’s “now seeing the signs we were looking for to pound the table.”
Questerre Energy Corp. (QEC-T) rose 11.1 per cent after reporting a 63-per-cent increase in reserves in 2018.
“We are very encouraged by the results from Kakwa North and the potential for developing multiple Montney intervals,” said president and chief executive officer Michael Binnion in a release. “Currently we are being assigned reserves for only two intervals in the Montney but this acreage is also prospective for the Lower Montney where there are several tests in the area. We were also recently notified by an industry operator of their plans to license two multi-well pads for up to 54 wells directly offsetting one of our farm-in wells at Kakwa North."
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA-Q) was up 4 per cent after announcing a partnetship with Softbank Group Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. on Monday to deploy cloud gaming servers in Japan and Korea later this year.
On the decline
Shares of Tilray Inc. (TLRY-Q) erases early gains and finished 3.7 per cent after reporting fourth-quarter revenue that beat expectations after market close on Monday.
The Nanaimo-based producer said revenue jumped over 200 per cent year-over-year to US$15.5-million, exceeding the analysts’ consensus projection of US$14.15-million. At the same time, Tilray reported a net loss of 33 US cents a shares, while the Street expected a 12 US cent loss.
“2018 was a very successful year for Tilray with many corporate milestones,” said Tilray’s chief executive Brendan Kennedy in a statement. “Our team made significant progress on our long-term initiatives including increasing production capacity, expanding and strengthening strategic partnerships, and acquiring complementary businesses to accelerate our future growth and leadership position in medical and adult-use cannabis.”
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB-T) fell 0.3 per cent after entering into a five-year agreement with Australia’s Cann Group Ltd.
Aurora, which holds a 22.9-per-cent equity stake in the Melbourne-based company, is set to purchase medical cannabis produced at Cann’s facilities through 2024.
“Securing offtake with Aurora is a key milestone for the company that is expected to both underpin the anticipated value generated with our expansion program and mitigate the risk associated with that investment,” said Cann chief executive officer Peter Crock.
“We remain firmly committed to satisfying the domestic market as a priority and the agreement with Aurora should enable us to meet this commitment.”
Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. (WTE-T) dropped 1.5 per cent after announcing it’s projecting a year-over-year decline in throughput volumes in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 (7.0 million tons, falling from 7.2 million tons a year earlier).
“Based on current information, 2019 throughput volumes are anticipated to be approximately 29 - 30 million tons, at rates higher than 2018 rates,” the company said in a release. “The volume is reduced somewhat from initial guidance as some of our customers have reduced their planned shipments for 2019, but some of this reduction has been offset by new customer volumes.”
The Vancouver-based company said fourth-quarter revenue rose to $90.1-million from $80.8-million during the same period in 2018. Total income was $31.5-million, up from $21.9-million a year earlier. Analysts were expecting revenue of $88.4-million and income to be $29.9-million in the latest quarter.
Northland Power Inc. (NPI-T) was down 9.3 per cent after announcing chairman and founder James Temerty is selling $750-million worth of his stake in the company through a secondary offering.
Footwear retailer DSW Inc. (DSW-N) dropped 12.9 per cent after posting a surprise loss in the fourth quarter and laying out a long-term forecast at its Monday Investor Day event that failed to impress the Street.
The Columbus, Ohio-based company, which operates discounters The Shoe Company and Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) and plans to rebrand itself as Designer Brands on April 2, is set to open as many as 50 stores in Canada in the next few years, after closing all of its 38 money-losing Town Shoes stores over the past six months.
Fox Corp. (FOXA-Q) dropped 3.1 per cent after its debut on the Nasdaq. The company contains the assets that are not part of Disney’s US$71.3-billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets.
Disney’s acquisition of Fox assets is set to close around 12 a.m. ET on Wednesday, more than a year after the mega deal was first proposed in December 2017.
With files from staff and wires
David Leeder