A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today
On the rise
Shares of Conifex Timber Inc. (CFF-T) jumped 137.5 per cent on Tuesday following the premarket announcement that it has sold three sawmills in Florida and Arkansas to Resolute Forest Products Inc. (RFP-T) for about US$163-million cash.
The mills produce construction-grade lumber and decking products for distribution within the United States.
Vancouver-based Conifex says the transaction will allow it to repay its lumber segment credit facility in full and strengthen its balance sheet.
Montreal-based Resolute says nearly 25 per cent of its total production capacity will be in the southern U.S. after the Conifex mills are added.
Shares of Resolute were up 4.4 per cent.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD-Q) was up 2.4 per cent after an equity analyst at RBC Dominion Securities raised his price target on the chipmaker’s shares on improving data center demand.
Mitch Steves said: “As we look at numbers for 2020 we think it is likely that we begin to see the first set of estimate revisions starting in the Q1 time frame. As Data Center demand ramps up and gaming sales come in better than feared, as we expect, this should lead to higher gross margins relative to current Street expectations.”
Correvio Pharma Corp. (CORV-T) rose 11.5 per cent despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declining to approve its drug to correct irregular rhythm in the upper chambers of the heart, the Vancouver-based company said on Tuesday.
In the so-called complete response letter, the FDA stated that while the submitted data provides substantial evidence of the drug’s effectiveness, the data does not provide reassuring evidence of Brinavess’ safety, the company said.
A panel of independent experts to the FDA earlier this month voted 11-2 against approving Brinavess, citing serious safety risks, including low blood pressure and irregular rhythm in the lower heart chambers during the trials.
Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER-N) increased 0.4 per cent in New York after announcing founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick will resign from its board of directors by the end of the year.
Mr. Kalanick, who helped found Uber in 2009, stepped down from the company’s helm in June 2017 under pressure from investors after a string of setbacks.
Mr. Kalanick turned Uber into the world’s largest ride-services company that revolutionized the taxi industry and challenged transportation regulations worldwide.
On the decline
Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB-T) declined 1.1 per cent as the company confirmed that it asked key executive Cam Battley late last week to step down as chief corporate officer.
On Monday, they fell almost 10 per cent as the market absorbed news released late Saturday that Battley, who has often been the public face of the company for investors, would immediately step down.
See also: Top executive leaving Aurora Cannabis compounds problems as analysts grow downbeat
Acasti Pharma Inc. (ACST-X) was down 2.4 per cent after it announced late Monday it has delayed trial results for the TRILOGY 1 Phase 3 trial of its lead drug CaPre.
The Laval-based company blamed “an unexpected delay in data processing and transfer from the central testing laboratory to the statistical consultants for independent and external validation.”
A day after Boeing Co. (BA-N) fired its chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, its shares were down a further 1.5 per cent.
Monday’s sacking coincides with Boeing struggling to mend relations with the regulators it needs to win over to get the grounded 737 back in the air. It also needs to regain trust with passengers and airline customers.
Chairman David Calhoun will take over as CEO and president, effective from Jan. 13, Boeing said.
See also: New Boeing boss faces EU pressure over Embraer tie-up: report
With files from wires
David Leeder