A sign board displaying Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) stock information is seen in Toronto June 23
Our roundup of Canadian small-caps of between $100-million and $2.5-billion in market capitalization making news and on the move today.
On Thursday, the S&P/TSX SmallCap Index advanced 0.93 per cent, outperforming the S&P/TSX Composite Index, which was relatively unchanged with a gain of 0.03 per cent. There were 121 stocks in the S&P/TSX SmallCap Index that advanced, 74 securities declined and 16 were unchanged.
In terms of leaders and laggards, the top five performers on Thursday in the TSX SmallCap Index were Paramount Resources Ltd. (POU-T), Klondex Mines Ltd. (KDX-T), B2Gold Corp. (BTO-T), Torex Gold Resources Ltd. (TXG-T), and Alacer Gold Corp. (ASR-T). The five laggards were Newalta Corp. (NAL-T), Wi-Lan Inc. (WIN-T), Trillium Therapeutics Inc. (TR-T), Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CPH-T), and Dundee Corp. (DC.A-T).
Month-to-date, the TSX SmallCap Index has declined 1.3 per cent compared to a 0.33 per cent gain for the S&P/TSX composite index.
Once again, it is a quiet day for corporate news.
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On Thursday, Automotive Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (APR-U-T) announced a $35-million equity financing, issuing 3.34-million units at a price of $10.50 per unit in a deal co-led by TD Securities Inc. and Canaccord Genuity Corp.
There is an over-allotment option, which if exercised would increase the deal size to $40-million. Proceeds will be used to help finance the recently announced $17.2-million acquisition of the Pfaff Audi dealership located in Ontario, and reduce the company's debt. The acquisition of Pfaff Audi is anticipated to be immediately accretive with the deal expected to be completed in October.
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This morning, Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC-T) announced an update on the Cauchari-Olaroz Lithium Project located in Argentina. The news release stated, "The Board of the joint venture company, Minera Exar S.A. has recently been authorized to proceed with development planning for 50,000 tonnes per annum ("tpa") of lithium carbonate equivalent ("LCE") production capacity from Cauchari based on the following parameters: (i) a two stage development consisting of an initial phase at 25,000 tpa LCE capacity, followed by a second stage at 25,000 tpa LCE capacity; and (ii) a timeline targeting full stage one production during 2019."
Tom Hodgson, the chief executive office, suggested, "[W]e have set a course of development that we believe will materially de-risk the advancement of Cauchari and enhance the project economics. Construction on a work camp, project roads and drilling platforms has commenced, and long lead items such as earth moving trials and pond liner tests are scheduled. Additional near term investment is expected as the exploration and development program is expanded. The decision to advance the project in a staged approach should reduce financing and shareholder dilution risks…"
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On Thursday, Toronto-based Polaris Infrastructure Inc. (PIF-T) provided investors with a drilling update. In a news release, the company indicated that on August 24, production well SJ 9-4 was connected to the San Jacinto plant with incremental production and cash flow growth expected over time.
Marc Murnaghan, the chief executive officer, stated, "Although I must stress the fact that SJ 9-4 has been connected for less than 24 hours and it is premature to conclude with respect to its long-term contribution, the early results are certainly a positive indication. Along with continued modest contribution from SJ 6-3, our first new production well, we anticipate that SJ 9-4 will become a reliable contributor at the San Jacinto project and leave us well-positioned entering 2017."
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Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (FFH-T) issued a press release on Thursday, announcing it had purchased of over 3.5-million Class B shares of Torstar Corporation (TS.B-T), representing approximately 4.9 per cent of the shares outstanding. This acquisition brings Fairfax's ownership in Torstar up to over 19-million Class B shares, representing approximately 27.4 per cent of the Class B shares outstanding.
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In terms of research coverage:
The target price on Polaris Infrastructure Inc. (PIF-T) was raised by two analysts. Russell Stanley, the analyst at Mackie Research Capital, lifted his target price to $20 from $18. In addition, Macmurray Whale, the analyst at Cormark Securities, bumped his target price to $20 from his previous target of $15.
Jennifer Dowty