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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during a news conference at Facebook headquartersROBERT GALBRAITH

Inside the Market's roundup of some of today's key analyst actions. This file will be updated during the trading day.

At least 27 brokerages have raised price targets on Facebook Inc. after the company beat analysts' second-quarter earnings and revenue expectations late Wednesday.

Evercore Partners, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and Piper Jaffray raised their targets to $90 (U.S.); Goldman Sachs raised its target to $85; RBC Dominion Securities raised its target to $92; Canaccord Genuity raised its target to $84; and Janney Capital raised its target to $82.50.

Analysts at both Jefferies and Topeka Capital boosted their target to $100, the highest on the Street right now. The average price target is $85.91, up from $77.92 prior to Wednesday night's earnings, according to Bloomberg data.

Facebook said that its mobile advertising revenue grew by 151 per cent in the second quarter, an impressive figure that now represents 62 per cent of overall ad revenues.

"Facebook has, so far, effectively addressed one of the most significant overhangs from its IPO days – the lack of mobile monetization," RBC Dominion Securities analysts said in a note.

Needham and Co. analysts said they estimate Facebook now accounts for $1 of every $5 in advertising dollars spent on mobile devices.

"We think 2Q represents further validation that Facebook can continue to drive mobile ad revenue growth through better ad targeting, relevancy and quality, and through continued growth in advertiser demand in its ad auction," JP Morgan analysts wrote in a note.

Of the 43 analysts covering the stock, 37 have a buy or a higher rating on the stock and six a hold. There are no sell ratings, according to StarMine data.

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Investors should expect ongoing operating losses from Maple Leaf Foods Inc. as the company's restructuring continues to unfold, said RBC Dominion Securities analyst Irene Nattel.

Maple Leaf is moving toward the later stages of a five-year transformation that has seen the company cut jobs, close plants, refocus its product offerings, sell off divisions and open a new distribution centre in Guelph, Ont.

Uncertainty remains over the Maple Leafs's ability to meet financial objectives tied to its retooling, while investors also await clarity on the distribution of excess capital to shareholders, Ms. Nattel said.

She rolled forward her valuation to include mid-2016 earnings estimates, resulting in an increase to her price target on Maple Leaf's stock to $21 (Canadian) from $18, at an unchanged "sector perform" rating.

"Maple Leaf remains a story for patient investors, as benefits from the realignment are currently overshadowed by challenging commodity and market conditions, and transitional costs related to the implementation of the strategic agenda," Ms. Nattel said.

The analyst consensus price target for Maple Leaf Foods over the next year is $19.71, according to Thomson Reuters data.

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Sierra Wireless Inc.'s "significant earnings power" is still a couple of years away, said Raymond James analyst Steven Li. In the meantime, the company's stock has gotten a little expensive, he said.

While the machine-to-machine (M2M) market that Sierra services has improved incrementally, the analyst maintained a "market perform" rating, while increasing his target price to $21 (Canadian) from $20.

Mr. Li noted the potential for big acquisitions to change the outlook for the stock.

"We expect management to remain on the lookout for strategic, accretive and potentially transformative opportunities in the M2M space," he said.

Sierra is due to report second-quarter earnings after market close on July 31.

The analyst consensus price target over the next year is $22.06.

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Altus Group Ltd.'s acquisition of RealNet Canada Inc. has strengthened the company's position as a provider of information to the commercial and residential real estate industries, BMO Nesbitt Burns analyst Stephen MacLeod said.

On Wednesday, Altus announced the $20-million deal, which complements Altus's existing data offerings with RealNet's information on sales and construction in the Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary markets.

Mr. MacLeod raised his price target on Altus to $27 (Canadian) from $24 and maintained an "outperform" rating.

"In the near term, the acquisition strengthens Altus's data offerings in Canada, solidifying it as the 'go to' independent provider of real estate data to lenders, developers, other users of real estate data," Mr. MacLeod said.

The analyst consensus price target over the next year is $25.17.

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Euro Pacific Canada analysts have added Espial Group Inc. to their list of top stock picks for 2014. "We feel the 243 per cent year-to-date gains while impressive, leave aggressive upside ahead with our fundamentally based bullish thesis bolstered by the significant milestones achieved over the past six to eight months," said Euro Pacific analyst Rob Goff. He raised his price target by 50 cents to $4.60 (Canadian). The closed closed trading on the TSX Wednesday at $3.01.

Espial, a developer of software solutions that enable the delivery of Internet protocol television, released better-than-expected quarterly results this week. Shares have risen 12 per cent in just the last five days.

The analyst consensus price target over the next year is $4.35.

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Several analysts have raised their price target on Bell Aliant Inc. to $31 (Canadian) after BCE Inc. Wednesday said it plans to buy the remaining shares in the company for that price.

Bell Aliant shareholders can elect to receive either $31 in cash, 0.6371 of a BCE common share, or $7.75 in cash and 0.4778 of a BCE common share. Given there is no change in control, regulatory approvals are not required and it is expected that the transaction will be completed by Nov. 30, 2014.

"We expect that the deal will close on schedule (given no chance of other suitors, an attractive valuation, and lack of regulatory conditions), and as such expect shares to trade around their take-out value of $31, which we are also now using as our price target for shares," commented CIBC World Markets analyst Robert Bek.

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In other analyst actions:

National Bank Financial downgraded Mullen Group to "sector perform" from "outperform" and cut its price target to $30 (Canadian) from $31.

Evercore downgraded Qualcomm to "equal weight" from "overweight" and cut its price target to $83 (U.S.) from $88. Several other analysts also lowered their price targets.

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