The Globe and Mail

TD Newcrest has an interesting spin on why CanWest Global Communications Corp. has withstood the market volatility in August, drifting in a narrow range around $8.
Either stock is being held for the long term and/or reasonable bids can’t be generated for large positions, contends analyst Scott Cuthbertson.
“We do not take this to be a sign of a bottom, however, and do not want to be lulled into a sense of false security as a result,” he writes. “With the challenges facing it, especially in the current environment, we see little potential for material share price appreciation here and prefer more defensive names at this point in the cycle.”
The stock is trading at $7.90, down 3 cents, on the TSX Thursday afternoon.
Based on a valuation of CanWest’s net asset value, Mr. Cuthbertson calls the stock “generous, if anything.” He trimmed his price target to $9 from $11 after a review, which found the broadcaster is “under water with its 36 per cent share in the [Alliance Atlantis] partnership” because of relatively high financial leverage.
And in contrast to what he thought would happen at the beginning of the year, he predicts CanWest will finish this year “actually more levered that it began it.”