Thursday's small-cap stocks to watch

Share

Our roundup of Canadian small-caps making news and on the move today. This post will be updated through the morning.

Laurentian Bank of Canada missed analysts' expectations for first quarter earnings by a slim margin, with net income of $1.32 per diluted share, compared to an average forecast of $1.38, according to Bloomberg. "The 25 basis points decline in the Bank of Canada's overnight rate in January has temporarily weighed on our first quarter results," said Réjean Robitaille, Laurentian's CEO. "However, it should be relatively neutral on earnings per share for the full year. Furthermore, in this challenging interest rate environment, our rigorous control over expenses and the sustained credit quality of the loan portfolio contributed to our financial performance."

=====

Kinaxis Inc. stock continued to do well two days after the release of third-quarter results.

Shares of the Ottawa supply chain management software firm were up more than 5 per cent in early afternoon trading , after rising 10 per cent on Wednesday. The stock, which was upgraded by several analysts after the company said it had won a new major client late in the quarter ended Dec. 31, is just shy of doubling its June, 2014 IPO price of $13.

Several analysts predict the company will disrupt the business software market for supply chain management programs now dominated by SAP and Oracle, but it has been a tough slog for the company to build a successful commercialization model around its sophisticated technology, as The Globe and Mail reported recently.

TD Securities analyst Scott Penner was the latest analyst Thursday to increase his target on Kinaxis stock, raising his target to $30 from $24 and writing that the company's "market fundamentals appear supportive of long-term growth."

=====

Canam Group Inc. said its fourth-quarter revenues rose to $383.6-million from $281.6-million a year earlier. Net income per share rose to 33 cents from 26 cents. The Street was expecting revenue of $342-million and EPS of 32 cents.

======

North American Palladium Ltd. announced a positive preliminary economic assessment for its Lac des Iles mine in Ontario.

The company commissioned the assessment in mid-2014 to evaluate the results of an ongoing diamond drilling program and to update and re-scope the economic potential of the large mineral resource. "The change in the exchange rate between the Canadian and U.S. dollar and improved palladium prices have increased the potential for exploitation of the mineral resource that, as of February 2015, consists of 71.5 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources at 1.98 g/t Pd and 15 million tonnes of inferred resource at 2.7 g/t Pd," the company said.

The company is now moving forward with a prefeasibility study.

======

Ballard Power Systems Inc. said its fourth-quarter net income was 13 cents a share, a drop of 41 per cent from a year earlier. Revenue dropped 10 per cent to $5.6-million. The Street was expecting revenue of $23-million, suggesting the quarterly results were a significant miss.

======

Strategic Oil & Gas Ltd. announced its year-end reserves and an updated third party resource assessment. The company said it added 4.6 million barrels equivalent of proved and probable reserves in 2014. "However, low commodity prices resulted in a reduction in reserves due to economic factors of 2.1 million barrels.

The company also cut its capital budget to $11-million for the first half of 2015, and has cut its office and field staff by about 35 per cent due to the low oil price. Approximately 700 barrels of oil equivalent per day of production has also been shut-in by suspending operations at its Bistcho, Cameron Hills and Larne properties, which are not economic at current commodity prices.

======

Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. announced a new long-term factory installation agreement with Jaguar Land Rover Canada ULC. As part of the multi-year agreement, a three-month complimentary audio subscription to SiriusXM Canada will come with all new SiriusXM- equipped Land Rover and Jaguar vehicles.

======

Stantec Inc. reported fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of 40 cents, falling below the Street estimate of 46 cents. It also raised its dividend by 13.5 per cent.

======

WPC Resources Inc. announced a non-brokered private placement of up to 12 million units at a price of $0.05 per unit for gross proceeds of $600,000. Each unit will consist of one common share and one non-transferable common share purchase warrant. Two warrants will entitle the holder to purchase one common share of the company.

The company also plans to ask shareholders to approve a name change to Lupin Gold Corp.,  as part of the acquisition of the Lupin Gold Mine and the Ulu Gold Project.

======

Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced it has acquired  the worldwide rights to three products from Astion Pharma, a Denmark-based specialty pharmaceutical company. The three products are focused on inflammatory dermatological diseases.

======
Extendicare Inc. reported that its net operating income was relatively flat at $29.3-million in the fourth quarter compared to $29.2- million in the same 2013 period, representing 13.8 per cent and 14.2 per cent of revenue, respectively

=====

Crombie REIT reported quarterly results which appeared to roughly meet analysts' expectations. For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Crombie posted funds from operations of $0.28 per diluted unit. On a full-year basis, Crombie realized funds from operations of $1.10 per unit, which was unchanged from the prior year.

=====

SilverCrest Mines Inc. said Eric Fier, the company's president and chief operating officer, has taken a "partial leave of absence" from the company for personal health reasons. Mr. Fier is slated for the CEO spot upon the retirement of Scott Drever, which is expected in the coming year. He will remain in his role until Mr. Fier can return to the company full time. In the meantime, Mr. Fier will remain as COO. Dunham Craig, currently a director, will assume the responsibilities of president on an interim basis until a full-time replacement is found.

====

Great Panther Silver Ltd. said it has entered into an agreement to acquire Cangold Ltd. in a stock deal valued at about $1.7-million. The deal will result in Great Panther adding the option to acquire more than 6,000 hectares of the Guadalupe de los Reyes gold and silver project in Mexico. "Our team has proven success in developing producing mines in Mexico," said Bob Garnett, chairman of Great Panther. "The proposed acquisition will also realize cost synergies in terms of management, administration, and overhead."