trader stocks screen investorAKHTAR SOOMRO
Fortress Paper Ltd. reported first-quarter results that were below expectations, but also importantly, the company gave little guidance on specific operating rates and costs for its Thurso pulp mill in Quebec, said Canaccord Genuity analyst Neal Gilmer. "Furthermore, management commentary on reaching full production rates referenced mid-2012, a departure from the end of Q2 in the previous quarterly results. While we continue to believe that Fortress will be successful at achieving production capacity at Thurso, we have been disappointed with the start up taking longer than anticipated," he said.
Upside: Mr. Gilmer cut his price target by $8 to $42 and maintained a "buy" rating.
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Canaco Resources Inc. reported a disappointing resource estimate for its Handeni project in Tanzania, with both the resource of 21.9 million tonnes and grade of 1.44 grams per tonne of gold falling short of Canaccord Genuity analyst Nicholas Campbell's expectations. A preliminary economic assessment should be completed in the second half of this year, and "based on the initial resource estimate, we believe that the economics of the Handeni project are likely to be challenging," he said.
Downside: Mr. Campbell axed his price target to 65 cents from $3.25 but maintained a "speculated buy" rating.
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Canaccord Genuity analyst John Gerdes has upgraded SandRidge Energy Inc. to "hold" from "sell," noting its shares have declined almost 30 per cent since late February, underperforming the exploration and production sector. While Mr. Gerdes predicts the company will outspend cash flow by at least $1-billion per year for the foreseeable future, he thinks financial strains should ease over the next two years.
Downside: Mr. Gerdes maintained a $6 (U.S.) price target.
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Black Diamond Group Ltd. has secured a contract to provide a 700-person camp in Alberta's oil sands area for an initial two years. Black Diamond should be able to generate $52-million in revenue from the installation over that period, said Raymond James analyst Andrew Bradford, who upgraded the stock to "strong buy" from "outperform." He believes that shares are "fundamentally undervalued."
Upside: Mr. Bradford raised his price target to $27.50 from $23.
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Glacier Media Inc. reported adjusted earnings per share of 4 cents, a couple cents shy of consensus forecasts, but Raymond James analyst Kenric S. Tyghe is maintaining his "outperform" rating. Conservative ad spending by national advertisers in British Columbia's urban markets was partially offset by a modest boost in ad sales in local community markets and strong ad spending in Western provinces. Meanwhile, the company is making headway in shifting to digital formats at some of its publications.
Upside: Mr. Tyghe maintained a $3 price target.
Darcy Keith