A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today
On the rise
CannTrust Holdings Inc. (TRST-T) was up 7.6 per cent in early afternoon trading on Thursday after the Vaughan, Ont.-based marijuana producer reported first-quarter earnings that met the Street’s expectations before the bell.
It announced revenue of $16.9-million, an increase from $7.2-million a year earlier and in line with expectations of $17-million. Net income was $12.8-million or 12 cents per share versus a loss of $25.5-million or 26 cents per share last year.
“The CannTrust team delivered exceptional operational growth in the first quarter, with harvested production of over 9,400kg. This is a 96-per-cent increase in production over the prior quarter and reflects the impact of the investments made into our facilities, as well as process improvements to increase throughput,” said chief executive officer Peter Aceto in a news release.
Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp. (LIF-T) jumped 5.7 per cent after releasing its first-quarter results on Monday evening.
Royalty revenue for the first quarter came in at $38.5-million, rising from $33.8-million during the same period a year ago. Earnings per share rose to 35 cents from 23 cents.
Aphria Inc. (APHA-T) rose 3 per cent after it announced before market open that its president Jakob Ripshtein will resign from the company, effective June 7.
The Leamington, Ont-based company also announced several executive including James Meiers to the role of Chief Operating Officer, Aphria Leamington, Tim Purdie as Chief Information Officer & Chief Information Security Officer, and Maureen Berry as Vice President, Corporate Human Resources.
"At Aphria, we remain focused on creating long-term shareholder value by leveraging our strong brand positioning, superior distribution model, product innovation, industrial scale cultivation and automation, medical-use leadership, and our strategic global platform, which we intend to amplify using proceeds from the Company’s recent US$350M offering,” said interim CEO Irwin Simon in a release. “We are pleased to share that the ramp-up of our growing operations in Parts IV and V at Aphria One are progressing smoothly and Aphria One is on-track to reach its annualized production capacity of 110,000 kilograms by the end of 2019”
Badger Daylighting Ltd. (BAD-T) was up 5.1 per cent after reporting better-than-anticipated first-quarter results after the bell on Monday.
The Calgary-based company, which provides non-destructive hydrovac truck excavating services, reported revenue of $146.6-million, up 21.6 per cent year-over-year and above the consensus projection on the Street of $138.4-million.
WSP Global Inc. (WSP-T) rose 2.1 per cent with the release of in-line first-quarter results before market open.
Desjardins Securities analyst Benoit Poirier said: “While the results were mostly in line with expectations, we would expect a slightly positive reaction this morning considering the solid organic growth and robust backlog posted in 1Q. We continue to like the name as we believe that the value-creation opportunity arising from the 2019–21 strategic plan is sizeable and achievable.”
Walt Disney Co. (DIS-N) rose 2.4 per cent after announcing it has signed a pact with Comcast Corp. (CCZ-N) to assume full operational control of Hulu, effective immediately.
As part of the deal, Disney can buy Comcast’s 33-per-cent stake in the U.S. entertainment streaming service as early as January 2024 and Comcast can also push for a sale of its stake at the same time.
Shares of Comcast were 4.5 per cent higher.
Shopify Inc. (SHOP-T) erased early losses and sat 0.2 per cent higher after an equity analyst at Morgan Stanley downgraded its stock in reaction to an “unwarranted” rally.
On the decline
DHX Media Ltd. (DHX-T) fell 3.2 per cent after reporting its loss in its latest quarter more than doubled compared with a year ago as it took a one-time charge.
The company says it lost $18.4-million or 14 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $8-million or 6 cents per share a year earlier. Revenue totaled $110 million, which was in line with expectations and down from $116.5 million a year ago.
Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL-N) dropped 5.5 per cent despite beating the Street with its fourth-quarter revenue and profit results.
Instead, investors focused on the company’s struggles in North America.
Same-store sales in its biggest market recorded its sixth quarter of decline in the last two years, falling 4 per cent.
Overall, net revenue fell 1.5 per cent to US$1.51-billion due to a strong greenback, however it beat the consensus analyst estimate of US$1.48-billion.
Net income fell to US$31.6-million, or 39 US cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended March 30, from US$41.3-million, or 50 US cents per share, a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned US$1.07 per share, beating estimates of 90 US cents per share.
With files from staff and wires