A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today
On the rise
Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (GOOS-T) increased 3.4 per cent on Tuesday after announcing plans to open six new stores with two in Europe (Milan and Paris), one in the United States (Minnesota’s Mall of America) and three in Canada (Toronto, Edmonton and Banff).
"In addition to growing our footprint in Asia , expanding in Europe and broadening our presence in North America enables our fans to explore all of our collections in a unique and engaging environment and discover the story behind our products, unfiltered,” said company president and chief executive office Dani Reiss.
McEwen Mining Inc. (MUX-T) was up 2.5 per cent after releasing its first-quarter production results before market open.
The Toronto-based miner reported 703,217 silver ounces for the period, up from 695,651 a year earlier. It reported a decline in gold production (to 26,789 ounces from 35,069), pointing to a slower-than-expected ramp-up at its Gold Bar Mine in Nevada and a shut down at its Black Fox Mine in Timmins, Ont., in February and March due to a fire.
McEwen also said its exploring the potential sale of its Mexican assets.
“We anticipate that half of the net proceeds from the potential sale would be used to advance our development projects, and the balance would be used to retire a portion of our debt,” the company said.
Walt Disney Co. (DIS-N) was up 1.7 per cent after an equity analyst at Cowen raised his rating for the entertainment giant’s stock.
“We view Disney’s catalyst path for the next year as highly attractive, and believe Thursday’s investor day will likely be a deck-clearing event for sentiment,” said Doug Creutz.
CRH Medical Corp. (CRH-T) rose 1.7 per cent after it announced the appointment of Dr. Tushar Ramani as CEO of the company, replacing outgoing CEO Edward Wright.
Acumen Capital analyst Nick Corcoran said: “With CRH’s U.S. centric business model, we believe Dr. Ramani has been hired to leverage his extensive experience and network to explore additional opportunities to support the Company’s continue growth and success. We view this transition to be positive for shareholders.”
On the decline
Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR-B-T) fell 3.3 per cent after reporting mixed second-quarter financial results.
The company said net income came in at $155-million, or 30 cents per share, in the quarter, meeting expectations on the Street and marking an improvement from a loss of $175-million, or 35 cents a share, during the same period a year ago.
In a research note, Desjardins Securities’ Maher Yaghi said: “SJR reported 2Q FY19 results, with profitability beating expectations although customer loading was slightly below expectations. This is consistent with the company’s stated focus on profitability in wireline, which we believe is the right way forward in a mature market. We also note that wireline revenue is still growing, which is important, in our view, as it provides the company with financial support while wireless is still ramping up. Management’s FY19 EBITDA growth guidance remains at 4–6 per cent versus FY18 IFRS 15 restated results."
Ballard Power Systems Inc. (BLDP-T) closed flat in the wake of announcing an agreement with Norled A/S, a Norwegian ferry and express boat operator, to provide two of its next-generation 200 kilowatt (kW) modules that will be used to power a hybrid ferry planned to begin operating in 2021.
Ballard said the vessel, which will be designed and manufactured at its new Marine Center of Excellence in Hobro, Denmark, is expected to be the first liquid hydrogen fuel cell-powered ferry in commercial operation globally.
United States Steel Corp. (X-N) was down 10.1 per cent after an analyst at Credit Suisse downgraded its stock, pointing to a weakened competitive position.
Shares of WSP Global Inc. (WSP-T) and Toromont Industries Ltd. (TIH-T) fell 1.9 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively, after an equity analyst at National Bank Financial dropped his rating for the stocks after their “tremendous rebound.”
American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL-Q) was 1.7 per cent lower after trimming its first-quarter revenue forecast, due largely to the grounding of Boeing Co.’s (BA-N) 737 MAX aircraft.
American, which owns 24 MAX jets, said it now expects revenue per available seat mile to be flat to up 1 per cent compared with the prior forecast of flat to 2-per-cent growth.
The carrier also cut its first-quarter outlook for margins, citing higher fuel prices. Excluding special items, the company now expects pre-tax margin to be about 2 per cent to 4 per cent, compared with its prior forecast of 2.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent.
Citi analyst Kevin Crissey said: “We suspect that investors were already assuming a low-end-of-range RASM guide, so we don’t expect the stock to be hurt much by this guide (but it is worse than what one peer guided). ... AAL has been the worst performer in the U.S. airline sector in the past year (down 32 per cent). We see better results (relative to peers particularly) coming in H2, as we expect RASM growth to outperform as Latin America laps easy comps and Brazil improves. Longer term, we expect much better FCF and deleveraging. Management providing more of a sense of urgency regarding costs would likely also help the stock. It is time for management to acknowledge that it has a problem (relative margins and returns are bad), in our view.”
Boeing shares fell 1.5 per cent after it announced deliveries of its best-selling 737 Max planes fell to 89 in the first quarter from 132 a year earlier. Total orders fell to 91 aircraft in the first quarter from 180 a year earlier. There were no new MAX orders in March.
With files from wires
David Leeder