CN begins the year with one fewer recommendation.
At the beginning of the week, TD withdrew its purchase suggestion on the stock of the Montreal rail carrier. Analyst Cherilyn Radbourne considers the return potential relative to her target over a 12-month horizon “limited”.
She mentions that CN’s next results will face very difficult comparisons with those of the previous year when cereal deliveries in the first quarter of 2023 had benefited from a bumper harvest in 2022, while production of Last year was affected by drought.
The analyst also notes that CN is currently negotiating a new employment contract with some of its Canadian workers, which creates a risk of work interruption at the start of the year. Although they are generally short-lived in this country, strikes do not help investors feel comfortable, she says.
The Quebec paper company Cascades gained support on Thursday. TD analyst Sean Steuart now suggests buying the stock after revising his calculations for 2024 and 2025 to reflect the partial implementation of proposed price increases for packaging board.
Given the strong appreciation of Cascades’ shares over the past year, this expert admits that his recommendation comes late, but emphasizes that Cascades’ risk profile is improving thanks to the completion of the Bear Island project and better visibility on medium-term free cash flow potential.
Two out of five analysts now recommend buying the stock.
Desjardins Securities no longer offers its clients the opportunity to purchase Cogeco Communications shares. After reading the start-of-year results presented mid-week, analyst Jérôme Dubreuil emphasizes that competition is likely to remain intense for a while longer both in Canada and the United States.
Although he appreciates the strategy surrounding a possible entry into wireless, it does not mean, in his opinion, that the company is well positioned to succeed in this segment. He perceives a significant capital allocation risk and fears for the return on investment in the medium term.
Only two out of ten analysts now recommend buying.
Montreal-based streaming solutions provider Haivision is the only Quebec stock on the list presented this week by the firm Acumen Capital of the nine best investment ideas for 2024 in the “special situations” segment.
“Haivision is expected to post strong financial results following a period of margin compression due to supply chain challenges and recent acquisitions. We expect the stock to outperform as adjusted operating margins approach the 20% mark. »
Montreal-based supply chain management software provider Tecsys is the only Quebec company on the list of the 14 most attractive stocks to start 2024 drawn up by Échelon Wealth Management Partners.
According to the firm, the cornerstone of the investment thesis for Tecsys is that the fastest growing revenue stream (i.e. software as a service) also has the highest margins. high (around 50%), paving the way for significant profit growth.
The stock market is increasingly comfortable with a soft landing this year and multiple rate cuts, boosting the stock market’s upward momentum, reads the monthly commentary from strategist Sébastien Mc Mahon, d ‘iA Global Asset Management, released this week. However, it also emerges that the markets seem to overestimate the speed and number of rate cuts.
The Quebec stocks of Stingray, Thérapeutique Knight, Groupe ADF, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Cascades and Dorel all hit a 52-week high this week on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
On the other hand, that of Vision Marine slipped this week to a new 52-week low on the NASDAQ.
The New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ will remain closed Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King birthday holiday. Banks, some offices and government buildings will also remain closed in the United States.