Inside the Market’s roundup of some of today’s key analyst actions

Desjardins Securities has downgraded two Canadian mining stocks as it previewed second quarter earnings for the sector and revised its price assumptions for both base and precious metals.

Teck Resources Ltd. (TECK-B-T) was downgraded to a “hold” from a “buy” with the price target dropping to C$58 from C$72.

Desjardins analysts led by Bryce Adams said the key rationale for the downgrade was risk that guidance could be cut for the giant Quebrada Blanca mine in Chile.

“We now model 218.5kt of copper produced this year, below guidance of 230–270kt. We expect a guidance cut and a continuation of a slower-than-expected ramp-up to serve as a headwind for TECK.B shares … On a consolidated basis, we model 491kt, directly at the low end of the company’s guidance (490–565kt),“ the analysts said.

Desjardins termed their downgrade as only “short-term positioning.”

“We continue to have a favourable longer-term view on the shares given the company’s high-quality assets and strong balance sheet. The risk to our call is reaffirmed guidance (obviously) and continued use of the buyback program, which has been active and has supported the shares through 1H25,” Desjardins analysts said.

Meanwhile, Lundin Gold Inc. (LUG-T) was downgraded to “hold” from “buy”, but the price target was raised to C$70 from C$62.

Desjardins mostly linked the downgrade to recent share price appreciation and valuation concerns.

“LUG shares are up 125% ytd and now trade at 1.3x our NAVPS and 10.4x our 2025 EV/EBITDA estimates vs peers at an average of 0.73x and 7.1x, respectively. We view LUG as a well-run company with a high-quality asset which continues to outperform expectations and demonstrates significant exploration upside but expect that the pace of share price appreciation through 1H25 is not sustainable. We recommend that investors take some profit,” Desjardins analysts said.

In terms of its revised outlook for metals prices, Desjardins took a more bullish stance on precious metals and a more cautious view on base and bulk commodities.

Its gold price estimates for 2025 were raised from US$3,037/oz to US$3,330/oz, 2026 estimates went from US$3,160/oz to US$3,537/oz, and 2027-plus forecasts went from US$3,276/oz to US$3,688/oz. Similarly, silver estimates were revised upward across all years.

In contrast, copper price assumptions were slightly lower on the back of a more tempered view on industrial demand, with 2025 now at US$4.39/lb (down from US$4.51/lb), 2026 at US$4.43/lb (down from US$4.49/lb) and 2027+ at US$4.46/lb (down from US$4.48/lb). Desjardins is assuming continued weakening in the U.S. dollar.

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RBC Capital Markets analyst Paul Treiber jacked up his price target on Shopify Inc. (SHOP-N, SHOP-T) to US$145 from US$125 while reiterating an “outperform” rating. He said several data points suggest the company’s growth momentum has continued and disruption from tariffs has been minimal so far.

“Data from several third-party sources suggest Shopify’s GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) growth and MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) momentum were healthy through Q2, likely slightly above consensus,“ Mr. Treiber told clients. ”We believe Shopify’s continued growth and market share gains will help sustain Shopify’s premium valuation multiple.”

Job postings at Shopify are at multi-year lows, which should end up aiding margins, he said. “Shopify’s job postings fell 38% Y/Y to 101, which is the second lowest quarterly number in nearly 5 years (since Q4/FY20). Given GMV strength, MRR growth, and reduced job postings, we believe Shopify’s Q2 adj. EBIT margins may exceed RBC/consensus estimates for 13.9%/14.2%,” the analyst said.

Mr. Treiber said Shopify’s market share gains are likely to continue. “New channel partnerships strengthen Shopify’s value proposition as a multi-channel commerce enabler. During Q2, Shopify announced a number of partnerships, including Roblox, OpenAI, and Coinbase/Stripe. We believe Shopify’s innovation and channel support will help continue to drive share gains, particularly at enterprises and in international markets.”

He termed Shopify as one of RBC’s most “compelling long-term organic growth stories” in its coverage.

“Shopify is trading at 14x next 12 months Enterprise value/Sales, above its 3-year average (9x, 4-14x range) and above fast-growing SaaS peers (11x). Our revised $145 price target is now based on 14x CY26e EV/S, up from 12x previously, as we see Shopify’s valuation re-rating towards the high-end of its 3-year range sustained, given improving visibility to sustained growth and market share gains,” RBC said.

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TD Cowen analyst Aaron MacNeil downgraded global drilling rig data management services provider Pason Systems Inc. (PSI-T) to “hold” from “buy” as he previewed the company’s second quarter results. His price target remains at C$13, which he thinks doesn’t provide enough upside for a buy rating.

“Following Q1/25 results, Pason’s share price has increased about 10%, and is trading at a 36% premium to the Energy Services peer group on a 2025E EV/EBITDA basis,” Mr. MacNeil said. “Note that Pason is trading at a slight discount to its four-year average multiple (5.6x vs. 6.0x); however, given our prevailing sector outlook, we believe that a modest discount is warranted. Specifically, we are not contemplating a meaningful rebound in industry activity until H2/26, and would characterize the broader outlook as having meaningful uncertainty.”

Mr. MacNeil also made changes to his earnings estimates ahead of quarterly results.

“Pason’s business model has high fixed costs, and as a result, features meaningful operating leverage to changes in industry activity. As a result, we are decreasing our estimates by about 5% for Q2/25, 2% for 2025 and 1% for 2026,” he said.

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TD Cowan analyst Derek Lessard expects Premium Brands Holdings Corp. (PBH-T) to report a strong second quarter and raised his price target on the stock to C$140 from C$120. He reiterated a “buy” rating.

“Despite the temporary margin impact from commodity inflation, we remain bullish on PBH shares given the strong 2H/25 outlook. The current valuation of 9.8x forward cons EBITDA (

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Scotiabank said that tailwinds for power utilities “continue to multiply,” and it expects the group will continue to see strong share price returns in the third quarter.

It upgraded Transalta Corp. (TA-T) to “sector outperform” from “sector perform”, commenting that it sees it well positioned to benefit from power demand growth in Alberta. The price target was raised to C$20 from C$16.

“TransAlta’s shares have been the weakest in our coverage universe on a year-to-date basis (down 20%), greatly underperforming its Canadian and U.S. power peer group,” commented Scotiabank analyst Robert Hope. “The shares have had some momentum in Q2/25, and we expect this to continue as we believe there will be positive catalysts related to Alberta data centers in the back half of the year and we forecast a favourable quarter.”

But Scotiabank downgraded Boralex Inc. (BLX-T) to “sector perform” from “sector outperform”, citing recent share price returns and fewer relative catalysts. The price target is unchanged.

“We continue to view Boralex as a high quality renewable developer with an attractive asset base and a strong growth outlook. However, we see it as having fewer catalysts in the back half of the year relative to the remainder of our power coverage. Our $36 target price implies an 11.4x EV / 2027E EBITDA, which would be a sizable premium to the majority of the coverage group,” Mr. Hope said.

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Now’s the time to buy Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE-T), says CIBC analyst Dennis Fong, who issued a comprehensive look at the company this week ahead of second quarter results.

“We expect Q2/25 results could be a catalyst, whereby management provides positive updates on progress made at its refining segment, line-of-sight to completion of major capital projects, and opportunities to improve bitumen and heavy oil production,” Mr. Fong said in a note.

He reiterated an “outperformer” rating and raised his price target to C$30 from C$28.

“The consensus view is that rate-of-change in free cash flow generation as major projects are completed could drive increased buybacks. We believe strong runtime and ex-turnaround unit operating cost improvement could drive 54% upside upside to this thesis,“ he said.

He says Cenovus’ downstream operations are now poised for improvements.

“Cenovus has now had an opportunity to open and configure many of the major pieces of equipment across its operated refining network. This is a two-year journey to higher confidence in high mechanical availability, but we expect operated refineries have a 12-month window to show higher runtime as major turnarounds have now been completed. This has the added benefit of lowering unit opex, with higher throughput and the absence of previously expensed ramp-up costs. The remaining units at Toledo are expected to be optimized in the H1/27 planned turnaround,” he said.

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Scotiabank analyst Eric Winmill initiated coverage on Blue Moon Metals Inc. (MOON-X) with a “sector outperform” rating and C$5 price target.

He said the company’s asset portfolio offers near-term copper, zinc, and precious metals production potential as well as possible new findings on the exploration side.

The company’s flagship assets include the Nussir copper-gold-silver development project in Norway, the Blue Moon zinc-gold-silver-copper development project in the United States, and the NSG/Sulitjelma copper and precious metals exploration project in Norway.

“All three projects are considered primarily brownfield sites, having seen varying levels of prior production, and we expect that to help expedite permitting and reduce overall development risk,” Mr. Winmill said.

He said the company has an experienced management team in place to advance the projects.

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In other analyst actions:

Despite the negative share reaction Friday to earnings, at least 14 analysts raised their price targets on Netflix (NFLX-Q) The average analyst target is now US$1,295, up from US$1,186 a month ago, according to LSEG data.

Microsoft (MSFT-Q): BofA Global Research raises price objective to US$585 from US$515; Deutsche Bank raises target price to US$550 from US$500

Capital Power Corp (CPX-T): Scotiabank raises target price to C$67 from C$64

Stantec Inc (STN-T): CIBC raises target price to C$168 from C$156

Toromont Industries Ltd (TIH-T): CIBC raises target price to C$129 from C$120

WSP Global Inc (WSP-T): CIBC raises target price to C$317 from C$305