Every Sunday, we shine the spotlight on elements of financial and stock market news that may be useful to investors, but which might have gone under the radar
Posted at 1:36 a.m.
Updated at 7:00 a.m.
A member of Dollarama’s senior management has just sold $7 million worth of shares in the Montreal discount retailer.
The main responsible for importing products, Jeff Robillard, sold a block of 60,700 shares on April 26 at a unit price of $116.30.
The organization’s chief IT officer, Nicolas Hien, for his part used options to make a gross gain of $864,000 on April 24. He exercised 9,500 options at a strike price of $23.68 and then sold the securities at a price of $114.62. The action of Dollarama hit a historic high on the stock market on Friday.
Bomber won the support of CIBC mid-week after the Montreal business jet manufacturer held its investor day. Analyst Kevin Chiang believes the business model is becoming more predictable after presenting plans to continue increasing revenues from after-sales service activities (support and maintenance), the defense sector, and the niche rejuvenation and resale of used devices. “These revenues generate higher margins,” he says.
Bombardier also seems to have allayed many concerns this week about the possibility of developing a new plane from a blank slate (clean sheet design). “It is now clear that Bombardier will not announce new multi-billion dollar investment programs, which was one of the main concerns weighing on the stock in recent years,” underlines analyst Benoit Poirier, of Gardens.
CGI now has TD on its side. Since Thursday, analyst Daniel Chan has been recommending the purchase of the shares of the Montreal IT services provider. Judging that a sense of caution is now expected in the stock price with the recent decline in the stock and given the potential linked to possible acquisitions, he believes the time is right to build a position.
Another founder of Couche-Tard sold blocks of shares in the Laval convenience store chain in April. Richard Fortin sold just over $11 million worth of shares between April 22 and 24. He thus liquidated 150,000 shares in three sessions. Réal Plourde sold a little more than $1.1 million worth of shares on April 18 by alienating 15,000 shares, a transaction carried out in an account of the foundation which bears his name and that of his wife.
ADF Group was the big winner in April on the Toronto Stock Exchange among Quebec stocks. The stock of the Terrebonne steel superstructure manufacturer appreciated 59% during the month. PyroGenesis (+30%) and Goodfood Market (+26%) also had a good month. At the opposite, Lion (-37%), Theratechnologies (-21%) and Coveo (-18%) had a difficult month. At NASDAQ, Therapeutic Repair (-34%) and LeddarTech (-20%) are two other Quebec stocks that recorded sharp declines in April.
The action of Lion slipped to less than US$1 on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time on April 18. Since then, it has closed all sessions below US$1 except Friday’s session. If the average closing price of the shares over 30 consecutive business days is less than US$1, Lion may receive a notice of non-compliance with the listing rules. The Saint-Jérôme electric truck and bus manufacturer would then have six months to re-comply with the minimum share price requirement in order to maintain listing in New York. A consolidation of shares would then be one way to remedy such a situation.
Quebec comedian Jay Du Temple is now a shareholder of Guru. The Montreal organic energy drink company announced Tuesday that the former host ofDouble occupation becomes ambassador of the Guru brand. This partnership provides for its participation in Guru’s marketing campaigns, as well as on social networks and mutual creative projects for Quebec. Details of the agreement and his compensation remain confidential, but management confirms that he purchased shares. It is notably part of the launch campaign for Guru’s zero sugar range this spring.
Quebec titles of Bomber and of Dollarama hit a 52-week high this week on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
On the other hand, those of Pages Yellows and of D-Box slipped this week to a 52-week low.
