A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today
On the rise
Iamgold Corp. (IMG-T) jumped 10.3 per cent in early afternoon trading on Monday as it announced its decision not to proceed with construction of the Côté Gold Project in Ontario. “We have substantially de-risked the Côté Gold Project, from both a technical and financial perspective, and believe in its potential to positively transform the Company. However, we have decided to wait for improved, and sustainable, market conditions in order to proceed with construction," said Steve Letwin, the company’s president and chief executive officer.
Fortis Inc. (FTS-T) rose 0.1 per cent in reaction to the $1-billion sale of its 51-per-cent stake in the Waneta Expansion hydroelectric plant in British Columbia to Columbia Power Corp and Columbia Basin Trust. “The sale of our interest in the Waneta Expansion helps finance the substantial growth occurring in our regulated utility business, including growth in British Columbia,” said president and chief executive officer Barry Perry. “This transaction completes the asset sale funding component of our five-year capital investment plan.”
Organigram Holdings Inc. (OGI-X) sat up 12.4 per cent after reporting record first-quarter net sales from continuing operations of $12.4-million, a rise of 419 per cent from $2.4-million during the same period a year ago. The result did fall short of analysts' expectations of $13.9-million. “"The first quarter of 2019 is just the start of what we expect to be a year of tremendous growth," said chief executive officer Greg Engel in a release.
Cannabis producers were one of the few brightest spots on the TSX on Monday. Cronos Group Inc. (CRON-T) was up 13.3 per cent, while Aurora Cannabis Inc. (ACB-T) and Aphria Inc. (APHA-T) rose 4.6 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively.
On the decline
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SNC-T) was down 28.3 per cent after announcing its full-year 2018 financial results will be lower-than-expected, pointing to a problem with a project in its mining and metallurgy unit as well as ongoing trading challenges in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia. The firm is now projecting earnings per share of between $2.15 to $2.30 in 2018, falling from $3.60 to $3.85 per share. “Inter-governmental relations between Canada and Saudi Arabia, together with unpredictable commodity prices and uncertain client investment plans, have led to deterioration in our near-term prospects which we cannot ignore,” said chief executive officer Neil Bruce said in a statement.
Goldcorp Inc. (G-T) reversed early gains and sat down 0.6 per cent in the wake of releasing its summary of fourth-quarter 2019 milestones and 2019 production and cost guidance. “As previously disclosed, fourth quarter 2018 gold production of 630,000 ounces exceeded guidance. All-in sustaining costs for the full year are expected to be in line with guidance of $850 per ounce,” the company said in a release.
Bank of Montreal (BMO-T) was down 1 per cent after an equity analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded his rating for its stock.
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT-N) was 9.4 per cent lower after releasing both fourth-quarter results and a full-year profit forecast that failed to live up to the expectations on the Street. The company is projecting 2019 adjusted profit of US$11.75 to US$12.75 per share, versus the analysts’ average estimate of US$12.73. It pointed, in part, to “lower demand” in China for its construction business in explaining the weakness.
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA-Q) lost 14.1 per cent after reducing its fourth-quarter revenue guidance to US$2.20-billion from US$2.70-billion as its sales of its Gaming and Datacenter platforms fell short of expectations. “Q4 was an extraordinary, unusually turbulent, and disappointing quarter,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, in a release. “Looking forward, we are confident in our strategies and growth drivers.
BlackBerry Ltd. (BB-T, BB-N) sat 0.6 per cent lower after naming Bryan Palma its new president and chief operating officer. Mr. Palma was most recently Cisco’s senior vice-president and general manager of customer experience for the Americas.
Descartes Systems Group Inc. (DSG-T) was down 2.6 per cent after signing a definitive agreement to acquire the businesses run by the Management Systems Resources Inc. group of companies operating under the names “Visual Compliance,” “eCustoms” and “MSR” for $250-million.