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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Thanks to 5i & Russ who provided an excellent source of closing Block trades. Demonstrates the power of informed forums.

I asked the question in respect of AVO trading. The data has raised the question of what do they mean.

I assume that if the buyer is different from the seller, they are interested in disbursing the Block to retail according to their views on what is likely to happen to the price. But what is the reason for the same Brokerage firm selling to it's self?

Perhaps there are other motivations? For me it is interesting that buyers & sellers are interested in making Block trades, but can the transactions be interpreted to mean anything?

Your personal experience with this please.

Ernie
Read Answer Asked by Ernie on October 23, 2014
Q: I have a general question as to how, and if, analysts' reviews affect stocks.

On Wednesday, TD Securities downgraded Canaccord Genuity Group to "hold" from "buy" with a price target of $12.50 (Canadian). The stock was around $11.00 at the time. It subsequently plummeted about 10% and continues to drop today.

Today, Raymond James upgraded Mullen Group to "market perform" from "underperform" but cut its price target to $25 (Canadian) from $27.50. The stock has dropped about 5% so far.

In both cases, the stocks were about 10% below the analysts target. Once was considered a downgrade, although it was still a hold. The other was considered an upgrade but its target was not going to yield any greater returns.

My question is threefold. Is "market perform" considered different than "hold" (since they seem pretty similar to me); secondly, why was one stock hammered so much and the other wasn't when they are both expected to perform about the same, at least as it pertains to their target prices; finally, should TD be considered impartial since they are downgrading a competitor.

I am hoping that with your insight, I will move closer to understanding how things work!

Thanks so much.

Paul F.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on October 23, 2014
Q: Ryan's report on SLF and MFC was very interesting and is a great explanation for why you prefer SLF. I got the impression that in the less likely event of equity markets moving more than 10% along with a 100BP move in interest rates, that MFC would do better than SLF. Is this correct (and why) and if so, can you estimate the probability of this scenario happening ? Also want to say that the addition of the name along with the stock symbol as the identifier for each question, is a helpful addition-thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Alexandra on October 23, 2014
Q: The markets have been quite strong the last few days, yet WSP is not participating. Today, for example, the stock was down while the market was up nicely. My concern is, if the stock is weak in a strong market, what happens when the market comes back down. For some reason, my impression is that this company is not well liked by investors. Any idea why and what might turn this around?
Read Answer Asked by John on October 22, 2014
Q: They made a recent purchase and issued a fair bit of stock today: will this purchase be a accretive to earnings, what will their debt to equity look like and will the debt servicing limit any dividend increases going forward? I have held this stock for quite a while & with dividends I am up 100%. Not sure whether to sell with this added debt., increased OS shares and high stock valuation?
Read Answer Asked by James on October 21, 2014
Q: would you average down in any or all of the following--- AHF,PRW SPE ? Thanx Robbie
Read Answer Asked by Robert on October 21, 2014
Q: Hi Peter,
Any idea why High Liner and Shawcor are still dropping while others have recovered. Both went up after the sell off, but are now dropping again. Fundamentals appear to be good on both so am a bit puzzled. I am thinking of entering Starbucks. I have done very well on the stock and sold it when it hit the 80s. It has been sitting in the low 70s but the PE is very high. The technicals look okay. Your view is greatly appreciated.
Read Answer Asked by umedali on October 21, 2014
Q: Hi, What do you think about Noranda Income Fund?
Read Answer Asked by Jeff on October 20, 2014
Q: For Growth do you like:

Fiera Capital or Element Financial
Enghouse or Sylogist
First Service or Home Capital
Parkland or Vermillion
Trimac or Algoma

right now for new funds?
Read Answer Asked by Gregory on October 20, 2014
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