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A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today

On the rise

Shares of AT&T Inc. (T-N) rose 1.4 per cent after activist hedge fund manager Elliott Management revealed it’s making a US$3.2-billion investment in the company, believing it could be valued at more than US$60 a share by the end of 2021.

The stock closed at US$36.25 on Friday.

Elliott sent a letter to AT&T’s board saying it should look into divesting assets like DirecTV and its Mexican wireless operations. Elliott said it has identified opportunities for more than $10 billion in savings, but that its plan represents $5 billion in cost cuts.

Citi analyst Michael Rollins said: “We continue to recommend buying AT&T shares based on the opportunities to reduce financial leverage, improve some of its operating segments into 2020, further monetize non-core assets, and potentially improve returns to shareholders with possible buybacks. Given the recent drop in 10-year treasury rates and our stable operating outlook, we see an opportunity for further multiple expansion and have raised our target price to $42 from $37.”

Baytex Energy Corp. (BTE-T) increased 4.5 per cent after announcing before the bell it expects to produce 97,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of 2019, rising from its previous estimate of a range of 93,000 to 97,000 boe/d.

“Strong operating performance has continued across our asset base during the third quarter. Despite the volatility in crude oil prices, we continue to drive capital efficiencies across our business, deliver stable production and meaningful free cash flow. and anticipated exploration and development expenditures of $560-million for the year,” the company said.

“We continue to drive capital discipline and now anticipate exploration and development expenditures for 2019 of approximately $560 million. This compares to our original guidance range of $550 to $650 million, which was recently tightened to $550 to $600 million.”

Currency Exchange International Corp. (CXI-T) rose 1.3 per cent after it announced completion of its acquisition of eZforex.com, Inc., a Texas-based privately-held foreign currency and technology business for US$4.25-million.

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC-N) increased 2.7 per cent after it forecast a bigger-than-expected drop in 2019 net interest income on Monday, largely due to lower interest rates.

The U.S. lender expects net interest income to fall 6 per cent, compared with its earlier expectations of an about 5-per-cent drop, the company said in a presentation at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference.

Analysts on average were expecting the bank to post a drop of 3.8 per cent in 2019.

On the decline

Organigram Holdings Inc. (OGI-T) lost 5.2 per cent despite announcing it has received Health Canada’s approval for the licensing of 17 additional cultivation rooms.

The Moncton-based company said the new rooms represent approximately 15,000 kilograms per year of increased target production capacity.

Canopy Rivers Inc. (RIV-T) fell 3 per cent after its class A subordinated voting shares began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange today ticker symbol “RIV.”

“We are proud to join a class of issuers that includes many reputable domestic and international companies,” said Narbe Alexandrian, CEO of Canopy Rivers. “We believe that graduating to the TSX will improve awareness about Canopy Rivers and enhance liquidity for our shareholders and other market participants.”

**

Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. (OSK-T) fell 6.2 per cent after saying it has signed a deal to acquire Stornoway Diamond Corp. (SWY-T) with the help of the mining company’s secured creditors.

Under the terms of the agreement, Osisko and Stornoway secured creditors want to form an entity that will acquire the company and assume the debts and liabilities owing to the secured creditors as well as the obligations relating to the operation of the Renard mine.

Boeing Co. (BA-N) fell 1.1 per cent after it suspended load testing of its new widebody 777X aircraft over the weekend as media reports said a cargo door failed in a ground stress test.

With files from Brenda Bouw, staff and wires

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 3:59pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
T-N
AT&T Inc
+0.28%17.6
WFC-N
Wells Fargo & Company
+0.61%57.96
BTE-T
Baytex Energy Corp
+2.52%4.89
OGI-T
Organigram Holdings Inc
-7.07%2.89
CXI-T
Currency Exchange International Corp
-0.24%24.69
BA-N
Boeing Company
+0.54%192.99
OSK-T
Osisko Mining Inc
+2.21%2.78

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