TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
Toronto Stock Exchange (17,424.43, down 354.98 points.)
BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX:BB). Technology. Up $7.71, or 32.42 per cent, to $31.49 on 34.3 million shares.
Zenabis Global Inc. (TSX:ZENA). Health care. Unchanged at 11 cents on 10.6 million shares.
Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Industrials. Unchanged at 69 cents on 10.3 million shares.
Toronto-Dominion Bank. (TSX:TD). Financials. Down 81 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $72.97 on 8.5 million shares.
Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Up 12 cents, or 0.55 per cent, to $21.93 on 8.1 million shares.
Aphria Inc. (TSX:APHA). Health care. Up 15 cents, or 0.91 per cent, to $16.60 on 7.4 million shares.
Companies in the news:
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (TSX:CP). Down $10.90, or 2.5 per cent, to $423.17. CP Rail capped 2020 with its net profit surging nearly 21 per cent in the fourth quarter despite softer revenues. The Calgary-based railway says it earned $802 million or $5.95 per diluted share, up from $664 million or $4.82 per share in the prior year. Adjusted profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 was $683 million, up four per cent from $656 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. That equalled $5.06 per share, a six per cent increase from $4.77 per share in the prior-year quarter. Revenues slipped three per cent to $2.01 billion from $2.07 billion. The results revealed after stock markets closed follow its decision to seek shareholder and regulatory approval for a five-for-one split of its common shares.
BlackBerry Ltd. — Stock halts and trading platform outages disrupted markets as Canadian investors joined an internet-based frenzy and piled into stocks such as BlackBerry, GameStop and AMC Entertainment. Trading in BlackBerry shares was halted twice Wednesday by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada as the Toronto-listed shares surged more than 32 per cent and the stock recorded more than three times its average daily volume. Investing forum TradingView says its website saw a 514 per cent increase in Canadian visitors to its BlackBerry stock page in the past three days and a 1,500 per cent increase in Canadians clicking on its GameStop stock page.
Transat A.T. (TSX:TRZ). Down 14 cents, or three per cent, to $4.48. In a move it blames on tighter restrictions imposed by Ottawa, Transat A.T. Inc. is halting all flights out of Toronto and some from Montreal for the remainder of the winter travel season. The route cuts will begin Thursday and last until April 30, Transat spokeswoman Debbie Cabana said. The cancelled routes in Toronto include flights to Cancun, Mexico; Holguin, Cuba; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Varadero, Cuba; and Porto and Lisbon, Portugal, Cabana said. In addition to those flights, Cabana added that Transat is cancelling its flights from Montreal to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Varadero. Passengers who paid for their flight or vacation package with cash or credit card will receive a full refund. Passengers currently at their destinations will be rebooked on flights returning to Canada, the memo says.
Imperial Oil Ltd. (TSX:IMO). Down 13 cents to $24.49. Canada's oil and gas producers are expected to maintain spending discipline in 2021 as optimism from stronger oil prices is offset by fears of weak demand due to new strains of COVID-19. Big changes in spending plans are unlikely as senior members of the energy industry roll out fourth-quarter results over the next few weeks, starting with oilsands and refining giants Imperial Oil Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc. next week, said analyst Matt Murphy of Tudor Pickering Holt and Co. on Wednesday. Nor does he expect surprises on Thursday when oilsands producer Cenovus Energy Inc. unveils its first capital budget after buying rival Husky Energy Inc. in an all-shares deal at the end of 2020 — a deal expected to potentially result in more than 2,000 layoffs.
Empire Co. Ltd. (TSX:EMP.A). Down 34 cents to $35.95. Empire Co. Ltd. is expanding its discount grocery banner FreshCo in Western Canada and Ontario, with plans to convert seven of its Safeway stores starting this fall. The company says six of the store conversions are in Alberta, while one is in Thunder Bay, Ont. Mike Venton, general manager of Empire's discount division, says the FreshCo network has grown 23 per cent since the company opened its first discount store in Western Canada two years ago. Empire says it will work with the unions representing affected employees and offer them the opportunity to work at the new FreshCo locations or other stores within the network.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2021.
The Canadian Press
