A pedestrian carries an Aritzia Inc. shopping bag while crossing a street in the Soho neighbourhood of New York. Photo by Nina Westervelt/Bloomberg files

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Why two Canadian stocks were added to a global list of top 30 stock ideas, which metals got price hikes and which saw cuts, and more from The Week in Stocks.

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Stock of the week: Aritizia Inc.

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One analyst is pencilling in 35 per cent potential upside for shares of Aritizia Inc. (ATZ:TSX), after the Vancouver-based women’s fashion retailer posted first quarter earnings that included a 43 per cent increase in net revenue and strong growth in the United States and Canada. UBS Global Research analyst Mauricio Serna hiked his price target for the Vancouver-based company to $216 from $204. Shares closed Friday at $160.05. “We believe ATZ’s investments in differentiated store concepts, increasing brand relevance, diversified product assortment, and digital marketing initiatives should drive compelling long-term growth,” Serna said in a note on July 10. He also cited the chain’s 35 per cent year-over-year growth in comparable sales, alongside a “strong” outlook for the second quarter and better-than-expected guidance for 2027. RBC Capital Markets analyst Irene Nattel hiked her price target for Aritzia to $202 from $193 labelling the latest quarter “impressive.” Nattel and Serna were among 10 analysts who hiked their price targets on the company. Artizia’s shares were up nearly eight per cent on Friday, but are still off their all time high of $173.20 in mid-June. The average 12-month price target price based on the calls of 14 analysts is $189.14, according to Bloomberg.

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Keeping score

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RBC updates top 30 list of best global stock ideas

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RBC Capital Markets added a pair of S&P/TSX composite index stocks to its top 30 global ideas as it updated the list for the third quarter. Canadian National Railway Co. (CNR:TSX) and recently publicly listed Apotex Health Corp. (APTX:TSX) were among the additions. Canadian National was included because shares are trading at a discount to peers despite improving fundamentals such as car speeds, Greame Pearson, head of RBC Global Research, said in a research paper on July 8. “Record grain volumes, intermodal (multiple transportation modes) share gains, and pricing running ahead of inflation underpin a solid earnings growth outlook, and ongoing capacity investments position CN for meaningful operating leverage as freight volumes recover,” Pearson said. RBC also added Apotex, which debuted on the TSX on June 10, based on its leading position in the Canadian generic drug sector where it holds 23 per cent of the market and a top-10 ranking in the United States market, Pearson said. “Over the next several years, we believe APTX should successfully harness improving industry fundamentals (increasing brand drug loss of exclusivity), capturing a disproportionate amount of economic value due to its strong first-to-market abilities,” he said. The top-30 list posted a total return of 11.1 per cent in U.S. dollars. Other TSX-listed names on the list include AltaGas Ltd. (ALA:TSX), Constellation Software Inc. (CSU:TSX) and Loblaw Cos. Ltd. (L:TSX).

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Raymond James updates price targets for gold, silver and other metals

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Raymond James analysts led by Bruce MacArthur did some housekeeping in their metals coverage, as the price of gold continues to sputter, trading on July 10 below where it started the year and down 24 per cent from its record high of just over US$5,400 an ounce in January. The Raymond James team updated their nearer term and longer-term price targets for base and precious metals including copper, gold, silver, making stock recommendations along with those calls. In the metals landscape, the analysts hiked their price targets for copper — their top pick — on expected supply shortages. “As a result of the copper price forecast changes, we are broadly increasing price targets across the base metal producers under coverage,” the analysts said in a note on July 8, with Freeport McMoRan Inc. (FCX:NYSE) and Hudbay Minerals Inc. (HBM:TSX) their leading picks. In gold and silver, the team said it was “broadly” cutting price targets for precious metals producers though it still has preferred names in the sector including Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM:TSX) for its lower geographic risk. The team also likes OceanaGold Corp. (OGC:TSX), citing improving production year. Raymond James is also bullish on the outlook for uranium and continues to recommend Cameco Corp. (CCO:TSX), NexGen Energy Ltd. (NXE:TSX), and Denison Mines Corp. (DML:TSX).