CIBC Confirms Neutral Rating and Target of $288 on Intact Financial Ahead of Q1 Results

-- CIBC Capital Markets maintained its neutral rating and price target of $288 on the shares of Intact Financial (IFC.TO) ahead of the insurer's first-quarter financial results.

The bank expects strong margins, but some pressure on revenue growth in Q1, "similar to last quarter." CIBC reduced its Q1 earnings per share estimate to $4.21 from $4.54 on winter weather, but left its full-year 2026 EPS estimate unchanged.

"In our opinion, a better industry outlook or an acquisition is needed to get the share price moving," said analyst Paul Holden. "We are forecasting still-strong premium growth of 9% for Q1 and a weather-impacted combined ratio (CR) of 98.5%."

The bank also believes prior-year developments could continue to be a source of upside, but thinks the magnitude of potential upside is lower to start 2026 compared with 2025.

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Price: $261.94, Change: $+0.56, Percent Change: +0.21%

Marvell Technology, Astera Labs to Benefit From Stronger Long-Term Demand Linked to Amazon-Anthropic Deal, RBC Says

Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Astera Labs (ALAB) could benefit from stronger long-term demand tied to Amazon's (AMZN) expanded deal with Anthropic, though near-term gains may be capped by tight 3-nanometer wafer supply, RBC Capital Markets said in a note Tuesday.Marvell remains well placed because it supplies Trainium chips, Ethernet switches, data processing units, and optical digital signal processors to Amazon Web Services, and demand from optical connectivity and Trainium programs is expected to support strong growth through fiscal 2028 and beyond, the investment firm said.RBC said it left its Marvell estimates unchanged for now because supply limits could hold back near-term upside, but it sees added potential from future Trainium4 demand and Marvell's expanding artificial intelligence networking products.For Astera Labs, RBC said Scorpio X switches should begin ramping in volume for Trainium3 racks in Q3, which could help lift revenue in H2 and later periods, and added that Astera also has longer-term growth room at AWS through its UALink and NVLink Fusion-related products, while wins with other large cloud customers add support to its outlook.RBC said the deal gives it more confidence in its 2027 forecasts and longer-term growth view for both companies, and it kept its outperform ratings while raising its price target on Marvell to $170 from $115 and on Astera Labs to $250 from $225.Price: $151.74, Change: $+3.90, Percent Change: +2.64%

$ALAB$AMZN$MRVL

Starbucks Q2 Sales, Earnings Upside Seen on Improving US Trends, UBS Says

Starbucks' (SBUX) upcoming fiscal Q2 results are expected to show progress on initiatives to support its accelerating sales trends, with likely upside to sales, margins and earnings, UBS Securities said in a Tuesday note.The company is scheduled to report its Q2 results on April 28.UBS said it now expects Q2 North America same-store sales of 6%, up from 4% previously, compared with the consensus of 4%, and forecasts ticket growth of 1% and transaction growth of 5%.The brokerage said sales are improving with traction against strategic plans including menu innovation, new bakery lineup, continued benefits from the Green Apron Service and operational improvements, adding that it expects North America same-store sales of 5% in fiscal Q3 and 4.7% in fiscal 2026.Additionally, the investment firm said it is modeling adjusted operating margins of 8.6% for fiscal Q2, versus the consensus of 8.3%, aided by easing inflation, lapping investments and cost savings plans. For fiscal 2026, UBS expects operating margins of 10.6%.UBS has a neutral rating on the company's stock with a $100 price target.Price: $97.35, Change: $-1.60, Percent Change: -1.62%

$SBUX

Churchill Capital IX, PlusAI Business Merger Plan Cancelled

Churchill Capital IX (CCIX) and PlusAI terminated their planned business combination, citing market conditions, PlusAI said in a Tuesday statement.PlusAI continues to showcase considerable commercial momentum and remains positioned for long-term growth, according to a statement.Price: $10.74, Change: $+0.02, Percent Change: +0.17%

$CCIX

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