It was a busy week as major members of corporate Canada released earnings that left analysts rethinking their price targets. Meanwhile,

meme stocks

burst back onto the scene, but what’s driving the phenomenon is different this time around.

Stock of the week: Tesla Inc.

Shares of

Tesla Inc.

(TSLA) hit the skids this week when the electric vehicle maker reported sales that fell the most in a decade. But after dropping eight per cent following the release of earnings on Wednesday, the stock recouped some of those losses to close Friday at US$316.06.

Elon Musk

and his company have been on a roller-coaster in recent months, with his support for

Donald Trump

turning off customers and a public falling out with the president then rattling shareholders. Reflecting some of the chaos, price targets are all over the map for Tesla, ranging from a high of US$500 at Wedbush Securities to a low of US$120 at JPMorgan Chase and Co., according to Bloomberg data. The average target is US$302.04

.

 Tesla shares are down 22 per cent year to date but up 42 per cent their March lows.

Keeping score

Is the bad news priced in for Rogers?

There’s “too much bad news being priced into” shares of

Rogers Communications Inc.

(RCI/B), said analysts at TD Cowen, after the telco giants reported earnings this week. Analysts Vince Valentini, Natale Puccia and Carter Sullivan cited uncertainty around Rogers’ debt outlook but the trio think “management will be able to deliver on their strategy to improve leverage” this year. TD Cowen has a buy rating on Rogers and a price target of $57. Shares are currently trading at $46.57 and are up 41 per cent from when markets tanked in April after Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs announcement.

In other earnings related news, BMO Capital Markets analyst Tamy Chen hiked her price target for

Loblaw Co. Ltd.

(L) to $230 from $220 after the grocery giant reported quarterly results that beat estimates. The stock is currently trading at the $222 level. “More Canadians are shopping in our stores. Actually, traffic is up, unit sales are up and basket growth was positive in the quarter,” Per Bank, chief executive of Loblaw said on an earnings call. TD Cowen also hiked its price target to $250 from $245. “Assuming no major economic fallout from trade negotiations, we expect guidance to be raised after Q3,” TD analyst Michael van Aelst said.

Meme mania returns

Meme stocks kicked up some dust this week with shares of companies including Kohl’s Corp. (KSS), Krispy Kreme Donuts Inc. (DNUT) and GoPro Inc. (GPRO) soaring as retail investors jumped back on the bandgwagon, spurred on by Redditt’s WallStreetBets forum. Meme stocks often have high levels of short interest and low valuations, but its the online boosters who have drawn the most attention. The week’s activity harkens back to the days of mega-meme stock

GameStop Corp.

, whose shares rose 788 per cent in one day early in 2021 before pulling back over following few months. But, Max Gorkham, deputy chief investment officer of Franklin Templeton investment Solutions, says the meme stock run of yesterday differs from that of today. “There was this perception of ‘we’re going to save this company from the evil Wall Street investors (shorting GameStop).’ But I think that’s part of this belief in retail traders that actually they could have an impact, even if a small one,” Gorkham said.

However, he thinks this week’s activity is being driven by retail traders who have made gains in crypto — bitcoin is up 20 per cent-plus this year — looking to invest elsewhere. “We’ve generally seen episodes like this before, where after a strong run up in digital assets, we then see a pickup in meme names,” Gorkham said.

Canfor puts down more roots

Lumber company

Canfor Corp.

‘s (CFP) purchase of three sawmills in Sweden may get some investors’ attention. Canfor’s footprint in Canada has been shrinking. A decade ago, 69 per cent its lumber capacity was in British Columbia compared with just 14 per cent today, while it now also has operations in Alberta, Sweden and the U.S. South. Analysts at TD Cowen like the deal given that European lumber margins are higher and less volatile in Europe than North America and has a price target of $18 on the stock. It’s currently trading at around $14.

Hurricanes and why investors should care

Hurricane season is almost here. Analysts at Scotiabank Capital Markets identified some potential Toronto-listed winners and losers based on predictions from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that chances are high of a major increase in storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico region where plenty of oil infrastructure resides. Among the S&P/TSX composite index-listed winners could be

Cenovus Energy Inc.

(CVE),

Imperial Oil Ltd.

(IMO), and

Suncor Energy Inc.

(SU) as their “downstream businesses could benefit from higher Canadian and mid-continent refined product prices. However, modestly wider WCS (Western Canada Select) differentials could partially offset the downstream tailwinds for CVE and IMO and would have the most negative impact on (

Athabasca Oil Corp.

) ATH and IPCO (International Petroleum Corp.). Scotiabank also warned that Gibson Energy Inc. (GBI) is exposed via its South Texas Terminal and so is Enbrige Inc. as the operator of offshore oil and gas pipelines  — “though this business is small in the context of the whole organization.”

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• Email: gmvsuhanic@postmedia.com

Every week, the Financial Post breaks down the most interesting developments in the week’s world of investing, from top performers to surprising analyst calls and stocks to have on your radar. 

The column will take a break next week, but look for it again on Aug. 8. 

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