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The Blackberry sign is pictured in Waterloo.MARK BLINCH

Following BlackBerry Ltd.'s latest quarterly results, Raymond James affirmed that the company's "financial viability is not in doubt" in the near term.

While phase one of chief executive officer John Chen's turnaround plan – to cut costs and shore up the balance sheet – has been successful, attention now shifts to whether the once-dominant tech company will be able to sufficiently boost mobile device management and value-added services revenues to offset the continued decline in revenues generated from service access fees.

Analyst Steven Li said the firm is "lacking proof points" on this front, and notes that even a highly optimistic outcome for the company's EZ pass business would still leave the firm with much work to do to achieve its software revenue goal in the year ahead.

"Assuming 100 per cent paid conversions, we estimate these EZ pass licenses could generate around $140-million of software revenues in F2016 (assuming 20 per cent select gold subscriptions)," said Mr. Li. "This would imply BBRY still needs to sell ~$100-million of value added services to meet their target of doubling software revenue year-over-year."

The analyst bumped up his price target to $11 (U.S.) from $10.50 and maintained a "market perform" rating on the stock.

Separately, BlackBerry was raised to "buy" from "hold" at TD Securities by equity analyst Scott Penner. His 12-month target price is $13.00 per share.

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Westport Innovations Inc. faces "an increased risk profile" in light of the carnage in the energy sector, says Canaccord Genuity.

The company, which manufactures natural gas engines and vehicles, has seen its share price plummet by 80 per cent since mid-July.

"Given that natural gas-powered vehicles often sell at a significant premium to their petroleum-based counterparts (depending on vehicle and engine size), a prolonged economic downturn can potentially delay fleet upgrade/renewal spending or erode demand for comparatively expensive gaseous fuelled vehicles," said analyst John Quealy, who also acknowledged that "shares look to be getting washed out here."

He highlighted the company's 2015 guidance, which is due out in February, as the next catalyst to watch for.

The analyst cut his price target to $3.50 (U.S.) from $7 and kept a "hold" rating on the stock.

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The downturn in energy markets has allowed Keyera Corp. to go on a shopping spree over the last three weeks, announcing deals to acquire stakes in three gas plants for a combined cost of $187-million, CIBC World Markets analyst Ollie Primak said.

"Keyera's acquisitions demonstrate its ability to transition growth from organic opportunities to M&A when the market environment dictates," Mr. Primak said.

"Keyera is an active and disciplined acquirer," he said. "These acquisitions have increased its natural gas processing capacity in strategically located gas plants in the liquids-rich regions of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin."

Mr. Primak reiterated an "outperform" rating and a $103 (Canadian) price target.

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Elkwater Resources Ltd. has one of the cheapest valuations in Dundee Capital Markets analyst Chad Ellison's coverage universe.

Two recent acquisitions have left Elkwater (to be renamed Striker Exploration Corp) with a clean balance sheet, explains Mr. Ellison.

"We believe that with the timing of the acquisitions and equity raise coinciding with the rapid deterioration in commodity prices, this has put unnecessary pressure on the stock price and currently see it oversold, trading at one of the lowest valuations in our coverage universe," he says.

Mr. Ellison is initiating coverage of Elkwater with a "buy" rating and a $0.22 target price.

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A recent operational update from Delphi Energy Corp. was "almost universally positive for the shareholder", says Raymond James analyst Kurt Molnar.

Mr. Molnar explains that Delphi's credit lines were both increased and extended this year, giving it the power to boost spending as soon as management believes the worst of the slump in commodity prices is over.

He maintains his "strong buy" rating and is lowering his target price to $3.00 (Canadian) from $3.10.

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In other analyst actions:

-- The Finish Line Inc. was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" by Canaccord Genuity analyst Camilo Lyon, who also lowered his price target on the stock to $25 from $32.

-- Enghouse Systems Ltd. was downgraded to "hold" from "buy" at TD Securities by equity analyst Scott Penner. The 12-month target price is $45.00 (Canadian) per share.

-- Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. was rated new "overweight" at JPMorgan by equity analyst Jeffrey Zekauskas. The target price is $30.00 (U.S.) per share.

-- Brown Shoe Co Inc. was rated new "hold" at Jefferies by equity analyst Edward Plank. The 12-month target price is $32.00 per share.

-- Coach Inc. was rated new "neutral" at Mizuho Securities USA by equity analyst Betty Chen. The 12-month target price is $34.00 per share.

-- Hortonworks Inc. was rated new "market outperform" at JMP Securities by equity analyst Greg Mcdowell. The 12-month target price is $30.00 (U.S.) per share.

-- Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. was rated new "neutral" at Mizuho Securities USA by equity analyst Betty Chen. The 12-month target price is $82.00 per share.

-- Macquarie Infrastructure Co LLC was rated new "overweight" at JPMorgan by equity analyst Jeremy Tonet. The target price is $80.00 per share.

-- Shoe Carnival Inc. was rated new "hold" at Jefferies by equity analyst Edward Plank. The 12-month target price is $27.00 per share.

More to come

- With files from Bloomberg

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