This TSX high flier is up 138% in 2025 and analysts think shares have more room to climb

Why TD prefers Canada’s big insurers over its big banks in 2026, top picks for how to play the soaring price of copper, and price target hikes and cuts. The Financial Post explores those stories and more in The Week in Stocks. 

Stock of the week: Bombardier Inc.

Shares of

Bombardier Inc.

(BBD/B:TSX) jumped just over seven per cent on Thursday and continued to climb Friday to a multidecade high closing at $275.37 after the Quebec company announced it is building a new factory near Montreal. The factory is scheduled to open at the end of 2027 to meet increased demand for its business jets. RBC Capital Markets analyst James McGarragle had hiked his price target for shares of the planemaker to $287 from $263 on Jan. 12 in a wider review of Canada’s aerospace sector and reconfirmed it on Jan. 15 following the announcement. In his note from earlier in the week, McGarragle “flagged Bombardier as our top idea into next year,” despite a 138 per cent increase in the price of the shares during 2025. RBC anticipates the planemaker may benefit from increased defence spending by the federal government and a general shift toward Bombardier’s Challenger and Global business jets that may spur services growth. “We see runway for Bombardier to compound free-cash flow at greater than a low-teen compound annual growth rate well into the 2030s — a compelling investment opportunity for shares trading at a six per cent free cash flow yield,” McGarragle said. National Bank of Canada Capital Markets analyst Cameron Doerksen hiked his price target for the company to $290 from $263 in the wake of news of the factory. The 12-month average price target for the shares based on the estimates of 14 analysts is $236.57, according to Bloomberg. Bombardier shares gained 11.6 per cent this week placing it among the S&P/TSX composite index’s top 10 gainers.

Keeping score

Insurers a better bet than the banks, TD says

TD Cowen analysts are choosing Canadian insurance companies over the banks in 2026. The team at TD, led by analyst Mario Mendonca, thinks this year is the lifecos’ year after badly underperforming their financial sector counterparts last year with the group currently trading at a 17 per cent discount to the banks on a forward price to earnings basis, they said in a note. The TD team noted a slowdown in the growth of net investment income in the group, but said that a lower number of shares should help improve earnings per share and return on equity metrics. “Relative valuation, greater capital flexibility, slowing capital markets activity, and lower downside risk to earnings support favouring the insurers,” Mendonca said in a note. TD has a buy rating on all the big insurers and hiked the price targets for all of them.

Sun Life Financial Inc.

‘s (SLF:TSX) price target rose to $104 from $99. It closed Friday at $87.47.

Manulife Financial Corp.

‘s (MFC:TSX) price target rose to $60 from $57. It closed Friday at $52.04.

Great-West Lifeco Inc.

‘s (GWO:TSX) price target rose to $73 from $70. It closed at $66.75 on Friday. And iA Financial Corp. Inc.’s (IAG:TSX) price target was hiked to $192 from $178. It closed Friday at $174.34. Sun Life and Manulife are TD’s top picks. The lifecos report fourth quarter earnings on Feb. 11 and 17.

Copper prices make these miners an attractive play, Scotia says

Copper

was golden in 2025 as the price rose 41 per cent last year. The trend has so far continued in 2026 with the metal setting a new record of US$13,238 per tonne on Jan. 6. Analysts at Scotia Capital Inc. expect the price of the copper, which is critical for electricity, to continue rising this year due to “ongoing supply side challenges and an … inventory squeeze,” Orest Wowkodaw and his team said in a note. As such, the team reviewed its outlooks for several miners in the leadup to the release of 2026 operating guidance — which has since started — hiking price targets by an average of 17 per cent for the group of shares. “We forecast 2026 to be a relatively solid year for most of our coverage, driven by improved operating performance and robust commodity prices,” Wowkodaw said. Among Scotia’s three top picks are

Cameco Corp.

(CCO:TSX), Capstone Copper Corp. (CS:TSX) and

Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

(FCX:NYSE). Wowkodaw has a price target of $155, up from $150, on Cameco. Shares closed Friday at $162.06. He hiked his price target for Capstone to $18 from $16. Capstone closed Friday at $14.48. He hiked Freeport-McMoRan’s price target to US$63 from US$47. Shares closed Friday at US$58.71. The team also “highly recommend” Champion Iron Ltd. (CIA:TSX), Ero Copper Corp. (ERO:TSX), Foran Mining Corp. (FOM:TSX),

Hudbay Minerals Inc.

(HBM:TSX),

Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.

(IVN:TSX) and

Lundin Mining Corp.

(LUN:TSX).

Price target hikes and cuts

• RBC Capital Markets analyst Irene Nattel hiked her price target for Groupe Dynamite Inc. (GRGD:TSX) to $100 from $95 on holiday period sales that hit the high end of expectations. Shares closed Friday at $77.70.
• BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Casey hiked his price target for Cogeco Communications Inc. (CCA:TSX) to $75 from $70 after it maintained guidance for 2026. Cogeco closed Friday at $73.17.
• National Bank of Canada Capital Markets analyst Don DeMarco hiked his price target for Alamos Gold Inc. (AGI:TSX) to $75 from $68 to incorporate the upcoming release of a study on the expansion of the miners’ Island Gold district in Ontario. Alamos closed Friday at $54.14.
• Analysts at CIBC Capital Markets cut their price target for Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TOU:TSX) to $66 from $71 on expectations that its special dividend will come in at 20 cents per share in the fourth quarter, down from 25 cents per share in the third quarter. Tourmaline closed Friday at $59.04.

• This TSX darling rose 120% in 2025, and analysts are hiking their price targets again
• TSX pegged to rise in 2026, but earnings will need to deliver on high expectations

• Email: gmvsuhanic@postmedia.com