STOCKCHASE

Has gone a long way to straightening out some of the difficulties they were having in the US. Still own a little bit of Rite Aid but have been fixing in terms of monetizing in order to reduce their exposure. All the alien drug companies have been faced with provinces’ handling of generic drugs. Last quarter was a little bit weak. Same-store sales were okay but margins on some of the sundry items were not as high as he would have liked. This is reflective of the competitive environment out there. He would prefer Shoppers (SC-T).

2011-12-19

TOP PICK

13.140

It is trending up. Broke out of $12.50 level. Did a good job of strengthening their brand. He would be adding to it right here.

2011-11-15

TOP PICK

12.300

Likes it better than shoppers. Last earnings were pretty good, beating estimates. Executed well.

2011-09-21

TOP PICK

11.060

Consumer staples is a good place to be in the summer. Also a good place to be if we have a lower growth environment. Sales were up in nonprescription drugs by 6%. Executing really well.

2011-08-08

TOP PICK

11.400

Consumers staples is the right space at this time. Good upward trend line and has broken through its resistance. Decent volume. Good earnings.

2011-07-06

TOP PICK

11.000

Just recently broke out of a little high, but before that had a nice long upward trend. Really good space. Recent numbers beat. Improved on margins.

2011-06-02

HOLD

10.240

Their Prodoc (?) division is doing fairly well. Have always been a good, well run company in Quebec. Big mistake was going to the US. Still have a significant holding in Rite Aid.

2011-03-03

DON'T BUY

10.050

Don Lato

Suffering from same problems as Shoppers., which he prefers because it has a little more growth possibility.

2011-02-22

BUY

9.710

Benj Gallander

History of raising dividends. He likes it. Will come out with earnings in next 3 days. They have a wild card of Rite Aid. They reported an increase in same store sales for first time in 18 quarters. If Rite Aid recovers, this stock could have a tremendous upside.

2011-01-04

BUY

9.090

Benj Gallander

Could get hit hard when Ontario generic drug rules start, as Quebec requires drug firms to have lowest generic costs in Canada. Own a chunk of Rite Aid (RAD-N) that continues to lose mega millions. Written this investment off but if Rite Aid should manage to start recovering, it would give a real kick to this one.

2010-05-13

DON'T BUY

9.300

Steve Carlin

Ontario government has put a cloud over this whole sector. A sleeper in their company was a generic drug company so as a result of Ontario changes, there could be some difficulties in this as well.

2010-04-12

DON'T BUY

9.930

(Market Call Minute.) Likes retailers. Would stay away from the drugstores. Apparel companies look much better.

2010-03-31

DON'T BUY

9.270

Have problems with Rite Aid in the US. Had difficulty in taking the franchise beyond the Quebec borders.

2009-11-27

DON'T BUY

9.250

Strong Canadian franchise but the US Rite Aid is still not performing very well and created a lot of write-offs so the book value has been diminished quite a bit. Multiple is on a par with Shoppers but Shoppers has much more substantial operations and successfully diversifying. Not to take it on the cheap.

2009-10-14

BUY

9.070

One of the premier drugstore chains in Canada. They went into the US, which cost them dearly. Lately there has been talk of them writing this off. Canadian operations are doing very well.

2009-05-27

TOP PICK

9.130

Robert McWhirter

Pharmacies in both Canada and the US. Recent earnings better than expectation. Took out Feb high today. Pretty good opportunities for double-digit growth in 2010/2011.

2009-04-29

BUY

8.160

Jean-Francois Tardif

(Market Call Minute.) Healthcare so would be resistant to recession/depression. Has issues, but overall it is pretty good.

2009-04-07

DON'T BUY

7.040

Jean-Francois Tardif

Not doing well. Losses are really caused by their US Rite Aid (RAD-N) holdings. Have also lost Market share in Quebec to Shoppers (SC-T).

2008-07-15

DON'T BUY

10.410

Their problems are not in Canada but in the US. Canadian operations continue to do well. Until there are signs that things are stabilizing at Rite Aid, it probably won't do that well.

2008-01-07

PAST TOP PICK

12.780

(A Top Pick Dec 6/06. No change.) Picked this as a defensive holding. MACD shows a bit of a positive divergence setting up, so you could be okay.

2007-11-13

PAST TOP PICK

13.100

Then 12.67 up 3.3% A safe consumer concessionary play, probably still is.

2007-10-17

WAIT

14.600

Kenneth P. Norquay, CMT

A head and shoulders bottom. After the stock goes down, it flattens out (a shoulder) then drops (the head), then goes up and flat (the other shoulder), when it goes above the first shoulder that's a sign to buy. This stock had this signal last year, but this year it's not quite ready yet.

2007-06-01

DON'T BUY

14.990

Still too much uncertainty for him. This sector is quite expensive and it may be best to avoid it at this time.

2007-05-18

SELL

14.920

Bruce Campbell

Their US asset, Eckerd’s didn’t work so they sold to Rite Aid (RAD-N) and took stock back. Giving them exposure to a bigger US drug chain. It is run very well in Quebec, but Shoppers (SC-T) is moving in. If you own, move over to Shoppers.

2007-05-09

HOLD

14.450

Extricated themselves from a US asset at a fantastic price. Same-store sales in Canada were up 9%. Trading at about 20 X earnings, about the same as Shoppers (SC-T), which is a much better company.

2007-04-02

PAST TOP PICK

14.600

(A Top Pick Dec 6/06. Up 15.2%.) This was picked as a safe place to hide. Had a 1st run up at the end of last year, pulled back quite nicely and will probably hold break here. Thinks it will go higher.

2007-03-27

DON'T BUY

14.450

Laura Wallace

Concerned about their acquisition and the turnover in management. Also, she tends not to buy multiple voting stocks. Making some progress, but not out of the woods yet.

2007-03-14

HOLD

15.500

Laura Wallace

Had a lot of issues, as its US expansion was not going well. Made a deal with Rite Aid so things are looking a little better. Still some risk. Wouldn't buy.

2007-01-31

DON'T BUY

15.500

3rd largest drugstore chain in Canada. In the process of selling their US asset Eckert to Rite Aid for shares. The Canadian operation continues to chug along very well, but Rite Aid is a third rate player in the US.

2007-01-31

DON'T BUY

14.940

Had some pretty good same-store-sales growth in Canada. Has being through a lot of troubles. Comparing its P/E ratio of $.57 puts it at a higher multiple than Shoppers (SC-T), which is outrageous.

2007-01-15

TOP PICK

12.670

A defensive play. Has been beaten up. A safe place to be in case we get the mini bear.

2006-12-06

BUY

11.650

Rob Callander

Sold their US operations, which will dramatically improve their balance sheet. Expect they will expand into Ontario.

2006-11-23

PAST TOP PICK

11.700

Jonathen Wellum, B. Comm, B. Sc

(A Top Pick Nov 18/05. Down 7.1%.) Weren't too successful on the US acquisition. Sold his holdings.

2006-11-22

DON'T BUY

11.920

Jumping into the US did not make sense to him. Would own Shoppers (SC-T) instead.

2006-10-10

SELL

11.920

The US Eckerd stores weren’t as good as expected and they paid a lot for them. Teaming up with Rite Aid which is another weak player.

2006-10-10

SELL

11.890

Jonathen Wellum, B. Comm, B. Sc

If you own it sell it. He prefers Shoppers over this stock.

2006-09-26

BUY

12.090

Chyanne Fickes

Probably not a bad buy here. Had severe problems with their US acquisition of Eckards. Now getting rid of them which is great as they can now get back to do what they do well.

2006-08-31

DON'T BUY

10.160

Would prefer Shoppers (SC-T). Any Canadian business that goes into the US in a major way in retailing, he would stay clear of. No margin of safety.

2006-08-17

SELL

10.430

Has come down along ways. Their US holding of Eckerd’s is still a nightmare.

2006-07-31

DON'T BUY

10.330

Since they bought Eckerd's drug stores in the US, they have been disappointing again and again. Wait for it to turn before thinking about buying it.

2006-07-25

DON'T BUY

11.800

Has been troubled but seems to have stabilized and looks like it is trying to dig itself out from the hole it created with its US acquisition. Good cash flow. Up against big competition in the US.

2006-06-22

DON'T BUY

11.740

Made a mistake and bought this. Sold it and glad they are no longer in it. They bought the Atlantic assets of Eckard Drugs which was in worse shape than they thought.

2006-05-30

DON'T BUY

11.660

Stock has come down a long way and everybody is looking for the turning point. Thinks they are starting to terms some of the Eckerd stores slowly around, but the problem is they still have a long ways to go.

2006-04-26

DON'T BUY

11.660

Made a lot of acquisitions from J.C.Penney’s in the US hoping to turn them around. This left them with a weak balance sheet and not much cash to spend.

2006-04-10

SELL

13.280

The company bought another company that wasn't as good as they thought. And the sons aren't up to the job of making things work. If they can get things going, it will be worth looking at but in the meantime it's time to move on.

2006-02-28

DON'T BUY

13.610

This is a past pick. Retail is a sector he is avoiding. Stock is underperforming. Avoid.

2006-02-27

VAGUE

13.960

Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA

There are management changes in the US. This company had integration issues. The stock is cheap. Cautious, but depends on your outlook.

2006-02-21

VAGUE

14.430

The stock stays here for quite sometime until their problems are figured out. It has a positive differential, but they need that in order to stay flat.

2006-02-14

DON'T BUY

14.650

The jury is still out on this as to what is happening on Eckards. He feels that acquisition was “ a bridge too far”. The debt it required really burdened the balance sheet. They have enormous interest costs.

2006-01-19

WATCH

15.250

His model price is $17 which is a positive differential of about 11%. Even so, he thinks it hangs around this price. It needs more time. There’s more value elsewhere.

2006-01-17

DON'T BUY

15.250

James Cole, BA, CFA

Whenever you see a successful business stumble and have a significant decline in the stock price, be cautious. When they took over Eckards in the US, their debt increased dramatically. They have not yet demonstrated success in achieving good results with Eckards. Too much financial risk for him and too speculative.

2006-01-17

WAIT

14.530

14 X earnings which is quite cheap, relative to Shoppers. At this point, he would like to have more evidence of a turnaround then there has been. Waiting for an other quarter or a two before jumping in. You may have to pay a little more for the stock, you will have less uncertainty.

2006-01-16

WAIT

13.310

Gavin Graham

He owns the bonds when they got downgraded to single B-because the takeover of the Eckard drugs in the US is taking longer and costing more than anticipated. They should be able to run it, but in the meantime it will be a bit of hard sledding. Once the turnaround is taking place, he will be back buying the stock.

2006-01-09

BUY

13.750

There aren't many analysts that believe in this one. They have bitten off a bit more than they can chew with their US acquisition of Eckards. The original owner has come back into the company and brought in a top-notch manager, so expect they will have some good results in the future.

2006-01-03

DON'T BUY

12.200

Turning around a big chain like the Eckard’s is taking its time and has taken a toll on management. Long term, betting on drug stores, is probably a good bet, but short term, the fair market value is much more than where the stock is now.

2005-12-13

DON'T BUY

12.200

Has now sold his holdings. Their last quarter was very disappointing. Had a management shakeup. May revisit in the future if they start to get a better hold on Eckard.

2005-12-13

DON'T BUY

11.900

The big question is will there be a turn around with their Eckards aquisition. It's still too early to tell. For a similar valuation, you could get Shoppers Drug Mart (SC-T) which he prefers. Growth is built in, less risk, better profitability.

2005-12-12

BUY

12.250

A great candidate for tax loss selling and this may be why it is not going up. They have real problems with the Eckard chain in the US. The core of their business, i.e. the Canadian operation is solid. Their New England operations are very good. A lot of the risk is mitigated at current levels.

2005-12-07

WAIT

12.700

Ron Meisels

Had a major problem when it broke through the 200 day moving average. You now see a major big drop in the stock itself. There will likely be tax selling at the year end and meybe it will give you a trading opportunity.

2005-12-01

HOLD

13.090

Have to turn the Eckard situation around in the US. A tough one to do. At the current price, the stock is attractive.

2005-11-23

DON'T BUY

12.810

Bruce Campbell

Doesn't like the US Eckards stor and prefers Shoppers (SC-T) in Canada. Below $13, the valuation starts to make sense, so he'll now have a look at it.

2005-11-21

TOP PICK

12.590

This phase is dependent on the amalgamation with the Eckard drug store chain in the US. An enormous undertaking which is struggling. Jean Cateau has come back in and has hired a very key person who has a tremendous record. It might take 2 years. They are still making good money.

2005-11-18

SELL

12.600

Shauna Sexsmith

Prefers Shoppers Drugs (SC-T) and would sell this one and move it in to Shoppers. Shoppers has a much better business model. Better management also.

2005-11-16

HOLD

12.550

There's rather startling and hopefully exciting news today regarding restructuring in management regarding the Eckerd aquisition.

2005-11-10

BUY

14.090

Ian Nakamoto

Their acquisition of Ekards is going to take some time to integrate. Strategically looks like a good move. Look at it taking a couple of years.

2005-11-02

DON'T BUY

14.180

An excellent operator. Took on a lot of debt when they acquired Ekards and expected it would take 2/3 years before you saw any positive signs that they were turning it aroumd. In the near term, things have not worked as well as they had hoped. He is looking at it to see if he should be in the stock at this time.

2005-11-01

HOLD

14.450

The last few weeks have not been kind. The company came in with much lower than expected earnings and disappointing sales out of their US Ekards acquisition. This is a buy for the next 2/3 years. When they bought such a bad company he knew it was going to take a long time to turn it around. Too early to say the acquisition hasn't worked.

2005-10-25

WAIT

15.090

Laura Wallace

Has been hit recently. The integration from the Ekard Drugs acquisition is going more slowly or is more difficult than anticipated. They are good operators. Would give it another couple of quarters. Good management.

2005-10-19

BUY

16.000

It will probably take them a year before everything is fine. The process they are going through will take some time. They have great potential.

2005-10-17

DON'T BUY

19.840

Very good management. A little leery of the stock based on their recent acquisition of US based Eckards. Speculative.

2005-10-04

STRONG BUY

20.640

They have shown that the know how to operate in the US and how to do turn arounds in the US.

2005-09-20

HOLD

21.300

Earnings forcasts have been steadily improving. His FMV is about $30. Runs into very, very strong technical resistance at the $26/27 area. If he owned the stock, would hold for this level and then sell.

2005-09-14

DON'T BUY

21.200

Bruce Campbell

Prefers Shoppers (SC-T) as it is 20% growth with much lower risk for about the same valuation. Doing a good job with their US Eckard acquisition, but has a higher execution risk. Has a pretty healthy multiple.

2005-09-12

WEAK BUY

21.800

Made a huge acquisition in the US and took on a lot of risk buying a really tired and under performing chain in Eckards. This is a long term project to get it producing up to the standard of the rest of the chain. They are doing quite well with this. Not sure if the risk is commensurate with the potential reward.

2005-09-08

DON'T BUY

21.800

His model price is $19.71, so it is overvalued for him.

2005-09-07

BUY

20.400

Liked the most recent results, but really didn't care about them. The reason is, they bought this for their acquisition of Eckard Drug in the US which would take 2/3 years for the integration. The real results will come in 1/2 years.

2005-08-30

BUY

19.200

Seems to have broken out of the doldrums it was in. People were nervous about the absorbtion of the big US operation. Great operators. A good area to be in.

2005-07-20

TOP PICK

19.200

Danny Tomka

Thinks there's a huge opportunity. Over the next 3/5 years the stock could double. Will have a lot of work to do on the Ekkard stores they acquired. Already have atores in New England states and will take that model and move it through the Ekkard stores. Attractive valuation.

2005-07-20

TOP PICK

18.710

The easiest way to play the age demographics. Instead of buying biotechs and pharma stocks, a drug store is a better choice. The buying of Ekards in the US was a real coup. Patience will pay. A good investment.

2005-07-14

BUY

18.000

Likes their acquisition of Ekard drugs in the US which a major growth opportunity. Have experience in this type of operation and have done very well with them. Will take time, so be patient.

2005-06-22

BUY

18.000

Has some work to do in turning around its US Ekard stores and getting them on the same level of profitability as its own stores. Reasonable upside potential, but it's a question as to when it really gets going. Not a bad holding. Probably a counter cyclical holding in a weak market, recessionary period.

2005-06-16

DON'T BUY

18.320

His model price is $18.28. Trading bang on its model price. Earnings estimates have been everywhere, probably because of US$ earnings.

2005-06-09

DON'T BUY

19.990

Estimated earnings a year out are $0.99 which is comparable to Shoppers Drug Mart (SC-T). The price/earnings ratio is about the same. Doesn't deserve the same price/earnings ratio as Shoppers at this point. Might consider at $16.

2005-05-30

PAST TOP PICK

19.300

(A Top Pick Mar 9/05. Down 2%.) They're getting the company right. Should see good earnings coming through.

2005-05-25

WAIT

18.200

It's all a matter of execution with Ekerds in the US. A tremendously large acquisition. Earnings in the last quarter were disappointing. If they can sort Ekerds out and bring it up to the level of their New England store, they'll do very well. Otherwise, it could drag down the entire chain.

2005-04-21

BUY

19.000

Buying the US assets was a tremendous coup. The potential of earnings for the next 5 years is amazing.y

2005-04-18

WATCH

17.800

There was a lot of scepticism about a Canadian company buying American assets, but they are very good at managing assets. Basically they have taken underperforming stores and they have a big job to integrate the organizations. They are part way along in the process. If they can show that they can improve sales/margins, interest in the stock will pick up.

2005-04-12

DON'T BUY

18.850

Longer term it will probably be a fine company, but hasn't much upside potential at the present time. Not attracted to it unless he can buy at a fair discount.

2005-04-07

DON'T BUY

19.000

Took a look at their balance sheet with the Eckard assets built into them and have a model price of $19.

2005-03-22

TOP PICK

19.600

Has faith in management, likes the demographics/drugs. Some people don't like it, he does.

2005-03-09

PAST TOP PICK

19.300

(A Top Pick Nov 29/04. Up 6.5%.) This is a tomorrow stock in that in 1/3 years down the road it will be a terrific investment.

2005-02-23

TOP PICK

19.300

A lot depends on their US Eckert acquisition. Convinced that they are going to be successful as they are very competent. At a good entry point.

2005-02-23

WATCH

18.120

There is some risk in their acquisition in pulling in the synergies and the cost structures in the US operations. Will have to see a couple of quarters to see how they do with it. There is potential.

2005-02-14

WEAK BUY

16.580

Results today appear superficially pretty good, but the press release didn't give enough details to really know what's going on with the Eckard acquisition. Not sure that they can take the tired, old chain, fix up the front of the store and get some high margin product when faced with some pretty strong competition.

2005-01-25

BUY

16.390

George Loughery

Likes their US acquisition. Very capable of handling it. Noted for their tight distribution practices.

2005-01-21

BUY

16.430

Should improve making its absorption of Eckerds. Highly skilled company with a good history in the north eastern part of the US. It will gradually come through looking very good.

2005-01-19

BUY

16.430

Jim Huang

Their business has been primarily in Quebec and North Eastern US and their acquisition of Eckerd's, although risky, should pay off. This quarter is the first one where they show the results of Eckerd's and there will be a lot of transition costs. Very good management. May have to be patient. Good sector.

2005-01-19

BUY

16.680

Has really bitten off a big chunk with its Eckards acquisition in the US. Have delayed their numbers because the accounting issues are so complex. This makes him nervous.

2005-01-17

PAST TOP PICK

16.450

(A Top Pick Oct 27/04. Up 4%.) Owns this one for a long term hold. Will take 1/2 years before they start to see the payoff in their US acquisition.

2005-01-05

TOP PICK

17.760