STOCKCHASE

Being acquired by Total (TOT-N). If you own, you should tender, as he doesn't expect there will be another competing offer.

2010-07-23

HOLD

3.550

Being acquired by Total (TOT-N). You will end up with $3.08 and Silver Birch, which will give you two first-class positions in the oil sands.

2010-07-14

HOLD

3.520

Mike S. Newton, CIM FCSI

Being acquired by Total (TOT-N) at $3.08 and current stock price is $3.49. There is about $.40 value in a spin-off stock called Silver Birch. You will have 20% stake in the Fort Hills project and you hold onto this for that reason. Silver Birch could work out to be interesting.

2010-07-12

Comment

3.500

Gavin Graham

Total (TOT-N) is making a bid to acquire at $3.08. Trading at $3.49 and the difference is the value of their Silverbirch assets, undeveloped oil sands that will take 5-7 years to come on stream.

2010-07-09

WAIT

2.420

Jim Huang

Risk profile is higher. Their big project is the Fort Hills project, which SU operates but since the merger with Petro Canada, it is not their biggest priority. UTS have lots of cash on the balance sheet.

2010-06-22

BUY

2.700

Jeff Parent B. Eng. FCSI

Bottomed out at the end of 08 at around $.80 and took a big jump one day at the beginning of 09. Followed by a very long base and moved up in the latter part of 09. Formed another base early this year. Potential on a short-term basis is $3.50 but will probably be slow. Use a stoploss at around $2.30.

2010-04-06

BUY on WEAKNESS

2.100

Craig MacAdam

Great basket of assets but unfortunately they don't control their own fate. Just announced they had sold their leases, which was a great transaction. Probably fully valued. Would consider at $1.75-$1.80.

2009-11-02

HOLD

2.100

Andrew Cook

Have a share in the Fort Hills oil sands project. With capital a little more unavailable, the stock has opened up. A takeover offer was rejected.

2009-10-28

HOLD

2.240

Could be taken over any day. Management wants to get a fair price for the company. We know the asset is there.

2009-10-20

DON'T BUY

1.920

Laura Lau

The question is what they are going to do with Fort Hills. Waiting for Suncor (SU-T) to give their plans for this and they have until 2019 to put it on production. Very levered to oil sands.

2009-10-13

Comment

1.720

Alexander Lane, B Comm, C

On a 5-year view of the oil sands, in the unlikely event the US decides it doesn't like the oil, China will be quite happy to take it. Fort Hills project will be developed in due course but right now Suncor (SU-T) has a few other priorities. First class management and well positioned. Having some luck with exploration.

2009-10-01

DON'T BUY

1.880

Jennifer Stevenson

We don’t know what Suncor wants to do with the Fort Hills play.

2009-09-22

SELL

1.700

Bruce Campbell

When you are only an oil sands company you need $100+ oil. Would go for something else. Should be replaced with another oil.

2009-09-15

HOLD

1.530

Jim Huang

Likes the project long-term. Short-term there are a lot of obstacles. They have to be comfortable on a long-term oil price, which they will be, but not quite yet.

2009-08-24

Comment

1.500

Laura Lau

Bulk of their assets is tied to the Fort Hills project. Will find out when Suncor (SU-T) and PetroCanada (PCA-T) come together what the plans are for Fort Hills. She expects that #1 on their list will be the completion of Voyager and will be quite some time before they get to developing Fort Hills. Will be dead money for a while.

2009-08-14

DON'T BUY

1.480

Glenn MacNeill, P.Eng.

Doesn't have control of its project. PetroCanada (PCA-T) runs it and it is really up to them to decide what they're going to do. It’s heavy oil, which needs $90 a barrel to develop it.

2009-08-11

SELL

1.570

Laura Lau

Most of its value is in Fort Hills. With the PetroCan (PCA-T) and Suncor (SU-T) merger this will be put on the back burner and it looks like Fort Hills will not even be discussed until next year. Would rotate out of this into PetroCan.

2009-06-30

HOLD

1.600

(Market Call Minute.) There is still uncertainty as to Teck Resources (TCK.B-T) ability to get the project off the ground.

2009-06-29

DON'T BUY

1.540

Very much and open question. Not overly bullish. Rejected Total’s offer. With Fort Hills being decided by Suncor (SU-T) and PetroCan (PCA-T) he thinks this is on hold. Costs on this project are very expensive. Expects stock will go absolutely nowhere for the next year.

2009-06-24

BUY

1.600

First-rate management. Spending a fair bit exploring in the north part of the oil sands. Very positive on oil now. Terrific speculation.

2009-06-16

DON'T BUY

1.500

Sandy McIntyre

This is a warrant on future oil sands development. Fort Hills project is an excellent one but it's pushed back. Petro Canada (PCA-T) is merging with Suncor (SU-T). He doesn't see the Fort Hills being developed in the foreseeable future so he would more likely put his money on PetroCan.

2009-05-14

HOLD

1.810

Bruce Campbell

(Market Call Minute.) Have an offer of $1.75 but know that it is worth more. Pretty risky.

2009-04-13

Comment

1.710

Lyle Stein

An oil sands stock that is in play. An offer has been made and has been rejected. There have been no competitive offers.

2009-04-08

HOLD

1.770

Ben Stadelmann

(Market Call Minute.) Thinks it is getting low-balled here. Wouldn’t tender his shares here.

2009-04-01

HOLD

1.710

Gavin Graham

“Total SA” made a hostile bid. Management indicated the price is too low. It is usually worthwhile to wait to the last moment.

2009-03-23

HOLD

1.670

Kevin O'Leary

(Market Call Minute.) Doesn't think there is much more upside to this story.

2009-03-09

SELL

1.720

John Zechner

Received a takeout offer and is trading at little above that. The issue is the additional spending they have to do in the Fort Hills project to get it going. Not sure if there would be another bid coming in so would be inclined to take the offer.

2009-02-02

WAIT

1.730

Don Vialoux

(Market Call Minute.) Takeovers are happening so wait until there is more news.

2009-01-30

SELL

0.850

(Market Call Minute.)

2009-01-02

Comment

0.910

(Market Call Minute.) For a conservative investor, don't go near it. If you believe in $100 oil prices and would like a warrant on a very fabulous asset it could be okay. High risk.

2008-11-14

Comment

0.800

Currently sells for equivalent of cash in the bank. Won't know until December the decision on the Fort Hills project, but it's a pretty good bet they will postpone the upgrader. Currently have enough cash to last into 2010. Also have 2 other properties with Teck Cominco (TCK.B-T) that will be developed. Sold his holdings for tax loss purposes. Interesting speculation and first-class management.

2008-11-12

DON'T BUY

0.980

Chyanne Fickes

Recently had issues with their ability to finance their current project. Way too risky at this point.

2008-11-04

DON'T BUY

0.920

David Cockfield

(Market Call Minute.) Have to stand back from this one until the whole oil sands cost factor gets sorted out.

2008-10-31

DON'T BUY

0.990

Jennifer Stevenson

Big risk on this is that they are not in the driver's seat on the Fort Hills project. Also no clarity on the project and no decision will not be made until December. Stock will be in limbo until then. Decision will probably involve some lengthening out of the time frame.

2008-10-30

DON'T BUY

1.170

Dennis Da Silva

Some analysts are optimistic on this and expecting a take-out deal. He is not as optimistic as Petro Canada (PCA-T) does not need to acquire them. If you want a Fort Hills project, buy Petro Canada instead. He is not a fan of either company.

2008-10-21

SPECULATIVE BUY

0.870

Share price is equivalent to their cash in the bank. Questions regarding Fort Hills project. If it went ahead, he feels they could raise the cash.

2008-10-16

N/A

1.270

Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA

They don’t have the capital for the new higher price of the Fort Hills project. It’s cheap but you have that risk. It’s trading at a significant discount to net asset value.

2008-09-30

DON'T BUY

1.740

Robert Floyd

Fairly early along in the oil sands. Partners Petro Canada (PCA-T) and Teck Cominco (TCK.B-T) are seeing substantial price increases to bring heavy oil on. Feels they should have sold off more of the asset base and refocused the company. Company of this size is going to have a great deal of difficulty raising the cash.

2008-09-25

HOLD

1.740

Correction in the price of oil has hurt all of these companies, especially the companies that are not in production. Costs have been skyrocketing. Feels this is a warrant for higher oil prices. If you own, wait for the price of oil to go up before selling.

2008-09-25

SELL

1.740

Michael Sprung

Involved with Teck Cominco (TCK.B-T) and Petro-Canada (PCA-T) in the Fort Hills project and the costs have taken off tremendously, as it has in much of the oil sands. Until they get into production, who knows where the costs are going to end up.

2008-09-23

Comment

1.650

Announced their project is going to be considerably more expensive than they thought. Dirt-cheap. Trading at about $.20 per barrel of reserve in the ground. Market is currently punishing anything without production visibility and this one is 3 or 4 years away.

2008-09-22

SELL

1.600

Ken McCord

(Market Call Minute.) Massive cost overruns. Need to come up with $3.5 billion for the Fort Hills project.

2008-09-18

BUY

3.130

Joanne A. Hruska, CFA

The big question on this is that they have to raise $1 billion. With the credit crunch, the market is concerned they will not be able to raise it. She thinks they will be able to raise it. Have a lot of projects that they can farm down.

2008-09-12

Comment

4.040

One of the upcoming new targets in the tar sands in partnership with Petro-Can (PCA-T) and Teck Cominco (TCK.B-T). Have a very large land position, which will be going into production in about 2011. High fixed capital costs (steel, labour, etc) and low variable costs so when oil drops the stock does too. If oil gets back to $140 this will probably get to $6.

2008-08-26

HOLD

3.980

This stock will be taken out but the question is when. The big issue is how to get a handle on the cost side. Decent name that is worth holding.

2008-08-22

SELL

4.090

A lot of companies are under strain because the banks are under strain and it is difficult to raise money.

2008-08-20

STRONG BUY

4.410

A screaming buy. US politics on dirty oil has been putting pressure on these stocks. This will disappear after the election. There have also been fears about their ability to finance the Fort Hills project, but this does not concern him.

2008-08-05

HOLD

4.980

(Market Called Minute.) Boring but a Hold.

2008-08-01

Comment

5.530

Bill MacLachlan

More speculative than the kind of stocks he usually focuses on. Well managed. Trading at a pretty reasonable valuation compared to its peers. Will be volatile.

2008-07-17

PAST TOP PICK

5.450

(A Top Pick July 19/07. Down 13%.) Hasn't benefited from the big run-up because 1) production is some years away, 2) fears they will not be able to raise the $2 billion (Wrong as they have this in hand.) and 3) oil sands stocks are out of favour. Still Buying and is overweight in clients’ portfolios.

2008-07-16

Comment

5.800

Andrew Cook

Likes this stock from a longer-term perspective. Undergoing a process this year were they expect to make a production decision by the end of the 2008 along with their partners Teck Cominco (TCK.B-T) and Petro Canada (PCA-T). Once that decision is made they will need to raise some money and at that point, it may be a takeout target.

2008-07-02

BUY

5.960

Twofold problem. 1) In the oil sands, which is getting a lot of negative publicity. 2) Can it finance its share if Fort Hills goes ahead? He reviewed all the numbers with the CEO and he is convinced they have the asset base and potential earnings power to raise whatever is needed.

2008-06-30

HOLD

6.000

(Market Call Minute.) No visibility in terms of production until about 2012.

2008-06-16

BUY on WEAKNESS

5.800

Everybody's worried about CO2 emissions and labour and rising costs. Would be a buyer in the low $5’s. Until the project is completed, you won't see big moves.

2008-06-05

Comment

5.740

Michael Decter

Hasn't done much when other oil sands plays have done a lot. Well positioned. If you are going to buy, you need a 12 or 18 month time horizon.

2008-06-04

BUY

5.600

Bill MacLachlan

All of these companies are so dependant on commodity prices. Will perform better than overall index

2008-05-30

BUY

5.790

John O'Connell, CFA

(Market Call Minute.) Amazing asset. Very attractive takeover target for the Sovereign Wealth Fund or something.

2008-05-15

BUY

5.220

Jennifer Stevenson

For a play on a small cap name in oil sands, you are better to go with a near term producer such as Opti (OPC-T) or UTS (UTS-T).

2008-04-25

HOLD

5.260

David Cockfield

This is the tar sands stock. Likes it. Quite volatile. A little bit over the horizon in terms of earnings flow but every month that goes by they are getting closer. A good Hold and in the dips down under $5, it is definitely a buy.

2008-04-24

HOLD

5.400

Good company. Decent land positions. Would rather buy Suncor.

2008-03-25

BUY

5.760

John O'Connell, CFA

(Market Call Minute.) Thinks it gets taken out at $7 or $8.

2008-03-03

STRONG BUY

5.950

There will be a hoarding of energy by the haves as well as a search by the have-nots and this company is sitting on some wonderful acreage.

2008-02-28

BUY

5.850

Sandy McIntyre

Involved with Petro Canada (PCA-T) and Tech Cominco (TCK.B-T) in developing the Fort Hills project. Should be coming into production in the 2009/2010 timeframe.

2008-02-26

BUY on WEAKNESS

5.670

David Cockfield

Anytime it gets under $5, you can load up on this stock. He might revise this upwards in the next few months, as they are getting closer to the payoff time. Great properties and good partners. Good long-term investment.

2008-02-08

HOLD

5.670

An oil sands play and most investors should have some names in the oil sands. This is a 2011/2012 play. He prefers companies that have production or near production such as Suncor (SU-T) or Opti (OPC-T).

2008-02-08

BUY

5.190

Dean Orrico

Have done a good job with some good partners and taking their project up to the next level. Have also started some leases on their own outside of their partnership with PetroCanada (PCA-T). A good name to own if you are looking for exposure to oil sands.

2008-01-29

BUY

5.200

If he is right about oil going through $100 and moving north of that in the next 2 to 3 years to $130/$150, this company’s stock price will go to all-time highs. There are automatically 2 buyers for the company, Teck Cominco (TCK.B-T) and Petro Canada (PCA-T). Volatile, so you have to have a strong stomach.

2008-01-24

BUY

4.900

This is a potential takeout situation. It's in with Petro Canada (PCA-T) and Teck Cominco (TCK.B-T).

2008-01-22

DON'T BUY

5.170

Bill Harris, CFA

Don't produce anything but are hoping to. They are absolutely in the vice of higher costs and everything else nasty in Western Canada. Their partners are Teck Cominco (TCK.B-T). Too much uncertainty.

2008-01-17

Comment

5.390

Don Vialoux

Just about to enter into its seasonal strength like it did last year. Trend line is higher which is interesting. $5.50 seems to be the breakout level. Right at its 200 day moving average. MACD is trending higher implying that the stock wants to bottom right around current levels.

2008-01-16

BUY

5.480

You are looking at a potential NAV of close to $7.00 excluding lease 311. Production from Fort Hills starts in a couple of years. One of the great long-term buys in Canada.

2008-01-11

DON'T BUY

5.510

Bill Carrigan

This one depends on if you are a real believer in the oil sands. It's a long-term play. It might be another year or two before it moves. You'd probably have to have crude state above $100 to get this thing going.

2008-01-09

DON'T BUY

5.510

Expect it will be flat for 6 to 8 months. This is a non-producing oil sands play. 20% to 30% away from its initial scoping study. Won't be producing or have cash flow until 2012, so it's pretty well dead money in the meantime.

2008-01-08

TOP PICK

5.360

Likes the oil sands. NAV based on its oil sands activity gives you $6.30, well above its current price. To this, you can probably add $.40 for its participation on lease 14. Also have additional reserves that could be $1 or $2.

2007-12-28

BUY

5.100

Being affected by tax issues. Costs in building the tar sands are going up. Have fabulous partners.

2007-12-19

BUY

5.100

Being affected by tax issues. Costs in building the tar sands are going up. Have fabulous partners.

2007-12-19

TOP PICK

5.460

Likes the oil sands. One of the best management teams in this area. Geographically safe. Production will be in 3 or 4 years. One of the cheapest stocks in Canada.

2007-12-11

DON'T BUY

5.350

Derek Webb, CFA

Oil sands. He doesn't like any of these things right now. In spite of higher commodity prices, these stocks are not producing higher earnings because of higher expenses. If they are disappointing at $90 a barrel, what are they going to do at $60? Not crazy about any energy companies at the moment.

2007-11-28

TOP PICK

5.770

NAV of $7.00, which excludes a 50% partnership with Teck Cominco (TCK.B-T) of a mining operation as well as explorations west of the Athabascan River.

2007-11-26

DON'T BUY

5.660

Michael Decter

Seems to be stuck in a rut. If you don't have a compelling reason to own it, he would look elsewhere.

2007-11-12

BUY

5.660

Once it's up and running, the market can assess just how cost effective the economics are. One of the better names and they have good partners. Certainly worth more. Could be acquired by one of the partners.

2007-11-12

HOLD

6.090

Steve Carlin

Affected by royalty review. Great long term outlook. Will be able to surface additional reserves over the next few years. Be patient.

2007-10-25

BUY

6.030

Is surprised it has moved up as sharply as it has. Short term thinks 6.5 to 7, longer term his target is 9.

2007-10-17

BUY

5.650

Likely candidate for a takeover. The financing by selling some of the Fort Hills to Petro Canada (PCA-T) is a good thing as it gives them more potential exploration upside.

2007-09-26

VAGUE

5.650

David Baskin

Oil sands becomes iffy proposition if they raise the royalties. The government will back off, and you’ll see stock rise.

2007-09-26

BUY

5.680

A great way to play the oil sands. Sold 10% of its interest and this should take them through until 2009. Could be taken out.

2007-09-25

BUY

5.680

Has been under some stress because it has to find the means to finance an ever-growing cost. It has to sell off bits and pieces of itself. In the end, it’s still going to be all right.

2007-09-24

VAGUE

5.610

Brian Acker, CA

Don’t invest in net asset value plays. No earnings.

2007-09-20

BUY

5.180

Could be some very interesting results on their lease 311. The base NAV is probably $5.75. His target is between $8 and $9.

2007-08-28

BUY

5.300

David Baskin

He is a believer in the oil sands, but prefers to play them through the big producers like Petro Canada (PCA-T). This is not a bad play for a small company.

2007-08-23

HOLD

4.960

If you believe in the long-term price of oil being better, which he does, the stock could go to $7-$8.

2007-08-17

BUY

5.380

In the short term, the expected surprise, hopefully to the upside, will be the exploration on lease 311. NAV on current holdings is probably $4.75 to $5.00.

2007-08-14

BUY

6.020

Ian Nakamoto

Has a 30% interest Fort Hills heavy oil project. Believes they will be taken out by Petrocan (PCA-T) or a major company. An excellent play on the oil sands.

2007-07-24

TOP PICK

6.470

After being out of favour for about 1.5 years, the oil sands are coming back into favour. It will have its share of production out of the Fort Hills project. On lease 14 they will have 50% of the production. The alliance they hold with lease 311 could increase the NAV from $7 to $7.50. He thinks it will be well above 8.

2007-07-19

Comment

6.190

Jean-Francois Tardif

Has had a big move and he would prefer Canadian Oil Sands (COS.UN-T). This would be all right in a basket of oil sand stocks that you plan to own for 10 years.

2007-07-16

DON'T BUY

6.370

Bruce Campbell

A takeover candidate. The group of oil sands trades around 90% of its asset value. Oil sands needs $45 oil to be economical because the costs of extraction is so high. This is really just a play on oil prices. Pretty much fully valued.

2007-07-09

TOP PICK

6.060

Exxon-Mobil, Conoco Phillips, Petro-Can are pulling out of Venezuela, so they will be going elsewhere for similar "hunting ground", obvious answer is the oil sands. Petro-Can, Tettamenko, UTS have been involved in developing the 4 hills project, which is very bullish for UTS.

2007-06-29

BUY

5.750

Dean Orrico

Be careful and look at each of these projects. UTS is a good way to get exposure to the oil sands business.

2007-06-14

STRONG BUY

5.530