The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Canaccord Genuity analyst Tony Lesiak has upgraded Barrick Gold ($16.43) to "hold" from "sell" and raised his price target to $20 from $19. The Globe's Jody White and Darcy Keith write in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Lesiak says Barrick has underperformed its larger gold producer peers by 13 per cent year-to-date. The analyst says, "While challenges remain for the company with respect to the weak balance sheet, the lack of a clearly defined and consistent strategy, and the lingering issue of Pascua, we believe ABX shares are now near fair value relative to the current gold price." On a more positive note, Mr. Lesiak says his net asset value for Barrick's Nevada assets has increased 11 per cent after recent site visits. Valuation improvements were noted at Goldrush, Turquoise Ridge and Round Mountain while his estimates for Cortez declined. Mr. Lesiak says: "We now model Goldrush as a stand-alone, predominantly underground operation with a dedicated on-site roaster. ... While the ultimate development plan has not been defined, it does appear that the roaster option on site has been gaining momentum." The Street on average targets the shares at 19.81.